Any NBA forward will tell you that it’s hard to get good position on Dennis Rodman, so it’s no surprise to hear the same thing from photographer Blake Little, who shot this month’s cover. From the moment the Chicago Bulls star arrived at SmashBox Studios in Culver City, California, Little says, he was difficult. He was so peeved about having to spend his afternoon before the camera that he initially refused to cooperate and threatened to leave. At one point—living up to his nickname, the Worm—Rodman even slithered out the back door (luckily, his manager had the car keys, so a sheepish Rodman had to come back inside). Things eventually settled down, though, and Little was able to proceed with the shoot. “In those situations, when you know someone’s not going to stick around, you have to work fast,” says the 41-year-old, who has done work for Esquire and Time and previously captured rising Hollywood stars Renée Zellweger and Peri Gilpin for Texas Monthly. Little adds that he empathizes with Rodman and his celebrity ilk: “I’m used to it. These people end up not having a life. They’re pushed and pulled and told where to go, and I’m sure at some point they just say, ‘Forget it.’”
