We live in an era where some publications see what works for others and say “I can do this.” It doesn’t always work and it has become a mess when it comes to who should and should not ask questions on red carpets.
The game of red carpet journalism is complicated. It is a bit lighter than other aspects of the press circuit but for some projects, “fun” questions don’t necessarily work. The balance of what to ask and what not to ask has always been a struggle but some navigate it easier than others. The issue we are currently facing is people asking questions about “daddyism” who don’t know when it is appropriate.
It isn’t a new thing, the line of questioning has become a thing and in some instances, it is fun. One of my favorite examples of it working is watching ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan’s interviews with Pedro Pascal when the two joke back and forth about it. Why? They have a mutual respect for each other and it is based on an online history with Pascal.
But because of the virality of something like that, the trend of “daddy” questions have left the online bubble they should have stayed in. Especially since Variety‘s Marc Malkin decided to ask Chase Infiniti, the young star of One Battle After Another, a question about calling co-star Leonardo DiCaprio daddy in the Paul Thomas Anderson film. Why? He…literally plays her father.
The online chatter about the question was not positive, to say the least, and Variety ultimately took it down. Luckily, the internet’s forever.
Chasing a viral moment is never really the way to go about these things. Anytime I’ve gone “viral” for an interview, it was because I was genuine in my asking a question. Not this.
It is so exhausting
I really don’t understand why this is still a thing. We’ve stopped, for the most part, the “daddy” conversation. So whatever possessed this line of questioning for Malkin, I don’t know. But he is often at the “scene of the crime” with these kinds of interviews. Which falls back into the topic of virality and what is and isn’t going to hit online.
Focusing your journalistic outlook on a carpet on what would work on social media doesn’t really help anyone. Especially with a movie like One Battle After Another. The balance between a jokey kind of question vs. one that will go viral for the wrong reasons is a tricky rope to walk. Sometimes, you ask something and it just doesn’t work. That’s fine. But why post it online?
Did those in charge watch that video and say “Okay, that’s great”? Because it wasn’t and you can see that Infiniti doesn’t really know how to respond. That’s the last thing you should want in an interview clip. So the entire situation is just a mess and hopefully seeing the backlash to the question will change carpets moving forward. I doubt it, but we can hope.
(featured image: Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
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