Johnny Depp on Larry King Special拉里金采访实例分析

1.What are an interview and its importance?The interview is a conversation designed to elicit (or exchange) information on behalf of an unseen audience by asking questions. The interview is associated with special techniques, special relations between the person asking questions and the person answering them, and it also becomes a symbol of journalism.The interview is of great importance because it is one of the most vital means to investigate things, collect raw material, and produce news. Therefore, interviewing is the one of the most basic tasks in journalism.2.How to conduct a successful interview?(1)Be preparedA professional interviewer must have superior preparation before he actually sets out to ask the questions. This means doing some research before the interview. Know your subject, know the issues and know what the public would want to know if they could sit down with the subject matter. The more you prepare, the more you can extend your knowns. With proper preparation, the interviewer will avoid embarrassing moments due to misinformation.Prepare questions：When you are clear about the basic outline of your interview, jot down all possible questions you can think of that related to the topic. Also ensure that your questions are well researched, intelligent, and worth answering.(2)Establish a rapportOnce the interview starts, the interviewer must try to establish a rapport with your interviewee as quickly as possible. That is the key to getting your questions answered. Rapport based on mutual trust forms the essence of the interview. In order to earn trust, you should identify yourself at the outset of the interview and state the purpose of the interview.(3) Ask the right questionsBe clear about the point of the interview: what information, story or evidence it will attempt to obtain, and then develop a set of pertinent questions. Be the ambassador for your audience. Don't forget that your role as the interviewer is to ask the questions that your mass public would want the answer to if they could be in that room. The interviewer can break the ice with general questions, use follow-up questions to better understand a complicated answer and choose to use both open-ended and close-ended questions in order to utilize the benefits of each type. (4) Listen and watch attentivelyLet the person being interviewed feel that he or she is conversing with a friend rather than responding to a list of questions from an interviewer. The more you listen and respond enthusiastically to what the source says, the more you will learn.(5) Be persistentBeing persistent is a crucial part of conducting a successful interview and getting to the truth, especially in the case of a hostile subject. The interviewer may need to phrase the same question several different ways to get the information you need and it means asking questions until the issue is clarified, the situation made understandable for the viewer.3.A Specific Analysis of an InterviewI select Larry King‟s program as material for interview analysis. Larry King who was born in 1933, is one of the most famous anchormen in American and in the world at large. He started his Larry King Live show on CNN in June 1985, hosting a broad range of guests from controversial figures to prominent politicians and leading figures in the entertainment industry, often doing their first or only interview on breaking news stories on his show.On June 29, 2010, King announced that after 25 years, he stepped down from his nightly job hosting Larry King Live. However, he stated that he would remain with CNN to host occasional specials. Larry King Special: Johnny Depp was one of them, which was aired on October 16, 2011. On February 17, 2012, CNN announced that he would no longer host specials.Larry King Special: Johnny Depp opened up something about Depp‟s fame, his family, and his famous friends. Plus, there was a tour of his private office, full of personal memorabilia and his paintings. I am going to do the case study in accordance with the following aspects: preparations, the opening, ways of asking, types of questions and impressive parts. In addition, I will point out the features of LarryKing‟s interviews.(1)PreparationsUnlike the best interviewers, Larry sometimes appears to skimp on research. He is known for his general lack of pre-interview preparation, and he also proclaimed that he prepared as little as possible for each program. Larry has ever said that “If I‟m too knowledgeable, I‟m not a good interviewer. For example, I‟m a baseball freak, so I know a lot about baseball. But I‟m not a great interviewer of baseball people because the knowledge impairs me. ”It is true of this interview. Throughout the whole interview, you will find that most of his questions are follow-up questions rather than questions he planed before the interview. More than that, Larry is fond of the sentence structure “somebody told me…” I pick up some sentences that used such structure.Eg1: Marlon Brando told me that one of the problems is when you getvery well known is they're observing you.Eg2: Allen Alda told me on ce that he doesn‟t like giving autographsbecause he feels it demeans the person asking for the autograph.Eg3: Paul Newman told me that any successful person in any fieldwho in discussing thei r career, doesn‟t use the word “luck is a liar.”Eg4: Burt Reynolds used to say every day he goes up and says to the camera, “ Love me today.”Owing to Larry‟s rich experiences and knowledge, lacing some pre-interview preparation does not affect the quality of his interview. Whereas, I have to say good preparations make for successful interviews. Interviewers should know background of the interviewee before going into an interview. Interviewees are more likely