LIFE - Scott Caan's Photos of the Stars

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: 'Scott Caan Photographs, Vol. 1'

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:00:00 EDT

Earlier this year, Scott Caan – actor, director, writer – added yet another title to his resume: published photographer. "Scott Caan Photographs, Vol. 1" (now available at RatPress.com) is a collection of his work since 2003, when he was directing the film "Dallas 362" and his father, legendary actor James, gave him a vintage camera for his birthday. "It sort of changed my whole perspective on making movies. My original approach [to directing] was to just get a good cinematographer and deal with the actors mostly, but after I started taking pictures, it couldn't have been more of a 180," says Caan. The book includes shots from Caan's global travels, but for this exclusive excerpt on LIFE, he offers his insider's perspective on a rarefied place he knows very well: the world of celebrity.

Lindsay Lohan Relaxes at a Barbecue, 2005

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 03:00:00 EDT

Scott Caan on his photo of an unusually laid-back Lohan, taken during a barbecue at actor Jared Leto's house: "I was saying hello to Lindsay and at one point she laid down, and I just got on the floor and took that photo. I'm sure people take photos of her all the time and she's probably sick of it, but it was such a mellow atmosphere." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Jared Leto at Home

Sun, 26 Jun 2005 03:00:00 EDT

Caan captures the actor and musician on his roof in 2005, at a barbecue he threw the day after his band 30 Seconds to Mars played L.A.'s Roxy. "There were about 10 guys there and 100 women," Caan remembers, laughing. (Photography by Scott Caan)

The Cast of 'Ocean’s Thirteen' at Cannes, 2007

Thu, 24 May 2007 03:00:00 EDT

"We were all getting out of the cars and Clooney grabbed me and said, 'You're going to get the best pictures out of all these paparazzi guys,'" remembers Caan about this shot, taken with his "Ocean's Thirteen" costars at Cannes in 2007. Because he's officially a member of the Ocean's crew – Caan played Turk Malloy in all three of the franchise's movies – we had to ask: What's it like hanging out with George and the gang? "I could have answered that question so much better five years ago when I didn't really know them," he says. "But they're the coolest group of guys. It's literally like hanging out with a bunch of your friends. Maybe a little more interesting than your friends…." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Brad Pitt Lights Up

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 03:00:00 EST

Caan on his smokin' shot of Pitt: "We were in Amsterdam and we were shooting 'Ocean's Twelve.' I had my camera on the table and we were all just passing the camera around. Brad took a couple shots of me, and I got a couple great shots where Don Cheadle's giving me the finger. I really liked this shot, so I printed it, and the editor really liked it so he put it in the book. And you have to imagine, when I'm shooting on set, there are amazing cinematographers who have already lit it for me. So it's kind of a no-brainer." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Dennis Hopper and His Art

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 03:00:00 EST

Hopper stands in front of his own painting, "Double Standard," in 2007. At the time, Caan was interviewing Hopper for Juxtapoz magazine, and took the photo while Hopper was preparing to shoot with another photographer, Estevan Oriol. "I asked Estevan if it was cool if I bring my camera, and I pretty much stole that picture." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Mena Suvari and Giovanni Ribisi

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 03:00:00 EST

Scott Caan: "That's at my old house. We were rehearsing for a movie I was directing called 'The Dog Problem.' Giovanni is a good guitar player, so he picked up the guitar and was messing around, and I just grabbed a snap." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Laura Dern on the Set of 'Lonely Hearts' in Jacksonville, Fla.

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 03:00:00 EST

Scott Caan: "I've had a crush on Laura Dern for about 10 years, so every time I'm around her I try to take pictures of her as much as possible… I just thought it looked really cool and timeless." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Queens of the Stone Age Frontman Josh Homme

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 03:00:00 EST

The rocker is photographed during recording sessions for 2007's "Era Vulgaris." Caan on his inspiration for the photo: "My first mentor was [rock photographer] Jim Marshall. The first pieces of art I bought were Jim Marshall photos of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Willie Nelson, and the Rolling Stones. So I went at it from that angle -- that's what I’d like to do is shoot stuff like that." But don't expect to see a lot more rock photography from Caan: "At some point I realized this isn't really my world. I always shoot musicians whenever I can, but I always felt like I was forcing it by going to shoot musicians when I had my own world to photograph, which could be just as interesting." (Photography by Scott Caan)

James Toney in Training

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 03:00:00 EDT

Scott Caan: "It was a week before he fought Evander Holyfield. I came into the gym ready to shoot photos of him. I took one photo and his trainer turned to me and said, 'No snaps.' So I was pretty bummed, but I got that one." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Casey Affleck on the Set

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 03:00:00 EST

"That was in Chicago, shooting the first day of 'Ocean's Twelve.' We all had not seen each other in a while, and Steven [Soderbergh] put us all in a room and let us talk and find our positions for the scene. It was lit so beautifully… There's also a photo of Carl Reiner in the same room on the same roll. [See next page.] I got great pictures of all those guys." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Carl Reiner on the Set

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 03:00:00 EST

The actor and comedy legend looks dapper on the set of "Ocean's Twelve." "Again, it was just beautifully lit already," Caan says, "a really easy opportunity." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Kimberly Stewart Sits Poolside in L.A.

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 03:00:00 EDT

Stewart, actress, TV personality, and daughter of Rod, is photographed on a sunny day outside the Chateau Marmont. "I was living at that hotel shooting a lot of photos," Caan recalls. "We were hanging out by that pool a lot. There were always these really great Gucci ads behind the pool, and she just sat up. She didn't like it when you took her picture much. She didn't like it when I did, anyway.... I thought it'd be cool to do photos of people mocking what’s going on behind them, because every month that billboard would change, but it never got as cool. I tried to re-create it. It just goes to show you the accident is always better than when you try to set it up." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Vincent Gallo in Little Italy

Sun, 01 May 2005 03:00:00 EDT

Scott Caan on photographing the indie filmmaker in New York in 2005: "He may not have the most fans personally, and people may say bad things about him, but he's always been so interesting to me. I look up to him a lot. He lives right in this neighborhood in New York where I was eating. And I just walked up to him and was like, ‘Vince, let's go shoot some photos. There's a cool wall right here.' And he was like, 'Yeah, come on.'" (Photography by Scott Caan)

Vincent Cassel in Sin City

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 03:00:00 EST

Scott Caan: "My goal was to get a good picture of Vincent that day. And the lighting was terrible everywhere I went. We went outside and it was totally blown-out -- sun right over our heads. And then we went inside and it was too dark. Even in this photo the light is not great, but it's just a cool photo of him, so I put it in." (Photography by Scott Caan)

Giovanni Ribisi at the Toronto International Film Festival

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 03:00:00 EDT

Caan captures his "Dog Problem" leading man in 2006. Though he used to carry "10 rolls of film in my back pocket" when he first started shooting, Caan says these days he's more sparing. "Less now do I walk around with a camera. I sort of set out to shoot stuff… What I think about photography is that it's not my job, and I can shoot whatever I want. Of course, I want people to like [my photos], but if they don't, I'm not losing money and nobody tells me how to shoot them. Art is a tough thing to keep real, especially when there's money involved. To me it's the one thing I can do without having to answer to anybody." (Photography by Scott Caan)