Results tagged “paparazzi”

Among the various laws signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday was one strengthening an already existing law aimed at paparazzi.

Last night we couldn't get to the valet parking stand outside of Mozza because there were paparazzi all over the place. Naturally I jumped out of the car and joined them.

An assembly bill making its way through state committees gained the support of the city of Los Angeles today. AB 524 "would allow civil fines of up to $50,000 for the taking and selling of images or recordings of people engaged in personal or familial activity, with actual knowledge that the images or recordings were obtained illegally and if any compensation, consideration, or remuneration was provided," according to a city motion. Councilmember Paul Koretz, a former Assemblyman himself, said the bill "only makes sense."

Actress Farrah Fawcett, who died Thursday morning after a lengthy battle with cancer, will be honored and mourned in a private funeral service on Tuesday, according to the Huffington Post. The Catholic service is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown.

While watching the Oscars at home in my bedroom, I got an email informing me that I was invited to Prince's Post-Oscar party. Me? The guy who was sitting in his room watching the Oscars in a sweaty t-shirt and shorts thanks to some much needed time at the gym was now going to be partying with Prince at his ultra-exclusive post-Oscar party.

       

Nomination day is an early day in Hollywood. Media outlets arrive at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater as early as 12:30 in the morning to start setting up. The rest of the press corps arrives at 3:30 a.m. for the press breakfast, and some stragglers creep in as late as 5 a.m. Jockeying for position is not as aggressive in a room full of mixed media. But once it is the photogs' turn to rush the theater, watch your toes.

                     

On Monday night, while Norwegian rocker Ida Maria (MySpace) wowed the Spaceland (MySpace) crowd, Santa Barbara's Katy Perry (MySpace) returned to her singer-songwriter roots by headlining a sold out show at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood, with support from last-minute openers Holly Conlan (MySpace) and Meiko (MySpace). LA-Underground observed that, "If [Perry] returned to the 50-capacity Genghis Cohen Cantina or Highland Grounds where she really started now that would be something (especially since Highland Grounds/The Dive closed last year)." But to say that this intimate show wasn't highly anticipated would be wildly inaccurate, as fans flew in from as far away as Vancouver, offering as much as $200 for a pair of tickets, and upwards of 15 paparazzi camped outside at the front and rear entrances for the duration of the evening.

Possibly taking cue from Korea's DMZ and TMZ's branding (it stands for the historical Thirty Mile Zone), check this sticker out that was spotted over the weekend at one of Malibu's famous celebrity hunting grounds--the Cross Creek Shopping Center in Malibu. Blogger Veronique Tuerenne, internet-rolls her eyes and calls this sticker "wishful thinking." Malibu is one of the cities particpating in a regional paparazzi taskforce that most recently published a citizen's guide to help navigate the law when dealing with paps.

If you've ever wanted to adopt your own entourage and get world-class A-list treatment, apparently Los Angeles International Airport is the place to go. So throw on your best pair of sweats, grab your $1000 handbag, and slip on those shades! Of course, you might want to enlist your own security detail, because yesterday "the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday decided against any new regulations to control paparazzi at [LAX]" reports the Daily News.

Councilman Dennis Zine's, who created a regional Paparazzi Task Force this summer, has proposed an ordinance to keep paparazzi a modest 20 feet away from schools, hospitals and medical facilities when recording celebrities. Zine defines the prohibition for photographers and videographers taking photos/video for a "'commercial purpose" defined as the expectation of a sale, financial gain, or other remuneration. However, the celebrity or facility can give consent for photographs. But does 20 feet matter? With a long lens or a great zoom function, the product won't change much. What will happen is an easier walk from the door to the curb for the celebs.

When she is not costing the taxpayers thousand of dollars for expensive police escorts or having paparazzi arrested outside her home, Britney Spears still occasionally makes a music video. The Soup just couldn't help but get in on the action

One of the first steps to fighting a problem is informing the public of what's legally right and wrong. After yesterday's meeting of the Regional Paparazzi Taskforce led by LA City Councilmember Dennis Zine, the group released this one page document highlighting laws paps break on a regular basis to score that big money shot (laws cited are state, Los Angeles, Malibu and Beverly Hills). But what's a little ticket or some short jail time when you just made $27,000 from a couple of shots? To them, it's just a cost of doing business. A downloadable version of the guide will soon be available on Zine's website.

Jill Ishkanian, who alerted police to Heather Locklear's alleged drunkeness and erratic driving near Santa Barbara on Saturday, made $27,000 from her photos of the arrest by selling them to TMZ. But then TMZ became wary questioning if Ishkanian was up to no good because, in a way, she set up the incident. But drunk is drunk, right? Not always, she was also booked for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

It was in July when musician John Mayer, Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Eric Roberts, the Screen Actors Guild and others told their paparazzi horror stories to a regional paparazzi taskforce led by City Councilmember and former LAPD Officer Dennis Zine at City Hall. On Thursday, they will meet again in Malibu.

The LA County District Attorney's Office has decided not to file charges against Kanye West after a September 11 incident in which he smashed a photographers camera at LAX Terminal 4 (video) and was arrested on charges of battery and vandalism. It is now up to the City of Los Angeles to file a misdemeanor against West, according to TMZ.

