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.

HILTON SPARKS PAPARAZZI VIOLENCE

Several photographers have been injured after the arrival of socialite PARIS HILTON in Turkey sparked riots amongst the paparazzi at Istanbul airport.
The hotel heiress landed in the city on Thursday (27Mar08) ahead of her stint as a judge in the Miss Turkey 2008 contest.
And the 27-year-old's presence led to hysteria amongst the photographers all clambering to take her picture, with a major fight breaking out amongst rival snappers.
Footage of the incident, shown on TMZ.com, shows a barrage of punches being thrown, with one man seen using his video camera as a weapon. One photographer is seen walking away with blood streaming from his nose.

Paparazzi Gang Beat Up People for Britney Spears Pictures

Famed photog agency X17 is apparently really a gang of thugs. They captured a rival photographer and beat the crap out of him for being on their “turf” aka Britney Spears’ house.

Alison Silva (who is actually a dude despite his seriously misleading name) is suing paparazzi X17 after he was beaten unconscious by 3 of their gang members, I mean, photographers outside Britney’s home.

Silva says he parked a block away from Britney’s house on March 5th when 3 hoodlums working for X17 beat and kicked him while he lay defenseless on the ground. He went to the hospital for a broken nose and head trauma.

The 3 X17 photographers —identified as Thomas Madiana, Carlos Madiana and Max Rinadelle — allegedly said, “You should not be here. Only X17 gets these shots.”

Silva claims he passed out and woke up to being kicked in the face. “I didn’t know what was going on,” he said.

Witnesses called 911, and Silva was taken to the emergency room with police escorts.

One witness told police he heard an attackers say, “Let’s go f— him up, there are 10 of us here,” while getting a metal tube from his car. Another attacker said, “Don’t kill him! Don’t kill him!”

Silva asks for unspecified punitive damages in his suit. He accuses X17 of battery; assault; false imprisonment; emotional distress; and negligent training, supervision and retention of unfit employees.

Kelly Osbourne: 'Paparazzi Are Dangerous'

Reality TV star Kelly Osbourne has launched a scathing attack on the paparazzi - branding their frenzied behavior around certain celebrities as "dangerous".

The 23-year-old claims she was on a night out after the NME Awards in London earlier this year when awaiting press launched into a tirade of abuse towards her and model pal Kate Moss. And Osbourne even alleges one photographer got physical, hitting her with a camera when the media onslaught became too boisterous.

She says, "I know when you become famous, you sell your soul to the devil. But it's dangerous. I have this bruise - that's from a cameraman. He slammed his camera on my wrist. There were so many, and they were pushing. I had a great time after the NME Awards; it started to go bad when the paps (paparazzi) began making horrible comments as we were leaving, to get a reaction."

The Associated Press Admits It’s a Glorified Paparazzi Agency

With PageSix.com now completely offline, who’s going to step up battle TMZ? The AP!

The Associated Press has long been looking to be part of The Britney Spears Economy in a more in-depth way. And now they will: Twenty-one new hires will take over New York, Los Angeles, and London to broaden the wire’s entertainment coverage. But it’s not like they’re en route to becoming a frilly paparazzi and news service, you see — they’re “not about gossip, unnamed sources and innuendo or about ‘peephole’ journalism with AP photographers becoming paparazzi.”

What, they’re going to use our favorite excuse of covering the paparazzi as an excuse to tail Posh and Becks?

If it sounds like the new, most costly AP is simply moving to where the dollars are, you’re right. Its failed costly youth-oriented premium service “asap” (yes, in lowercase) bombed and was quickly dissolved. So why will this move be different?

Because they’re not going after a niche market. Everybody loves celebrities like everybody loves Raymond.

So will publicists have yet another battlefield on their hand? Not according to AP entertainment director Daniel Becker, whose staff memo says, “In a realm in which gossip and innuendo abound, particularly on the Web, our standards establish us as the trusted, authoritative voice on entertainment for all our members and customers.”

Basically, they’re going to issue a lot of rep-provided denials. And don’t we already have a place for that?

Seal tells paparazzi they're 'scum'

British singer Seal launched a stinging attack on a group of paparazzi calling them "scum" and "cockroaches".

The Kiss From A Rose star was surrounded by a scrum of photographers as he and his wife supermodel Heidi Klum left a restaurant in Los Angeles.

It all kicked off when one of the paps told Seal he liked his music and tried to shake his hand

The singer refused the gesture and said: "Why would I shake hands with scum?" adding, "I don't like what you do. You are scum."

Klum remained quiet and hid behind her husband as he accused the photographers of ruining people's lives, including his own.

But when one of the photographers declared that Heidi seemed at peace with the constant attention, Seal snapped back: "Don't bring her into it. Why don't you go ask your mother how I feel."

Nicole Kidman's Bodyguard Attacks Flynet Photographer

We have an exclusive video of actress Nicole Kidman's longtime bodyguard, David Micheal Garris, attacking one of our photogs in Santa Monica on Thursday!

The physical assault stemmed from an incident on Wednesday, when a fellow photographer was attacked by Nicole's rambo-like trainer while the 53 year old photog was snapping Nicole and her trainer hiking. The trainer stole the guy's camera which thankfully, was later returned.

