Back on the Entertainment Beat: One Night Only!

For the first time in many years Wednesday night, I “covered” (and I use the term very loosely) a red carpet entertainment event. It was the premiere of the new Woody Allen movie, which was opening the Tribeca Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Theater in midtown. Here’s my “report” (and I use THAT term very loosely).

The experience of being on the rope line—that’s the reporter and photographer-lined gauntlet that the celebrities have to run on their way into the premiere—is very…. interesting; part thrilling, part demeaning. In the early 90’s, I lived in Los Angeles for a spell, doing entertainment “news” (and I use the term….. okay, I’m not going to do that any more) for Fox and CNN. There were aspects of it that I enjoyed, but overall, I didn’t want it to be my career direction. I found that I could only ask “how did you prepare for this role?” so many times before I began to be consumed with self-loathing.

But first, the parts of doing entertainment coverage that I liked: mostly—and obviously—you get to meet and talk to some very famous and/or very talented people. Flavor-of-the-month celebrities sometimes, but also some real legendary performers, even cultural icons. I went to interview Bob Hope at his home in the San Fernando Valley. I spent an afternoon with Rosanne Barr back when she was big news. I was a huge Isley Brothers fan growing up, and to have Ronald Isley and his brothers answering my questions was a major treat. Others I enjoyed interviewing (also when I was a morning show host at WNBC-TV): Robert Duvall, Angelina Jolie (she was promoting her first movie and was a relative unknown) Robin Wright Penn (SO beautiful), Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues, Robert Urich, Tom Selleck, Jay Leno, Grace Slick… And from the show I hosted in Nashville: the first interviews with Garth Brooks and Clint Black when they had their debut records out, Buck Owens, Hank Williams, Jr…. and some quirky delights, like the guy who played Otis the drunk on “The Andy Griffith Show.” And many more.

(I should mention here that this post from earlier this week about brushes with fame in the real world doesn’t pertain to this discussion. When entertainers are doing interviews or walking a rope line, they’re workin’, and on their best behavior).

But, ultimately, I found the experience unsatisfying. While it’s cool to meet famous people and great artists, the reporter/interviewer is really just a publicity tool. I can count on one hand the celebrity interviews I’ve done that weren’t part of a marketing campaign for a new movie or album. After a while, I felt like I was just making commercials for the film studios, and I decided to go back to real news.

Last night at the Ziegfeld was a good reminder of what I’d left. I had all the same feelings: excitement to be so close to these famous people, the bright lights, the whole “show biz” thing; but also the essential shallowness of the whole enterprise, and the commercial imperatives that drive it. It’s why I did a funny piece on the event, rather than take it seriously—which, truth be told, I can no longer do.

But let’s not forget the fun parts of it! Did you see Evan Rachel Wood and Nancy La Scala as I interviewed them? Smokin’. Any time you get to be around women that beautiful for a few minutes, it’s never a total loss.