Upcoming
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Charlie St. Cloud
The Concert
The Dry Land
The Extra Man
Helen
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
What's the Matter with Kansas?
Who Killed Nancy
Back When
Roger Ebert chuckled yesterday at the repetitive questions Up In The Air director Jason Reitman has been getting, as illustrated in this pie chart. This moves Ebert to say, "Young Jason, there once was a time -- I know you will find this hard to believe -- when subjects provided honest answers to such questions. Why, it was within the lifetime of many now living..."
Yeah, I know. There was even a time when journalists asked questions that couldn't really be categorized, much less put into a pie chart. Every two or three years I get all weepy and sentimental by linking to that 1992 Movieline piece I did about the New Journalism glory days (mid '60s to early '80s) called "Ten Interviews That Shook Hollywood." Some of the better celebrity interviews of this period conveyed, to put it mildly, a certain skepticism -- an attitude that said "don't buy the studio gloss -- let's actually take a look at this person."
The piece offered summaries of the juiciest celebrity interviews I could find at the time. Among them were Truman Capote vs. Marlon Brando ("The Duke in His Domain," The New Yorker, November 1957), Rex Reed vs. Warren Beatty ("Will The Real Warren Beatty Please Shut Up?," Esquire, October 1967), Robin Green vs. Dennis Hopper ("Confessions of a Lesbian Chick," Rolling Stone, May 1971), Tom Burke vs. Ryan O'Neal ("The Shiek of Malibu," Esquire, September 1973), and Julie Baumgold vs. David Geffen ("The Winning of Cher," Esquire, February 1975).
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 8, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Essentials
comment #1
Gogocrank
says ...
It's definitely a sign of the times that access is granted to journalists unwilling to make the most of their access, or unwilling to risk losing future access. But one other big difference between the New Journalists and today's lot is that the former were given leashes so long they might as well have been making it all up. And often they did - half the quotes in those things might as well have been fabricated from memory, as folks like Truman Capote sure weren't following their subjects around with tape recorders. Ironically enough, journalistic rules and ethics are so stringent these days they're practically constricting.
Posted by Gogocrank
at December 8, 2009 1:45 PM
comment #2
lbeale
says ...
I do a section on iunterviewing in my journalism classes, and the two questions I tell my students never to ask are 'What was it like to work with?' and 'How did you feel when?' Both elicit nothing, unless you're Sean Penn, who once told me that Oliver Stone was 'a pig who walks like a man.' I mean, you're basically gonna get boilerplate 'they're wonderful' or 'it felt great (or terrible)' answers, which say absolutely nothing.
As to the 'how did you come to this project?' question, that one is kind of inevitable, and an editor will kill you if it's not in the story. Fact is, there are a few things you just have to ask, and unfortunately the subject will have heard them a million times, and have the basic prepared answer. It's just part of the biz.
Posted by lbeale
at December 8, 2009 1:52 PM
comment #3
DeafBrownTrashPunk
says ...
I can't see or read any new comments...
Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk
at December 8, 2009 1:54 PM
comment #4
corey3rd
says ...
in the internet age, it's useless for a journalist to ask the same questions because your readers can go through everybody's interview with the filmmakers.
ask the weird. ask why an actor keeps getting roles that has people wanting to poke his butt?
Posted by corey3rd
at December 8, 2009 2:01 PM
comment #5
Gaydos
says ...
Absolutely the best thing I've read in this dreary dismal season.
What a bracing reminder of those yesteryear days of film culture (shhhh!) and those flesh and blood curdling stars who made the movies bigger, sassier and more fun than the current preponderance of Tinytown outings.
I was flying back from Europe last week and there were two current Oscar contenders on offer. I watched "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" (expanded version) and "Some Like It Hot" instead.
Bonus Q: Did Lemmon ever give a better performance than his work in the latter?
Posted by Gaydos
at December 8, 2009 2:29 PM
comment #6
Jeffrey Wells
says ...
Five people have commented -- I can read their comments on Movable Type -- and yet none of them are showing up on the site. I don't get it.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells
at December 8, 2009 3:03 PM
comment #7
Gaydos
says ...
Yep, my earlier brilliant comments are gone. So I'll just summarize: I love this proof that giants once walked the earth. LOVE IT!
Posted by Gaydos
at December 8, 2009 5:50 PM
comment #8
MartinBlank
says ...
Did you ever find the missing pages from that piece?
Posted by MartinBlank
at December 8, 2009 5:52 PM
comment #9
Manitoba
says ...
There is some great information on how Truman Capote pulled off his classic New Yorker interview with Marlon Brando in Joshua Logan's 1978 book "Movie stars, real people and me". Quote:"Since Marlon automatically sides with any underdog, and I mean any, Truman made himself out to be the most put upon of the underprivileged. Marlon, who generally hates all press, invited Truman to a late dinner."
Posted by Manitoba
at December 9, 2009 6:51 AM
Post a comment