Hollywood Celebrity Shoot

Below is the story followed by pictures at the shoot
courtesy 
FieldandClays.com

Author James A. Swan, Ph.D. is the Contributing Editor to ESPNOutdoors.com, and the author of IN DEFENSE OF HUNTING and THE SACRED ART OF HUNTING.

The weather was pleasantly cool at the Triple B Shotgun Sports Park in South El Monte, California, on August 4, but the shooting was definitely hot at the 5th annual Hollywood Celebrity Shoot. One hundred and two celebrity actors, writers, directors and producers, and 100 patron shooters vied for prizes in cluster flush, trap and sporting clays, while another 150 spectator guests watched. The largest celebrity shoot in the US, this event gives Hollywood an opportunity make a positive statement about shooting sports. The 2001 shoot also raised money for two charities, Sugarbugs, Inc. (kids with diabetes) and Disability Resources.

Some of the celebrities who shot this year included: actors Joe Mantegna("The Godfather"), Frank Stallone ("Hudson Hawk"), Marshall Teague("Armageddon"), Robert Stack ("Unsolved Mysteries"), Leslie Easterbrook("Police Academy"), Anne Lockhart ("Battlestar Gallactica"), and Erin Gray("Baywatch"); as well as well producer-director-writers John Milius ("ConanThe Barbarian"), John Fasano ("Judge Dredd"), and Tom Green ("Thunder In Paradise"); 4-time Oscar-winning special effects wizard Richard Edlund("Raiders of the Lost Ark") and South El Monte's own Olympic Gold Medalist shooting star, Kim Rhode.

Hollywood is a strange place where major studios and stars rake in billions from glamorizing violence on the screen but then decry guns offscreen. This shoot offers an opportunity to set the record straight. In this respect, this year's shoot was a bullseye as there were television crews from all the major networks, as well as numerous magazines and newspapers all getting interviews. Some quotes from celebrities present: 

"A good shot is a good man." - Robert Stack ("Unsolved Mysteries")

"The Hollywood Celebrity Shoot is the best tool we have, here in the film capitol of the world, to help change the negative image of the shooting sports that's held by many leaders of the entertainment and news media. It's safe, fun, competitive, and charitable. How can you beat that?" - Leslie Easterbrook ("Police Academy" -- watch for her next movie "Maniacts" this fall)  

"As an avid sportsman, I am a strong supporter of the Hollywood Celebrity Shoot, and the safe, sane and fun exposure to the shooting sports its promotes." - Joe Mantegna ("House of Games")

"There are some things that are best described by doing them, and shooting sports is one of them. This is a family event where I bring my kids and we have a blast." - Anne Lockhart ("Battlestar Gallactica")  

"Hunting, shooting and guns are very much a part of our American heritage. It didn't just happen. Every generation of parents took time to teach hunting, shooting and fishing to their kids. We were not born to like shooting and guns. We are taught and then we experience how much fun it can really be." Kim Rhode, Olympic trap shooting gold medalist.

"The Hollywood Celebrity Shoot is the most fun you can have with your clothes on." Michael Gregory ("Robocop")

Next year's shoot will again be early August, and you're all invited. You can be among the first to know when the date is set by checking :

http://hollywoodcelebrityshoot.com. The 2002 shoot will benefit a new charity, The City of Hope Medical Research and Treatment Center, which is one of the world's foremost centers for the battle against cancer.

The end, but not the finish