Paparazzi feel the heat in California

For years Hollywood's paparazzi have hounded celebrities, but now -- with help from local politicians, a lawyer in the Monica Lewinsky case, and even Malibu surfers -- they are the ones feeling the heat.

In Los Angeles and the nearby beachside enclave of Malibu, city leaders want to slap restrictions on the paparazzi citing safety concerns. But the paps, along with legal experts, say they are protected by their right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution.

"The paparazzo is just as much covered by the First Amendment as you or I, or any Joe Schmo up the street," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Virginia-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

"I don't think under any First Amendment law you can single out a paparazzi photographer," she said.

Still, many people are trying.

Numerous Hollywood celebrities, ranging from Mel Gibson to Britney Spears, have homes in posh Malibu and as a result, it has become a magnet for photographers looking for stars.

In late June, several Malibu surfers swarmed some paparazzi who had gathered at a beach to get shots of "Fool's Gold" actor Matthew McConaughey, 38, as he surfed.

A fight ensued, was captured on video and posted online showing the shirtless surfers -- some apparently holding beer bottles -- battling with the photographers.

"No one who lives here wants you here," one surfer yells.

TAXING THE PAPS

One week later, peace seemed to reign on Malibu's beaches as surfers handed out flowers to the paparazzi in a gesture of goodwill after the two groups traded threats online for days and as sheriff's deputies patrolled to prevent further fights.

Still, Malibu officials are considering regulations that include buffer zones around certain areas, licensing photographers and taxing revenues from the photos they take.

Malibu City Councilman Andy Stern supports new rules, but declined to say specifically what is under consideration.

He told Reuters he himself has experienced perilous situations as paparazzi tailed celebrities on a key stretch of highway in Malibu.

"My obligation is to protect everyone, not just the paparazzi," Stern said. "If they want us to ignore them, that's just not going to happen."

Malibu officials are getting advice from Kenneth Starr, the attorney whose investigation of former President Bill Clinton led to the uncovering of his sexual liaison with Monica Lewinsky and caused his impeachment. Starr is dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu.

Earlier this year in nearby Los Angeles, City Councilman Dennis Zine proposed restrictions on the paparazzi, suggesting they be kept several feet away from stars they photograph.

"It's becoming more combative where people are saying they've had enough with these people," Zine said.

"Right now, you have no laws that really apply. You have a chaotic situation that keeps on getting worse," he said.

Zine points to the 1997 death of Princess Diana, who was killed in the Paris car crash along with companion Dodi al-Fayed as the paparazzi pursued them, as an example of why Los Angeles needs restrictions on celebrity photographers.

NOT SO FAST, COUNCILMAN

The number of paparazzi tailing Hollywood's young elite has swelled in recent years, and dozens of photographers often crowd celebrity hot spots. In decades past, top restaurants and clubs attracted only three or four.

Starchasing is easier for the paparazzi in California and the United States than in some countries in Europe, where privacy laws favor stars. In France, for example, the paps often must get a celebrity's permission to take and distribute a picture.

Lower costs for photo equipment and growing demand from magazine editors for shots of celebrities doing every-day things -- instead of looking coiffed on the red carpet -- also has contributed to the growing numbers of paparazzi.

"They want to see them with their hair kind of messed up, they want to see them with maybe some spaghetti sauce on their shirt, they want to see them a little bit pudgy," said Brad Elterman, co-owner of Los Angeles-based agency Buzz Foto.

Paparazzi -- many of whom are immigrants -- can sell the same picture to different magazines and make thousands of dollars on a single shot, an income stream that affords top photographers nice cars and flexible hours, Elterman said.

"It's like the Mafia, once you're in you never want to leave," he said.

Experts said that authorities in California could crack down on the paparazzi's excesses by enforcing current traffic and trespassing laws. Still, those clamp-downs would not affect the ease with which unflattering celebrity photos are transmitted on the Internet, or the public's demand for more.

"We're in an age where no one really knows where the lines can or should be drawn," said Gary Morgan, CEO of the L.A.-based celebrity photo agency Splash News.

Malibu to address paparazzi brawl

The violence between paparazzi and Malibu residents that broke out in two incidents during the past weekend, and then became international news when videos were posted on the Internet and broadcast in the mainstream media, has resulted in a press conference being called for Wednesday this week at City Hall at 5 p.m. City councilmember Jefferson Wagner said that possibly Kenneth Starr, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law, will attend and speak about the city's efforts to curb the infringement of personal and private property rights. The city had asked Starr and other legal experts in May to help draft a new ordinance that would restrict the harassment of local residents by paparazzi.

Criminal complaints have also been filed from both camps in the altercations, said Detective Sgt. James Royal of the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff's Station.

"[There are] allegations and counter allegations," Royal said, adding that Sheriff's detectives are interviewing witnesses and victims, as well as viewing videos of the incidents.

The first fracas took place on Saturday at about 2 p.m. when a group of residents and local surfers confronted a group of about 12 paparazzi at what is known as Little Dume Beach. Armed with video and still cameras with telephoto lenses, the celebrity photographers were attempting to capture images of actor Matthew McConaughey, who was surfing at Little Dume.

Eyewitnesses say a group of about 15 young men and some women walked south along the beach to confront the paparazzi. The photographers redirected their cameras from McConaughey to the approaching group. The men and women told the paparazzi that they were not welcome and insisted they leave. The paparazzi refused to leave and the confrontation escalated into taunting, foul language, physical threats and ultimately physical violence, as the videos posted online show.

The online videos also show several of the surfers holding what appear to be cans and/or bottles of beer.

One beachgoer who witnessed the altercation, but did not want to be identified, explained the local resident side of the confrontation: "The paparazzi were there to shoot and harass Matthew McConaughey, who just wanted to go surfing and chill out with his pregnant girlfriend on the beach. He has to ignore them because if he confronts them, they just egg him on and try to blow up the situation and make him look dumb, like they did with Steve Guttenberg while he was jogging. The paparazzi heckle people so they can't have a life and it's not fair. It's not fair to be on your own in your backyard and want to be hanging out with your friends. We told them to leave, and they didn't leave and it blew up from there."

At one point, one of the paparazzi allegedly pulled a knife and threatened the group of residents, inspiring a full-scale brawl between the residents and paparazzi. Video of this incident shows two surfers chasing a paparazzo down to the water's edge, and it appears that a video camera went into the water. After the initial altercation ended, the paparazzi were again asked to leave. The violence escalated again when a paparazzi and one of the surfers exchanged blows - the surfer using his hand, the paparazzi using a metal tripod. Several of the paparazzi recorded these fights with video cameras, and within a couple of hours, edited video appeared on the www.tmz.com and http://x17online.com/ Web sites.

Neither of two videos posted online shows the entire confrontation, but one of the individuals involved claimed that a paparazzi video camera was thrown in the water, one suffered a broken nose, and that several of the residents received moderate injuries.

On Sunday, the paparazzi returned to Malibu, this time with what witnesses described as a "security force" of "martial arts bad asses." The paparazzi boldly walked up the beach, daring anyone to confront them, witnesses said. A security guard from a local homeowner's group was sent to the beach in anticipation of trouble. The paparazzi photographed and recorded from the beach and bluff side, and were told to leave several times by the guard. The video from this Sunday incident also was shown on TMZ and elsewhere. The video shows the paparazzi walking south down the beach, trading insults with beachgoers at a spot close to Paradise Cove called The Hut. At some point, another fight broke out at the water's edge.

