The Junket
“And we’re rolling”, the man says as he points to me.
Smiling. Eyes locked with the beautiful young actress sitting four feet across from me. The right half of her face on the poster behind her also stares back at me but a single tear is poised on its cheek. “You went to some really dark places in this film”, I say, “as an actress what did you have to do to bring out that performance?’
And we’re off. I’ve got three minutes and forty five seconds more to listen, banter, volley and score that perfect moment. “When I was eleven my gran was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. I used that memory to help me get to where I needed to go”, she says with a sensitivity that is well beyond her years.
“So, you were close with your gran?” I ask, pushing my prepared questions to the back of my brain. This is good. Real. Let’s keep it going. It’s not always this easy.
“Very” she smiles. “She was my best friend. We used to stay up late after my parents went to sleep….”. Out of the corner of my left eye I see a hand making a peace sign signaling that I have two minutes left. I nod slightly in acknowledgement never breaking eye contact. “And she would always leave me a note in my backpack.” She starts getting a little choked up.
I lighten the mood a bit with my next questions and before you know it, one finger is circling in my peripheral telling me to wrap it up. I stand up, thank her and wish her success with the film and then I am out the door. One down, three to go.
This is a junket. Well, actually it’s only about four minutes of a junket so let me give you the whole picture.
About a week before the film premieres, studios invite entertainment news outlets to screen it. A few days after that, a floor at a 5-star hotel is turned into a makeshift office space and guestrooms are transformed into mini studios fully equipped with cameras, lights and props. Hair and makeup rooms are set up and the Hospitality Suite is adorned with all kinds of beverages and snacks.
Writers, producers and talent from television and the web show up at scheduled times and generally get 4 or 5 minutes to sit down with each star and ask questions. Sometimes we interview one actor at a time and sometimes they will be in pairs or small groups. We wait in the Hospitality Suite for our names to be called and once they are we ricochet up the hallway like a pinball.
“Hi, I’m Jeff. Nice to meet you”. Go. Four minutes up. Bounce to the next room. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
When the interviews are done, a bag of tapes is my parting gift. These go to the editor with some notes and in a couple of days a final piece is born. Click on “Video” at the top of this page if you want to see a few of my babies.
Very nice description! I am glad I asked!
I had NO IDEA these were so short! When I see them I assume its going to be fun, relaxed actor banter- usually not using the substitution acting methods of their dead grandmothers. I guess it depends on the film.