If you were given the opportunity to interview an award-winning, versatile, incredibly talented actor, you would probably ask them about their muse or process, not about Labubus, right?
Influencers have taken over the modern film interview space. Where journalists once garnered interesting and relevant information, content creators now ask frankly stupid questions in the hopes of grabbing a clip perfect for social media.
Not all content creators are the problem. Some take the enormous gift the studio has given them and write complex, compelling questions, leading to conversations that inspire more than just clickbait. However, influencers know that they can grow their audiences by making silly clips that more easily go viral.
Acclaimed actor Liam Neeson recently sat down for an interview about his newest movie, The Naked Gun, probably expecting to be asked about his thoughts about adding to such a beloved franchise. Instead, he was shown a picture of a Labubu and asked if he knew what it was. The influencer who was interviewing him got his wish: The video went “viral”.
In another interview going viral for all the wrong reasons, Will Best interviewed Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby about their newest movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. After exchanging niceties, he asked them how it was filming in a specific location. When Kirby and Pascal told him that only the other cast members had filmed there, Best responded,“AI is not the tool I thought it was for writing questions.” Said response outraged journalists, many of whom feel that their profession is being taken over by people with no respect for the craft.
The influencers are not the only ones to blame, though. Studios specifically hire them because they have recognized that we are entering a new era where people see movies because of TikTok clips from their favorite influencers. Content creators bring their built-in audiences to see the movies that they promote, making them much more desirable than trained journalists.
Review embargoes are agreements between studios and a reviewer where the review is not allowed to be released until a certain date and time. Social media review embargoes for films are often lifted before the film critic review embargoes, in order to generate positive buzz before the actual criticism. UK-based influencer Dujon Anderson says that “positive reactions” are often encouraged at screenings. This makes sense, because influencers know that if they review positively, they will be more likely to get invited back.
The weight of this criticism falls most significantly on the movie studios. The influencers that studios choose need to be filtered to find the most qualified and passionate influencers. Asking established directors and actors who clearly put a lot into their film about silly and sometimes offensive questions is just rude and a waste of their time. Therefore, studios should be giving well-informed people a much-needed voice, not creating an environment where rude soundbytes are deemed most valuable.
