Cinematical

We all try to do the impossible with run-of-the-mill interviews. We try to tap into something unknown, pulling out morsels of both the person and the project. It's an extremely difficult practice to pull off. You get a very limited amount of time, the subjects are on their best behavior and ready to charm you, and you're in this removed, sterile, invisible box. Talking at a table somewhere for 20 minutes doesn't reveal anything. Unless something falls into your lap, you're destined for a run-of-the-mill question and answer session.

When the subject is a celebrity, it's all the tougher -- it's like a prospector trying to find gold on land that's already been pillaged. You are not only confined by the scenario, but also the wasteland of the interviewers who were there before you. What's new? How can you make this interesting? All of these things are the reason that I wish it was feasible and desirable to do more intimate interviews -- chatting on someone's couch, going out for a drink, etcetera. It's highly idealistic, but desired nonetheless.
Then there are those of us who get their chance. Joel Stein's latest George Clooney interview for Time took place in his own home, over dinner. A notoriously affable yet private man, there's really not much to discover with Clooney, which Stein admits. However, there's an undeniable charm to even the most minute discoveries when they're in a comfortable setting. Sure, Clooney is probably the king of charmers, but the reason that he's so damned big, and the reason that we all love him, is because he's balanced it all and has maintained both his charm and humorous self-deprecation.

So, I suggest you head over to Time and read this interview. It's the first in eons to make me genuinely laugh, and hey, it's nice to see a celebrity who is not only a gracious guest, but also one willing to hunt down mysterious alarm noises. (And there's even video of it!)

[via Defamer]