Richard Kind cameoing as himself in Girls5Eva says he's in that sweet spot where he can do what he loves consistently but not get recognised when he goes to the shops
I can confidently say that given a choice of: 1) enough success and money to live a comfortable life and do everything I need to do, and no fame, and 2) a boat load of money like Cuban and having people recognize me all over the place, as weird as it sounds I’m talking 1.
I wonder how much of his wealth The Rock would give to have a magical power of anonymity? Like Jedi magic where he can turn it on/off, to be able to go walk among the masses, pick his nose if he wants, and just sit in a park unbothered. I’d bet 50% at least. What y’all think?
I've got some journalist friends (a married couple) who each cover fame adjacent industries (movies, pop culture and fashion) and keep pushing them to write a book on that level of fame and what it's like, ideally by interviewing a number of extreme famous folks. I think it could be a career maker.
That’s why I keep it to myself when I see someone famous.
Happens all the time for me in NYC.
Like seeing Al Pacino walking behind a nanny pushing his kid in a stroller in Central Park, not as long ago as you’d think.
So does Lionel Messi. Honestly, all these people are famous but it may just be how you handle it??
When Messi first moved to S Florida people were freaking out seeing him in Publix. He just kept at it. Now- not as big a deal. Celebs living behind walls might want to rethink it
My daughter sent us a picture (taken from a respectable distance) of John Kerry standing in line to pay for his groceries at the Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom when he was serving as the Climate envoy for Biden, and it felt more than a little odd.
Hey Mark! I'm Zach Kahn, a 17-year-old high school junior from NC. I recently wrote a story on CFB bowl games and their strangest sponsors. I'd love for you to check it out and let me know what you think!
These days bowl games need strange sponsors to keep going since there is so many of them and the only people who watch them either went to the school or are gamblers.
I've always been amused at the names they've come up with. Since they started emphasizing sponsorship it's gotten out of hand. The Rose Bowl is one that refuses to take a backseat to the sponsorship. It's always The Rose Bowl presented by ... You did leave out the Pop Tart Bowl though. Lol
When I used to spend more time obsessing about markets, I thought it might be fun and enlightening to create a tracking fund consisting of major league athletic stadium sponsors, weighted by seating capacity. And compare performance against S&P.
If you are looking for story ideas, find out why Olive Garden has never sponsored the "Olive Garden Never-Ending Salad Bowl." That would be marketing gold
We decided a while back that Stanley Tucci is the correct level of famous. Can probably get a table when and wherever he wants. Can walk down any street in America or Europe without getting mobbed.
And he still lives among us. Doesn’t travel with a hoard of bodyguards. Jogs through his neighborhood, says hello to the neighbors. Shops at Publix. Drives himself about town.
All of this is doable. Very few (if any) are maximally more famous than a Lionel Messi.
In LA, I took an Uber from the Hollywood Boulevard to the Griffith Observatory and went through a neighborhood where gas prices were $2/gallon MORE EXPENSIVE than in the surrounding neighborhoods. I wonder if it was a super rich neighborhood whose residents rarely leave unplanned.
Extremely famous and rich people not grocery shopping is normal. The opposite is weird! Like apparently Travis Kelce has his Trader Joe's closed so he can shop in peace? That's crazy! Just let normal people use the store and use famous person instacart.
I worked in the stores at Disneyland and they'd have us close an individual store shortly before the celebrity arrived (usually for the sake of their child, who would like a mini pirate Mickey plush or rubber snake or whatever) because otherwise they'd be completely mobbed.
It was a legitimate fire safety issue and also it's unfair to expect people not to want to do normal things in peace. My dad and I both grew up in NE Los Angeles and absorbed the cultural norm of "don't be weird around famous people" and it would be much better if everyone else agreed to that, too.
I understand that on some level, but if I wanted to go to my local store and couldn't bc a celebrity had the store closed so they could pick out a cantaloupe, I'd be annoyed. They can pay someone else to do many of these errands. Grocery shopping is not the same as taking your kid to get a gift imo
I dunno, man, that still seems pretty goddam unnecessary. Bryce Harper lives in my town and we see him at the local Sprouts all the time. People usually just say hi or “go Phils” and he gets his shopping done and leaves.
I think this exact thing was an underrated aspect of why Messi chose to finish out his career in Miami. That video of him shopping in Publix when he first arrived spoke volumes
Like he took a selfie with two people and signed a quick autograph but was otherwise left alone and got to do a random everyday thing like a regular person for the first time in decades
pre-Drive To Survive, F1 drivers used to talk about loving spending time in America because they could just go anywhere without being recognized. (Those days are over)
What I've noticed is that I can reconnect with people whom I knew reasonably well in the past - unless they become famous, and then, once I've lost touch, whether I knew them before or after they became famous, they disappear behind an impenetrable wall.
I had an interaction with Garth Brooks when he was blocking the aisle at a grocery store. I didn’t know it was him until he spoke to me. He looked familiar, my anxiety kicked in & I thought he was an ex-coworker. I made eye contact thinking he was someone who knew me & he was totally cool about it.
Streisand had a 1:1 replica of a clothing store made in a basement or something so she can occasionally go have a normal shopping experience. Being really famous sucks
I remember some interview with Barrack Obama where he said for 8 years he basically never drove a car or had to carry keys or a wallet anywhere he went, and how it warps your sense of reality. I can't imagine what it does to you going on decades.
I always think it’d be wild to be the guy who gets cast as James Bond and go from “moderately successful but not really famous” actor to “one of the ten most famous actors in the world” when the first trailer drops
Also, I witnessed Jamie Foxx take in a show at then Georgetown AMC once, but his technique was to slip in as the trailers ended and dart out right as the credits started.
After the Super Bowl here in Vegas, Taylor Swift went to a way upscale Wynn club. Someone who knew her and knew how security worked, counted 18 bodyguards, 3 at her table, 15 more in the club.
Reminds of when Travis Kelce, a month or two after he started dating Taylor Swift, decided it would be fine to drop into our neighborhood Trader Joes to grab some ice cream and it about started a riot.
Comments
I drive myself. I go to the grocery store when I need or want something (I don’t do the family grocery shopping)
I get stopped all the time. Takes a second to smile n take a pic
Not complaining. Just a reality.
Happens all the time for me in NYC.
Like seeing Al Pacino walking behind a nanny pushing his kid in a stroller in Central Park, not as long ago as you’d think.
Yeah, you’re a dad
When Messi first moved to S Florida people were freaking out seeing him in Publix. He just kept at it. Now- not as big a deal. Celebs living behind walls might want to rethink it
Sometimes I even wait in a longer checkout line if the cashier with the short line has seen me too many times.
https://zachkahn.substack.com/p/the-wacky-sponsors-of-modern-bowl
Happiest of Holidays to you and yours!
Good job!
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/12/art-david-bowie-william-boyd-nat-tate-editor-critic-modern-painters-publisher
All of this is doable. Very few (if any) are maximally more famous than a Lionel Messi.
(I do feel kinda bad they don’t get to experience our little thrills like nailing a parallel parking job in front of friends or something.)
After the Super Bowl here in Vegas, Taylor Swift went to a way upscale Wynn club. Someone who knew her and knew how security worked, counted 18 bodyguards, 3 at her table, 15 more in the club.