Celebrating the New Film “Smash His Camera”

at Gallery MAR, 580 Main Street, Park City

January 21-26, 2010

Sundance Film Festival 2010

Much has been written of Ron Galella. Widely regarded as the most famous and most controversial celebrity photographer in the world—he’s been dubbed “Paparazzo Extraordinaire” by Newsweek and “the Godfather of the U.S. paparazzi culture” by Time and Vanity Fair—Galella is clearly willing to take great risks to get the perfect shot. As a result, he has endured two highly publicized court battles with Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, a broken jaw at the hands of Marlon Brando, and a serious beating by Richard Burton’s bodyguards before being jailed in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

But ultimately, it is his passion for the fine art of photography, coupled with a dedicated do-it-yourself approach to his craft—few artists can claim his level of skill in making their own prints—that sees Ron’s body of work exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in both New York and San Francisco, the Tate Modern in London, and the Helmut Newton Foundation Museum of Photography in Berlin.

Ron’s passion for photojournalism has also given rise to many highly acclaimed books including Disco Years (PowerHouse, 2009), which was honored as Best Photography Book of 2006 by The New York Times, and Smash His Camera, a documentary of his life and career by Oscar-winning director, Leon Gast (When We Were Kings, 1996), that will premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and compete for Best U.S. Documentary.