JENNIFER Aniston, Kid Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elton John … they’ve all had moments with the paparazzi and a new US movie puts Geelong celebrity mogul Darryn Lyons right in the middle of them for a star-studded controversy.
$ellebrity, an all-star documentary directed by celebrity photographer Kevin Mazur, has the brightly-plumed Lyons front and centre for his access-all-areas insight into life behind the velvet rope and in front of the camera.
“Who makes them famous?’’ he asks the camera in a promotional video for the movie.
“Well, actually, I do!’’
The paparazzi king’s latest screen foray follows roles on the UK’s Big Brother, in which he revealed a surgically-enhanced abdomen, Excess Baggage and The Dragon’s Den.
Three-part BBC documentary Paparazzi tracked his exploits over a year and he also released an autobiography, My Life as the World’s Most Outrageous Celebrity Photographer.
In $ellebrity he gives his take on the changing world of celebrity publicity, good and otherwise.
“I’m pretty overwhelmed when I look at the cast list, actually – when you’re in the same cast as Jennifer Aniston, Kid Rock, Marc Anthony, Elton John, Dan Abrams, Sarah Jessica Parker…’’ Lyons told the Independent.
He also revealed plans for a new celebrity photo agency.
“We’re embracing the changing nature of the business. The industry in the next 12 months, in my opinion, is going to be turned on its head.
“A celebrity industry that was like Louis Vuitton has changed to now Hungry Jacks, McDonald’s fast-food all-you-can-eat images.
“We’re launching with 15 million images over the next couple months.’’
Lyons suggested the new business would allow amateurs with mobile phone cameras to cash in on any opportunities to snap celebrities.
“You can take a picture and get it out there but (you) are losing the money,’’ he said.
“You want cash, you need an agent. We’ll have a totally automated system – you can even go in and see how much money you’re making around the world with your picture.”