Then on Thursday, our Flynet photog Jeremy and his 53 year old paparazzi friend were once again following Nicole Kidman and her bodyguard, David Garris, as they were making their way to the gym. The vehicle they were in stopped and the bodyguard stepped out, obviously in an agressive manner. Jeremy pulled out his video camera, hoping to question the bodyguard about the incident on Wednesday but as you can see from the clip, Garris was in no mood to chat. Jeremy stepped back inside of his vehicle but that didn't stop Garris from attacking him anyway!

Afterwards, Nicole Kidman left along with her crazed bodyguard and Jeremy tried to follow them but eventually had to dial 911 because of his injuries. The police are currently investigating the incident.

Now I know the paparazzi can be annoying, but do they deserve a physical assault of this magnitude? You may respond, 'hey well that's what the guy gets for following someone.' Well, sure that's one way to look at it. But this photog is just doing his job, giving the people something to talk about while they wait in in line at the grocery store, flipping through all of the celebrity mags that sell millions of copies worldwide. So if you disagree with it, fine. But I don't think a physical assault was justified here. Watch and judge for yourself.

Here's a little info on our attacker, David Micheal Garris.

David is unmarried but has worked with Nicole Kidman for years and used to be Tom Cruise's driver. After their split, David was one of the few people who stayed with Nicole and not Tom. Garris and Kidman have had a strange, employer/employee relationship for quite some time now. The two have been spotted going to the movies together, having cozy lunch dates, and they were spotted attending (non Keith Urban) concerts together while Kidman was filming 'The Invasion.'

So maybe their relationship goes beyond employer/employee and that's why Garris was so easily fired up about our photog following the actress... Time will tell...

Insane Look At 18 Celebrities From Paparazzi Kings

In its new issue with Britney Spears on the cover, the Atlantic featured not only a torturous analysis of celebrity worship but also a crazy and fascinating chit-chat with the founders of paparazzi firm X17, in which the paps riffed on a series of their own photographs.

The paparazzi article, which apparently just went online, is a great example of how the supposedly highbrow journal gets to have it both ways: a serious sociological discussion involving "the dark sewer of misanthropic, gynophobic, and Rabelaisian epithets running through the... celebrity blog" and also, in the same issue, trash talk about how actress Nicole Kidman without tons of makeup on "really does have a unpleasant, grandmother-ish look" and how singer Britney Spears "is being pumped full of drugs and that can affect her weight" and that actor Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes are "living inside the Scientology Center."

You really have to read it for yourself, but here are some choice bits:

On Spears:

This is one of those shots where you just put it on the blog and let the commenters take care of it...You can see that she is literally busting out of her shirt, which might be a sign she is pregnant. You can see her double chins.

We are pretty sure she’s not pregnant. We think it’s a psychological visit. She is being pumped full of drugs and that can affect her weight. I’m sure Regis kept at least 50 of these shots. You can easily keep 50 shots because she is always doing something in frame.

...I’ve never seen her drugged as much as now . She reminds me of my grandmother in France who had Alzheimer’s. She can barely walk. She walked straight into a pole the other day.

On Spears' on-again off-again boyfriend, scheming paparazzo Adnan Ghalib:

Adnan Ghalib came by accident to the business. He met a girl in the post-office three years ago and did what he did with Britney. He flirted with her, and met the dad of the girl, and became friends with the dad, and helped him to fix the house. And the dad considered him as his son. And it happened that guy was part of the paparazzi. He told Adnan, ‘I see you, you are struggling, why don't you get a camera, and I will introduce you to some of my friends at the Fame agency.’ And the first one he was covering was Britney Spears. And he started to go after Britney right away. Trying to talk to her and so on and so on.

On diva Barbara Streisand:

At her wedding she hired some big speakers on a trailer to blare heavy metal music in the direction of the paparazzi and the entertainment reporters in front of her house to screw up their stand-ups and their shots. This was while her wedding was going on in the backyard...

She doesn't care at all what she looks like when she goes out. She goes out on rainy days. She wears sweatpants. Her hair is a mess.

On Lindsay Lohan: "Lindsey Lohan didn’t do anything this week except dress extremely ugly. I guess that’s the story: Lindsey looks bad now that she is sober and chastened.”

On Tom Cruise, his wife Katie Holmes, and Cruise maybe having a thing with this woman in a picture:

She’s being too physical with him. At the same time, Tom is talking on the phone, so he wasn’t really too focused on her. The first story the viewer gets is that he might be cheating on Katie Holmes, and then people think about it for a second, and think, also, maybe he isn’t gay...

Is his relationship with Katie as perfect as what they try to portray in the press? What is really going on? Right now, we know that they are living inside the Scientology Center. They sleep and eat there, and educate their child there. They have no more house. Which is strange, yes?

On the secret cameras they have trained on Victoria Beckham:

. We have hidden cameras, so we know that she is a real mother who takes care of her kids, and that she behaves exactly the same way inside her house! You see real mothers, and you see the ones who just fake it for the camera. Anna Nicole Smith, I photographed her a couple of times with that poor kid. That was a little bit sad. Demi Moore was quite a good mother at one time in her life, until that got a bit boring for her.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICE HERE!

Did Ashton Kutcher steal new TV show concept from Anna Nicole?

Way back in 2004, Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K Stern came up with an idea for a show called “Celebrities Strike Back.” The treatment, which was submitted to E! and registered with the Writer’s Guild, had Anna Nicole and other celebs turning the tables on the paparazzi with staged events to see if the media would pick up the stories.

