Actress Amy Acker, formerly of Dallas, is in the new Joss Whedon film “Much Ado About Nothing.” Acker was in Dallas on April 26, 2013 to attend the Dallas International Film Festival.

Typically, pressers are run-and-gun affairs and my time with Ms. Acker was no different.

I had 48 minutes on my parking meter because as anyone who’s unfortunate enough to live or work or shop in downtown Dallas knows, there is NO on-street parking. It’s all been given over to restaurant valet services. Clearly, Downtown Dallas, like it’s younger, more hipster-driven (if that’s possible) sibling, Uptown, doesn’t want ANYONE parking on its streets.

So, after a two-block dash to the Hotel Joule I meet up with my editor, Mark Lowry, publisher of www.theaterjones.com in the lobby. We’re here to photograph and interview Dallas-raised actress, Amy Acker, who is cast as Beatrice in Joss Whedon’s new spin-up of Much Ado About Nothing. Ten minutes later we’re greeted by Carole Smith who asks us if the pool deck will work for photos. I say, “Absolutely.” It’s overcast and I’ve been on the pool deck before, so I figure nobody’s gonna be sunning and we’ll have some space and privacy.

Carole escorts us to the deck and runs to fetch Ms. Acker. Meanwhile I start looking for the right place and the right light to photograph Ms. Acker. The overcast sky is actually working in my favor by creating a soft, low contrast light on the deck. Had the sun been shining I’d have skipped the deck and opted for any available window light.

Ms. Acker shows up and she’s like, waaaay pretty: Great hair, great skin, beautiful eyes. All that translates into a great subject. We shake hands and I shoot her sitting, standing and in about three minutes I’m done. I comment, “I think you’ve done this before,” and she smiles and says, “Yep, a few times.” Turns out that in addition to her acting career, Ms. Acker modeled while in college and was in the 1999 J. Crew catalog.

I thanked her and Carole and beat it back to my car with six minutes left on the meter. I sped west, toward home and the land of ample parking.