Paparazzi

Godard's buddy Jacques Rozier was on the set of "Contempt" shooting a making-of documentary when he became fascinated with the relatively recent (or at least very recently named) phenomenon of paparazzi. He shot this short about their quest to get photos of Brigitte Bardot. It's a relatively balanced little documentary that talks to the photographers and gets their perspective ... and also shows them harassing the hell out of Bardot.

This very well crafted short film is at once a documentary exploring celebrity culture including the perceived space between legitimate and yellow journalism in their approach to celebrities; a behind-the-scenes of Le Mépris; and a paparazzi-like peek at the paparazzi, turning the camera against the cameraman. In the end, though, Rozier is wise enough to let the guys with the zoom lenses speak. We know what B.B. has to say, but what they have to say to their defense is more interesting.