Anne Hathaway and Ricky Lo – The Interview
Philippine Star entertainment editor Ricky Lo’s interview with Les Miserables lead star Anne Hathaway has gotten a lot of attention online the past two days. A four minute video for this interview has been uploaded on the YouTube account of Philippine Star last Wednesday but it has since been deleted (note that The Philippine Star also took down the story from its website). Several other YouTube users reuploaded the video:
The interview started with Lo awkwardly asking Hathaway how she “lost her weight and got it back.” The actress snapped: “I’d rather not talk about the weight loss, please.” Lo later on mentioned about “a friend from the Philippines named Lea Salonga,” which elicited a positive response from Hathaway. “I adore her,” she said.
Hathaway went on to say that Salonga has “one of the great voices of our time” and that “there’s nothing vocally that she can’t do” and that she has “complete deference to her.” “If you think of me as an actor who sings rather than as a singer, I’ll probably be more impressive,” Hathaway said, evidently highlighting the differences between her and Salonga.
After asking about how her mom appreciates her work, Lo asked Hathaway how she is able to portray the character of the impoverished Fantene given that she is “living a life of luxury.” “That’s a very personal question,” Hathaway shot back. Lo then proceeded to ask the Academy Award-nominated actress about the scene in Les Miserables she found most challenging (it’s singing “I Dreamed a Dream”).
When Lo asked her for any message to Salonga, an apparently pissed Hathaway said “We’ve already talked about that.” And to end the interview, Lo asked Hathaway to invite Filipinos to watch the movie but the actress did not oblige. “Why don’t you invite them? I think they’d much rather hear from you,” Hathaway said. Noticeably, Hathaway did not even look at Lo when she said that. She also did not shake his hand when he ended the interview.
MY THOUGHTS:
It’s easy to see how this exchange went disastrous. And please, the issue here is not the number of Hollywood celebrities that Lo was able to interview throughout his career. Opening your interview with a question about one’s weight is certainly a no-no.the way it is rude to tell a person how fat he/she has become (“tumataba ka yata!”) after not seeing each other for a long time. But if Hathaway really does not want to talk about her weight loss, why did she do so in her interview with Vogue?
Lo’s question about how Hathaway was able to portray the role of a poor woman despite “living a life of luxury” is inane aside from being poorly worded. Isn’t it that Dolphy, Fernando Poe Jr, and Joseph Estrada were also able to play the role of poor folks even though they’re obviously not living in poverty themselves? Anne Hathaway and everyone else in her industry are not called actors and actresses for nothing.
What clearly pissed Hathaway the most is Lo’s repeated reference to Salonga. By stressing that she’ll be more impressive if she’s judged as an “actor who sings and not as a singer,” Hathaway is indirectly saying that they should not be compared. But Lo obviously didn’t get the cue and instead mentioned her again toward the end.
For someone who came to know Hathaway through Princess Diaries, her behavior when Lo is wrapping up the interview is just plain mean and disrespectful. She may be disgusted with his line of questioning, but heck, that’s her opportunity to address us Filipinos!
*Hathaway was interviewed by Filipino writer Manny the Movie Guy last December (watch the video below). If watching Lo’s interview with the Les Mis actress made you feel bad, this one’s SO MUCH different. After all, the interviewer actually asked her about the movie, and not about Salonga. It’s evident that Hathaway had fun with the interview.
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Interviewing Hollywood Celebrities and Local Actors are different. So you don’t ask “too personal questions”.
This is a Press Junket. Anne may have been interviewed by a lot already on that day alone and God knows what question’s were asked. Ricky Lo obviously did not prepared for that interview, he got what he deserves.
sorry. mr. lo’s job as an interviewer was to get his subject to talk. he flunked. ms. hathaway started out as cooperative then was turned off by his words and references. well, what do you expect from a gossip columnist pretending to be a journalist?
This is just a short interview for the movie, right? He should have addressed most of his questions about the movie, not about Anne Hathaway’s personal life, and someone else’s career who’s not part of the movie. Most of his questions were needless and uncalled for this kind of interview.
I’m sorry to say but he has always been a boring interviewer.
You compare Ricky Lo to Vogue? Seriously,, that THE VOGUE! Yikes…
I’m not comparing Ricky Lo to Vogue. I’m comparing the way Anne responded to the same question.
To my knowledge, Vogue asked Anne about her preparation as an actress into becoming the poor, unhealthy Fantine.. To which Anne responded accordingly.
Question is, Why did Anne answered the question? Well, its not about because Vogue is an elite magazine that her comments would be in talks through various social media sites.. Not it at all! so Vogue did not open up a discussion about how she gained back her weight.
I always cringe watching Ricky Lo interviews. He is ALWAYS TERRIBLE and asks the DUMBEST questions. It’s not a question of cultural difference, R Lo simply lacks the social skills needed to engage a serious actor like Anne H. And the sensitivity to know how not to offend your interviewer. Im with Anne H on this one. She was just standing up for herself.
