That is because 90 percent of celebrity interviews take place in a restaurant in Los Angeles, usually a quick drive from your subject’s house or manager’s office. Some magazines have a ban on the dreaded restaurant interview because it’s so clichéd, but few have the power to actually enforce it, so usually the only “color” you will get is a recitation of your subject’s lengthy dietary requirements to the fawning waiter. (“Well, is there oil in the dressing? Are you sure? You know what, can I just have lemon juice on the side? I’m thinking there’s probably dairy in the corn chowder, and that’s really, like, not cool. And I’m allergic to nuts, so do you use any peanut oil? Could you please please please just ask the chef? Theeenk yew.”) If this is the case, use the classic writer’s trick of starting the piece with a dramatic event in your subject’s life. That way you have a grabber for the first couple of paragraphs, and then you can ease into establishing the scene in the restaurant and how your subject picks at a plate of steamed kale.
What do You think about But Enough About Me (2007)?
