{"id":1635139,"date":"2022-09-07T09:09:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T13:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1635139"},"modified":"2022-09-07T09:09:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T13:09:10","slug":"critic-confessions-are-stars-fed-up-with-press-junkets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/critic-confessions-are-stars-fed-up-with-press-junkets\/","title":{"rendered":"Critic Confessions: Are Stars Fed Up With Press Junkets?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcritic-confessions-are-stars-fed-up-with-press-junkets%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1635139&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><strong>I\u2019ll never forget my first press junket.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not only did I interrupt \u201cPerfect Storm\u201d star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/george-clooney-incredible-shrinking-movie-star\/\">George Clooney<\/a> as he ducked into his trailer (he couldn\u2019t have been nicer about my rude behavior), but it showed me a new side to Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>The mass celebrity interview, given a rare closeup in the 2001 rom-com \u201cAmerica\u2019s Sweethearts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Movie junkets bring dozens, and dozens, of journalists together so they can bombard the stars with questions in a roundtable format. It\u2019s a dizzying process, one that makes you feel bad for the stars in question.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, they\u2019re paid handsomely for their work, but this must be grueling.<\/p>\n<p>So when a star addressed the assembled reporters on the \u201cPerfect Storm\u201d junket with tell-tale exhaustion I wasn\u2019t surprised. Minutes later, Mark Wahlberg joined the fray, and he brought more energy than an infomercial pitchman.<\/p>\n<p>Some actors, I learned, lean into the experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/7-great-movies-dads-stream\/\">CRITIC CONFESSIONS: 7 MOVIES DADS SHOULD STREAM ASAP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My one-on-one chat with Dwayne Johnson during his \u201cWalking Tall\u201d press push, for example, found him speaking to a dozen reporters back-to-back-to-back. I was his last interview of the day and, like Wahlberg, he had Black Adam-level energy.<\/p>\n<p>Impressive.<\/p>\n<p>These memories flooded back given recent movie star headlines. Earlier this summer, Jonah Hill announced he would<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2022\/film\/news\/jonah-hill-promote-films-mental-health-anxiety-attacks-1235344013\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> no longer take part in press interviews<\/a> to promote his work. The process, he explained, did a number on his mental health.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI usually cringe at letters or statements like this but I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I won\u2019t lose my job while working on my anxiety. With this letter and with \u2018Stutz,\u2019 I\u2019m hoping to make it more normal for people to talk and act on this stuff. So they can take steps towards feeling better and so that the people in their lives might understand their issues more clearly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hmm.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m glad western culture is speaking more openly about mental health in recent years, and Hill may have a very good reason for his extended absence. Still, the decision sounded \u2026 odd. Hill wouldn\u2019t be facing any rigorous questions from the press, most likely.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s not a GOP politician.<\/p>\n<p>Most entertainment journalists would treat the affable Hill well. How is the press process more strenuous than other aspects of his A-list life?<\/p>\n<p>Now, two key players behind \u201cDon\u2019t Worry Darling\u201d are dismissing the press part of their obligations.<\/p>\n<p>Director Olivia Wilde\u2019s film, the subject of intense gossip for weeks, stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine.<\/p>\n<p>Rising star <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2022\/09\/05\/florence-pugh-arrives-in-venice-amid-dont-worry-darling-drama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pugh ducked the film\u2019s press junket<\/a>, claiming previous commitments (namely, she\u2019s shooting the \u201cDune\u201d sequel). Yet she arrived in time for the less strenuous red-carpet walk, a glamorous affair offering plenty of adulation.<\/p>\n<p>Co-star Chris Pine did as instructed, appearing dutifully to answer queries for promotional purposes. The \u201cStar Trek\u201d veteran wasn\u2019t exactly engaged during the experience, though. His reactions, dubbed by many as being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/tvshowbiz\/article-11183429\/Chris-Pine-goes-viral-zoning-Dont-Worry-Darling-press-conference.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201czoned out,\u201d<\/a> led to a crush of viral reactions.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">you can almost see the screams catching in his throat <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AXtiPAd4zx\">pic.twitter.com\/AXtiPAd4zx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 anna (@romansgerri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/romansgerri\/status\/1566792386772180993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 5, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Old school stars know, or at least knew the routine. Movies need every ounce of publicity they can muster. It\u2019s why actors agree to the arduous interview routine. They put on a game face, answer questions both insightful and dumb, and move on to the next journalist.<\/p>\n<p>Is this part of the acting agenda suddenly in doubt? If so, the timing is unfortunate for Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>Movies roared back in a big way following the pandemic, notably due to unwoke smashes like \u201cSpider-Man: No Way Home\u201d and \u201cTop Gun: Maverick.\u201d The industry is still struggling. Consider how those two films <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/weekend\/2022W35\/occasion\/us_laborday_weekend\/?ref_=bo_wey_table_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">topped the box office charts<\/a>, again, over the weekend over new fare.<\/p>\n<p>The competition for eyeballs has never been more fierce. The streaming landscape teems with fresh product, often on par with the best of Hollywood filmmaking. Video games and YouTube content keep many teens at home or, at the least, away from their local theaters.<\/p>\n<p>Publicity has never been more vital to a film\u2019s success or failure. Some stars aren\u2019t acting that way of late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ll never forget my first press junket. Not only did I interrupt \u201cPerfect Storm\u201d star George Clooney as he ducked into his trailer (he couldn\u2019t have been nicer about my<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1635141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1635139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1635139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1635141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1635139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1635139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1635139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}