Hooray for Hollywood

Yeah, I know, part of the point of a blog is to give updates practically as they happen. But my month-long adventure has been so jam-packed with activity I had to choose between experiencing it or chronicling it. Sorry for the delay.

Certainly one of the highlights was attending the red carpet premiere of The Hangover. It's a completely different experience than the one portrayed in magazines or on TV. For starters, it's almost hostile--the photographers and the fans screaming at the celebrities in a way that seems more angry than happy. And the celebrities make up such a small part of the audience. If you open a magazine and see a couple of dozen actors, the event seems star-studded. But what you don't see are the thousand other people also there for the movie.

And, despite the designer outfits, people still buy popcorn at concessions.

Security doesn't allow bystanders to hang out on the red carpet, but I managed to get a spot just beyond the velvet rope, affording me excellent opportunities to photograph the backs of several celebrities.

Here's Jim Carrey:


And Hangover star Heather Graham in red:


And one of the Olsen twins, I'm not sure which:


I so enjoyed getting their backs I actually forfeited the opportunity when Zac Efron looked right at me.

For more on the experience, check out what I had to say at WalletPop.com.