73 Questions With Tavi Gevinson | Vogue
- [Interviewer] Tavi, hey.
- Hi.
- [Interviewer] I'm here to ask 73 questions.
- I know.
- [Interviewer] All right, let's get into it.
Can you tell us where we are?
- Just out of "Gossip Girl," if you wanna come in.
- [Interviewer] Let's do it.
What's the best thing about being back on set?
- Being around people.
- [Interviewer] What do you do in between takes?
- Apologize for literally anything.
- [Interviewer] What's the strangest way
you've seen yourself described in print?
- Pint-sized.
- [Interviewer] Do you know where you fall
on the chaotic-neutral chart?
- Probably like cool and beautiful.
- [Interviewer] What's the most surprised you've ever been?
- [Interviewer] When I woke up during jaw surgery.
- [Interviewer] What's the most important vintage piece
that you ever bought?
- Ha-ha, this vintage Prada skirt on eBay.
- [Interviewer] Very nice.
What's the strongest reaction you've had to a fashion show?
- A lot of Rodarte shows have made me cry.
- [Interviewer] What was your philosophy
on getting dressed when you were 11?
- More is more.
- [Interviewer] What's your philosophy
on getting dressed today?
- Enough is more.
- [Interviewer] Okay, that's good.
How do you start to put an outfit together?
- [Tavi] Choose one thing that I'm excited about
and go from there.
- [Interviewer] You were only 11 when you started your blog.
How did you come up with the name Style Rookie?
- I read fashion blogs with names
like Style Bubble, Fashion Robot, Fashion Pirate.
So I just kind of copied that construction
and was like, I don't know anything, so rookie.
- [Interviewer] You wrote about wearing bags as hats
and hangers as necklaces.
What's the most absurd object you used for an outfit?
- Coat hanger as a necklace was a lot and dangerous,
but I wore like a lot of tights as belts.
- [Interviewer] What was the moment that you knew
there was no turning back?
- Birth.
- [Interviewer] What was the most beautiful
piece of fan mail that you ever got?
- I actually have it right here.
It's a jacket inspired by the book
"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
and this woman Stephanie made it for me
because she knew I loved the book.
It's crazy, like, she made all of this
and her website is godsavethemisanthropes.com.
- [Interviewer] It's really cool.
Now, you were 15 when you started
the online teen magazine "Rookie."
What's your favorite article
that was ever posted on the site?
- How to structure your days if you're depressed.
- [Interviewer] And what was your favorite piece
that you wrote?
- It was really sad, but my goodbye letter
I'm probably proudest of.
- [Interviewer] What is the worst thing about the internet?
- Rampant misinformation.
- [Interviewer] What's the best?
- My community of flat Earthers.
- [Interviewer] What was the most surprising thing
about editing a magazine?
- That I could do it.
- [Interviewer] What does the world need to know
about teenage girls?
- Leave them alone.
- [Interviewer] What independent publications
would you recommend to former "Rookie" readers?
- "Polyester Zine," "gal-dem," "Another Gaze" journal.
- [Interviewer] Now Tavi, do you still write every day?
- I try to.
- [Interviewer] What is your go-to cure for writer's block?
- Write it as an email to a friend.
- [Woman In Mask] Oh, we need you on set in 49 questions.
- [Tavi] Oh, sure, yeah.
- [Interviewer] So do you keep your phone next to you
while you're working?
- No, I lock it in a case safe.
- [Interviewer] And what question keeps you up all night?
- Have I been building a house of cards?
And I don't mean a hit Netflix show.
- [Interviewer] And what was the first play
that you were ever in?
- "Oliver."
- [Interviewer] I love "Oliver."
And who did you play in "Oliver"?
- An orphan/Fagin's boy. I was eight.
- [Interviewer] Ah, buzzsaw.
What was your favorite musical as a kid?
- "Wicked."
- [Interviewer] And what's your dream role in a play?
- Saint Joan.
- [Interviewer] Can you do one of the lines
for me right now?
- Life is like a box of chocolates.
- [Interviewer] Now, Broadway's been closed for a year.
What's the best thing people can do
to support the theater right now?
- Donate to The Actors Fund.
- [Interviewer] What's the biggest difference
between performing in a theater versus on camera?
- Cameras steal your soul.
- [Interviewer] What's the craziest
stage door experience you've had?
