Dear Gossips,
There’s a documentary to be released in January called $ellebrity. The filmmaker is Kevin Mazur. You already know his work. For years, Mazur has been one of the only photographers allowed inside all the major events. So when you see Angelina stroking Brad’s leg in the front row at the Oscars, that shot was probably taken by Mazur, and with their knowledge and permission...if that’s any indication of his relationship with and to the stars.
$ellebrity is about the commodification of Celebrity, only Mazur takes the position that the subjects themselves have no input in their part in this growing industry. That they are being traded and exploited without consent. That they have unwittingly become victims -- of the paparazzi, of the tabloids, of the fans.
And then Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez appear on camera to complain about having their pictures taken all the time.
Really?
Because Jennifer Aniston had no part in ensuring that her engagement ring photo was broadcast around the world? Click here for a refresher. This happened in New Mexico. I PROMISE you, paps don’t hang out in New Mexico, not even when Julia Roberts was living there.
Mazur has leveraged his longstanding relationship with some of the most famous people in the world to get them to participate in his project. How did that conversation go down? “Look, I’m doing this movie, and I’m going to say that you guys are being shafted, that they hunt you down and have made you helpless.” And they said yes, obviously. Great. So is this an objective documentary or just PEOPLE Magazine turned into a 90 minute “film”?
And by the way, since the value of Mazur’s posed pictures goes down with the proliferation of the paps’ more candid shots...
Do we talk about this at all, as motivation?
As I’ve suggested before, they need to make up their minds. Because even if certain celebrities genuinely don’t want to play that game, so many -- maybe even a majority now -- of their colleagues do, often. And not just the reality show people. Here’s Ben Affleck taking his girls to school and kissing his wife, conveniently when he wants an Oscar nomination. There’s Megan Fox pimping out her baby bump. And Reese Witherspoon giving you a great shot of her newborn’s face. What are the rules then? How can anything be enforced when the celebrities themselves break them all the time? That’s the question that nobody ever asks. That’s the film he should have made.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
PS. Thanks for your emails about the Gingerbread House contest! Click here for a refresher from last year. The new photos will be posted tomorrow.