Why wasnt this approved?
I’m surprised that this guy even works for a highly respected newspaper like the Manila Star.
Well, it’s a wake up call to some journalist in this country who asks too many personal question
but do u agree that she wasn’t nice at the end?
I think she just gave back exactly what Lo deserves. I don’t think her reaction at the end was directed at us Filipinos at all.
I think the reason why she threw that response it’s because Ricky Lo kept on interrupting her throughout the interview. It’s already a given how poor he interviews celebrities, both local and international. I mean, his questions were correct, but he flunked with his choice of words. Adding to that, he kept inserting Lea Salonga in questions. At some point, the interview was about what Anne thinks about Lea. That makes it inappropriate.
^ Yeah she was rude at the end of the interview. She could have been a little nicer and it wouldn’t hurt to be asked to invite fans.
The first question was a red flag to Anne already. “How did you lose your weight and got it back?” is saying “How did you got fat again?”. I think it was an agony to answer his questions and she wants him to leave already. If the interview was done properly, the ending will be different I’m pretty sure.
To my knowledge, Vogue asked Anne about her preparation as an actress into becoming the poor, unhealthy Fantine.. To which Anne responded accordingly.
Question is, Why did Anne answered the question? Well, it is not about Vogue being an elite magazine nor Anne’s comment would be in talks through various social media sites.. Not it at all!
It is simply because, Vogue did not open up a discussion about how she gained back her weight while Ricky did so. Truly, its a cultural gap as Anne may have gotten offended by the way Ricky composed and asked the question.. Weight gain is an issue in North America since majority of its population are obese.
Just my two cents. Peace!
You guys are forgetting thay Hollywood stars really don’t ask viewers to watch their movies. Even with other interviews, she did not invite people to watch Les Miserables. It’s not the same as here where stars would really parade around ro invite people.
Cringe!!!!! Cringe!!!! Cringe!!! Ricky Lo blew it!
It’s really sad/ painful to watch this interview. Ricky got what was coming to him. You don’t treat Hollywood the same way you do with local celebs. Hopefully this will. Be a wake up call for him. I don’t blame Anne for her responses.
Ricky Lo has always been a POOR JOURNALIST and INTERVIEWER. He has become one of the more prominent interviewers of the Philippines ONLY BY DEFAULT – because nobody else is doing it, at least as far as going on international trips to interview global superstars is concerned. But as for his skill as an interviewer? He is as THICK as piece of Kamagong lumber.
I totally agree Alex. He has and will always be a bad interviewer.
Ricky lo is the analogy of a BORING INTERVIEWER. Just look and listen to him.. He freakin looks and sounds like an illiterate! What the hell was he thinkin? Totally an epic fail for him, as always!
Opening a can of worms at the very beginning while looking so dumb and unprofessional! Our HR department could have done a better job!
@Alex… ricky lol is not a journalist, that bitch is a gossip columnist.
epic fail is an understatement. my toes were curling big time every time he opened his mouth.
I don`t think Ricky Lo does a good job interviewing people. No matter how long one has been a writer does not make him a good interviewer. I have seen some of his other interviews that just manifests the “the big cultural gap“ as Jim Paredes puts it. Can we get somebody else to do these things in the likes of Quinito Henson who does interviews for sports.
Quinito is just as bad. We already know that Karl Malone’s wife is a Filipina Quinito!
Oh really? He is a journalist? I thought FIlipinos has the best English speaking skills among other non native speakers!. This is crazy…
We cannot make generalizations on this issue. Yes Filipinos can easily be trained to talk and be understood by native English speakers. But Mr. Ricky Lo does not manifested that. He is and exception to this rule.
I honestly think she did a good job of keeping it together and her reaction was just natural for a person who is obviously pissed. Lo came to the interview obviously unprepared. It didn’t sound like he even thought of his questions. I think Anne Hathaway would’ve been more comfortable answering his questions if they had been formulated with a little finesse. He carved a cultural canyon between them in 4 minutes. I cringed all the way.
Some people may know how to write but they don’t know how to interview. This would be a good example.
You would think by now Mr. Lo would have learned how to interview in general. The word that should always put alarm bells on his mind and to most Filipino “interviewers” mind is REDUNDANCY. They do it too often…
Truly Ricky Lo was the one who was a fault, the suit, the gestures and most especially the questions!! I just wish Anne would have a message to her Filipino Fans, maybe when she received the Oscars for best supporting Actress 🙂
why do we always expect MORE from our fellow Filipinos than from foreigners? Anne Hathaway is a celebrity, and as such, should have behaved in a more respectable manner, REGARDLESS OF RICKY LO’S POORLY PHRASED QUESTIONS!
Actually she did during the whole duration of this epic failed interview. I think she do not deserve to be interviewed by the likes of Ricky Lo. I felt like she was talking to an unprofessional, unimpressive individual and a total wuss.
