The Fan vs. The Professional

So... I've been mulling this post over for a while. At least a week, maybe more. The reason I didn't post right away is because it's a little more personal than I tend to allow myself to be, especially on this blog. I want to keep this place fun, and happy and exciting, not drag it down with momentary insecurity. However, most of the thoughts have to do with what this blog is all about, or what I wanted it to be about when I started it. So... here we go!

The idea behind Word On The Street was to talk about entertainment news, shows, music and movies I like to think I'm fairly interesting. Quirky. Enthusiastic. BUT when I happen to be meeting people who are cooler than me, everything starts to go wrong.

It is HARD to balance being myself and my professional side. Because, yes, I do have a professional side! It's just that sometimes I feel like Su Pollard in Hi-De-Hi, chasing the dream of becoming a Yellowcoat but remaining the maid forever! (Very British Reference - have a Wikipedia link)

I once interviewed John Cho (the interview was another casualty of Yahoo's great article purge - I should republish it here sometime!) That actually happened. And the interview in reality was way longer but I had to trim it down to what was most important. The conversation we had was kind of epic, and I still have the recording, mostly to remind myself that I really did talk to John Cho! :p

And then there's the topic of tweeting celebrities. I try not to do that on my writing account because I don't want it to come off as too fangirly. But then, isn't the point of Twitter that you CAN tweet the people you like? Isn't that how connections are made? In "professional" mode - I tell myself not to do it. How can you be professional if you're geeking out over people? And how do other people view it? If you tweet the same person more than once, does it come off as desperate? In the past, it's happened. If I've tweeted someone more than once, I start to panic that it's too much. Too over-enthusiastic. In my head, tweeting someone twice feels like the equivalent of a non-anxious person tweeting someone 800 times.The truth is, though, when I look back at my entire feed - I tweet with my friends around 90% more than I tweet any celebrity. The balance is good.

I guess the main point of all this is to say... I'm not that cool. Not nearly as cool as all the other people who interview kickass people. I like cheesy pop, still listen to the occasional boyband,  and I remember all the moves to Macarena. But that's not all of who I am. Gimme full on headbanging, bouncing off the walls metal, and I'm there too. And serious stuff? Sure, I like to inject some humour into my work, but don't think I can't get out there and stand up for the things that matter. Occasional rambling aside - I'm pretty good at what I do. So, if I sometimes have a crazy, "OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO AWESOME" moment, or I over-tweet, or I stumble over my words, or giggle, or talk too much... that's because I have a lot of enthusiasm for the people I believe in. I want everyone to know. I want to spread the word with as many people as possible.

But when it comes to conducting interviews... I got it covered.

John Cho talks Flashforward!

It's here! I posted last week about how I interviewed John Cho about Flashforward - now the interview has finally been published - yippeee!!!!!

When Flashforward was brought to an abrupt end last year, many things were left unanswered. Although John Cho couldn't answer the question of what might have been - he did throw around a few theories and ideas, some of which may be surprising to some. However, by far the most important part of this interview was hearing how he felt about the fans and their efforts to keep Flashforward on the air. Read what he had to say here: An Interview with John Cho - Flashback to Flashforward.


P.S I could have written a better post, but I am too excited! :p

The night my Flashforward came true

Last night I had a dream come true. I spoke to John Cho on the phone and got to interview him about Flashforward!!

I have just been listening to some of the recording of the interview and am mildly concerned that I may have lacked a touch of professionalism in my overwhelming excitement! *blushes*

While I can't claim to know him after one call, my level of respect for John Cho multiplied last night. What I learned was that he really cares about his work and is very, very genuine. I am deeply honored to have had the chance to speak with him - and I'm not sure if my brain will ever fully understand that it really happened. There is a lot of work to do before the interview is published but I will keep you posted!

Without going into too much detail before I publish the interview - I will say that many Flashforward questions were answered. Perhaps not enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity but certainly enough that I feel a certain amount of closure now.

Not many people get the chance to say they spoke to a star of TV and movies from the comfort of their bedroom! *lol* It amazes me that such a thing can really happen.

Thank you, Mr Cho, for making my Flashforward become a reality.