  The paparazzi chase down Hollywood's most famous train wreck, Britney Spears. (PHOTO: Martin Bouffard, Sun Media)
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HOLLYWOOD -- This is the world's new capitol of out-of-control paparazzi, where exclusive pictures of Britney Spears can be worth up to $250,000, a simple snapshot of Paris Hilton can sell for $150,000, and where video of Anna Nicole Smith's dead body earned $1 million.
"(Anna Nicole's) was the most expensive paparazzi video ever sold," boasted Gary Morgan, head of Splash News, the world's largest paparazzi agency.
With such paydays at stake, no wonder some Hollywood paparazzi are willing to risk lives -- theirs and those of others -- in high-speed highway chases. Others are willing to wait 18 hours straight in their cars, even peeing in water bottles to not miss out on any "big moment" they can sell to the highest bidder.
"It's more dangerous today than it ever has been. It's total chaos," says Blair Berk, lawyer for Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. "It's obvious. Someone can only be harmed or die pretty soon.."
Ten years ago in Paris, Princess Diana died in a car accident that resulted from a high-speed paparazzi chase. The rogue photographers were chastized. Public opinion was adamant, and the European market -- traditionally known for its fierce paparazzi -- suddenly stood still.
But the cut-throat side of the industry was reborn in Los Angeles about five years ago. Ever since, its scale has reached heights never reached even in Europe. "This expansion coincides with the introduction of new tabloids that picked up the scent of the public's interest in this type of photograph," says Francois Navarre, director of the X17 agency in LA.
At the same time, US Magazine went from a bimonthly to a weekly. "The market just exploded," Navarre said.
The number of paparazzi in Los Angeles alone is estimated at 450. "Ten years ago, there were about a dozen paparazzi in the city," Morgan says.
Because of the ferocity of competition, the situation is getting out of control. And dangerous.
In 2005, car accidents between celebrities and paparazzi were frequent. Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon were all involved in such fender-benders.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger added more severe provisions to the existing "anti-paparazzi" law. But two years later, the situation has yet to improve. Photographers still tail celebs' cars -- daily.
With more celebrity photography agencies popping up and with the introduction of digital cameras, becoming a Hollywood paparazzo might seem easy. But the work isn't.
"We are more detectives than photographers. It takes contacts first and foremost. More than talent," says 'Louis,' a former limo driver. Why the career change? Because as a photographer he can earn up to $10,000 a month.
The X17 agency, recognized for hiring newcomers, is partly responsible for the heightened aggressiveness. 'Danny,' 40, is a videographer for X17. He used to be a parking attendant. His asset? Loads of contacts in restaurants.
"Many are those who never took pictures before, but had information," says X17's Navarre. "Like this Vietnam War veteran who was homeless. He called every day to give us info. One day, I gave him a camera and told him to take pictures instead of calling us. Now, he has a car and an apartment."
These amateurs are the problem these days, says career photographer Alex Turner, 32. "(They) jump in front of celebrities with their flash an inch away from their face. They are ruining the business. There are lots of illegal immigrants there that are paid under the table."
Gary Morgan, director of the Splash News agency adds: "When I started in this business, we stayed in our car, shot through the window. Now these are all new inexperienced photographers that cause problems; they don't know the law and push the limits each time. The others have no choice but to follow."
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