Post by callie on May 15, 2007 15:33:33 GMT -5
This whole issue of stalkerazzi creeps me out. If you don't know what it is, then imagine having crews of people follow you around when you drop your kid off at school, when you get your hair done, have an argument with your husband, or even peep into your backyard. I'm sure no one here means any offense by posting photos or links to sites such as TMZ or X17, but fyi...
There was a very good article in the LA Times this weekend on the owners (Francois and Brandy Navarre) of X17. Their basic premise is WHY should any star have a private life, and more to the point, why shouldn't they profit off it? Here's a bit about the lifestyle this affords them:
"Former journalists, they now live in one of the city's most desirable enclaves, own several homes and prefer to travel by private jet. Their business acumen has allowed them to share the very lifestyle of the celebrities they chase, sometimes around their own neighborhood."
This isn't a small enterprise. It's a multi-million dollar business and they employ a staff of papparazzi to stake out where the stars live, work, shop, eat, and go with their children.
"Francois and Brandy Navarre live north of Sunset Boulevard on Amalfi Drive in the Palisades Riviera, where it's rare these days to find a home selling for less than $5 million. About three blocks away, also on Amalfi, they are building a new home on a lot they bought in 2005. A year ago, they purchased a house at the corner of North Oakhurst Drive and Burton Way, which they use as an office for their tiny staff and a drop point for their videographers.
In the Palisades, their unwitting neighbors are some of the very people who help them earn their handsome living. Brooke Shields lives around the corner. So does Brian Grazer. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell live nearby, as does Adam Sandler. Steven Spielberg and Whoopi Goldberg have property. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman used to live on Sorrento, one street below them. Brandy occasionally runs into celebrities such as Jennifer Garner at the grocery store. If she sees someone from a competing paparazzi agency hanging out at the local park when she drops off her kids with their French nanny, she might alert Francois.
The Navarres are unconcerned that they might be loathed by some of the people they count as neighbors. "Yeah, sure, it's always a question of private life versus public life," says Francois. "But you have an easy way to escape that. Get out of Los Angeles."
"On a sunny spring day, with the sweep of Santa Monica Bay visible from the picture window in her living room, Brandy, slim and blond at 33, sits on a cream-colored couch. The house is peaceful and sparsely decorated, with a Zen vibe. Her 4-year-old son, Adrien, and 2-year-old daughter, Remy, are napping in their rooms.
A native of Florida, she has a master's degree in broadcast journalism from USC and a self-confidence that would not be out of place for any chief executive of a $10-million company. "I did always have high ambitions," she says. "When I was younger, one of my favorite movies was 'Wall Street.' I totally agreed that greed was good."
A zen vibe? Is Brandy Navarre delusional? Or is this standard Hollyweird self serving wishes that makes them believe that if they live with zen furnishings and decor, that it will offset the parasitic way of making a living, her personal belief that greed is good.
I look at those photos of Owen driving, running, trying to talk to Kate and I wonder how the heck they manage to maintain their dignity.
I really dislike these companies, as I'm sure the Wilsons do, and I'd ask you to think about how difficult they make their lives before supporting these sites --which serve only to line the pockets of the Navarres who shall be known as the neighbors from hell.
There was a very good article in the LA Times this weekend on the owners (Francois and Brandy Navarre) of X17. Their basic premise is WHY should any star have a private life, and more to the point, why shouldn't they profit off it? Here's a bit about the lifestyle this affords them:
"Former journalists, they now live in one of the city's most desirable enclaves, own several homes and prefer to travel by private jet. Their business acumen has allowed them to share the very lifestyle of the celebrities they chase, sometimes around their own neighborhood."
This isn't a small enterprise. It's a multi-million dollar business and they employ a staff of papparazzi to stake out where the stars live, work, shop, eat, and go with their children.
"Francois and Brandy Navarre live north of Sunset Boulevard on Amalfi Drive in the Palisades Riviera, where it's rare these days to find a home selling for less than $5 million. About three blocks away, also on Amalfi, they are building a new home on a lot they bought in 2005. A year ago, they purchased a house at the corner of North Oakhurst Drive and Burton Way, which they use as an office for their tiny staff and a drop point for their videographers.
In the Palisades, their unwitting neighbors are some of the very people who help them earn their handsome living. Brooke Shields lives around the corner. So does Brian Grazer. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell live nearby, as does Adam Sandler. Steven Spielberg and Whoopi Goldberg have property. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman used to live on Sorrento, one street below them. Brandy occasionally runs into celebrities such as Jennifer Garner at the grocery store. If she sees someone from a competing paparazzi agency hanging out at the local park when she drops off her kids with their French nanny, she might alert Francois.
The Navarres are unconcerned that they might be loathed by some of the people they count as neighbors. "Yeah, sure, it's always a question of private life versus public life," says Francois. "But you have an easy way to escape that. Get out of Los Angeles."
"On a sunny spring day, with the sweep of Santa Monica Bay visible from the picture window in her living room, Brandy, slim and blond at 33, sits on a cream-colored couch. The house is peaceful and sparsely decorated, with a Zen vibe. Her 4-year-old son, Adrien, and 2-year-old daughter, Remy, are napping in their rooms.
A native of Florida, she has a master's degree in broadcast journalism from USC and a self-confidence that would not be out of place for any chief executive of a $10-million company. "I did always have high ambitions," she says. "When I was younger, one of my favorite movies was 'Wall Street.' I totally agreed that greed was good."
A zen vibe? Is Brandy Navarre delusional? Or is this standard Hollyweird self serving wishes that makes them believe that if they live with zen furnishings and decor, that it will offset the parasitic way of making a living, her personal belief that greed is good.
I look at those photos of Owen driving, running, trying to talk to Kate and I wonder how the heck they manage to maintain their dignity.
I really dislike these companies, as I'm sure the Wilsons do, and I'd ask you to think about how difficult they make their lives before supporting these sites --which serve only to line the pockets of the Navarres who shall be known as the neighbors from hell.