Paparazzi: And Our Obsession with Celebrity

By Peter Howe

Book Overview

Stealth, impersonation, bribery, lock picking, ducking the cops. Oh, yes, and the odd bit of photography, too. No, the paparazzi don't have it easy. They're reviled by their subjects, by their employers, by their voyeuristic audience--and by the fashion and news photographers who think of themselves as artists and the paparazzi as creeps with cameras. They're the bottom feeders who shoot celebrities in all their infamy: drunk, undressed, distressed, lip-locked wih folks who aren't their spouses. They're the hunters and chasers who've nabbed on film everyone from Pamela Anderson to Princess Diana. And we all love it. We may not want to admit it, but we can't get enough of these photos, keeping the paparazzi in business by buying everything from People to the National Enquirer and all the fan magazines and tabloids in between. Paparazzi turns the spotlight on these photographers and their highly paid profession; on the celebrities who are the object of their lenses; and on the society that begs them to capture these megastars in both ordinary and compromising positions. The top practitioners of this global pop art, along with the photo agency owners, magazine editors, and the stars themselves, give us stories of the famous and infamous we've never heard before. It's our golden opportunity to get behind the viewfinder and see the hunted from the hunter's point of view. Paparazzi turns the spotlight on these photographers and their highly paid profession; on the celebrities who are the object of their lenses; and on the society that begs them to capture these megastars in both ordinary and compromising positions. The top practitioners of this global pop art, along with the photo agency owners, magazine editors, and the stars themselves, give us stories of the famous and infamous we've never heard before. It's our golden opportunity to get behind the viewfinder and see the hunted from the hunter's point of view.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579652778
• ISBN13: 9781579652777
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Artisan
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 2.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 12.0" x 0.7" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Paparazzi: Society loves to Hate them

I found this book very helpful for a paper I am writing. I am a firm believer in celebrity's having their privacy and should not have their private lives written about in magazines etc. What this book points out is the hypocrisy of the majority of people...while many people feel the Paparazzi go too far, they do not take a stand and are happy to buy magazines and support the Paparazzi's work. I found this book to be well balanced because it presents the Paparazzi's opinions as well and, although I personally disagree with them, it is very interesting to see how they think of themselves, their tactics and what they think of the celebrities as well. Howe's narrative is also interesting as he explores the issues of privacy, the issue of children, the First Amendment etc and society's massive consumption of tabloid information. I couldn't help grinning ear to ear when paparazzo Steven Ginsburg told his story about Brad Pitt hiring people to follow his car, camp outside his house and follow him wherever he went with cameras to make Ginsburg see what being hunted down was really like (by the way, Ginsburg said he hated it, yet still does it to other people). Good on you, Brad. If you want a book that goes into the debates, issues and opinions, get this book.

Fascinating look at the photographers who hound celebritites

Peter Howe has done a terrific job at explaining who the paparazzi are, what compels them (think $$$) and why we're compelled to look at their work (think celebrity driven culture). His commentary is insightful and his interviews with the paparazzi are lively and revealing. Howe, an experienced photo editor, has chosen a wonderful collection of pictures. My own favorite: a National Enquirer shot of a bleary eyed Harrison Ford during a bar binge with partying fans.

THE MOST HATED YET THE HIGHEST PAID

For most of us, just the name "paparazzi" brings forth thoughts of stalkers, intruders, low lifes who seek to profit from photographs of the famous, particularly in private moments. According to author Peter Howe, that's not too far off. He speaks to paparazzi as follows: You will be "despised by your subjects, your peers, and the public, the ultimate consumers of your work. You will run afoul of security guards and publicists, lawyers and the police. You will be punched, spat upon, and have any number of objects thrown at you. And you will earn a great deal of money." Mr Howe also asks why if everyone hates their work, are paparazzi the highest paid photo journalists in the world? He posits a simple answer - because we are a celebrity obsessed society and crave every news tidbit and photo of celebrities. Further, he notes that while we condemn paparazzi we stand in line to buy copies of People Magazine or The National Enquirer (think of the magazine copies sold containing beach photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie). Whether we can't wait for a glimpse of the latest intimate photo or detest paparazzi so much that we wouldn't add a penny to their wallets, Mr. Howe has created an interesting study of their work. He's a former picture editor for the New York Times Magazine and director of photography for Life. In 173 folio size pages Mr. Howe treats his subject objectively and with amazing thoroughness. We learn of the paparazzi's early days (it was much easier in the 1950s when young Italians first discovered they could brings in some extra lira by selling photos of vacationing celebs to newspapers and magazines.) Money has always been the paparazzi's prime interest - they pursue those whose photos will fetch the highest price, and they'll do anything to accomplish this. Perhaps the most far-out example of their no-holds-barred attiude is photographer Phil Ramey who hired a submarine to get shots of Princess Diana on a Caribbean island. Most paparazzi are male and, frankly, not a particularly likable lot as they don't seem to care what anyone thinks of them and are extremely driven. We're reminded that paparazzo Ron Galella wore a football helmet to try to catch snaps of Marlon Brando after an early encounter with the actor put Galella in the hospital minus five teeth. For the paparazzi life isn't all hiding in bushes as Ben Affleck led one on a 120 mph chase. The other side of the coin is that A-List celebrities need to have their photos in print or they'll soon be C-Listers. Perhaps Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have the best idea of all - they allow the paparazzi limited access which significantly diminishes intrusiveness. Whatever the case, it seems that paparazzi are here to stay (not at all discouraged by the 15 packets of ketchup Brad Pitt frosted a cheeseburger with before tossing it at a photographer). In addition to interviews with many of the featured photographers "Paparazzi" holds o