Yet again, Torontonians were spoiled with another exclusive, and SPOKE was there. An intimate advanced screening of Adrian Grenier’s documentary, Teenage Paparazzo.

SYNOPSIS

When precocious 13-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk snapped a photo of celebrity Adrian Grenier (HBO’s Entourage), little did he know his

life was about to change. Turning the tables on the juvenile paparazzo,
Grenier stepped to the other side of the lens in an attempt to mentor a
teenager obsessed with the lure of the Hollywood lifestyle. Grenier
develops a meaningful relationship with his camera-clicking young friend
as he attempts to reconcile their mutual exploitation. Indeed, Grenier
puts himself on the line here, trying to make sense of his own recently
acquired fame.

Post screening, a poorly managed Q&A session (Get a mic people) took place where Adrian and the host bantered back and forth about Plato, the contrast between Old and New Hollywood and how many times the host could call Adrian “Vince”.

Some good questions were asked about the social commentary of the story and why society has this hyper obsession with celebrity. Much to my surprise, Adrian was reflective, articulate and very mild mannered. It became clear his intention with this documentary was not to exploit Austin, but to put a lens inward to the core of the industries intent. Why do we care about people we don’t know? Why do we want them built up and broken down? Why have we decided to idolize only a few, putting the common folk into a sort of “Peasant” like status?

Paparazzo does not attempt to take a position about whether societies collective confidence is decreasing due to “us” creating unrealistic personal expectations set against these “god like” creatures. It doesn’t try to paint the “shooters” in a particular light or make excuses for celebrities. Paparazzo just asks questions. It was actually one of the most unbiased documentaries I have seen in a while. I am sure considering the intense nature of the subject, it was tough to keep it clean and not veer in one particular direction. It’s really cool that a “celebrity” is taking the time to look at the world we put on a pedestal. It’s the don’t bite the hand that feeds you thing. Nobody wants to put a microscope on it, especially when they are in it.  With Adrian, he’s not just in it, but represents the epitome of it with his character “Vince” in Entourage.  It was brave for him and his supporters to make this documentary.  Well worth watching.

I am going to go ahead and put this out there; I think Adrian Grenier’s calling may be behind the camera.