Sound a little familiar? Well it’s pretty darn close to Ashton Kutcher’s new show for E! called “Pop Fiction.” In it, celebs… turn the tables on the paparazzi and media to see if they’ll pick up the stories. Like when we all started writing about Paris Hilton wandering around L.A. with some crazed guru. Who was revealed to be an actor after a very short period of time – but we all thought the joke was on Paris, not us. Boy that sounds freakishly similar.

Ashton’s show sounds like a carbon of Anna’s treatment — “…what happens if Anna Nicole Smith and other celebrities turn the tables and capitalize off of the overzealous media? What if the next big supposed scandal is not a scandal at all? What if everything is staged, but the media (and the public) don’t know it?” It continues, Anna Nicole and other celebrity guests take aim at the media and push all the limits.”

That’s Ashton Kutcher’s show and we’re told Howard K. has already threatened suit. What is really pissing him off is that he and Anna had multiple meetings with E!. Two months ago, Stern spoke with E! again on behalf of the estate and the network seemed intrigued by making Larry Birkhead the celeb to do the first prank and then host the show. Ultimately Jay James said it just wouldn’t work. Oh really?

Job Descriptions: The Paparazzi Photographer

Henri Paul drunkenly goaded the paparazzi

Serge Benhamou - who was following the princess' car taking pictures when it collided into pillar 13 of Paris' d'Alma tunnel on August 31st 1997 - said driver Paul had been behaving very oddly when he was behind the wheel of Diana's car.

Henri Paul drunkenly goaded the paparazzi the night Britain's Princess Diana died, her inquest heard yesterday (10.03.08).

Serge Benhamou - who was following the princess' car taking pictures when it collided into pillar 13 of Paris' d'Alma tunnel on August 31st 1997 - said driver Paul had been behaving very oddly when he was behind the wheel of Diana's car.

He claimed Paul - who also died in the crash along with Diana's lover Dodi Fayed - was cheerful, thumbing his nose at photographers and smiling.

He told the jury at London's High Court in a written statement: "He saw us and laughed. I would add that that man had never behaved like that before. Usually he ignored us.
"All his reactions led me to believe that he had been drinking."

Benhamou - one of the photographers questioned by police after the crash - also admitted he took pictures of the princess dying in the car wreckage.

He said: "I took my shots of the car and the occupants when I was approximately three metres from the scene.

"People told us to move as they did not like us taking photographs. They found it horrible for people to take photographs when other people had been involved in an accident."

He claimed to have been acting on instinct but suffered sleepless nights over his actions.

The original inquest by Lord Stevens had ruled the crash was caused because Paul was over the drink-driving limit and was a tragic accident.

However, Dodi's father Mohamed Al Fayed has always insisted the couple were killed by the British establishment as they were about to announce their engagement and Diana was pregnant.

Miley Cyrus And Dad Talk About Paparazzi

Miley Cyrus and her father Billy Ray continued their conversation with 'Access Hollywood' special correspondent Maureen McCormick of 'The Brady Bunch'.

The 'Hannah Montana' stars talked about how Miley is starting to get a lot of attention from paparazzi, and Billy Ray's efforts to approach the snappers and find out who they are.

"I just want to try to know who's stalking my family," he said.

Billy Ray also showed off the tiny heart on his hand, which Miley wrote on his hand at church before telling him to go to a tattoo parlor to get it put on permanently. Watch the segment below the fold.

Ashton Kutcher's New Show To Punk Paparazzi

Ashton Kutcher is proving he is the king of pranks. The former "Punk'd" host is gearing up his episodes for his upcoming new show aimed to dupe the paparazzi.

Entitled "Pop Fiction," the new eight-episode E! series will target the paparazzi and other media outlets as it will feature real celebrities in bogus situations.

A good example is Paris Hilton's new guru. The socialite was recently seen with a robed, bearded guru and was photographed buying a self-help book at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore. This had led the media to speculate Hilton has been drawn to the religion.

However, it was all a part of Kutcher's stunts. The "guru" is actually an actor named Maxie Santillan, TMZ.com revealed.

Jason Goldberg, Kutcher's producing partner, explains to USA Today: "We live in a culture that's driven by media and obsessed with celebrity. Two people going out to eat turns into, 'They're engaged.' It's a feeding frenzy."

Goldberg adds that about 20 celebrities have signed on with the project hoping to turn the tables against the paparazzi.

He says of the new project: "We're having fun. But we want to say to people, 'Can you really believe everything you read and see?'"

E! Entertainment will debut the new reality series Pop Fiction on March 9 at 10:30 p.m.

Adrian Grenier tries to be a paparazzo, fails

Clueless Adrian Grenier’s attempts to be a paparazzo hit a major setback when he couldn’t work out how to use his camera.

The ‘Entourage’ actor, who is making a documentary, needed a helping hand from the experts when he joined the pap pack shooting Brooke Shields.

He told the shutterbugs: “I’m one of you now.”

But as he struggled with his camera one unimpressed snapper told him: “You got to learn how to use it!”

Adrian threw himself into the scrum to snap Brooke outside a Beverly Hills restaurant but later moaned: “I just got my toes stepped on.”

When he finally got to grips with his camera he told the paps: “Now we’re all here there are no celebrities!”

If Passed, 'Britney Law' May End Papparazzi Stalking Tactics

Another panty-less pic of Brit or Paris, Lindsay Lohan’s breakdown stories from inside rehab, Brangelina’s love scandal and Heath Ledger’s funeral services. These days, it doesn’t seem possible for celebrities to stay out of the limelight.

