Maybe Sally Field was having a bad night. Maybe, after forty-plus years of dumb questions from reporters, her tolerance for us press types is low. But for the entire five minutes that our lives intersected at Sunday's ABC all-star party, I felt like I wanted to jump off the terrace we were on and lie in a fetal position next to the koi pond in the adjacent Japanese garden.It's not that Field (pictured at the party with ABC president Steve McPherson) didn't answer my questions. It's just that for every question I asked, the Brothers & Sisters star and two-time Oscar winner gave me this look that said, "Can't you think of anything better?" and initially gave me one-word responses (I'm usually good at asking open-ended questions, but after a Sierra Nevada or two those more disciplined journalistic thoughts go out the window). She finally elaborated on those responses, but in a way that made me feel like I was encroaching on her time. Considering she was at an event where the majority of the attendees were reporters, that notion seemed a little strange.
Let me back up a bit and talk about our first encounter, in the main party area about a half-hour prior to my interview. I was patiently waiting, with my recorder out, to talk to her while she spoke to another reporter (I wish that reporter luck with trying to hear anything from that recording; it was noisy in there). That's how it goes: the celeb comes to the event, and reporters take their turns to attempt to interview them over the din. I even caught her glancing at me. But when she was done with the other reporter, she turned heel and walked away, leaving me to let out a loud groan and say, "Why the hell am I standing here?"
After mingling some more, I caught up to her on the terrace. I politely asked if she minded a couple of questions, and she said no. But what transpired after that made me realize why she's such a good actress: she's five-foot-nothing and like a hundred pounds, but she scared the crap out of me.
Here is the entire transcript. Again, she answered my questions, which I appreciate. But this doesn't even come close the conveying the daggers she was shooting at me the whole time we spoke:
Me: So this is the first time you've done a regular series since The Flying Nun. How does it feel to get back into that grind?
Sally: Great.
Me: Is the process of making a series different now than it was forty years ago?
Sally: Very different. Of course. It's very different.
Me: I mean, in what way?
Sally: How long have you got? They're very different. First of all the shows I did (back then) were situation comedies filmed for a half-hour show. So they were very different. This is an hour show with (uninteligible). So it's not just drama, it's drama and comedy. So it's very different. The hours are different. It's a different world.
Me: You were cast after the pilot. So was this a case of your agent calling you and saying, "They're replacing the mother character. They need you now," or did you have more time than that? Did it happen really suddenly for you?
Sally: Relatively suddenly. (Jon) Robin Baitz (the creator) called me asked would I at least consider looking at what they had and hearing what they wanted to do. So I looked at the pilot that they had. I love Robin Baitz, just loved his work. I said yeah, I'd hear what you have to say. I came in to talk to (somewhat uninteligible... I think she said "Robin and Ken," referring to Baitz and director Ken Olin), who are extraordinary. And I was so excited about what they wanted to do. So I said OK.
Me: So even though it was a commitment, you had no problems making the leap of faith?
Sally: Well, life is sort of a leap of faith.
Me: Right.
Sally: The best things happen because of a leap of faith.
Me: Did you use the ER experience to help you ease back into the routine?
Sally: (incredulously) No. The ER experience was a long time ago.
Me: True. Well, I mean...
Sally: It was only six episodes, it was a very confined arc. (unintelligible) It was very contained.
Me: I always liked the role you played in ER, as Abby's mom. Did you do anything to prepare for the role? Did you study manic-depressives?
Sally: Of course I did. I went and studied... I did a lot of research that they set up for me here in (unintelligibnle) helping illuminate what an extraordinary disaster the (uninteligible) is, and to illuminate the underlying mental health (issues) altogether. So they set up extraordinary work i could do to help spell it out. I worked with the doctors at UCLA for about a month. I became... I interviewed and became... constant interviewing with about six patients in various stages of manic-depressive behavior. So I kept in touch with their process in all these various times in their lives, and (executive producer) John Wells wanted it to be as authentic as possible, so all the information I gathered and relayed was incorporated into the role.
Me: That's why...
Sally: That's why it was as authentic as it was.
Me: I forgot, did you get an Emmy or a nomination for that?
Sally: I got an Emmy.
Me: Where is that in relation to your Oscars (in your house)? Is it kind of in the same spot?
Sally: (gave me that look again) It's on a bookshelf (unintelligible). But the work is (unintelligible). The fact that I had the opportunity to play that, I thoroughly (unintelligible... she was proud of the role).
Me: It's good that there are now meaty roles like that on TV, even more than say ten years ago. And a lot of movie stars have made the leap to TV. Is it because TV has the meatier roles these days? How have you been seeing that?
Sally: (stares at me)
Me: There are a lot of movie stars on TV right now. What I'm saying is: are you seeing meatier roles on TV than in the movies these days?