According to various witnesses, one of the paparazzi kicked one of the residents in the head, and another was backed down to the beach by a girlfriend of one of the residents. One of the video clips shows a paparazzi shaking water out of an expensive video camera, and the Los Angeles Times reported that $13,000 worth of cameras were destroyed.

According to the local residents, the local Sheriff's station was alerted to this incident as it was developing. The paparazzi, as seen on one of the videos, called to file a report. In the video, two people are shown being driven away in a Sheriff's car. However, L.A. County Sheriff spokesman Steve Whitmore said "There were no arrests. Those two people in the back of the Sheriff's vehicle were alleged victims who were giving their reports."

City Councilmember Jefferson Wagner, who is also a local surfer and has known some of the surfers seen in the videos since they were toddlers, said of the incidents, "It's a pretty sad event, that [something like this] comes to fist cuffs and physical violence, involving free speech [on behalf of the paparazzi] and property rights [of local residents.]"

Wagner has received dozens of e-mails, many critical of the locals involved. One person asked, "Are the beaches in Malibu safe? I see all these drunken surfers and fights on TV."

Wagner responded, "Be aware that the video of this fracas was edited before being displayed on the Internet. The video editor's intention was to sway the viewers into believing that there was an unruly beach gang. I know many of the individuals in the footage and they do not resort to violence."

Legislation in the works

Regarding the effort to draft legislation to protect Malibu residents, Wagner said the idea of instituting some sort of business licensing requirement for paparazzi to photograph in Malibu has been discussed.

"The paparazzi sell photos, that is commerce," he said. "What they are doing is commerce on the beach."

State law requires that anyone photographing for commercial purposes on state or public land, whether for compensation or not, must file for a permit, as well as provide a certificate of insurance. However, "breaking news" coverage is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and does not require a permit.

Wagner suggested if legislation is rephrased so that paparazzi are required to file for a permit to shoot, then they "will all line up ... [and] at least we'll know who they are, so we will have legal recourse if they violate laws."

Monday morning Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley-Ulich issued an official press release on the subject: "Any new ordinance must be in harmony with the First Amendment free speech rights, which are so important. I am hopeful we can develop and implement an effective strategy that will address outstanding public safety concerns and balance those concerns against protected First Amendment activities and commercial activities."

Meanwhile, residents are dismayed and frustrated by the weekend's events.

Heather Gardner, a teacher at Malibu High School, was at the beach on Saturday and witnessed the altercations from a distance. She said she was dealing with a paparazzo intrusion of her own when a female photographer had invaded her and a friend's beach space while attempting to take photos of McConaughey's pregnant girlfriend Camila Alves.

"This never has happened," Gardner said. "I go all time to the beach. This is the first time I've really seen massive paparazzi ... because Matthew McConaughey started surfing closer to here."

Sgt. Royal confirmed the rarity of the incidents: "[It was] very unusual ... the way events unfolded."

Gardner added, "They have no respect for common people or the people they're taking photos of. They just want the $50,000 for photos ..."

Paparazzo Sues Woody Harrelson For $2.5 Million

A paparazzi photographer has sued Woody Harrelson for US$2.5 million, after the actor allegedly assaulting him and smashed his video camera during an incident in June 2006.

Josh Levine filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (June 20), in which he alleges that Harrelson attempted to choke him in the scuffle before breaking his video camera and ordering his security to get involved.

According to the documents, Levine says he continues to suffer mental, physical and emotional pain as a result of the run-in. He is also suing Harrelson’s bodyguard.

Violent Surfers Shred Paps Over McConaughey

Around 12 photographers were on the beach in Malibu this afternoon trying to get shots of Matty hitting the surf, when an all-out smackdown was laid on the pappers by turf-protecting surfers.

One pap was hit in the face and we're told suffered a broken nose, while another was thrown into some rocks and had his camera smashed. McConaughey was not involved in the ruckus.

Police tell us a battery report was filed by one photographer but no arrests have been made.

Sienna: The paparazzi push you to the limit

Sienna Miller has admitted that lashing out at the paparazzi is hard to avoid for many celebrities.

The Edge of Love star, who shot to fame once she began dating Jude Law, is now a greatly-respected actress but no less hounded by the tabloid press.

And having made the headlines recently over her breakup with Rhys Ifans, Miller has explained that press attention can be difficult to handle.

Speaking on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, she said: "If you take away the cameras, it's weird.

"They shout 'slut'. They do things that you'll react to, and I'm defensive, they do provoke you, it's not fun."

Like many celebrities, the 26-year-old is repeatedly followed by the paparazzi, with Otis Ferry - son of Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry - in court recently after stealing the car keys of a snapper who had pursued he and Miller away from a club.

However Miller, a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, said she avoids reading the papers if she can help it.

And when asked about the reporting of her split with Ifans, she said: "I hear it's been a bad week."

"There'll be grains of truth, but it's massively exaggerated," she added.

Miller can currently be seen alongside Keira Knightley and Matthew Rhys in The Edge of Love.

Paparazzi agency wants Ledger drug lawsuit dismissed

A paparazzi agency, accused of deliberately giving cocaine to late actor Health Ledger, and then secretly taping him at a SAG party in 2006, wants the lawsuit filed against them to be dismissed.

A paparazzi agency, accused of deliberately giving cocaine to late actor Health Ledger, and then secretly taping him at a SAG party in 2006, wants the lawsuit filed against them to be dismissed.

The attorneys for Splash News are asking to dismiss the filed by a woman identified only as Jane Doe, as there is not enough evidence to support some of her allegations, while other claims weren't filed before the statute of limitations expired, reports E! Online

The plaintiff claims that she was also caught on the tape, which was shot in her hotel room without her consent, and is seeking damages for fraud, intrusion, infliction of emotional distress and privacy violations.

However, Splash lawyers claim that her face was "blurred out" in the footage and therefore her privacy has not been violated.

They said that other parts of her claim are false because she "has improperly attempted to assert the rights of a dead celebrity within her complaint."

The agency lawyers have also filed papers requesting removal of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John P. Shook, on the grounds he is prejudiced against the agency.

The lawsuit states that, one of the photogs "gave Ledger a package of cocaine. Mr. Ledger also had some of his own. The cocaine was put on the table [in a hotel room reserved by the plaintiff], and the men began snorting cocaine."

Ledger did not know that the second Splash photographer was "outside our hotel room, on the balcony, hidden, shooting video footage of everyone in the room," the suit continues.

When he did discover he was being taped, Ledger got angry and he was promised the tape would be destroyed, the suit says.

Mayer slams paparazzi for hounding him, girlfriend Aniston

Rocker John Mayer has slammed photographers for hounding him and his actress girlfriend Jennifer Aniston. Mayer reportedly started seeing the former “Friends” star in April and they have been in the limelight ever since, contactmusic.com reported.

He said: “It’s so rosy… (but its) these moments (of being chased by photographers) that are not at all rosy, are seemingly earthquakes of frustration and anxiety.”

Mayer still did not confirm that he and Aniston are involved.

“We live in a world where you can see everything about me. There’s not a thing I could deny. So I’m not denying anything,” he said.

Kidman Bodyguard Lies Down To End Late-Night New York Street Chase

Nicole Kidman has found a new way of thwarting the paparazzi when she's in New York -- her bodyguard lies down in the street to end car chases.

