TIFF 2012 Celeb Sightings - Day 4

Helen Hunt at the press conference for The Sessions

Joss Whedon

Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, 21) at the press conference for Cloud Atlas

James D'Arcy (W.E.) at the press conference for Cloud Atlas

Susan Sarandon at the press conference for Cloud Atlas

TIFF 2012 Celeb Sightings - Day 3

Kevin James at the premiere of Hotel Transylvania

Selena Gomez at the premiere of Hotel Transylvania

Tate Donovan (The OC) 

Dustin Hoffman

TIFF 2012 Celeb Sightings - Day 2

Today was a long, slow day but in the end, it was all worth it!

After finishing work and rushing downtown, I met up with my friends and we went to the Princess of Wales Theatre to check out the premiere for The Place Beyond the Pines starring Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper, and Ray Liotta. It was absolute mayhem. There was a massive crowd of people in front of the theatre and across the street and it grew exponentially by the minute. The bad (annoying) thing with crowds is that when people see other people waiting outside of a venue, they will wait too, even though they probably have no idea what the f- is going on. This is bad for me because it's another body or 50 that is between me and the red carpet. Right when we arrived at the theatre, Bradley Cooper had just made his way onto the red carpet. People pushed. Fans screamed. The crowd got back under control. Close to 30 mins later, Eva Mendes finally arrived at the red carpet. People pushed. Fans screamed. The crowd got back under control. Then, Ryan Gosling arrived. People pushed. Fans screamed. The crowd waiting across the street from the theatre ran ONTO King Street and rushed the red carpet, with everyone trying to get a shot of Gosling with their cell phones. Crazy! 

Crowd on King St.

After the film ended, we went to the cast after party at Ame on Mercer. Ryan Gosling arrived first and apologized that he couldn't take photos with fans outside, he had to get his mom into the venue. How sweet! It would've been sweeter if he had taken a photo with me. I do have 3 other photos with him so it's not a terrible loss. He did offer to sign the Drive soundtrack vinyl I was holding for my friend, which was nice. 

Ryan Gosling at Ame

After I got the autograph, I spotted Bradley Cooper walking towards the door and got him to pose for a quick photo. It would've been a great photo had I not zoomed the camera in (I was taking a pic of Gosling posing on the red carpet). Note to self: always undo the zoom! The same thing happened to me years ago with Jude Law.

 Bradley Cooper, zoomed (oops)

Next, Eva Mendes' car pulled up. She got out of the car and posed for a few fan photos, including one while holding a fan's baby. She signed some autographs too but she wouldn't do the sexy photos. 

Eva Mendes

Celeb Spotting Tip: If you only want to catch a glimpse of a celeb, go to their film's premiere. If you want to meet a celeb and get an autograph or take a photo with them, try finding out where the film's after party is. There are usually less people and the celeb (and their security team) is generally more accommodating. 

I left soon after that to meet up with my friend Al, who had given me a very important tip earlier. 

TIFF 2012 Celeb Sightings - Day 1

 Kirsten Dunst and boyfriend Garrett Hedlund get a police escort to their car.

 Garrett Hedlund

 John Krasinski  from The Office lands in Toronto to support wife Emily Blunt at her movie Looper. John takes my camera to take the photo himself because "my arms are longer."

 Vanessa Hudgens arrives with boyfriend Austin Butler and co-star Selena Gomez, who hides behind Vanessa while walking to their car. They are here to promote Spring Breakers. 

 Ashley Benson from Pretty Little Liars

TIFF 2012 Celeb Sightings - Day 0

Yesterday was pretty slow, which was good because I was able to do some work while staked out at the airport all night. Also at the airport were about 30 other "fans", autograph hounds, and photogs. I say "fans" because some of these people waiting for celebs did not recognize a single celeb themselves. They just took photos with them because everyone else was. What a waste of space.

 Aaron Johnson aka. Kick-Ass. He also played Ben in Savages. He arrived to start filming Kick-Ass 2.

 Karl Urban is in Toronto to promote Dredd 3D at TIFF. 

 Christina Hendricks (Joan from Mad Men)

 Bryan Cranston (Walter White from Breaking Bad). So badass!

And so it begins...TIFF 2012

I know I've been slacking on my posts as of late...it's been a busy summer for me. And now, my summer is ending with the most hectic (and exciting) event of the year, the Toronto International Film Festival. 

