-anonymous Miami Beach police officer
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So this blogger puts up a post the other day about how she attempted to get a picture of Matt Damon at a club. She tried being nice but when that didn't work she went into full paparazzi mode:
"I just walked up and took a picture and they all started yelling at me, “this is not a zoo!” or “does this look like a ZOO???!!”The title of her post was "Matt Damon hates my guts and I hate his."
I stumbled away, and I really wasn’t much but disappointed that I didn’t get a face picture.
She explains that she felt she was entitled to a picture because she is "nice to old people and animals." And besides she says, Damon "makes a shit ton of money."
The problem here is she wasn't nice. She was sort of obnoxious...just like the paparazzi are on occasion. (I should know, been there, done that.)
But she acted like a paparazzi and when she got treated liked one she was offended: "Matt Damon is a crappy star."
By the way, I love animals too and have helped more than my share of old ladies across the street. But one has nothing to do with the other.
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When I'm out looking celebrities my motto is "We can do it the easy way or we can do it the hard way...your choice." I don't care...I'm going to get the shot.
A few years ago I - along with a few other "celebrity journalists" - got a tip that Matt Damon was having lunch with Ben Affleck at Lario's on Ocean Drive.
I got there in about 10 minutes and walked into the nearly deserted lobby at about 3 in the afternoon. I sat down at the bar and ordered a Coke.
It was a good tip. Damon and Affleck were sitting in the dining room with Damon's fiancee and her daughter.
After a wait of about 15 minutes, Affleck and Damon got up and paid the bill and walked towards the front.
I approached Affleck and asked if myself and another photographer could get a picture. He snapped back: "NO!"
No problem. We walked outside where 2 or 3 other photographers were waiting.
In a few seconds Damon and Affleck emerged and the chase was on. They walked briskly down Ocean Drive towards 9th Street. All of the photographers were backpedalling snapping shots as the stars threaded their way past diners seated at outdoor tables.
They continued towards Mango's where their cars were parked, jumped in and drove way.
The point here "Miami bro" is that if you're going to act like a paparazzi, don't be surprised if you get treated like one.
As for me, I don't care what celebrities think of me or whether they "like me" or not. I don't suck up to them. I just take pictures and then I leave them alone.
When they're in public, they're fair game!
Got it?
Footnote: I ended up making a good chuck of money from that shot. It turns out that it was the first time that Affleck and Damon had been photographed together in a few years.
Exactly. Act like a jerk and don't be surprised when you are treated as one.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I too have shot some paparazzi work.
You know what I get? You are trying to belittle me here. You left out about 100 other better points I made as to why I took the picture. I didn't just say it was because he makes money, it's clear it's also because of HOW he makes it. He is a monkey and Poplife was the cage.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I "deserved" a picture because I'm a good person. I think I deserve to act freely and not to be attacked in the process. I didn't hit him with my camera, or scream at him, but I got barked at. I'm not heartbroken, it was simply the crappiest run in I've ever had with a famous or semi-famous person.
I am also not paparazzi, not that I have anything against you guys. I'm not selling the picture, nor would I have, I would have posted it on my blog and like 60 people would have seen it. But now, more people are seeing it and hearing that Matt and his wife yelled at a Miami blogger, who doesn't even consider herself a fan of his, that everyone thinks is a douchebag! Oh, well. That's how it goes I guess.
I think the secret to success is photograph everyone on the street and hope one of them is a celebrity. That's my MO. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by the Damon story.