The pregnant actress was in no mood to pose for pictures on Thursday night after visiting the theater with husband Keith Urban, but snappers waiting for her outside the Big Apple's Music Box weren't about to miss the chance of getting a shot.

After hurrying out of the West 45th Street theater at 11 p.m. and trying to shoo the paparazzi away with an umbrella, Kidman, Urban, the actress' bodyguard Wayne and a driver sped off into the New York night in the back of an SUV.

But the eager paps gave chase and thought their luck had changed when Kidman's vehicle stopped.

Wayne stepped out and lay down on the ground between the SUV and the paparazzi and refused to get up until Kidman and company were long gone.

One baffled photographer tells WENN, "It was unbelievable. We couldn't move. I've never seen anything like this. After about five minutes, this guy just got up, wished us all a nice evening and strolled off.

"You can only hope that Nicole pays this guy a fortune.

"That said, Wayne has a great pedigree in New York -- he knows all the snappers and he's often seen with high-profile celebrities. He's an in-demand guy and, after tricks like this, you can see why."

CORRENS, France- The new game in Correns, a village in Provence suddenly hit by media frenzy since Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie moved into a nearby villa, is to make up stories about the couple for the paparazzi.

You will be treated to a free glass of pastis if you can get a particularly silly story published, mischievous residents said, declining to be named.

Pitt and Jolie, who is pregnant with twins, are staying at the sprawling Miraval domain, near Correns, where they enjoy nearly 1,000 acres of woods and vineyards, a gorgeous 17th-century villa, a swimming pool and helicopter pad.

News of their arrival with their four children has drawn paparazzi from all over the world who now engage in a daily game of cat-and-mouse with security guards under strict instructions to protect the family's privacy.

"They came here to find some peace, and instead there are paparazzi at the gate day and night. It's really unbearable. There are always five or six motorbikes and cars ready to launch into a chase," said Christine, a sympathetic local winemaker.

Rumor has it in the village that decoy limousines with black-tinted windows exit the property every so often to lure the photographers away, while the couple known as "Brangelina" travel only by helicopter.

For residents of Correns, the horde of reporters and other visitors keen to catch sight of the A-list Hollywood stars has provided entertainment -- and some extra business.

"It's bringing business because people are a little curious. For now there's a lot of hype, it's going to be good for the next few weeks and after that we'll see," said Onno Stijl, a chef at the Auberge du Parc hotel and restaurant.

Less impressed are the local hunting enthusiasts, who say the Miraval domain is prime territory for boar and who fear tense encounters with the Pitt-Jolie security guards when the season starts on August 15.

"We have the proper authorizations and everything," said a local hunter, pre-empting any possible objection to the annual shooting fest in the Miraval woods.

Knightley: 'Paparazzi fell out of trees'

Keira Knightley has revealed that paparazzi would fall out of trees trying to photograph her on the set of her new film.

The 23-year-old said that working on a low-budget movie made it easier for snappers to get on to the Welsh set for The Edge Of Love.

"We did have paparazzi falling out of trees," she said. "It was actually really difficult. If you're working on a big film, you can deal with the amount of media attention.

"When you're on a tiny, little film it is really difficult. There were occasions where there were more photographers than cast and crew members. It was just extraordinary."

However, Knightley confessed that she is used to being chased by the press.

She said: "I grit my teeth when I say this, but it comes with the territory. It is part of the job. Just grin and smile through it."

Spears cleared in paparazzi incident

Prosecutor reviewed video, which showed the entertainer 'inching forward' through a throng of photographers. He said there was no proof she was aware of an injury.

Subtract one from the host of legal problems facing Britney Spears.

The district attorney's office announced today that it would not pursue criminal charges against the troubled performer for a November incident in which she allegedly drove her car over a photographer's foot.

A prosecutor wrote in court papers that he reviewed Internet video of Spears, 26, leaving the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills through a crush of paparazzi.

"There was much commotion and noise at the time and there is no proof that the suspect was aware of what had happened," Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph D. Shidler wrote, noting that she "was inching forward" in a straight line through the throng of cameras. A charge of failing to perform duties after an accident would have required "a willful act" by Spears, Shidler wrote.

The prosecutor added that there was no video evidence that the man was hit, but said that if he was, it was because he placed his foot in front of the vehicle's tire.

According to the papers, Spears told police "she had no recollection of the event and that she was not aware at the time that her car had come in contact with anyone." It was one of three times last fall that Spears allegedly rolled her vehicle over the foot of a bystander while surrounded by paparazzi, but the only one authorities turned over to prosecutors.

Attorneys for Spears are due in court Tuesday for a hearing concerning her estate and finances. Her father, James Spears, has controlled her medical care and assets since February when he was named co-conservator of her estate.

The estate has paid James Spears, who left his job as a chef to care for his daughter, $2,500 a week since March. In court papers unsealed Monday, he asked for back payment for the initial month of his conservatorship before the payment arrangement was in place.

In the declaration, James Spears details day-to-day life as his famous child's caretaker in the weeks after she was hospitalized for psychiatric problems. He wrote that his schedule was packed with meetings with her doctors, lawyers, business associates and friends. He describes preparing her dinner and taxiing her to a dance studio where she taught children.

"I spent most nights at Britney's house to ensure her comfort and well-being. I spent a good deal of every day conversing with Britney," he wrote.

Jodie Foster Hits Back At The Paparazzi

It's safe to say that Jodie Foster isn't enjoying her new-found status as a paparazzi magnet.

The actress - who left long-time partner Cydney Bernard for another woman last month - hit out at shutterbugs after they attempted to photograph her sharing a car with a mystery female.

Foster threw her blue and white handbag in the face of a photographer as she tried to get into the car.

Golden age of paparazzi celebrated

At a time when the paparazzi are increasingly vilified, and celebrities win court cases against them for invasion of privacy, their work and methods are to be honoured in Berlin this week with a spectacular exhibition at the Helmut Newton Foundation.

Newton, who died in 2004, was certainly no street-corner snapper himself. He specialised in intricately staged, often kinky photos of naked women, many of which can be seen at the foundation. But he was intrigued by the paparazzi and, in the early 1970s, paid six of them to snap away at one of his own clothed models, as if they were on the chase. Newton then photographed the episode himself.

Unfortunately, the paps decided to sell the shoot to their own outlets and Newton had to dig even deeper into his pockets to buy back their film. The result, called Linea

Italiana after the publication which commissioned the project, takes pride of place in Berlin.

Newton's admiration for two pioneers of the genre is central to the show. One was Erich Salomon, who covered the 1929 trial of a Berlin killer by hiding a camera in his hat. The images allowed him to turn professional; Salomon subsequently became one of the most famous photojournalists of the 1930s.

In the US at the same time, Arthur Fellig ('Weegee') focussed on down-and-outs, disaster and death (his nickname is a Brooklyn distortion of 'Ouija'). By listening to police radio exchanges, he'd get to accidents and crime scenes before the cops, and snap what he found.

After the war, the world's taste for glamour, film and fame generally replaced human upset. Snappers gained power: catching a star unawares and knowing how

to sell the image was a new kind of journalism.

Edward Quinn was the snapper- doyen of the French Riviera in the 1950s. His shot of a sylph- like Kim Novak leaning back, exhausted, in a lift at Cannes is one of this show's most unexpectedly serene.

