In this edition of The Back Row, we go behind the scenes for a rare glimpse inside a celebrity interview gone awry. The subject: Jennifer Aniston, star of the upcoming romantic comedy drama Love Happens, with Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight), Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury) and Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now).
The trouble started shortly after our introduction, during the brief window before the cameras roll when interviewer and interviewee are offered a moment to exchange pleasantries. It was here that I violated one of Hollywood’s cardinal maxims: When someone asks you how you are doing, never tell the truth. The question is simply a polite gesture and almost never a sincere solicitation of your current state of mind. With mine still reeling from a Labor Day Weekend of overindulgence, I responded to Jennifer’s query with disastrous honesty: Truth be told, I was recovering from a particularly stubborn hangover.
Jennifer, no doubt a bit antsy after a day spent chained to a chair, discussing the same subject over and over again, seized on that little morsel and ran with it. Behold the slowly unfolding train wreck:
Ouch! A precarious moment indeed, especially considering that Ms. Aniston, currently Hollywood’s second most-powerful actress (behind some chick named Jolie), could easily buy me and still have enough pocket change leftover for a down payment on Bolivia. But to my relief, she was a good sport about the whole delightful exchange, and was even kind enough to give me the lowdown on one of her more intriguing upcoming projects, Pumas:
There you have it, folks. See, the Hollywood lifestyle isn't just all glitz and glamour. There are occasional moments of awkwardness, too.
Love Happens opens everywhere September 18, 2009. Her Untitled Funny Movie project (nee Pumas) is currently without a release date.
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