Allan Mayer, who founded and edited Buzz magazine in the 1990s, is a Hollywood crisis management specialist and head of the strategic communications division of public relations firm 42West. Before offering an entertainment industry perspective on a debate over whether L.A. or San Francisco runs California, he let us know what he’s up to when he’s not getting celebrities out of scrapes.
Q. What’s the last movie you saw in a theater?
A. Oh my god-I almost never see movies in theaters anymore. [Laughs.] The Harry Potter movie. I snuck out of work to see it, and boy was I disappointed.
Q. What is the last habit you tried to kick?
A. Successfully? Unsuccessfully is avoiding dessert. I succeed for a short amount of time, then end up in a green room with a bag of Famous Amos cookies, and I succumb.
Q. Who was the last person you asked for advice?
A. My daughter.
Q. Where would we find you at 10 on a Saturday morning?
A. Probably at the soccer field watching my daughter play, at Malibu High School. She’s not in high school, but she plays there.
Q. What magazines do you subscribe to?
A. Very few now-The New Yorker, The Atlantic. The New York Times Sunday Magazine counts, too, because I subscribe to the Times.
Q. Where would you like to travel to next?
A. I think I’d like to go back to the Mideast.
Q. What do you do when you’re stuck in traffic?
A. If I’m commuting, I look at the ocean. I live in Malibu, so I’m on PCH. If not, I take a deep breath and listen to the radio.
Q. How often do you check your email?
A. Too often.
Q. Do you play any instruments?
A. It’s a matter of opinion, but I do play guitar.
Q. If you could have any superpower, which would you choose?
A. Plausible deniability.
Read more about the panel Mayer participated in here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.