- I did the play "This Is Our Youth,"
which has literally three people in it,
and I was signing "Playbills" at the stage door
and I reached for one woman's and she was like, "Um, no."
- [Interviewer] What's one movie
that every teenage girl should watch?
- "Teenage" by Matt Wolf. And now we're at the high school.
- [Interviewer] And what would the one-act play
about your life thus far be called?
- "Fleabag," and it is all plagiarized.
- [Interviewer] What would you be
if you had a different career?
- A stage mom.
- [Interviewer] A lot about the show is under wraps,
but are you Gossip Girl?
- [Tavi] Mm.
- [Interviewer] What can you tell me about your character?
- She's ambitious and looks like me.
- [Interviewer] So if she's not Gossip Girl, who is?
- There's a chance any of them are Gossip Girl.
- [Interviewer] Would you rather have
Blair or Serena's closet?
- Blair.
- [Interviewer] What can you say
will be different about this "Gossip Girl"?
- The children have Instagram.
- [Interviewer] How has your life changed
since the show started?
- I can no longer sign emails xoxo.
- [Interviewer] Who would you say
is the real-life Gossip Girl?
- Mark Zuckerberg.
- [Interviewer] And what's your favorite quote?
- [Tavi] Get informed, inspired, in touch, and involved.
- [Interviewer] Music or podcasts when you're on a walk?
- Primal screaming.
- [Interviewer] What's the best thing
about living in New York?
- Theater.
- [Interviewer] Okay, now what New Yorker,
real or fictional, would you most like
to spend the day with?
- Fran Lebowitz.
- [Interviewer] And what would you do?
- Try to get her to like me.
- [Interviewer] What's the biggest misconception
about New York?
- That the people are mean.
- [Interviewer] How would you describe a true new Yorker?
- Would not dare. They would hate that.
- [Interviewer] Has acting made you a better writer?
- Yeah.
- [Interviewer] Has writing made you a better actor?
- No.
- [Interviewer] How do you stay focused
between all your creative projects?
- Guilt.
- [Interviewer] And what would you say to someone
struggling to get inspired?
- Take the pressure off yourself. Go take a nap.
- [Interviewer] What's the last great novel you read?
- It's right here, in fact.
"No One Is Talking About This" by Patricia Lockwood.
- [Interviewer] What's the last great memoir you read?
- "The Ugly Cry" by Danielle Henderson.
- [Interviewer] Last great romance novel?
"Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" by Eric Kimmel.
- [Interviewer] Who's a writer who's pieces you always read?
- Sally Wen Mao.
- [Interviewer] Okay, Tavi.
What is your pitch for "Shark Tank"?
- Okay, it's a undertaking business
only for actors called Last Looks.
It's not a lot of utility, but it's a pun.
- [Interviewer] I saw that you deleted Instagram
off of your phone.
What app would you say that you use the most instead?
- Venmo? Just judging people.
- [Interviewer] What does a healthy relationship
with social media look like?
- [Tavi] Throwing your phone in the ocean.
- [Interviewer] What's the most
overused phrase on the internet?
- I.
- [Interviewer] What's the nicest compliment
you've ever received?
- That my dog and I look alike.
And what have we here? What a coincidence, wow.
- [Interviewer] What's going on here?
- This is a candle of my face by the artist Janie Korn.
- [Interviewer] Wow, it does kind of resemble you.
Coffee or tea?
- Coffee. - Saturday or Sunday?
- Sunday. - Favorite word?
- Laxative.
- [Interviewer] Favorite Olivia Rodrigo song?
- "deja vu."
- [Interviewer] What's the best place to bring a friend
visiting New York for the first time ever?
- The Roosevelt Island Tramway has the cheapest view.
- [Interviewer] What's your go-to karaoke song?
- "Light My Candle" from "Rent," both parts.
- [Interviewer] So after "Gossip Girl," what's next for you?
- Let's see. Let's find out.
- [Interviewer] Okay.
What card are we gonna get here?
[gasps] And...
- There's no way around that one, huh?
- [Interviewer] Oh, the death card.
And where are you happiest?
- Constance Billard.
- [Interviewer] Tavi, we did it.
That was question number 73. We're done.
- Ah!
- [Interviewer] Blow out that candle. Yep.
Ah, you got it. Thanks, Tavi.
