Catherine Zeta-Jones hurt in clash with paparazzi

CATHERINE ZETA-JONES and Michael Douglas were in a scuffle with the paparazzi just hours after the Swansea-born star collected a CBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

Video footage of the incident, which emerged over the weekend, shows the aftermath of a media scrum which began when Zeta-Jones and her husband were chauffeured back to their Westminster hotel in London after a dinner with friends at Gordon Ramsay’s Claridge’s hotel restaurant.

The 41-year-old had earlier attended a ceremony at Buckingham Palace with the couple’s two children, Dylan, 10, and Carys, seven.

The pair are filmed trying to make their way through a group of photographers and Zeta-Jones can be heard shouting: “How dare you punch me.”

She is seen clutching her chin and lip and demands: “I want a police officer right now. He punched me. The guy coming in here, he punched me.”

In the footage, which is already racking up thousands of hits on video sharing websites, Michael Douglas is then seen to his help his wife before hotel security intervened in the incident.

Douglas recently declared he had won a well-publicised battle with throat cancer but still requires monthly checks.

Speaking afterwards, a representative for Douglas said: “You saw it for yourself. Otherwise, the trip and the ceremony were fabulous and such a joy for everyone.”

Thursday’s scuffle is the latest in a string of clashes between Zeta-Jones and the paparazzi.

In 2003 the couple won a landmark court ruling after claiming that a photographer who sneaked into their wedding had invaded their privacy.

During the case Catherine told the court how she was once scared by a photographer who jumped out of a doorway at night to get a shot of her.

On another occasion, she crashed her car into a lamppost trying to escape from a photographer.

Later, Zeta-Jones was driving her son in California when photographers for a British tabloid paper crashed into them.

Under Californian law, drivers have to get out of the car to exchange details.

She told London’s High Court at the time: “They immediately jumped out of their car and took photographs of me looking furious at the side of the road.

“They then published them in an article about me being consumed by road rage.

“This incident made me very angry.”

Publicist Max Clifford said each case of paparazzi intrusion should be judged separately.

“I’m sure that in some cases a line has been crossed and in others the star is being a little precious,” he said.

“In this latest case with Catherine, only she and the people involved know exactly what took place.”

He added: “The thing I tell all the stars that I have represented is that they must expect and put up with a degree of it. Of course the days when the paparazzi played the game are long gone, in fact these days anyone with a camera or even a mobile phone is a member of the paparazzi.

“It has got harder for people to live with and I sympathise with that, but of course there are certainly cases where the celebrity is being a little precious.”

A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police said there had been no complaint and no investigation was taking place.

Prince Harry's car hits royal photographer

PRINCE Harry's minders face a grilling after a car carrying the young royal hit a photographer in central London, leaving him hospitalised.

The snapper was struck as the Prince was whisked through a press pack in a silver Ford car in the early hours of this morning.

Party-loving Harry had been celebrating England's Six-Nations rugby success at central London's Beaufort House before calling it a night around 2am and climbing into the vehicle with his protection team.

The prince was heading to his car with his minders. With Harry safely inside, the car pulled into the street hitting Mr Margiocchi in the leg and knocking him to the the ground.

Millions of Photos from the Sygma Archive May Soon be Destroyed

In 1999 Corbis — privately owned by Bill Gates — paid $20 million to acquire Sygma, a legendary photo agency that was the largest in the world at the time. After the acquisition, the agency bled money and suffered heavy fines due to the mismanagement of photographs, paying $2 million at one point for losing 750 of one photojournalist’s photos. In 2010 the new agency, named Corbis Sygma, filed for bankruptcy after its debt had risen to €73m (~$100 million). Now the court appointed administrator of the defunct company is saying that millions of images in the collection may be destroyed after a failed attempt to sell them at auction.

Up to 12 million photographs by an unknown number of photographs are at risk, and they simply don’t have the resources to return the images to their owners. Hopefully someone comes up with a solution for saving these historical images soon…

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas Involved in Paparazzi Scuffle

 On Thursday, Catherine Zeta-Jones was named Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), the third-highest rank in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. But hours after the ceremony, the Welsh-born actress, 41, and husband Michael Douglas were confronted by paparazzi outside their London hotel, reports Entertainment Tonight, and the altercation was caught on video. 

Zeta-Jones was allegedly hit in the face by an aggressive paparazzo, and she screamed out, "I want a police officer right now. He punched me," according to ET. While she reportedly shoved the paparazzo out of the way, Douglas intervened. 

