Acting silly: why have Hollywood press trips become so much fun? | | Movie

Tthis summer, we have been blessed with new films from the famous director Steven Spielberg and one of his greatest and beloved successors, Christopher Nolan. In all these cases, the films have been sold mostly on the names of the directors, and, fittingly two of the most famous filmmakers to do it, Spielberg and Nolan have been making publications. This has meant an abundance of interviews and information – a bonus feature that appears alongside the sale of original videos that will appeal to cinematographers around the world.

So at first, when I saw a 60 second video Christopher Nolan answers the multitude of yes-or-no questions that come up on my TV feed, of course I stopped and watched as the famous filmmaker (if apparently still interested) made a surprise attempt without the risk of follow-up questions (or the obligation to follow the answers). From this, there is much that can be developed: he does not have a relaxed attitude, Tarantino style. He will never make another blockbuster movie or TV show. He is fine with people watching movies on their phones or laptops. He will neither confirm nor deny that Interstellar is his favorite film. He will neither confirm nor deny that he wants to make a Star Wars movie. (Perhaps more interesting, because you might want to expect a firm “no”.)

But when the rush of knowledge subsided I felt useless. One of the world’s most beloved filmmakers talking to a kid on the Back2FilmSchool? And guess what, haven’t they answered all these questions before, in detail? He looks like a great sport in the video, but, many brave captives probably face a similar fate, to say nothing of those who can keep their cool in the face of adversity. A great interview can have some tension, but it probably won’t make you wonder if the subject was annoyed by the whole thing, or just smiled politely. Why do so many press releases these days feel like the middle ground between TikTok and religious rituals?

Now, not every Nolan or Spielberg interview has punishing time limits or magical hooks. In fact, if you don’t want to watch Nolan was asked in 60 seconds, he was part on 60 Minutes (technically only 13 minutes, and sadly the version of the show hosted by the incompetent Bari Weiss, but, you know, still a tourist attraction). Throughout the history of film marketing, stars and filmmakers have been involved in a variety of interactive, multi-level, and detailed or in-depth projects.

But this year in particular, it’s not the TikTok-iness of many interviews that sound the same – as we mentioned, you can find longer partners to reduce the bite of a long minute. What has become more common is what an older person might call the Fallon-ification of journalism, where the top artist is not on a talk show but on several sports. If you look at the LADBible website, for example, you’d think it might not have an interview with Matt Damon or Anne Hathaway. (As a person who sometimes arranged interviews for a few more famous people than Damon or Hathaway, for websites even called LADBible, I assure you this idea would be completely reasonable.) And not – not really. However, it is hosting YouTube’s shared tours Would you rather featuring some of the world’s most famous artists, under the guise of promoting their best film. Follow their channel of stars who make random ratings and talk about snacks. Anne Hathaway in particular will play countless games in a year when she appears in five films; He has already spent time with the LADs The Devil Wears Prada 2 earlier this summer.

It is understandable that people enjoy these things in its forms: TikTok, YouTubeThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, etc. Fallon may be unhinged, but his revival of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show was distinguished by a series of canned interviews and shtick, all as boring as Celebrity Twister Trivia or whatever else might appear here. Will Fallon suddenly become an unexpected interviewer at his age? It would be great, but it’s not happening.

But just as Fallon-ification and sitcoms feed off each other, they threaten to create boring, bland franchises, floating away from the comforting confines of a reality TV show. In a way, The Tonight Show can do this, too, creating something that doesn’t involve Fallon himself (although maybe that makes sense; why create even a moment of imagination to have Jimmy Fallon come in your old documentary edit?). One repetitive piece is rhythmic, quasi-hooky, all-star a brief explanationwhere celebrities sing Fallon’s signature short song with short and fast-cut lyrics, they’re brought together to create classic yet compelling music for the project at hand. This erases even the strangeness of seeing Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland and Lupita Nyong’o together, however superficially, or even looking at them at any length on their own. It’s a minute long episode by design, so you get microdoses of familiar, repetitive faces. Did it really convince one person to see The Odyssey? Publishers will no doubt say that it is the awareness of the video, not the desire to watch it, that these videos help. Attentive viewers, meanwhile, can read the visuals to find out who looks good about it and who looks like they’re thinking about killing themselves or those who are helping them.

And look, the forced outrage of celebrities and the decline of artists always has a place for advertising. But the volume, at a time when name publications with people who are happy and successful in interviews are bought, sold and burned on a regular basis, can feel very difficult – a bonus success to pursue yet another video strategy that prevents employers from following what is shown.

Of course, viewers can’t be expected to think about the media when they enjoy celebrities walking around. I’m a journalist, and I don’t think about journalists when I watch reality shows any movie displays any combination Saturday Night Live featured the cast members doing everything together. Whatever viewers may be thinking, that’s why, exactly, they’re watching Jon Bernthal and Charlize Theron frolic through a series of silly songs sponsored by Fallon. We’ve all had moments of self-pity about why-did-I-click-about internet videos; I can humbly say that real interviews, while not as revealing as you might expect, do not produce deep emotions. Meanwhile, studios are planning to make some of the most famous and respected creative minds in entertainment into unlikely mascots for their eternal regret.