Laurie Sandell

Filmed a Behind the Music

Got a call from a producer at MTV asking me to talk about Christina Aguilera for a new Behind the Music. It’s official: I have become a de facto Christina Aguilera expert. This is my third time doing television about her. So last week I drove to Hollywood and sat in a studio, talking about the two sit-down interviews I did with her for Glamour. It was a small operation: One camera, one director, one sound guy. No hair or makeup, so I won’t be sporting my usual Kabuki dancer look. What usually happens is that I do these things, forget all about them, and then three months later, I’ll be cooking dinner and hear my voice coming out of the television in the living room. And I can’t help myself, I have to watch, and it’s usually painful, because I feel the need to slip into my “television voice.” I won’t try to describe what that voice is, but it’s accompanied by a stiff smile and the occasional pun.

Did my first Glamour cover interview in LA

And what a difference having an LA home makes. Instead of throwing things into a suitcase, finding someone to watch Violet, rushing to the airport, sitting on a plane for six hours, and checking into a hotel, I got to hop in my car and cruise over to Los Feliz, a nearby neighborhood, to have lunch with our star. So what can I tell you about her? She’s whip-smart, getting tons of buzz for a recent performance, has great style, is in a relationship, and has known hardship in her life. We met at a restaurant in Los Feliz which was the site of my Katherine Heigl interview a year ago; a French brasserie with outdoor tables. She was right on time, wearing a casual black sweater and jeans, her hair pulled back, with natural-looking makeup. (Notice I didn’t say “no makeup.” I won’t be fooled! They’re always wearing makeup for an interview, even if it’s nude eyeshadow and semi-permanent eyelashes.) We hit it off right away, though I can’t tell you why, because then you might figure out who she is. Let’s just say we had something in common, related to our families. She spoke candidly for someone in her position (on the verge of being huge, that is), and didn’t have that usual celebrity guardedness. She was a bit reluctant to talk about her relationship, and who can blame her–it’s lasted a long time for a reason. Give me a month or so and I’ll be able to reveal who she is.

Behind the scenes at a Glamour photo shoot

I’m sitting in a large white room at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, California, getting ready to do my next story for Glamour. There’s music blaring–the Glee soundtrack, of all things–and a woman dancing around and getting photographed in a gorgeous Dior dress. I’ve been here for hours, since shoots always last longer than they’re supposed to, so of course I’ve already eaten three lemon bars and a plate of steak.

The photographer's dog, Sontag

(Someone–I’m not naming names–has been my constant companion because of the steak, and it’s not my editor, Leslie, pictured left.) Much like a movie shoot, photo shoots are long and fairly arduous: Most of the energy happens in front of the camera; behind the scenes, there’s a lot of waiting around, checking e-mail, and, yes–eating lemon bars. Curses.

My latest celebrity interview–revealed

Photo: Patrick Demarchelier for Glamour

It was Sarah Jessica Parker! I blogged about it a month ago, but couldn’t reveal too many details, in case someone figured it out. You can read the story here, in this month’s Glamour. This was my second time interviewing SJP for Glamour’s cover; the first was a few years ago, before her twins were born. I assure you, I am not often star-struck, but man oh man, I love this woman. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the interview took place at the famed Claridge’s Hotel in London, in its exquisite dining room. We had high tea together! She was wearing a fitted black jacket with sequinned stripes, black jersey dress and suede booties. Her hair was light brown and artfully tousled. She was in London for a one-on-one trip with her six-year-old son, James Wilke, because she was going to have to miss his seventh birthday to film Sex and the City 2 in Morocco. She told me she took him for a tour of the Harry Potter set; to Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and for a ride on the London Eye. How cute is that?

The interview went well–she actually remembered me, which was quite un-starlike of her–and the new mom of four-month-old twins spent much of the interview making faces at an adorable infant propped over his Daddy’s shoulder at the next table. She also commented on a little girl who went running by, trailing a long, pink feather boa. Suffice it to say the woman had children on the brain–yet she was just as glamorous as ever. Sigh. I do sound pretty star-struck, don’t I?

My top-secret celeb interview was with…

Photo by Matthias Vriens-McGrath

Rihanna! Not the one I did last week, but the one I did about a month ago; you can read the story here. It’s getting a ton of press, which is fun. It’s my last day in London and I’m not really ready to go. Just got an e-mail from my old boss at The New Yorker, David Thorpe. He’s British and it turns out he’s in London, so we’re meeting for lunch. I was his assistant in the early nineties, and I swear my only administrative duty was to keep him company in his office while we chain-smoked cigarettes. Here we are at my birthday party last year. David is one of those stealth people who has held myriad jobs, but I couldn’t tell you what, exactly, he does. He’s worked as a fine art mover, a marketing bigwig at The New Yorker, an ad exec, now he does something with the government. Apparently, he can’t tell me what it is or he’d have to kill me. Karyn is coming back to the hotel any minute and we’re going to poke around in a few local shops, then it’s off to the airport for my trip back to New York. Catch you on the rebound, London.

I’m headed to London! It’s news to me, too

Life doesn’t get any crazier than this: Yesterday I got a call from my editor, asking if I could hop a plane to London. Those two enormous mega-stars I mentioned–the ones I can’t name–are there now, so that’s where the interview is going to take place. Leaving tonight on the redeye; doing a celebrity interview tomorrow; then staying through the weekend to catch up with friends. I’m most excited to see my friend Cara, who moved there when her husband was transferred, and my friends Rob and Cary, who had a baby the last time I was in London, and have reported that Oscar is starting to walk. Rob’s sister, Genevieve, is an accomplished drummer who has a dance/funk gig Sunday night. Then my sister arrives on Monday! She’s there for work, so I’ll chill out in her fancy-pants hotel room (until then, I’ll be couch-surfing.) How did I ever get stuck with such a tedious job?

I’ll be on E! tomorrow night

Just got a note from the producer of the E! Channel that the two-hour special I contributed to about Christina Aguilera will air this Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET/PT. This isn’t the first time I’ve gone on television to talk about a celebrity for Glamour, but so much time has passed, I can’t remember a thing that I said. I do vaguely remember one cringe-worthy line…about the “sky being the limit” for her? Help me, Rhonda! Luckily, I’ll be onstage at Joe’s Pub that night, reading from my memoir, and I can put the whole thing out of my mind.

A bit of background  about my experiences with Christina: I first interviewed her in 2006 at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. She was doing a run-through of her show for her Back to Basics tour, and I sat on a tiny seat in the vast, empty arena, watching her work the room. It was pretty fascinating: She stood on a huge metal contraption facing the stage, giving orders to the dancers while getting her shoulders rubbed by a masseuse! She was tiny but had a huge presence; every time she spoke a hush fell over the room. After she was done, I sat down with her in her dressing room, which was filled with comfy couches and candles and a huge spread of food. She was very guarded, and while I liked her and thought she was smart, I found it nearly impossible to break through her wall. You can read that interview here. Two years later, I sat down with her again, this time at a club in L.A. She was a new mom, and wanted to meet up late so she wouldn’t have to spend a minute away from Max Liron–we met up at 10:00 PM. I was surprised to find she was a totally different person: Warm, laughing about her chipped nail polish, willing to answer any and all questions about her new family. It’s pretty interesting to read the two interviews back to back; the second one can be found here. Enjoy…