Celebrity interactions Tuesday ...

Richard was asking a theater manager about how early to show up for rush tickets, when the manager said "Oh, that's John Cleese". Richard tore after his comedic hero and caught up with him looking in a shop window. "I'm a huge fan of yours", he panted. Cleese looked down from his towering 6 foot-something height and declared "I wouldn't say huge, you look more like an average-sized fan to me". He asked me if I thought the jacket in the window would be good for his daughter. I said not if she's a vegetarian, since it was leather. And immediately felt like a jerk for imposing my beliefs on someone I'd just met. Cleese replied, "Well you know I only eat animals which died of fatal diseases". He then asked me for directions to a place very far away, and set of at a brisk walking pace.

We ran into him later at Java Cow cafe, and asked him for a photograph, but he said he didn't see what a photo was supposed to commemorate, given that we hadn't worked together or had much of a conversation. This seemed fair enough, but if I see him a third time I might have to insist!

Meanwhile, Kit shook Paul Giamatti's hand and told him to try to stay warm.