Long Live the Film Geeks

Strangely enough, writing about movies is a tough sell. Gossip is easy. People love to dish about movie stars like they’re the popular kids from high school. I suppose publishers know that. Hence, the plethora of trash magazines.

But I’m here to tell ya, I’ve met just as many - if not more - folks who LOVE to dissect movies. I mean get out the scalpel and take apart the innards dissection. These are folks with regular day jobs who dedicate insane amounts of cooler talk and internet surfing to researching movie facts.

There is a HUGE audience who wants to know all about the process, the philosophy, and the craft of filmmaking. This is who I write for. The movie geeks. The people who, if they love a film, will tell all their coworkers and Facebook friends to see it. I consider myself one of their kind. So I write for them with as much honor as publishers allow.

With that in mind, I’m here to share the Dos and Don’ts of doing an interview:

1.) DO think about the interview before you arrive. Prepare. Ask yourself what you’d like the world to know about your project and the people involved. It shows. Trust me.

2.) DON’T answer well-crafted questions with single word answers. They make for crappy quotations. And convey that the audience is not worth your time. Very bad form.

3.) DO give the interviewer your dedicated attention. Maybe you hate journalists. Maybe you resent the time. But don’t disrespect the audience. They pay our salaries.

4.) DON’T condescend to the person interviewing you. They can’t possibly know the film like you do. You lived it. No matter how you feel about their questions, remember they hold a virtual megaphone in their hands. What they tell the world is up to you.

5.) DO coach your actors. Directors have an easier time with interviews – they convey information all the time. If an actor is inexperienced with journalists, talk to them. Discuss the film. The more articulate they are, the more coverage your film will get.

As you would expect, there are many more. I’ll share them in the months to come. After all, if we can’t pass along gems from the trenches, how will we make this a better place to work?