The actress's rep was not immediately available for comment. When reached, Douglas's rep, Allen Burry, told ET, "You saw it for yourself," referring to the video footage of the incident. "Otherwise, the trip and the ceremony were fabulous and such a joy for everyone." 

Bingle angers paps with photo deal

TAKING a cue from experienced paparazzi catnip Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, Lara Bingle is understood to have struck a deal with photo agency Big Pictures for a cut of the profits made from her own photos.

It is understood rival agencies are seething over the deal, which are generally commonplace in the US.

The move means Bingle can create and control the pictures released for sale to magazines and newspapers.

Bingle was snapped yesterday looking perfect after a long-haul flight from London.

The photo had a price tag of $250 and it is thought Bingle would receive about 50 per cent of profits in a deal.

News of an alliance came as a surprise to Bingle's manager, Titus Day, who denied the pin-up had struck an agreement with self-proclaimed "Mr Paparazzi" Darren Lyons.

But the millionaire Big Pictures agency owner has been seen lunching with Bingle on several occasions in recent weeks, and the former cricket WAG was seen at Sydney airport recently giving one Big Pictures photographer directions to her location.

Big was also the only agency that managed to snap her in London with new beau Jason Derulo.

A rep from Big Pictures didn't return calls yesterday.

Kate Moss' fiancé Jamie Hince attacks paparazzi

Kate Moss' London Fashion Week celebrations didn't end in style last night as fiancé Jamie Hince lashed out at photographers as they made their way home.

The Kills star Hince was pulled aside by patrolling police officers who calmed him down – as well as giving him a stern talking to – while model Kate fretted in a waiting car nearby.

The pair had been enjoying a London Fashion Week afterparty at swish Soho nightclub The Box, but all hell broke lose when one of the photographers allegedly got too close to the Croydon-born model - prompting her protective boyfriend to step in.

Dragging the shocked snapper by his coat and raising clenched fists to his face, Jamie's outburst was watched by stunned onlookers and ended with him collapsing onto the floor.

Cheryl Burke slams paparazzi for lies

Dancing With The Stars professional Cheryl Burke has hit out at the paparazzi for making her life miserable over the past few years.

The dancer, who was ridiculed in the press in 2008 after being pictured in a bikini having visibly put on weight, said that she doesn't think the paparazzi realize how their work affects people.

"I think there's some really nice [paparazzi] out there," Burke told Popeater. "But I do hate the ones that make it difficult for me, the ones that have criticised my weight, the ones who have called me a party girl and have made my parents worry about me.

"It's like I don't think they realize what they are really doing to someone's self-esteem and also to someone's family," the dancer added.

Burke admits that she felt extremely low after the bikini photos emerged and tried a number of extreme diets before settling on simply improving her general health and fitness regime.

$40,000 Awarded to Man Who Had Photos Deleted by Police

A man in Atlanta was just awarded $40,000 in damages after having his cell phone confiscated and photos deleted while filming police activity from a public location. The man was filming for Copwatch, an organization that aims to crack down on law enforcement wrongdoing by filming their activities, and was told by the police that he had no right to record them. An interesting quote from CNN is the lesson this case should send to other police departments,

The lesson is that police departments need to know that citizens can film their activity if it is taking place in a public place.

Store video, paparazzi photos to be cited in Lindsay Lohan necklace-theft case

 
Store video and paparazzi photos are among the evidence authorities have collected as prosecutors plan to charge Lindsay Lohan with stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store, sources have told The Times.

The law enforcement sources said police have a video from the store showing Lohan wearing the necklace. Authorities also have collected paparazzi photos taken at a later date showing Lohan wearing the necklace in public, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

Police supplied statements from witnesses at the jewelry store, the sources added.

Prosecutors said they plan to file felony grand-theft charge against the actress. She will be arraigned Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Airport Courthouse.

Lohan is on probation and faces a criminal investigation in Riverside County involving allegations that she shoved a worker at the Betty Ford Center. She did not immediately comment on the latest charge, but her attorney has released a statement saying the actress would fight any criminal charges.

Last week, Los Angeles Police Department detectives presented the results of their investigation into the alleged theft to prosecutors. Detectives investigated whether Lohan stole a "one-of-a-kind" necklace that went missing last month from a Venice jewelry store not far from where she lives.

The piece, described as a gold necklace with semiprecious stones, disappeared Jan. 22 from the store in the 1300 block of Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and police began investigating a few days later. According to law-enforcement sources, Lohan was seen in a store security video wearing the necklace before it was reported missing.