Paparazzi have an almost unlimited access to celebrities’ personal lives. The stalkarazzi stop at nothing to get the “money shot” by driving on the wrong side of the street, camping outside of their homes, swarming cars, and trespassing — all to catch celebrities in their weakest moments. We often justify this invasion of privacy because we tell ourselves they put themselves in the limelight and this is the price of fame. Imagine if these situations were applied to a non-celebrity. Imagine having a relentless photographer (and stranger) follow your every move, not to mention that he (or she) has probably been standing outside of your house for hours. Oh wait ... this would be what most of us consider stalking and harassment.

It seems that Ms. Spears, with her pic in the paper everyday, finally reached a level of celeBrity to require special legal protection, which would ultimately do a huge favor to countless other celebrities.

The paparazzi antics while covering the latest Spears saga last month served as a means for the recently proposed “Britney Law” — which later will be renamed. Los Angeles City Councilman, Dennis Zine, proposed the new law to ensure a personal safety zone around individuals targeted by the media. He proposed this law as a result of Spears’ recent hospitalization fiasco in which police literally had to escort the pop singer’s ambulance by a barrier of police cars and helicopters in order to shield her from the stalkarazzi. Why should you care? Aside from a serious invasion of personal space and privacy, this military-like, covert operation ended up costing taxpayers about $25,000.

Zine’s proposed motion notes that the paparazzi “are becoming increasingly aggressive in their tactic, posing a clear danger not only to the people they are trying to photograph, but to the general public around them.”

Two years ago, a Cali “anti-paparazzi” law went into effect that increased penalties against photogs who impede celebrities or are responsible for car accidents. They are liable for three times the damages they inflict, plus lose any payments their published photos might earn. However, it seems that this law isn’t strict enough.

If legislators pass the proposed “Britney Law,” it will be the most stringent anti-paparazzi legislation of its kind to date. If a paparazzo crosses the 20-yard “personal safety bubble” without permission, the city will confiscate all profits from any resulting photograph.

However, this proposal raises several questionable issues, particularly the First Amendment right of the press to facilitate communication of information to the public, which some feel could lead to a slippery slope of abuses involving legitimate access to newsmakers. Others simply believe it will not affect the industry.

As L.A. police chief William Bratton said, “What we need is Britney Spears to stay home instead of traipsing all over town. That would solve the problem.” Makes sense to me.

But Councilman Zine counters, “We are not prohibiting anyone from taking a picture but the matter in which they are getting those pictures.”

I am a huge First Amendment proponent, but this proposed law seems like a step in the right direction — assuming Ms. Spears and other won’t just stay home. The paparazzi aren’t going to voluntarily show some restraint themselves anytime soon. And it disturbs me to think about the amount of recent incidents involving paparazzi, either directly or indirectly. Just last year, Halle Berry got into a wreck after these snaparazzi stalked her two days after she announced her pregnancy. And every so often we hear the repeating headline that celebs like Brit and Lindsay have run over photogs’ feet after the media hounds swarmed their cars. This conduct keeps escalating and becoming increasingly more dangerous due to the expensive price tag that comes with the candid photos. As a mother of two, I could not imagine the fear that these celebrities feel when they take their kids for a drive to the local toy store or even a stroll down the street. Although many people feel that this is the price that celebrities must pay for fame, it’s people’s safety that we are compromising.

"If we think back a few years, Princess Diana was driving down the road, paparazzi chasing," Zine recalls. "A crash occurred, Princess Diana died. I don't want to see that happen here in Los Angeles."

Bottom Line: As a media analyst myself and concerned with the slippery slope of this law diminishing our First Amendment rights, this proposal seems like a compromise somewhere in the middle. With such powerful camera lenses, technology allows photogs to snap the picture without causing celebrities to snap. People have the right to be secure and a right of privacy. It seems that these stalkarazzi are being allowed to illegally infringe on individuals personal rights, freedoms, and above all, the safety of celebrities and the public. With the millions at stake in this industry, it’s hard to predict whether this will end up helping the situation. It’s also difficult to know whether a court may one day overturn the law. But I think that it is safe to say that it’s worth a try.

Paris plays prank on paparazzi

Paris Hilton has finally got her own back on the paparazzi after it was revealed that bizarre pictures of her posing with a shaman were staged.

The party girl, 27, was snapped having dinner with the spiritual guru in Los Angeles earlier this week but the event was just a set up for new TV show Pop Fiction.

Produced by actor Ashton Kutcher, the show targets paparazzi and media outlets by letting celebrities play pranks on them.

Paris had been spotted at a bookstore buying some self-help books with the guru in tow, who conveniently carried his own book while the paparazzi flashed away.

After dinner, Paris told reporters: "He's really changed my life because the greatest gift is to give."

She was even given a public spiritual blessing at the end of the night.

The "guru" was later revealed to be Maxie Santillan, an actor who has starred in TV show "My Name Is Earl" and "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Ashton's producing partner, Jason Goldberg, said: "We live in a culture that's driven by media and obsessed with celebrity, to the point where they don't have private lives anymore."

"Two people going out to eat turns into, 'They're engaged.' It's a feeding frenzy. It's dangerous and it's irresponsible in some cases."

Theron praises paparazzi

Hollywood actress Charlize Theron has a high opinion of paparazzi photographers - insisting she prefers their candid snaps to glossy magazine photoshoots.

