After Post-Jail Interview, Is Hilton Sticking to Her Word?
Hilton Focusing on Global Warming, Kids and Becoming a Real Estate Mogul
By WILLIAM KECK
MALIBU, Calif. ---August 6, 2007—
The "all-new" Paris Hilton looks a lot like last year's model — with some minor fine-tuning.
Since her late June post-jail interview on Larry King Live, in which the heiress professed in confident tones that she had changed, her voice has almost entirely reverted back to the baby whisper that viewers came to know during her five seasons on "The Simple Life." And by early afternoon, she's glammed up for a night out on the town.
Some things have changed, though. Besides clubs and clothes, her post-prison "hot list" now includes selfless areas of interest.
Shortly after her prison release, she visited the Los Angeles Children's Hospital and is in talks to be their ambassador. "I went and visited the little premature babies who were only, like, 1 pound. And the cancer patients," she says. "It's nice when I can go there and visit them and brighten their day and make them smile. It feels good to be able to do that. I think it's definitely important for people to give back."
'Global Warming Is Not Hot'
Admiring the charity work of Angelina Jolie, Hilton applies her "hot" label to issues such as breast cancer and multiple sclerosis "because I lost my grandmothers to both of those diseases. And also helping the environment … global warming is not hot."
Once a slave to pink, this "new" Hilton is trying her very best to go green. "I'm ordering a hybrid car," she proudly announces. "I'm trying to get a Hummer one designed. I like hybrids, but a lot of them aren't that cute. I'm thinking silver … or maybe I'll get a green one!"
One part of Parisdom, it seems, will never change: the paparazzi presence. This afternoon, there are two sitting across the street from her Malibu beach house, waiting for her to take off somewhere in her baby-blue Bentley.
She rarely disappoints. The previous evening, Hilton attended the Rush Hour 3 premiere ("My favorite in the series so far," she says), then did some clubbing before heading home to the beach house, which she is renting through September.
"I came out to the beach to relax and get away because (the paparazzi) infested my Hollywood Hills home, and now they're all over the beach," she says, lounging on a white leather sofa on her brick patio. When she pulls a white curtain shielding her back patio from the sand, it takes only a few seconds for a dozen paparazzi to jump to their feet and begin snapping. "I feel bad for all the people who paid all this money to stay in Malibu," she pouts. "I can't even see the beach because I have to block (the view) off."
With the newest of her 12 lapdogs in her arms, Hilton gamely gives the shutterbugs what they're there for. She pouts and poses.
Driven Out of Her Home
The "annoying" paparazzi, along with obsessive fans, she claims, are the reasons she is putting her Hollywood Hills home on the market. That night, she was planning to meet with a real estate agent to tour homes in gated Beverly Hills communities.
"I'm so sad I have to sell it because I've completely made it my own, and it's decorated perfectly for me," she says. "It's hard to move, but there's too many people who know where I live. There's like 20 tour buses coming a day. Random guys from all around the world just showing up and leaving things. I'm scared."
Even so, the doors to her beach house remain open — completely accessible from both the street and sand.
Her main challenge this summer has been learning to stand upright on her pink surfboard, which is propped up on the side of her house. "It's really nice to be right down by the beach," she says. "I sleep really well here listening to the ocean with the windows open."
Evidently. On this day, she slumbered till shortly after noon, greeted in her bedroom with a plate of Cinnabons warmed in a toaster oven by her assistant. Her wardrobe was selected carefully — denim bell bottoms and a silver top that are part of her Paris Hilton Sportswear collection, hitting stores next month.
That 23-day stint in jail for violating probation after a DUI — and the ensuing publicity —— don't seem to have limited her career options. A movie musical (Repo! The Genetic Opera) and designer shoe line (with Antebi Footwear) were just announced, her second album is in the works and her fourth perfume is due in October.
The Simple Life won't continue, though Hilton has nothing but kind words for co-star and on-again pal Nicole Richie. Richie will do jail time while pregnant in the next few months, and Hilton says, "I'll be praying for her."
Hilton the Next Trump?
Hilton says she has many more ventures in the planning stages.
"I definitely want to get more into real estate," she says. "Own my own hotels, restaurants, my own Paris stores. There's a lot more to do. I want to be a real estate mogul."
It might not be just talk. During a break, she runs upstairs and takes a phone call from London investors who want to open a Paris Hilton hotel.
These days, she is selective about blessing items with her signature phrase, "That's hot." Endorsing something as "hot" could jeopardize deals, both current and future. And branding a club as no longer "hot" could land her in hot water with friends and business partners.
"All my friends own everything, so I can't say anything" negative, she explains, with a laugh. "I don't want them to get mad at me."