wh5: You are a very successful interviewer of a surprising number of top-flight film actors and actresses in your career and you've won prizes for your program, Inside Actors’ Studio. When did you start this program?
JL: In 1994.
wh5: And you
have interviewed 200 of them. That’s about ten each year.
JL: Yes, about once a month on average.
wh5: You are
85 years old. Where do you get your energy to perform?
JL: I’m very low key. I know how to pause. I know
how to listen. I ask short questions. And I leverage. Most of my questions
require long answers from the guest. They do the work.
____________________
Voice-over
So far, 200 of
the world’s best-known actors, actresses and directors have been interviewed on
Inside Actors’ Studio. James Lipton begins by noting achievements to establish
ethos and relax the guest. Then he jumps out of the bushes with a surprise
question – surprise is the drama. His guests are people who like to talk.
That’s their job. And surprise sets them off.
Following
James Lipton’s strategy, imagine you are interviewing a movie star.
(1) How would
praise them? Establish the public image.
(2) How would you
surprise them? Ask a private question. What do you think their reply would be?
(3) And
finally, what Proustian question would you most like to ask the guest?
...