But more often it's an ugly trade. Ron Galella's encounter with Marlon Brando in 1973 led to the Jackie Onassis-obsessed paparazzo losing five teeth from a Brando punch. The next time they met, someone else snapped the moment - and there's Galella, behind the star, wearing a hilarious protective helmet.

It was Federico Fellini's 1960 film La Dolce Vita which spawned the word 'paparazzi': the film's snapper of celebs is called Paparazzo. He was based on Tazio Secchiaroli, an Italian photographer who had become famous in Rome two years earlier for splashing King Farouk,

Ron Galella lost five teeth to a Marlon Brando punch. The next time that the two met, he wore a helmet

Anita Ekberg and Ava Gardner across magazines on the same day.

Many Secchiaroli photos are in the Berlin show, but the most numerous are by another Italian, Jean Pigozzi.

Pigozzi has spent 30 years befriending the super-famous and getting himself snapped (usually holding the camera himself) next to the world's most recognisable faces. Mick Jagger, Clint Eastwood, Hugh Grant, a 24-year-old Carla Bruni: all are here in a section called 'Pigozzi and Co'. This is celebrity-chasing with a twist: pursuer becomes subject. If anything, Pigozzi is simply saying how silly the whole thing is.
Celebs including Mick Jagger are expected at the opening. Berlin's paps will, of course, take the Helmut Newton Foundation by storm.

Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin, June 20 - November 16

Smile! Lily Allen gives paparazzi the run-around in Beverley Hills

She was lapping up the attention earlier this week, but it looks like Lily Allen’s affection for the paparazzi could soon wear off.

The Smile singer has been spotted dodging a mass of eager paparazzi in Beverley Hills.

Arms full of shopping and cigarette in hand, the 26-year-old fled across the street, with the paparazzi in hot pursuit.

The pint-sized star was taking a break from her hectic recording schedule, with a shopping trip to Sunset plaza.

She touched down in the US just earlier this week to work on her second album and has already been hassled by photographers.

She wrote on her blog on Tuesday: ‘I have never been followed like we were today, there were literally 20 cars of [paparazzi] with us.

Apparently enjoying being the centre of attention, she added: 'Not that I'm complaining, they were perfectly pleasant, in fact we had a bit of a laugh with them and I quite fancied one of them.'

In fact, she only had one criticism of the paparazzi. Urging them to downsize their gas-guzzling SUVs, she wrote: 'Boys, go green.'

RUBIO FORCED TO SIT DOWN WITH SNAPPER SHE BEAT UP

Latino pop superstar PAULINA RUBIO's 37th birthday plans have been ruined by a court decision she must pay a photographer she beat up in Miami, Florida.

A city judge has assigned a mediator to the case between the singer and paparazzo Luz Amanda Orozco, insisting Rubio must come to an agreement with the snapper.

Rubio, who turns 37 next week (beg16Jun08), reportedly lashed out at Orozco when she spotted her trying to take pictures and then refused to pay the photographer the money she asked for when she filed a lawsuit against the singer.

Orozco is demanding $500,000 (GBP250,000) in injuries and damages incurred in the 2006 fight, according to PeopleEnEspanol.com.

Rubio has denied all the accusations, even though she can clearly be seen fighting with the snapper. And she claims she was physically abused by another photographer at the scene.

Knightley Stalked By Paparazzi

Irish actor Cillian Murphy has slammed the paparazzi for stalking his co-stars Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller on the U.K. set of their forthcoming movie The Edge Of Love.

The star claims the actresses were harassed daily by the British press - and admits watching the photographers' behaviour made him feel uncomfortable.

He tells Britain's Harper's Bazaar magazine, "It's not a pleasant thing to witness happening to such cool girls, and it makes it very hard for them to concentrate on their job.

"I totally admire them for putting up with it - if I walked out of my house every morning and there were 15 men waiting to photograph me, I couldn't do it."

Police deployed against paparazzi

The most terrifying words in the Hollywood lexicon, apart from “slow opening weekend”, are “spoiler alert”. This is a bloody sport of amateur one-upmanship in the era of the camera-phone, the hyperactive blogger and those nuts who tried to hack into the Transformers set computers no fewer than 7,000 times last year. Less effort is made easing world hunger.

Fudgy snaps can ruin a film’s reputation months before it opens. The threat of plot-spoilers kept Steven Spielberg awake while polishing his crystal skulls, irritated JK Rowling as American papers gave away Deathly Hallows details, and provoked the geeks of Lost to film three different actors embalmed in a coffin for the final Big Reveal of the current season.

The heaviest hand has been laid on would-be paparazzi in New Orleans, where Brad Pitt has just finished shooting The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which he is born old but grows more golden every day. Others might just call that living with Angelina Jolie. Dozens of the city’s police were deployed to enforce antique antiloitering laws against anyone spotted with a lens - including tourists. Murders, meanwhile, went on at their usual pace.

Tyler 'Scared' Of Paparazzi

Hollywood actress LIV TYLER is so scared of the paparazzi, she once "blacked out" after her family were pursued by them.

The Incredible Hulk star is not stranger to press interest - she is the daughter of legendary Aerosmith rocker Steve Tyler.

But Tyler draws the line at her son being photographed.

She says, "I have a couple of times had a reaction where I've just blacked out. Because they are scary sometimes, and as a mother you are so protective."

Paparazzi accused of stalking actress

A celebrity photographer accused of stalking Jamie Lynn Spears and her fiance in a small Mississippi town has been arrested.

Edwin Merino, 30, of Los Angeles, posted bond yesterday.

He is scheduled to appear in court next week.

Authorities in Liberty, a small town in southwest Mississippi near the Louisiana border, said Merino wouldn't leave the pregnant Spears and her fiance, Casey Aldridge, alone.

Merino denied the accusations in a phone interview today with The Associated Press.

He said that he was about 60 metres away from the couple using a long lens when he was arrested at a petrol station.

Spears and Aldridge have been the subject of intense attention since she announced her pregnancy in December.

She said then she was 12 weeks along, which would make the 17-year-old due any time.

Merino said he'd had little luck taking pictures of the couple and was preparing to leave the area.

“I've seen the young man Casey in pictures,” Merino said. “I haven't worked on them myself. The first time I got a good look at him was in court.”

Spears' family representatives did not immediately return messages today.

Merino has worked as a celebrity photographer for five years.

He was one of the paparazzi who snared pictures of Jamie Lynn Spears' older sister, Britney, without underwear.

Merino said he was the only photographer following the younger Spears during most of his four days in the Liberty area.

“I just think since I was the only one there, it was just easier for them to single me out,” Merino said.

Merino's arrest was first reported by the McComb Enterprise-Journal.

Merino said he didn't spend any significant time in jail.

A deputy drove him to three automated teller machines and he got the $US1,143 ($A1,195) he needed to be released.

In the end, Merino said the trip was a waste.

“The one picture I got was kind of by luck,” he said.

“I got lucky when I saw them at Wal-Mart when I was buying deodorant.”

Hudson, Hathaway with the paps

It looks like Kate Hudson's latest love affair with Lance Armstrong has brought her new levels of paparazzi attention - although she was always a fave with Owen Wilson also.

Dozens of photographers swarmed the set of her new movie, "Bridal Wars," in Manhattan last week, forcing the filmmakers to temporarily shut down production, according to her co-star Anne Hathaway.

