Some things happened this morning that impelled me to share exactly why I interview guest stars, and how the process works. Just over a year ago, I went to my very first Supernatural convention in Vancouver. Before that time, I had “liked” the cast, and loved the show. When I was able to interact with Jared, Jensen, Misha, Mark and everyone else through photo ops and autographs, I fell in love – with the human beings these people were, and the great work that they do.
A bit of a background on me: For the past four or so years, I’ve been conducting interviews for Horse Canada, an equestrian magazine, and for almost two years now have had my own blog, Star-Crossed Horses, where I interview horsey people in the film industry.
At that time I came across Movie TV Tech Geeks. (Thanks to Lynn, aka FangasmSPN.) I asked if I could start doing interviews with the Supernatural cast; at the beginning, I had high hopes of getting the main cast as soon as possible – as of right now, I haven’t been able to interview Jared, Jensen or Misha, not for lack of trying.
Here’s how the interviewing process works.
I e-mail an actor’s publicist or agent, and ask if the actor would be interested in an interview with my publication; essentially “pitching” why the actor should do the interview (page views, traffic, my qualifications, etc.). That interview is either done via phone or via e-mail, depending on the actor’s preference.
One of four things happen here:
1) I get a response, saying yes;
2) I get a response, saying no;
3) I get no response at all;
4) I get a response from the CW or WB publicist, which is always a ‘no’ (this happens whenever my request is forwarded by the actor’s publicist to the show’s publicist).
Y’see, I don’t work for a glossy magazine like EW (although we appreciate their support!). I don’t work for a big name television show … in fact, technically, I volunteer and don’t work – as I don’t get paid.
Why do I invest so much time, you ask? Simple: I love the show. I want it to succeed. I want the actors who are on it to have skyrocketing careers – and not just the main cast, either.
So nine times out of ten when the person I’m asking to interview is a guest star, I get a yes. There are odd times when it’s a not right now; I want to wait until my character has had time to develop more (I’ll let you guess on which one that is). But as for the main cast? I have literally been seeking the main cast for over a year now. But that’s okay. Patience is a virtue – I’m confident I will eventually be able to interview them.
Back to the guest stars. I choose to interview them not because I can’t get anyone else – I choose to interview them because although Jared, Jensen, and Misha are the glue that holds the show together, these people are the spices that make the recipe interesting. (And yes, I know I’m mixing metaphors, but hey, I’m a writer, I’m allowed.)
Working on Supernatural can be a kick-off to an actor’s career. I like to help people – and if I can further someone’s career by highlighting the performance they’ve given on my show? I’m all in, plus many times the guest stars have the best behind the scenes stories that the main actors are under contract not to talk about.
So, there you go. A bit of behind the scenes of being a journalist. Any questions, feel free to ask.
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