Insight on setting up interviews with celebrities? Whom to contact, how to present?

	Re: Insight on setting up interviews with celebrities? Whom to contact, how to present? by David Roth Weiss on Aug 18, 2008 at 2:51:50 am Samuel, To those who are not experienced in the ways of "Hollywood," it's very easy to overlook or misunderstand the realities of celebrity and business. The fact is, anyone who has achieved any degree of celebrity is hit upon constantly by vast armies of those who would like to capitalize upon that celebrity. The artist's representatives you are dealing with are specifically hired to weed out those who have nothing to offer, and if you can offer them neither money nor fame, you have absolutely nothing they want. These are experienced people who can smell "wannabes" from miles away, and they simply are not in the business of furthering anyone's careers other than their own. It's that simple. "Access" is the key to this business. Anyone can come up with a good idea for a project, but few can actually make them happen, because only those who can gain access to the people necessary to realize their ideas ever truly succeed. With that in mind, you need to look around yourself, in your own sphere, in your own town, for interesting things that are happening and interesting people that will grant you access. Tell their stories and do it well, then you'll have something to show when people ask to see your work. That's how it works... I hope this is not been too painful and that you find this helpful. Good luck... David David Roth Weiss Director/Editor David Weiss Productions, Inc. Los Angeles POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY â„¢ A forum host of Creative COW's Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums. Respond to this post   •   Return to posts index

	Re: Insight on setting up interviews with celebrities? Whom to contact, how to present? by Andrew Kimery on Aug 20, 2008 at 10:07:55 pm To add to David's post, if you can't offer them money, fame, or a chance to talk about something they feel strongly about then they have reason to talk to you. Also, as David suggests, start small to build up your audience, your credibility, and your connections. A friend of mine did a documentary called Revolution Green about bio-diesel and he was able to get Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson (narration) involved w/the project because they both feel strongly about the subject of the film. I'm current editing a documentary about Lenny Bruce and Free Speech and even though we started out with 'small' interviews we made enough connections to be able to land interviews w/recognizable people like Lewis Black, Christopher Titus, Orlando Jones, Henry Rollins and Roseanne Barr. We couldn't offer them money or fame, but we gave them a 'legit' opportunity to talk about something they feel passionately about and that was enough for them. -A Respond to this post   •   Return to posts index

	Re: Insight on setting up interviews with celebrities? Whom to contact, how to present? by Tim Wilson on Aug 16, 2009 at 7:05:35 am [Andrew Kimery] "...or a chance to talk about something they feel strongly about"... Absolutely worth pursuing. In addition to the examples you mention above, Barbara Sumner Burstyn wrote an article for us about a documentary she made, where she got Peter Coyote to narrate. Even if you don't know him as an actor, you'd recognize his voice - he narrates 100+ documentaries (including episodes of science magazines and such) every year. So how did she get him to narrate her no-budget feature? She asked. The same with the music - she got her first-choice dream musician by asking. It's a great story. You can read the details here. [Samuel Smith] I feel like if a publicist set up an interview, rather than me e-mailing the celebrity directly, there is a better chance of it happening. In Barbara's case, she was able to ask friends of friends until she found a way in. But you're right, Samuel. Even if you CAN get directly to the artist, you'll frequently find that they'll pass you back to the publicist to schedule...where you may get punted. As David notes, keeping people away is their job. Artists are virtually universally very nice people (honest), so don't assume they don't know that their publicists tell you that the artist can't do it without the artist's knowledge. It's not necessarily a disconnect. It's often just a way for them to be polite. Again, though, you're right. It's more likely that you'll get in through the agent than by going around. Note that once you get an agent on your side, you'll get a lot farther with other people you want to contact than by getting in touch with artists directly. If you want to run in this part of the biz for longer than this one project, cultivate publicists and agents, who typically work for more than one client. If you show yourself to be a good citizen, they'll often connect you to their peers -- another way to get in the door more reliably than if an artist speaks to another artist. The easiest way to find publicists, managers, etc. is in fact really easy: IMDb Pro. There are a lot of other cool features for entertainment biz fans (tracking productions, job listings you won't find anywhere else, etc.), but most of the people I know use it for contact info. It's only $12.95/month, and there's a 14-day free trial. You'll also get phone numbers out of the deal, which often work better than letters. Practice, practice, practice honing your pitch. 20-30 seconds is a good target. Seriously. Let them ask questions about anything else they want to know, but one way they'll believe that you're for real is that you're not wasting their time. These folks often have only a minute or two TOPS to make the pitch to their clients, and they'll have to include additional information about you. Finally Samuel, as for your lack of work to show, make something up. Do similar projects with friends if you have to. Work through any kinks in your production process and style to come up with something good enough to show. Even if you never show it to anyone, it's absolutely critical that you be ready to go when your artist shows up. A smooth experience will do as much as anything else to cement your credibility. It will also work to build your experience. There's no excuse for anyone not to have a serious body of work, whether as a writer, shooter, performer, director or producer. Some are obviously easier to do on your own than others -- although I used a tripod and trial and error to shoot interviews with myself, sometimes using a friend as a lighting stand-in (sit-in). You already know people who'll help you out for free. Last but not least, don't give up. Every story you hear about how somebody pulled this off is true. There are a lot of paths to every kind of success. But starting with the basics is a critical first step. Best, Tim Wilson Creative COW Magazine Respond to this post   •   Return to posts index