Dealing With The Press (part 1)
Instinctively - like so much else she did - Audrey was genius with the care and feeling of the press. And, like it or not, dealing with the media is often a part of our modern lives. You might decide to run for president, you might win American Idol, you might be involved in a coup d'etat with the PTA. In any event, there is a very good chance that you, like Audrey, could find yourself at the receiving end of an interview. Herewith, a few things to tilt the odds in your favor.
Charm the beast. Audrey was so successful with the press because she was always, most notably, herself. Whether being interviewed by Hedda Hopper early in her career, or a People magazine reporter in the late 1980s, she was always light, funny, focused, and charming.
When dealing with the press, charm is you ally. Be lighthearted, be charismatic. Pretend it's a first date. Build rapport with the reporter - seduce the heck out of him/her (metaphorically speaking, of course) - you're a movie star, after all! When in doubt, use the George Clooney rather than Russell Crowe model. While truculence looks great on the screen or while shooting a Calvin Klein print ad, it was a tone that AH never adopted, and gets tiresome in a one-on-one interview. Remember: You're the one who wanted to be a star, so don't bail out now.
Instinctively - like so much else she did - Audrey was genius with the care and feeling of the press. And, like it or not, dealing with the media is often a part of our modern lives. You might decide to run for president, you might win American Idol, you might be involved in a coup d'etat with the PTA. In any event, there is a very good chance that you, like Audrey, could find yourself at the receiving end of an interview. Herewith, a few things to tilt the odds in your favor.
Charm the beast. Audrey was so successful with the press because she was always, most notably, herself. Whether being interviewed by Hedda Hopper early in her career, or a People magazine reporter in the late 1980s, she was always light, funny, focused, and charming.
When dealing with the press, charm is you ally. Be lighthearted, be charismatic. Pretend it's a first date. Build rapport with the reporter - seduce the heck out of him/her (metaphorically speaking, of course) - you're a movie star, after all! When in doubt, use the George Clooney rather than Russell Crowe model. While truculence looks great on the screen or while shooting a Calvin Klein print ad, it was a tone that AH never adopted, and gets tiresome in a one-on-one interview. Remember: You're the one who wanted to be a star, so don't bail out now.
Whether you choose the patented Tom Cruise "Hey, isn't life wonderful?" high energy/laugh a lot through the entire interview and reveal nothing technique, or the enigmatic "I am an artist" Pacino mode, make sure you have a game plan going in.
Also, it helps to know that unless you are being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Anderson Cooper, or Diane Sawyer, most reporters are really lazy and don't do their homework. (They never did any in school, why start now?) And entertainment "reporters" are probably the worst. Use their inherent slackerdom (very non-Audrey, we might add) to your advantage. With some effort, you can almost chart what the questions might be, so have a few responses ready.
And if you really get stuck for an answer, smile winningly and then say, "Boy, that's a great question..." And leave it at that.
Ditch the PR person. You didn't get where you are by following the rules. With the reporter standing by, tell your corporate PR flunky that you "can handle this" and show them the door. This will make you look like a maverick and will create a false sense of intimacy between you and the reporter. A false sense of intimacy that you will, of course, exploit fully to your advantage.
**all information comes from the book: What Would Audrey Do by Pamela Keogh
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