Posts tagged acting

Jennifer Aniston’s Gift

Jennifer Aniston

How many times have you received a beautifully wrapped gift only to be disappointed by it’s contents? In Hollywood most of the stars I interview are always perfectly wrapped with their hair, makeup and outfits, but what was underneath did not always match the surface. The first time I interviewed Jennifer Aniston I expected little more than a beautiful woman with flat answers, that’s what I thought I would get. I was on a press junket,  55 journalists asking questions about the same movie.  I met Jennifer Aniston in 1997 for the film Picture Perfect. I had been doing press junket interviews for 5 years and usually I got interesting answers but with little warmth behind them as most of the stars only wanted to “get it over with.” Along came Jennifer…she was breathtaking, a  beautiful woman who made me feel welcome when she said, “how nice to meet you,” (I usually got hello or nothing at all). I did not expect her to be so nice to me off camera. Her lack of pretension made me aware that I could ask her anything, even about her private life, which is a no-no on junket interviews as it could have been the end of my career if a star had complained to the studio. Her willingness to be an open book to me made me look good as an interviewer. She did that for me not only once, but every time we worked together. She was willing to talk about how she dealt with the tabloids and how she would not let the negative comments get her down, which did hurt her. She also told me that there seems to be a lot of people with free time and nothing to do but spread rumors because she was a great target. Her way to stay grounded was by staying close with her amazing friends. When it came to her career she was offered lots of romantic comedies, after all, she was Rachel Greene from Friends. But what she wanted was to play out of her comfort zone which she finally did in the film The Good Girl. Now she knew she could deliver even when she was scared.

The last time I interviewed her was for the film Derailed, 2005, where infidelity was the running theme in the movie and after the nicest welcome ever I waited till near the end of my timeslot to ask her about it. Her private life was all over the tabloids and the studio was afraid I would upset her. I asked her if this film could do a lot to make people aware of the dangers of infidelity. Watch the interview to see her brilliant and open response.

Jennifer Aniston and Reba Merrill

Last week I went to a party and screening for her latest film Cake, this role might give her an Oscar nomination so the mood was very upbeat, though her character is addicted to prescription medications. Surrounded by well-wishers I managed to get a chance to talk to her so I could thank her for making me look good in all the interviews we did together and let her know that her answer to infidelity was heard around the world. She asked if she could see the interview and of course I said yes and I asked for a picture and she said if she did one for me then everyone who had asked would be unhappy and, of course, I understood. At the end of the party she came up to me and said “let’s take a picture,” and we did.

Jennifer is having a truly amazing life and career. She has two films out this season, the wildly funny Horrible Bosses 2 (Now Playing) and the oscar-buzz drama Cake (January). Sometimes life gives you gifts. In my case, every time I got to sit down with Jennifer Aniston, she was a gift. I look forward to Oscar Nominations January 15th, and I hope to see Jennifer’s name as she is a supremely talented actress, a wonderful human being and…a GIFT!

Who is Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix has been in and out of my life for many years.The first time I sat down with him, Phoenix was an unknown actor and it was for the film Inventing the Abbots. I found him pleasant, cordial and handsome. I figured that would be the case in the future, but I was so wrong. He is very comfortable playing conflicted, insecure characters with a dark side and I wonder if some of his characters took over moments in his life when he wasn’t looking. I never knew when I would be given an interviewing assignment so every time I sat down with him it was like starting over again, as these jobs were on press junkets, I was one of fifty journalists who was there to ask questions and I didn’t expect him to know who I was and even care. I expected him to act. Let’s face it, he is an actor, glad to be there promoting his latest film. Each interview got harder and harder and I really tried to make him feel comfortable so we could have a conversation which was my style of interviewing. Things happen when you least expect it so I was really unprepared to run into him at the Cannes Film Festival when I went to interview James Grey, the director of the film The Yards, in which Joaquin was the star. Here he was hanging out at the interview site even tho he did not have do any interviews. While my TV crew was setting up for Grey’s interview I said to Joaquin how much I enjoyed his performance and the film. He said to me “would you tell my mother over there that”, and I said “ok”, which I did. So when I was given the film Ladder 49, little did I know that my brief meeting in Cannes would come in handy. I arrived at the press junket to be told by the studio executive that I could fail, as no one was getting an interview with Joaquin longer than 2 minutes and all he would say was yes and no because one of the stupid journalists who went before me asked him about his brother dying on Sunset Blvd. The journalist asked whether he called 911 like the characters in this film did and he went ballistic, which I didn’t blame him for, as that was an inappropriate question to ask. By the way if I did not get a usable interview I would not get payed. So I entered the interview suite knowing what to expect, failure. I walked in threw my arms in the air and said in movie star affected voice “Hello, you don’t remember me, I saw you at Cannes and told your mother how great you were in The Yards”, and then…silence. I started the interview and he talked in fact he talked for 16 minutes and when it was over he turned to the camera man behind him and said, ”Did I just do that”. He did and I never told the studio how I got him to talk… just a little mother love. That was the last time I interviewed him and to tell the truth I miss his off centered approach to promoting his films as he made me work hard to get an interview worth listening too. But he was always worth the effort!

Nearly Famous: Secrets, Lies & Addiction



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