I like interviews with creatives as a way to learn more about their process and to understand better how a work came to be. Interviewing someone can be a chance to learn from someone I admire how he sees the world and how he goes about bringing his ideas to fruition.
When I interviewed Sofia Coppola and she told me she’d never seen Caddyshack, I was stunned, but I didn’t make a big deal about it at the time; she was nice and I didn’t want to embarass her. [I hope you’ve seen it by now, Sofia. I’ll ask you about it again.]
Of course, from the interviewee’s standpoint, they have to do a million of these things, and they often just want the work to stand on its own. Then, too, there’s the invasive cult sycophancy aspect of divulging every nook and cranny of your soul.
Anyway, it all comes to mind as I read the slightly-too-meta account by Douglas Coupland–who hates interviews and interviewing–of traveling to Rome to interview Morrissey–who hates interviews and being interviewed.
Papal attraction [guardian/observer via tmn]