Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Spotlight: Entertainment Reporting

I had the pleasure of speaking with Breanne Heldman, Senior Editor at NextMovie.com and Film.com, about her role there and the real facts of what it's like working in entertainment reporting.  Read on to learn about the glamorous and not-so-glamorous ins and outs of her work, the benefits of employment with a large corporation, and how she turned a college extracurricular activity and absurd love of The CW into a dream job.



ES: Hi Breanne!  Why don’t you start out telling me your position and company and a little bit about what you do.

BH: Sure – my title is Senior Editor at NextMovie.com and Film.com, and we are part of MTV Networks.  It is very confusing – I fully understand that – because obviously there is MTV.com, and it covers a wide range of pop culture including movies.  They have specific movie blogs on MTV.com.  We do work with those guys.  It is meant to be a complementary relationship.  We try really hard not to tread on their feet.  And right now we’re in a really happy place working with them, so it’s all hunky dory.

ES: Was NextMovie its own thing before MTV bought it?  Did it predate MTV?  Or is it something they created as another site?

BH: Great question.  It’s actually something they created.  They were kind of looking at the movie space.  There’s certainly lots of advertising to be done within movies.  I think there’s research that in all of pop culture, movie studios spend the most on advertising.  So they were looking for more openings for that.  I’m sure that was part of it.  Paramount put out a movie called “Next” a couple years ago.  It starred Jessica Biel and Nicholas Cage.  So, for that movie, Viacom owned the URL “NextMovie.com.”

ES: Oh, okay.

BH: So, I think that it was a combination of, “we have this URL, it’s just sitting there, it has some girth to it, so let’s make something of it.”

ES: Right, that makes sense.

BH: So, my former boss, Scott Robson, was kind of hired to turn it from nothing to something.  Then about 4-6 months ago, we acquired Film.com, which was part of Real Networks– it was kind of lingering and there was not a whole lot being updated on it.  So we’re in the process of simultaneously revitalizing Film.com.

ES: So you guys have different content on Film.com vs. NextMovie vs. MTV, but you might be promoting the same movie in different ways across the different properties…

BH: Exactly.  So the way we kind of think of it is that NextMovie is kind of the MTV audience – it’s a little younger, teens and twenties.  A little more “popcorn movies”, more Twilight/Hunger Games stuff.  You’re going to find a lot more of that on NextMovie, whereas Film.com is geared a little older, more towards your film snobs for lack of a better term.  But I think most film snobs consider themselves film snobs.

ES: Right, it’s not a derogatory term.

BH: So you’re going to find a little more looking back on a wider array of movies, and a lot more coverage of indie movies there.

ES: So, NextMovie gets more of the blockbuster younger stars, and they get maybe the more mature stars.  Do they interview current celebrities when they’re promoting their movies and do all the same things you do, just with a different selection of films?

BH: Exactly.  For example, for the movie “Won’t Back Down”, which we won’t talk about whether that was any good or not, we had interviews with Maggie Gyllenhall and Viola Davis.  Maggie Gyllenhall went on NextMovie – she’s younger, she’s hipper – and Viola Davis – older, Oscar winner – went on Film.
The beauty of doing both sites is that it’s a wider range of ideas and possibility.

ES: Does your job involve – I know you get to do some of the fun interviews – does it also involve working with publicists to determine what interview will run where, developing that whole side of it?

BH: Well, it’s determining that within our team of three editors and then going to publicists and saying, “we would like to do this for this site and this for that site.  Is that all right?”  And most of the time it is.  The other beauty of running two sites is the ease of cross-promoting is really nice.  And on the larger scale, being part of the MTV network certainly opens big doors for cross-promotion.

ES: This is embarrassing to admit to you, but I have not watched MTV for so long because I’m so far out of the demographic that they’re targeting.  So how do they promote films?  Is it mainly online or do they have actual shows people would go on live?  When we were younger, you’d go on TRL to do live promotion.  What do they have now?

BH: There is a little but there’s not a whole lot, so really a lot of it lives online.
ES: So, talk a little bit about your career path, because I remember when you were a reporter in New York doing some fun feature stories but I don’t know the full story and what’s happened since then.

BH: Well, I actually started in PR and was lucky enough to kind of do a little networking through working with reporters on the other side, and also writing press releases that got put into stories and run with other people’s bylines, which was always a little interesting, because the line between a press release and an article is not clear, and it’s really ridiculous that someone else is getting to put their name on your work.  