Two Malibu men were charged yesterday with misdemeanor battery after the June 21 scuffle at Little Dume Beach between Paparazzi and local surfers who were protecting actor Matthew McConaughey from being photographed or approached. Both Skylar Martin Peak, 24, and Philip John Hildebrand, 30 are scheduled to be arraigned at the Malibu courthouse on Oct. 14. Richid Altmbareckouhammou from a French news agency "was allegedly thrown into the water by the two men," according to the Daily Breeze. The incident was the first of two over that weekend with the second taking place at Malibu's Paradise Cove on June 22.

TMZ caught Orange County Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez on video in Denver at the DNC yesterday. She's certainly hopped on something (life, baby!), probably just general excitement of the atmosphere over there. However, it's just more fun to call her stoned and "four lattes past hyper," as TMZ proclaimed. Or maybe it's the water in Orange County.

Jimmy Kimmel called our police chief a gossip columnist last night after LAPD Chief William Bratton walked up to KNBC cameras clad in his morning workout clothes to talk about yesterday's paparazzi taskforce hearing, which included John Mayer, Milo Ventimiglia and Eric Roberts. Bratton showed off his gossip/current events knowledge by listing off what was going on with Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. He said since "Lohan has gone gay," the paparazzi issue is not as bad at the moment.

As John Mayer, Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Eric Roberts, the Screen Actors Guild and others tell their paparazzi horror stories to a regional paparazzi taskforce at City Hall right now (aired live online and on Channel 35), the LAPD is setting up their own press conference for later this morning.

As Councilman Dennis Zine's paparazzi motion (what we like to call the Britney Spears law) fumbles around in a City Council committee, he's also convening a regional task force on the issue, which will have a public hearing tomorrow morning to "hear testimony from key stakeholders to develop proposals to consider in the legislative process," according to a statement from Zine's office.

Joe Dolce, former editor in chief of Star magazine, blogs at the Huffington Post about the increasing reported skirmishes between celebrities and the paparazzi. Dolce leaves the blame, not only on the paps, but on the magazines that pay for the photos and the celebs themselves. He offers suggestions for each involved party while knowing full well that it's all easier than said. Here's his thoughts on how celebs should act:

Good job, boys! Here's what the LAPD sent out in an e-mail today: "At 6:00 p.m. [Monday], police verbally warned Alexander Passos, 35, and Eduardo Ravalha, 35, for loitering on city owned property near Mulholland Drive and Cold Water [sic] Canyon and asked them to leave. About 45 minutes later, the officers learned the pair had returned to the location and arrested them. Passos of Canoga Park and Ravalha of Los Angeles were arrested and released at North Hollywood police station. They were charged with linger or to idle about a public place without lawful business for being present."

      

If you're part of some drama and TMZ is around, it doesn't matter if you're a celebrity or not. You're going to be online and in-house publicists are going to e-mail every blog in town about it. Last night outside of STK, the swanky La Cienega Blvd. restaurant, a girl was hit by an SUV that sped off after. The victim's boyfriend chased down the SUV and confronted the girl until police and paramedics arrived.

New footage has been released of one of the weekend's brawls at Paradise Cove in Malibu, this one shot by a mother who was there with her son. This particular scene proves some of the beach goers were acting just as bad as the paparazzi.

Two brawls between surfers and paparazzi over the weekend are leading Malibu officials to look more closely into the law regarding 1st amendment rights. "The city of Malibu will do all it legally can to protect and preserve the natural beauty and tranquillity of our town," Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said in a statement, per the LA Times.

On Saturday, two paparazzi were reportedly injured when a group of surfers ousted them from Paradise Cove in Malibu. One paparazzo said his camera was tossed in the ocean and on the video you can hear someone make a slight death threat: "you're going to drown." It all started when Matthew McConaughey said he wished they would go away. The other surfers took it upon themselves to do so.

At least three paparazzi photographers were attacked in the Los Angeles area over the weekend in two separate incidents. On Friday evening as Britney Spears returned from a trip to Louisiana, a push-and-shove incident occurred between her body guard and a photographer outside an LAX terminal resulting in a minor abrasion to the paparazzo's face, but no charges were filed. On Saturday, two photographers were attacked by a group of surfers protecting Matthew McConaughey's wish to not be filmed while surfing at Paradise Cove. One paparazzo is reported to have several injuries and a water-soaked broken camera and another with a broken nose.

Hailing the West Valley, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine appeared on Comedy Central's Daily Show to talk up the Britney Spears law. Be warned, this video is aurally NSFW.

Citing that there are already laws on the books, the LAPD opposed a proposal to make a "personal safety zone" paparazzi law to the Police Commission today. 3rd District Councilman Dennis Zine introduced the idea after the LAPD used $25,000 to transport Britney Spears to UCLA Medical a mere 6 or so miles in order to keep her safe from paparazzi (did you see the video of her leaving UCLA Medical? This is nuts, a must see).

Yesterday's Britney Spears conservatorship hearing was like a ghost town. You see, only lawyers representing both sides of the family were there and in the end, father James Spears' temporary control over her life and estate was extended until at least March 10, allowing him to handle financial matters at the moment such as her taxes.