Kevin's Celeb Pics

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee was one of the featured guests at the Saturday session of the 10th Annual Roger Ebert Film Festival in downtown Champaign, Illinois. Lee, a 1980 University of Illinois graduate, was in attendance for a screening and Q and A of his 2003 film, Hulk.

Just as I was pulling into the parking lot, I spotted Lee walking up the street towards the historic Virginia Theater, home to the Festival. Unfortunately, by the time I got the car parked and ran inside, he was being whisked away to the VIP room to prepare for the screening.

Following the screening and a very interesting Q and A session, Lee took a seat at the edge of the stage to sign autographs, take photographs, and meet fans. He stayed about 10 minutes before being pulled away in anticipation of his plane trip back home to New York. In that time, I managed to get a signed 8 x 10 and the photo above. I got another signed photograph as he exited the theater to catch his ride to the airport.

While waiting for the evening feature film to start, I got to visit again with actor Joe Pantiliano. "Joey Pants" had been in town for the entire festival, including a screening of his film, Canvas, on Thursday night. He gladly signed a photo I had taken with him on Thursday, commenting on how much he looked like his cousin, Kelly.

Saturday evening's feature was the 1987 film, Housekeeping, starring actress Christine Lahti. Lahti and the movie's director, Bill Forsyth, both stopped to take photos and to sign my Housekeeping movie poster as they entered the theater. Lahti, probably best remembered for her Emmy-winning role on Chicago Hope, was especially interested in seeing the poster and asked where I had located the piece.

This past Thursday, during the Festival's second day, I got photographs and signatures from two English actors, Timothy Spall and Rufus Sewell. Both were at the Festival for a screening of their 1996 film, Hamlet. Spall is best known for his role as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films.