LOS ANGELES (TNA) – Living in a Hollywood-hungry environment, it is nearly impossible to stand in a checkout line without flipping through the pages of a celebrity publication. We follow celebrity success, yet that is not what ultimately captures our interest.

What we really want to know is that celebrities are just as human as we are. Celebrities may look flawless in front of the camera, yet we want to see them first thing in the morning on a bad hair day. We want to see them before and after plastic surgery. We want to see them get married and file for divorce six months later.

The paparazzi don't like it when the  tables are turned against them.

For many of us, the cover price of a tabloid seems an inexpensive way to feel better about ourselves. Somehow, our own failures become minimized when we see celebrities cry under the spotlight, their freeze-framed faces captured by the paparazzi.

Clearly it takes a unique type of individual to assume the role of paparazzo. With a livelihood dependent on celebrity scandal, they must be willing to chase the rich and famous at a moment’s notice. They are tainted with a reputation for being invasive, insensitive and utterly ruthless.

Although society relies on them for weekly entertainment, the paparazzi are despised, ridiculed and detested for their aggressive tactics.

But what if the tables were turned on the paparazzi? What would happen if the hunters suddenly became the hunted? On Aug. 17, The Naughty American headed to the streets of Hollywood to give the paparazzi a taste of their own medicine.

First stop: Beverly Hills. In less than 15 minutes our team spotted a pack of nearly 50 photographers camped outside the Good Shepard Catholic Church. The hungry herd waited impatiently for the casket of the late Merv Griffin to make its way into the famed chapel.
 
Among those pacing the sidewalk, one paparazzo appeared to have just stepped out of bed. Rubbing the dark circles beneath his eyes, he was dressed in a Led Zeppelin T-shirt, torn jeans and a florescent-pink baseball cap. Coffee stains and body odor hinted at a sleepless night. Draped around his neck was a Nikon. Over his shoulder was a padded camera bag, now doubling as an insulated cooler for his soda and bag of Cheetos.

Though based in the capital of West Coast fashion, these paparazzi seem oblivious to their own appearance. Their obsession with capturing the elite has somehow dulled their own fashion consciousness. Paparazzi uniforms consist of jeans, hats, sunglasses and T-shirts emblazoned with the names of sports teams or cheap beer. As if caught in a time warp, their hair styles appear dated and unkempt. Although they try to blend into a crowd, the paparazzi just do not fit into society. They are the misfits.

Their disheveled appearance gives silent testimony to a lifestyle without routine or structure. With paychecks dependent on celebrity sightings, they often stay awake for days in anticipation of “the big one.” Sustained with jolts of caffeine and nicotine, they look oddly wired yet extremely fatigued. Some own beachfront property in Malibu, yet spend most of their nights staked out in cars. Meals consist of sunflower seeds, beef jerky and doughnuts.

The paparazzi seemed particularity out of place at the Griffin funeral against the backdrop of somber guests in their three-piece suits. Propped on tripods were telephoto lenses the size of tree trunks, and high-tech video cameras. Several paparazzi relaxed on lawn chairs under shaded trees, waiting expectedly for the call to aim and shoot.

At precisely 3 p.m., the hearse pulled curbside, giving the paparazzi exactly what they had been waiting for. Oblivious to the solemnity of the occasion, a chorus of camera shutters sounded in unison as the casket made its way up the church steps. Dispassionate and desensitized, the crew kept snapping as mourners gathered to pay their respects to the legendary entertainer.

As our team took photographic aim at the line of paparazzi, one of them blocked our camera and said defensively, “We are not paparazzi here. We are legitimate media covering mainstream news. If you really want to chase the paparazzi, go drive up and down Rodeo Drive.”

Among the so-called “media” was famed paparazzo Giles Harrison. Considered by his peers to be “the best in the business,” Harrison is notorious for supplying tabloids with top celebrity exclusives. In 1997, he was charged with a misdemeanor after trying to capture photographs of Arnold Schwarzenegger and a then-pregnant Maria Shriver.

Ten year later, the elusive paparazzo is earning more money than some of the celebrities he photographs. He claims his average day consists of “making the rounds,” from the homes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to Hollywood hot spots like The Ivy restaurant or Sky Bar.

In the midst of the paparazzi chaos, Harrison paused to answer a call from one of his sources. “What?” he screamed into the phone. “Posh is heading eastbound on Santa Monica now? Got it. I just saw her pass in front of the church.”

At light speed, Harrison ran from the memorial service to chase down another profitable celebrity photo. Other paparazzi, who presumably overheard his lucrative tip, followed in hot pursuit.

Responding to the negative press around paparazzi, David Lutman, president of the National Press Photographers Association, says, “In every profession there are people who go too far, who stretch the notions of ethics and decency to the limit and beyond. It’s had a dramatic effect on our image. The marketplace has pushed some aspects of photography in the direction of pursuit journalism. All of us ought to be thinking, ‘Was this necessary?’ High-speed chases are clearly a deplorable extreme, yet somebody is purchasing this stuff.”