The South African star refuses to condone the "tactics" used by many snappers who go to extreme lengths to get pictures of celebrities - insisting she would much rather see images of celebrities looking bad in the media than perfect because it sets unattainable standards for youngsters.

She tells the New York Times: "I don't like the tactics of the paparazzi, but in some ways, I almost prefer their unflattering shots to the glossy images in magazines. I like to see the human underneath."

Teenaged Paparazzi

Blaine, left, and Austin, right. Photo by Axel Koester for The New York Times

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal ran a story on the “Rise of the ‘Citizen Paparazzi,’” and the emergence of “regular folk who… happen to bump into celebrities while carrying digital cameras.” One photographer profiled was 18-year old Justin Campbell, an NYC college student, who got his start when he snapped Kirstie Alley eating a pie “right when she was doing the Jenny Craig thing,” and is one of the star photographers of his paparazzi photo agency.

This story follows on the heels of a New York Times article, published last October, that profiled two pubescent friends, Blaine, 15, and Austin, 14, who ran around Hollywood, snapping shots of celebrities alongside older, “sullen paparazzi with rumpled clothes and tired expressions.” Blaine spoke of being pushed to the ground by a bouncer and taunted by celebrities like David Spade, who called him “pipsqueak paparazzi.”

All three teenaged paparazzi are, or have been represented by the Buzz Foto agency, whose tagline is “Paparazzi is an Art Form!” The agency’s owner, Brad Elterman, is quoted in both articles as saying his young protégés remind him of himself when he was their age. (He has since dropped Blaine and Austin, because, “If something happened to one of these kids, I don’t know what I would do.”)

Poignantly, in the New York Times article, Blaine says, “I want to be friends with the celebrities more than take photos of them. I kind of wish I was going to the parties with them.” And later, one of the jaded paparazzi tells him, “There’s no innocence in the paparazzi business, homey. I told you, once you cross over, you’re done. You’re on the dark side, homes.”

Struggling Web Pioneer Getty Images Going Private In Buyout

Getty Images Inc., which sells stock photography and video footage, said Monday it has agreed to a $2.1 billion buyout from the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC.

Getty, founded more than a decade ago, put itself up for sale in January. It is a major creator and distributor of photos and other digital media. Hellman & Friedman has offices in San Francisco, New York and London.

According to an announcement by Getty, Hellman & Friedman has offered $34 a share in cash for all of Getty's shares, and its board has approved the deal. That is a 55 percent premium over Getty's closing price on Jan. 18, the last trading day before it announced it was looking for a buyer, and a 39 percent premium over Friday's close.

Getty shares climbed $7.66, or 31.3 percent, to $32.11 in morning trading Monday.

Based on Getty's 61 million fully-diluted shares, the cash offer is worth almost $2.1 billion. The buyer is also assuming about $300 million in debt, pushing the total value of the transaction to $2.4 billion.

The deal requires shareholder approval. Closing is expected in the second quarter.

London Features to Photographers: Pack up and get out

The London Features' NY office is closing and they have informed their photographers to come in, sort and remove their slides by the begining of March 2008.

It has become a daunting task. The office has 200+ file cabinets, alphabetical order by talent and event. So it is impossible to know which cabinet has whose photos. From early reports, it's taking photographers a day per cabinet.

The system they devised is; whomever shows up and pulls slides, pulls for everyone else in the office. So boxes of slides by individual photographers are filling up.

It is rumored that LFI has changed the passwords on their site, not allowing photographer to download their work in digital form. More as I get updates...

It is unclear what LFI's future intentions are, but LFI London has said they will still represent photographers work in Europe, but not here in the US.

No word about back payments or pending US sales...

Developing...

ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT COVERED ASHTON KUTCHER'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Ashton Kutcher's birthday bash has turned into medical nightmare. A bartender at the New York club Socialista, where his wife Demi Moore hosted an A-list bash, has tested positive for Hepatitis A, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced today, meaning Ashton and his guests need to get tested too due to exposure. "In response to a case of Hepatitis A in a bartender at Socialista in Manhattan, the Health Department today notified patrons of the exposure and urged them to get a hepatitis A vaccination as a precautionary measure," the Health Department statement reads. "Hepatitis A is spread by putting something in one's mouth (even though it might look clean) that has been contaminated with traces of fecal matter from an infected person. Any patron who visited the establishment after 8 p.m. on February 7th or 8th, or after 10 p.m. on February 11th (the times the infected person worked after becoming infectious), is considered to be at risk and needs a preventive shot. " Those in attendance at Ashton's Feb. 7 party included Kate Hudson, Madonna, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Liv Tyler, Roberto Cavalli, and past OK! cover boy Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart. Hep A is a viral liver disease. Recovery takes a few weeks with bed rest and alcohol abstinence. Symptoms include jaundice (yellowing of eyes and skin), fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. Once the symptoms appear, there are no special medicines or antibiotics that can be used to treat it.

Kate Hudson Wants To Make It Illegal For Paparazzi To Chase Hollywood Kids

Kate Hudson is "bothered" over the paparazzi's aggressiveness in taking pictures of celebrities' kids.

Hudson, who is mother to 4-year-old son Ryder, says it should be made illegal for paparazzi to pursue Hollywood broods.

"It bothers me, it bothers my parents. Ryder doesn't know what that is. He's four years old."

