Celebrity Chatter: Hollywood Stars, Paparazzi Don't Mix

Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake are being sued by paparazzi after a scuffle outside of the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood.

But celebrities getting fed up with paparazzi is nothing new.

Jennifer Aniston told me during an interview that she was tired of the paparazzi being interested in the most mundane things, including what toilet paper she bought.

But if we all didn't consume such details about celebrity's lives, there wouldn't be a market for photos of Britney camped out at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool with a cigarette dangling from her mouth, or Cameron and Justin walking out of a hotel.

Usually it's the celebrities suing the camera-wielding stalkers, but this time the tables are turned. According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, photographers Saul Lazo and Jose Gonzalez were roughed up by Diaz and Timberlake last Saturday.

Lazo claims Diaz ran at him, then hit him in the neck and tripped him. She then took his camera, the suit claims.

Diaz kept the camera, then turned it into police. She also tried to grab Gonzalez's camera, according to reports. The two photographers allegedly ran away. The suit says that Timberlake called the pair "chickens" and taunted them to "come and fight."

Paparazzi, who were named after the character Paparazzo, the photographer in Fellini's film "La Dolce Vita," are nothing new. They made Marilyn Monroe famous and countless other film stars. They are not without their bad rap, however. Many people still blame the photographers who were chasing Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed through the streets of Paris for the couple's death.

Some of the stars have tried to put a spin on the cat-and-mouse game. Gwyneth Paltrow and husband, Chris Martin, gave photographers an audience shortly after the birth of their baby, Apple, to avoid the chase of photographers trying to snap a picture of the child.

There are two schools of thought on paparazzi and celebrity. Those who run taboid newspapers and employ paparazzi believe that the prying eyes go with celebrity status.

Gary Morgan, the co-founder of a celebrity news agency Splash, believes as much as celebrities loathe the paparazzi, they know they want the publicity, too.

"There's a relationship between us and celebrities. They don't want us around, but they know they need the publicity. They see us as a necessary evil,'' he told the Daily Telegraph.

For all of the publicity movie studios and publicists ask of the media when their celebrity is on the downside, it can be a reciprocal deal. Plug a bad Ben Affleck movie and give him publicity when he's out on the red carpet. So the reciprocal deal? Paparazzi can snap a photograph of Affleck in the stands of Fenway Park with another A-list star at a World Series game.

But being a celebrity brings with it a sense of paranoia and a feeling of never being able to escape the prying lens of a camera.

Jeff Rayner, a Los Angeles-based celebrity photographer, told the Daily Telegraph recently.

"Brad (Pitt's) even got a camera on his car that shows the license plates of the person behind him, so he can check if someone's following," said Rayner.

The two photographers who filed the lawsuit against Diaz and Timberlake say they suffered emotional distress and physical harm. They are seeking damages.

A statement released by representatives for Diaz and Timberlake said the couple was "ambushed by two men, who jumped out of a concealed hiding place on a dark, deserted street late at night. Any actions by Diaz and Timberlake were merely taken in self-defense."

Anna Nicole's Act

Is Anna Nicole Smith really as loopy as she acts or is it just a put on?

Smith appeared Sunday at the American Music Awards to introduce one of the acts, but acted dazed and confused.

Perhaps Jimmy Kimmel had the explanation for Smith's incoherency.

"I still think the best performance of the night was Anna Nicole Smith. I told her to stay away from Snoop Dogg's brownies," said Kimmel.

Renee, Hugh And Colin Back For A Third?

There's no book and definitely no script yet for "Bridget Jones 3," but would the stars of the movie return for the possibly final part of a trilogy?

Hugh Grant told me when I spoke with him a few weeks ago about the movie that he's headed for "semi-retirement," so Daniel Cleaver may have to take a different form.

Colin Firth, who plays Mark D'arcy, believes the cast should step aside and let some new actors enter the picture.

And Renee Zellweger has her own feelings about Bridget, despite the fact she had to gain 30 pounds for the role for both the original and the sequel.

"I just love Bridget Jones. Let me put it this way, I get a very positive reaction from the fellas as Bridget Jones," Zellweger said.

Michelle Solomon's gossip column, Celebrity Chatter, appears each Monday. You can email Michelle at Michelle Solomon@Celebrity Chatter.