to relax and open up when they feel that they are talking to interviewers who speak with knowledge and authority.In fact, I hold that Larry actually did some research before the interview, though not so much research. Otherwise, how did he know things mentioned in the following extracts.Eg5: Larry: You and your sister are very close, right?Depp: My sister, yeah, Christie‟s my best friend in t he world.She‟s a lways…she‟s what…she‟s k ept me alive since I wasa little kid.Larry: So you were family oriented early.Depp: Hmm. Very much so.Eg6: Larry: You have Indian blood, right?Depp: Yeah, yeah.Larry: What tribe?Depp: Well, I was told…but you know I was always told itwas Cherokee, you know, grow ing up and the stuff…maybeChero kee, maybe Creek, I don‟t know exactly, you know.In these two extracts, we can see that Larry did some research on Depp‟s family, like his sister and his Indian blood. By doing so, Larry gives Depp an impression that he knows Depp very well, which can help him to establish rapport with Depp. As a result, Depp would be more likely to talk with Larry.(2)The OpeningBefore the interview starts to face the audience, a comprehensive description of the invited distinguished guest－Johnny Depp, is given on the screen. After that Larry and Depp turn up. Larry King gives the introduction of Depp and completely deletes all the greetings and then directly to the conversation.Eg7: Larry: He‟s one of the biggest stars in the world. One of the most acclaimed actors of our time. Tonight, Johnny Depp, the man whorarely grants interviews, sits down with me, and opens up abouthis fame, his family, and his famous friends. Plus, we‟ll goon atour of his private office, full of personal memorabilia and hispaintings. It‟s all ahead on this Larry King Special- Johnny Depp.Eg8: Larry: We‟re sitting here in Johnny Depp‟s office. An office like none I have ever seen. And later w e‟ve got a chance to …We‟ll talk about that a little later.Larry: You don‟t do many things like this. So do you not like to be interviewed or?The extrat7 is a short introductive video which gives the outline of the entire interview. It is general and looks much like a summary of the interview. From the extrat8, we find that Larry omits too many detailed greetings and directly entered into the topic. From the opening, we get a general idea that the interview would cover the following context: Depp‟s fame, his family, his famous friends and his opinion on the release of the West Memphis Three.(3)Ways of askingThere are two main ways of asking questions ---- directly and indirectly. Both have the same meaning but interviewers use indirect questions when they want tobe more polite, more formal or less confrontational. As far as I am concerned, unlike many American interviewers, Larry King has a non-confrontational approach. That is to say, friendly and harmonious atmosphere is the salient characteristic of Larry King‟program.After watching Larry King Special: Johnny Depp, it is easy to find that most of questions asked by Larry are indirect. As I mentioned in “preparation part”, Larry is fond of the sentence structure “somebody told me…” This pattern of asking is an indirect way of asking. The following extract well shows how Larry uses this way of asking.Eg9: Depp: As Marlon said, he had…Marlon had the best definitionof acting that exists, you know. He said, “It‟s a strange jobfor a grown man.” And that‟s it.…Larry: But he (Marlon) called something else that people in thebusiness got mad at. He said it on our show. He called it“lying for a living”.Depp: Right.Larry: And most actors say that they‟re not lying.Depp: Mmm.Latty: Did you think that was an unfair expression?Depp: I think it‟s totally…I think it‟s totally right. Yeah, it‟slying. It is lying. Why wouldn‟t it be…You can make itlying, you can make it not lying. You know it‟s…You canfind your own truth but it‟s still a lie.The opinion in Marlon‟s quotation is more or less offensive to the guest: because Depp is also an actor. The subject of the quotation is Marlon, which indicates that it is not the host, Larry, but Marlon is responsible for the view of “lying for a living”.On the basis of this offensive opinion, Larry further raises a question through an interrogative with second personal pronoun “you”. Larry asked “Did you think that was an unfair expression?”By doing so,Larry leaves room for Depp to argue against the opinion in the quotation.Another example is given below.Eg10: Larry: Do you like being other people?Depp: Yeah, I do. I do because I‟m fascinated with people, Imean, I‟m fascinated…I like to watch people…as an actor, in terms of job, the necessity is the ability tobe able to watch people, to observe, to be an observer as ajournalist, you know, to observe…Larry: Marlon Brando told me that one of the problems is when you get very well-known, is they are observing you.Depp: That became a problem.Larry: So you can‟t…you are not observing them really.Depp: Yeah, exactly. Now that becomes a problem. You become the focus of others. So therefore you…your ability to observeis tainted…you know, it‟s a little bit…it‟s…changes quiteradically.In the extract10, Depp explains that he likes to be an actor because actors need to observe just like journalists. Once again, Larry uses a quotation from Marlon to refute Depp‟s viewpoint. In such an indirect way, Larry signals tha the is re-using the words of Marlon and ingeniously avoids a direct confrontati --on with Depp. For Depp, he is unlikely to be enraged and decline to answer the questions.From both extract8 and extract9, we can see that indirect way of asking is an effective way used to raise an offensive question and Larry is fond of using it.