Magazine Interview

The magazine, nicknamed "The Crystal Ball of Pop", features interviews with celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers. Interviews were usually unedited or edited in the eccentric fashion of Warhol's books and The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again.

Interview

April 2011 cover featuring Lil Wayne
President	Kelly Brant
Editor in Chief	Mel Ottenberg
Categories	Pop culture
Frequency	Bimonthly
Publisher	Jason Nikic
Founder	Andy Warhol, John Wilcock
Founded	1969; 55 years ago (1969)
Company	Crystal Ball Media
Country	United States
Based in	New York City
Language	English
Website	interviewmagazine.com
ISSN	0149-8932

 

Andy Warhol period

Bob Colacello was a film student at Columbia University in 1970 when he got a call from someone at Interview while he was having dinner at his parents' house in suburban Long Island. While Interview magazine now features fashion, artists, celebrities, and creative collaborators, in the beginning, it was merely a film critique spread. Colacello subsequently began writing film reviews and essays for Interview. After about six months, Colacello was promoted to editor of the magazine, at a salary of $50 a week. (He also received course credits, as he was still working on his master's degree at Columbia). Colacello brought in his friend and classmate Glenn O'Brien as an assistant. 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 collaborator and filmmaker Paul Morrissey, who told Colacello, "Just put one on every page and it'll be funny."

In the early days, complimentary copies of Interview were often given away to the "in-crowd"; this was the start of the magazine's circulation.^{[citation needed]} Over time, Warhol withdrew from everyday oversight of Interview but he continued to act as ambassador for the magazine, distributing issues in the street to passersby and creating ad hoc signing events. From 1972 to 1989, the artist Richard Bernstein created covers of Interview, giving the publication its signature style.

Brant Publications period

The magazine's format has remained consistent at 60% features and 40% glossy advertising. It has been published by Brant Publications, Inc since shortly after Warhol's death in 1987. It was helmed for 18 years by Ingrid Sischy, until she and Peter Brant's ex-wife Sandra became lovers and left the magazine, selling Ms. Brant's half-ownership stake in the parent company Brant Publications. For a year and a half the magazine was in flux, edited by Christopher Bollen.

2008 to 2018

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 creative director; Nick Haramis was 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.

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.

Relaunch

On September 6, 2018, Interview announced the launch of its 521st issue. The magazine was purchased by Kelly Brant and Jason Nikic, with some reports suggesting that the title's intellectual property will be returned to Peter Brant.