How to Bring Personality and Fun to Celebrity Interviews (Ep. 121)

Host Tara Jabari interviews Grae Drake, a renowned journalist and film critic known for her vibrant personality and insightful commentary on the entertainment industry. Grae reflects on the challenges and joys of being a critic. She highlights the importance of empathy and understanding the filmmaking process. The conversation also touches on Grae's unique approach to interviews, where she balances humor and respect for the subject matter, ensuring that her interactions are engaging and memorable. 

Grae’s website: https://www.graedrake.com/

Connect with her: https://www.instagram.com/graedrake/

Read about the panel where Tara met Grae: https://thegameofnerds.com/2026/01/10/how-to-interview-like-a-pro-a-talk-by-josh-horowitz-guests/ 

Transcript

VO  •  00:10
Welcome to Media Makers Spotlight from Women in Film and Video in Washington, D.C. We bring you conversations with industry professionals for behind the screens, insight and inspiration. 

Tara Jabari  •  00:23
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Media Makers Spotlight. I'm your host, Tara Jabari. For this episode, we have Gray Drake, a journalist, film critic, and media sensationalist who's recognized as one of America's most celebrated personalities in entertainment journalism. Her signature pink hair, piercing wit, matched with her one-of-a-kind expertise in all things media has made her the go-to gal for a variety of programs across multiple TV networks such as ABC, Sci-Fi, Fox News, CNN, and HLN. Welcome, Gray. Hey, how's it going, Tara? Hi, thank you for coming on. It's so exciting. We met at the New York Comic Con. I was at a talk where Josh Horowitz of MTV and Happy Sad Confused podcast was doing something called How to Interview Like a Pro. And you, I guess, were just stopping by and you were impromptu. He's like, come on up. And you added a lot of great insight and advice, but also you asked really good questions, too, to him and Liam, who was also from Screen Rant there, because Josh said, I don't like being the only one here. He's the interviewer. He doesn't like being the center of attention. 

Grae Drake  •  01:48
I don't know the full story, but I don't know that Josh knew it would just be him alone on stage. Oh, okay. And that's a challenging ask to be by yourself and talk. So, yeah, he had said, hey, Liam Gray, stop by. It'll be fun that way. And then we can kind of tell war stories and, you know, have different perspectives available to everybody that was asking questions from the audience. 

Tara Jabari  •  02:17
It was great. I learned a lot. But first, before we get into it, I wanted to go back in the beginning of things, right? So you started film and became an editor and a cinematographer. Can you share how you decided to concentrate on those specialities first? 

Grae Drake  •  02:40
Well, once I figured out that I love the College of Communications, everything that I'm interested in happened to be under that discipline at that time. So it was like film and journalism and publicity. And so I was like, well, that's definitely my college. And I decided to study film because I just have always loved movies. And I really enjoyed fooling around with my friends and making movies. So I was like, well, I don't know. That's as good an idea as I have right now. So I'll just do that. And I love cameras. I've always loved taking pictures and figuring out, you know, angles and composition. And then editing came because I have to put together everything I always shot. So it's just sort of a natural way to continue my talent of shooting. 

Tara Jabari  •  03:39
Mm hmm. But then how did it lead to you becoming more of the movie critic and the journalism and moderating things and stuff like that? How did that get involved? 

Grae Drake  •  03:49
Eventually, a friend of mine and I started a podcast and I realized how much I enjoyed talking about entertainment and that it was all over from there on out because I don't really have the toughness that it takes to be a cinematographer on set. It's an incredibly challenging job. Making anything in entertainment is a labor of love and really long hours and a lot of frustration and a lot of joy. It's just a lot. I was like, I don't want to be on set. I'm not tough enough. So instead, talking about those things became really fun to me. And so I started out as more of a movie critic and then slowly moved into the world of interviewing because I'm nosy. 

Tara Jabari  •  04:39
Yeah. Well, and I think, did you find that it kind of helped? I mean, I'm not sure about all movie critics, but some certainly. And to your credit, you've worked behind the scenes. You've been involved in how something like a film gets made, that it helps you when you interviewed people or when you critiqued a film, that there was more respect for what you had to say by the filmmaker that you were critiquing or interviewing and by others. 

Grae Drake  •  05:13
It's helped me be better at what I do because I mean, it's a miracle that we watch something on a screen that it got made. It's a miracle because it's such a long process. And like I was saying, it's so difficult and it's, you know, all the emotions associated with it. It's unbelievable that a huge multimillion dollar movie gets made, any movie, honestly. But I mean, like so many hands are in it. And so it definitely does give me context when I'm speaking to people and when I'm reviewing something. However, I will say I used to think that critics were just failed filmmakers and that they were bitter and awful. And I don't think that anymore. I definitely getting getting to know all my colleagues and people who do this. Critics do not hate things just to hate them. Critics love what they're reviewing. In general terms, critics love movie critic loves movies. And they they have the highest of hopes that every movie is going to be great. You know what I mean? Like they wouldn't pick a job that is something that they hate. So I was a little bit misinformed when I started. 

