Interview (magazine)
{{Short description|American pop culture magazine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title = Interview
| logo = Interview mag logo.svg
| image_file = Interview Spring 2024.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = Cover of the Spring 2024 issue, featuring Rihanna by Nadia Lee Cohen
| editor = Mel Ottenberg{{Cite web| last = Hastreiter| first = Kim| title = Mel Ottenberg Takes Over Interview Magazine As Top Editor| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2021-08-27| date = 2021-08-27| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/style/mel-ottenberg-interview-magazine.html//}}
| editor_title = Editor in Chief
| image_alt =
| frequency = Bimonthly
| paid_circulation =
| unpaid_circulation =
| total_circulation =
| circulation_year =
| company = Crystal Ball Media
| issn = 0149-8932
| category = Pop culture
| founder = Andy Warhol, John Wilcock
| editor2 = Richard Turley
| editor_title2 = Editorial & Design Director
| editor3 = Christopher Bollen
| editor_title3 = Editor at Large
| editor4 =
| editor_title4 =
| founded =
| firstdate = {{start date|1969|10|df=y}}
| based = New York City
| country = United States
| website = {{URL|Interviewmagazine.com}}
}}
Interview is an American magazine founded by pop artist Andy Warhol and journalist John Wilcock in 1969.{{cite web|title=The 20 Best Magazines of the Decade (2000-2009)|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/11/the-20-best-magazines-of-the-decade.html|work=Paste Magazine|access-date=10 August 2015|date=26 November 2009|archive-date=8 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408181256/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/11/the-20-best-magazines-of-the-decade.html|url-status=dead}} The magazine, nicknamed "The Crystal Ball of Pop,"{{cite web|url=http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/19521-the-crystal-ball-of-pop-culture.html| title=The Crystal Ball of Pop Culture| author=Kevin Howell| date=December 13, 2004|work=Publishers Weekly| access-date=May 29, 2015}}{{cite web| url=http://www.clashmusic.com/features/ten-things-you-never-knew-about-andy-warhol| title=Ten Things You Never Knew About Andy Warhol| author=Anna Wilson| date=July 17, 2014|publisher=Clash Music| access-date=May 29, 2015}} features interviews of and by celebrities.
Background
In 1965, pop artist Andy Warhol announced his retirement from painting to focus on filmmaking.{{Cite book |last=Warhol |first=Andy |url=https://archive.org/details/popismwarhol60s0000warh/mode/2up?q=retire |title=POPism: The Warhol '60s |date=1980 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |others= |isbn=978-0-15-173095-7 |location=New York |pages=115, 221}} After he survived an assassination attempt in 1968, he began to concentrate on building a business enterprise. When Warhol tried to obtain press permits for the New York Film Festival, he was denied.{{Cite web |last=Nevins |first=Jake |date=2025-05-09 |title=Founding Editor Gerard Malanga Takes Us Back to the Early Days of Interview |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/gerard-malanga-takes-us-back-to-the-early-days-of-interview?fbclid=IwY2xjawKMRONleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFmUGJRSW83UGJOU243UnBnAR7FccbBglyynrIXqS5_KMIgQbD-BMD4Pn30H_eHjsRfS7578LyttLyDjAQqkw_aem_z-Vvlsyep__WckPaZPjXMw |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}} Therefore, having a formal method for obtaining press passes was one of the reasons he founded inter/VIEW: A Monthly Film Journal with British journalist John Wilcock in 1969.
The magazine, which was headquartered at Warhol's Factory, started as a film review before shifting its emphasis to pop culture. "I felt there was a need for an easygoing, conversational magazine,' said Warhol.{{Cite news |last=Sheppard |first=Eugenia |date=1974-05-28 |title=Warhol Factory Houses All Of His Projects |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lexington-herald-andy-warhol-and-arc/161929044/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |work=The Lexington Herald |pages=9}} "Every other paper is full of bad news, but we publish only good."
Interview was published monthly, but is now published six times per year (March, Spring, Summer, September, Fall, Winter).
