Stacey Wilson Hunt has interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, profiled A-list talent, and once received a thank-you call from Oprah. She’s moderated red carpet roundtables, contributed to Vulture, and is currently a contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter. And though she readily describes herself as an overachiever, she carries it lightly—Stacey is insightful and warm, the kind of person who makes you feel at ease the moment she walks into the room. So it’s no surprise that My Hollywood Story, her new podcast recorded on-site at NeueHouse Hollywood, has attracted some of the brightest talents in entertainment for candid conversations about their lives and careers. Ahead of the May 20th premiere, she sat down with NeueJournal to talk about her own journey, her hopes for the show, and why a good interview always leaves room for surprise.
NEUEJOURNAL: We’re so excited to be hosting My Hollywood Story at NeueHouse. To use an industry term, what’s the elevator pitch?
STACEY WILSON HUNT: It’s a fairly simple concept—tracing someone’s personal and professional careers—but it really doesn’t exist anywhere in podcasting, [or in] long-form television interviews. There are hints of this elsewhere, but there is nothing that’s a devoted career trajectory from when you were born until present day. It does not exist anywhere in podcasting. I think there’s a craving for smart, thoughtful, and reflective [interviews] that give talent space to really tell their story in a way that makes them feel comfortable and also makes them feel proud of what they’ve accomplished. Anyone can watch a bunch of movies and shows and then trace a career, almost like an IMDB entry— but that’s not what the show is. The show is about examining the milestones in these people’s lives and careers. And then trying to find the connective tissue.
NEUEJOURNAL: You’ve had such an expansive career in entertainment journalism. What draws you to these conversations, and what keeps them exciting for you?
STACEY WILSON HUNT: I love tracing someone’s life. I think there’s just never-ending joy in that. The real joy is just excavating stories and surprising insights about someone. It feels like being an archeologist, where you’re digging and you come upon treasure. When those moments happen in an interview, you just feel like magic washing over you.
For example, when I spoke to Kaitlin Olson—I grew up with her in Portland so I knew a little bit about this childhood bike accident that she’d had—but I had no idea it had informed so much of her sense of self and her worldview; how was so devastated by the physical and emotional toll of that accident that she chose to spend her life making people laugh. And then, she realized that not only was she a great actor, but she was very funny. I had no idea that that had impacted her so much. You can read something happening to someone, but that never tells the full story. And in fact, it barely tells any story at all. There’s always another layer.
NEUEJOURNAL: The show launches during FYC season. What felt meaningful about this particular moment to begin?
STACEY WILSON HUNT: The nice thing about launching during this time of year is taking advantage of Emmy’s phase one campaigning and talent [availability]. That said, I don’t want this to be a podcast that centers on only interviewing people for awards consideration. Emmys and Oscars are one element of someone’s value, but they are a very small part of their overall value and contributions to the business.
One of my first guests, Lesli Linka Glatter—the most iconic and prolific director of my generation in television—has never won an Emmy. She’s been nominated six to eight times; her resume reads like a roadmap to where we started in television and where we are. And no one has done the work that she has. No one on Earth has her career. And yet, for whatever reason, she just happens to have never won an Emmy. So I think it’s worth acknowledging that awards are just a tiny, tiny imprint that someone is contributing to the business.
“The more thought you can put into the question, the more thoughtful the answer will be.”
NEUEJOURNAL: What do you hope audiences take away from the show?
STACEY WILSON HUNT: I hope that they can find something that’s new and honestly feels like a reprieve from the sadness in the world. I also really want people to just feel inspired. If just one person hears an interview that I’ve done and thinks, “wow, I’m not going to give up. I’m still going to try to become a writer. I’m still going to try to make that movie,” because they heard this story, and if this person can do it, they can too—for me, there’s nothing more powerful than that, no matter what businesses you’re in.
NEUEJOURNAL: Members will have the chance to attend live tapings and even submit questions. Any tips for asking a good question?
STACEY WILSON HUNT: Always avoid yes or no answers. So never ask a question like, “Were you scared when you went on the Oscar stage?” You might get an okay response to that, but instead, use my little trick and say, “How scared were you when you were walking up to the stage to get your Oscar?” That’s basic journalism 101—that the slight rewording of that encourages the person to think a little bit more deeply. The more thought you can put into the question, the more thoughtful the answer will be.
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