Tara Jabari  •  06:40
Yeah, so it's nice to know no one goes into a film project wanting to make a bad film. No one goes into film critiques to bash it, right? They don't want to look for a bad film and say this is a terrible film. 

Grae Drake  •  07:02
I would say the vast majority of people that do the job are hopeful. And you have a few trolls and you have a few people that just like stirring the pot. But most people have so much love for what they are critiquing. And they have a gift of being able to share it with people, whether they're a great writer or a great speaker or they're, you know, they're engaging in a way. in some way. And so that's what they picked. We're all total nerds and we love it. And when we're together, that's what we talk about is how much we love it. 

Tara Jabari  •  07:42
Yeah. So that was you as the movie critic. Then you started actually doing the interviews and watched some of your interviews and also your reels, which did you edit your own reels? 

VO  •  07:56
Highlight reels? 

Grae Drake  •  07:56
I do. I've done a lot of my own editing. I'll say, though, over the years, as you get busier and busier, you need to have talented people help you, which I've been very lucky to have. If it's on my social, I mean, this is tricky. If it's personal, then it comes from me as an editor. But if it's a video for my website that I work with, cbr.com, then it's my super talented, amazing editor who is such a dream that really gets me, who edits it and turns it into something. 

Tara Jabari  •  08:35
Yeah. Well, some of the things I how do you get your ideas when you are going into interviews? So, for instance, when you did, I think it was for Magic Mike, too, and you went into like a male body muscular bodybuilder suit. And you're like, please objectify me. And they're like, okay. you had a like a unicorn headdress at comic-con that easily was just you were with like jennifer lawrence and there was a lot of jokes there right there for the taking um it's like how do you think of these things and you're like oh i'm going to this this interview for this film or this convention or something, do you think ahead and you're like, I'll wear this? Or is it just like, I woke up this morning, I'm going to wear a unicorn headdress. 

Grae Drake  •  09:36
I definitely put as much thought into it beforehand as I can just to buy myself some time. However, the majority of my best ideas only come when I've seen the project. And for us, most of the time that is the night before. So it's really hard to pull some stuff off. So I approach those particular ideas because not every, that's what you're talking about, those kind of like really stand out kind of wild interviews, that is not an appropriate vibe for everything. And so my biggest rule is that if anything about it feels off or like it's going to make someone uncomfortable, then I'll laugh about it to myself in private, but I would never do that. I've discarded way more ideas than I've actually gone through with. But I think the idea that I approach all of this with is what's going to match the vibe of the project and what is going to properly promote what this movie or TV show is. Yeah. Because, you know, when you have a movie like Selma that is about, you know, Martin Luther King, you know, leading the march over the bridge, that is not the time for costumes or jokey things, right? So that's a totally different gig than Magic Mike 2, which is very fun, very irreverent. It was meant to be really, really cheeky, pardon the phrase. And so I thought it was super funny to show up just with my head, but like down with neck down, like looking like a bodybuilder. I thought that was hysterical. And everybody there mostly did as well. But if they didn't think it was hilarious, they at least got what I was going for. 

Tara Jabari  •  11:43
Yeah. 

Grae Drake  •  11:44
You know, it was a little creepy to look at, but I mean, they definitely were like, wow, that's a lot of effort that you put in. You know, so they at least understood it. What I want to do is make people feel included, like they're all in on the joke and they're all in with the celebration of their project. Not ever like I'm trying to make fun of them or do something that makes them uncomfortable. So it's a tricky balance. 

Tara Jabari  •  12:14
It is. And there's times like where I don't know. Do you think it's because you're a woman that you can kind of like there's a part where I saw where Paul Rudd's like, you're going to lick my face? You will? And you're like, yeah, come on over. And I think it's Josh Gad where he's like, I've never held a hand with my interviewer before. And you're like, oh, it's the first time for everything. And so you show that you guys are holding hands. And I was like, I feel like that's also, they feel safer sometimes. Also, you're lighter and all that stuff. And again, I'm sure if it wasn't for like the film for Nuremberg, I feel like you're not going to do that with Rami Malek and Russell Crowe. Maybe, maybe they need a hug. I don't know. Sure. Such a heavy topic. 

