Event Coverage: Attending the Book Signing for Lonely Planet’s “Lights, Camera…Travel!”

14:53 Steampunk 0 Comments

On Monday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a book reading and signing of Lonely Planet’s new anthology (October, 2011) “Lights, Camera…Travel!” at McNally Jackson Bookstore in Soho, New York . The premise behind the book is that actors make great storytellers and often get to travel to exotic and unknown destinations, so who better to educate on travel?

The anthology is filled with humorous, emotional, insightful, embarrassing, and educational stories that will definitely invoke some kind of feeling in the reader. The book is edited by actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy as well as well-known travel editor Don George. While numerous actors contributed to the anthology, the ones who spoke at the event included Alec Baldwin, Anthony Edwards, Sandra Bernhard, Paulina Porizkova, and Bob Balaban.

Not going to lie, I was really impressed with how unique and personal each story was. Bob Balaban, who has been in over 100 movies, told a funny anecdote about filming The Mexican in Real de Catorce with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. Apparently, a few locals who had taken a bit too much Peyote came running up to him, completely freaked out about the fact that they were hallucinating and seeing movie stars. Balaban had to tell them that it was not because they were high that they saw Pitt and Roberts, it was because they actually had seen Pitt and Roberts.

Paulina Porizkova, an international supermodel and actress, talked about how she had developed two sets of eyes during her lifetime. One set she acquired growing up in an impoverished Czech childhood, while the other was given to her when she acquired international stardom. She finds this double vision useful when she travels, as she finds it easier to relate to the culture she is in while still keeping things in perspective.

Anthony Edwards, the notorious Dr. Green on the television show ER, discussed taking his family, which included a wife and four children, on an around the world trip for a year. They made the trip into a kind of “bucket list” themed adventure, staying with monks in the Himalayas and experiencing Ramadan in Cairo. However, the story turned tragic when their pilot, Len, who had become like family, had a heart attack and passed away during the expedition. When at the end of the trip their plane almost had a collision, Edwards realized that even in the afterlife Len still protected and looked after them.

Sandra Bernhard, a comedian, actress, and singer who has been listed on Comedy Central’s list of 100 best standup comedians, recounted a trip to Morocco with her friends and family. She made the country really come to life, especially when she talked about how the family she was staying with hid her canned baby food that she had brought from America (and paid $600 on shipping for) and told her that they would make the baby fresh, all natural food. In a single anecdote I was able to gain some insight into the values and lifestyle of the Moroccan culture.

Of course, one of the main attractions was Alec Baldwin, who really needs no introduction (Hell yea, 30 Rock!). His reading/performance was undoubtedly the funniest and almost had me in tears as he gave an extremely open and honest account of his travels. He talked about how in Los Angeles , California , you can’t drink because everyone drives, so you have to do “other things”. The story began as a rant against L.A. and ended in a full 360 degree where he ends up loving the west coast city.

All photos courtesy of Lonely Planet/Ben Gabbe, who was the official photographer for the event.