True Hollywood Story

Where have I been? Well, working, cleaning, consorting with celebrities, etc.

No, really.

OK--sort of.

It goes like this. In another part of my life, I run a fansite about a certain actor (call him Mr. X). It doesn’t matter who he is--you’ve most likely never heard of him. I started up the site as a single page almost three years ago, after being deeply moved by his performance in a TV miniseries. Curiosity leads to research. Leads to me joining the only fan group for him (at that time) and letting myself devolve into a total teenybopper. Leads to me noticing that there’s no real biography for him on the Web. Yet, the fan group is collecting all these interviews in which he comes off as a clever, charming guy, and there’s loads of biographical data in them. If someone were to just collect all the information and buttress it with the man's own quotes…voila—instant biography. So I gave it a shot, figuring that if could get 500 hits in the first year, I‘d be wildly happy.

Fast-forward to now. The fan group has more than 2,000 members. And my little site has gone from 1 page to 13, picking up more than 200,000 hits along the way. It helps to get in on the ground floor.

In the interim, a few other things have happened--namely, The Boyfriend, and the ensuing relationship that requires time and attention. Mr. X’s career has continued apace, with an occasional bump here or there. (Truly odd--having your friends send you consoling messages because your favorite actor’s movie has flopped.) I tried contacting him a few times, but never got more than an autographed photo. While I'm still a fan, I'm not the giggly nitwit I was before. A person grows up, you know? This past winter, realizing that I was not giving the site nearly the attention it needed, I started to consider closing it down. However, my friends convinced me to take one more shot at contacting Mr. X. “You should be the official site,” they kept saying. “Ask him.” So I gave it a shot. Wrote up one last letter, saying nothing about official designation but instead offering my site as a place to distribute news about his career. Made sure to mention the hit count. Sent it to a friend in the U.K., who mailed it for me (…I still owe her postage). And then I proceeded to forget all about it.

Last month, his personal assistant sent me an e-mail.

For a whole day, I tried not to believe it was real. Partially because a few years on the Web will show you a hoax or two. And partially because what I had suggested, they liked. What they also liked: My Web site. Really, it was too much to hope for.

But I did some checking anyway. The PA was the real deal, no smart-ass kid trying to make a fool out of me. More e-mails ensued. And then, an early morning phone call that began with her British accent, included the phrase “official Web site,” and ended shortly before I ran into the bedroom, squealing and jumping on the bed. Poor Boyfriend--all he wanted was to sleep in. The man has truly earned his stripes these past few weeks.

So last week was a blur. At work I was busy with a 60-page quarterly report. At home my nights were taken up with updates and additions to the Web site, one of them requested by Mr. X. himself. (Which…yeah. Exactly.) I admit the rest of my life got a bit neglected. But when else will I have the chance to use the excuse, “But I have to go work on my Web site--I have an obligation to a genuine Hollywood celebrity,” as a way to get out of doing the dishes? (Did I mention how wonderful The Boyfriend is? Example #837, right there.)

Report finished Thursday. Pages finished Thursday night. Cue days of nail-biting and obsessively checking e-mail while I wait for the PA’s approval of the site addition.

Approval finally, finally, on Sunday morning. Followed by a message from Mr. X, via the PA, to the whole fan group. In which he basically comes off as a really nice, appreciative guy who likes his fans…and who will be updating people through my site (!!!!) in the future. The PA even used my name…and only then did it hit me: “That means...Mr. X knows my name.”

He’s on a first-name basis with Steven Spielberg…and he knows my name. Even better, he knows my work.

Heady stuff, people, and honestly--really fucking weird. But good. But weird. Something I started on a lark, and which already did better than I could have ever hoped, has mushroomed into something even wilder. The plan now is for the PA to update me periodically, with news, photos, etc. And of course, The Man Himself is free to offer his suggestions.

So that’s where I’ve been--having one helluva time.

Comments

[Reverend H.L. Spork]

Now honey, everyone has heard of Gilbert Godfried; isn't he the voice of the AFLAC duck? I'm not sure I'd describe him as "clever," though.

=-)

[ChgoRed]

Anyway.

[Too Much Coffee Gal]

Wow!!!

I ran into Patrick Stewart at an airport once. I think he was a little freaked out. He didn't think they had Trekkies in Puerto Rico. :)