Celebritology Archive: Extreme Fans

In pursuit of celebs with OMGICU

(Courtesy OMGICU.com) OMGICU is social networking for the star struck -- a Web site and companion mobile app -- that lets users report often breathless celebrity sightings (similar to the oft-criticized Gawker Stalker, but without the maps) and follow sightings for specific stars. The usual suspects -- "Gossip Girl" cast members, Adrian Grenier -- are represented, but I was amused to see the unlikely inclusion of Sam Waterston (spotted once, dining alone and looking younger in person), Olympia Dukakis ("Foxy, old, diabetic.") and Paul Giamatti ("Shuffling along 6th & 20th.") The site is also partly responsible for bringing "30 Rock's" Tracy Morgan to Twitter. OMGICU founder Hugh Dornbush created this video and the Web site twacy.org to petition Morgan to take up tweeting. It worked -- Morgan is now a-tweet and OMGICU's traffic is up. Last week, I corresponded with Dornbush about the site and celebrity stalking: Liz Kelly:...

Serious Film Fandom at the Toronto Film Festival

Another dispatch -- with video! -- from Jen Chaney on the Toronto Film Festival. Look, I'm not going to lie: it was nice to meet some high-wattage celebs in Toronto. But just as fascinating to me: the fans who spent hours upon hours standing outside certain hotels, just hoping to catch a glimpse of someone whose name merits printing in bold type. Since I obviously know a little more about what it's like to live on the admiring-movie-stars side of things, I had a good time chatting with some of them, and watching them gleefully crowd around Juliette Lewis when she arrived at the Interncontinental Hotel on Sunday afternoon. Here's a little video -- complete with footage of Juliette, who handled the attention very graciously -- to give you a sense of the scene....

Hitting the Highlights of the Toronto Film Festival

George Clooney at a press conference for his new movie 'Up In The Air' on Saturday in Toronto. (AP) Jen Chaney has spent the past five days at the Toronto International Film Festival. Today she recaps the highlights of her experience. Covering the Toronto Film Festival has brought on a bit of an existential crisis. I've tried to be everywhere at once in this celeb-filled Canadian city, and perhaps, as a result, I've been nowhere. Or maybe I just think that because I've seen too many movies during the past few days that raise important questions about the human condition. I've met George Clooney, therefore I am: could that be the meaning of life? Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that I had a wonderful time covering one of the most significant film festivals in the world. While doing so, I tried my best to get a...

Going Full Tilt for Bill Paxton

(Image courtesy benheck.com) Updated 3:45 p.m. ET -- scroll down for new must-read details about the Bill Paxton pinball machine. I learned early on that no good can come from slagging Bill Paxton, and none too soon. Shortly after I dismissed Paxton as no more than a guy who played a surfer dude in every single movie, I became a late-blooming fan thanks to his portrayal of polygamous everyman Bill Henrickson on HBO's "Big Love." So it is with pleasure that I present the Bill Paxton pinball machine, a labor of love for gamer and modder Benjamin J. Heckendorn who we should all thank for not being unduly enamored of Jeremy Piven or Pete Wentz. But why Paxton? Explains Heckendorn who, in a blog post, says he always wanted to build a pinball machine from scratch: Well it's as good a theme as any -- I guess I could...

Shiantology: The Cult of LaBeouf

(Image courtesy Shiantology.com) I think it's fair to say that many of us deify celebrities. Me, I'm currently worshipping at the altar of Jon Hamm. But Shia LaBeouf lovers Jennifer and Betsy (who don't want their last names included here) channeled their celeb crush into Internet phenomenon du jour Shiantology.com -- a site that not only tracks the "Transformers" star, but elevates him -- literally -- to godlike status. Last week, I corresponded with the surprisingly sane Jennifer and Betsy to get the site's "creashian" (sorry) story. Read on... Liz: Why Shia LaBeouf? Jennifer and Betsy: We couldn't resist those Jewish curls, his fondness for iced tea and plaid shirts and those kind eyes that reach into your soul. Plus we feel like [with] his off-beat humor (um, Playboy interview, anyone?) [he] would think it's hilarious. A bit creepy, maybe. But he loves a good creep. Liz: Why religious...

Meetthefamous.com -- Inspired or Invasion of Privacy?

Screengrab of Meetthefamous.com. You're innocently loitering on a London street when you spot what appears to be a tipsy George Clooney. Or maybe you capture Penelope Cruz in a less than glamorous moment. Or perhaps you have an old pix of tweener heartthrob Zac Efron before "High School Musical" made him a star. In potentially horrifying news to many celebrities, a new Web site will pay you for all of the above. Meetthefamous.com, launched last fall, has quietly been picking up steam as a go-to site for aspiring paparazzi. Almost overnight, digital cameras and photo- and video-enabled cell phones have made celebrity news one of the first areas of news in which the idea of citizen journalism has actually caught on. "What I've done is created a home for everybody to be the paparazzi," said Meet the Famous CEO Jordan Osher, who underscores his contributors ability to go where...

Older Entries in This Category »

David Hasselhoff: Social Networking Pioneer, Liz , August 21, 2008

Dreaming of Brad Pitt Dollar Bills? The Latest in Celeb Memorabilia, Liz , July 31, 2008

Celeb-Centric Art: The Etch-A-Sketchist, Liz , July 29, 2008

What Would Jamie Lee Do?, Liz , June 30, 2008

For Oprah, the Golden Touch, Liz , May 15, 2008

Doubletake: Celebrity Clones as Art, Liz , November 8, 2007

Morning Mix: Lindsay Lohan Turns Herself In, Liz , July 20, 2007

Angelina Jolie: Purty as a Picture, Liz , January 4, 2007

He Oughta Be in Pictures, Liz , December 22, 2006

Celebritology, the Religion, Liz , September 26, 2006

Let Beyonce Have Her Day, , July 28, 2006

Portrait of the Absurdist, Liz , June 27, 2006

Back to the Sneaker, Liz , June 13, 2006