Buftex Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 The Ruttles is hysterical! I love how they had an Indian guy playing George. Ron Nasty (Neil Innes) = John Lennon Dirk McQuigley (Eric Idle) = Paul McCartney Stig O'hara (Rickey Fatar) = George Harrison Barry Wom (John Halsey) = Ringo Starr The guy who played Stig is Ricky Fataar... met him a few months ago, here in Austin... he plays drums in Bonnie Raitts' band. In the Rutles sequal (IIRC) Stigs' greatest solo work after the Rutles split up was "Lifting Material From the World", poking fun at the plagiarism suit that was braught against George for "My Sweet Lord"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Where did Larry King get his start? He's on in years but, IMO, he hasn't learned a whole lot about conducting interviews. He's obviously a favorite of the Jet Set, but he can't hold a candle to the likes of David Frost from a bygone era. Ditto Letterman. I pine for Johnny Carson.. As for current interviewers, Whoopie Goldberg gets a lot out of her interviews. Yes, she's very colorful, but pointed -while making her guests feel at ease. IMO, that's the real skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Where did Larry King get his start? He's on in years but, IMO, he hasn't learned a whole lot about conducting interviews. He's obviously a favorite of the Jet Set, but he can't hold a candle to the likes of David Frost from a bygone era. Ditto Letterman. I pine for Johnny Carson.. As for current interviewers, Whoopie Goldberg gets a lot out of her interviews. Yes, she's very colorful, but pointed -while making her guests feel at ease. IMO, that's the real skill. As someone who spends a lot of time interviewing players, I can appreciate what it takes to conduct interviews. Some people can be easy interviews, but others can be a beotch. Getting the interviewee to relax and open up can be the most difficult part of the interview. The questions you ask, how you ask them and in what order you ask them is critical to getting a good interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdelma Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 That $ss*hole Letterman paid his entire staff through the last writers strike. He also was the first to settle with the writers union. STFU before you call someone an $ss*hole without the facts. What a lot of people don't know is that the interview topics are discussed beforehand for most guests. I'm sure McCartney's publicist was completely aware of what the interview would be. If he didn't want to talk about the Beatles he wouldn't have played "Get Back" on the marquis. JMO I have no idea where that came from. My point is you think they would come up with better questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdelma Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 I can't believe Mccartney said to Letterman's staff you can only ask me only about MJ and Beatles stuff. I find that crazy. No mention of his tour and dates, the current band, the new video game and what keeps you going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 As someone who spends a lot of time interviewing players, I can appreciate what it takes to conduct interviews. Some people can be easy interviews, but others can be a beotch. Getting the interviewee to relax and open up can be the most difficult part of the interview. The questions you ask, how you ask them and in what order you ask them is critical to getting a good interview. Ah, preparation! That's what's missing with many of the interviewers today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ah, preparation! That's what's missing with many of the interviewers today. You have to be prepared. You can go in with a script of questions, but what usually happens is that you end up tossing the script due to the answers you are receiving from the interviewee. You need to know the material inside and out so you can change things on the fly. Right now, I create a list of bullet points I want to cover with the player. I check things off as I go through the list. That way I can make sure that I cover everything I want to cover. Most importantly, you need to pay attention to what the interviewee is saying. That generates natural follow-up questions, which helps put the interviewee at ease. Proving to them that you are truly interested in what they are saying and are listening to what they are saying makes them more comfortable. That gets them to open up later in the interview. If it sounds like you are going through a script and not discussing what they are saying, you will get the interviewee disinterested in the interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 The questions you ask, how you ask them and in what order you ask them is critical to getting a good interview. When did either of these shows start to be about interviews? I (as well as the guests, I surmise) always considered them photo ops for upcoming movie releases, concert tours, book releases, etc. The guests go on knowing they'll get puffballs, and the hosts know that nobody gives a sh-- anyway, so lets sell advertising. You want interviews, watch Charlie Rose. You want slaps and tickles, watch Letterman, Kimmel, Carrot Top, and King... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ah, preparation! That's what's missing with many of the interviewers today. As said before, King and Lettermen are entertainers. That is their job. Johnny Carson was fabulous at his job, too, probably the best ever, but he was an entertainer, too, and he never really got all that much more out of a guest, he was just great at getting an entertaining interview. I don't like Larry King one bit but I understand both his job and his approach. First, he is supposed to attract ratings for his show. He never digs in deep so the guests never feel threatened and know they won't be cornered so they agree to go on his show. They like that they get to talk and not get interrogated. He also intentionally doesn't dig into too much research and never has, thinking he would be best able to ask the questions to the guest that his audience wants to know as if they were having a conversation with them. It's worked pretty good over the years for him. Again, I personally don't have all that much use for him and he's not a great "interviewer" at all, but he's made a ridiculous career out of it. If you want to watch an interviewer and get serious information from it, watch Charlie Rose. IMO, he's great at it, easily the best interview show out there on a consistent basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 If you want to watch an interviewer and get serious information from it, watch Charlie Rose. IMO, he's great at it, easily the best interview show out there on a consistent basis. LOL! Got you by a minute... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 LOL! Got you by a minute... Bastages! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 The guys who drive me crazy are the left and right wing guys (Chris Matthews is probably the ultimate) who never let the guests say a freaking thing. Gives me a headache to listen to them. Larry King I always liked as he let the guests talk. Charlie Rose is the guy I think does the best interviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Why don't these morons do some research on their guest and come up with something like, where is tour playing in what cities and how long will it be. That would make sor some riveting television. "Hey Paul, can you give us a run down on all your tour dates?" I think they assume it is 2009 and people know how to operate a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 When did either of these shows start to be about interviews? Never, as far as I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Where did Larry King get his start? He's on in years but, IMO, he hasn't learned a whole lot about conducting interviews. He's obviously a favorite of the Jet Set, but he can't hold a candle to the likes of David Frost from a bygone era. Ditto Letterman. I pine for Johnny Carson.. As for current interviewers, Whoopie Goldberg gets a lot out of her interviews. Yes, she's very colorful, but pointed -while making her guests feel at ease. IMO, that's the real skill. LK started on late night radio. I can't believe Mccartney said to Letterman's staff you can only ask me only about MJ and Beatles stuff. I find that crazy. No mention of his tour and dates, the current band, the new video game and what keeps you going. Probably not. Letterman's staff probably asked his people if Paul would be willing to talk about his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964 when the Beatles first came to America. Letterman's stage is where they played back then. After they played on Ed Sullivan the beginnings of Beatlemania began. Paul's people probably got back and said yeah he'd really like to do an interview about the old times. Letterman's staff then probably asked what subjects would be ok to cover. JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdelma Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 Ah, preparation! That's what's missing with many of the interviewers today. There you go. Like I said. These guys are getting paid what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdelma Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 When did either of these shows start to be about interviews? I (as well as the guests, I surmise) always considered them photo ops for upcoming movie releases, concert tours, book releases, etc. The guests go on knowing they'll get puffballs, and the hosts know that nobody gives a sh-- anyway, so lets sell advertising. You want interviews, watch Charlie Rose. You want slaps and tickles, watch Letterman, Kimmel, Carrot Top, and King... That's part of the process, when the guests rest his butt down maybe they can ask some good questions, not like did you know Lennon or did you know Ringo was ill when he was young. WTF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdelma Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 That would make sor some riveting television. "Hey Paul, can you give us a run down on all your tour dates?" I think they assume it is 2009 and people know how to operate a computer. Is it better to hear the same Beatles stories that he has told over countless times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 No doubt. I am a big McCartney fan too. I guess I just don't think Letterman did that bad an interview. When you just take a look at the songs this man has written, and really think about it, it is pretty phenominal. If I didn't know better, I might call foul, and think he had to have been using songwriting enhancning steroids in the Hall Of Fame portion of his career. I am almost certain, McCartney has input into what kinds of questions he wil answer. If he didn't want to talk about the Beatles, he wouldn't have. Just as Letterman would have never asked him about Michael Jackson, if McCartney had said it was off limits. I didn't mean to insult him, and I am not one of thos who holds the notion that Lennon was the true talent, while McCartney was a hack...but I have sensed a number of times over the years, since Lennon died, that Paul feels a little overshadowed by the cannonized Lennon. His attempt to have songwriting credits changed to McCartney-Lennon, for the songs we all know he wrote, was kind of embarassing. He has every right to be proud of his body of work (though I am not a big fan of most of his stuff after the early 80's), all props to him. I don't, however, put his post-fab Beatles material in the same class as his fab-Beatles material. I don't even think that is becasue the Beatles made him that much better a talent, as much as it is that is the way things go. Dylan has written some good stuff in the last 40 years, but it isn't in the same class as what he did 41-50 years ago. On the same topic, Larry King had McCarteny, Ringo, Yoko and George Harrison's widow on his show, a few years back, when "LOVE" was making its run in Vegas. Now that was a bad interiview. Twice, King referred to Ringo as George...Ringo had a great retort, but I can't remember what it was. I thought that the Letterman interview was pretty good all in all. You are absolutely right about Larry King's interview of Paul, Ringo, Yoko, and George's wife. It may have been the worst he ever has been (and he has been pretty bad - although he gets pretty good guests). In addition to calling Ringo George, he kept on interrupting Paul and George when they were telling some great stories. As an aside, I will never forget when Larry King asked Pamela Anderson whether she had ever had plastic surgery (and he was serious when he asked). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 LK started on late night radio. Probably not. Letterman's staff probably asked his people if Paul would be willing to talk about his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964 when the Beatles first came to America. Letterman's stage is where they played back then. After they played on Ed Sullivan the beginnings of Beatlemania began. Paul's people probably got back and said yeah he'd really like to do an interview about the old times. Letterman's staff then probably asked what subjects would be ok to cover. JMO Don't the late show staff's typically do some sort of pre-interview. That is my understanding. I think that you are correct. Also, it makes perfect sense to ask Paul about being back in the Ed Sullivan Theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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