After detectives began looking into the case and preparing a search warrant, a Lohan associate took the necklace to the Pacific Division police station, sources said.

In the Riverside County case, Lohan is accused of assaulting an employee at the Betty Ford Center.

Lohan spent three months at the rehab center in Rancho Mirage under orders from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox, who spared the actress jail time in October after Lohan tested positive for drugs while on probation in a DUI case.

The judge directed her to stay at the center through January and warned that he would put her in jail for six months if she violated probation again. It was her fifth time in rehab, and she has been to jail three times in connection with the case.

The employee accused Lohan of shoving her but then told investigators she did not want to press charges.

Canon 200-400mm Lens to Include a Built-in Switchable 1.4x Teleconverter

Canon is on a tear today with its announcements. In addition to new Rebel cameras and new entry level flashes, they also have some lens news. First, they’re releasing new versions of their 500mm and 600mm lenses, but even more interesting is the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens they announced the development of. This is a zoom lens that has a 1.4x teleconverter built right in. Once you switch it on, it instant turns into a 280-560mm f/5.6 lens!

Justin Bieber's Bodyguard Arrested For Attacking Photgrapher

A bodyguard working for Justin Bieber has been arrested after allegedly becoming embroiled in a scuffle with a snapper who was taking pictures of the teenage pop star.

Security guard Kenneth Hamilton was detained by police on Wednesday after photographer Jason Nicholas accused the bodyguard of pushing him up against a parked car in New York City in November.

Nicholas claims to have suffered lower back pain since the alleged incident.

Cops detained Hamilton this week (beg31Jan11) and handed him a desk-appearance ticket, which requires him to appear in court on a date yet to be set, according to New York Post gossip column Page Six.

Another California Crackdown on Aggressive Paparazzi Drivers

Reports of accidents and injuries caused by paparazzi become more common every day in Southern California and other areas of the state. In a continued effort to curb these incidents the California legislature has increased the penalties for traffic violations by members of the paparazzi.

On the first of this month changes to a new state law took effect in California aimed at protecting the public from reckless and aggressive paparazzi drivers that endanger public safety. According to a review of changes in public safety regulations by AccidentInjuryLawyersForYou.com the new law increases the penalties for anyone caught driving recklessly in order to take photographs or video footage of celebrities.

The paparazzi take these photographs and videos in order to sell them to tabloids for publication. Since the death of Princess Diana, which is believed to have been caused by a high speed chase with paparazzi, aggressive and dangerous behavior has been a subject of greater scrutiny by public officials. California passed paparazzi related legislation as early as 1998 and amended the legislation in 2005 and 2009 (Section 1708.8 of the California Civil Code).

This new amendment (Assembly Bill No. 2479) increases penalties for traffic violations or interfering with the operation of a celebrity's car. The maximum fine has been increased from $2,500 to $5,000 and the possible jail time has been raised from six months to a year.

The law is not meant to protect only celebrities from being endangered but also family members and friends along with other drivers and pedestrians who might find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Although many celebrities applaud these new penalties there are opponents to the law, including the Newspaper Publisher's Association, who feel that the law is overly inclusive and that it unfairly targets those who are in the business of gathering news according to a statement by the California Newspaper Publisher’s Association released on August 23, 2010. A legal challenge to the constitutionality of the law may be expected if anyone is arrested under the new legislation.

Although it is unclear whether increased penalties will have an affect on the paparazzi who are constantly competing to get photos that can be sold for large amounts of money, it is clear that California’s legislative branch is willing and ready to raise the stakes in this dangerous game.

AccidentInjuryLawyersForYou.com provides free information to consumers about safe driving, recent changes in traffic legislation, choosing accident injury lawyers and dealing with injury claims.

Voting on Lottery system today @ National Board of Review

01/11/11- There is an initiative to change the time of the lottery (before a major event)
to take place at 10pm instead of midnight.  


Please vote on it, majority result will determine the Red Carpet line-up process going forward.  


Tell your friends.

Douglas Calls On Paparazzi To Pay Up For Cancer Shots

MICHAEL DOUGLAS is urging the photographers who got rich from their "macabre" photographs of him during his 2010 throat cancer battle to give some of the cash they made to charity.

The movie star admits it became a chore to face the paparazzi as he tried to battle his health crisis in private, and he fears their shots may have been "toughed up" to make him look more gaunt and sick than he really was.

