I would PM vish - who posts on this forum. He seems to get some decent interviews - he might have some helpful tips for you.

Mock them mercilessly but keep calling them "Sir," regardless of their gender. Also, make sure every question is worded like an innuendo.

Talk to a famous person like a normal person. Like someone you've been introduced to at a bar. They appreciate it unless you're dealing with a real prick.

steve wrote:Talk to a famous person like a normal person. Like someone you've been introduced to at a bar. They appreciate it unless you're dealing with a real prick.

I guess that would work better than waterboarding.

Mark Hansen wrote:I guess that would work better than waterboarding.

Tomato/Tomacco.

What I mean is try to call him up on the phone rather than gong "through channels," because channels take forever and are often the dominion of dickheads. Just get ahold of the guy and talk to him. If you know people who know them or work with them, they can give you phone numbers.

If you don't know anybody, then you're going to have to fight your way through channels. And that will suck.

steve wrote:What I mean is try to call him up on the phone rather than gong "through channels," because channels take forever and are often the dominion of dickheads. Just get ahold of the guy and talk to him. If you know people who know them or work with them, they can give you phone numbers.

If you don't know anybody, then you're going to have to fight your way through channels. And that will suck.

I agree. I have only done three interviews in the six months of writing for that place I write for but I have requested far more. The interviews I have done that are the most enjoyable were usually setup through a friend of a friend or in the case of Dianogah the forum.

If you can avoid it try not to conduct e-mail interviews they can be impersonal and there is rarely a chance for follow up. If you do a phone interview be sure to get the proper equipment to record the conversation unless the masochist in you enjoys hand cramps.

Last do your research a head of time, read or listen to other interviews. This will help you in deciding what questions always get asked and how to not fall into that trap. Also by reading ahead you can come up with some sort of script that may be conducive for follow-up and assist in keeping the conversation on track. Don't be a fan-boy and don't be an asshole of course that's given.

holy hell- thank you all for the advice and help! it seems daunting (especially phrases like "this will suck"), but at the same token it's also kind of exciting.

thank you again!

I believe that imdbpro comes with a free trial for a couple weeks. More than enough time to get at least one contact if they're in the film industry. With some people on there, their personal phone numbers(perhaps meaning their direct business line) are there instead of an agency contact. Go look up Ron Jeremy, his cell number is on there. I'm sure if you're looking for a cinematographer, it couldn't be too difficult to get a pretty direct line from imdbpro.

What is the interview for? A magazine? A blog? Your health? Just because you want to hang out with the guy?

What's the angle of your story?
It could be something as simple as "you've had a cool life and done some great things...a retrospective"
or something more specific like how s/he did a recent project.

I recently did an interview with a band I like and respect. I contacted them directly, and asked them if I could interview them for a magazine I'm (very) somewhat associated with.
I was impressed that they went from recording in big studios to turning their practice space into their own studio. I thought it was a good story because they record national releases there, and this type of "regression" is a big deal. I thought it was really cool. They hired their soundman to record the whole thing, not some big name guy.

Since I had a plan, they said yes, and were really cool to me all weekend.

The thing is, as much as I like the band, the point was that I wanted to tell their story, because It think it's a good one.
That's what I mean by having an angle - there needs to be a story in there. That way people will want to read it, and the interviewee(s) will want to do it, rather than take a day off. Famous or not, people don't like to have their time wasted, you know?

Good luck!
-A