MANILA, Philippines – Tony Award winner Lea Salonga weighed in on the much talked about interview of entertainment editor Ricky Lo with “Les Miserables” actress Anne Hathaway.
While saying she cannot speak for Hathaway, Salonga explained that based on her own experience during press junkets, she has been trained “to expect all kinds of questions, ranging from broadsheet to tabloid, so I try to keep my answers creative.”
“You get a lot of the same questions, and by the end of the day, the brain is so… for lack of a better word, ‘bangag,’” she told journalist Alexy Vergara which was published in his personal blog, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.
In Lo’s interview with Hathaway, the entertainment columnist asked the actress about her weight loss for the movie: "You lost 25 pounds for Fantine. How did you do it, and how did you gain it back?"
At first laughing, Hathaway said, "I'd rather not talk about the weight loss, please."
Lo also asked her, "For somebody who is perceived to live a life of luxury and privilege, how are you able to identify with Fantine? Have you ever experience to be hungry, be poor... just like the character?"
To which Hathaway answered, "That's a very personal question."
As an actress, Salonga said her job is “to remain professional and pleasant, as I need that reporter to write about and talk about my show, or TV stint, or movie, or whatever.”
“Everyone sees things from his or her own unique perspective. But I can think of a bazillion ways to answer the question, ‘How did you lose 25 pounds in 5 weeks,’ if only for the benefit of entertaining myself,” Salonga added.
In Lo’s interview, Hathaway was all praises for Salonga, who played Fantine on Broadway, saying she adores the Filipina singer and she hopes to meet her one day.
Later in the interview, Lo asked Hathaway again on what she would want to tell Salonga. Hathaway pleasantly declined: "We've already talked about Lea."
This led some netizens to view that interview as "awkward" and "painful to watch."
But Salonga noted that interviews are also about how questions are asked.
Citing The Filipino Channel’s resident film critic Manny the Movie Guy’s interview with Hathaway, Salonga said his delivery “totally relaxed and lightened the atmosphere.”
source: abs-cbnnews.com
