As Katy, Erin and I worked the convention from one end of Denver to the other we were treated to celebrity sightings galore. Despite the fact that Erin and Katy are from Los Angeles and are each tangentially related to the entertainment industry, I was the chief celebrity spotter due to my role as a diligent (um, some might say unhealthy - I like to call it thorough) pop culture observer.
Although some complained that the party atmosphere was lacking due to Obama's ban on corporate lobbyist funding, the numerous star sightings (meaning one or more of us saw the person live, not on screen) fell into four groups: media, screen, music and politics.
On the political end, we glimpsed some female Democratic stars including Senator Hillary Clinton, California Senator Barbara Boxer and Kansas Governor and VP short lister Kathleen Sebelius fresh off the convention floor stage and giving her speech - a fellow blogger reached out and complimented her on her power red suit telling her to "wear it!" Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright was spied heading into a late night party.
We also spotted many prominent African American leaders including Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King, III and Bernice King, Charlie Rangel, John Lewis and Kewsi Mfume. Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, stopped by The Big Tent to hang out with the bloggers and learn how to blog himself.
Political blogger Markos Moulitsas created a bit of a stir when he stopped to offer us autographed copies of his new book, Taking On The System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era. While I gushed over meeting the very first blogger I ever read, Erin was busy being feisty and grilling him over the banning of a blogger from the Daily Kos community.
Musician John Legend gave us a little thrill when he strolled past fresh from singing Yes We Can with will.i.am on the Invesco Field stage. Katy had insider status as she partied the night away with Moby.
Stars of the screens big and little abounded. We saw BlogHer guest blogger Erika Alexander heading into the EMILY's list event to sit with Hillary Clinton. We tried to catch her for a quick comment but unfortunately she was whisked away before we could.
The funny men of The Daily Show were everywhere. Erin was able to shoot some Qik video of them in action. I literally bumped into Aasif Mandvi & was *this close* to Rob Riggle and Larry Wilmore (who is surprisingly very tall).
Jeannie herself, Barbara Eden, was also trapped in the circle of hell better known as Invesco Field after the speech. The day after on the plane, many around me were still talking about the chaos that was trying to leave the stadium parking lot.
Oprah's BFF Gayle King was spotted headed into the CNN Grill, site of Erin's altitude sickness collapse.
Hottie dudes were also in great supply. Daniel Dae Kim (Jin from Lost) was our first sighting (and was spotted multiple times around the city). John Slattery (currently Roger Sterling on Mad Men but also known for playing politicians who woo Carrie Bradshaw and Gabrielle Solis among other roles) was stalking us frankly. You might be able to catch a glimpse of him in my Green DNC vlog as he just couldn't leave me alone.
Sadly for Erin and Katy, I was the only one who had the pleasure of seeing nattily dressed and smokin' hot, Taye Diggs as he strolled past, gorgeous wife in hand.
When it comes to the media, name an anchor or pundit and we probably spotted them.
Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw, Chuck Todd, Bob Schieffer, Jeff Greenfield, Katie Couric, Shepard Smith, Britt Hume, Bill Kristol, Diane Sawyer, Charlie Gibson, George Stephanopoulos, Roland Martin, Donna Brazile, Soledad O'Brien, Joe Scarborough and the man everyone wanted to have their picture taken with, Anderson Cooper. MSNBC spottings however, were not to be. Most sad to me, due to our rental car being held hostage, we were unable to catch rising superstar and soon-to-be host of her own show on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow. Ah well, I still have that celebrity sighting to look forward to!
But the biggest moment was when, while riding a DNC shuttle bus to Invesco Field, we stopped to pick up a special guest, his daughter and his entourage. Sharp dressed, handsome, Academy Award winning actor Jaime Foxx boarded our bus, video camera in hand. As Erin spontaneously uttered "Oh shit!" and fumbled for her camera she told Foxx that she was filming him. He however countered that in fact he was filming her. So while Katy and Erin may star on his video blog, he is staring on ours. Um, once I get Erin to post the video. :) Until then, here is a shot of him filming us.
