Teenage Paparazzo
When precocious 13-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk snapped a photo of celebrity Adrian Grenier (HBO`s Entourage), little did he know his life was about to change. Turning the tables on the juvenile paparazzo, Grenier stepped on the other side of the lens in an attempt to mentor a teenager obsessed with the lure of the Hollywood lifestyle. Grenier develops a meaningful relationship with his camera-clicking young friend as he attempts to reconcile their mutual exploitation. Indeed, Grenier puts himself on the line here, trying to make sense of his own recently acquired fame.
Member Reviews
Thoughtful. - cathyottawa
Adrian Grenier was the perfect celebrity to make this film. He's famous enough that he gets recognized and photographed, but not so famous that he's followed everywhere by a pack of paparazzi.
His approach to his young subject is devoid of anger, or even frustration. Most celebrities can't help but show the contempt in their voice when they speak of the paparazzi. Grenier is refreshingly unaffected by it. They don't make him angry, and he genuinely has no ill will.
That's not to say he condones it either. It's a curious profession, born from an increasingly celebrity obsessed culture that can't seem to get enough when it comes to their favourite stars.
He begins the film truly curious about the paparazzi lifestyle, and why it has drawn this boy; what is the allure. As the film goes on, he comes to care about Austin, the teenage paparazzo, as more than just a subject for a documentary. He wants to mentor the kid. Perhaps inspire him to greater goals.
By the end of the film? Grenier comes to realize that maybe he's fed the monster he was trying to slay. Not an easy pill to swallow.
I found Grenier to be thoughful, intelligent, well spoken, and interested. I didn't feel like he just wanted to make a documentary for the heck of it, I felt like this really meant something to him. He seems like a really nice, good guy.
He's included soundbites here from Matt Damon, Paris Hilton, Alec Baldwin, and his Entourage castmates, among others. He also explores the larger questions of parasocialism, and the growing desire of youth to be famous, for anything, at any cost.
Really very well done. If the acting thing fizzles out, he could have a career as a documentary filmmaker.An interesting film - PeopleToCakeRatio
This film is a brief look into the life of a young paparazzo - REALLY young. The kid is clearly mature for his age but that's probably due to frequently running around Hollywood, unaccompanied, in the wee hours of the morning.
I found the subject of the movie fascinating but the way the film was actually put together left me a little disappointed, and I'm not sure why. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it was too disjointed and didn't flow as much as it could have. Otherwise a very interesting film.
Member Reviews
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Thoughtful. - cathyottawa
Adrian Grenier was the perfect celebrity to make this film. He's famous enough that he gets recognized and photographed, but not so famous that he's followed everywhere by a pack of paparazzi.
His approach to his young subject is devoid of anger, or ...An interesting film - PeopleToCakeRatio
This film is a brief look into the life of a young paparazzo - REALLY young. The kid is clearly mature for his age but that's probably due to frequently running around Hollywood, unaccompanied, in the wee hours of the morning.
I found the subject of the ...