Gen Art Film Festival: Night Four

Society's obsession with celebrities and fame is no secret. There are gossip magazines at every newstand and supermarket. There is an endless number of websites and blogs dedicated to breaking stories about celebrity couples getting together or breaking up. The red carpet photos, the late night parties, the trips to the grocery store or fast food joint. The continuous stream of photos has to come from somewhere or someone. That's where the paparazzi come in. We've seen the growth of the celeb photographer increase in recent years. Celebrities seem to be followed everywhere, everyday. It's gotten pretty ridiculous. The celebrities have shown time and again how annoyed they are with having their lives invaded by these people every waking moment.

But what do you do if you see a young boy taking your photo alongside the rest of the paparazzi? If you're Adrien Grenier, you stop and find out who he is. And them you make a documentary about him.

Teenage Paparazzo follows Grenier and fourteen year old Austin who is a paparazzi. Austin is an adorable kid who decided to enter the paparazzi business and became quite successful at it. There are lots of interviews with celebrities like Eva Longoria, Matt Damon, Lewis Black and Whoopi Goldberg among others. Paris Hilton has a larger part in the film than most of the other celebs as she helps Grenier with a pretty funny experiment and she seems to have taken a liking to young Austin.
There are also interviews with psychologists, professors and other professionals which give us a more in depth look into why we, as humans, feel the compulsion to want more and more info about the personal lives of celebrities.
It's interesting to see the dynamic between the celebs and the paparazzi. The way the paparazzi justify their actions and feel they have the right to invade every personal moment of their lives because of who they are and the career choices they've made. Some celebrities are more understanding than others. They also realize that the kind of life you lead as a celebrity also determines how much paparazzi attention you will garner.
But to see a young kid out until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning just to get pictures of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton coming out of a club, it doesn't seem right. Where are his parents? Why would they let him do this? His parents are actually quite nice, intelligent people who have let their child explore an interest. Austin is a very smart and self-sufficient child. He's also a product of the world we live in, fascinated with celebrities and the idea of fame.
The film is very well-rounded, showing different perspectives of this world. Watching Adrien being shunned by the paparazzi was quite interesting. Also seeing how Austin handled the idea of the cameras being turned to him was fascinating.
I think it's a great look at how pop culture has spiralled out of control. It's definitely worth watching. Even if you're just interested in seeing all of the different celebrities in the movie. You'll definitely walk away with a different perspective on those gossip magazines.