Jennifer Lopez - still Jenny, but that's a hell of a block!

A good indication of how well a morning show is doing is the number of paparazzi waiting for a guest to arrive.  Judging by the size of the crowd, GMA knocked it out of the park this morning.  When I arrived, a little before 8 AM, there was nobody in the window.  Rounding the corner toward the barricades, I could see a throng of people, four deep maybe, paparazzi on step stools, flashbulbs going off in all directions.  Pure chaos.  Jennifer Lopez had just arrived.

While I'm not a huge fan of  JLo's music, she has one song, 'Alive' that always reminds me of my friend Andy back when I lived in LA.  The two of us in his pickup riding down Fountain on the way to some club, ready for a night to remember although neither of us ever could the next day.  Since I knew I couldn't get a clear shot at the barricades, I rushed back to the window and staked my claim, a few fans in front of me, but still a clear sight line to the chairs being set up for her interview.  Some days the interview is conducted right in the window, which means the celebrity's back is to you and you only get a side or rear view unless they turn around.  Other days, the chairs are set up across the studio facing the windows.  Those are the days you're grateful for, and today was one of those days.

No sooner did I claim my spot then the fans and paparazzi descended.  Stools and ladders all around me, we're sandwiched together, each fighting for the clear shot.  Bodies moving, people bumping each other, cellphones getting in the way (Boy do I hate the fans with the cellphones...obstacles really), cameras blocking cameras, paparazzi I'd never seen before.  I've got a paparazzi on a stool behind me pushing me toward the guy in front of me, who's standing his ground and pushing me back against the guy on the stool, who is complaining that the camera weighs five pounds and I'm leaning back against him when I can't really even move.  And through the glass, producers, makeup artists, publicists, everyone getting in the way of the clear shot.  Pandemonium for a two segment interview.

After the second segment, it was back to the barricade.  Paparazzi on top of paparazzi on top of fans, tourists getting in the way on the sidewalk, security trying to keep control.  And there's Allie on the sidewalk arguing with one of the security guys, Walter I think his name is, about how it's not fair that she can't stand on the sidewalk and how she needs her picture signed and how this is all bullshit.

And then Jennifer comes out and all hell breaks loose.  Flashbulbs all over the place, fans calling out, security trying to keep order.   She signed a few autographs and possibly posed with a few fans, but I couldn't see anything but Allie crying about how unfair it was that she couldn't be up front and I should have taken  a picture of that!  As Jennifer got into the SUV and it started to leave, Allie ran to the passenger side window in one last pathetic attempt to get an autograph.  No luck.  The SUV sped off.

Of the 675 shots I snapped off, here's my favorite.  This one's for you Skandy!