Went to “The Lookout” press conference this afternoon and… it was pretty poorly attended. Lots of seats set up in the middle for folks to sit and ask questions, but I found myself more comfortable on one of the puffy chairs in the corner. So while the few folks attending took pictures of Scott Frank, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Isla Fisher and Matthew Goode, I sat in the puffy chair and drank a Coke.
I didn’t see much of a point to the press conference. Beyond picture takers, not many else showed, and no one really had any questions, good or bad. It just felt blah, and appeared even more so. I guess it was done to fix the fact that there was no Q&A after the screening, but Q&A’s are for the audience, not so much the critics and journos. The kind of brilliant and naive whimsy you find at Q&A’s was wholly missing, and it should’ve just been a “pose for the camera” session instead, as that’s what people seemed to care about.
Some people took notes during the few answers and that’s when I realized I wasn’t much of a journalist. I wasn’t taking notes. Hell, I wasn’t sitting close enough to really hear what was being said. I was drinking a Coke in a puffy chair, watching other people scribble away. Maybe if I’d have taken notes, I’d have a story. Maybe a follow-up interview. Instead, I have a blog entry.
Which seques into old journalism vs. new journalism. In the past, you had to craft stories, do research, take notes, get quotes… this press conference was a possible goldmine. Nowadays, f**k it, come up with a conversation recounting of the event, pass it off as something vaguely greater by posting it in a blog. It’s a lazy way of taking advantage of a journalistic system in flux.
I am not a role model.
Yes Mark, you are a role model. At least to Level 2 that is, s**t why am I all of a sudden going third person? See you when you get back amigo. Wait, crap, forgot you don’t like the word amigo!