During this year's Tribeca Film Festival, Norman Reedus ambled into my studio looking nothing like the white trash characters he inhabits in The Walking Dead and his new movie Sunlight Jr.
He is such a friendly, affable guy, very laid back, and we had seen each other and stayed in touch since last year's festival. He was ready for his close-up. Then he spotted Lolita. Now he was a man possessed. Enchanted. Norman Reedus was cooing! Lolita had him at Meow. My two-month old Tonkinese kitten melted Reedus with soft purrs.
The shoot became almost an afterthought. All Reedus wanted was to cradle Lolita in his arms. Every day since the shoot Norman sends me an email with 3 simple words in all caps. He remains smitten. The message is direct and demanding. GIMME THAT KITTEN!
My absolute favorite moment of the festival was while shooting the hilarious Jason Schwartzman. He got up from the set and slowly looked around for a prop while saying, "I'll know it when I see it," and proceeded to go over to my paint supplies. He then started putting red acrylic paint on his face while I stood there thinking, "hmm, maybe he's painting an Indian bindi on his forehead?" but no, he covered his whole face in red paint and then sat down for more pictures. It took an hour to get the paint off his face even with paint thinner! Those are the kinds of moments I will never forget!
Special thanks to Megan Wiley, Ben Hampel, Camila Gibran and Lauren Basit!
Produced by Wiley Artists
To see more images go to: www.lesliehassler.com