As we all learned during the Wicked press tour, any given moment, someone may be holding space for the lyrics of "Defying Gravity"—Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning included.
The stars of the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, were completely starstruck to meet the reporter (Tracy Gilchrist) who brought new meaning to the phrase "holding space" when she did so with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. So much so, they even held fingers about it.
"I'm starstruck, seeing you walk in," Fanning exclaimed before Chalamet put his finger out for her to clutch, causing the room to erupt into giggles.
"It's an honor to talk to you, I feel sort of starstruck, too," the actor added. It's a silly, perfect moment that shows just how ubiquitous the meme of Ariana and Cynthia has become.
If you have somehow managed to click on this story without understanding the context, first of all: how and why? Also: what's it like to not be so chronically online like the rest of us? Does the air smell sweeter? Does the sky shine bluer? Is your brain less smooth and full of beans?
Sorry, sorry—I digress. But if you somehow missed the now-iconic "holding space" moment and have no idea what's going on...we can explain.
Or better yet, Ariana and Cynthia can explain it, too:
You can watch the original interview below—they start "holding space" around the 2:41-minute mark:
As for her part in it, Gilchrist has previously noted that she meant for the moment to be a segue into a bigger question, but the circumstances in the moment moved it into this more meme-able direction.
If you've never been in a press junket before (I have done hundreds at this point), they're a particularly odd set-up: you (the journalist) wait hours on end in hotel hallways in order to pop into a room for 5 minutes or less and ask as many questions of the waiting actors/writers/directors involved in whatever film or television show you're all there to do press around, as you can. There's hot lights, tons of crew and/or studio press people (plus hair and makeup folks) all crammed into a tiny hotel room with you and the people you're interviewing. Everyone has been there for hours on end, with the talent involved often responding to variations on the exact same question over and over again.
In essence, it's a ticking time bomb for something silly and/or nonsensical to take place—particularly when there's a miscommunication, or misunderstanding of the question being asked (ask me about the time I interviewed Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson for a film called Rapture-Palooza).
Either way, it can be a wild, hurry-up-and-wait whirlwind of a time. And, truly, what's better than a silly meme coming out of all of it?
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