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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

When It Comes To The Paparazzi, Don’t Preach

Compiled By Staff Writer Rick Bo

With the world still reeling from Princess Diana’s death, the celebrity-news-backlash backlash has begun:

Elton John, in a BBC interview, castigated Madonna, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone for “wailing and caterwauling” over paparazzi when they’ve “manipulated the press to suit their own ends.”

The New York Post reported that while George Clooney was busy bashing the press, his publicists were “flooding fax machines with press releases begging journalists - especially photographers” to cover the premiere of his new movie, “The Peacemaker.”

Stallone, who called paparazzi “birds who sit on tombstones,” approached photographers with open arms at his new Planet Hollywood restaurant in Rome. They turned their backs, and he walked away.

Loose talk

New-age guru Deepak Chopra, on today’s world (in W magazine): “The information age is about ideas reaching critical mass in society. It doesn’t have to be spiritual ideas. It can be Calvin Klein underwear.”

She’d probably pay to have her picture taken now

Kristy McNichol turns 35 today.

The tabloids are still searching for theirs

Tom Selleck says he’s taken it upon himself to coordinate the response from celebrities who have problems with the tabloid media. “I want to see a reasoned debate,” said Selleck, who envisions ethics seminars and congressional hearings. “Some of this grief (over Diana’s death) I sincerely believe is the public realizing that maybe they’ve enabled this kind of thing, and there is some serious soul-searching.”

Call it an uncanny case of prophet and loss

By the way, in case you missed it, Michael Douglas on the “Today” show last Friday: “In all due respect to Princess Diana, someone like Mother Teresa, when she dies, who’s given her entire life, is recognized worldwide … will we have anywhere near that outpouring for her?” A few hours later, Mother Teresa was dead.

Is that what they mean by a time exposure?

Several sports figures, including tennis star Boris Becker, Olympic swimmer Amy Van Dyken and gold-medal decathlete Dan O’Brien, have posed for tasteful nude photos for a traveling exhibit to promote a line of Swiss watches. Said O’Brien: “I understood that (photographer) Herb Ritts wanted to convey the idea that the lines of the world-class athlete are beautiful and to compare them to the lines of the new watches … I am in pretty good shape, and I enjoy doing the modeling thing.”

And for that, they deserve a really big ‘shoo!’

Meanwhile, through the magic of digital technology, Ed Sullivan - who died in 1974 - will appear in TV ads for a new Mercedes sports utility vehicle, with his voice provided by an impersonator. Said an ad agency spokesman: “Ed Sullivan introduced some of the most incredible acts in history. Who better than Ed Sullivan to appear in a Mercedes commercial and introduce the car?”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino