You know Paris Hilton. How could you not? The hotel heiress has been part of our cultural zeitgeist for the better part of two decades, having stepped out of the shadow of her family name to become an “It Girl,” author, reality TV personality, producer, actor, tabloid fodder, pop star, activist, entrepreneur, model, convicted probation violator, DJ, and an early influencer in the fledgling days of social media. “Famous for being famous,” Hilton’s life has seemingly played out on TV screens, paparazzi cameras, and Instagram, so what could a documentary tell us that we don’t already know? As she states in the trailer for This Is Paris, “I feel like the whole world thinks they know me—no one really knows who I am.”
Touted as the first genuine, unfiltered look at Paris Hilton’s life, the YouTube Originals documentary wants to show who the star really is behind the “character” she’s been playing since she first uttered, “That’s hot!” on The Simple Life. Produced by Aaron Saidman—who worked on Leah Remini’s Scientology And The Aftermath series—and directed by Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story’s Alexandra Dean, This Is Paris digs deep into the psyche of someone who’s constantly in the spotlight, and details Hilton’s abuse allegations against the boarding school she attended as a teen. Back in January, at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, The A.V. Club was given an early peek at the doc, and a chance to sit down Hilton, Dean, and Saidman to discuss her lasting mark on pop culture, and to help us delineate between “Paris Hilton, the character” and “Paris Hilton, the person.” With This Is Paris’ September 14 premiere just around the corner, you can watch some highlights from our conversation above, and read our full conversation below.
The A.V. Club: What brought the three of you together, and how did that lead to This Is Paris?
Aaron Saidman: I had come across an old article about Paris Hilton and a lot of the trends that she started—some of which he had intentionally started, some of she had unwittingly started. Everything I read further intrigued me about who she really is. I realized we’ve all been talking sort of incessantly and relentlessly about the Hiltons and about Paris for the last 20 some years., but we haven’t really heard directly from Paris about how she feels about all of these things: who she’s become, her sort of icon status. And so I called her agents and asked for a meeting and Paris politely declined [Laughs], and I kept calling and calling. Finally, we got into a room together and started talking about doing something truly authentic that could reveal the deeper essence of who Paris really is—in a way that the public hadn’t really seen before, but also in a way that Paris herself hadn’t really come to terms with and hadn’t explored herself.
That all seemed easier said than done, but that was a really exciting prospect. But, from there, it was about finding the right brilliant voice and director to implement that vision and forge that relationship with Paris. And that’s when we met Alexandra Dean.
AVC: So Paris, were you suspicious? Did it feel odd that someone was wanting to tell your story?
Paris Hilton: When I got the calls from my agent that [Saidman] wanted to meet with me, I was like, “No, I’m not ready for something like this. This is not something I’m interested in.” I’d been focusing on my business, my brand, but they kept talking about it more and more. When I finally had a meeting with Aaron and his team, I immediately just felt comfortable and ready to do it. And then when we were looking for directors and we found [Alexandra Dean]—I fell in love with her movie, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, and I said, “this is the perfect person for this!”
AVC: Alexandra, it was definitely interesting to see that your last feature documentary subject was Hedy Lamarr, but now we’ve moved on to someone more contemporary. Do you see similarities between who Lamarr was and Paris Hilton?
Alexandra Dean: Beautiful, brilliant, misunderstood women. You know, it’s obvious! When I was doing the Bombshell [press tour] two years ago, sitting here, people were asking me, “Could this happen today?” Could somebody as beautiful and brilliant as Hedy Lamarr be walking among us, and we write them off for some reason? Maybe for some scandal they’ve had, like how Hedy had the first orgasm on screen? And I kept going, “Yes, yes, of course it could happen today!” And people would say things like, “Thank god we moved on from that era.” But, no, I think it could still happen today. So when this came to me, I started talking to Paris, and I began to feel like, “Yes, this is the story I’ve wanted to tell since I began the press tour for Bombshell!”
AVC: How did the two of you build that trust? Does that just take time?
PH: As soon as we met, I felt this instant connection. As we were filming, it became like this like sisterly bond where I felt like I could tell her anything— things that I’ve never discussed before with anyone, not even my family, not my friends. She really had asked me questions that no one has ever asked before and was very… not hard on me, but she was just asking me things and really pushing me to my limits. She was like, “For this film, you know, nothing’s off limits. We have to talk about everything.” Sometimes I would be crying and I would get very emotional because I was talking about things that I have never discussed before. I think, with my life, it’s always been so busy, and it’s constant 24/7, traveling 250 days a year, nonstop. So I never really had time to even think about it myself.
So, in this process, I really discovered so much about myself—exploring who I really was, because I never really thought about it before. I was always playing this character, and I was never really myself, but she just dug into everything and pulled so much out of me. It was almost like this like therapeutic experience. I really feel like I found myself during this film, which is weird to say, but this is actually the first real thing that I’ve ever done in my life. Because everything else has just been, you know, the character. I finally felt like I took the mask off of the character, and I was Paris. That’s why the film is titled This Is Paris because this is me.
AVC: You said the word “therapeutic,” and it really does sound like working on this was therapy for you.
AD: We started a new genre [Laughs].
AVC: Therapy docs?
AD: Yeah, right!
AVC: If the Paris we see in this documentary is the real you, then what’s the difference between you and the Paris we’ve seen in the media all these years?
PH: There’s a huge difference. With The Simple Life, it was the first of its kind—there was never a reality show like that. When I started, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so I basically created this character and I didn’t realize what a huge success The Simple Life would be, and that I would have to continue doing this character for five years of the show. And people just thought that’s who I was. But deep inside, every time I would go home at night was, I knew that’s just not who I was. Even now, I feel like I finally discovered who I truly am. And I think, when people watch this film, they’re going to see that there’s so much more to me than what I’ve portrayed in the media for so long.
AVC: On that note, a lot of people see you as someone that helped kicked off our current “influencer culture,” for better or worse. Largely young people that are online all the time, sharing everything about themselves, whether that’s really who they really are or not. What’s your take on that? Do you feel like maybe you’re the godmother of this whole generation?
PH: It makes me feel very proud. A lot of my friends are in this industry—whether they’re influencers, or YouTubers, or building brands—and they say, “Paris, you’re the one who inspired me; watching The Simple Life, growing up with you—you’re the reason I do what I do.” And it makes me feel proud to have basically created a whole new genre celebrity where people could make a brand and make a living off being themselves, or being a character. You know, when I started out, there was no social media—there was none of that—so I think it’s amazing, with all these platforms, that people could build a life off of it. To be the one who paved the way, and to be a pioneer, and always ahead of my time… I think because I’m an Aquarius [Laughs]. I don’t know what it is, but it’s very flattering to hear that.
AVC: And you’re still making content in that space that people talk about. Earlier this year you had the “Cooking With Paris” video, which was a big hit.
PH: I had no idea that it would have such an effect on people, but everyone was talking about it, and they want me to cook more things. I’ve had friends and different celebrities contacting me saying they want to come to my kitchen and cook with me, so I’m actually going to be doing more of those. I love cooking and lasagna has always been like my favorite thing to cook, so I had a lot of fun doing that and I’m excited to do more of those.
AVC: Alexandra and Aaron, what’s something you were surprised to learn about Paris while working on the documentary?
AD: Paris never goes to the gym. It’s true! She doesn’t. What the hell, man? She likes lasagna and she doesn’t go to the gym? There is no god!
AS: That’s an honest answer. That’s not my answer, but that’s an honest answer.
You know, you have intentions for a project and you just don’t know what’s going to happen in documentary because of the nature of the medium. So, I knew that [Alexandra] would excavate and try to get to that deeper truth of Paris, but I didn’t expect Paris to be going through this experience herself. I didn’t anticipate her being so vulnerable. It’s a little bit of lightening in a bottle. You can make a biopic on a celebrity, but if you catch them at the right time in their lives—when maybe it’s a pivot point for them where they’re sort of thinking existentially about who they are—that’s magical, and you can’t necessarily plan for that. So there’s something about Paris—this willingness to be vulnerable—and her relationship with Alex as the director that was… You know, again, you have high hopes for any project, but I didn’t expect that sort of journey to necessarily unfold in front of our cameras just when we happen to be filming. And yet that’s what happened! And that was a good surprise.
AD: To be serious about it now because Aaron was: I did not expect at all to have this sister relationship formed with Paris. It’s true that it was kind of instantaneous, but it developed. And Paris literally strongly reminds me of my sister; I have an older sister who is very similar, and who had a trauma in her childhood—which was not the same—but I think I recognized what she’d been through because I had been through it in close proximity in my childhood. And I recognized, when I met Nicki [Hilton, Paris’ sister], her role with Paris. So I think we were able to kind of take those roles with each other, right? I’ve been in Nicki’s shoes. So I think we had that dynamic right away, and you can’t predict that—you don’t know that that’s going to come of it. And I think that is why there was magic on the set for this film from day one.
Image credit: Graphic: Natalie Peeples, Photo: David Crotty, Contributor/Getty Images
44 Comments
I only know her from South Park. Glad she made it out of Mr Slave’s ass.
She would have been doomed had it not been for Catatta-fish. He is the real MVP.
We care. Oh we care so immensely very much.Especially on the day of Diana Rigg’s disappearance. We were all thinking “oh gosh 2020 is terrible I hope that Paris Hilton is all right”.Keep us updated please.
Why are y’all shilling this shit?
I thought it was an interesting article. Clearly you cared enough to comment.Lol white men.
I guess, for me, this is less about whether Paris Hilton is wealthy or a different class. Her life would be unrecognisable to me, and similarly, she’d find me and my experience quite different.
When young people venture out in to the big wide world, they learn, they say silly things, they cause a fuss, sometimes they get it right and sometimes not. The real measure of an adult is how they work to make good on that time. Anyone can do that, they don’t need a documentary or a lot of money. In Paris’ case, she was the first influencer, so it makes sense that media will do some of the healing, for her, and for us as well.
Howard Stern: What is Paris Hilton like?
Tina Fey: She’s a piece of shit.
I don’t know that this is true, but suppossedly at some event Ricky Gervais was hosting she approached him and told him how much she loved The Office. He asked who she was and when she responded PAris Hilton he said, “Oh yeah. I didn’t recognize you without a cock in your mouth.”
You weren’t kidding!
https://www.accessonline.com/articles/tina-fey-dishes-on-paris-paula-almost-getting-stabbed-by-will-ferrell-61703
Ah yes, Tina Fey again. Which is more insensitive, writing blackface skits or using the word ‘tranny’ as an epithet? SNL has produced some real douchbags over the years.
Fair point. On that topic, it should be noted she addressed the blackface episodes of 30 Rock noting “I understand now that ‘intent’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images. I apologize for pain they have caused. Going forward, no comedy-loving kid needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness.” So that sounds like an insensitive misstep rather than something indicative she’s a douchebag as a person. And certainly the “tranny” comment has not aged terribly well either. But she acknowledged it and seems heartfelt in her apology.
I guess that brings up two questions.
First, should we use those individual missteps as signs she’s a terrible person overall? And if so, how far do we take that?
Second, should that invalidate her observations of what Paris said and how she acted while on SNL? Tina Fey can have done some insensitive things over the years, and I’m not defending either of those things you mentioned. However, can Tina Fey have made her own gaffes while being right about Paris, how she acted, and what she said? Because I think both of those things could be true.
Granted, even if all of that is accurate, it doesn’t mean Paris couldn’t have grown up or changed. Not to mention there are at least two sides to every story.
….so this seems like as good of a place as any to take some votes.
1 Night in Paris?vs.Pam Anderson & Tommy LeeVote early, vote often!
The only loser is my dignity…
Dropping my ballot directly in the box to vote: Pam Anderson & Tommy Lee! Genuine human emotion, and they were into each other.
Pam Anderson can suck the chrome off a trailer hitch.
This being AV Club, I’m reminded of a James Spader line from the TV series ‘Boston Legal’ where, as a random aside, he described the P. Hilton sex tape as mediocre boring sex, or words to that effect.
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Seriously?! Who gives a fucking shit!RIP AV Club.
I thought it was an interesting article. Clearly you cared enough to comment.Lol white men.
Didn’t read it, chummie. The idea of a Paris Hilton in The AV Club is just abhorrant. You obviously don’t remember what this place once was.‘Lol white men.’? Explain? Actually, don’t bother.
Posting on an article you haven’t read isn’t better and it’s weird that you seem proud of it. Congrats?
