You’ve heard the phrase “he had a face made for radio”?
Perhaps Deborah Solomon, who writes a weekly interview column for the “New York Times Magazine”, has a personality made for print.
Solomon interviewed Steve Martin at the 92nd Street Y in New York City on Monday night during a stop on the promotional tour for his new novel An Object of Beauty.
Afterward, the 92nd Street Y sent an email apology to all attendees along with a $50 ticket refund. The email said, “We planned for a more comprehensive discussion and we, too, were disappointed with the evening.”
Steve’s new work of fiction takes place in the art world, and Solomon spent the bulk of the interview talking to him about just that. Art. And specific artists.
Steve is an avid art collector, and Solomon writes art criticism, so the two of them were having a bang up good time. The problem? The 900 people in attendance were not.
Solomon said the Y didn’t tell her what they wanted from the interview. But any good facilitator is going to know her audience and gear her questions to their interests and motivations.
Solomon’s mistake? She simply had the conversation with Steve that interested her.
Solomon’s reaction to the Y’s email? “I think the Y, which is supposedly a champion of the arts, has behaved very crassly and is reinforcing the most philistine aspects of a culture that values celebrity and award shows over art.”
Maybe. Or maybe they are respecting their audience, who buys memberships to their yearly lecture series, and will be there long after Solomon is gone.
Point of interest — when I saw Steve Martin on the 92nd Street Y calendar, I was at first anxious to attend. But when I noted that Deborah Solomon was conducting the interview, I decided to skip it.
I saw the two appear together at the Times Center a couple of years ago. Her interview there angered the audience in a very similar fashion.
Lesson learned.
Among friends
Yeah, so this is who I hung out with last night.
Director David Cronenberg. Robert Pattinson. And David Carr from the New York Times.
Your average Wednesday evening.
I bought tickets to the event months ago…before Kristen Stewart happened. It was billed as “A Conversation about Cosmopolis,” which opens in select cities on Friday.
I worried the interview would be hijacked by the scandal. But when the three sat down in The Times Center theatre in Times Square, it was Cosmopolis from beginning to end. Lots of clips. Lots of conversation. Both surprisingly funny.
There was one moment when interviewer David Carr tried to use the Stewart/Pattinson scandal to draw a parallel, and the audience literally began to boo and hiss. Shouts of “Next question” and “Move along” filled the room.
Carr turned to the crowd and said, “I wasn’t going there,” to which someone loudly replied:
“Then don’t.”
Robert was in good hands.
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Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies
Tagged celebrities, commentary, conversation, Cosmopolis movie, David Carr, David Cronenberg, entertainment, Humor, interview, Kristen Stewart, life, movie clips, movie premiere, Movies, New York City, New York Times, Robert Pattinson, scandal, The Times Center, Times Square