Douglas admits the photos that appeared in the tabloids worried friends and prompted his father Kirk Douglas to jet to New York from Los Angeles - and now he thinks it's payback time.

In a new Today and Dateline NBC TV interview, the latest celebrity cancer survivor says, "They're (paparazzi) there every day. I guess curiosity's gotten them a lot of coverage... and there's so many outlets now these days.

"There was sort of a macabre enjoyment out of sort of watching me go down there for a while, I felt, by the paparazzi... You want to share (and) give 25 per cent to the United Nations or my favourite charity, you know? Cancer research?

"Why (do they) have the right to take your own identity, 100 per cent selfishly for your own gains?"

The constant scrutiny gave Douglas a taste of what it must be like for today's hot young stars who are never out of the tabloids.

He adds, "I just feel for all these young kids. I mean, the generations now, with the amount of paparazzi that they have and these video cameras... you just can't do anything."

Kourtney Kardashian run-in with photogs results in angry airport episode

Let’s hope Scott Disick shows more restraint disciplining his kid.

Kourtney Kardashian's baby daddy was caught on video on TMZ.com unloading a few F-bombs on a photographer who got a little too close to baby Mason at Miami International Airport Wednesday.

Disick, in a fit of rage, got in the face of the photographer, spouting, "How close can you get?? ... stand back, you f---ing idiot."

Despite the pleas of Disick, Kardashian and others in the traveling party to respect their space, photographers keep snapping off pics before Disick picked out one to make an example of.

Disick charged at the photographer, demonstratively pointed his finger in his face, and yelled, "Don't get that f---ing close to me!"

Disick, Kardashian and Mason - along with the rest of the party - were unharmed in the incident and quickly left the airport after the run-in.

Kardashian took her blog Thursday, warning paparazzi not to cross certain lines.

"Paparazzi beware. Please don't get too close to Mason. We don't like it," the reality star wrote.

"Stay at a friendly distance, don't ask dumb questions and we can all get along," Kardashian added.

Kardashian arrived in Miami to prepare for her hosting duties at the Ganesvoort Hotel on South Beach Friday night where she’ll headline the Ciroc New Year's Eve party.

With News Wire Services

Obama Bans Topless Photos

President Obama is apparently getting shy (or flabby?) in his advancing years as president. 

Reporters have been given strict instructions not to snap pics of a topless president while he's vacationing in Hawaii, reports the New York Times. That means no more hunka-hunka shots and no more memorable headlines like the New York's Post's"Buff Bam is Hawaii Hunk" after Obama was snapped shirtless several times while vacationing as president-elect.

Report: Jake Gyllenaal Calls the Cops on Paparazzi

For such a good-looking couple, Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swiftapparently don't like being photographed much.

X17 Online reports that Love & Other Drugs actor Gyllenhaal called the police on paparazzi who were tailing him and his Speak Now singer sweetheart as they cruised around Beverly Hills in their Audi Q7 on Thursday.

According to one of the photographers on the scene, the LAPD not only dispatched ground cover for the couple, but sent a helicopter out to monitor the situation from the air. The pap also opines that Gyllenaal's distress call to the po-po was completely unwarranted by the situation:

"I don't know why Jake was in such a bad mood. We saw him and Taylor in the car and when we tried to see where they would park to get out, Jake went crazy. It's like he didn't want anyone to get a shot of him and Taylor together. I mean if he's going to do set-up shots with the paps like he did last week, what's the difference?!"

So far, neither the LAPD, the Beverly Hills Police Department or the Beverly Hills Sheriff's Department has responded to X17's calls inquiring about the dramatic response to Gyllenhaal's call.

Should Paparazzi Have the Right to Photograph Angelina's Kids?

If you're one of the lucky few to hit the celebrity jackpot, you also become a public figure -- meaning that strangers have the legal right to follow you around and take your picture. But should the same rules apply to your children? That's an issue that celebrity moms grapple with every day, as they frantically try to keep their kids away from the paparazzi's flashbulbs. Now a few famous mamas are taking action against the photographers who make money off their children. Will their efforts succeed?

Nicole Richie made the first move this fall, making good on her threat to file restraining orders against paparazzi who were staking out her daughter Harlow's preschool. Then in a Wednesday night appearance on Larry King Live, mother of six Angelina Jolie expressed her wish that "there will at some point be laws about how close (photographers) can get to children with cameras." The next day, Radar Online posted a photo ofJulia Roberts having a face-to-face confrontation with a photographer who took pictures of her three children. (Roberts has a history of confronting paparazzi, especially when kids are involved.)

