Paparazzi, you've been punk'd

[Jimmyzz]

Paparazzi, you've been punk'd

Pop Fiction, the latest from Ashton Kutcher, fakes out shutterbugs, with stars' in on the gag

Mar 11, 2008 04:30 AM
Vinay Menon

Did you hear Paris Hilton has a new spiritual adviser?

It seems the heiress spent some time with a bearded guru in Los Angeles this month: shopping at the Maxfield boutique, visiting the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, dining al fresco at the Urth Café, checking into the L'Ermitage Hotel.

Naturally, the paparazzi were omnipresent during these enlightened travels, tailing her Range Rover, documenting the unlikely duo in real time, crowding public spaces with their telephoto lenses, blinding flashbulbs and levitating elbows.

The bizarre story – Paris Seeks Religious Guidance – moved quickly across the hyperlinked echo chamber that is celebrity gossip, incubating in the blogosphere before hatching on television and in print.

Alas, it was not true. More than not true, it was an elaborate TV hoax, perpetrated with the giddy complicity of Paris and her "guru," an actor/biker from the San Fernando Valley named Maxie Santillan Jr.

Pop Fiction, which premiered Sunday and rebroadcasts tonight (E!, 10 p.m.), comes from the hellraising mind of executive producer Ashton Kutcher. (Beauty and the Geek, another one of his mischievous shows, begins a new season on Citytv and The CW at 8 tonight.)

After unleashing Punk'd, in which celebrity pals were japed with hidden-camera pranks, Kutcher has now unbolted a secret panel atop the tabloid machinery and tossed in a subversive grenade.

"The celebrity media feeding frenzy has gotten a little bit out of control," says host Peter Katona during the premiere.

"What if the celebrities decided to take matters into their own hands and turn the tables on the tabloids?"

Through various stunts that conjure Alan Abel, Joey Skaggs and Abbie Hoffman, Pop Fiction dupes those on the tabloid front lines into believing an unbelievable story by simply staging it believably.

Celebrity journalism is an insatiable beast that requires round-the-clock feeding. So by sprinkling a few bogus nuggets into the trough, Pop Fiction is essentially poisoning the entire supply of these non-essential victuals.

Did Kathy Griffin really become an ordained minister to officiate a weekend wedding for two fans? Did someone really call 911 on Saturday to report a suicide attempt by Heather Locklear?

These are two actual headlines from yesterday's celebrity file. But after watching Pop Fiction, they sound vaguely made up. However, using television to turn the softly gullible into hardened skeptics triggers a curious side-effect: Pop Fiction, the show, is not as interesting as Pop Fiction, the exercise in culture jamming.

The Paris segment – titled, "The Path of the Painted Shaman," a reference to the fake booklet she was photographed reading – is not exactly riveting because the emphasis is on comeuppance, on smacking around the paparazzi, tabloids and consumers who support them.

It's almost as if Pop Fiction was an excuse to bundle payback with a cautionary tale: don't believe everything you hear because it may not be true.

Tonight's second story revolves around Avril Lavigne and recent rumours of a "baby bump." As it happens, Avril strapped on an abdominal prosthetic and went shopping in baby stores to screw with the media.

Hey, if Pop Fiction gives celebrities a measure of satisfaction, more power to them. But you wonder how some would react if they got their wish and were suddenly not covered? When Paris leaves her house one morning and no paparazzi are in sight, will she feel a surge of triumphant relief or the crush implicit in becoming yesterday's news?

Pop Fiction wants the world to know celebrity journalism is unfair, blinkered, mendacious, ridiculous and abusive.

I'm not defending anything or anyone. But if it wasn't for celebrity journalism, the world would not care about these people in the first place.

vmenon@thestar.ca

Source: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/331949

[catatoniaone]

Avril Lavigne is an Idiot


So, Ashton Kutcher's dumb new show, Pop Fiction, premiered on E! last night, and in case you don't already know, it's basically Punk'd but for media and paparazzi. Last week this turned out to be staged, now here's a clip of Avril Lavigne pretending to be pregnant on Robertson Blvd. Avril Lavigne is irrelevant in the world of music, so please don't think for a minute that this isn't Avril's own desperate attempt to make the media talk about her. In the span of a week, Ashton Kutcher has made Paris Hilton more famous and used studio money to put Avril Lavigne on television. Congratulations, asshole. I can't wait until the next episode where O.J. slaps a white woman and Britney Spears eats a salad.

[catatoniaone]

^ that was a article not me , I thought I would post it in this thread not a new

[catatoniaone]

and

Avril Lavigne: Master Prankster




Last night was the premiere of Ashton Kutcher's show prank show "Pop Fiction." The show takes annoying celebrities and helps them pull pranks on the media and paparazzi. As you know, the whole Paris Hilton sucking Shaman dick proved to be a prank.
Avril Lavigne also pulled her own prank. She put on a fake baby bump and went shopping for baby clothes on Robertson. I covered it here and so the dumb bitch got me. You win Avril. You are so sneaky. Not only do you have the voice of an angel, but you are a prankster among pranksters.
The show was somewhat entertaining, but it also proved to me why I rip on these celebrities. They are annoying, delusional and they think they are shit. When Avril was pulling the prank she said something about how it was going to be everywhere like bitch is important. The rumor was already there, so it kind of defeated the purpose. At the end of the day, Avril is still annoying.
The show has promise, but I have a feeling Paris and Avril are probably the biggest stars Ashton could get. I'm expecting pranks featuring illustrious A-listers like Brandon Davis, some bitch on American Idol and Paula Abdul's dealer.
And I also think most of us take all these rumors with a grain of salt. It's entertainment to us and we could really give a fuck. Who am I fooling? I wake up in sweats wondering if Avril Lavigne is really pregnant or not.
I'm hoping Rumer Willis' entire existence is a prank part of Pop Fiction.
Click here and here to see Avril's prank if you care

[Justyn The Sk8ter Boi]

hahaha.. the paparazzi are getting mad already..
They are idiots.

[maritokinha_]

^ yeah
hahahahahahahaahaha

[emily1988]

avril is clever

damn celebrities need some privacy w/o the paparazzi hounding them

[MapleLeafs]

hilarious how it hits a nerve. a little mis-information is very cool, those f-tard celebrity bloggers should beware.

[bunny]

Not only do you have the voice of an angel, but you are a prankster among pranksters.

I loved this part

[bunny]

Not only do you have the voice of an angel, but you are a prankster among pranksters.

I loved this part