Comments
Lucky you
Not only did you bring us the everyday ordinary stars at the DNC - you also saw celebrities. Lucky you! You've created memories for days!
blog.candelariasilva.com
Good and plenty!
And Jessica Alba
Or so say my Cool Mom Picks sources. Evidently she found time between speeches to hit some kidswear boutiques.
Very important in the scheme of world issues, I know. But a girls gotta have her gossip.
Mom-101
Cool Mom Picks.com
Jessica Alba partying!
Right before the Moby event, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Lopez and Rosario Dawson appeared together at another club in town. That was the star-studded place to be!
Thanks!
Thanks Candelaria & Liz,
Definitely not as world changing as the political stuff and I tend to be rather jaded about celeb sightings but it was surprisingly fun and a nice bit of relief to the stress of running around.
Glad I could bring you a bit of the lighter side of the DNC!
ConsumerPop Marketing
PopConsumer (Politics, Current Events & Links)
Beyond Help (Music, TV & Pop Culture)
I never got the damn cam on
I just fumbled and swore. It never turned on.
Sigh.
Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain
Aw shoot!
Well at least you had the presence of mind to try. It was a totally surprising star struck moment for us all :)
ConsumerPop Marketing
PopConsumer (Politics, Current Events & Links)
Beyond Help (Music, TV & Pop Culture)
Video of Jamie Foxx on our bus!
I got a bit of Jamie Foxx on our bus. I was in a bad position, so Maria -- you actually shot the beginning of this video when Jamie Foxx was sitting in the back of the bus! And then when he was leaving, I got more of him.
Fumbled and swore
I love that about you.
~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Flamingo House Happenings
Forgot to add
Funny man, Mo Rocca - Erin's friendly Denver stalker :)
ConsumerPop Marketing
PopConsumer (Politics, Current Events & Links)
Beyond Help (Music, TV & Pop Culture)
All from/in Invesco
I saw John Kerry in the halls of Pepsi after he spoke, but there were so many people crushing me and it seemed kind of weird to put myself in harm's way for a photo of John Kerry, but I did also see one of Teresa's sons. Moving on.
Okay, so love him. Can't help it.
Jesse Jackson was at a Maryland event the night before, where he hit the stage, screamed OBAMARAMA about eight times and then...just left. Seeing him the next day, I was all, Jesse Jackson is following me! And then I remembered where I was. Duh. Wolf Blitzer received screaming ovations, per a blogger I met on the plane. We were sitting directly behind CNN for hours, and he sat there looking vaguely worried the whole time, onscreen or off...just like he does on tv.
Love Farnsworth Bentley. This was the kicker, and where things continued to feel really, really weird. I am a huge Outkast fan...loved "Good Day, Good Sir," plus he's just so...natty. He was in the lowly media entrance line with the rest of us and I was so fried by this point that this sighting just about made my week (He's in the Yes, We Can video too.) I mean, I'm in line with my laptop and bag of junk at a football stadium, and there's Farnsworth Bentley. These are the moments when I really know media is for me.
The dreads next to him belong to a man who is clearly famous for something because a photographer nearly knocked me down to get his picture, but in my ongoing quest to become as uncool and out of touch as possible I have no idea who he was. ;)(My colleague: "Um, he's on some tv show." Right on.)
I also have photos and chatted with Wendell Pierce from The Wire, but the JERK WHO STOLE MY NIKON has those. Jerk.
Laurie
Jogging my memory
I tweeted both Wendell Pierce and Farnsworth Bently - can't believe I forgot them. From G's to Gents is a guilty pleasure and I was amused to see Diddy's former umbrella man until shortly after MLK III walked by and promptly eclipsed him. About Pierce I tweeted:
Sorry we missed you - you must have been down at the CNN end of the network row & we were at the other end between CBS & Fox. It was fun though wasn't it?
ConsumerPop Marketing
PopConsumer (Politics, Current Events & Links)
Beyond Help (Music, TV & Pop Culture)