This place is 100% about pop culture. A Paris Hilton documentary isn’t a huge stretch, weirdo
I thought it was an interesting article. Really!? Which parts? The summary of her brand, which could have been cribbed from Wikipedia? The part where the filmmaker describes her bond with Paris as like sisters? Or the part where she said she was “proud to have basically created a whole new genre of celebrity where people could make a brand and make a living off being themselves”? Maybe it was when she said, “because everything else has just been, you know, the character. I finally felt like I took the mask off of the character, and I was Paris. That’s why the film is titled This Is Paris because this is me.”Maybe it was when Paris said “But deep inside, every time I would go home at night was, I knew that’s just not who I was” even though her public actions and words kind of confirmed the opposite over the last 15 years.
I don’t get it. This barely even qualifies as a puff piece. Why bother asking her about influencer culture, or reality television, if you’re just going to print the same empty, wrongheaded, ideas that people have been paying lip-service to for a decade now?Why speak to either of them at all when you have no desire to interact with what they are saying? It seems as though the express purpose of this piece is to promote the film. I’ve seen arthouse and independent releases get examined with a more critical lens on this site, so what gives? Advertainment? Is it so crucial to publish sponcon for rich celebrities with nothing to say (as evidenced by above interview)?
I don’t dislike it in theory, and I think it’s easy to dismiss Paris Hilton or anybody based on a persona (rather than the real person), or sort of the court of public opinion. I can also imagine it was hard being notorious for a leaked sex tape and what was sort of a role (apparently) of being stupid for laughs, when nobody gets that it was done for ratings and not necessarily a real documentary.
But as noted, she came across as not a very nice person in her appearance on SNL, and I just haven’t seen any reason to really care much about her as a person. I can’t say I’m interested, and think there are other people I’d be more interested in seeing an exposé like that done on. I mean, even if we find out Paris is great, I’m not sure it makes me care all that much. I hope she’s grown as a person and is wonderful, but there’s not much draw. I do like the concept, though.
it’s worth the watch, it’s really shifts away from the fame part and becomes a movie about a survivor of abuse uncovering her own trauma. if you were a victim of abuse the movie is very relatable and so is Paris, and it gave me hope.
Thanks. Sounds like a very human story. I’m glad it’s something of substance, and I think there’s real value at looking at celebrities as people underneath the fame and status. I also think it’s worth giving people like Paris Hilton a second look, since so much of their fame and notoriety can be tied to negative things that stem from mistakes made in their youth. I mean, she got famous in part because of a sex tape which had to be absolutely mortifying, and I did see part of an interview where that very clearly affected her (how could having something so personal and intimate being made available for public consumption not?), and for decisions and actions she made as a very young woman under a very bright spotlight. I really don’t envy her any of that.
“That’s a bold statement ACompleteAhole, saying that the world went to shit a very long time ago.”“Read the comment section in the AV Club on ANY topic related to the following, then get back to me:- Women succeeding in fields traditionally dominated by men.- Women who have been wrongly and negatively pigeonholed by the misogynist, male-dominated media, attempting to set the record straight.- Women who are exceedingly talented, intelligent, and attractive, trying to get the media to focus on their work rather than their appearance/love life/fecundity/culinary skills.- Black men, such as Mike Tyson, who were wrongly and negatively pigeonholed by the white-dominated media, attempting to set the record straight.- Articles/interviews requiring thoughtful consideration and objectivity, rather than a viciously aggressive and baldly judgemental dismissal based on the arrogant assumption that their privileged upbringing renders their opinion as irrefutable.- Articles/interviews requiring kindness and humility … ”
“Okay! Stop. You’re making me feel queasy. Stop reading the comments section if you find it so upsetting.”“If I stopped reading the AV Club’s comments section, it would deflate my theory that educated, politically-correct, liberal men can be just as bilious, hypocritical, hateful, and misogynistic as their counterparts at the other end of the political spectrum. And while my outlook on humanity would improve, and I might even feel hopeful, it would give me an incomplete and inaccurate perspective on reality.”If the mostly male AV Club members feel better after venting their spleen in such a hateful manner, who am I to judge them. Don’t we all just want to feel better?
So will we learn that like Hedy Lamarr, Paris is in fact not the empty-headed persona she affects, but is in fact a brilliant electronics engineer?