"I don't usually have to deal with a lot of paparazzi attention, but Kate does," Hathaway told Tattle's Laura Randall while promoting her latest film, "Get Smart" in Los Angeles. "There were - I kid you not - fifty paparazzi on the street and we had to call off the shot because they wouldn't get out of the way. We had to find a different location."

"Bride Wars" stars Anne and Kate as BFFs who turn into rivals when they plan their weddings for the same day. Hathaway describes it as "estrogen land . . . the director (Gary Winick) was literally the only guy for miles."

Except for the paps.

Paparazzi frustrated by failure to invade Brangelina's privacy

CORRENS, France — Brangelina must be cocooning.

The paparazzi swarming France's Côte d'Azur cannot find Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Locals mutter or giggle about the invasion of Hollywood glam. A flyover of their new home in a luxurious villa turned up no clues about a report they've added a set of twins — which Pitt's manager says is "not true."

This pastoral sliver of the south of France has been abuzz ever since reports emerged last month that the Brangelina clan was moving in — confirmed by the mayor of the village in question, Correns.

A helicopter swing Saturday over the vast Château Miraval, where the couple and their children are said to be settling, providing sightings of empty chairs at a table on a patio, a finely groomed lawn in front of a farmhouse and accompanying buildings.

Several shutters were pulled on the main stone house.

The apparent calm did not stop the buzz.

"Entertainment Tonight" first reported on its Web site Friday that the actress had given birth in France. Show host Mary Hart cited an unidentified source who claimed to be in the delivery room, saying the twins were born and that "yes, mother and babies are fine."

Pitt's manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, told The Associated Press: "We have no comment, except the story is not true," and several celebrity news outlets also reported the story was false.

Despite the denial, the Web site of Britain's Now magazine on Saturday cited "sources in France" saying Jolie's doctor had flown in from California, and that the couple named the twin girls Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane Jolie-Pitt.

With no concrete proof, reporters and photographers staked out the entrance to the estate, nestled between rolling hills on the fringe of Correns, pop. 800, and invisible from any public roadway.

Jolie has said previously that her twins are due in August. She and Pitt already have four children: 6-year-old Maddox, 4-year-old Pax and 3-year-old Zahara, who are adopted, and 2-year-old Shiloh.

Hospital officials in maternity clinics and hospitals in the region offered no information about Jolie.

Some locals were blasé about the two Hollywood stars.

"She's a woman like any other," a Correns villager who gave his name only as Leon told Associated Press Television News, referring to Jolie. "I've never ever seen her. You know, as far as pretty women go, there are others on Earth."

Others were tickled about the new neighbors.

"My son is delighted that Angelina Jolie is here," said Nadia Caetano, of her 16-year-old. "He said, 'I'm going to be an orphan, and she'll adopt me. Mom, say that you've abandoned me, and she'll adopt me.' "

Paparazzi have their lenses on Miley Cyrus

How much is Miley Cyrus’ first kiss worth?

Anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000, depending on which paparazzo you ask. A photo's price could be higher if her designated love object happened to be camera-worthy like a Jonas brother, or Shia LaBeouf, not just some cute Kevin Federline-esque wannabe.

Yes, the paps have discovered the "Hannah Montana" star, forming a scrum of ferocious men-dogs who camp outside her North Hollywood home. They follow her shopping at the Malibu shops, lurk around her lunch spots, accompany her to church, riding her bike, and then pop up again down in Nashville, where's she's recently gone to shoot the "Hannah Montana" movie. No one in the Cyrus camp (not Miley, pa Billy Ray Cyrus, her publicist, or her agent) would comment, though one person close to the star notes that the phenomenon started around February, when Cyrus returned to Los Angeles after finishing her world tour.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

ALLEN SLAMS 'UNPROFESSIONAL' PAPARAZZI

ILY ALLEN has hit out at the photographers who took topless pictures of her while she was on holiday in France - insisting there is "nothing professional about them".

The Smile singer was snapped relaxing in only a pair of blue bikini bottoms at a French resort during the Cannes International Film Festival last week (beg19May08) - and her semi-naked form quickly made the headlines.

The star claims she is not ashamed of sunbathing topless, but insists there is nothing noble about being a prying paparazzo.

She writes on her MySpace internet page, "Occasionally I drink wine with lunch and yes I swim topless, this in my book is not embarrassing behaviour.

"I'm 23 years old, it's not my fault if photographers follow me everywhere and need a story to print with their pointless pictures. I wish digital cameras hadn't been invented, if these photographers had to pay for film, it wouldn't be worth their time. There is nothing professional about them, most of them look like they wouldn't be out of place at a BNP (British National Party) meeting." And Allen goes on to deny stories that she was ejected from Formula One boss Flavio Briatore's yacht for drunken behaviour.

She adds, "I don't really like to respond to things I read about my self in the press but, for the record, I was not thrown off anybody's yacht in Cannes."

Picture Post: Stars who call the shots

In Los Angeles, the paparazzi will go to any lengths to capture a film star sucking on a Frappuccino in Beverly Hills or, perhaps, looking "closer than ever" to their ex on Malibu Beach.

All of which makes this week's comments from Peter Grossman, the photo editor of Us Weekly – one of America's best-known celebrity rags – all the more unexpected. Speaking to ABC News, he praised the Bourne trilogy star Matt Damon, who, Grossman claimed, had earned his respect because he didn't court the attention of photographers.

"The thing is, there are some celebrities that absolutely get it," Grossman explained. "[Damon is] smart enough to not live in certain parts of Los Angeles and to not go in places where celebrities are always having their picture taken, and he didn't marry another celebrity, and he's the kind of person that has it all." Which is why you won't see many grainy photos of him shopping, jogging or tanning his "moobs" on the beach (not that he has any, of course).

In the UK, Damon's equivalent may be Ewan McGregor, suggests Joe Sené, who is head of editorial at Splash News, one of this country's biggest photo agencies. "He is Hollywood A-list – one of the world's biggest actors – who has been in some of the biggest films ever. But how many people know he has an adopted child from Africa? It's not because people aren't interested. It is that he doesn't court press. So he doesn't go to Saint Tropez in the summer and he doesn't go to the Caribbean in the winter. He doesn't fall out of nightclubs or eat at the Ivy seven nights a week, and doesn't live in Primrose Hill." According to Sené, Sean Bean and Emma Thompson are other great lens-avoiders.

By contrast, the likes of Lily Allen and Victoria Beckham literally bask in the glow of flashbulbs, creating a booming market for snatched pictures of them in any number of mundane situations. This is how Sené puts it: "The celebrities who are doing it are the ones that readers know more about, and therefore want to know even more about. And therefore they are the ones who are chased."

This week it seemed that an unlikely figure had joined the ranks of the paparazzi-teasers. After she appeared in more than a dozen pictures in Hello! magazine, at her grandson's wedding, some critics were yesterday comparing the Queen to a WAG. Matt Damon, for one, would never approve.

Exposing the paparazzi

‘You have to love the stars to be in this business’

Britney Spears, left, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have provided more press material than anyone in Hollywood history, according to the woman behind tinseltown’s most successful paparazzi agency.

Brandy Navarre is the most important Hollywood personality you’ve never heard of. That’s because her life is behind the camera, not in front of it. Navarre runs Hollywood’s most successful paparazzi agency.

