Adrian Grenier’s TEENAGE PAPARAZZO – Sundance Documentary Review

TEENAGE PAPARAZZO, the third documentary from Entourage’s Adrian Grenier, is a behind the scenes look at a 13-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk and the world of the Paparazzi in general.

By following Austin, Grenier gains entry in the very secretive world of the Paparazzi revealing the truth behind the highly integrated media system that is powering the whole phenomenon. First you have the paparazzi like Austin who are doing everything legal and illegal to get the kind of shots that is going to make them money. Then you get to at the magazine world, and how they weed through the mass of photos that they receive to find the images that are going to drive the most readers to their content. Then you have the readers who seem to be more invested in the lives of celebrities than their own.

Grenier does a masterful job of delving into this seemingly harsh world of celebrity media by peeling all the relevant layers such as the paparazzi, the celebrities, the magazines and the media consumers. He even goes as far as talking to researchers who looked into the phenomenon to try and further dissect and understand the subject. The result is an in-depth look at our society’s insatiable appetite for every bit of information about celebrities.

Watching Teenage Paparazzo opened my eyes to the real consequences of our curiosity into celebrities and their lives. By checking a gossip site or picking up a tabloid, we are feeding into this unhealthy cycle that does nothing to elevate us as a society. Instead of picking up a book, our kids check TMZ or Perez Hilton for their news and consequently end up with a skewed view of the world.

I strongly suggest that you go see Teenage Paparazzo as soon as it comes out. It was entertaining, informative and just plain fascinating.