Never thought I’d live to see the day where the new documentary that the AVClub was breathlessly (and uncritically!) covering would be about Paris Hilton.Thank god you guys aren’t rocking the boat so you can preserve your access to important cultural icons like this.
I can’t believe they have the fucking chutzpah to compare Paris Hilton to Hedy Lamarr. What a fucking joke.
I was worried that the rich heiress garbage bag wasn’t getting enough psychological validation. Seriously why are we talking about her? Let’s save it up til she gets turned out into the streets, homeless and destitute, by a mob of poor New Yorkers?
“That’s a bold statement ACompleteAhole, saying that the world went to shit a very long time ago.”“Read the comment section in the AV Club on ANY topic related to the following, then get back to me:- Women succeeding in fields traditionally dominated by men.- Women who have been wrongly and negatively pigeonholed by the misogynist, male-dominated media, attempting to set the record straight.-
Women who are exceedingly talented, intelligent, and attractive, trying
to get the media to focus on their work rather than their
appearance/love life/fecundity/culinary skills.- Black
men, such as Mike Tyson, who were wrongly and negatively pigeonholed by
the white-dominated media, attempting to set the record straight.-
Articles/interviews requiring thoughtful consideration and objectivity,
rather than a viciously aggressive and baldly judgemental dismissal based on the arrogant assumption that their privileged upbringing renders their opinion as irrefutable.- Articles/interviews requiring kindness and humility … ”
“Okay! Stop. You’re making me feel queasy. Stop reading the comments section if you find it so upsetting.”“If
I stopped reading the AV Club’s comments section, it would deflate my
theory that educated, politically-correct, liberal men can be just as
bilious, hypocritical, hateful, and misogynistic as their counterparts
at the other end of the political spectrum. And while my outlook on
humanity would improve, and I might even feel hopeful, it would give me
an incomplete and inaccurate perspective on reality.”If the mostly male
AV Club members feel better after venting their spleen in such a
hateful manner, who am I to judge them. Don’t we all just want to feel better?
The AV Club comments section – where civilized and thoughtful discourse comes to die.
The most hilarious part of this is that Paris is trying to convince the world that her younger self was a persona and not her actual vapid narcissistic self. I’m sure all of the Trump supporters will believe her.
That’s kind of why I want to see it
Touche!
I just watched the movie expecting an image rebrand, the movie fucking made me bawl, didn’t see that coming. It was more just watching a trauma victim uncover her past with a group of other victims from her boarding school.
The shine has come off that pop culture concept of ‘people famous for being famous’. Partially because one of them has got into the White House and is actively destroying the nation from within. And partially because anyone with a few bucks to host their own Youtube channel can be just as ‘famous’ as anyone else.
The thing about that documentary is that it’s still an extention of the Paris Hilton branding, it’s a product tailor-made so that she can stay relevant to zoomers and sell more nailpolish, perfumes, hotel nights and god know what else she sells. She has always been an heiress, a star, a dj, a jet-setting party-girl, now she is a warrior of justice, too.
I am not denying she had been a victim of abusive parents and educators, but i am sceptic that she is choosing to adress it this way. The first time she apparently talks about this issue with her mom, it’s with cameras pointed at both of them.
https://themuse.jezebel.com/the-revision-of-paris-hiltons-story-is-missing-somethin-1845093418
Please no Jezebel especially for this. Paris Hilton being a secret racist is beyond the point, we should be able to reject vapid celebrities doing self-promotion by assuring us that, they, too suffer and are victims, even is their coating of wokeness is impeccably smooth. Or we will soon be the hostage of an army of Jameela Jamils…
thanks for the article Cameron. this is interesting.
I like Paris. ‘so beyond’ is my new favourite expression. We need more documentaries like this one.
Weird, for me going to therapy was just like filming a documentary
Paris Hilton is another piece of shit with no regard for the morons who slaver over her. They should all self-castrate and so should y’all for amplifying this garbage. The main thing that has been consistent throughout this asshole’s life is her contempt not only for the people who she “manipulates” in the media – if you can call it that when it’s just some moron she bribes…it’s your willing participation. How exactly does one suck a fuck?, was a question in an AV Club favorite movie, well here you go.