 Paris Hilton gets surrounded by paparazzi as she leaves a restaurant in Beverly Hill. (PHOTO: Martin Bouffard, Sun Media)





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BEVERLY HILLS -- For the Hollywood paparazzi, nothing quite compares to a stakeout of Paris Hilton.
It's a Wednesday night, 10:50 p.m. in front of the Mr. Chow restaurant -- one of the most trendiest addresses in this filthy-rich city, steps away from Rodeo Drive.
Paris is inside with her sister, celebrating the birthday of another heir, Brandon Davis.
Some 30 paparazzi form a half-circle around the front door. When anyone leaves the restaurant, the "paps" raise and point their camera lenses in unison, like a firing-squad detail. The tension increases.
After hours of waiting, a platinum blond head appears in the door frame. There's an explosion of flashes. It's bedlam.
For at least two minutes, you'd believe it was daylight. Paris stays in the doorway, head straight, barely smiling.
"Where's my Bentley?" she says, blinded. She heads to her car, the paparazzi forming a circle around her. She moves forward slowly, keeping her calm -- like a robot programmed especially to face such chaotic situations.
The paparazzi jostle, elbowing each other. Lens caps and iPods fall to the ground. Civil-mindedness is gone and the law of the jungle rules.
Paris manages to get into her convertible. The 'paps' surround her Bentley, and even scratch the body paint. Other cars honk their horns -- a cacophony of blaring noise. Paris pumps up the volume of her sound system. "Let her go," some paparazzi scream.
Others continue to shoot through the windshield. Her car advances slowly. Some paparazzi are running to their cars to follow her home. Tires screech. En route, these chasing paps continue taking pictures. The flashes are blinding. A dangerous situation.
Now it's midnight. The same scene replays again, when Paris arrives at Club Les Deux near the Kodak Theater. This time she is driven by a chauffeur in a large SUV. A crowd of passers-by stare. "It's Paris!" some are yelling.
She exits the SUV. A corridor is created for her. She kisses the doorman and melts into the party swarm.
Clubs pay her anywhere from $20,000 to $200,000 just for a visit, for as short as 20 minutes.
Nice work if you can get it.
The Paris Hilton video is available at espace.canoe.ca/MJparent