My Illest Party

I was a guest at the illest party ever at the ambassador's place the other night. Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, Chris Cooper, and Jeremey Piven, who are all over here filming the new movie The Kingdom, were also invited. Since there were only about 70 guests, I got to meet them all. Here's some thoughts.

JAMIE FOXX: Academy Award winner for Ray, Jamie Foxx isn't exactly one of my favorite actors. The other night, my opinion of him didn't really change.

Armed with six or seven bodyguards, Jamie is one of those paranoid cowards who make the US look bad over here. He has two taste-testers. TWO! What kind of self-respecting terrorists would waste their time trying to kill Jamie Foxx anyway? They've never even heard of him.

He was more of a unit than a man, arriving late with full retinue. His girlfriend, Coffee, and he made for the back of the party as soon as they could, followed by a mob of guests wherever they went. They weren't very friendly and spent the afternoon playing chess. A kid approached one of the guards and the dialouge went something like this:

"So you guard Jamie in the states too?"
"Yes."
"Did anyone ever attack him and you needed to brush him up or something?"
"I can't talk to you, I'm sorry, I'm working right now."

Working? All he has to do is wear sunglasses. After the crowd quieted down, I approached the Foxx myself. I smoothly slipped up to the game and said, "I'll play winner." Jamie didn't get it. He just shook his head and said "no. No." I then told him I was only joking an d said I'd wanted to meet him. I shook his hand and told him my name. It was only for a fleeting moment. No pictures, no autographs. I wouldn't say I really got to know Jamie. The other guys, I did get to talk to.

Jason Bateman: Star of Arrested Developement, Jason Bateman is a familiar face for Television buffs. He came to the party like everyone else. No security, no taste testers. If I didn't know his face I would have thought he was just another guest. Jason spent most of his time at the soda table, from which he must have grabed about seven huge cups of Coca-Cola. The rest of the time he was in some long in-depth conversation with another guest. I got one of them.

I approached Jason pretty quickly after he arrived, but came back for more later. I told him my name, shook his hand, and went on to ask for advice for my role in the play. Hey, this guy gets paid to act, he must have some good stuff. He asks me what I want advice on, the acting or the poker. I said I was pretty much set on the game, I am a pretty lucky guy. Jason suggested I should write my lines on the cards and just read them off on stage. I was outraged. What if I picked up the wrong card? They are getting shuffled by the other cast members. What if when Oscar was talking about how he was inviting the girls up for the night I read my line at the end of the first act: "If you need anything, call me." That would be bad. Very bad.

That's when who looked like Jason's date told me I reminded her of him. Pretty cool, huh?

Chris Cooper: Chris Cooper, another Oscar winner, is one of those guys who everyone knows but not everyone remembers his name. I'll try to refresh your memories. He was the dad in October Sky, the horse trainer in Seabiscuit, and Conclin in The Bourne Identity. He's also starred in The Patriot, Jarhead, Syriana, and many other movies.

Chris spent most of the time under the shade looking at the pool, and just like Jason blended in very well. I got to talk to him for a long time too, and he encouraged me in my pursuits in Hollywood. A very classy guy.

Jeremy Piven: Jeremy Piven, a recent Emmy winner stood out not by his guards, but the way he looked. A real slick character, I remember Jeremy from his role as the gay clothes salesman in Rush Hour 2. He's also appeared in Old School, Cars, and many other movies. I got to talk to Jeremy for a while as well, but unlike Chris and Jason, he actually gave me serious advice about the play. Jeremy suggested a very natural aproach to playing my character. I was glad for the help. My brother Robby asked him who the best actor he ever worked with was. He told us about Will Ferrell, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and many others.

Overall, my night chilling with Jamie, Jason, Chris, and Jeremy was pretty cool. Jennifer Garner is also in the movie, (as Chambers pointed out) but finished all of her filming in Arizona. Most of the movie was filmed there and the filmmakers only plan to stay in Abu Dhabi for about a week. I'm glad to post about my experiances with the actors, and hope many other future posts can be about similar topics.