Back in September, HBO Films released an interesting documentary about living life within the paparazzi. Teenage Paparazzo was created by Adrian Grenier of Entourage fame and features the story of Austin Visschedyk. The interesting thing about this documentary is that Austin is perhaps the youngest paparazzo ever at only 14 years of age. The film not only focuses on the dark underworld we all have seen of celebrity photojournalism but also how the young Austin is driven by fame as he himself becomes known by celebrities and the media. Interviews by Matt Damon, Eva Longoria, Paris Hilton, Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg give a behind the scenes view on this strange and often perverse world that is the paparazzi. It's rare for a movie to get a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes so if you missed the movie in theaters you can check out Teenage Paparazzo on DVD.
Trailer 2:
Trailer 3:
****SPOILER*** At the end of the film he's grown up a bit and as a much better understanding about what he wants to do. Which is so important for him and also his image, because he came across such a little **** I really wish him the best of luck in the future.
This movie is really a fun watch and an interesting and less dramatic view into the life of the paparazzi. Dunno why everyone is hating on it so much
sadly the trailer isn't view-able on YouTube in the UK
you can watch the whole thing there http://www.megavideo.com/?v=O9N6IO6Q
Also i just looked at his images on his website, pretty poor imo i know its paparazzi but that boy needs to compose!
i just dont like him, i think anyone choosing paparazzi as their career is terrible
basically the scene in the movie where he chases paris from the club is why i dont like paparazzi
I don't like the idea either of invading people's privacy. It is forbidden anyway in germany.
I wonder if the low rating on this post is because people don't like the Paparazzi or because they don't like the movie. So strange to see a movie that has gotten so many good reviews but yet isn't getting respect from actual photographers.
I think it's the same with the rating on game sites like gametrailers.com. People don't get that the rating is for the movie and not about their personal opinion on the topic. Although I dislike the Paparazzi myself I think that this was a great insight into their business.
I really enjoyed the film, its great to see him change over the course of it. I know people slag off being a pap but I would love to have a go at it. Just for a week, to see what its like.
I love it! Never seen or heard about the movie or him before. But I think it's a great view into the life of this little kid. Wish I had that drive when I was 13. He's doing an awful job, but he is doing it wholehearted..
It was kind of odd to see the trailer where he blasts away with the flash in the limo, kind of like a mob hitman with a camera instead of a gun. Still just as disturbing to me.
I like the part in the movie where he is buying a new camera. I don't know Canon models well but he says only 5 or so of the 100s of photographers even have that camera. I assume it's Canon's $7k camera but you'd think the paparazzi would all have the newest cameras for better chance at publication.
This movie/documentary whatever has made me hate the paps even more.
I caught it when it aired on HBO and thought it was interesting that how a lot of the celebrities treated him differently because he was so young. I guess the felt he was less threatening. But this kid started 'feeling' himself waaaaaay too much and was very disrespectful to his mother because of his fame as young paparazzo. In one scene, had he been my kid, he would have been using some of his money he got from selling pictures to buy a set of dentures because I would have knocked every last tooth out of his mouth the way he was mouthing off. His mom was way too passive. And the way he would talk back to her was unacceptable. She just sat there and took it. I would have probably gone to prison for putting him through a wall.
It was trippy to see young these young 'junior flips' as my mom calls them; these young bubble gum girls chasing after him because he was getting famous for taking pictures of other famous people. And he milked the 'cuteness' factor to death.
Even Adrian could see he was out of control and tried to settle him down. But it was good to see the maturity he developed what they did the follow up piece.
If I could offer any advice to anyone doubtful of watching this because they think it just explores the world of the paparazzi, it would be to go into it having an open mind and you'll be surprised when the documentary becomes more than what its original intention was. To give you an analogy, its like setting out to make 'Batman Forever' and you end up stumbling upon creating 'The Dark Knight' instead.
Thank you for the limitation which is telling me that this video is not availible in my country (Germany)!