"It's aggressive, it's bizarre and it makes him self-conscious. And kids should always be kids, they should never be self-conscious of what they're doing."

Perhaps the 28-year-old actress understands it better than anyone else. Being a daughter of famous parents, Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, she knows how hard it is for children to be photographed and pursued ruthlessly by the paparazzi.

"That should be illegal."

Hudson isn't the only one to speak of issue. Mary-Louise Parker has also lashed out last week at the snappers over their merciless chase of her co-star Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's children.

"I think it's inhumane. The media's gotten more and more salacious. They're just ruthless."

Parker also adds: "As people, I think it's our duty to protect children at whatever cost and they really exploit the children of celebrities, especially their (Pitt and Jolie's) children, at whatever cost to get a picture of them."

"It feels really immoral to me. It's not fair for them. I think they actually handle it well."

Briefing: A swarm of paparazzi

Celebrities have long been hounded by photographers, but in the age of Britney, Lindsay, and Paris, the hunt has escalated into blood sport. Why have the paparazzi become so aggressive?

Why are some photographers called paparazzi?
The term has its origins in the 1960 Fellini film La Dolce Vita, which featured an unsavory photographer named Paparazzo—a dialect word for an irksome, buzzing mosquito. For decades, a few dozen paparazzi have made a living swarming around A-list hotspots in Los Angeles, New York, and London, waiting for a big star to show up. They then sell their photos—the more candid and embarrassing, the better—to supermarket tabloids, celebrity magazines, and photo agencies. But as the market for celebrity photos has exploded over the past decade, a more aggressive subset, known as “stalkerazzi,” has evolved. They hunt the famous wherever they go, by foot, by car, and even by helicopter. After Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi, there were calls for new laws to bar such pursuits. But the outcry faded, and since then, the paparazzi have gotten even more aggressive.

What tactics do they use?
Paparazzi work a lot like private detectives, developing a network of informants, and plotting out the day-to-day movements of their quarry. One paparazzo posed as a relative of Michael Douglas to gain access to the hospital at which his son was born. Another camped out near Jennifer Aniston’s home and used a telephoto lens to shoot pictures through her window, capturing a topless shot. Now that their aggressive tactics have gotten them barred from the clubs and restaurants that the rich and famous frequent, paparazzi have been known to set off fire alarms to force an evacuation to the street, where they can photograph their targets. Paparazzi also have taken to pursuing celebrities in cars, whether they’re having a night out on the town or headed to the supermarket.

How common are such chases?
In the last few years, there have been dozens of incidents. Lindsay Lohan suffered cuts and bruises when a paparazzo crashed into her car after she made a sudden U-turn. Scarlett Johansson sideswiped another car while fleeing swarms of paparazzi who had chased her for an hour. A paparazzo intentionally bumped into Catherine Zeta-Jones to force her out of her vehicle. Just last month, four paparazzi were arrested and charged with reckless driving while chasing Britney Spears.

Why is the paparazzi corps growing?
It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. Celebrity-oriented magazines such as People and Us Weekly are more popular than ever, while newer gossip Web sites such as TMZ.com are drawing millions of users. These gossip-hungry publications get larger audiences when they can deliver, say, a photo of a drunken Lohan or the first picture showing Angelina Jolie looking pregnant. As a result, paparazzi can charge more for such photos, and the promise of riches has attracted more people to the field. Ten years ago, there were a handful of celebrity photo agencies in L.A. and about 25 paparazzi trolling the streets. Today, there are about 200 paparazzi in L.A. and dozens more in New York.

How much do they charge?
A garden-variety picture of Jerry Seinfeld sipping a latte at Starbucks may sell for a few hundred dollars. But a worldwide exclusive of a huge star in the right circumstances can yield tens of thousands of dollars or more. A shot of Lohan passed out in her car after leaving a bar went for $100,000. Paris Hilton’s 2006 arrest (in handcuffs) sold for $150,000. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s first kiss captured on film went for $300,000. Britney Spears images are now in such demand that she has fueled an entire cottage industry.

Is there anything wrong with all this?
Aside from the obvious moral issues, there is a legitimate public-safety concern. As paparazzi chases through the streets of Los Angeles become more common, police say both the pursuers and pursued tend to ignore speed limits and other traffic laws—risking not only their own lives but also those of innocent bystanders. Citing safety, Hollywood actors are lobbying for laws barring paparazzi from following them around. But paparazzi say the safety issue is a smokescreen, and that celebrities simply resent that other people get to make money off their images. “They say it’s safety, but the real reason is they want to have control,” says Randy Bauer, who owns a celebrity photo agency in L.A. “They figure if they are going to have their face out there, they want a piece of the action.”

Shouldn’t stars control their own images?
The courts have repeatedly held that public figures have a very limited right to privacy. So once celebrities venture out into public, free-press guarantees make it perfectly legal for photographers to take their picture. “If you’re getting paid $20 million a movie,” says Us Weekly editor in chief Janice Min, “you have to accept the fact that you’re a public commodity.” Still, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for celebrities who cannot pick up their kids at school, or run out for a quart of milk in their sweatpants, without being swarmed by paparazzi shouting insults and hunting for the least flattering image. “They want incendiary reactions,” says publicist Michael Levine, who has represented Demi Moore and other stars. “Why be a real journalist when you can call Alec Baldwin a moron and get a good photo of him smashing your head?”

