“Name Dropping”

As I sit here and write this I am waiting to interview Ashley Bell, the “possessed” girl in the new film “The Last Exorcism.” Over the years I have interviewed a lot of “celebrities.” Some of them have been fun to talk to and some have not. When you pick up the phone or go into an interview room you never know what you are going to get.

Several years ago I was invited to interview Mel Gibson. This was before he became the king of rants and raves. At this time I just knew him as a strong actor/director and generally nice guy. When we sat down to talk he seemed like a nice enough guy. I started out asking about if he preferred acting to directing, and moved on to his favorite role so far, etc. 

With each question I asked he gave me a one word answer – yes or no, the name of the movie, etc. After a few minutes of this I was pulling what little hair I had on my head out. I just couldn’t seem to engage him in conversation. Finally he stopped me and asked if he could smoke while we talked. He said he had been trying to quit but he just couldn’t seem to break the habit. I told him to go ahead and light up, which he did. Then he leaned back in his chair and we had a great interview. You never know.

I also had problems with my interview with Brittany Spears. I interviewed her right after she made her first film and she was not easy to communicate with at all. She was pretty and shy and a little out of it. Now I am not talking alcohol or drugs, I just mean she had a hard time absorbing what I was saying. I think if I had asked her what two plus two equaled she would have responded that she didn’t understand the question.

Sally Field has always been one of my favorites. I have followed her career from “The Flying Nun” to the present. She has always seemed youthful and girlish, even as she has gotten older. Just my luck, the day I interviewed her was her fiftieth birthday and “People Magazine” had just come out with a story on “The Flying Nun Turns Fifty!”

Sally was not in a pleasant mood, not at all. She was surly Sally and not what I expected. Still I couldn’t blame her for being a little upset. Aging in not the greatest thing in a youth oriented career field and to have it blared in headlines must have been off putting. Still Sally put her pouting aside and we had a pretty good interview.

Most comedians make the best interview subjects. I have interviewed Will Ferrell multiple times and always find him to be as funny as can be, even when the movie he is promoting is not funny. I am not a big fan of comedy and it takes a lot to make me laugh but Ferrell does it every time. 

When I interviewed him for “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” he was in top form. 
It also helped that I had loved the movie. From the moment I asked my first question until I staggered out of the room holding my sides he was hilarious. Every sane question I asked was met with an insane answer and it was all genuinely funny, not forced in the least. He is on my list of “Top Ten Interviews.”

And then there is Julia Roberts. I love her, even though I could barely sit through her last movie “Eat Pray Love.” Julia is always a good interview except she curses too much. She has this “just one of the guys” attitudes that drives me mad. Aside from that she is perfect.

She is one of the most beautiful women you ever want to see, along with Jennifer Connelly who is also stunning. She has that infectious laugh that bubbles out of her with uncontrolled enthusiasm. Plus when Julia talks to you, she talks to you. Her eyes don’t wander and she doesn’t drift away in her mind. She is with you all the way.

There are many more “stars” I could talk about. This has certainly been a plus in my life getting to sit down with them. I wonder what Ashley Bell will be like. You never know until the interview starts.
 

 

 

 

 

©2010 Jackie K. Cooper

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