Brandy and husband, Regis, entered the paparazzi world 10 years ago, when Regis realized photographing celebrities was more lucrative than his job as a correspondent for Agence France-Presse. Today, their agency, X17, employs nearly 70 photographers, far more than any other organization. “You have to love the stars in order to be in this business,” says Brandy, a former Reuters TV reporter. “But what has made us so successful is that we almost befriend them.”
The Navarres have used this tactic with close to every Hollywood celebrity; Brandy claims only Woody Harrelson dislikes them.

“If we see a blond woman in an expensive car we look more closely, and if she turns out to be a celebrity we introduce ourselves. I usually say something like, ‘We will be following you a bit, but it’s nothing to worry about,’” explains X17 photographer Daniel Ramos.

Ramos was one of the X17 photographers who staked out the hair salon where Britney Spears shaved her head. It was his car she hit with the umbrella afterwards.

On X17’s website, www.X17online.com, 300,000 visitors view the latest celebrity shots every day. Brandy has seen the paparazzi business change fundamentally during the past few years. “Now people are following celebrities like the ultimate reality show. The truth is stranger and more entertaining than fiction.”

With Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan — Hollywood’s reigning bad-girl triumvirate — the truth is strange indeed. “Sometimes they’re friends. Sometimes they hate each other. Sometimes they don’t wear underwear. They get arrested for drunk driving. These three women have provided more material for the public than anything in the history of Hollywood,” observes Brandy.

In this age of around-the-clock celebrity coverage, paparazzi have become a real authority. “Britney’s downward spiral isn’t important news, but people are interested”, says Brandy. “War photos used to get people’s attention. Now it’s celebrities.”

Hugh Grant victory deals paparazzi blow

Paparazzi photographers have been dealt a second blow in little over a week as the actor Hugh Grant wins damages for invasion of privacy while on holiday.

Grant (pictured) won a High Court settlement totalling £58,000 in a legal battle brought jointly with his former partner Liz Hurley and her husband Arun Nayar, according to Reuters news agency.

They took action against Big Pictures (UK) Ltd and France-based Eliot Press SARL over photos shot last year while the three claimants were on holiday at a private resort in the Maldives. The images were subsequently published in tabloid newspapers.

They claimed they had chosen the resort for the privacy and seclusion it offered.

Associated Newspapers and News Group Newspapers will also contribute to the compensation payout.

Speaking after the ruling Jonathan Coad, media lawyer at Swan Turton solicitors, told Amateur Photographer: 'These are very hard days for the paparazzi and companies like Big Pictures whose business model is coming under threat.' He added: 'The wind is blowing against them.'

Coad believes it is significant that the courts now pay larger amounts in such privacy cases - as opposed to a few thousand pounds - after taking into account the profits earned from the publication of such pictures.

The news comes just eight days after Harry Potter author JK Rowling won a Court of Appeal ruling that allows her to ban future publication of a paparazzi picture of her son David.

Paparazzi Make SJP Feel Dirty

Sarah Jessica Parker says getting followed by the paps makes her feel dirty. That's one way to put it! She says she feels like NYC's town trollop because they're always at every corner trying to get a shot of her.

She says the "thug" photographers have definitely made an impact on her family's lives. That's probably why we never see little James!

SJP says, "I feel very ashamed. I feel like I'm, like, the town trollop. It makes me feel ashamed of my work. And I'm not. But I'm attached to this culture now in a way that it's kind of vulgar.

"And I feel cheapened. And I feel like I'm cheapening the school, like I'm bringing dirt; like I'm bad for the neighborhood."

That's so sad! It makes you realize just how normal celebs can be, and that all they want sometimes is to have a normal life.

Sienna's paparazzi rage: Miss Miller attacks photgrapher with her handbag

Despite making a concerted bid for fame in Hollywood - Sienna Miller doesn't seem to like all that comes with it.

The actress took a swing at a photographer with her designer handbag as she walked through Los Angeles airport yesterday.

The 26-year-old felt one of the snappers had got a little too close for comfort and yelled expletives as she lunged at him.

Snap: Sienna Miller lost her temper at LAX airport yesterday

Designer weapon: the actress took a swipe at a pesky photographer with her pink tote as she made her way thorugh the terminal

Perhaps she has been taking tips from her boyfriend Rhys Ifans, who has a reputation for being rather cranky with the paparazzi.

Luckily for the snapper the bag didn't contain anything heavy and he simply laughed at the furious Factory Girl as airport security stepped in to help.

A day earlier the actress caught up with Matthew Rhys, her costar in the upcoming Dylan Thomas biopic The Edge Of Love.

Rowling wins landmark ruling over paparazzi

HARRY Potter author JK Rowling won a landmark privacy ruling yesterday in her battle to ban further publication of a long-lens photograph taken of her son when he was 18 months old.

Rowling's lawyers said the ruling was likely to have a "profound effect" on certain sections of the paparazzi.

The author claimed her son David's right to privacy had been infringed after photographs of him were taken in an Edinburgh street while being pushed in a buggy by his parents.

The action was intended to protect David's rights to privacy and family life under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The initial claim by Rowling and her husband was thrown out by a London court last year, prompting the couple to appeal. But yesterday, in a key finding, the Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, said: "If a child of parents who are not in the public eye could reasonably expect not to have photographs of him published in the media, so too should the child of a famous parent."

The disputed photos, taken on 8 November, 2004, were published in a Sunday Express magazine, prompting Rowling, 42, and her husband to sue Express Newspapers and the Big Pictures photo agency, and seek to block further publication.

The Express settled the claim, but last August Nicholas Patten, a High Court judge, threw out the case against the agency.

In a statement, the parents said: "We embarked on this lawsuit not because we were seeking special privileges for our children but because we wanted them to grow up, like their friends, free from unwarranted intrusion into their privacy.

"We understand and accept that with the success of Harry Potter there will be a measure of legitimate media and public interest in Jo's professional activities and appearances.

"However, we have striven to give our children a normal family life outside the media spotlight."

They said the ruling would give their children protection from "covert, unauthorised photography" and make an "immediate and material difference to their lives".

Keith Schilling of Schillings law firm, representing Rowling's family, predicted the latest ruling could have a "profound effect ... on certain sections of the paparazzi. He said: "This case establishes a law of privacy for children in those cases where, understandably, the parents wish to protect their children from intrusive photography by the paparazzi. I am sure that the overwhelming majority of the media will welcome it."

Big Pictures will have to pay the bulk of the costs of the case, estimated at £600,000.

Last night, a spokesman for Schillings confirmed an appeal by Big Pictures, which had advance notice of the ruling, had been rejected. It can now appeal to the Lords.

Philip Schlesinger, professor of cultural policy at the University of Glasgow, said: "The bottom line is that children should not get clobbered because their parents are celebrities.

"However, despite establishing a principle, there will be a lot of grey areas ahead, especially when the children become teenagers and are doing the sort of things which would make good photographs."

In 2001, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) upheld an invasion of privacy complaint by Rowling after photographs of her daughter Jessica, then aged eight and on holiday in Mauritius, appeared in OK! magazine.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES? – A LAWYER WRITES

MEDIA lawyers said yesterday's ruling by the Court of Appeal was a major case establishing children's right to privacy.

This ruling is putting into law what is already in the Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice, voluntarily, in relation to children.

Newspapers are aware of paragraph 6 (v) which states: "Editors must not use the fame, notoriety or position of a parent or guardian as sole justification for publishing details of a child's private life."

