What price fame?

Ya know, I realize that Hollywood is not a bastion of family-friendly values, and that there are people who are willing to do almost anything it takes to reach the “big time”. Despite all that, an ad I found in Variety (The very well known entertainment industry magazine) hits a new low…

The ad was titled: “Celebrity ‘Home Movie’?”, and it went on to propose the creation of supposedly illicit home movies to ensure “The fast track to stardom”. You may be familiar with the sort of thing being described here: The infamous Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee honeymoon video or the more recent Paris Hilton video that surfaced on the ‘net.

Basically what this enterprise offers is payment of up to $500,000(!!!) and a share of the profits from the sales of such films. They will create a carefully scripted/edited piece of work that will then be leaked to the public, presumably via the internet. The ad claims that they are a $100MM organization which has done this sort of thing many times over the last 10 years.

This is disgusting on every level: The person willing to do this to further their career, the company creating and promoting this “service”, and the fact that Variety is willing to run the ad.

What’s also sad is the fact that this sort of thing actually seems to work. How many people had heard of Paris Hilton prior to that steamy video which was supposedly released without her permission? It strains coincidence that after that became public she became well-known, and then became even more famous via a starring role in the trashy reality show The Simple Life.

The next time some celebrity scandal finds it’s way onto the internet or Entertainment Tonight, think twice before feeling sorry for the poor victim. While you’re at it, keep an eye on that person’s career in the ensuing months and don’t be surprised if they benefit from it.