Global ImageWorks is proud to represent the series INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO
- Representing over 250 shows, from 1995 to 2017
- Hosted by James Lipton
- Featuring iconic actors, directors, and music composers
INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO began as a televised craft seminar for students of the Actors Studio Drama School, originally a joint venture of the Actors Studio and New School University in 1994, with Paul Newman, a former Actors Studio president, as its first guest.
James Lipton was the creator, executive producer, writer and host of INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO for over 22 years. He was the founder and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, received three honorary PhDs, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Lipton was hilariously portrayed by Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live, and had a cameo appearance on The Simpsons!
The interviews were guided by Lipton's trademark index-card questions, which sometimes reveal his well-researched knowledge of guests' lives, often startling some. On one such occasion, Billy Crystal told Lipton, "You know you're scary, don't you?" And Sir Anthony Hopkins, upon learning that Lipton knew the exact address where the former had been born and raised in Wales, turned to the audience and remarked, "He's a detective, you know."
The interview was always followed by a questionnaire concept originated by French television personality Bernard Pivot after the Proust Questionnaire. The 10 questions are:
- What is your favorite word?
- What is your least favorite word?
- What turns you on?
- What turns you off?
- What sound or noise do you love?
- What sound or noise do you hate?
- What is your favorite curse word?
- What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
- What profession would you not like to do?
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
The show deliberately uses a slower pace in the interviews as compared with a typical celebrity interview. The cameras usually recorded three to four hours of conversation that were later edited to one or two hours. The result, as a New York Times article expressed it, "In Mr. Lipton's guest chair, actors cease being stars for a while and become artists and teachers." The program would conclude with a question-and-answer session with the University's acting students.
For clip licensing opportunities contact: Chris Robertson chris@globalimageworks.com