Even those within the business recognize the trend. Former National Enquirer editor Steve Coz says, “It is getting crazy. Over the years, it has changed from just observation to hunting people.”

As the price tag for celebrity pictures increases, the number of paparazzi trying to capture those photographs also increases. Further feeding the public’s insatiable appetite are bloggers and web sites like perezhilton.com. Within the past five years, dozens of photo agencies have popped up nationwide, offering members of the public thousands of dollars for low-resolution photographs taken by cell phones and Blackberries.

Splash News reportedly paid $30,000 for a blurry image of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Canada, and an additional $4,500 for a shot of Colin Farrell kissing a brunette in a New York pub. As the competition increases, the tactics used to capture those photos become increasingly invasive.

At its core, Hollywood is not so much about the movies it makes as it is about the faces that grace those movies. This focus breeds celebrity exposure, and with exposure comes publicity, and with publicity comes the paparazzi.

For some photographers, the stress of the job is simply not worth the pay. Retired paparazzo Doug Simmons told The Naughty American that he left the business because of the internal aggression between the paparazzi themselves.

“They block traffic, beat each other up, destroy camera equipment – anything it takes to knock out the competition,” he says. “Some of them move in packs like little gangs while others fight individually. These days the gear is cheap and everything is automatic point-and-shoot. Any Joe Blow off the street can be a paparazzo.”

According to Simmons, the average paparazzo can earn roughly $10,000 a month. Meanwhile, photo agencies routinely generate several million dollars per year. Given those rewards, it is no surprise that paparazzi will go to almost any extreme to get their prized photographs.

Initially, paparazzi used creativity and foresight to land the best pictures. In the late 1980s for example, exclusive pictures of Princess Diana were rumored to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was during this time that legendary paparazzo Phil Ramey rented a submarine at $16,000 a day to snap pictures of the princess sunbathing in the Caribbean.

In 1998, several paparazzi dressed up like llamas to join a herd of animals grazing near the wedding tent of Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan.

No longer relying on careful planning alone, today’s paparazzi tend to turn to paid sources for celebrity sightings. Among their informants are valet parking attendants, nannies, waiters, airline employees and even celebrity publicists. According to one insider, the majority of photo agencies are able to pinpoint the location of any celebrity within two hours. Although many sources are paid for these tips, most of them offer the information simply for publicity.

Once a targeted celebrity is located, there are no rules. Photographers may push, shove, jump in front of the windshield, trespass or break the law to get the pictures they want. Whatever it might take to capture a shot, the paparazzi are determined not to walk away empty-handed.

Such was the case during the Naughty American Hollywood excursion. While casually driving past The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard, our team noticed a swarm of paparazzi pushing and shoving outside a corner furniture store. Moving closer to the scene, our investigators watched as a bodyguard escorted a blonde to her white Range Rover.

Blocked by the paparazzi and unable to get near the scene, we drove directly in front of the celebrity’s SUV, which was now following us. Although considered illegal in the state of California, all of the Range Rover’s windows were tinted.

Following the celebrity car was a trail of five paparazzi vehicles, weaving in and out of traffic. Pulling over to allow the dangerous convoy to pass, we made our way to the end of the line. As we aimed our camera to hunt the “hunters,” one paparazzo became infuriated by our efforts to photograph the escapade.

The chase continued for miles from Beverly Boulevard to the Sunset Strip. Eventually, the celebrity’s driver skillfully waited for a traffic light to turn red before turning swiftly into a residential area off Sunset Boulevard. Without hesitation, all five paparazzi cars ran the red light as well, causing those with the right of way to dodge traffic and swerve from the oncoming motorcade.

Had our team participated in that game, we would have been hit head-on by another car. After waiting for the light to turn green, we lost the chase that had by now made its way into the Hollywood Hills.

Returning to the furniture store where the celebrity was originally spotted, we learned that the star had been Christina Aguilera. Whether rumors of Aguilera’s pregnancy prove to be true, it is undeniable that the artist’s own life was at risk during the car chase. The paparazzi frenzy began even before the SUV first appeared. 

Observing the entire incident was Sarah Chavez, creative director of Diva Furniture, who commented, “There were paparazzi everywhere, trying to take pictures of Christina and her husband shopping. It was like a mob.”

In general, publicity-driven celebrities tend to realize that a co-dependent relationship exists with the paparazzi. While stars normally view the intrusive lens of the paparazzi as harmless, it is the more aggressive tactics that create the negative reaction.

Actor Sylvester Stallone has pointed an accusing finger at the paparazzi. “By and large,” he says, “members of the press are fantastic. We’re talking about a small renegade group. They’re stalkers, legalized stalkers.”

As one might expect, the paparazzi themselves take a different point of view. New York-based photographer Russell Turiak says these pursuits are simply feeding the public’s appetite for celebrity news.

“My feeling is that I am the messenger,” Turiak says. “This fan-addicted mentality and the hunger for the information make the public responsible. The easiest ones to blame are the guys out there taking the pictures everyone wants to see.”

Photos by John Chapple

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