Exit
HUFFINGTON
10.21.12
CELEBRITY
of. “If you were going to do that
to a celebrity,” Gettlin quipped,
“Wouldn’t you at least use paint or
something else that sticks?”
The video element is key for
TMZ’s tour, billed as a “show on
wheels.” Almost every story is accompanied with B-roll or TMZ
news coverage of an embarrassing
celebrity meltdown, which leaves
no questions about the authenticity
of the tawdry tidbit.
Rolling past the Chateau Marmont, for example, triggers a
911 recording of Josh Hartnett
complaining about explosive diarrhea in his hotel room. Where
the stars fistfight, where they
film their sex tapes, where they
trip and fall — that’s where
you’ll find the TMZ bus.
Celebrity sightings do happen,
as it’s a lot more likely to catch
stars living, working or eating in
their natural environs instead of in
neighborhoods that none of them
actually live in. But even without
any star sightings that day, Gettlin still managed to deliver the
impression that celebrity was just
around the corner.
At one point, Gettlin called out
to a pair of Osteria Mozza workers taking a break on Melrose
Avenue, “Any big celebs eat here
lately?” Neither of them said a
word as they walked back into
the restaurant and closed the
door behind them.
Gettlin insists “paparazzi” isn’t
TMZ’s style. “We don’t chase anybody down,” he told Huffington
after the tour. “We’re not going to
hop off the bus and run down an
alley to get a celebrity.”
At least not yet, anyway.
5 STOPS ON TMZ’S UNCONVENTIONAL ROUTE
El Pollo Loco, Sunset
Boulevard & North La
Brea Avenue: Brad
Pitt worked at this
restaurant before being
discovered. By day, he
dressed as a chicken
and danced in front
of the store. By night,
he drove a limo full of
strippers to parties
around town.
Sunset Tan, Sunset
Boulevard & Alta Loma
Road: Paris Hilton once
locked herself into one
of the rooms of this
tanning salon, forcing
an employee to climb
over a wall to free her.
The Body Shop, Sunset
Boulevard & North
Harper Avenue: A strip
club where Courtney
Love worked and Demi
Moore trained for the
film Striptease.
The Grove, Beverly
Boulevard & North
Fairfax Avenue: Tour
plays a clip of actress
Cloris Leachman driving
off the street and
onto the sidewalks of
this heavily trafficked
outdoor mall.
Chateau Marmont,
Sunset Boulevard
& Marmont Lane:
Classic luxury hotel
long associated with
celebrities and industry
glamour. The tour plays
an audio clip of actor
Josh Hartnett dialing
911 from his hotel room
to complain about his
explosive diarrhea.