The next 11 days will be filled with lots of waiting, driving, and of course, celebs. Oh yeah, and work. September is one of the busiest months for work. How inconvenient, right? There was a time when my life stopped for TIFF, when I was in university and when I worked at my insignificant serving job. Now, I have a big girl job and real responsibilities so it's become more difficult to juggle both work and TIFF. I have to stop and think if it's a good idea to wait on celebs at TIFF after parties until 3am or get some sleep so I'm not a zombie at work. The after parties always win, but now I will at least consider the alternative. 

My #1 target this year? Johnny Depp. Wish me luck!

And keep checking back here and on my Twitter @SpottedBySerena throughout TIFF to see my latest celebrity sightings, and tips on how/where to spot some celebs yourself!

- S

Best Part About the Calgary Stampede? The Food!

 Bacon Sundae Funnel Cake

Those of you who know me know that I like to enjoy a tasty treat now and then (or all the time!). So before heading to the Stampede last year, I did some thorough research on what I could expect to get my greasy little fingers on. What I found made me uber excited to step foot onto the Stampede grounds! Mac & Cheese Pizza, Pizza on a Stick, and the ORIGINAL Doughnut Burger made with a Maple doughnut bun instead of two slimy Krispy Kremes (the Ex version was pretty sub-par) were some of the delicious foods I tried.

This year, there are some new foods for me to fatten myself up with! (Sorry boyfriend, I may gain 10 pounds this week. But at least I won't be eating deep fried butter again). 

Here are some of the highlights:

Beef Bacon Sandwich

I'm on the fence about this one, only because it's supposed to be leaner and healthier. Doesn't that go against the whole idea of BACON?! Also, I've had turkey bacon before and it was pretty damn gross.

Cotton Candy Cupcake

This appeals to the 5 year old girl in me, because my Asian parents never bought me cotton candy. 'Too much sugar!" Good thing I had my grandma to buy me those things ;)

Jack Daniels Fudge

 I'm not so much a fan of whiskey, but I do know some people (including my friend Emily who I will be visiting at Stampede) who enjoy shot of JD or two...

Red Velvet Funnel Cake

Red Velvet is all the rage these days, and I'm pretty excited to try it in funnel cake-form. It better have cream cheese icing though, or I'll be very disappointed!

Deep Fried Wagon Wheel

Apparently Wagon Wheels are a classic (amongst white people). Being Asian, I didn't have one until I was about 23. I do love anything deep fried so I will definitely be getting one of these.

Also on my must-eat list: Taco Pizza, Naaco Bits (butter chicken sausage that is battered and deep fried), Pulled Pork Parfait, Deep Fried Pop Tart, and Turkeytini (I have no idea what this actually is but I do enjoy anything that ends in -tini...)

Oh yeah, there's also things made with veggies, and healthy/gluten-free options, but I'm not even going to mention those because healthy food is so blah. Just eat a funnel cake.

Check me out on Twitter @SpottedBySerena during the week of Stampede (July 6-15) for more pics of delicious food!

- S

Justin Bieber Bitches Out His Fans

Here is a video of Justin Bieber at Pearson Airport in Toronto, waiting for girlfriend Selena Gomez to arrive from LA. I was also there waiting for Selena to arrive, since Mario Lopez tweeted that he was sitting next to her on the flight. Thanks for the tip Mario! 

Anyways, after I arrive at the airport and intercept Mario as he was rushing from customs to his connecting flight to Ottawa, who do I spot walking into the airport? Justin Bieber. That little shit who once turned me down for a photo. 

I had jokingly asked my paparazzi friend earlier in the day if he thought the Biebs would be whipped enough to pick Selena up from the airport and he said there was no chance, so what a shock it was to see Bieber walking towards me at that moment. I didn't think it was him at first, until my paparazzi friend started snapping photos. Bieber promptly covers his face with his hands as he walks to meet his bodyguard who was standing on the arrivals ramp. Other fans who had also come to the airport to meet Selena see him and start to freak the f- out! 

Fans try to approach him and ask for autographs/photos and he turns them down, but teenyboppers are quite persistent. That's when this video happened. A few minutes of bitching later, Justin finally gives in and gives the fans (and me) what they wanted. 

As Biebs is in the scrum of girls taking photos and signing magazines and iPhone cases, Selena emerges from the doors. Fans start to freak the f- out, again! Girls are tripping over each other trying to get from Biebs to Selena. Biebs himself is trying to get to Selena. And there is only ONE bodyguard so it's pretty much a free-for-all at this point. I wisely am one of the first people to get my photo with each of them so I get the hell outta there. 

