Open Thread

Half the actors were dispatched to mingle among the tourists near the theater where they host the Oscars, about a quarter of a mile away. Their job was to spot us in stages. Then Adam yelled, “Let’s go!” and we surged forward onto Hollywood Boulevard.

For a few seconds, all is quiet, like when you’ve been horrifically injured and for a hopeful moment you feel no pain. But then the shrieking begins.

“NO TOUCHING!” shouts my fake personal assistant, LoriLee, at a passerby. The woman looks baffled, because she evidently has no intention of touching me. “Oh my God oh my God it’s him!” yells a fake fan. “It’s King Jon of Wales!”

Jon Ronson tried out a few services where you can pay a company who will send actors posing as photographers and fans to mob you while you’re doing normal everyday things (or out with someone you want to impress or pull a prank on). It’s just a few thousand dollars to feel like a celebrity for a day.

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