Why do interviewers/panelists always ask the same questions?

I saw Isabella in a Q & A session and the interviewer asked inane questions in how she prepared for her role. This movie is good but the interest in her performance seems suspect to me when a fat middle aged man is alluding only to her work in Blue Velvet while ignoring her body of work. She’s now 57 years old. There are other things film related to talk about from her resume … not to mention her personal experience. What about ‘Rodger Dodger’ for instance?

I saw the movie after the interview and frankly I think how she acted was not strange but intuitive concerning the role. She said she thought of people with stockholm syndrome in preparing for it. Seems like a no brainer. Her character was tortured. The part where she is standing naked and helpless on the lawn reminded me of the photograph of ‘Kim Phuc and other Vietnamese Children’ (1972). And in the feature documentary on the DVD Isabella cited this photograph as her inspiration.

Why do interviewers ask redundant questions when the features on most DVDs explain it or the answers can be found with little research?

What questions would you have asked?

That’s a good question….

Because you are so much smarter than them.

Are you suggesting that “fat middle aged” guys get off on asking her about Blue Velvet?

With the stellar and stand-out performance, the disturbing nature of the movie itself, the relationship with Lynch, and even such things as Siskel and Ebert’s debate over the movie, Issabella Rosselini’s role in Blue Velvet is widely remembered, spoken about, and debated. The movie itself brings up questions, the real stories behind the movie bring up questions, and the drama of the audience’s relationship with the actors they are seeing creates questions. Rosselini will be asked questions about that role until her death, and an easy way to not-so-subtly bring it up for more press and more interest is to ask something like, “How did you prepare?” (Ironic also considering how unprepared most people are to view it).

And nevertheless her response is interesting, and even if it’s been heard elsewhere, informative literally in that it informs another group of people (those who are reading or watching the interview) about the movie that so many have so many questions about.

And I’m mislabelling it “interview”. It was a panel discussion, which means that the press are limited in the time and depth of their questions, so they have to ask broader and shorter questions to point the way to the more in-depth conversation they want to have. I’m sure there was an answer the reporter was searching to get to a question he had no time or forum to ask.

—PolarisDiB

Mary:

Your use of the term “fat middle aged man” says more about your own deep-seated prejudices than ANY question I could ask.

Here’s a fat old man for you…

I suppose if it were a “slender young woman” asking Ms. Rossellini about the role, you would have no objections.

You remind me of a person in the audience (who just happened to be a “slender young woman”) at a cinema Q and A discussion a few years ago who asked a question, then added “also, why aren’t there any women on the panel?” (As best I recall, the panel had five men).

Interestingly enough, she never asked why all five panel member were Caucasian, but that probably didn’t pop into her pretty little blonde Wonderwhite head. People make me laugh so much when pretending to be indignated over nothing, making a mountain out of a molehill, while simultaneously revealing their own bigotry.

Mary:

Not everyone has access to the internet and DVDs. Many of the more senior audiences who still believe in going to the cinema and stick around for these interview sessions have no such access, sofor them the “information” is not so readily available.

And Mary: I’d rather someone ask the “obvious” questions at a Q and A, rather than the self-indulgent blather we typically get from “academics” who forget they have an actual interview subject sitting in front of them. One of the worst examples was this woman on a panel at the Festival of German Film 2006 (neither fat nor male but certainly middle aged). Even the constantly smilin’ Heike Makatsch was pissed at her.

Anyway, I think most panelists ask good questions. If you want to complain, direct your disdain toward the magazine and television interviewers. They are usually the worst and least prepared with their questions and generally say the dumbest things.

Wow, you guys seem to be coming down a little hard on Mary. (Maybe there’s a past history I don’t know about?) I don’t know about the specific question(s) directed at Isabella Rossellini, but the panel discussions I’ve seen have been generally disappointing. The questions aren’t the only problem, though. I’ve often felt that a filmmaker’s interpretation/insight into the film lessens my estimation of the film, more than enhances it. Now, if the panel discussion were more like an interview (a la Inside the Actor’s Studio), that’s a different matter. Those kinds of interviews can be really interesting.

