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By Jac Chebatoris
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Sitting in the dark watching a movie with Brad Pitt or eating homemade fudge with Loretta Lynn was all in a day's work for Rolling Stone writer and former MTV2 VJ Jancee Dunn. Her memoir, "But Enough About Me ... ," recounts her celebrity-journalism exploits. Dunn spoke with Jac Chebatoris.
I just kept thinking, "If only people knew the stories behind the stories." I just found myself in the most surreal situations and I thought, "Nobody would believe this stuff."
When you interview these celebrities, it does perpetually bring up these seventh-grade-cafeteria feelings. There were constantly these moments where my inner seventh-grade geek was being resurrected. Once I had to interview Destiny's Child and they didn't know that I was there, and I wandered over and I could hear them talking about me. Can you imagine? Fortunately, they said I had a nice vibe, but I was completely rattled and sweaty when I walked in afterwards.
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I learned that it's not good to get any sort of validation from famous people--you have to get it from your family and friends or you're going to be sorely disappointed. It definitely took me a few years, and I certainly wasn't smooth. I lived and died for every interview, and [that's] never a good idea.
I went through my book with a microscope after that because I thought, "Is there anything unprovable? Is there anything weird?" It made me shudder.
I compulsively take notes, and I save everything. I do, really, an embarrassing amount of research. I interviewed a pro wrestler for Playboy, and I had a sheaf of research that I was poring over like it was the Dead Sea scrolls.
I have to say that I'm surprised there are not more lawsuits. These items are not even carefully worded like they used to be. I never know what to believe anymore, and I don't know why the public isn't more skeptical about that. People just continue to eat it up.
I am a big fan of eccentric people, and I would give anything to go and interview Prince in his little purple palace in Minneapolis. I want to see that. I want to worm my way into that house and see exactly what's going on in there. That's why I was so glad to do Dolly Parton, because who is going to succeed Dolly Parton? Who will be the next Dolly Parton? Anyone? Done.
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