PLUS click here for our on-line exlusive: George Pimentel takes you on a guided tour through some of his best pictures.

Two thousand Paris Hilton fans awaiting their idol express joy with what sounds like a million raccoons brawling in God’s garbage bag. Some brunettes, some boys—even a few supportive, weary moms—have made the trip to MuchMusic to catch a glimpse of Hilton, here to pimp her first big movie, House of Wax. But mostly, the crowd at Queen and John is filled with pale imitations of Hilton: distorted, less attractive versions of the real thing, who is somewhat unreal herself—a 24-year-old hotel heiress, unwitting Internet porn star and the lead in a TV show about Paris Hilton.

George Pimentel, who wears aviator sunglasses though it’s almost 7 p.m., appears a little grumpy. This is not unusual. First, he complains about the set-up: “Classic Canadian disorganization. You should see the Golden Globes. They know how to do it.” From the front row of a press-only three-tiered bleacher next to the red carpet, he surveys the crowd, then shouts, to no one in particular, “Look at this! What’s she famous for? Nothing! Without us, she wouldn’t exist!”

The us in question is the dozen photographers flanking him. Most of them laugh off Pimentel’s outbursts. The Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, National Post, CP—everyone is here. Pimentel whines but—and this is why he’s good at what he does—it’s a little comical, a little put on and thus, somehow, likable. That’s George, say the eye rolls of the other photographers. His bark is worse than his bite.

Pimentel is the loudest guy on the riser, and he has the best spot, smack in the middle. An X on the carpet marks the place where Paris and the other stars of the B-minus horror movie will stop and pose. Not coincidentally, that X is right in front of Pimentel. The rest of the photographers squeeze together to try for a better angle. “Someone always gets screwed over, and it’s not gonna be me!” Pimentel warns. He is always talking. “I marked the spot! I marked it!”

Pimentel is Toronto’s most famous celebrity photographer. He covers the Toronto International Film Festival, the Oscars, Sundance, Cannes and other temples of celebrity worship. His red-carpet pictures appear regularly in the Canadian press, and in American magazines like InStyle, Entertainment Weekly and Us Weekly, as well as their international counterparts. Last spring, he landed a coup: a People magazine cover of Jennifer Aniston, wan-looking divorcée in the making, beneath the headline “Why She Gave Up.”