Sure, the 21st century has had it’s ups and downs, but a lot of people consider the 90’s the “last fun time”. By that they mean, it’s the last time you could do something without the constant possibility that you were being recorded and preserved for just the right time to have life come back and bite you in the ass.
Having no fear of photographic proof of an event can really bring out the wild child in people.
Randall Slaven was a photographer then and documented Hollywood night life. In his new book, “We All Want Something Beautiful”, Randy looks through his old pictures from the 90’s and the early 00’s and reminisces. It’s cray interesting.
Jennifer Aniston and Adam Duritz, 1995
“Jen and Adam had become friends and they were hanging out there. Friends had just exploded and was massive, and Adam was in the biggest band in the country and his record was blowing up, so they were the biggest power couple. The house was on Hillside, and Adam immortalized it in the song, ‘A Long December’ when he sings, ‘Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after 2 a.m.’ He was referring to that house on Hillside, where we would all sit on the back patio until the wee hours of the morning, talking about how everyone’s going to change the world and make great art. Jennifer was exactly like she’s always been – sweet, approachable, and completely taking everything in her stride. When I run into her now, she’s still very sweet.”
Fergie and James Van Der Beek, 1999
“We all went to the *NSYNC concert at The Forum in LA,” Slavin recalls. “I’d never heard anything so loud in my entire life as The Forum filled with 13-year-old girls. It was at the height of their No Strings Attached, ‘Bye Bye Bye’ era and it was crazy. We were all friends with those guys, and Fergie and Justin were old friends. Fergie had just come out of being a singer for a band called Wild Orchard and this is a pic backstage, with James Van Der Beek trying to be lowkey.”
Nathan Fillion and Bonnie Somerville, 1997
“I can’t tell where we are, but I remember those glasses, that sweater, and that hairdo — which makes it mid-late 1997,” Fillion says of the photo, which was taken while he was starring on One Life to Live and starting to recur on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, and before Somerville broke out with roles on Friends and The O.C. “The kid in this picture had the world by the tail. All his dreams had come true by this point. Honestly. I had to get new dreams.” I have to add this note: Bonnie? She played Mona on “Friends”!
Eva Longoria, 2004
“This was from my birthday party at Chateau Marmont in 2004,” Slavin says. “Desperate Housewives had just started and what I like about this picture is she’s not the Eva we know now, which is very put together – a very spicy Texan! She’s turned into a quite a force and I would be surprised if at some point she’s not Mayor of San Antonio and goes into politics. Mark my words.”
Jeremy Renner, 2005
“A friend of mine, Mary Weiland, who was married to Scott Weiland at the time, was doing an eighties prom-themed 30th birthday party because she dropped out of school and never had a senior prom,” Slavin says. “Before he was a successful actor, Jeremy used to do hair and makeup. I think he was one of those people in the mall putting makeup on women, so before the party, which was at the Sportsmen’s Lodge, we all met at a friend’s house and he did all of girls’ eighties hair and makeup. He wore a ridiculous lime-green tuxedo, had his hair all poufy, and had just spilled his drink all over his lap, which is why he’s laughing in this photo.”
Matthew Perry and René Ashton, 1999
“This was Matthew with his ex-girlfriend, René, taken at some nameless, forgettable club that probably sprang up then disappeared,” Slavin says. “It was a great era for Matthew. He was still on Friends and very happy. I actually remember being with Matthew previously at the Formosa Café, which used to be our hangout, and he was like, ‘Hey, my pilot just got picked up!’ We were like, ‘Congratulations! What’s it called?’ He said something like, ‘It’s called Friends Like These. We’re premiering after Seinfeld.’ We were like, ‘Oh that’s really good!’”
