Six Degrees of Richmond

Richmond, in its awesomeness, is connected to all these famous people. In other news I’m connected to your mom in one step. If you know what I mean.

February 22, 2008; 9:34 AM • by Pete Humes

The world is a very small place.

You should keep that in mind as the entire planet girds itself for the giddiness of Oscar night on Sunday. The 80th annual gala of mega-celebrities, glamour pusses and brown-nosers may seem like it’s happening galaxies away from our humble home town. But rest assured… it only seems that way.

We’re much closer than you think.

Come curtain time, I urge everyone to hold their heads high while the super-hot and the ultra-rich pack their liposuctioned asses into the Kodak Theatre. Feel the River City pride swell inside and fill you with its tingling sensations.

Because after careful scientific research, I have deduced that the magical realm of Hollywood is never more than six degrees away from our humble home town. That’s right… six degrees. Just like Kevin Bacon.

And to prove it, I have linked every one of the Best Actor and Best Actress nominees to Richmond in six degrees… or less. Enjoy!

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”

1. Clooney played Everett in “O Brother Where Art Thou?” with John Turturro
2. Turturro played Jesus Quintana in “The Big Lebowski” with Jeff Bridges
3. Bridges played the President in “The Contender” with Justin Dray… from Richmond!

Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”

1. Day-Lewis played Bill the Butcher in “Gangs of New York” with Cameron Diaz
2. Diaz played Freddie Clayton in “Feeling Minnesota” with Courtney Love
3. Love played Lynn Margulies in “Man on the Moon” with Danny DeVito
4. DeVito played Vincent Benedict in “Twins” with Arnold Schwarzenegger
5. Schwarzenegger played Howard Langston in “Jingle All the Way” with Sinbad
6. Sinbad played Sam Simms in “First Kid” with Joe Inscoe… from Richmond!

Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

1. Depp played Ichabod Crane in “Sleepy Hollow” with Christina Ricci
2. Ricci played Shelley in “Pecker” with Mark Joy… from Richmond!

Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah”

1. Jones played Warden Dwight McClusky in “Natural Born Killers” with Tom Sizemore
2. Sizemore played Sergeant Mike Horvath in “Saving Private Ryan” with Giovanni Ribisi
3. Ribisi played Dex in “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” with Gwenyth Paltrow
4. Paltrow played Helen Baring in “Hush” with Ric Young… from Richmond!

Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises”

1. Mortensen played Lalin in “Carlito’s Way” with Luis Guzman
2. Guzman played Rem in “The Substitute” with Tom Berenger
3. Berenger played Sgt. Bob Barnes in “Platoon” with Charlie Sheen
4. Sheen played Bobby Bishop in “Shadow Conspiracy” with F.T. Rea… from Richmond!

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”

1. Blanchett played Connie Falzone in “Pushing Tin” with John Cusack
2. Cusack played Ivan Alexeev in “Tapeheads” with Tim Robbins
3. Robbins played Andy Dusfresne in “The Shawshank Redemption” with Morgan Freeman
4. Freeman played President Tom Beck in “Deep Impact” with Blair Underwood
5. Underwood played Chance Williams in “Asunder” with Irene Ziegler… from Richmond!

Julie Christie in “Away from Her”

1. Christie played Gertrude in “Hamlet” with Robin Williams
2. Williams played John Keating in “Dead Poets Society” with Ethan Hawke
3. Hawke played Tom McHugh in “Mystery Date” with GWAR… from Richmond!

Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose”

1. Cotillard played Josephine in “Big Fish” with Ewan McGregor
2. McGregor played Christian in “Moulin Rouge!” with John Leguizamo
3. Leguizamo played PFC. Antonio Diaz in “Casualties of War” with Sean Penn
4. Penn played Jeff Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” with Judge Reinhold
5. Reinhold played Will Stiles in “NetForce” with Harry Kollatz… from Richmond!

Laura Linney in “The Savages”

1. Linney played Dr. Karen Ross in “Congo” with Tim Curry
2. Curry played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with Meatloaf
3. Meatloaf played Robert Paulson in “Fight Club” with Brad Pitt
4. Pitt played John Smith in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Vince Vaughn
5. Vaughn played Jeremy Grey in “Wedding Crashers” with Jennifer Massey… from Richmond!

Ellen Page in “Juno”

1. Page played Kitty Pryde in “X-Men: The Last Stand” with Halle Berry
2. Berry played Rosetta Stone in “The Flintstones” with Elizabeth Taylor
3. Taylor played Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” with George Segal
4. Segal played Art Silver in “For the Boys” with James Caan
5. Caan played Sgt. Clell Hazard in “Gardens of Stone” with Anjelica Huston
6. Huston played Carrie Chapman Catt in “Iron Jawed Angels” with Dawn Westbrook… from Richmond!

February 22, 2008 9:34 AM 0