People Magazine, Paparazzi Hound Michelle Williams

Here's a funny website asking it's readers to email People Magazine and Splash this letter of disgust:

CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE


Dear People Magazine and Splash News Online,

We find it to be a sleazy, trashy, sensationalistic excuse for news that you have Heath Ledger's family and Michelle Williams on your front pages in their most private grieving moments. To pay photographers for pictures of a family at a private memorial service and on their way home from one - who explicitly requested that you allow them time to heal outside of the public eye - is amoral and disgusting.

Instead of appealing to your morals, however (since those so heavily lack in the media these days), we simply request that you cease to publish such material. We are regular readers of your website(s) and magazine, but will completely stop purchasing and visiting should you choose to ignore this e-mail and continue with your invasive treatment of these families.

Do you plan to publish further paparazzi photos of Michelle Williams going to the store? Or will you grow a heart?

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

Hayek Furious About Paparazzi Stand-Off

Salma Hayek flew into a rage in New York on Tuesday morning after she spotted a photographer trying to take close-ups of her baby daughter.

The protective mom lashed out at the paparazzo as she left her hotel on Fifth Avenue with four-month-old Valentina Paloma.

Hayek screamed at the snapper to stay away and then attempted to shield her baby from the flashbulbs.

7 Recent Attacks on the Paparazzi by Celebrities

Quentin Tarantino Attacks
Tarantino has apparently been watching too many of his own movies to think he’s bad ass enough to fight anybody.

More celebrities who think they’re more badass than they actually are (and one who probably is that badass)

James Gandolfini Attacks
He actually attacks a fan, not the paparazzi. The thing that aggravates me the most about this is that this douchebag fan no doubt loved it…”Duuuuude, Tony Soprano totally attacked me…AWESOME!”. Where’s Paulie Walnuts when you need him?

Coldplay’s Chris Martin Attacks
Playing whiny music does not, in fact, make you a badass.

Justing Timberlake Attacks
This is a very wimpy attack, but it’s Justin Timberlake for fuck’s sake. What do you expect? Unless we’re talking about a dance-fight, he knows better than to start some shit

Mini-Me Attacks
He really only flicks a booger at the guy and tells him to “fuck off” (way later in the video. Not worth watching the whole thing for), but the dude is like 3 ft. tall. What the hell else is he going to do?

Amy Winehouse Attacks
She takes a swing anyway, but to her credit she was probably so whacked out of her mind that she thought she kicked his ass. Score one for the moral victory.

Britney Spears Attacks
In what was the most least surprising paparazzi attack ever, Britney uses an umbrella to stave off cameramen. They say she has multiple personalities. I guess one of those is The Penguin.

FBI IN 'PAP' PROBE

THE FBI is poking around the celebrity magazine world on the West Coast, investigating allegations of kickbacks and pay-for-play schemes, according to a source who was contacted by investigators.

The source was told that the probe, which appears to be at a preliminary stage, involved "paparazzi and In Touch" magazine.

The source was contacted by an agent named Dennis Webster in the FBI's Los Angeles office. Webster had not returned calls to Media Ink by presstime.

Specifics about what the feds are looking into remain murky, but people at the celebrity magazines have been burning up the lines in recent days since a story about the FBI probe was posted Wednesday on the complex.com Web site and picked up by gawker.com and jossip.com.

However, the source said that West Coast legal circles have been buzzing that Hollywood stars who have long felt they were being harassed by the paparazzi were perhaps pushing the feds to act.

Stars have long been frustrated that local law enforcement has been unable to thwart the paparazzi unless they either pose a real threat to someone or are trespassing on private property.

At the heart of the FBI's probe is whether an editor at In Touch received kickbacks from a photo agency that works with the magazine in exchange for doling out plumb assignments to the agency, the source told Media Ink.

If the unnamed editor took payments and didn't report it as income, it could be a matter of tax evasion.

The yet-to-be-identified photo agency could also run afoul of federal regulations if it was not properly reporting cash payments to individuals.

The source said that one agency had garnered $80,000 in assignments from In Touch without ever getting a photo into the magazine.

The speculation is that the agency was kicking money back to an editor who continued to dole out the plumb assignments.

Complex.com said the focus of the investigation involved selections of covers, but other sources said that seemed far-fetched.

A spokeswoman for In Touch said, "It doesn't make sense. All photos are selected in New Jersey. We have not been contacted by the FBI."

The Hollywood scene is generally regarded as a tricky place to be a journalist, with talk of kickbacks and under-the-table payments constantly circulating.

While unethical, it is often tough to say when it crosses the line into illegality.

But as one source who was chatting about the scandal offered, "It would have to be a lot of money over a long period of time to get the FBI interested."

It remains to be seen if the FBI inquiry will yield any fruit. So far, however, it has stirred up the celebrity and gossip reporting world, stretching from Hollywood to London's Fleet Street.

18 Wins and one GIANT loss.

That sums it all up.

L.A. Lawmaker Proposes Anti-Paparazzi 'Safety Zone' Law

LOS ANGELES — A city councilman on Friday proposed an ordinance to create a buffer zone between celebrities and the paparazzi who often swarm around them.

Councilman Dennis Zine said the measure would require several feet of space between photographers and celebrities to ensure a "personal safety zone."

"This is about common decency," Zine said following a City Council meeting. "We don't want to put the media out of business, but there has to be some reason when they do their job."

Zine's motion proposing the ordinance said the buffer space must be big enough to allow cars and people to pass safely. It did not specify what penalties, if any, someone would face if someone violated the measure.

