The other day we were in the trendy part of Santa Monica. Now, one could argue that all of Santa Monica is in fact trendy and one would be right but this is a particularly trendy stretch, with boutiques and restaurants and a larger percentage of pretty people per cubic yard than in, say, Culver City.
At any rate, we were there, heading to dinner and enjoying the late afternoon sea breeze, when we spotted a photographer with a huge lens on his camera. He was rushing, crouching, rushing again. A gaggle of people stood and watched, then hurried to catch up.
The prey in his sights appeared to be an attractive couple walking across the street. They nuzzled and smiled at each other, then meandered to a car in a nearby parking lot. The photographer rushed after them.
A commercial or fashion photo shoot? Didn’t look like it. I’ve seen those. They’re much less, well, rushed. Okay, a paparazzi stalking a celebrity? That’s more like it. But who the hell was the celebrity?
I asked one of the gaggle. He shrugged, “Some musician.” And yet somehow he also knew this musician’s name. I can’t remember it right now, Keith or Kevin something-beginning-with-a-B. We shrugged and walked on. I’m not exactly a pop culture maven, but I usually recognize names big enough to attract photographers as they stroll down the street. Not to mention that I've seen very big stars indeed with no entourage and no cameras pointing at them.
A few minutes later, we were a few blocks further toward our personal target, a seafood restaurant with a glimpse of ocean. The pretty couple walked across the street, still arm in arm. This time a new photographer had picked up the chase. Guess they didn’t get into that car after all. The winsome twosome walked as if they were in a commercial after all, and Dan and I came to the same conclusion: they were.
I believe this musician is no celebrity. He’s trying to gain attention by making people believe he is one. By paying photographers to act like paparazzi and rounding up a group of buddies to act like they know who he is.
It’s such an LA phenomenon. Image above all. Fashion yourself as the image you want to present and maybe you can manufacture the fame you crave.
Posted by Tamar at August 1, 2004 10:03 PM