So I was lucky enough to turn some of that into a job at the NY Daily News and stayed there on staff for three years and then freelancing for three years.  And that turned into a job as senior writer for E!online.  And I was there for about a year and half when I got a call from Scott Robson, who was looking to staff up NextMovie.com and the rest is history.

ES: So, what is the glamorous side of working with celebrity clients and what is the not-so-glamorous side?

BH: Well, certainly the glamorous side is meeting celebrities, and I’ve always said I’ll only do this so long as it excites me and I’ve met far too many people who do this job or something similar who don’t get excited about celebrities anymore, who are completely jaded and have lost the sense of excitement about it.  I still get nervous for every interview.  

I’ve found that I can meet my favorite celebrities and professional and whatever it is I need to be, and then when I walk away, when I turn into the hallway, I am just as giddy and excited as anyone else would be.  And not dissimilarly, if I see “celeb in the wild”, meaning just on the street or out at a restaurant, I’m just as excited as the person next to me.

ES: How do you find that they react?  Do they play it cool, or do they get excited that someone is excited to meet them?  What’s your experience?

BH: I think it’s an interesting mix.  I find that the celebrities that I end up getting most giddy and excited about and I actually show it to them end up being the least A-list of the celebrities that I’m talking to.  For example, yesterday I interviewed Britt Robertson.  She’s in this tiny little movie called “The First Time” which I really loved, but she’s best known for being on the CW’s “The Secret Circle”. 

So, I watched her in “The Secret Circle” and I watched her on “Life Unexpected” which was her series before that, but I really liked her in this movie and I think she’s a rising star and one to watch, which was the point of my interview. 

It was definitely one of those where I was really excited going in and I was kind of gushing about how much I enjoyed this movie and how excited I was to talk to her.  And when it’s stars like that, they’re just excited that you have any semblance of knowing who they are.

ES: Right, they’re not getting recognized all the time and like, hounded and followed around or anything.

BH: I’ve had the experience at fashion week where I’ve gone up to talk to a star who none of the other reporters who were there watched the show, and so they didn’t know who this guy was, and sometimes they get so excited that you know who they are.

ES: I can really imagine being in their position and just being on the cusp of getting recognized and how that would be really exciting, although I can see how, down the road, it could just get overwhelming and annoying.  But in the beginning, I’m sure it’s really exciting.

It’s the benefit of watching The CW and ABC Family.

BH: I’m still like a 16 year old at heart, and even that’s a push.

ES: I am when it comes to ABC Family shows, like Make It or Break It.

BH: Oh, I love the ABC Family shows, and that’s another one where sometimes I’m the only one who recognizes the celebrities.

ES: Have you done anyone from Make It or Break It? Or Bunheads?

BH: When I was at E!, I was covering more TV stuff, so I did talk to Candice Cameron and I talked to the woman who played Payson’s mom.  They were awesome, and they definitely told me stuff they weren’t supposed to tell me, which was awesome!  But yeah, I love the TV stars.  It’s really fun to talk to them.

ES: Right, I guess now you wouldn’t be talking to TV stars so I shouldn’t have even asked.

BH: No, I loved the heck out of that show.  There are so many  similarities between figure skating, which I used to do, and gymnastics, so I really loved it.

ES: That’s right – you used to teach figure skating too when I still lived in New York, but I guess you don’t do that anymore.

BH: No, I don’t have time.  When you’re pulling days where it’s after 9 and you’re still at the office…

ES: So is it typical for you to be there so late?

BH: No, it’s not, and also the beauty of working in a big company like Viacom is that there are really nice benefits like twice a week boot camp and twice a week Zumba, so I did Zumba from 7-8 and came back to my desk to finish something.

ES: Is it funny working out with people you work with?

BH: It’s weirder working out in a conference room.  For the Zumba class, there’s this whole window wall and it’s right near an elevator bank, so as people are leaving, they’re watching you and that’s weird.  The beauty is that it’s on a Nickelodeon floor and I work with those guys so rarely that it’s really just my close colleagues who are all doing it together, but beyond that I don’t know anyone else.

ES: So, what do you do when you’re interviewing a celebrity and they’re kind of dry, or they’re exhausted and they’re answering the same questions for the billionth time?

