| Interview | |
| Frequency: | Bimonthly |
| Company: | Crystal Ball Media |
| Issn: | 0149-8932 |
| Language: | English |
| Category: | Pop culture |
| Founder: | Andy Warhol, John Wilcock |
| Editor3: | Kelly Brant |
| Editor Title3: | President |
| Editor4: | Mel Ottenberg[1] |
| Editor Title4: | Editor in Chief |
| Publisher: | Jason Nikic |
| Based: | New York City |
| Country: | United States |
Interview is an American magazine founded in 1969 by artist Andy Warhol and British journalist John Wilcock.[2] The magazine, nicknamed "The Crystal Ball of Pop",[3] [4] features interviews of and by celebrities.
Pop artist Andy Warhol founded Interview with British journalist John Wilcock in 1969. In the beginning, the magazine was merely a film critique spread published under the title inter/VIEW: A Monthly Film Journal. During this period, Warhol was retired from painting to focus on filmmaking and building a business enterprise.[5]
In 1970, Bob Colacello was taking a film course at Columbia University when he began writing film reviews for Interview. By 1971, Colacello was promoted to editor of the magazine, at a salary of $50 a week. Colacello brought in his friend and classmate Glenn O'Brien as an associate editor.[6] Colacello's first issue featured film 1940s-era stills of actress Rita Hayworth on the cover and on every page. The idea came from Warhol's collaborator and filmmaker Paul Morrissey, who told Colacello, "Just put one on every page and it'll be funny."[7]
By 1972, Interview had a circulation of 30,000, mostly subscriptions.[8] 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 per copy. The magazine was transformed to become a "reflection of Andy’s social life" said Colacello.[9] "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 succeeded Colacello as managing editor of Interview in the spring of 1972 and continued in that capacity until the summer of 1973.[10] O'Brien and his wife Jude Jade both sold advertising for the magazine before Sandy Brant became the director of advertising in 1972.[11] Prior to Colacello taking over once more and remaining until 1983, Rosemary Kent, an editor from WWD magazine, was Interview's managing editor from 1973 to 1974 when O'Brien joined Rolling Stone magazine.
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 iteral transcription. Another trademark of the magazine were full-page photographs of "beautiful people."[12]
By 1981, Interview was priced at $2 a copy and had a circulation of 90,000.[13] 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.[14] Photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Christopher Makos took pictures for the magazine. Writer Fran Lebowitz was paid $10 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.
In 1989, Brant Publications Inc. acquired Interview magazine from the estate of Andy Warhol for $10 million.[15] Art collector 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.
From 1989 to 2008, Sandra Brant ran the business and her longtime partner Ingrid Sischy was the editor-in-chief. 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.[16]
For a year and a half the magazine was in flux, edited by Christopher Bollen.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19] [20] [21] [22]
In August 2018, it was reported that a company owned by Peter Brant, Singleton LLC, purchased Interview out of bankruptcy for $1.5 million.[23]
On September 6, 2018, Interview announced the launch of its 521st issue.[24] [25] The magazine was purchased by Kelly Brant and Jason Nikic,[26] with some reports suggesting that the title's intellectual property will be returned to Peter Brant.[27] [28]