Whether it be a Monet watercolor, a Frank Lloyd Wright home, a Henry Moore sculpture, or a Michael Jordan jump shot, they all share one commonality. No price too high does an original bear.

That fits Brett Ratner too. His success may come from his talent, but there are many talented people. It is his persona that is singular. Truth’s truth, that persona comes through in Hilhaven Lodge: The Photobooth Pictures, Brett’s totally original forthcoming book. While rolls of quarters were its budget, rolls of millions couldn’t have bought its cast. It is a revelation, capturing Hollywood’s famous and infamous through the magic of the still frame. Brett looks upon this collection as he would any major film production.

No makeup, no airbrushing, just a photographic remembrance of time spent together.

Here is a young director, an artist, whose films (Red Dragon, Rush Hour 2) have grossed into the stratosphere, whose dance card is filled for years to come, who can maestro most anything he wishes. Yeah, but that isn’t as important to him as taking the many friends he has embraced at his home into an antique photo booth he has set up—no more sophisticated than one you would see at an arcade—and snapping strips of pictures. No lighting, no makeup, no airbrushing, just a photographic remembrance of time spent together. It is the only book of photography I have ever seen that captures personas—especially of Hollywood personalities—this candidly.

Like its creator, Hilhaven Lodge: The Photobooth Pictures is a one of a kind that only a kid who has extraordinary vision and is totally devoid of pretense could have pulled off.