BH: If it is over the phone, I want to bang my head against the desk.  But sometimes there’s just nothing you can do.  And by the way, often, those people are the much more established stars who are doing it, and they know better.  So it’s annoying.  But you know, what can you do?  You’re going to have a shorter piece.  The beauty of working on the web is that we’ll give our writers a word count, but eh, they don’t have to follow it.

ES: When you say, “we’ll give our writers a word count”, is that because you’re doing the interviews but not writing the final piece, or what?

BH: No, we are three people who are running two websites and we’re turning out 10-15 posts a day on each site, as well as maintaining a lot of elements you kind of don’t think about when you’re looking at a website.

ES: Right, I know it’s a ton of work.

BH: So when you look at something like a “coming soon” page that lists what movies are coming out over the next two months, someone has to maintain that.  So, a lot of our stories are written by freelancers – they’re pitched, or a news story is just assigned on the spot. 

A lot of what my day to day is isn’t doing the interviews.  I really only do them when I want to, because it’s not worth it.  It’s after 9 and I’m still at the office to finish up a story, but I’m here because I wanted to do this story.  Anyone else, I’m happy to give it to our freelancers.  It’s not worth my quality of life.  So I pick and choose, and I often choose people that, like, no one else knows who they are.

ES: Just your personal favorites.

BH: Yeah, so a lot of my day to day is conceptualizing stories, assigning them, getting them back, and editing them and then building the story itself.

ES: What have been some of your favorite stories that you’ve done recently?

BH: Well, I’ve got to tell you, this article is really adorable.  She’s really funny, and it was probably one of my favorites of recent time.  One of the things that’s fun is to see someone turn your idea into a good story.  Back in April, Titanic came out in 3D and I went out with a camera crew to the Staten Island Ferry and tried to get people to talk to me about Titanic, and ultimately it resulted in a lot of people singing for me, which was really funny.  Getting strangers to sing for you is really awesome.

ES: So did you put together a video piece from that?

BH: That is a video piece.  One of my favorite things about this job, as opposed to my previous jobs, is that I get to do some on-camera work, and I’ve never done that before and I’m not going to say I’m an expert by any means.  But I’m enjoying it; I feel like I learn something  from every time, and hopefully improve.

ES: It’s amazing that you’re developing a professional reel from it too because I’m sure you have the technical expertise of Viacom with excellent production behind you.  Good Cameras, microphones, etc. vs. what you might have if you worked at some random other website.

BH: Exactly, and MTV.com produces a lot of video.  They have a huge video initiative.  So a lot of times, I’ll go on one of the videos they’re doing and be an “expert opinion” talking.

ES: That’s so great.  I love that part of your job.

BH: It is fun.  It’s interesting when my parents try to explain my job because it sounds so silly but they know that you have to pay your dues, and they know that I love what I’m doing.  So they’ll tell people, “watch my daughter in this video where she’s talking about ‘Twilight’ and knows far too much about it.”

ES: Do you get screeners of the movies, or how do you get to see the movies before they come out?

BH: For the most part, there are press screenings, so it’s just a matter of going to an advance screening, and often they are in a bunch of small screening rooms throughout the city, and then sometimes it’s these big all-media screenings at the big theaters.  Very rarely is it a matter of them sending me a screener. 

The bigger the movie, the harder to get a screening unless it’s a movie that the studio really feels they’ve got a hit on their hands, but they know they need as much buzz as possible because it’s a hard sell.  So, like, for “Looper”, they did so many press screenings for that movie and I think it’s because they were worried that people really had no concept of what this movie was or if it was going to be any good, so they needed to have a lot of reporters going to see it and talking about how good it was.

ES: I feel like when I was younger, there were so many movies I wanted to see, but now the marketplace is so crowded and they just don’t make many movies for adults anymore.  There’s hardly ever anything I feel is made for me, not teenagers or kids.  Do you know what I mean?

BH: Absolutely.  I think, interestingly, movies targeted at teenagers are also targeted at adults.  But maybe that’s just me, a 33 year old adult who still likes the teenager movies.  I don’t disagree with you, there is a void there.  There aren’t a lot of movies for adults that aren’t totally over-the-top Oscar bait.

ES: Right.  I don’t know if it’s just that my perspective has changed, or it’s just my stage of life.  They probably realize that families with young kids just don’t go to the movies, so from the studios’ point of view, not worth it.

BH: No, when they’re going, they’re going to see “Hotel Transylvania”.

ES: Which actually looked really good, I thought.