Rule #2 of Taking Pics of Celebs: Be one of the first people, if not the very first, to get your photo taken with the star. Because they will eventually have to leave and you'll have missed your chance!

Photos I took with Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez:

(Video credit goes to A. Gillis/S. Fernandez, SplashNewsOnline)

ACETV - Serena Tung in "Paparazzi"

This is a video my friend Ace made for me a couple years ago. It's a compilation of some of my photos with the stars. Check it out!

Also visit Ace's YouTube channel ACE TV!

- S

How I "Broke" Darren Criss from Glee - and Other MMVA After Party Celeb Sightings

Darren Criss and I outside Maison Mercer

After leaving the LMFAO-hosted Universal Music MMVA after party at Maison Mercer, and unknowingly passing Wu-Tang's Ghostface Killah and Raekwon on the way out, I found out from an autograph collector friend of mine who was waiting outside the club that quite a few celebs had actually gone inside. All that time I spent on the dancefloor waiting for the right moment to ask RedFoo for a photo, which I eventually got and was one of only 4 fans to do so, I could have been taking pics with Conor Maynard, NHL douchebag PK Subban (I hate him because he always picks on my former-future-NHL-husband Sidney Crosby), Marianas Trench, Lucy Hale (from Pretty Little Liars), Chord Overstreet (Trouty Mouth from Glee), and my fave actor from Glee (besides Lea Michele, of course)...Darren Criss! 

Unfortunately, I had already left the club with no hopes of getting back in (my friend Erika who had won a contest to be on the VIP Guestlist had gone home for the evening and her name was the one on the list). And so started the waiting game, across the street from the club. During the hour or so of waiting, a slew of Z-List celebs like Down With Webster, Victoria Duffield, and Canadian rapper Classified rolled through, along with some NHL players I did not recognize - I was told Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins was one of them.

I was tired, bored, and my feet hurt like a mother******! Standing and dancing in 5-inch stilettos for periods of over 5 hours is not recommended. And after hearing from the autograph collectors that Darren Criss was not that nice to fans and probably will not take a photo with me due to his overzealous handler, I was about ready to pack it in. But then, a publicist comes out...

Rule #1 of Celeb Spotting: Always watch for the publicist. Once the publicist comes out, the star is soon to follow. 

How do I know which one is the publicist, you ask? Look for a pretty girl in her 20s, wearing a blazer and flats, talking on a cell phone (calling the driver). Oh, and she always has a huge purse! 

Sure enough, a minute or so later, Darren Criss and Chord Overstreet come out of the club and wait on the steps behind a big crowd for their car to be pulled up. 

Rule #2 of Celeb Spotting: Watch for the vehicle. Usually a large black immaculately clean SUV with tinted windows. Once the vehicle is pulled up, get your camera/memorabilia/Sharpie out because it's GO TIME!

I cross the street towards the front of the club and stand with two other fans that had been following Darren from party to party, hoping to get a photo with him. Then I see Darren being ushered away from the club by his handler. Fortunately for me, the handler is leading him in the opposite direction of his vehicle (velvet rope was in the way and they had to walk around). That gave me more time to approach and as soon as I did, I ask Darren for a photo. "He's not doing any photos right now," says the handler as he is pulling Darren towards the car. "I'm sorry, not right now," says Darren. After hearing that, those two other fans started to walk away. Amateurs. My response, and the one that "broke" him: "Please Darren, I've been waiting outside for you all night, in 5-inch heels!" Lies, but it worked! He turned around, grabbed my camera, and took our photo (which those stupid girls tried to photobomb). Mission accomplished, as always. 

(Note: Someone remind me to crop that photo a bit more...)

Rule #1 of Taking Pics with Celebs: Never take no for an answer. They may surprise you in the end! Oh, and making them feel guilty doesn't hurt either. 

So, those are a few tips if you're going to attempt a bit of celeb spotting on your own. I hear Jake Gyllenhaal is still in town filming. Happy hunting!

- S

My first (test) post!

Brad Pitt and I - TIFF 2011

This photo pretty much sums up the main point of me starting this blog...to show the world (or the people not privy to my Facebook albums) the photos I've taken with celebs. There seems to be an interest in this kind of stuff, judging by the comments that are posted on my Facebook photos. Anyways, Brad is probably one of the biggest celebs I'll ever have the pleasure of taking a photo with so I thought I'd start my blog off with this one. Enjoy!

- S