On the Trail of the Paparazzi

Oct. 31, 2003 — -- They hide out in SUVs stocked with satellite navigation maps and sophisticated two-way radios, waiting for their prey. They'll spend hours on a single stakeout, knowing that just one glimpse of their target could net them a sizeable payout.

2020 produced this segment in collaboration with the cable channel AMC. This spectacular footage of the paparazzi in action is from AMC's new series, The Hollywood Hunt Club.

These aren't undercover spies on a covert mission. These stealthy prowlers are the paparazzi. Armed with nothing more than cameras, they go to extraordinary lengths to catch unsuspecting celebrities in a candid moment.

From spotting Ben and J.Lo fast-fooding at McDonald's, to eying Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher sneaking a smooch, to spying Pamela Anderson at the grocery store, or following Winona Ryder on a shopping spree, the paparazzi are cashing in on our seemingly endless appetite for celebrities.

"People are fascinated by these icons. They're fascinated by the glamour, by the beauty and also by the normality of their lives," says Bonnie Fuller, chief editorial director of Star, the popular supermarket tabloid whose pages are filled with candid shots of stars. Star pays paparazzi thousands of dollars for the candid shots and its investment pays off: The tabloid sells more than a million copies a week.

On the Other Side of the Camera Lens

Cable channel AMC turns its cameras on the paparazzi in a new series, The Hollywood Hunt Club, following the photographers as they pursue the stars.

Ben, who asked that his last name not be used, is one of the photographers featured in the Hunt Club. At 24, he's already a successful celebrity stalker, pulling in a nearly six-figure salary as a paparazzo. He works with a team of 10 photographers for Bauer Griffin, one of the more successful paparazzi operations in the country.

One of the operation's owners, Frank Griffin, a veteran photographer from England, directs Ben and other shutterbugs in the field. Griffin's partner, Randy Bauer, spends most of his time out in the field. Bauer knows the paparazzi are a self-selected group.

"You have to love it," he says. "It has to be in your blood, because this job isn't for anyone … You really do have to love it."

And Ben does love it. He loves it enough to have memorized about 300 license plate numbers of celebrities' cars. "It's an incredible rush," he says.

Luck, Timing — and ‘Bundles of Cash’

But nabbing that money shot takes careful planning and a lot of patience. "There's an art to waiting and focusing on a door, a driveway, for many hours and not falling asleep … it's not as easy as it sounds," Ben says.

But how do Ben and his fellow paparazzi know where the celebs are going to be? How do they know Keanu Reeves is arriving at the airport, or that Jennifer Lopez is shopping at Barney's?

It's not all luck and good timing. Griffin says they've got sources in hotels, restaurants, airports, even in law enforcement. When these sources spot a star, Griffin says, they give him a call. Of course, there's a reward in it for them, according to Griffin. "I drive around with bundles of cash on me on certain evenings, and do nothing but pay off these people," Griffin says.

If this sounds a little like a clandestine spy ring, you're not too far off. Bauer says, "You're 90 percent CIA agent, you're 10 percent photographer."

Being prepared, Griffin says, is the key to success. "You have to control everything that's controllable, to be ready for those things that are out of your control," he says.

Taking care of the tiniest details makes all the difference, like making sure the windows of your car are spotless, Griffin says. "Maybe it's the first shot of Cameron Diaz kissing Justin Timberlake. It might be the first picture. It might be worth a lot of money. You don't want the bug on the windshield."

Love-Hate Relationship

There's been quite a long and colorful history of friction between the paparazzi and the stars they follow.

Alec Baldwin sprayed shaving cream on the car window of some paparazzi. JFK Jr. dumped a bucket of water on a photographer who followed him to the beach. His mom, Jacqueline Onassis, had a restraining order imposed on well-known paparazzo Ron Gallela.

Princess Diana had swarms of paparazzi hounding her. In fact, her fatal car crash was at first blamed not on an intoxicated chauffeur, but on the paparazzi who were chasing her car.

Competing for the Money Shot

Ben loves the adrenalin rush his work gives him, and he'll do almost anything to get the shot. "When you shoot someone like Michael Jackson, who's sold 400 million albums worldwide … I'll hide in Dumpsters, I'll kill myself to get a picture of him, because he deserves it."

And Ben recently scored big with some photos of M.J. Griffin set Ben up on a boat to photograph the King of Pop and others returning from the funeral service for singer Barry White, whose ashes were scattered at sea. The revenue from the photos: $30,000. The cost of renting a boat to get the shots: a few hundred dollars. The exhilaration of getting a worldwide exclusive of Michael Jackson: priceless.

But the big gig for paparazzi is the celebrity wedding. Ben was recently sent to Hawaii on a tip that actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Friends star Matt LeBlanc were each marrying their significant others.

The rumors of Paltrow's nuptials didn't pan out, but Ben snapped the actress and boyfriend Chris Martin, lead singer of the British band Coldplay, as they came out of a yoga class. He also caught them in a kiss.

But Paltrow and Martin also caught Ben. They were clearly unhappy that Ben was following him and they let him know by pulling up next to him.

Ben doesn't let it upset him. And he says he doesn't take offense at celebrities who call paparazzi the lowest form of life in show business.

"Water off a duck's back," he says, "I don't care. Their opinion means nothing to me. I don't care what they think about what I do for a living."

Ben and Randy Bauer did catch LeBlanc's wedding to Melissa McKnight. Their team went on a two-hour journey, hacking their way through thick brush to get close to the ceremony site after a charter helicopter pilot backed out of the assignment. One of the shots they got of the Friends star and his bride netted them several hundred thousand dollars.

How would Ben react if someone hounded him like this?

"If I was coming out of my million-dollar house, with my hundred-thousand-dollar car," Ben said, "I'd probably laugh it off. And say, 'Hey guys, what's going on?' "