Desperate media frozen out
2007-07-06 20:19
Paris - "Desperate Housewives" star Eva
Longoria and basketball ace Tony Parker married in a civil
wedding ceremony on Friday, but wellwishers and photographers
got only a fleeting glimpse of the celebrity couple.
Hundreds of photographers and passersby climbed on to
ladders, traffic bollards and parked scooters straining to spot
the couple when they arrived to be married by the mayor of
Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, in a Parisian town hall.
The cheering crowd got no more than a quick wave from the
diminutive actress as she stepped from white stretch limousine
and a brief, rueful looking smile from Parker while the couple's
own photographers followed them into the building.
Celebrity wedding of the year
Boos and catcalls from frustrated cameramen accompanied
their departure an hour and a half later when blacked out
limousines whisked away the newly weds and their entourage.
The marriage of Longoria, one of television's biggest stars
after the worldwide success of "Desperate Housewives" and
Parker, fresh from his this third NBA championship, has been
billed as the celebrity wedding of the year.
Outside the town hall on Friday, the crowd, swollen by
curious tourists, was eager to see more of Longoria's fuchsia
mini dress and Parker's escort of top sportsmen, including
French soccer player Thierry Henry.
Exclusive deal with magazine
But old hands among the professional celebrity watchers were
put on their guard when two black limousines with shaded windows
and German number plates eased into a concealed courtyard behind
the town hall before taking away the glamour couple.
To be sealed in a church ceremony on Saturday, the marriage
has attracted huge interest but there have been slim pickings
for most media due to an exclusive deal with OK! magazine
reported to be worth about $2m.
Cast members from "Desperate Housewives", Parker's San
Antonio Spurs team mates, "Miami Vice" star Jamie Foxx, singer
Lionel Richie, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones are all
expected at the church ceremony and a lavish reception afterwards.
Details have largely been kept secret, but the ceremony on
Saturday is expected to take place in Saint Germain l'Auxerrois,
a former royal church opposite the Louvre.