john wyatt, hollywood, calif.
Written on September 21, 2009
i’ve said it before, the world is a small place when you’ve gone to crossroads high school.
at the beginning of the summer i got an assignment to photograph john wyatt. john is the director of the cinespia cemetery screenings at the hollywood forever graveyard. every summer weekend john projects classic movies onto the side of a giant mausoleum, and the delighted masses of hollywood lay blankets and picnic baskets out on the great lawns amidst the tombstones to take in the films. the last screening was this past weekend (rosemary’s baby, which seems like an appropriate movie to show in such a context).
so when i got the job i did what i always do, i called up the subject and introduced myself and said what i was calling for. john interrupted me and said, “yeah, man, i know. we went to high school together.” oh, right. i realized it as soon as he mentioned it. john was a year ahead of me. at the time we had the same hair, but no beards.
i just saw that cinespia ended for the summer the other day, and once again i kick myself for not having gone. it’s one of those things i’ve known about for years but somehow time always manages to slip past me. next year for sure. don’t let me forget this time, okay?
a few years back i had one other shoot at hollywood forever (of jerry stahl), but that was in the middle of winter and it was rainy and cloudy and dark. perfect cemetery weather. this time. . . middle of summer, it was near 100 degrees and bright sun. not the least bit creepy. oh well.
my thanks to john and to cpl. bennett as usual for the selfless assistance.
