There's more to red-carpet reporting than standing in front of a camera with your spawn and alternately praising and vomiting over people's clothing choices. I had a very informative IM chat with Whitney Pastorek, Editorial Assistant at Entertainment Weekly, on how exactly to make the best of it when you find yourself shoving your microphone into Tom Cruise's face.

MBToolBox: what have you learned about it that you wish you had known when you started out?

Pastorek: I wish someone had told me that it's important not to ask yes or no questions.

Pastorek: gotta ask something open-ended so they're forced to give you the time of day and actually SAY something.

Pastorek: I also wish someone had explained a little more about the predatory nature of your fellow red-carpet denizens.

MBToolBox: predatory? how so?

MBToolBox: is everybody really rushed/semi-rude? how do you deal with that?
Pastorek: Everyone is rushed, but some are ruder than others. I mean, there are the stars that want to talk but are being shoved along by a publicist, and the stars that would rather kill themselves than talk to you, and then there are the nice people who seem as though they could honestly hang out all day and chat.

Pastorek: predatory: quote poachers. They stick their tape recorder into your interview and steal your quotes.

Pastorek: Never have any questions of their own, just content to mooch off yours.

MBToolBox: ah. I thought that wasn't ethical.

Pastorek: it's not, but if Tom Cruise is going to stand in front of you for 45 seconds and you don't have the balls to ask a question, then chances are you're going to need to poach.

MBToolBox: what about being comfortable/blending in, clothes/shoes wise?

Pastorek: I personally believe that it doesn't matter what you're wearing on the red carpet, but others would disagree.

Pastorek: but it's awfully solipsistic to think the star is looking at your footwear or something, no?

Pastorek: basically, just look professional and presentable. my uniform is black shirt, black pants, and some sort of comfy standing shoes. whenever I've been on a carpet next to someone in heels, I have to hear them whine.

MBToolBox: do you prepare questions? or is that pointless as you don't know who you'll have time with?

Pastorek: Sometimes I prepare questions, especially if I'm on the carpet looking for a specific thing, or need a pithy quote.

Pastorek: in general, it's hard because it moves so fast and if you have to flip through notes or something, there's no way.

Pastorek: good to go on the fly. plus, I'm just not a big question-preparer anyway. I like to see where the conversation goes.

Pastorek: but if you get the tip sheet beforehand

Pastorek: it's nice to take some time and make sure you know who everyone is. Nothing worse than being at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, staring at BB King, and realizing you don't know anything about him besides the fact that his guitar is named Lucille.

MBToolBox: and that he has diabetes

MBToolBox: how do you get good questions when there's so much trite stuff being asked?

MBToolBox: i.e. "Did you enjoy working on 'War of the Worlds'" etc?

Pastorek: Oh, god, it is very hard not to get self-conscious when everyone around you is asking trite questions.

Pastorek: because you start to think, god, do I sound like that?

Pastorek: think of it this way: anyone can read about whether Dakota Fanning liked working with Tom Cruise ANYWHERE. Think of things YOU want to know, and chances are there's someone else out there wondering about the same thing.

Pastorek: But also realize that there's a limited amount of things to ask in a very short amount of time and you've got to just get it done. These people get paid millions of dollars because sometimes they have to answer the same question 17 times in a row.

MBToolBox: how about politesse? Do you have to be semi aggressive? patient? be prepared to be shoved?

Pastorek: Be polite to the stars. Be REALLY polite to their publicists. Learn the publicist's names as often as possible.

Pastorek: but do NOT be polite to the people who are trying to elbow you out of your spot, or the people poking you in the back to get INTO your spot, and if anyone ever asks you to stop asking so many questions so they can ask something, too, I personally believe your response should be, "Well, then, ask it already!" Because I only keep talking if the people around me aren't. It's every man for himself. OH. And if you ask me to stop asking so many questions so you can ask something, too, I would really appreciate it if your question isn't "Who's your valentine?" or "What ringtone do you have on your phone?" I realize some people have to ask those questions due to where they work, but it's obnoxious to be interrupted with that stuff.

MBToolBox: and I assume that if a celebrity is rude to you, to suppress the urge to give them what-for

Pastorek: if a celebrity is rude to you, they can walk away. You can't. You have to stand there and take it. I've had some really awkward conversations with people on the red carpet but there was nothing I could do about it. I pretty much just had to stand there and keep coming up with questions until they tired of me and left.

Pastorek: it's important to remember

Pastorek: that I am very lucky to work in a place where I can call these people's representatives and get time with them alone

Pastorek: and that there are a lot of other outlets out there that don't have that same privilege and need to get a lot of that stuff done in a red carpet context.

Pastorek: I fully recognize that I have been given a gift. If you see me on a carpet, I'm there either to 1. get a pithy quote we can run as-is or 2. talk about style stuff. But I'm also going to take advantage of the chance to chat with people face to face and really get a sense of who they are, what they're working on, etc., and try to get at least one human reaction out of them, because, I dunno, I'm a curious person and I genuinely like talking to people.

MBToolBox: what do you think you still need to get better at, when it comes to red carpet stuff?

Pastorek: Well, the aforementioned planning ahead. Sometimes I am TOO trusting in my own brilliance. I also need to remember that these people have never met me before and just spent the last 15 minutes talking to Extra! and while getting a human reaction out of them is fun and interesting for me, they might not get my sense of humor right out of the box, so maybe I should try and keep the wisecracks to a minimum.

MBToolBox: oh also, maybe is there anything to be said about the star-struck factor? I.e. don't get excited about xyz, don't think you're a celebrity, etc?

Pastorek: Um, and as for the star-struck thing:

Pastorek: I have looked Tom Cruise in the face, Claire, and I can tell you it was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I was planning to be all cool and in control, and I totally blew it.

Pastorek: it was the Collateral premiere and he HATED my question ("How did people treat you with the gray hair on set? Did you get more respect?") and just kind of stared at me for about 5 seconds, blinked, said "No," and moved on. It sucked. But you see, there, I think I was trying too hard.

Pastorek: probably should have just been like, "Hey, talk about playing a bad guy!" and left it at that.

Pastorek: Also, I have found it's really important to get there early for a number of reasons. First, to stake out a good spot (if they don't have them labeled) and second, so you get a couple people to warm up on before the big names start coming. I will never forget rolling into the VMAs a little late last year, putting a tape in the recorder, taking a breath, and looking up to find the Beastie Boys standing in front of me.

Pastorek: Other tips: well, there's the duhs: bring extra tapes, batteries, pens, paper, water.

Pastorek: seriously remember that the publicist is your friend.

Pastorek: talk to as many people as you feel like, because you never know what, like, Kwame Jackson from The Apprentice is gonna say. But at the same time, remember, you don't have to talk to everyone.

Pastorek: Be polite to your fellow reporters but don't let them walk all over you, and box out your space. And if you're grouped in with a big crowd of people (like, "Okay! You 5! You'll have 5 questions with Mr. Pitt!"), don't be afraid to go first.

Pastorek: Ooh! And this is important;

Pastorek: try and stay as far away from similar publications as possible. Like, I hate it when they stick me between US Weekly and People (even though we're not that similar, AHEM), because then the chance we're all going to ask the same exact question is exponentially higher. Try to get a spot away from your peers, like, in between a Spanish language station and the local independent paper or something.

Pastorek: While my friend Brian and I had a lot of fun at the Rock n' Roll Hall, it was still not a great idea to have Rolling Stone and EW as a one-two punch at the beginning of the line, you know?