Jazzahola, perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves are the people who come across as all cute and innocent, making thinly veiled comments of a malicious nature (“fat middle aged men”), coupled with the fact Mary didn’t a) provide examples of the “inappropriate questions” and b) didn’t tell us which questions she’d ask instead. It’s all very well to say “he should’ve asked Isabella about this movie, that movie, etc.”, but said movies might not be of great interest to many in the audience. And doing a great Q and A is about engaging the audience, not playing “Look How Many Isabella Rossellini Films I Have Seen, Useless Peons In The Audience.” I’m guessing the interviewer was using Ms. Rossellini’s most famous film as a main reference point, and it never ceases to amaze me how harumphy people can get, reading too much into the motivations of the interviewer. Methinks we ought to stick to analysing films, not interviewers.

Glad to see for once others noticed Mary’s snootiness on this one.

But I’m guessing the moderators only pick up on blatanlty over the top tomfoolery, as opposed to the more subtle, albeit more poisonous jibes at fat people, middle aged people, and men. Two out of three of those can’t be helped, Mary.

@Mark

I don’t know. Unless you know Mary or have interacted with her a lot, I think your take on her intent and meaning in the OP is a bit shaky. I’m not saying you’re interpretation is wrong, but I’m wondering how you can be so sure it’s right. What concerns me is that if your (and others’) reading of her is inaccurate, you’ve just unnecessarily turned off a newcomer. I think one should give people the benefit of the doubt—especially if you haven’t really interacted with them—and wait until you get a better sense of that person (by asking questions), before you express your annoyance.

Btw, perhaps I’m sensitive to this issue because I remember when people reacting with annoyance or suspicion to me when I first started posting here. I’ve also seen this done to other people, too; and I think it’s not the best way to go about things.

-fat middle aged man-

Well, if I were interviewing Rosselini I would begin with if her parents choices in which films to do has informed her choices? Also if she feels a conscience need to be different from them or if she even considers that.

Then asking about specific roles Blue Velvet must be asked about because it is her most known film, and with that I would ask if she feels if she her career is unfairly defined by one single role.

As an interviewer you want to have the set questions but tyou must be prepared to have a conversation and let that conversation go where it may.

I’m glad to see that there are a lot of interesting personalities on this forum. Thanks for your responses.

I will try to answer people’s questions/responses in the order they appeared:

user-de faux-fu yants: I would have asked about ‘Rodger Dodger’ and the obsolescence of gender. And who would win in a battle of pirates and cowboys? Try to find something that would be fun for her to answer.

robert w peabody III: That is one serious name you have!

either: i like your cynicism.

matt pratts: A little bit. The issue is with bodies I think. She let her body be abused in the film and these men have abused theirs with food and/or alcohol to an excess. They probably relate to it to some degree. I didn’t think that it would be so controversial. The main purpose of this forum was to discuss repetitive discussions/questions that celebrities/fimmakers have.

polarisb: Good points. Thank you.

mark d vanselow: Interesting points. Nice graphics.

jazzaloha: Yeah I’ve been generally disappointed at most discussions and was wondering if other people felt that way. It was a one on one interview in front of an audience.

mark d vanselow; “Glad to see for once others noticed Mary’s snootiness on this one.” This is my first posting on this website! What are you talking about?

jazzaloha: I’ve never interacted with Mark before. Yeah, I’m a newbie and don’t feel welcome.

matt parks: haha.

uli cain needs to rewrite: Thanks.

I thought these forums would be better but it’s the same old bullshit.

its not quite the same

on imdb u cannot post pictures

@Mary:

Frankly, it’s the Internet, wherever you go. I have a better relationship with this forum than you but I’ve built it over a long time, and there are still many of the same old habits. The main thing is not to take it personallly, even when it’s directed personally. if it’s insulting, like any forum you can flag the post.