Last month, Britney Spears was taken from her home by paramedics amid a frenzy of photographers who crowded and chased the ambulance. This week she was again hospitalized, but a phalanx of police vehicles and a helicopter escorted the ambulance.

The motion notes that the paparazzi "are becoming increasingly aggressive in their tactics, posing a clear danger not only to the people they are trying to photography, but to the general public around them."

"It has gotten outrageous," Zine said of the intense media coverage of celebrities. "If we don't do anything, we could see someone seriously injured or killed."

Pamm Fair, the deputy national executive director of the Screen Actors Guild, said the organization supports such an ordinance. She said there has been a growing concern by SAG members about the conduct of the tabloid press.

"I think there is a difference between taking a photo and getting in someone's face and ambushing them," Fair said. "We fully support this effort. Whatever we can do to create a safe environment for our members, their children and residents of this city."

The measure could resemble one that was enacted during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles where protesters were kept away from entrances into Staples Center. Because the city adopted that policy, Zine believes his proposal would pass legal muster.

A phone message left with the American Civil Liberties Union was not immediately returned.

Zine's motion asks the city attorney and police officials to propose new restrictions on paparazzi to be discussed at the City Council's Public Safety Committee hearing in coming weeks, where photographers as well as actors could testify.

Zine said he hoped it will win council approval and take effect in about six months.

An "anti-stalkerazzi" law went into effect in California two years ago that increased penalties against photographers who impeded celebrities or were responsible for car accidents. Photographers are liable for three times the damages they inflict, plus lose any payments their published photos might earn.

Paparazzi admit pursuit of Britney has gone too far

Imagine the scene: a psychiatrist is urgently called to the home of a severely disturbed young woman.

Together, the psychiatrist and the family decide to take her to hospital – without her consent – for a mental health evaluation. A specialist unit of the local police is called to facilitate the journey. Traumatic enough, one might think.

Except that when the young woman in question is Britney Spears, the nightmare has only just begun. The 26-year-old star was indeed admitted to the University of California Medical Centre in Los Angeles in the early hours of Thursday morning – the latest in a long series of deeply troubling episodes involving her wayward behaviour, her young children, her ex-husband and a whole retinue of relatives and hangers-on.

What made it a whole lot worse, though, was that the paparazzi pack got wind of the psychiatrist's late-night visit. By the time everyone was ready to move out of the house – a gated home near the top of Coldwater Canyon in the Hollywood Hills – the area was swarming with about 200 photographers and television camera operators.

TV helicopters swooped overhead. The Los Angeles police were forced to carry out an evacuation plan worthy of a military campaign – guarding the house against a possible paparazzi invasion, setting up a complicated series of roadblocks to throw the photographers off the trail, and blacking the windows in the ambulance so Britney could experience her trauma as privately as possible.

The whole operation lasted hours and cost an estimated $25,000 (£12,600) – money the police would much rather have spend on something else.

Last night it was reported that an LA court had taken possession of her estate "due to mental health issues". The rapid downward spiral of Britney Spears' life marks perhaps the lowest watermark in our tabloid culture – an entire industry feeding off the misery of a former teenage idol turned very public basket-case. A business publication called Portfolio estimated a few days ago that the "Britney-Industrial Complex" is worth about $120m a year to the US economy – everything from the fees generated by her pictures to the boost in circulation, as much as one-third more, enjoyed by publications who put her on the cover.

In the increasingly Wild West atmosphere of Hollywood's paparazzi agencies, she alone currently accounts for as much as 30 per cent of total revenues.

Much of this has gone unquestioned, outside of some high-minded media discussion forums at the Los Angeles Times.

Now, though, even some of the photographers who make their living chronicling every step of her meltdown are beginning to examine their consciences, and their professional ethics. One British photographer based in Los Angeles, Nick Stern, became perhaps the first to make a public stand when he quit his job with the Splash news agency a few days ago because he could not bring himself to cover Britney another day longer.

"The Britney story is no longer about Britney," he said. "It's the media circus surrounding her... It's not journalism. Sooner or later, someone's going to get killed. Possibly Britney herself."

Stern said he could no longer stomach the sheer aggression of the pack – many of whom have no photographic training and, he said, include members of street gangs treating the trade in Britney snapshots as a criminal racket.

"I've heard stories of fights, of car tyres being slashed, or cars being blocked in and vehicles jumping lights, all in the name of getting a picture," he said.

"It's now acceptable for paparazzi to drive the wrong way down a street in pursuit of Britney." Stern, who moved to Los Angeles last August following several years at the head of his own agency, First News, said he had no objection to celebrity journalism.

He made a fine living from it, selling mainly to the lower end of the British newspaper market, and felt the press corps were unfairly blamed for the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Nor does he have any particular beef with Splash, who he said were "one of the more honourable professional employers out here".

He has now joined another agency, Bauer Griffin.

The Britney circus, though, has turned his stomach. "If there's a story concerning Britney that's justified, that's great," he said. "But it's gone way beyond that... She has real psychological problems."

A few months ago, those problems extended to her shaving her head or appearing at nightclubs without any underwear on.

A month ago, though, she refused to hand over her sons Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one, to her ex husband Kevin Federline, 29, and then locked herself in a bathroom.

That prompted a day-long involuntary hospitalisation. More recently, she was spotted repeatedly driving past a courthouse where custody hearings about her children were under way, but not stopping to go in.