History
=Andy Warhol period=
The magazine was launched in October 1969 with a cover featuring a still from the experimental film Lions Love…(and Lies), which starred Warhol superstar Viva.{{Cite web |date=2013-11-12 |title=Agnes Varda on the first cover of Interview Magazine, 1969 |url=https://eastofborneo.org/archives/agnes-varda-on-the-first-cover-of-interview-magazine-1969/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=East of Borneo |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Pemberton |first=Nathan Taylor |date=2018-09-06 |title=The Last Living Dinosaur of the New Wave, Agnès Varda |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/the-life-and-times-of-international-treasure-agnes-varda |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |date=October 1994 |title=Viva Zoom! A to Z!: The evolution of our revolutionary feature section |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_interview_1994-10_24_10/page/134/mode/2up?q=october+1969 |journal=Interview |volume=24 |issue=10 |pages=134}} Initially, the magazine was merely a film critique spread published under the title inter/VIEW: A Monthly Film Journal, with the word "view" paying homage to poet Charles Henri Ford, the publisher of the influential literary magazine View in the 1940s.
Gerard Malanga, Paul Morrissey, John Wilcock and Andy Warhol served as editors of Interview
Bob Colacello was taking a film course at Columbia University when he began writing film reviews for Interview in 1970. By the fall of 1970, Colacello was hired as the managing editor at a salary of $50 (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|50|1970|r=-2}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}) a week. He brought in his friend and classmate Glenn O'Brien as an associate editor.{{Cite web |last=Colacello |first=Bob |date=2017-04-10 |title=Remembering Glenn O’Brien, Before and After Andy Warhol |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/04/remembering-glenn-obrien?srsltid=AfmBOooSbwNcp0GLwPRZ4jQfB0PNUmiV1kiEC_hCGklMj6FmSmjr5O_0 |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}} Colacello's first issue featured film 1940s-era stills of actress Rita Hayworth on the cover and on every page. The idea came from Morrissey, who told Colacello, "Just put one on every page and it'll be funny."{{Cite web |last=Whittle |first=Andrea |date=September 4, 2020 |title=My Life in Parties: Bob Colacello's Off-Kilter Views of New York Society |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/bob-colacello-party-photographs-1970s-new-york-andy-warhol-interview-magazine |website=W Magazine}}
In 1970, film director Jerome Hill and Charles Rydell became part-owners of Interview. Their share was sold to Peter Brant and his cousin Joe Allen in 1971.{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Vanessa |date=December 30, 2011 |title=Lunch with the FT: Peter Brant |url=https://www.ft.com/content/62ae9f52-27e3-11e1-9433-00144feabdc0 |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Financial Times |language=en-GB}}
By 1972, Interview had a circulation of 30,000, mostly subscriptions.{{Cite news |last=Kushner |first=Trucia D. |date=1972-04-06 |title=Dirty Movies Just Part of Andy Warhol's Strange Life |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch-andy-warhol-wwd/153797250/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |pages=68}} O'Brien worked with artist Richard Bernstein to create the new cursive Interview logo, which is still used today. The magazine increased size, started printing color covers, and was distributed regularly for 50 cents (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|0.5|1972|r=0}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}) per copy. Interview was transformed to become a "reflection of Andy’s social life" said Colacello.{{Cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Jacob |date=2018-06-16 |title=The Great Interview Magazine Caper |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/16/style/andy-warhol-interview.html |access-date=2024-08-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} "We wanted every issue of Interview to be like a great dinner party, where you have a grande dame, an important political figure, a rock star, an up-and-coming actress, and some model."
O'Brien and his wife Jude Jade sold advertising for the magazine before Sandy Brant became the director of advertising in 1972.{{Cite journal |last=Colacello |first=Bob |date=December 1989 |title=Interview—Back To The Future? |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_vanity-fair_1989-12_52_12/page/n143/mode/2up?q=jed+johnson |journal=Vanity Fair |volume=52 |issue=12 |pages=134, 140}} O'Brien succeeded Colacello as managing editor of Interview in 1972 and continued in that capacity until 1973.{{Cite book |last=Colacello |first=Bob |url=https://archive.org/details/holyterrorandywa0000cola_a4e9/page/138/mode/2up?q=sandy |title=Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up |date=1990 |publisher=HarperCollins |others= |isbn=978-0-06-016419-5 |location=New York, NY |pages=6–7, 38, 41, 138}} In 1973, Rosemary Kent, an editor from WWD magazine, became the editor-in-chief of Interview, which at that point had a circulation of almost 70,000.{{Cite news |last=Frizzelle |first=Nancy |date=September 27, 1973 |title='Little Girl' With Big Pencil |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-interview-mag/160759497/ |work=San Francisco Examiner |pages=26}} In 1974, Colacello took over as editor-in-chief and remained in that position until 1983.