While celebs have always taken pains to shield their kids from the spotlight, it's become much more challenging in recent years. Our national obsession with famous babies -- what Suri is wearing, what Shiloh and Zahara bought on vacation -- means that candid photos of stars' kids are in high demand. And that leads to some seriously unsavory situations, like paparazzi waiting in the bushes outside children's schools. Technically, there's no law against this, since the kids are Hollywood royalty. The problem is that the kids, unlike their spotlight-seeking parents, never asked to be in this situation.

And don't think for a minute that famous children are unaffected by the media storm. Kids are remarkably resilient, but they can also be extremely sensitive to the way grown-ups act around them. Remember when Maddox Jolie-Pitt started kindergarten in New York City? Reportedly, his teacher asked the students to bring in pictures of their families -- and Maddox started crying, because he was so traumatized about having his picture taken. In November, it was reported that one of the six-year-old Gosselin children, Collin, refused to have a school picture taken "because he's tired of being on camera." We don't really know what effect this kind of 24-7 paparazzi scrutiny has on children, since this is the first generation that's dealing with the digital age. But stories like these make us wonder if these kids will grow up permanently traumatized.

So why can't photographers just lay off famous children? The answer is simple: everybody loves looking at pictures of celebrities hanging out with their children, which means the photos are worth big bucks, which means that paparazzi will go to great lengths to get the shots. The photographers are just giving us what we want, which is a candid look into the private lives of celebrity families. And who can turn away from pictures of the adorable Jolie-Pitt clan eating gelato in Italy? In this day and age, we've grown to expect constant access to our favorite celebrities' lives. But maybe we need to change our expectations, in the hopes of giving these extra-ordinary kids a chance at a semi-normal childhood.

Lindsay Wants Restraining Order Against Paparazzi

Lindsay Lohan believes she's being denied driving privileges because the paparazzi are constantly on her tail ... so she's asking her lawyer to get a restraining order prohibiting them from chasing her.

As first reported, the L.A. County Probation Department -- along with the DMV -- have given Lindsay the green light to drive again. And Betty Ford was down with it as well.

But sources involved in the decision tell TMZ ... just when Lindsay was supposed the get the keys, Betty Ford decided it was too much of a safety risk to put Lindsay behind the wheel, because the paparazzi were creating an unsafe driving situation.

We're told Lindsay emailed her lawyer this weekend -- with pictures attached showing the paps following her -- asking the attorney to go to court for the restraining order.

Sources say no decision has been reached on whether a restraining order is a viable option. In the meantime, Lindsay is still stuck in park.

The Royal wedding: Will the paparazzi doom romance?

Commentators wonder if Prince William and Kate Middleton can escape the paparazzi swarm that oppressed his mother, Princess Diana

Prince William and Kate Middleton have announced their engagement and set a date for their wedding next year. Given the role the tabloid press played in Princess Diana's death, commentators are wondering whether the paparazzi will see Kate, in particular, as "fair game." Is being harassed by the paps an inevitable part of the fairy tale, or can the couple ensure their private lives stay private? (Watch Prince Andrew comment on the media obsession)

They'll be targets — if they can't keep the fairy tale alive:Photographers are a lot more ferocious now than in Diana's day, says PR expert Max Clifford, as quoted by CNN. "If you thought it was bad then, just watch." However, "as long as [the couple maintain a] popular and fairy-tale marriage, then the press are going to behave themselves because it will backfire on them."
"Will lawsuit fears keep photographers away from Kate Middleton?"

The Royals are ready to fight: Both the Queen and Prince William are prepared to take legal steps to "draw the line of what's public — and private," says Charlie D'Agata at CBS News. Prince William promised Kate's father that he would protect her from the media, and he "has already made clear he takes a 'zero tolerance' approach to the paparazzi, threatening to take both criminal and civil action against any photographer who steps over the line." The prince blames the paparazzi for his mother's death, and "he's determined his future wife will not have to tolerate the same kind of harassment."
"Queen determined to stop prying photographers"

Who cares? Royals aren't the draw they once were: In Diana's day, she was the primary focus of the paparazzi. Now, celebrities like the Beckhams and Kate Moss are on the same level as the young royals, says Max Cisotti, a paparazzi industry insider, as quoted in the London Evening Standard. "Kate and William are not more valuable than other A-list celebrities."
"Fair game or respect: paparazzi are at odds over pursuing Kate Middleton"