BH: Go see “Frankenweenie” instead.

ES: I don’t know if I’ll be seeing either of them, but I guess that’s my point.  Why bother making something for people like me?  Actually, I love when they release things On Demand now.  I saw “Arbitrage” – did you see that one?

BH: Yes – I watched it On Demand, actually.  That’s a really nice technological change.

ES: Do you find that more and more movies are doing that?  I actually don’t know how common that is.

BH: Yes – I think more and more movies are doing it, especially smaller movies like that.  “Arbitrage” hit On Demand right around when the movie came out in theaters, and part of the beauty of that too is that, when you’ve got a movie like “Arbitrage” and it’s only being released in a handful of theaters, in a handful of cities, On Demand is throughout the whole country.  So if it’s not out in Abilene, TX, they might be able to watch it On Demand.

ES: And maybe it’s the kind of movie that people aren’t likely to buy later on DVD, so they can at least capture people’s interest while the promotional marketing is fresh rather than doing a later wave of marketing later for the DVD release.

BH: Right, and hopefully it’ll stay there as Richard Gere garners more and more critical praise and we move towards awards season.

ES: Is there anything else you want to share before we wrap things up?

BH: I think one of the things, when I look at my career, that I think is really cool, is that when I graduated college, in college I was the editor in chief of our entertainment magazine.  I got to fly to L.A. and to New York for press junkets because they did college junkets back then, and I graduated and thought, I’m never going to get to do these things again because there are so many people who want these jobs and I’m not that great, and whatever.  

I got a degree in Public Relations, I got the job in Public Relations, not because that was easier necessarily but there were a lot more of those jobs.  And I couldn’t be happier that I proved myself wrong.

ES: So who paid for those junkets to L.A. and New  York for that college magazine?

BH: Studios.

ES: So they don’t do that anymore?

BH: I have no idea – I think because the internet and blogs are such a bigger deal and so much different than when I was in college, they’re spending the money more on bloggers than on college students.  There are just so many more outlets than there were. 

ES: Right – and just to follow up on that, how do you feel like you break through the clutter?  The internet is so cluttered in any field, let alone entertainment, which is huge…  How do you get to your audience and get them interested?  I guess the affiliation with MTV is important, and getting referrals from their site.

BH: Absolutely, and I think we pride ourselves on having a good sense of humor, and that really inspires us and moves us forward.  We do feel that the work that is on NextMovie is very different than what’s on other sites.  And if you’re a big movie fan, or you’re only a mild movie fan, but you’re interested in a movie, you’re going to find something on NextMovie.com that’s going to tickle your funny bone.  Or there’s going to be really sexy pictures, because who doesn’t like sexy pictures?

ES: Right, one or the other – funny or sexy.

BH: To give you an example, in honor of the movie “The First Time” that comes out this week, or “The Sessions” , we are doing the twelve most awkward sex scenes in movies.  Most other places wouldn’t really go there.  So we’re always doing fun lists, trying to take it to that next ridiculous level.  

We asked fifty celebrities what their porn names were and turned that into a feature.  And we’re talking major A-listers – Katie Holmes – telling us what their porn names are.  We’re using “first pet” and “street you grew up on.”

ES: I’ll have to check that one out.  This has been wonderful.

BH: Well, if you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to call.

ES: I’m sure you have those moments sometimes as a reporter, that you wish you could call back to ask something you forgot or thought of later.

BH: That’s the worst.  Most of the time, you have to just suck it up.  More often than not, there’s the reverse.   The, “I have to ask this question or I’m not doing my job, but I know you’re not going to answer it.”

I interviewed Leighton Meester for her movie, “The Oranges”, like three days after Blake Lively got married.  And often the publicist will tell you, “Don’t ask her this question,” because they know you’re going to, but oddly they didn’t and then had three publicists still sitting in the room, which was annoying.  Because everyone’s asking [about the wedding.] 

So, I’m sitting there – you save the hard questions for the end – and I say, “I’m not doing my job if I don’t ask you – what are you sending Blake as a wedding gift?”  And immediately the publicists are all, “Aah, don’t ask her that question!”  All right, no problem, but it makes for an awkward moment that could be avoided.  I find asking the question you know you shouldn’t ask but you kind of have to much more troubling than going to write it and going, “oh, shoot, I didn’t ask that question.”

ES: Well, thank you so much Breanne.  Get home soon – don’t work too late!

BH: Thanks!

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