How are you similar?
I’m a journalist, and I’m part of the publicity machine that Nattie is drawn to and yet confounded by. I find comfort and meaning in movies, as she does. We’re both pretty thin-skinned, but I bounce right back. She doesn’t.
Your bio says you interviewed "every major Hollywood celebrity."
That sounds pretty grandiose, doesn’t it? I never talked to Jack Nicholson.
What was the worst celebrity interview you ever did?
It’s possible to have bad interviews with your favorite actors, but that doesn’t necessarily make them terrible interviews, if you follow my logic. For example, Robert de Niro is one of the most brilliant actors in the business, but he’s also one of the shyest, and he doesn’t subscribe to Tom Hanks’ interview mission statement. So you’re never going to get a chatty little conversation with him, but it doesn’t diminish the value of the interview. In the book, Nattie mentions that Tommy Lee Jones is the meanest interview there is, and she’s right. It’s comforting to know that almost everyone agrees on that. The only actor who ever made me cry was Alexander Gudonov.
What did Alexander say that made you cry?Alexander Godunov (may he rest in peace) was doing his first movie junket, for Die Hard, when I interviewed him in 1988. He was one of those people (I suspect) whose level of discomfort was directly proportional to his Grouchiness Quotient, and everything I asked made him grouchier still - I asked if he missed dancing ("if I missed dancing, I would be dancing"). And how he celebrated when he became a U.S. citizen ("Private"), even though I knew he'd had a hamburger stuffed with caviar. I should have had the good sense to thank him and get out while I was still in one piece, but I hammered on with a question about positive memories of the Soviet Union. "I don' understan." I repeated the question, more slowly. "I don' understan." And then... because I had apparently lost my mind, I leaned in to him as if he were deaf and asked him the same stupid question a third time. He leaned into me with his nose an inch from mine and said, "I DON' UNDERSTAN." I waited until I was alone in the hall before I started to cry.
Article comments
1 - Gordon L Hauptfleisch
Highly entertaining and enjoyable interview, Scott. Looking forward to Part Two.
2 - Scott Butki
Thanks, Gordon
3 - Scott Butki
And we STILL need to get the answer to the giraffe question.
4 - Lizbeth Hanson
What a great interview! She is really interesting and fun... you ask great questions (and you two seem to have a good repartee)... you should have her as a regular guest or something! (Just discovered your column because this was posted on Digg and have an idea for you: It might be cool to have a picture of the people you interview, in addition to their book cover, if that's possible.) I'm looking forward to reading the second part next week!
5 - Scott Butki
Thanks for the compliment.
I figure we get the book cover via the Amazon ad.
I'd be up for adding a photo of the person interviewed, especially if the editors agree that is a good idea.
Meanwhile we have an update on the giraffe issue, namely this article.
I'm going to email the person quoted and ask him to come quick.
6 - Scott Butki
I may have just proven Halle Berry wrong.
According to The Living Desert Web site,
"Giraffes are water efficient because they do not sweat or pant."
7 - Ally from Orlando
When is the next part of this interview being posted? It is very interesting.
8 - Scott Butki
Within the next week.
I am glad you liked it.
9 - Scott Butki
I'm writing about part 2 tonite. It should be published within the next 24 hours if all goes right.
10 - Scott Butki
The first part has been published here.
11 - Wes
Cool insider's view on celebrities and the interview process. Quick correction: In your last posting, I think you meant the second part (not first part). I only point that out because I was looking for the second part and couldn't find where it was posted... others may have a similar difficulty. Thanks for the interesting interviews.
12 - Scott Butki
You're welcome. Thanks for the correction.