Warhol hosted parties for the magazine at New York hotspots such as Studio 54 and Regine's. He used a tape recorder he had in his pocket to capture content for Interview. The interviews were taped conversations of well-known eclectic people usually at a restaurant and published as a literal transcription. Another trademark of the magazine were full-page photographs of "beautiful people."{{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=Michele |date=June 24, 1981 |title=Interviewing Interview |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-interviewing-intervi/172137649/ |journal=The Atlanta Journal |pages=Section B}}
By 1981, Interview was priced at $2 (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|2|1981|r=-1}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}) a copy and had a circulation of 90,000.{{Cite news |last=Weil |first=Debbie |date=1981-06-26 |title=Andy Warhol In Fantasyland: Somehow Smaller Than Life |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-andy-warhol-in/154380715/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |pages=1-B, 3-B}} The magazine was described as a "hybrid of People and Vogue on elongated newsprint."
From 1972 to 1989, the artist Richard Bernstein created the covers for Interview, giving the publication its bold and colorful signature style.{{Cite web |last=Rosen |first=Miss |date=2024-03-27 |title=How Richard Bernstein Created Interview Magazine’s Iconic 1980s Covers |url=https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/15538/richard-bernstein-interview-magazine-iconic-1980s-covers-andy-warhol |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=AnOther |language=en}} Photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Christopher Makos took pictures for the magazine. Writer Fran Lebowitz was paid $10 (${{formatnum:{{inflation|US|10|1980|r=-1}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}}{{inflation-fn|US}}) a review for her film column. Fashion journalist André Leon Talley answered the phones and styled shoots.
Over time, Warhol withdrew from everyday oversight of Interview but he continued to act as an ambassador for the magazine, distributing issues in the street to passersby and promoting the magazine at events.
=Brant Publications period=
In 1989, Brant Publications Inc. acquired Interview magazine from the estate of Andy Warhol for $10 million.{{Cite news |date=1989-05-09 |title=Interview Magazine Is Sold |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/09/business/interview-magazine-is-sold.html |access-date=2024-08-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Businessman Peter Brant and his then-wife Sandra Brant were friends of Warhol, who died in 1987, and they had briefly invested in Interview in the 1970s.
File:Interview (magazine cover).jpg]]
From 1989 to 2008, Sandra Brant ran the business and her longtime partner Ingrid Sischy was the editor-in-chief.{{Cite web |date=2015-07-27 |title=Remembering Ingrid Sischy |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/remembering-ingrid-sischy |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}} The magazine's format remained consistent at 60% features and 40% glossy advertising. In 2008, Sischy resigned from Interview when Brant sold her 50 percent stake.{{cite news|title=Ingrid Sischy and Sandra Brant to Helm 'Vanity Fair' Abroad|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/03/ingrid_sischy_and_sandra_brant.html|access-date=15 October 2012|newspaper=New York Magazine|date=17 March 2008}}
=2008 to 2018=
For a year and a half the magazine was in flux, edited by Christopher Bollen.{{cite news|title=Management Changes at Interview Magazine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/business/media/20interview.html|access-date=15 October 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 July 2009}} Interview restarted under co-editorial directors Fabien Baron and Glenn O'Brien in September 2008, with a cover featuring Kate Moss. Stephen Mooallem and Christopher Bollen served as the working editor-in-chief and editor-at-large, respectively. The publication's content can be found online and via an app, Other Edition, available on iTunes.
