Manufacturing Celebrity: Latino Paparazzi and Women Reporters in Hollywood

329 Pages·2020·31.943 MB·English

by  Vanessa Díaz

Manufacturing
Celebrity
Latino Paparazzi and
Women Reporters
in Hollywood
VANESSA
DÍAZ
Manufacturing
CELEBRITY
Duke university Press
Durham and London
2020
© 2020 DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on
acid- free paper ♾
Designed by Matthew Tauch
Typeset in Minion Pro and Futura Std by
Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Díaz, Vanessa, [date] author.
Title: Manufacturing celebrity : Latino paparazzi and
women reporters in Hollywood / Vanessa Díaz.
Description: Durham : Duke University Press, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2019054806 (print)
lccn 2019054807 (ebook)
isbn 9781478008545 (hardcover)
isbn 9781478009436 (paperback)
isbn 9781478008880 (ebook)
Subjects: lcsh: Hispanic American mass media. | Hispanic
Americans in mass media. | Celebrities in mass media. |
Mass media and culture—United States. | Mass media—
Political aspects—United States. | Paparazzi—United States. |
Women journalists—United States. | Fame—Social aspects—
United States. | Popular culture—United States.
Classification: lcc p94.5.h58 d53 2020d (print) |
lcc p94.5.h58 (ebook) | ddc 305.5/2—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054806
lc ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054807
Cover art: Vengeance premiere, Cannes Film Festival,
2009. Photo by Georges De Keerle / Getty.
Duke University Press gratefully acknowledges the
Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, Office of the Dean,
at Loyola Marymount University, which provided funds
toward the publication of this book.
THIS BOOK IS
DEDICATED TO Chris Guerra and
Natasha Stoynoff. And to my parents,
Jean and the late Woodrow (“Nino”) Díaz,
who taught me the importance of and the power
in speaking out against injustice and inequality
at every turn, every day, even (perhaps
especially) in the areas where it might
be easy to overlook or ignore.

CONTENTS
ix list of illustrations
xiii acknowledgments
1 introduction. The Precarious Work of Celebrity
Media Production
I • Pappin’ Ain’t Easy
33 chapter one. Shooteando: The Real Paparazzi of
Los Angeles
76 chapter two. Latinos Selling Celebrity: Economies
and Ethics of Paparazzi Work
95 chapter three. To Live and Die in L.A.: Life, Death,
and Labor in the Hollywood- Industrial Complex
II • Reporting on the Stars
125 chapter four. Red Carpet Rituals: Positionality
and Power in a Surveilled Space
150 chapter five. Where Reporting Happens: Precarious
Spaces and the Exploitation of Women Reporters
III • Crafting the Media and the Sociocultural
Consequences
181 chapter six. Body Teams, Baby Bumps, Beauty Standards
218 chapter seven. “Brad and Angelina: And Now . . .
Brangelina!”: The Cultural Economy of (White)
Heterosexual Love
243 conclusion. Reconsidering News and Gossip
in the Trump Era
251 appendix. Interview Sources
255 notes
271 bibliography
301 index
ILLUSTRATIONS
I.1 2 October 2012 photo of Chris Guerra training as a paparazzo
I.2 5 Natasha Stoynoff with Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and
others on the day Stoynoff was assaulted in 2005
1.1 34 Paparazzi in Los Angeles, 2014
1.2 37 Galo Ramirez on the job as a paparazzo in Los Angeles
1.3 38 Galo editing photos in his car
1.4 41 Galo with Britney Spears in his car in 2006
1.5 48 Paparazzi shooting celebrities at the beach
1.6 49 Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber with his little sister at the
beach in 2012
1.7 55 A group of paparazzi, including some nicknamed “the Home
Depots”
1.8 55 Photoshopped image of “the Home Depots”
1.9 56 Photoshopped image of a paparazzo nicknamed Turbo Taco
1.10 59 Paparazzi shooting outside of the Dancing with the Stars set
in 2013
1.11 61 e! Online article featuring Galo’s rare photograph of the
Paltrow- Martin family, 2012
1.12 62 Galo using a long lens while perched in a tree, 2013
1.13 65 Gwen Stefani playing with her son Kingston at a park, 2011
1.14 69 Galo in downtown Los Angeles near the set for the shoot of
Jennifer Lopez’s music video Papi, 2011
1.15 70 Galo resting on his lens, which is about one- third of his
height, 2011
2.1 83 Kardashian family vacation in the May 16, 2011, issue of
Us Weekly