(4)Types of questionsThere are totally 93 questions in this interview. In terms of type of questions, 18 of them are open-ended questions, 30 are close-ended, and the rest are follow-up questions. In addition, among the 45 follow-up questions, 15 of them are open-ended, as a result, 30 of them belong to close-ended questions. To reframe those numbers, Larry employs more follow-up and close-ended questions than open-ended questions. While one thing need to be noticed is that Larry applies all types of questions in order to utilize the benefits of each type. I intend to analyze two extracts in terms of types of questions.Eg11: Larry: Ever turned down something you regretted?Depp: No.Larry: No?Depp: Don‟t regret anything, no. Everything that I turned downwas…it was…weirdly it was more important what I turneddown than what I accepted, in terms of films.Larry: For your own happiness?Depp: Mm-hmm…Larry: So even if it became a hit.Depp: Yeah. Pirates was a complete accident, you know. I mean, Pirates…prior to Pirates of the Caribbean, you know, the firstone in 2003, that was a…I mean I had been essentiallyknown within the confines of Hollywood as the, you know,as box office‟s poison, you know. So you know, basically Ibuilt a career on 20 years of failures.In this extract, Larry uses a close-ended question as an opening question to shift the topic“Ever turned down something you regretted?”Depp answers the question very quickly with a simple no. And Larry follows up with “No?”, in this way Larry challenges Depp‟s answer as well as a confirmation. After Depp‟s answer, Larry guesses why Depp doesn‟t regret. And then Larry goes on asking “if it became a hit?”Throughout the extract, Larry employs guessing and interrogative strategies to further explore the real answer. One answer leading to another question until Larry determines that he has the information he needs.Eg12: Larry: What do you make of finally the release of theMemphis Three? You got involved in that battle?Depp: Mmm…Larry: We did a whole show on it.Depp: Yeah.…Larry: Why did you get involved?Depp: Because I knew immediately, you know, when I first…And the more research I did, the more people I spoke to,it was absolutely apparent.Larry: Did you have anybody say, “you know, Johnny, go outon a limb” on a thing like this?Depp: Oh yeah. Yeah, a lot of people.Larry: What if they did it? Gonna look bad.Depp: There was that kind of thing, yeah. But I just knew. Ijust knew, you know. I…It was just…It was…ugly andraw deal from the get-go. …Damien Echols on deathrow for 18 years, 10 years in isolation,you know, for a crime that he did not commit.Larry: You think Obama should pardon them?Depp: I mean it wou ld be wonderful…I think he‟s probablygot a few other things on his mind at the moment…In extract12, Johnny opens up on the release of the West Memphis Three.Firstly, Larry uses an open-ended question plus a close-ended question. The open-endedquestion is designed to prompt Depp to give a narrative responds. According to the answer, Larry can explore Depp‟s attitude towards the West Memphis Three. And then Larry asks why he got involved. Following up with "Why?" can help Larry get specific information and a lengthier answer on this question. It is said that "Why?" is the greatest question ever asked. The next two are still follow-up questions, besides, the last question “You think Obama should pardon them?” is interesting. On the one hand, it attracts viewers‟ attention, on the other hand, it intends to confirm Depp‟s attitude.All in all, Larry is habituated to asking close-ended questions and follow-up questions, and he tends to ask many questions to dig out deeper information.That is to say, he asks the right questions at the right moment and makes Depp volunteer information.(5)Impressive partsThere are three parts which give me deep impressions. First one is that Depp still reacts to getting famous. While h e‟s one of the biggest stars in the world and one of the most acclaimed actors of our time, he is a man who rarely grants interviews. He is not used to being famous. Second one comes to his attitude towards success and money. He holds that money and success don‟t change anybody. They reveal p eople. The most impressive part is Depp blew Thompson…s ashes from a cannon.Eg13:……Larry: How did you come to do that?……Larry: From a cannon?……Larry: Did it make a big sound?……This part gives me the most profound impression not only because of its fascinating content but also Larry‟s interviewing skill. To be more specific, in extract13, we can regard Larry as the ambassador for audience. He asks the questions that mass public would ask. He follows up questions naturally and logically, at the same time he lets the conversation go under a harmonious atmosphere.(6)Features of Larry King’s interviewsa) Relaxing atmosphereLarry tends to have a relaxing atmosphere during an interview. We can say that successfully avoiding the conflict between the incisiveness of the topics and the friendly environment are salient characteristics of his program. He always makes a comforting comment and put the interviewee at ease.b) Short and follow-up questionsLarry is in a habit of asking short questions, and then following up. As a result, he is more likely to leave more time to the interviewee. There are two quotations made by Larry can well explain this feature.1. My questions are short, usually one sentence, sometimes two. If it’s threesentences, it’s too long.2. All I've tried to do is ask the best questions. I could think of, listen to theanswers, and then follow up. I've never not followed up. I don't attack anybody — that's not my style — but I follow up.c) Straightforward transitionHe always uses concise and short words to direct into the topic.Eg14:Let‟s discuss some others…some incredible roles you‟ve played.Back to some roles.All right, let‟s talk about hunter Thompson.。