Jackie Onassis sued him. Marlon Brando broke his jaw. To the people he pursued, legendary paparazzo Ron Galella was a bandit stealing their images, yet he created some of the most iconic celebrity images of the modern era. Over the course of a 50-year career marked by perseverance, Galella has been praised and vilified for his pioneering work in hit-and-run celebrity photography, sparking a fierce debate about privacy versus free speech that continues to this day. A 2010 Sundance Film Festival winner for Best Director, SMASH HIS CAMERA looks at both sides of Galella's controversial story when it debuts MONDAY, JUNE 7 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO playdates: June 7 (5:25 a.m.), 10 (4:30 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), 12 (5:00 p.m.), 18 (9:30 a.m.) and 20 (noon)
HBO2 playdates: June 9 (8:00 p.m.) and 15 (4:30 p.m.)
Beginning with SMASH HIS CAMERA, HBO Documentary Films presents another weekly series this summer, debuting a provocative new special every Monday through Aug. 9. Other June films include "For Neda" (June 14), "Gasland" (June 21) and "Kevorkian" (June 28).
Acclaimed documentarian Leon Gast (the Oscar®-winning "When We Were Kings") turns the camera on self-described paparazzo superstar Ron Galella to reveal a man as fascinating as any of his famous subjects. Taking its name from an order Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis issued to her security team, SMASH HIS CAMERA chronicles Galella's meteoric career as a notorious guerilla photographer and offers a thoughtful examination of the nature of fame, the relationship between celebrities and their chroniclers, and the delicate balance between privacy and freedom of the press over the past 30 years.
Galella revisits old haunts and shares war stories about Michael Jackson, Princess Diana, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, ElizaBeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Robert Redford and other superstars who tried and failed to escape his lens. He proudly recalls the night Marlon Brando broke his jaw with one punch, knocking out five teeth in the process. Unafraid of the limelight himself, Galella donned a football helmet for his next encounter with the actor, and invited a photographer friend to document the outcome.
But no other subject caught his imagination (or the public's) like former first Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. From 1967 until 1982, Galella pursued her with a determination bordering on obsession. When his attention grew overwhelming, she instructed her Secret Service detail to prevent him from photographing her and her children.
In 1973, Galella filed a harassment suit against Onassis, alleging she was preventing him from doing his job. Onassis filed a countersuit and the epic legal battle that followed inspired an ongoing debate over the privacy of public figures. Ironically, his photographs became iconic images of Mrs. Onassis, some of them depicting "Jackie at her most fetching," as gossip doyenne Liz Smith says in the film.
In addition to Liz Smith, SMASH HIS CAMERA features interviews with photojournalist Harry Benson, visual artist Chuck Close, Vanity Fair editor GrayDon Carter, Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and attorneys on both sides of the historic legal battle, among others.
Named after movie idol Ronald Colman, Ron Galella began his career as a U.S. Air Force photographer before his increasingly creative methods of cornering the famous and infamous made him a household name. In the film, he happily shares the secrets of his success, such as hiding in bushes, high-speed car chases, outlandish disguises and strategic bribes. Among his unorthodox words of advice for aspiring paparazzi: "sneak in" to high-profile events, "dress right" for the occasion, "forge credentials" and the most effective technique in his playbook - surprise the subject and capture the real emotion of the moment.
