Interviewer: Good afternoon, everybody. Today in our studio, we have quite an unusual guest. Meet Cindy Wright, a famous journalist and film critic whose job is to interview stars. Cindy is going to share the ropes of her job with us. Hello, Cindy.
Cindy: Good afternoon. It's a pleasure being here. Thank you for inviting me.
Interviewer: Well, I feel nervous to interview a famous interviewer. How many celebrities have you interviewed so far?
Cindy: I've never thought of making a list. I've been working as a film critic for many years and have interviewed hundreds of film stars from Emma Thompson to Ben Affleck. The list could be pretty long.
Interviewer: Stars love to be interviewed by you. What do you think is the secret of your popularity as an interviewer?
Cindy: Well, I guess I've just learned a lot about how celebrities think and how they act during interviews. I know what kind of questions need to be asked to get a good answer. And what kind of questions they will never answer. For instance, it's quite easy to ask bad questions. So, you have to think hard before you ask.
Interviewer: Can you give an example of a bad question?
Cindy: During my interviews, many of which were round tables where one actor sat down and took questions from 3 to 10 interviewers, the classic question often asked a film stars, particularly those who were just starting their careers, was this: What was it like working with? Often this question was asked of the person with this film star sitting right next to them. It's a terrible question. First of all, stars like to be asked questions about themselves, not other stars. Second, no film star, particularly those who are promoting a movie, is going to spend that time saying anything other than positive things about a fellow star. Therefore, the question is boring because the answer is always going to be some meaningless variation of It was great.
Interviewer: I believe movie stars will generally never answer a question that implies a negative answer.
Cindy: Sure, it happens from time to time, but it's not going to happen during a promotional tour prior to a movie opening that the actor is promoting, which is when most movie star interviews occur. Basically, movie stars, particularly those early in their career, are very careful about what they say, lest it come back to them in some way and damage their reputation. If you're looking for something controversial, you're going to have to probe and ask an open ended question that the actor takes somewhere on their own.
Interviewer: What makes a good question, then?
Cindy: Most stars aren't that well educated, nor are they intellectuals. But they know all about doing interviews. They are way better at answering questions than most people are at asking them. I would say that there's a fine line between asking a smart question and asking a question that's too smart. An interview is never about the interviewer. It's always about the star. Make the questions about the star and you're likely to get a good answer. Also, since some actors are intellectuals, you still need to be smart enough to tell how to engage them.
Interviewer: Who do you love to interview?
Cindy: The bigger the star, the more likely he or she will say something interesting. That being said, the bigger the star, the less they have to worry about. So if you're interviewing Steven Spielberg, for example, certain kinds of open ended questions might prompt a particularly juicy piece of gossip.
Interviewer: Thank you, Cindy.
