Ben Mulroney interviews the biggest stars and reports live from red carpets around the world. As the friendly anchor of Canada’s number one entertainment show, CTV’s eTalk, Mulroney always brings the best to what he does as a speaker, emcee, event moderator, and interviewer. Whether on stage or in front of a camera, Mulroney draws on his incredible expertise to create memorable and entertaining experiences for all his audiences. Yesterday, The Loop caught up with Ben at the end of his long (but exciting!) day on the Oscar’s Red Carpet:
Right now, all Ben Mulroney wants to do is go to bed. The eTalk anchor woke up at 5:45 a.m. PT this morning, shot footage for Monday’s show, then interviewed a record number of A-listers for the live Oscars red carpet special. And he’s got to get up at 3 a.m. on Monday. He’s also had a Heineken and a half — an annual post-Oscar tradition — and that isn’t helping him stay awake right now.
But we must keep him up. We have a lot of questions about what really went on behind the scenes during the Oscars star-studded red carpet: Which actor gave the best “tuxocity,” as Ben likes to say? Were Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson the most awkward pair on the carpet or did we miss somebody? And who just smelled really great?
Ben is going to tell us.
And then he can go to bed.
Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lopez had massive dresses. How did they fit in that teeny-weeny, little square you had to stand in while you’re doing your interviews?
“They didn’t have to come into the square; just me, a producer and a cameraman. They had the whole red carpet to stand on. But I did ask Felicity if the Academy had granted her two seats because of the volume of her dress. She indicated that she hoped they would.”
Your production team was begging you to get a whiff of J.Lo. Did you?
“Yeah, I wasn’t going to do that. That is the creepiest thing.”
Who was the most nervous? Was it Dakota Johnson and her mom? It was totally Dakota Johnson and her mom.
“Dakota Johnson didn’t get my joke! I told her that last time I checked, Fifty Shades of Grey had made $18 billion at the box office. And she looked at me and said, “That’s not possible.” I said, “It was a joke!” Eh. Sometimes you nail it and sometimes you don’t. Probably the most awkward interview of the night.”
Who was your favourite interview and why?
“Rosamund Pike was my favourite. Actually, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch were my Top 3. On these carpets, you expect short answers to questions, but those three were giving me the time of day like nobody’s business. They gave me long, honest, forthright answers.”
Who was the most gorgeous in person?
“Rosamund Pike had a tremendous look. Reese Witherspoon looked great. I thought Felicity Jones carried herself really well. And Jennifer Lopez looked phenomenal. She looks phenomenal all the time.”
What’s was the most memorable moment?
“Well, we did 45 interviews over the course of that red carpet, and that’s a record for us. And we talked to every actor who ended up winning, which is great. But this is what I remember: Patricia Arquette showed up early, a few minutes before we first went live, and so we taped our intro early with her. And we just rolled from that. So, we were able to start the show with someone who ended up winning an Academy Award. Another bonus: She’s about to premiere a new show on CTV [CSI: Cyber]; convergence at its best!”
The. Rain. Anyone get doused?
“There was a seam in the tent about 100 feet beyond us that really started giving people some problems. I was too busy with interviews to really see what was going on, but people were dealing with it as best they could. It actually was preventing some people from doing their interviews. No one got wet though. With A-listers, from what I understand, as soon as you get out of the limo, there’s an army of umbrella handlers.”
Who gave the best tux – or rather, “tuxocity”?
“John Legend and Common both know how to wear a tux, so they both looked great, but they always look great. You know who had a really good tux? Michael Keaton. There was a little bit of a pattern woven into the material.”
Whose look did you see and think, “I could never ever pull that off”?
“David Oyelowo wore a red tux. He can pull that off. I can’t pull that off. I couldn’t wear that. I know myself. I wouldn’t try to pull off anything that Matthew McConaughey has worn over the past 18 months, but that’s just because his style ain’t my style.”
We heard you did a plank on the red carpet. Which begs the question: Why did you do a plank on the red carpet?
“I have a trainer at home, and planking and burpees are her favorite thing. I promised her a while ago that I would do a plank on the Golden Globes carpet and on this one. I did a side plank on this one.”
But why?
“So she could see my face!”
/The Loop/February, 2015