Just look at Anne Hathaway. There’s more to her than meets the eye. We tend to see her as funny and adorable. Though it became quickly apparent that she’s also sophisticated and sensitive.
Oh, I’m just plain sad about this. =<
Ricky Lo, like the rest of us, is proud that Lea Salonga is a Filipino, and Anne Hathaway stressed out that she “adores” her, and would like to meet her personally. But when Lo asked Anne questions comparing her to Lea, is a bit offensive and out-of-line; it’s her movie, after all. He should have focused on asking her about the movie and how she came to accomplish to fit the character; instead, he asked her a lot about Lea. Again, it is her (as in Anne) movie. Until the very end of the interview, he still, once again, mentioned Lea.
Given the fact that Lo has already interviewed a lot of Hollywood stars, he should have known how to interview better.
Anne probably got annoyed with Ricky Lo because he kept bringing up Lea Salonga. His interview should have focused on Anne and Les Mis, not Lea. And his first question is about weight, what a way to start an interview! Train-wreck!!
Definitely a major communication breakdown on the part of Ricky Lo. He failed to properly interpret Anne’s non-verbal messages and also failed to verbally respond to some which is discourteous on his part,
All I can say is… Please mind your subject-verb agreement and correct tenses in your posts. You cannot call someone an “illiterate” if you cannot even pair a plural noun with the plural verb form or choose to use double past tenses in the same sentence.
Alright..
Fuck You!
Why do you guys hate ricky lo so much?!
Why don’t you all look at yourselves in the mirror? Think you all could have done a better job?!
Reality check… At least, Ricky lo is richer than any of you losers making a big deal out of this! Haha!
ok, thanks for sharing that asshole…
I agree…this person must be poor.
Could we have done a better job? Uhm, yeah.
I can do a better job. One, I can actually speak English. Two, I don’t try to use “big words” out of context. Three, Ricky Lo would be poor in America and he definitely doesn’t exceed my social standing.
Ricky Lo was more into asking his poorly thought out questions and not into what Anne was actually saying. See she expressed so much respect for Lea when Ricky first brought it up..but to make her say a “message” to Lea?! For crying out loud this interview was about Anne and the movie HELLO! This is not GMA supershow or The Buzz! And can we Filipinos just stop with the “makibaka” attitude? Ricky Lo really came in to this UNPREPARED and Anne responded as nicely as she could. She was not bitchy at all. See the difference with Manny the Movie Guy?
Fuck your comment! It’s as useless and nonsense as Ricky Lo!
What are you? A justin bieber fan? Bitch please.. Just get your hair done or something.. Wanna be blogger!
Mr. Lo is an old man
Lived a life of luxury? No wonder she lost her temper. He can’t even remember right the name of Ruffa’s daughter. You don’t command an actress to do something, she is not your bitch.
Moral: When asking an American woman. you can ask about weight loss but not about weight gain , or they will explode.
I am embarrassed to be a Filipino after watching this. Ricky Lo should be terminated.
I’m embarassed to be human knowing that people like that exist.
I’m embarassed to be human knowing that people like that exist.
Well at least he is of Chinese descent.
What does being Chinese got anything to do with this dumbass?
You assholes trying to compare faggot ricky lo with mannydmovieguy? The fuckin interview of em both happened in a different time. Its unfair to say that manny did a better job than faggot ricky lo.
Nevertheless, RICKY LO is a weak pathetic journalist, matter of fact.
PUTANGINA MO RICKY LO! PAMEN KA GAGO!
How did he get to become a writer and reporter for a living when it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t even know the decorum of interviewing. This is ok in the Philippines but not in other countries.
With Anne’s reaction..well it’s ovious that she has insecurities like most hollywood celebrities..and she is being prickly about it..
Well she knows that her singing sucked in the movie..and that she’s insecure about her weight..
Well I would have to agree with you guys saying that Anne’s not bitchy or mean. Because you know what people?
YOU guys here who posted such harsh comments about Ricky Lo are the ones who should be labeled MEAN AND BITCHY.
I’m not siding with Ricky or Anne here, I don’t really care about the interview. But holy cow, when I read all those comments posted in here, I couldn’t help but feel really bad for Ricky.
You got the nerve to call yourselves EDUCATED? I wonder where you got your education people.
Well, I’m so thankful my parents sent me to the best schools.
I bet you’re gay! 😉
Don’t care about the interview huh? Look who’s gotteb so fuckin emotional..
Hahaha! You’re just a fuckin gay who got bullied at school, just like how ricky got bullied over the internet. Yikes!
Birds of a feather, flocks together.. Hehe
Oh stop crying Ricky.
I find some people just dont
know what not to ask questions!!!
he’s trying to make an issue between anne and lea…! dumb!
This train wreak should be watched and analyzed by all communications students in the Philippines as a classic case study of what not to do in an interview.
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