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Top stories submitted and voted on from Propeller.

Kutcher Playing Pranks on Paparazzi

By GARY LEVIN, USA Today

Posted: 2008-03-06 09:16:58

Filed Under: Celebrity News, Paris Hilton, TV News

(March 6) - Paris Hilton had an improbable dinner date in L.A. Saturday: a gray-haired, orange-robed "shaman" who blessed her and urged her to give a diamond necklace to a total stranger.

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Hey Paparazzi ...
You've Been Punk'd!

1 of 5

If you thought Paris Hilton's weekend dinner date with a fu-manchu sporting guru was all a ruse, well, you were right. Members of the paparazzi ate it up, snapping photos that ended up in newspapers and news Web sites. One problem: the "guru" is an actor and the whole thing was set up by Ashton Kutcher.

Like most everything she does, the event was captured by dozens of cameras. News quickly spread to London tabloids, TMZ.com, the New York Daily News and websites of the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle, who wondered if she'd found religion or was seeking spiritual guidance.

"He's really changed my life," Hilton told paparazzi from her car, adding she offered the necklace "because the greatest gift is to give."

Turns out, as some outlets later discovered, the "mystic" was an actor named Maxie Santillan Jr., who has appeared on CSI and My Name Is Earl. And though some accused Hilton of getting Punk'd, the joke's on them: The entire scene was staged for a new show from Punk'd producer Ashton Kutcher premiering Sunday on E! (10:30 ET/PT).

Pop Fiction, an eight-episode series, is a prank show targeting paparazzi and gullible media outlets. It's made with the eager help of stars, who were the laughing stocks of Kutcher's former MTV show. This time the shoe's on the other foot, and the series has been kept so tightly under wraps that E!'s own website fell victim to the Hilton hoax and other planted stories that producers won't yet divulge.

In all, says Kutcher's producing partner Jason Goldberg, about 20 celebrities — including A-list actors whom he declines to identify — are in on the joke and in "full control" of the pranks. After the producers quietly circulated word of the show's concept, interest among celebs "was pretty heavy."

"You're speaking their language. We live in a culture that's driven by media and obsessed with celebrity, to the point where they don't have private lives anymore," Goldberg says.

Paris Hilton's World

** FILE ** Actress Paris Hilton poses on the press line at a party honoring Timbaland sponsored by Verizon Wireless and People magazine in Los Angeles in this Feb. 8, 2008, file photo. NBC is pumping up the return of "My Name is Earl" with a guest shot by Paris Hilton. Hilton appears as herself in a dream sequence. Earl has been knocked unconscious and various things from his life and imagination are bleeding into his fevered mind, NBC said. Her appearance will come in the one-hour episode on April 3 that is the first new material following the writers strike settlement. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file)
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LONDON - MARCH 04: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) A model walks down the runway wearing a dress donated by Paris Hilton during the '27 Dresses' Celebrity Dress Auction fashion show in aid of The Lavender Trust at Sketch on March 4, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)
Getty Images
LONDON - MARCH 04: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) A model walks down the runway wearing a dress donated by Paris Hilton during the '27 Dresses' Celebrity Dress Auction fashion show in aid of The Lavender Trust at Sketch on March 4, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)
Getty Images
** FILE **Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., and his daughters Malia, left, and daughter Sasha enjoy the Iowa State Fair in this Aug. 16, 2007, file photo in Des Moines, Iowa. The girls are fans of Hannah Montana and Beyonce, but think anything to do with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton is "yuck", Obama told a celebrity magazine. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
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** FILE ** Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to supporters with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, left, and Sasha, center, at an after caucus rally at the Hy-Vee Center after winning the Iowa democratic presidential caucus in this Jan. 3, 2008, file photo in Des Moines, Iowa. Obama says his two daughters are fans of Hannah Montana and Beyonce, but think anything to do with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton is "yuck." The Democratic presidential contender told celebrity magazine Us Weekly that his daughters got to meet Beyonce backstage at a concert and "they just love her to death." (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
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Actress Paris Hilton performs as a Las Vegas Pussycat Doll at the Pussycat Doll Lounge located inside Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Weeks)
AP

"Two people going out to eat turns into, 'They're engaged.' It's a feeding frenzy. It's dangerous and it's irresponsible in some cases."

Goldberg says the show is not meant as a forum for celebrity "whining," but is instead played as a comedy. "We're having fun, but we want to say to people, 'Can you really believe everything you read and see?' "

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He claims major media outlets have been duped into reporting false stories about celebrities in recent months, though he would not elaborate.

"This is about selling magazines," he says. "But it's not just at the expense of celebrities; it's at the expense of the population, because they're being sucked into it, too."

The show's segments vary, but generally consist of a sympathetic sit-down interview with a celebrity as they concoct scenarios to dupe the media. Viewers will then see them interacting with the Hollywood press hordes — "you're going to see how aggressive these people are," Goldberg says — and the aftermath of the resulting coverage.

Unlike Punk'd, Kutcher does not appear on camera to confront those who have been hoodwinked. Says Goldberg: "The end results speak for themselves."

2008-03-06 06:34:32

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298 comments

shakenbakechikn 02:56:38 PM Mar 11 2008

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i think this is a really good idea, it's time they get back at the paparazzi for all the nasty things they do.

bbmas2006 06:32:41 PM Mar 10 2008

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I think the show sounds funny. instead of him prankibg celebs hes pranking the people who get the dirt on them. Now thats Brilliant. And the paparazzii deserve it.Besides some of the info in magazines is false already so this wont make much of a difference if they do put these pics in magazines.

cathyred139 09:33:16 PM Mar 09 2008

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Good for u Kutcher. The paparazzi suck but be careful they don't try to pull a prank on u and Demi. These people r dangerous and I would not like to see u or Demi hurt. u guys r great together and I hope it stays that way forever.

tdfish 07:54:12 PM Mar 09 2008

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Hilarious !! Paps are so gullible and deserve to be sent running all over the place.. Specially when it is all fake,, this happens more than its published too.

razorbkdog 01:36:25 PM Mar 09 2008

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What I'd LOVE to see someone (who has the time, energfy and means to DO it!) would be to relentlessly follow some certain members of the papparazzi. Like .. how 'bout those really obnoxious 'TMZ' people, for instance? Follow them to their HOMES. Camp out outside, photograph THEM, and POST where they live so all sorts of fruitcakes come out of the woodwork and show up where they live for a damn change!! Be funny to follow THEM around when they aren't working to the stores in which they shop, to their friend's houses (if they, in fact, have friends and are not actually cold blooded reptilian types who .. well, perhaps hibernate?).

texasldy409 10:18:33 AM Mar 09 2008

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Aniston needs to think first,,,its part of being a grown up. Hes still a youngster with pranks in his head. I can see his point, but the tabloids get things confused as is. This kind of prank can be funny, but also can be dangerous if not thought out.

jppitman 09:47:02 AM Mar 09 2008

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The paparazzi deserved it and had it coming and I hope they are targets of these stars again to the point that they may never know when something they`re covering is real or not. Anyone who`s interested would enjoy a well-done movie called "Paparazzi" where an actor, who becomes famous and is subsequently hounded by these people in a dangerous fashion, finds a way to get back at them and puts them away.

sunspotbaby000 09:12:59 AM Mar 09 2008

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yesss... i love it... the paparazzi deserve it... they should take one freakin picture then leave the people alone... but no.. they stalk them like prey... they deserve everything that comes back to them...