Yesterday Elysabeth and I had the privilege of attending the 8th Anniversary celebration of an amazing organization called CAST - The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. I've blogged about CAST before, here and here. The event was amazing. It was held in the home of Stanley & Betty Sheinbaum. In their home we observed one orginal Piccaso and photos of Stanley with Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter and many other famous people.
We saw clips from the upcoming films Amazing Grace and Trade. CAST honored a number of truly remarkable people including Eric Garcetti and Amy Wakeland and Mira Sorvino. Everyone was seated and the program had begun when Mira slipped in quietly and sat down in the open seat...next to me! See the picture above (click to enlarge). I've never been so star struck in my life! She literally took my breath away. Not only is she a great actress but she is an amazing scholar and activist. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard where her thesis on Human Right in China won an award. Oh, did I mention she speaks Mandarin?
She was being honored by CAST for her work in fighting human trafficking and slavery. In 2005 she stared in a Lifetime made-for-TV moved called Human Trafficking, with Donald Sutherland. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for that role. During her research for her role as an ICE agent in Human Trafficking she contacted CAST and learned from their expertise. Since then, she has done amazing work in Sacramento and Washington, DC in fighting for rights for the survivors of human trafficking.
Elysabeth said on the drive home, "Who knew when we were watching that show on TV that we would be sitting next to Mira Sorvino as she is being honored for her work on that movie?" Hollywood is truly an amazing place. I've been talking about this for 24 hours straight now. Tonight my wife asked me if I had a crush! I'll never tell....
What a lucky guy.
You Californians have all the luck.
Posted by: Glenn | February 15, 2007 at 10:43 AM
I had to laugh at you, Ryan. I can imagine myself in a similar situation. I didn't even recognize who was in the photo, and I had no idea about Mira's accomplishments. She's the one from American Beauty, right? I also love the smirk on the face of the woman to your left.
Last year I was recommending the Patch Adams movie with Robin Williams to my elders, when one of them, an old log truck driver, said, "I know Robin Williams." Turns out he had met him in Smithers, BC when he was filming. So far I have yet to meet anyone famous.
Posted by: David Hamstra | February 16, 2007 at 04:38 PM
Well, the smirking woman to my left is...my wife! Mira is not the one from American Beauty, that would be Mena Suvari. This is Mira Sorvino. Good guess, though!. Mira Sorvino won an Oscar for her role in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995). She done other good stuff since then, too.
Posted by: Ryan Bell | February 16, 2007 at 04:48 PM
Now it's your turn to laugh at me. I suppose I should spend a little more time with the IMDB. If I were pastoring in Hollywood, could I call it "demographics research"?
Posted by: David Hamstra | February 18, 2007 at 10:17 PM