We are now prohibited from taking pictures of children without consent – all the court has done is impose a rule of law on this.

One of the things the court looked at was the circumstances of this case. I believe the agency had sat outside Rowling's house for two days because they knew there was a professional market for that image.

The paparazzi would have known in advance that JK Rowling did not want this picture taken and they could easily have pixelated it.

But it's arguable whether someone taking a snap in the street on their mobile phone will fall foul of the law and it will depend on the circumstances of each case.

What this case says, quite simply, is that there is a right to privacy. The judge at first instance thought the parents were trying to protect themselves when it actually concerned their children.

However, if you are a celebrity such as Jordan and you brandish your child, it will be very difficult to contend that child has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

But those celebrities who don't pose for pictures will have the right to complain.

MET COSTUME GALA- THE OSCARS IN NYC!

MET Costume Gala
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 8pm
May 5, 2008

Shooting this event is like being a kid in a candy story... everywhere you look there are goodies to be had!

As a general rule, if the PR hand out a tip sheet to their event, and it has the names of way to many A-List celebrities, the event will probably be lackluster.

The Costume Gala is the only event in NYC where they hand you a 6 page tip sheet, with everyone in the A-list world on it, and they ALL SHOW UP!

By 6pm, the press were staged and lined up to go into the tent that covered the MET's stairs where the arrivals are held. It takes about a half hour to get everyone in place. By the time the last person is positioned, the talent already begins to arrive... and it doesn't stop for 1 1/2 hours!!! A non-stop, continuous barrage of talent ranging from sports stars, fashion insiders to hollywoods top stars.

The events first big name to arrive was Julia Roberts with George Clooney, and grew from there... Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes, Posh and David Beckham, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Gisele, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Bosworth, Scarlett Johansson, Misha Barton, Naomi Watts, John Mayer, Eva Mendes, Christina Ricci, Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen... and they just keep coming.

The phrase that pays the following day is "What time did you get to sleep after doing your edits?"

My time was 5:30am if you care to know....

Tampa Bay Times photographer assaulted

ST. PETERSBURG -- A photographer for Tampa Bay Times was beaten and robbed Monday night near the Vintage Ultra Lounge in downtown St. Petersburg, where he had gone to cover a celebrity's birthday party.

Luis Santana, 25, learned that hip-hop artists Chris Brown and Rihanna were celebrating Brown's 19th birthday at a private party in St. Petersburg. He talked to the Vintage security and was told he could take photographs outside, Santana said.

When he photographed Brown in a black Excursion or Expedition limousine, security guards for the celebrities chased him and forced him to the ground, Santana said. One guard put his knee on Santana's jaw and when he tried to push it away, the guards took his camera, worth about $3,000.

Santana said he has abrasions and bruises on his chest, back and arms.

"I’ve shot many many celebrities and this was just another notch on my belt," Santana said. "Then it just turned sour."

Police said there could be four male suspects who are bodyguards, but their names are unknown. The suspects left the scene in the limousine.

James Guttridge, manager of Vintage Ultra Lounge, said the club instructs security personnel not to get involved in altercations that happen outside the club. Guttridge said guards do not have the authority to prohibit photographers from shooting pictures outside the club, on the public right-of-way.

"Our only concern is what happens inside here," Guttridge said.

Rihanna opened for Kanye West at the Ford Amphitheatre earlier that night. Guttridge said a Vintage VIP invited Rihanna to come to the club while backstage at the show. He declined to comment on whether the club gave Rihanna a discount or paid for her to appear.

Guttridge called the incident "unfortunate" and said he hopes celebrities will feel welcome in St. Petersburg, but also doesn't want residents to be turned off.

Santana took photos of Rihanna at International Plaza on Monday afternoon (including the photo shown here), and said bodyguards resisted his presence there.

How Much Money Do the Paparazzi Make?

INFDaily.com

I've got a question for you: How much do the paparazzi really make?
—Taylor, Minnesota

The biggest money comes from exclusive shots of international stars—Brangelina, Johnny Depp—going about their everyday A-list business. Good photos can sell over and over again, from South America to Australia, earning a smart paparazzo up to $500,000 yearly.

Mediocre paparazzi, however, make about as much as a school guidance counselor. They scrape along on common, $250-a-pop photos of Britney or Lauren Conrad. They're the guys always "chasing" Heidi Montag, snapping away as she grimaces through "romances" and "feuds."

On very rare occasions, there's a jackpot photo, a six-figure photo, one that every paparazzo wants. Right now, that one superphoto is...can you guess?

Why, it's the first picture of Brangelina's unborn, of course!

"If it isn't a setup shot," supposes veteran photographer Brad Elterman of Buzz Foto, "and they were strolling down the street with the kids, and it's exclusive and the first, you're talking easily a million bucks for the U.S. rights alone."

Overseas markets could bring in a few more mil, Elterman adds.

Then again, the incipient Brangie baby may already have an exclusive first-sitting deal with People magazine à la Shiloh and J.Lo's Max and Emme. So a dream payday for a paparazzo in that case is highly unlikely.

"A lot of being a good paparazzo is luck," explains Gary Morgan of Splash News. "It's nine hours of boredom and 30 seconds of excitement."

And many, many days tracking the totally authentic exploits of Speidi.

Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Flop Party

Vanity Fair Party
Supreme Court House, 7p
April 22, 2008

Now I know why they don't send out a tip sheet for this event. If Vanity Fair did send one out, no press would show up. This event has fallen off over the last few years, but this year was by far the worst.

Every year it's the same people: Bowie/Iman, McEnroe, Regis... uggghh! Here's a tip for VF, change your invitation list and maybe other people will show up!

When the biggest surprise at the event is that DeNiro actually posed for photos, you know something's wrong...

Britney Spears' Paparazzi Ex Stabbed

Adnan Ghalib, Britney Spears former boy toy, has been attacked and stabbed by an unidentified assailant. Apparently the 36-year-old U.K. born paparazzo received a big shiner, facial lacerations and a stab wound to his arm when he was attacked in LA on Saturday night.

Various reports have stated that Ghalib received medical attention and is doing "all right" following the ordeal. Several papers have reported that Ghalib has been receiving a number of death threats in the past few weeks, but no one knows yet if this incident is connected.

If one checks out the gossip blogs, there are a lot of vitriolic words spewing out about Adnan. And someone may have decided to take action and make their hate real. The list of likely suspects seems long, with Ghalib’s ex-wife and Sam Lutfi both fierce Adnan haters. The LA County Sheriff and the LAPD don’t have a record of the incident though, and Adnan Ghalib hasn’t given an official statement about the incident yet.

Adnan Ghalib and Britney Spears went their separate ways after they had a confrontation about his cheating on her. Spears peaked at his iPhone and saw text messages from another woman. They had a huge argument, and then she tossed his cell phone in the pool. At least Britney Spears had the smarts to get rid of a guy who would cheat on her. Just recently, a true gentleman, Adnan Ghalib had been telling his pals that he slipped “one by the goalie”. Real class.

One of his friends reportedly told Star, “Britney is Adnan's dream come true. He knows that if he has a child with Brit, he'll be made for life.” Let’s hope for Brit's sake that her steers clear of that one from now on.

Paparazzi Accused of Supplying Drugs to Heath Ledger

A lawsuit issued Friday accuses a photo agency of supplying Ledger’s drugs in 2006 in order to take pictures of him using.

