Thursday, July 31, 2008

How NOT to Conduct a Celebrity Interview



First of all, I know the interviewer, and he did this celebrity interview of Kathy Griffin absolutely wrong.

He:

  1. Said he wasn't a fan (somewhat emphatically)
  2. Admitted to doing little or no research
  3. Proceeded to ignore his subject.

When I used to do celebrity interviews with the likes of Benicio del Toro, Ellen DeGeneres and various soap stars, I always did my research. In fact, doing your research can often make a tough subject putty in your hands. I know that my Benicio del Toro interview went longer than expected because he was surprised I knew so much about him (stalker!)

So keep these lessons in mind. I'm not suggesting that anyone lie about loving a celebrity's work, but a writer can be more diplomatic. And never tell a celebrity (or anyone) you didn't have the courtesy to research him or her. It only makes the writer and the publication look unprofessional.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You get that it's a joke, right? It's not a straight interview. (But I'm sure you figured that out, and are just posting with your tongue in your cheek!)

Ms. Write said...

Oh, it's a real interview. I'm sure it was edited for the humor factor, but I know the interviewer (a reporter who worked at the San Joaquin Herald in Tracy, there's even a link to his real article in the post.)

But it's funny and makes a point, too.