Sally: Uh... no. I think it depends on the person, it depends on the project. I think what's happening to television is that it's becoming incredibly creative. It had to be because it had to compete with cable, and they stepped up to the plate. So actors... most actors... real actors will go where the role is. (unintelligible) Whatever, you go where the work is. If it's a good character, it doesn't matter whether it's on film it's on stage, you go where it is.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-16-2007 @ 9:36PM
Curt said...
Seems to me she just didn't like you...
don't take it too badly, you're just another press and an internet press at that. And the questions with "that look" she gave you, eh, I'd probably be in the same mindset.
Who cares about her awards, and where she keeps 'em. It's an honor to be recognized, but it's not why actors do what they do... at least the good ones.
Ask better questions, and if your professionality disappears when you've had a couple beers, maybe lay off the beers while your working.
Just a thought.
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1-16-2007 @ 9:35PM
Jake said...
I've never liked anything Sally Field was in, with the exception of Forrest Gump. Just something about her I guess.
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1-16-2007 @ 9:45PM
Eri said...
Well, your first question might have pissed her off. She starred in the series "The Court" on ABC a few years back...
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1-16-2007 @ 9:48PM
Derek Bill said...
Maybe she had trouble hearing you? Intestinal problems?
You reminded her of a stalker she once had to call the cops on?
Cramps?
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1-16-2007 @ 10:12PM
Kevin O'Shea said...
I think you got the raw end of the deal here my friend. Your first couple of questions weren't terrible, and don't seem to deserve the snide responses that she gave. Unfortunately, it seems that her general coldness tripped you up in the middle of your interview, when you told her that you forgot whether she was nominated or won the emmy, causing her, rightfully so (this time), to shoot more daggers at you. However, your last questions asking about the migration of stars back to television, are fantastic and valid questions, I don't know why she got mad at them. Don't let it get you down, she seemed like she was uninterested with interviews in the first place. There's always next time!
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1-16-2007 @ 10:53PM
Cathy said...
Sally Field is one of the most talented actresses of our time. I think the interviewers' questions were a bit lame. She may have been tired of the same questions over and over again. Maybe it was the fact that the interviewer didn't seem to know half of her work. Who can forget Norma Rae, Sybil, Places in the Heart,Steel Magnolias etc.One of reasons Brothers and Sisters is such a success is because SHE is such a strong actress!
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1-16-2007 @ 10:56PM
Erik said...
She's actually done 11 episodes of ER, including one this season (in September), so it doesn't seem that unusual for you to bring up ER.
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1-16-2007 @ 11:38PM
Dick Mamba said...
Honestly, who cares? She hasn't done anything to change the world and probably won't. She's an entertainer who will use any press when it suits her and treat them with contempt when it suits her. Quit following her around and see how long it takes her to follow you around asking inane questions.
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1-17-2007 @ 1:01AM
Joel Keller said...
Eri, I forgot about "The Court," probably because it didn't last very long. I'm surprised she didn't correct me on that point. Maybe she forgot about it too.
Cathy, why would I ask her about her movies if I'm at a TV-centric event writing for a TV-related website? I had five minutes at the most; I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't concentrate on her TV work.
I'll admit, the Emmy thing was lame. But, hey, I was thinking on my feet there.
Anyway, difficult or not, at least I can say I interviewed someone as legendary as Sally Field. No matter what her profile is these days, there are only a few actors who have been honored more than she has. At least that's something I can hang my hat on.
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1-17-2007 @ 11:59PM
PegThinks said...
Gee I don't know how to tell you this nicely but those are really dumb questions you asked her--they lack basic intelligence. Maybe you need to spend more time understanding filmmaking and the industry--educate yourself so your questions show you also know something and can hold a decent conversation. I think actors want either to be asked something intelligent or very polite. Your questions were neither because asking her about the flying nun implied she was in the cryo freezer for the last 30 years, negating all of the amazig work she has done in both TV and film. She could have been nicer but getting insulted right off, well...
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1-17-2007 @ 2:47AM
Joel Keller said...
Curt, I had 2 beers. I wasn't exactly falling down drunk. It was a party. Everyone had a cocktail or two. It's SOP at these functions.
Peg, I respectfully disagree with you about the content of my questions about her career. I am well aware of Sally's credits and what she's done since The Flying Nun. But I was asking her about her series work; besides that Court show I forgot about and ER, she hadn't done much of that since the sixties. Remember, Sybill was a TV-movie, not a series. And, again, as much as I wanted to talk to her about Norma Rae or Smokey and the Bandit or Murphy's Romance or even Mrs. Freakin' Doubtfire, we were at a TV event and I write for a TV site.
It's so easy to judge from a distance, isn't it, folks? I'd love to see what you'd do if you were in my position.
