Local & Community
Starstruck in Palm Springs: My Celebrity-Packed Day as a Junior Journalist
By Hayden Farrell | Junior Journalist
Hi, I'm Hayden Farrell, reporting live from the Palm Springs Convention Center—and wow, what a day it’s been at Palm Springs Retro Con! I’m here as a junior journalist, and I’ve just had the most amazing experience interviewing some of the coolest celebrities ever.
First up? One of my favorite actresses from the movie Annie, Aileen Quinn. I absolutely love that film, and I told her so—probably like eight million times! I even got to ask her if she sees any “Annie” in herself. She said yes! Just like Annie, she loves helping people when they’re in trouble. That makes her even more awesome.
I also asked her what it felt like to be chosen as the Annie out of more than 8,000 girls. Can you believe that? Over 8,000! She said she was in total shock when she got the part and didn’t believe it at first. And guess what? She liked my freckles. I think that was the best compliment ever!
Next, I talked with a star Tori Spelling from the show 90210—even though I’ve never seen it (my parents have, though!). She said the show was about teens in Beverly Hills dealing with life and growing up. Then I spoke to Bian Austin Green. He told me he played a nerd who became cool. That’s pretty awesome. He worked on the show for 10 years and made some real friendships with the cast.
At one point, I mentioned that my mom used to have a crush on him. That got a big laugh! He was super nice and said it was okay I hadn’t seen the show. I might check it out now—maybe.
Then came the highlight for every Karate Kid and Cobra Kai fan—I got to meet Mike Barnes, real name Sean Kanan! He told me that filming Cobra Kai took about two months down in Atlanta. I asked him if he had any of Mike Barnes’ personality in real life, and he said maybe a little bit, but he tries to keep that guy under control. Good idea!
Besides doing interviews, I also walked around the booths and saw so many cool things. I even met Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Elizabeth Berkley. It was like the best day ever.
I still can’t believe I got to talk to so many amazing people. It felt like such a privilege, and I’m so happy I got to be your junior journalist today.
Thank you for reading—and until next time, this is Hayden Farrell signing off or NBC Palm Springs!
By: Thalia Hayden
May 3, 2025
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