Grae Drake  •  13:02
That's kind of the thing that you can never predict is that you need to walk in the room and meet people where they are at, wherever that is. And sometimes it's always a surprise. I mean, because you're dealing with another human being that has a life that's just had an experience and you have no control over what's going on with them. So sometimes you have a really funny, I have a really funny bit or a question in mind. I just ditch it because if it's not right, it's not right. Like it's obviously I can't ditch it if I've showed up in a muscle suit costume. So that's a little rough. But I think that my vibe in particular is very playful and generally invites people, even complete strangers, to just sort of unwind. I see things a little bit left of center and my perspective is generally unusual. So I think people kind of see my hair. They kind of say hi to me. They hear a joke I might make and they're kind of they get a sense of like, oh, OK, she's a little weird. But it's not like, you know, it's not aggressive weird. It's just a little like what a peculiar young lady she is. Yeah. So I end up in a lot of weird situations. Like, yeah, like that Josh Gad interview. That's funny that you've seen that. We were on the Orient Express. 

Tara Jabari  •  14:27
I was going to say, oh, was he in that film? 

Grae Drake  •  14:30
Yeah, he was in that movie when it came out. And they actually put a bunch of journalists on the actual Orient Express traveling through multiple countries from Venice to France. It was unbelievable. And Josh Gad was there. And I don't know what happened. Like, he's such a doll. He's such a nice person. He's a very generous interviewee. And we were sitting next to each other on the train. And that's not normal. Normally, they face us across from each other. So you don't even have to touch the other person if you don't want to. And this time they sat us side by side. And I don't know what happened. But we were just talking and kind of holding hands. And it was so funny. I don't know why. I'll go with it, though. I'm a yes and person. I'm an improv person through and through. So I live for encouraging other people's fun behavior. I live for it. 

Tara Jabari  •  15:31
Well, yeah. And to your point of like when you have a set question and one of the things is that josh horowitz was talking about is when you find a question that's yours so because particularly during like these press junkets you only have a few minutes with them and they're giving like hundreds of interviews you want to you want to stand out you want to be the one that makes them be like another one you know right like any tips or stories where you're like that did not go well 

Grae Drake  •  16:06
or you're like, yeah, sure. Yeah. Cause like I said, these are real people with real experiences and lives, you know, nothing about. And so you don't know what you're walking into that day. Cause I mean, you know, as much as we want to deify these people, they're just people and sometimes they're hungry and sometimes they're tired and sometimes they just yelled at someone or someone yelled at them. So they, you know, you, you have to assess who you're speaking to, But I think the key to doing any kind of interview is just connecting with the person sitting across from you. If you are determined to walk in there and like, I'm going to be the best interview of the day and I'm going to be a superstar and I'm going to make them laugh. You're setting yourself up for failure every single time because you have to be very zen about this, I think. Because the more you want, the less you're going to get, I think. I think that really where the connection comes from is just taking a deep breath and trusting that whatever path you go down is going to be the perfect path. And the only way that I think a person ever gets to that point where you can kind of trust that it's just going to work out the way it is, they can't all be grand slams. I mean, it's, you know, you just have to practice. You just have to do it a lot. It's not even about doing an interview. It's also about, like, how do you connect with people at the grocery store? How do you connect with people that you drop off your mail? And that, I think, is the mentality that I try to go in with. It's like, I love actors and filmmakers and above and below the line people. I love them. They've obviously affected my life so much and I get so nerded out. But at the end of the day, this is just another cool person to talk to. Because it's like everyone is interesting. Everyone. 

Tara Jabari  •  18:23
That's such a good point. Have you also found yourself like wanting to interview like your Uber driver now or anything like that? 

Grae Drake  •  18:31
I love talking to people. I love it. I mean, sometimes I need to be quiet. But I love an Uber driver. I just like finding out what people's story is. Like, what makes you tick? And like, I think people are hilarious and wonderful. And you just have to find it. That's it. I travel a lot. I mean, I'm in the airport. I love talking to people. It's because you're from all different places. And we're so delightfully different. And yet, so many things are the same. It's easy to relate to someone that you think you might not have anything in common with. And also, like I said earlier, I'm just nosy. Tell me everything. tell me your weirdest thing. That's the other thing I like. I don't want you to make yourself look perfect to me. I want to know the weird stuff. Because I think that's the stuff that's 

Tara Jabari  •  19:36
really relatable. That's true. And I think a lot of people say you learn more from the mistakes than you do from your accomplishments. So it's the messy parts that really make us more human than not and i travel quite a lot too like i'm in phuket thailand right now i painted yeah but it's on the other side of the planet 12 to 15 hour difference um very different life so it's they're like it's super cheap to live here versus in america but for them it's it's not you know all sources however at the same time everyone is just trying to make a living make their Everyone wants their kids to be safe. We still say thank you or kopi khan in Thai for thank you and just being gracious and respectful. And then if they ever came to the States, it's the same thing. So it's very true. And it's the same thing whether you are. I remember you were viral with Ryan Gosling when you're like, would you dry yourself with your face on it? Yeah, I had a dish towel with him. And he just starts laughing because I'd be like, well, if it were you, you would laugh too. How would you handle that? It was so funny. Just because you're Ryan Gosling. But it just showed the humanity in him, right? That's the thing. 