As of 2017, Fabien Baron was the editorial director, Karl Templer was the creative director, and Nick Haramis was the editor-in-chief. In December 2013, Stephen Mooallem left Interview to join Harper's Bazaar as its executive editor. Keith Pollock served as editor-in-chief from 2014 to 2016.{{cite web| url=http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/keith-pollock-named-editor-in-chief-of-interview-7399093?src=nl/mornReport/20140129|title=Keith Pollock Named Editor in Chief of Interview|work=WWD|date=28 January 2014|access-date=29 January 2014|author=Steigrad, Alexandra}}
It was announced on May 21, 2018, that the publication 'folded' and would end both its print and web publications by the end of 2018. The publication also filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidation.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/may/21/andy-warhol-interview-magazine-closes|title=Interview magazine closes, ending a 50-year survey of Manhattan cool|work=The Guardian|date=May 21, 2018|access-date=May 26, 2018|first=Edward|last=Helmore|location=New York}}{{cite web|url=http://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13685130-74/interview-magazine-folds-but-archive-will-live-on-at-pittsburghs-andy-warhol|title=Interview Magazine folds, but archive will live on at Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Museum|work=TribLive|date= May 24, 2018|first=Matthew|last=Santoni|access-date=May 24, 2018}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8457337/interview-magazine-ceases-publication|title=Interview Magazine Ceases Publication|magazine=Billboard|date= May 23, 2018|first=Maggie|last=Serota|access-date=May 24, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/media/interview-magazine-folds/index.html|title=Interview Magazine, founded by Andy Warhol, shuts down|publisher=CNN|date= May 21, 2018|first=Tom|last=Kludt|access-date=May 24, 2018}}
=Relaunch=
In August 2018, it was reported that a company owned by Peter Brant, Singleton LLC, purchased Interview out of bankruptcy for $1.5 million.{{Cite web |last=Jonathan |first=Randles |date=August 29, 2018 |title=Publisher Peter Brant Buys Interview Magazine Out Of Bankruptcy |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/publisher-peter-brant-buys-interview-magazine-out-of-bankruptcy-1535565321 |website=Wall Street Journal}}
On September 6, 2018, Interview announced the launch of its 521st issue.{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BnYhRhdnZOb/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BnYhRhdnZOb |archive-date=2021-12-26 |url-access=registration|title=Interview Magazine on Instagram: "Our 1st cover star is now our 521st! @agnes.varda interviewed by @hansulrichobrist, with love notes to Agnès from @ava, Angelina Jolie,…"|website=Instagram|language=en|access-date=2018-09-06}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/InterviewMag/status/1037679112603803650|title=Interview Magazine on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en}} The magazine was purchased by Kelly Brant and Jason Nikic,{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/how-interview-magazine-came-back-from-the-dead|title=How Interview Magazine Came Back From the Dead|date=2018-09-06|work=The Business of Fashion|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en-GB}} with some reports suggesting that the title's intellectual property will be returned to Peter Brant.{{Cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/interview-relaunch-brant-1340087|title='Interview' Magazine Will Relaunch in September After Peter Brant Essentially Repurchased It From Himself {{!}} artnet News|date=2018-08-30|work=artnet News|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://jezebel.com/report-interview-magazine-undercuts-300-unpaid-contrib-1828774532|title=Report: Interview Magazine Sidesteps 300 Unpaid Creditors and Relaunches|last=Kimball|first=Whitney|work=Jezebel|access-date=2018-09-06|language=en-US}}
Editors
Managing Editor / Executive Editor / Editor-in-Chief
| class="wikitable"
!Editor !Start year !End year !Ref. |
| Gerard Malanga
|1969 |1970 |
| Soren Agenoux
|1970 |1970 |
| Kenneth Geist
|1970 |1970 |
| Bob Colacello
|1970 |1971 |
| Glenn O'Brien
|1972 |1973 |
| Rosemary Kent
|1973 |1974 |
| Bob Colacello
|1974 |1983 |
| Robert Hayes
|1983 |1984 |
| Gael Love
|1985 |1987 |
| Kevin Sessums
|1987 |1989 |
| Shelley Wanger
|1988 |1990 |
| Ingrid Sischy
|1990 |2008 |
| Christopher Bollen
|2008 |2009 |
| Nick Haramis
|2017 |2021 |
| Mel Ottenberg
|2021 |present |
Editions
| class="wikitable"
!Country !Circulation Dates !Editor-in-Chief !Star year !End year |
| rowspan="2" |United States (Interview)
|1969–2018 | colspan="3" rowspan="2" |See above |
| 2018–present |
| Russia (Interview Russia)
|2011– |2011 |2017 |
| rowspan="2" |Germany (Interview Germany)
| rowspan="2" |2012–2020 |2012 |2013 |
| Lisa Feldmann{{Cite web |title=Kündigung: Lisa Feldmann hört bei „Interview“ auf - WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/medien/article125586576/Lisa-Feldmann-hoert-bei-Interview-auf.html |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=DIE WELT |language=de}}
|2013 |2014 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.interviewmagazine.com}}
- {{cite web |title=INTERVIEW MAGAZINE GERMANY |url=http://blog.interview.de/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130510205045/http://blog.interview.de/ |archive-date=10 May 2013}}
{{Warhol}}
{{Brant Publications}}
Category:1969 establishments in New York City
Category:Magazines established in 1969
Category:Monthly magazines published in the United States
Category:Cultural magazines published in the United States
Category:Contemporary art magazines