Chasing Brangelina

My reaction to celebrities I get to meet depends on several factors: how great they are, how popular they are and how friendly they are. When I met Oprah Winfrey, I was tongue-tied. It was in Paris during the Valentino Haute Couture Collection 2005. I just finished my interview with Valentino backstage (thanks to Paris Mode’s TV host, Marie Christian Marek, who arranged it) and my girlfriend and I were on our way to the main hall to find our seats. I saw Oprah being escorted to her seat, (first row, of course) looking very chic in a black cocktail dress. All of a sudden a throng of paparazzi flocked around her like a hornet of bees, killing all my chances of getting near her and taking a photo of her. Then a booming voice announced that the show was about to start in a few minutes and everybody should take their seats. The paparazzi dispersed in an instant and took their positions at strategic places of the hall to be able to get prime shots of the show. The path was clear, I bravely took my chance. I went to Oprah, stood in front of her, but could not say anything but a shy "hello." She smiled, and all I could say was, "Can I take a picture for your fans in the Philippines?" She gave a thumbs up, I clicked and that was that. She thanked me, smiled again, waiting for me to say something, but the cat got my tongue, and I couldn’t say a thing but to thank her again for the snapshot.

I find Oprah one of the greatest human beings alive and I truly admire her. The magnificence of her accomplishments humbled me that I couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. A combination of shock, awe, and disbelief that I was in the presence of the most admired woman in the US put me on silent mode.

On the other hand, when I met Gwyneth Paltrow many years ago at the Metropolitan Museum during the filming of The Perfect Murder (where she co-starred with Michael Douglas), I was not at all intimidated and I chatted with her like I have known her for years. She was so easy to talk with and so very friendly. When I complimented her gown, she told me it was a Balenciaga, bought on sale for $4,000 only. (Which is cheap for haute couture, she added.) She also informed me that the producers rented her diamond necklace and diamond studs from Cartier. How refreshingly candid! I liked her from that moment on, and since then I make it a point to watch most of her movies.

They say that being at the right place at the right time is what luck is all about. Well, my lucky star must have been shining bright that day. Read my lips: Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie, yes, Brangelina themselves, the famous Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the most beautiful man and woman in the universe as voted by People Magazine, passed right in front of my nose at the lobby of the Park Hyatt Hotel in Saigon!

It so happened that my friends who just arrived from China and I were meeting with Minh, a Saigonais lady friend at the lobby lounge of Park Hyatt Hotel, the newest hotel in Saigon (also called Ho Chi Minh City) We must have been there barely 30 minutes when the famous couple surrounded by bodyguards and some hotel staff appeared before our eyes. We followed them to the door and our gracious Saigonais friend, who is a delightful starstruck movie fan herself, asked one of the bodyguards where they were going. He said that Brangelina rented a Honda motorbike to go around the city. Everything happened so fast but before I knew it, Minh, our Viet friend offered to take me on her motorbike (even the rich in Vietnam go around the city in their motorbikes) to follow the famous couple around town.

I was terrified at the idea of stalking Brangelina on a motorbike but I have that daredevil side in me that would not stop at anything. (I am a starstruck movie fan of the highest level!)My other girlfriends said they would follow in a taxi and we would call if we lost each other.

The wild goose chase started. I felt every inch the paparazzi that celebrities detest. My constant companion, my ever-loyal Sony Cybershot digital camera which never leaves my bag, came in handy but I could hardly take a photo of the famous couple. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking and I was closing my eyes most of the time. Minh assured me that she was an experienced driver and told me to stop squirming like a worm at the back seat and not to hug her too tight as people might mistake us for lovers. Finally, Brad took mercy on his stalkers and parked in front of the restaurant, Temple Club. I took some photos but the couple was not really posing so it was difficult. She is everything you see in the movies – long limbed, big doe-eyes, and her famous lips looked even fuller, perhaps because she was wearing bright red lipstick. They were both very casually dressed, she was in all black, with a taupe colored pashmina, wearing flip-flops. Brad looks really boyish and youthful. Not drop-dead handsome like Paul Newman or Rock Hudson during their prime, but with that kind of drop-dead knock-me-over-x factor. Sex appeal and machismo plus, more. Do I sound like I am drooling? Yes, I am! One couldn’t blame Jennifer Aniston. for grieving eternally over her loss.

In Temple Club, Minh interviewed the headwaiter and found out that Brangelina reserved the whole terrace for the entire evening. No one but the official party of the couple could gate crash. The restaurant manager made sure that security was tight.

Back at the Park Hyatt where we had a booking for dinner, Minh saw the PR of the hotel who happens to be her friend, at the lobby. She supplied us some tidbits about Brangelina.

They came in from Cambodia where Angelina had a meeting to discuss a forest conservation project. Cambodia is dear to her heart as she filmed her Lara Croft series there and adopted her son Maddox in 2002. They are taking a break from filming Happy Hearts in India.

Their schedule in Saigon includes visiting an orphanage where the couple will give out toys and candies to the orphans and have lunch with the directors of the orphanage. They were also visiting Ben Tanh market where they intended to buy some souvenirs. They requested not to be given special treatment and are generous in giving tips to the staff.

When we asked her to arrange an interview for us, the PR girl politely refused, saying that Brangelina requested total privacy.

I was content to just have seen them and to come out alive and unscratched from my unforgettable motorbike experience.