A lawsuit was filed Friday against the Los Angeles-area Splash News & Picture Agency for allegedly supplying actor Heath Ledger with cocaine two years ago in order to secretly videotape him using the drug, according to Reuters. Footage of the Ledger encounter, aired briefly after the young actor’s death in January, prompted an outcry in Hollywood.

The lawsuit claimed the video has generated more than $1 million in revenues through illegal paparazzi activity. California state law requires paparazzi to disgorge such profits.

Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose on prescription drugs in his New York apartment on January 22, was widely reported to have struggled with substance abuse. The plaintiff of the lawsuit is anonymous, referred to as Jane Doe, the former freelance reporter for People Magazine.

Reuters reports that she claims to have been an unwitting accomplice to the two photographers that paid for Ledger’s cocaine, one of whom she was dating at the time.

Her attorney was quoted as saying, “This is bad stuff. You don’t give drug addicts drugs so you can then tape them.”

L.A. police chief says paparazzi law unenforceable

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles police chief on Tuesday said a proposed new city law aimed at protecting celebrities from aggressive paparazzi would be ambiguous and impossible to enforce.

Chief William Bratton said in a report that existing laws on jaywalking, speeding and assault could be used to deter aggressive photographers, whose 'round-the-clock pursuit of singer Britney Spears and other celebrities prompted calls for a crackdown.

Los Angeles councilman Dennis Zine proposed creating a "personal safety zone" to regulate paparazzi shortly after city police in January spent $25,000 to escort Spears from her home across town to a psychiatric unit in the middle of the night.

The police said roadblocks and an escort by at least a dozen motorcycles and squad cars were needed to prevent photographers from documenting what became the second trip by the troubled pop star to the hospital in a month.

The ploy instead gave news helicopters and the world media lengthy television pictures of the Spears' convoy.

Zine, a former police officer, said the Los Angeles paparazzi were becoming increasingly aggressive and posed a danger both to Hollywood stars and members of the public.

Celebrities like Spears and Paris Hilton are staked out 24 hours a day, and sometimes pursued in high speed car chases by dozens of paparazzi whose numbers in Los Angeles have swelled to between 300-400 from about 25 some 15 years ago.

Zine suggested creating a minimum "personal safety zone" of several feet of clear space between paparazzi and the individuals they are photographing. The proposed law has yet to be debated by the city council.

Bratton said however that the proposal raised questions about who is classified as a "celebrity" or "paparazzo," whether the LAPD is showing favoritism toward stars and whether the general public is entitled to the same protection.

He said it would "create an inequitable and ambiguous code that would likely be unenforceable."

Zine called Bratton's comments premature and vowed to pursue his proposal.

"We need specific sections (of the law) dealing with the paparazzi," Zine told reporters.

"What do we do the next time Britney Spears has to go to the hospital? Do we spend another $25,000 and (deploy) those police resources that are stretched so far?," he said.

An inquest in London ruled on Monday that Britain's Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed were unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of their chauffeur and paparazzi photographers pursuing them into a Paris road tunnel 10 years ago.

Los Angeles police recommend against law restricting paparazzi

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department is recommending that the City Council scrap a proposal to create a new law limiting activities of paparazzi around celebrities.

Cmdr. Kirk Albanese told the city Police Commission today that enough laws are in place to restrict photographers if their behavior around celebrities creates a safety problem, and the proposed law would be unfair and hard to enforce.

Among the proposals is creation of so-called personal safety zones around celebrities.

The civilian Police Commission voted to approve the recommendation and forward it to the City Council.

Jury blames driver, paparazzi for Princess Diana's death

LONDON A coroner's jury ruled today that Princess Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed through the reckless actions of their driver and the paparazzi in 1997.

The jury had been told that a verdict of unlawful killing would mean that they believed the reckless behavior of the driver and paparazzi amounted to manslaughter. It was the most serious verdict available to them.

The couple died in Paris when their speeding car slammed into a concrete pillar while it was being chased by photographers in cars and on motorbikes. The jury added that the fact that Diana and Dodi were not wearing seatbelts was a contributing factor.

The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, had instructed the jury that there was no evidence to support claims by Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, that the couple were victims of a murder plot directed by Prince Philip and carried out by British secret agents. The jury was not at liberty to disagree.

The six women and five men on the jury began deliberating April 2 after hearing six months of testimony from more than 240 witnesses. They also went to Paris to see the scene of the Aug. 31, 1997 crash.

The cost of the inquest itself, including lawyers and staff assisting the coroner, has exceeded $6 million.

Baker had expressed hope that the inquest would lay to rest, once and for all, any false theories about the princess' death.

Dodi Fayed died instantly when the couple's Mercedes, moving in excess of 60 mph, slammed into a concrete pillar in the Alma underpass in Paris at 12:22 a.m. Medics initially thought Diana would survive her severe injuries, but she died at a hospital around 4 a.m.

The paparazzi who pursued the couple were vilified. As grieving Britons piled up flowers outside Diana's Kensington Palace home, some British newspapers declared they would never use another paparazzi shot — a vow that proved time-limited.

French police announced a day after the crash that tests on driver Henri Paul's blood showed he was three times over the national drunk-driving standard.

Focusing on 'The New Paparazzi'

This month, a paparazzo's picture of Britney Spears appeared on the cover of the venerable Atlantic Monthly - the 150-year-old magazine that published Emerson and Twain and Hawthorne - which caused an outbreak of hand-wringing and brow-furrowing among the sort of people who habitually keep an eye out for signs of the incipient fall of Western civilization.

Britney on the cover of the Atlantic - another omen of the apocalypse?

Relax, hand-wringers, the Atlantic has not become a cheesy checkout tabloid. The April issue contains no celebrity diet tips, no Brangelina updates, nothing to interfere with your enjoyment of Christopher Hitchens' literary essay on Ezra Pound. And the cover story isn't really about Britney. It's about the photographers who stalk her, chronicling the soap opera of her horrific descent into madness.

"Between 30 and 45 paparazzi work Britney on any given night," writes David Samuels, a veteran magazine writer with a sharp eye for the ridiculous. "History's best-publicized celebrity meltdown has helped fuel dozens of television shows, magazines and Internet sites, the combined value of whose Britney-related product easily exceeds $100 million a year."

Samuels spent several long days and nights with what he calls "the new paparazzi." These are not the grizzled tabloid photographers of yore. Many are young Brazilian immigrants who were working as pizza deliverers and valet parkers until they were recruited as Britney-stalkers by Francois Navarre, the French photographer who founded X17, Hollywood's biggest paparazzi agency. It was an X17 photographer who shot the famous photo of Britney shaving her head in an L.A. hair salon. Another X17 shooter snapped the picture of an enraged Britney attacking his SUV with an umbrella.

Samuels hung around with the X17 shooters while they hung around waiting for Britney to stop hanging around her house and take a ride in her white Mercedes. When she did, they followed her through Los Angeles. One afternoon, they chased the Mercedes "at a scarily high speed" while Britney blared her new album on the car stereo and sang along.

One day, a mob of 50 paparazzi loitered outside a Los Angeles courthouse, waiting for Britney to show up at a child-custody hearing. A passerby spotted them and yelled, "Leave that poor, poor girl alone."

It was the voice of reason, but of course the photographers ignored it. They were too busy working to fulfill America's pathetic desire to watch high-flying superstars crash and burn.