Blast 'Em

Documentary on photographer Victor Malafronte. He's one of those paparazzi--people who go out of their way to get photos of stars and sell them for big money.

It follows him while he plies his trade--giving out secrets on how to get the best pics and showing him confronting the stars to get their pics. There are some truly funny moments with Christie Brinkley and Sigourney Weaver. This mostly focuses on him trying to get pics of Michael J. Fox, his wife and their babies. At the time this was filmed, photos like that were extremely rare and he wanted to prove he could get them. I can't really say I like what Malafronte does for a living but this is still pretty entertaining. There are also little interviews with other paparazzi and a few insights into the early 1990s Madonna. This doc has a darker meaning now with what happened to Lady Diana--purportedly the paparazzi were the cause of her fatal car crash.

Blast 'Em captures a lot of early 1990s celebrity. You won't be disappointed by the number of high profile names that are caught on camera. Interesting insight into how the magazine world decided on which pictures to buy at that time. I was quite surprised at how crowded and intrusive the paparazzi were on stars at that time. Most couldn't step out of a car without being mobbed. Also surprising was how gracefully most took it all. They still smile and pose, even if a mob of 20 or more are baying at them. This, even if they are just trying to eat dinner. I was a little disappointed at the quality of the film used. This was pre-digital though. This is a rare doc that's well worth a look. I found it in an op shop and thought perhaps it was a comedy. I was pleasantly surprised.

"Blast'em" (1992): This is a vanity documentary… which means the people who wanted to be documented had a documentary made about them. Pathetic, right? Well, NOT if you're them and you're THAT convinced you're deserving of more attention than anyone ever seems to give you and your "art". This is about some of the awful people who stalk stars and other faux news-worthy characters in Here Today / Gone Tomorrowland. Paparazzi. If YOU had a film made about you and your daily exploits but it showcased your whining, foul mouth, unprofessional and illegal behaviors, sneaky tricks, and self-centered self-righteousness, would YOU want it released to the public? I doubt it. But THAT is how ironically deluded and desperate these people were. They're long gone now, I'm sure. (I don't even have the urge to remember their names or Google them to see who rightfully died at the hands of a fed-up person who'd been violated once too many.)