Why do people obsess over celebrities and why are they paid so much?

Ugh, people are idiots. They make so much money because we are capitalists. I, too, think it's pretty ridiculous, but it's just supply and demand..as long as we live vicariously through celebrities and go to the store to pick up the latest Star magazine, they'll be getting ridiculous amounts of money to star in a movie no one may even watch, and as long as we sit on the couch every weekend and watch other people throw around or buy tickets to their games they will get paid stupid amounts of money to do so. After all, their money is coming from our pockets...if we didn't buy the mags, they probably wouldn't be paid near as much for appearances, if we stopped watching the games they would stop getting paid millions a year, etc. (Most) of these people are talented, but I find it ironic that a few hundred years ago actors/actresses and athletes were at the bottom of society, and now they are almost royalty. Odd.