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If we were a well-known actor or actress, we're pretty sure that we'd avoid the Grove, that little man-made substitute for an actual urban shopping experience, like the proverbial Plague. On any given night, it's overflowing with gawkers, tourists, and (perhaps most gallingly) unfamous people with ready access to e-mail accounts, and there's the ever-present danger of tripping over those damned trolley tracks and being crushed beneath a conveyance whose sole purpose is to give visitors from Japan a clearer view of The Cheesecake Factory's patio. Still, these brave celebrities risk rubbing up against the masses to partake in some retail therapy, or more frequently, to take in a flick while surrounded by people dressed as bellhops. Two readers share their amusing, Grove-based brushes with the B-list from last night:

I unfortunately had the privilege of sitting next to Adrian Grenier at the Grove theater last night with an unidentified nobody while viewing Rent. The nobody talked and checked his phone the entire movie. At one point in the beginning he asked if they were going to keep on singing. I wanted to tell him it was a musical, dumbass, but I refrained. The worst though came at the end of the film, after [SPOILER ALERT, we think] Angel has died, everyone else in the theater was crying and Adrisn and his friend started to laugh. I have never sat next to two more disrespectful people in my life. Before the end, they got up to leave, I assume because Adrian thought his two fans in the world (whoever they are) might mob him.

The other encounter follows after the jump:

It's surreal to see Paris Hilton mingle amongst us simpletons, but that's what happened Monday night (11/28). Paris and the Greek Shipper Part Deux were actually waiting in the ticket line at the Grove around 10:00PM. She was "gasp" looking stunning while waiting in line, while the Greek Shipper had some sweatshirt hood over his head (like we really care, buddy). And the best part...both smelled so bad like ol' Mary Jane. It was an unbelievable waft, like college all over again. An usher even made a joke about it after they went into their movie. Don't know what they saw but Syriana had the closest playing time to when they walked in. There's no way, though. My money is on Just Friends...and as a result of the striking similarities, her and Nicole will patch it up within the month.

Kudos for our operative for being able to differentiate Hilton (though surely the smell helped) and this week's Greek Shipping companion from the throng in the theater lobby. More than one time while waiting in line for tickets, we've felt as if we were completely surrounded by Hilton's cloned celebutante army, and might at any moment have to flee for the unfashionable safety of the nearby PacSun or risk an angry trampling by ludicrous, furry boots.