Contrary to the intent of singling you out, however, I would still like to know what questions you would ask Rosselini if you had the chance? I myself have not seen much else with her in it, and if I met her at some event or something would cautiously admit so while asking about what roles she enjoyed doing and requesting recommendations.

—PolarisDiB

Mary: Some people don’t do the research or not familiar with the people they interview. Some have a responsibility to their readers who are not familiar with the people they are interviewing to ask the basic questions.

It also depends on the context of the interview. If the person is able to get a one-on-one interview, then they can explore options of what kind of questions to ask. For my interviews, I know the only way I’m going to get the questions I want is the one-on-one interview not at a public setting or press conference.

Otherwise, if it’s a roundtable or post-screening, sometimes questions are moderated and sometimes what you are reading are transcripts from a media roundtable including Q&A from many people not just one interviewer.

-The main purpose of this forum was to discuss repetitive discussions/questions that celebrities/fimmakers have-

To a certain extent, Mary, they are repetitive for the receiver of the questions, but many of the panel discussions I’ve been to are for enthusiasts, and often novice enthusiasts at that, so while the question may be asked of the person many times, it’s likely the person asking the question in any given instance may not be aware that they’re asking a question that the person in question has to answer all the time—it may be totally new to the person asking. In a Q&A setting, an interviewer usually has a very finite amount of time, so generally, the interviewer only has time for a few very broad question (often what questions would be asked is something that would be discussed with with the interviewee in advance), so even if they’re interested in, say, her role in Tough Guys Don’t Dance, it may not be appropriate for the context of the discussion, or the interviewer may not have time to get to it, etc.

-little bit. The issue is with bodies I think. She let her body be abused in the film and these men have abused theirs with food and/or alcohol to an excess. They probably relate to it to some degree-

That’s pretty speculative, isn’t it? I’m not sure it’s accurate to suppose that all “fat middle aged” men have abused their body with food and alcohol. Some yes, some maybe no.

>>Mary: Some people don’t do the research or not familiar with the people they interview. Some have a responsibility to their readers who are not familiar with the people they are interviewing to ask the basic questions.<<
Those who belong to the first category don’t usually last long in journalism.
That latter observation gets a bit closer to the truth. When writing up the interview you can’t state, “I know thus and such about so and so because s/he told FILMAX ‘yadayadaya.’”
And it really does pay to go into an interview just a little bit stupid (at least that’s always been my philosophy). If you think you know all the answers there’s an awful lot of questions you won’t ask… ans many od those questions will lead to some unusual questions that lead to the most interesting answers.

My guess, knowing the loyalty of movie fans, is that the fat, middle aged man asking the questions of Isabella Rossellini probably still has the same crush on her that he had when he first saw Blue Velvet, even though she isn’t as young or as slim as she was more than two decades ago.

I don’t think asking an actor how they produced their work is an inane question. The work of an actor in film involves repetition and variation of lines, gestures, facial expressions, etc. If she is professional in promoting herself and her work (which is what she is there for), the actor can make her answer to the question that she has been asked 100 times seem interesting and fresh. She could even think about the question again and give a different answer this time, if she wants to. If she finds all of this too boring, she’s in the wrong line of work.

There is also something to be said for being asked the same routine questions. Rossellini was interviewed about her parents for the Criterion DVD of The Flowers of St. Francis, and was obviously comfortable and happy to talk about that subject. I don’t know how she feels about talking about her marriage to Martin Scorsese, but that would seem to be a subject that a lot of interviewers would be interested in exploring, but which might be very disagreeable for her.

Looking through her credits, I would expect that when she is out promoting a new film and is only asked by the interviewer about one of her prior films, she would be surprised if it was anything other than Blue Velvet.

I had the same thought. She was also involved with Lynch for a few years beginning around the time they made Blue Velvet if I recall correctly. That might make for an interesting story.