Grae Drake  •  21:09
I mean, and he I I have never met a stranger. That's how I feel, because I just because I just love people. And I think that some people obviously have extraordinary jobs and lives. And I get to talk to those people. And then some people have lives that are much more like mine. And everywhere I've been all over the world, it's like my favorite question. And it's like, what is it that you love about where you live? And what are what's like a fun thing that's different about where you live versus my country or where I live? And at the same time, it's like I can assume you want like you said, you want roof over your family's head. Everybody will be safe. Everybody's bellies are full. It's the same. We're all the same. I mean, I've just never found myself anywhere with all the same kind of person. And so I feel like diversity is what makes us stronger and so much more interesting. Because you should definitely travel and get to meet other people and see other places. And it's fascinating and also very comforting at the same time. 

Tara Jabari  •  22:28
Well, you went from studying film, working in film, in editing, cinematography, then became a film critic, then became a journalist. Is there anything else in the industry that you want to try out that you haven't yet? 

Grae Drake  •  22:45
Hmm. I, as a naturally curious person, I kind of, I, I, I, I'm always interested in where I can go, but I don't currently have any great ideas. Because one of the tricks about my job is that it's so fun that I sort of get really focused in myopic on it. So myopic or myopic? I've heard it pronounced both ways. Oh, I usually, the first one. Myopic, right? See, I don't know. But I feel closer to you now that you said. And so I work a lot in news stations and I don't think that I could really be a real reporter. And so I think any kinds of challenges that I'm imagining for myself are kind of outside of this. And I think the thing that I always come back to and the thing that I'm the most passionate about is connecting with people, but the way that I can use that skill is limitless. Yeah. You know, and I think something that I'm starting to get really interested in now is figuring out what is a way that I think people need help and how can I help them? Because my empathy, I think, has just gone off the charts with how insane everything has gone. And I've started to really think about how can I be a force for good? Because people, they like talking to me. They like interacting with me. They listen to what I say. I'm persuasive. I, you know, I and so I and I'm that that curiosity has helped me a lot. So now I'm kind of thinking like, God, what is what is this? What's the next chapter like? You know, because I love this job, but I do I do get the feeling that it's like. Is this the version of helping people with through entertainment the way that I want to do it right now? And I'm wondering. 

Tara Jabari  •  25:08
Well, I'm excited to find out what's next with how you're going to do it. Thanks. Me too. I have only one last question and I want your brutal answer. How did I do as an interviewer? 

Grae Drake  •  25:21
Oh, you're so good. You have such a niceness about you. It's really magnetic. And so that's one of the first things I thought about you when you came up to thank us for the talk. Because I was like, I, I, and I also think there's like a, um, uh, there's courage in that as well. So it's like the fact that you're in Thailand, that says something about you, I think. And, um, you, I, I see, I'm like game recognized game. Cause like, you also seem very curious to me and that's a trait that I like in people a lot. 

Tara Jabari  •  25:59
Yeah. So I was always, I'm like, wait, she came from a background of editing. Oh, that's interesting. I mean, I would have talked to all three of you and I was talking to the people at my table. I am a curious person. I love that's the thing. Everyone has a story is what I say. So, oh, totally. 

Grae Drake  •  26:18
And it's so I just love it. I'm like, oh, my God. It's like you could write a book about literally every person on the planet. 

Tara Jabari  •  26:25
That's so true. But thank you so much. And is there anything that you want to share that we haven't touched on? 

Grae Drake  •  26:35
No, I mean, I really feel like I feel like I've said I've said so much. You helped me run the gamut of my the beginnings of my career. So thank you. And thank you for thank you for being interested. 

Tara Jabari  •  26:48
Thank you. Definitely. And I will have your website and everything on the show notes. And till next time. Oh, that's great. Thanks, Tara. 

Grae Drake  •  26:57
And tell, you know, Thailand, I said hi. 

VO  •  27:00
I will. Thanks for listening to Media Maker Spotlight. from Women in Film and Video. To learn more about WIF, visit wif as in Frank, v as in Victor.org. This podcast is produced by Sandra Abrams, Candice Block, Brandon Ferry, Tara Jabari, and Jerry Reinhart, and edited by Michelle Kim, with audio production and mix by Steve Lack Audio and Ed Saltzman. Subscribe to continue learning from more amazing media makers. Please visit MediaMakerSpotlight.com for more information.