Paparazzi vie for leftovers as Hollywood celebrities hide from virus | Showbiz

LOS ANGELES, April 19 With Hollywood stars self-quarantined in their sprawling homes due to the new coronavirus, notorious Los Angeles paparazzi have almost no one to shoot despite the growing demand for celebrity photos.

The trendy nightclubs, restaurants, and movie theaters that are usually surrounded by hourly photographers have been closed since California locked out a pandemic a month ago.

This has meant that images of Gossip magazine staples such as Ben Affleck walking his dogs, or Cameron Diaz going out for groceries, are a hot commodity, with dozens of paparazzi vying for the same photos.

Every photo is with sunglasses and a mask at this point … those are the only photos you’re going to get, said Randy Bauer, founder of celebrity photo agency Bauer-Griffin.

It is really not a pretty situation, he added.

Bauer estimates that his agency’s photo production dropped almost 95% overnight after orders for the stay at home and most businesses were closed.

His agency, which employs around twenty photographers who are mainly freelancers, has gone from 7,000 photos of celebrities per month to around 500.

This is luck, he told AFP. The whole thing was turned upside down.

Bittersweet

The paparazzi are just one of the countless parts of the Hollywood entertainment industry decimated by foreclosure.

The premieres of films having been canceled, traditional photographers of the red carpet are also unemployed.

Ironically, the absence of these lavish images used by newspapers, magazines and television networks around the world has increased the demand for street shots delivered by the paparazzi.

Even images of D-listers that previously would not have aroused worldwide interest are greedily captivated by the editors of showbiz.

It’s very bittersweet, because we got the demand, but no supply! said Bauer. But you can’t have it all.

And there is another silver lining for those who are still in the paparazzi game.

The long lens nature of street photos often taken in cars allows at least a social distancing, unlike massed photographers who breathed their necks at premieres or outdoor clubs.

Pending Pending

Of course, the controversial reputation of the industry means that sympathy for the paparazzi is likely to be limited.

Some outside my house right now. Wait, wait for a ride that will never happen, wrote model Chrissy Teigen this week in a tweet that drew 350,000 likes.

Photographer Mark Karloff, speaking from a recent episode of his Paparazzi Podcast, admitted that the general public will obviously give us a big push on, you know, the struggling paparazzi.

But we are family guys, we have children, we have family and we were also human beings, he said.

Bauer, who had photographers permanently stationed outside celebrity hangouts like Craigs Restaurant in West Hollywood, is now advising freelancers on the unemployment claim.

For the first time, concert workers are eligible for coronavirus benefits, providing relief to the paparazzi.

far west

Still, with such rare celebrity sightings, the prospect of a big salary continues to lure many people into the same handful of Hollywood star homes.

It was like the man from the Wild West, said the co-host of Karloff’s podcast, which is called the alias Jedi.

I walk past Kate Hudsons’ house and see four or five different guys there. I pass Reese (Witherspoon) and I also see a group there. There were just guys everywhere.

And there’s still Affleck who, according to Bauer, is now spotted walking with new girlfriend Ana de Armas more than he was before the crown.

Often times I would wonder why we see so many celebrities walking their dogs … what’s going on? he said.

And then I just realized … dog walkers aren’t going to come home to do it. So they have to walk their own dogs. AFP Relaxnews