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If there’s one thing that Paolo Bediones is good at, it’s interviewing people. He's an expert at finding out what makes them tick, and what gets them talking.
If there’s one thing that Paolo Bediones is good at, it’s interviewing people. Whether it be the starlet of the moment, a showbiz veteran, or even an international movie star, Paolo is an expert at finding out what makes them tick, and what gets them talking. Text by Yvette U. Tan.
He lets his interviewing talent shine in S-Files, which he co-hosts with Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez and Pia Guanio. Paolo isn’t new to S-Files, however. He’s been in the show since its early stage, and he has watched it grow through the years.
“S-Files has evolved throughout the years from when it started with me and Lyn Ching as the hosts. After that, pumalit si Janice de Belen, then pinasok si Richard Gomez, pinasok si Joey (Marquez). I think now, more than ever, we’re relaxed and we’re at ease with the job and everything else -- the staff, the crew, the hosts,” he says.
Now that he’s sharing the talk throne with three other hosts, Paolo says that one thing he really enjoys is the opportunity for all of them to throw in their ideas during the show’s different segments. “Of course, we try to make it meaingful, and as substantial as possible. There are times when you just want to be funny, you just want to be as light as possible. That’s one of the things that people appreciate – that we don’t want to come out too serious, at the same time, we don’t want to come out as too light. We’re in between, you know. It’s a Sunday showbiz talk show. What are you going to ask? Nothing too heavy. You want people to feel good after the show. It’s doing very well in the ratings and I’m very thankful for that.”
He gives his job an entirely different perspective when he says, “We go to work and we’re paid to blab on TV. But more than that, I love to reach out to people. Knowing that there are millions of people tuning in, watching, that’s a rush. But bottom line is I love the job because of what it stands for. It’s an art. It’s a craft. It’s a skill. It’s a talent, I guess, in some languages. It’s harder to do than people think, and I’ve always loved a challenge.”
Beyond the camera
Although Paolo has been with S-Files for eight years, he says that there are still some things that he wants to do in terms of improving the show. For instance, he wants more in-depth interviews. “In-depth in the sense na getting to know the person. That’s really hard kasi in the culture of showbiz, (because) you only reveal what you’re asked. People don’t open up on their own volition or because they just want to share. It’s an industry that’s normally clammed up. When you ask for information, it’s on a need-to-know basis. That’s one of the things. It’s going to be in-depth but it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be heavy. In depth really means getting to know the person beyond the camera, beyond the klieg lights. That’s one.”
Another thing that Paolo wants to do is to make a tribute to the people who work behind the scenes and in front of the camera. “(It’s making) a move to inform people about the industry life, the things that we have to go through. People think that it’s all about glamour, big money and whatnot – there’s a lot of hard work involved in it.”
The stuff that makes a great interview is a candid exchange of thoughts from interviewer to interviewee. “I’m talking about the disposition of the interviewee. If you can pretend to have the disposition that there are no walls, I’ll appreciate that. At least then, it makes me look like I’m doing my job. Rather than giving me monosyllabic answers like, ‘Yeah.’ Again, that’s the culture. One thing I’ve learned is that 10% of what you hear is true, 50% of what you hear is made by the offended party, 40%, probably by the other camp. These figures are not arbitrary but more or less,” he says.