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1-17-2007 @ 2:50AM
astrogirl said...
well.. a lot of the questions seemed to me, to be playing on how old she was. Maybe you didn't mean to come across that way, but as examples:
your first question.. you say she hasnt had a regular role since the flying nun which was quite a while ago... then you go with that, and actually say "40 years" in the next question.
Then you talk about her being cast as a "mother character" like it should have been expected of her. "they need a mother character! quick, call sally field, she is old enough!"
Then again, in the ER question you mention her being cast as a "mom".
And then in the last question you imply that she is one of the oldies again, with your "more than say ten years ago". I dont know, I read that as saying "most of the mature female movie actors seem to be popping up in tv now"
I'm sure that's not what you intended, but if she had been asked similar questions by others as well... then what a way to make a girl feel old eh? I know -I- would have felt old.
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1-17-2007 @ 2:51AM
Curt said...
your quote:
I'm usually good at asking open-ended questions, but after a Sierra Nevada or two those more disciplined journalistic thoughts go out the window)
I'm just saying, if it affects your performance, in any job, don't drink. I realize it was one of those functions, but you said it yourself...
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1-17-2007 @ 3:06AM
B A said...
Maybe the awkwardness doesn't come through in print, but her responses didn't seem that bad. I thought the questions were fine. I haven't heard anything better suggested by the people who are complaining, either.
Someone nailed it earlier when they said she is a celebrity who will use the press when it suits her and treat them like crap when it doesn't. Or maybe she had a few Sierras too and is a mean drunk.
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1-17-2007 @ 3:38AM
Jothie said...
I just wanted to chime in and say I didn't think any of your questions were "dumb" or bad questions as others here are saying. I think she answered them very stupidly. None of your questions(except the emmy one) was offending and she wasn't even curtious in any of her responses. Maybe she had a bad day, maybe she's an old bitter hag. Who knows.. but tonight she didnt show any basic curtesy at all. Just because she's on TV doesn't make her exempt from being polite. You should have ended the interview with "I guess you didn't like me. You didn't like me! You really didn't like me!" mocking her Oscar speech that she's taken so much flack for way back when.
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1-17-2007 @ 5:49AM
Melissa said...
Joel, I think you did a good job with the interview. I, myself, am a very star-struck girl, and have put my foot in my mouth upon meeting celebrities. I mean, what the hell can you say to them that they haven't heard a million times already?
If you made her feel old, that's because she IS old! She's in a freakin' osteoperosis commercial! She probably farts dusty mothballs (is that the Sierra Nevada talking??!).
Anyway, just shake it off and don't think about it when you're doing your next celeb interview.
Oh, and I may be young, but for the longest time I thought that Sally Field was Shirley from "Laverne and Shirley" so there. At least it wasn't me interviewing her.
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1-17-2007 @ 6:29AM
Ben Daho said...
Hey man ya did good, I remember her as Gidget B4 she got high and religion, even remember an episode with Jack Nicholson as beach biker bum, so as Jack might say "hey good job, if it was me, I would have interviewed her juggs, ya know"
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1-17-2007 @ 11:25AM
Amy said...
Jothie - you just made me spit out my orange juice! You & Melissa have me laughing on the floor!
Sally Field was just rude. Joel was polite & civil & just doing his job, and there just isn't any excuse for her behavior, no matter how bad her day might have been. If her day was THAT bad, she should have kept her osteoarthritic ass at home! And Joel, I think you did great with the questions! What are you supposed to ask Sally Field anyway?? "As an actress, how much growth did you experience between the first Smokey & the Bandit and Smokey & the Bandit II, and how did that translate into your character?" ;)
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1-17-2007 @ 11:52AM
Emily said...
Joel, I think you did marvelously. If it were me, I would have had to supress the desire to ask her "So, are you really a bitch or are you acting right now?"
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1-17-2007 @ 3:58PM
Rodney said...
In my opinion, if you see a celebrity in public, and you feel you must say something other than "Hello," then say you enjoy their work. Even if you haven't. I mean, would you walk up to any other stranger and say "You suck."?
A few years ago I ran into Jay O. Sanders in the audience of a play I was seeing in New York. I happened to have worked with his sister at one point, so I mentioned that, but I also told him that I had quite enjoyed his work in "Tumbleweeds." He seemed very pleased, mostly because about 16 people saw that movie, I imagine.
In this case, I don't really see that her answers were all that bitchy or that your questions were annoying. Perhaps you're reading into things too much. On the other hand, the whole reason actors come to these events is to talk to the press, so maybe, as you said, she was tired. Who knows?
But does it really deserve special mention? It certainly won't make her (or any other celebrity who reads your post) more comfortable talking to you in the future. People make fun of James Lipton, but actors appear on his show because they know he's not going to sandbag them or make them look stupid. They're just human; they don't want to be embarrassed or put on the spot any more than the rest of us do.
Just my $.02.
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