‘MTV Phonebooth’
Various Photographers
Universe Publishing

MTV’s popular show “TRL” has for years been a necessary stop for celebrities working the talk show circuit promoting their latest projects. Located in New York’s Times Square, “TRL” has attracted some huge name stars, including Madonna, Ben Affleck and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Along with their visit, stars pose in a shopping mall type photobooth for a four-picture photo shoot.

“MTV Photobooth” ($17.95 retail) collects together for the first time the compilation of photos of more than 200 celebrities’ shots from famed photo booth. Flipping through the book, one quickly realizes how “TRL” has served as the barometer of white-hot stars in their prime: Backstreet Boys and Hanson in 1999 and Vitamin C (remember her?) in 2000.

The biggest debit of the 7″ x 7″ paperback is the way some pictures are blown up to full-page dimensions that end up making the photos look cloudy and distorted. The book would have been spruced up if some behind-the-scenes stories on the guests were included. In fact, the only text in the book is a brief one-paragraph introduction.

One of the few rare things that make “MTV Photobooth” unique, however, is that stars were shot without the guidance of an army of handlers directing the stars’ every pose and move. None of the celebs look unsatisfied or frustrated, possessed with forced expressions. As a result, onlookers get to see a cross-eyed Janet Jackson, a nose-picking Julia Stiles and a butt-bearing Usher.

-Nikolas Markantonatos