I interned with someone famous but not sure if I should mention their name in my activities description or just the name of their company. Their company name is not as recognizable. But I worry if I say, “Interned for Academy Award winning director, John Doe,…” it would sound like I’m name dropping or emphasizing their accomplishments over mine. But at the same time, it’s kind of a big deal. I plan to also describe what I did as an intern.
Did you a actually work with this person directly, learning from them, being exposed to their specific skills that would improve your skill set? If so, I would include it along with a description of your activities and gained skills, which hopefully tie back to the named person.
Simply working in the same building as, or at a company owned by, a famous person doesn’t really do anything for you. Name-dropping would probably even work against you.
“I clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts” is meaningful. “I served food in the building of the offices of Chief Justice John Roberts” is not 
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I would only avoid the name if it were one of these recently disgraced child molesters/sexual predators/college admission cheaters/ etc., and I’m pretty sure that’s not the case.
Otherwise, if you are describing in detail what you did, you’re not name dropping, just creating a frame of reference.
Actually, if you put it that way, it does seem rather obvious. I hadn’t thought of it that way. For my main internship, I just worked on one of their projects but all of my interaction was with one of their departments and not the famous person directly at all. But then, later, I was fortunate enough to be invited to work on one small project directly with them. By far the majority of my internship was not directly with the person though. Maybe I could break out the two “projects” as separate activities on the Common App since the work was actually quite different between the two projects? Mention them in the one where I actually worked with them and not name them in the other project?
My D volunteered for a local music-related organization/performance venue as the director of their video livestreams. Another volunteer who oversaw the audio component was a Grammy award winner. She listed her volunteering experience referring to the organization/venue as a national landmark that is celebrated by the Library of Congress (which is what their website says) and that she collaborated with a Grammy-winning music producer (they occupied the same office and worked together closely). Neither the person nor the location were mentioned by name on her application or resume but at each interview she had, the AO made sure to ask her about it. Her experience was unique and stood out to the point where it was a memorable conversation starter. That activity is not what got her admitted, for sure, but it helped show who she is as a person outside of the classroom.
Sometimes, less is more. Making someone ask questions is better because it isn’t name dropping and shows more interest than just saying you got to work with someone famous.
If you name drop, name drop for a purpose consistent with your goal.
As an example: A friend–many years ago–applied to an ultra selective screen writing program and name dropped a very famous director for whom he was an intern. Resulted in a decades long career as one of the most successful casting directors in Hollywood.
Mentioning a famous person will not get you in. You said the project was small. I don’t see any point, and if you add a lot of fluff to the project, they are likely to see right through it. I say don’t bother, unless the famous person happens to be famous for something connected to the college you apply to.
Thank you all for your thoughts on this! I think I will do what helpingmom40 suggested. I will just leave out the person’s name but if it comes up in interviews, I will be able to explain my role on their film projects. Also, if the admissions people are curious, they could always google the film company’s name and know who the person is.
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