Front Row: Unexpected gift that left The Rock speechless and the not-so-glamorous side of celebrity interviews

Front Row is a new weekly column on nine.com.au bringing you behind the scenes of some of the Aussie entertainment industry’s biggest parties, premieres, and more. Got a tip? Email us at frontrow@nine.com.au.

This week, Front Row had Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson falling head over heels for a terrifying 3D-printed gift. Plus we’re pulling back the curtain on the unglamorous reality of celebrity interviews, including the awkward moments that still haunt us in our sleep.

The merch that left Johnson speechless

Last week, Front Row had the pleasure of sitting down with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson during his press tour for Disney’s live-action Moana.

While we were strictly forbidden from calling him ‘The Rock’ at any point during the four-minute chat, Front Row took a risk by using our final minute to surprise him with the most bizarre Rock merch we could find – behold, a 3D-printed rock lobster, with a lobster body and Johnson’s face as the head.

The masterpiece is actually listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace right now for the low, low price of $20. That’s only 3.5 coffees!

We showed him the listing and he was literally lost for words. Not ideal for, we repeat, a four-minute interview slot. Time was running out and we knew it was now or never…

You would think such a niche piece of art would be a one-of-a-kind, but you would be wrong.

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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson bit his tongue for three years, now he’s ready to ‘tell the world’

There’s an entire market of 3D-printed Rock stuff out there, and we happened upon an octopus with Johnson’s head on top of tentacles. How exactly? That’s none of your business.

We got our hands on a mini version, which we believed should belong with The Rock, sorry, we mean Dwayne Johnson, himself.

“No way!” he said as we handed it to him.

He looked at the mini Rocktopus with a mixture of horror and amusement, which is indeed the appropriate reaction to a 3D-printed figure featuring his own head attached to dozens of spindly legs.

It even got a laugh from Disney’s PR people in the background – truly a press junket badge of honour.

So what exactly are his thoughts on merch like this?

“There’s a community for everything, as my friend says,” he said.

“This is really amazing, what’s it called? A ’Rocktopus?”

He revealed big plans for the creation.

“I would put that in my bedroom!” he said. We won’t hold our breath for proof!

Later on the Blue Carpet, Johnson told Front Row about another prized possession: a3D-printed… no, we’re joking. It’s the long, luscious wig that Maui wears in the live-action film.

We had wondered if it broke the most famous bald man in the world’s heart to break up with the Demigods head of hair.

“Who said we broke up? It came home with me,” he said. “It’s in a safe that opens up Friday night at about 2 am … with enough tequila.”

He confirmed yet again how much he loved the Rocktopus and stopped for a selfie with the team. What a guy!

The not-so-glamorous side of celebrity interviews

Our cheeky soiree with Hollywood royalty had us all reminiscing about landing an A-list interview – and the tribulations that come with it.

Securing a mammoth interview is always exciting, but there’s also a less glamorous side.

Usually, you wait diligently for hours in a hotel hallway to secure five minutes with a famous face… and trust us, that face is always professionally made-up. These events are not always great for our self-esteem! There’s also a lot of rules to follow before the cameras roll, like ‘no games’ or ‘don’t ask’ topics.

Some are completely fair, but others are so gloriously over the top they deserve a call out.

“I was about an hour away from the biggest celebrity interview of my career when a very stern publicist told myself and the other journos that we absolutely could not bring up the A-lister’s recent divorce,” one Front Rower recalls.

“They told us something to the effect of, ‘If you bring up [celeb’s ex] in any way we will stop the interview then and there’. We were even told not to mention the ex or the divorce while we were waiting outside the interview room. It felt very full on in the moment, but honestly I wouldn’t want to be asked about a break-up at work either.”

Years ago, another was told that asking an A-list musician any family questions was off limits, despite the interview being to promote a family-friendly project.

She, of course, abided, but one question did touch on the topic in a very roundabout way. The reporter braced herself for a publicist to dive in, but the star  just laughed. Directly in her face.

“Are you asking me if I’m going to have another child?” he replied, concluding he didn’t know… and if they did, the reporter wouldn’t exactly be top of the list of people to tell. And just like that, the moment that haunts that Front Rower late at night was born!

Another contentious moment can come from photos. Often, junkets will ban them outright or put strict restrictions on when you can nab a selfie.

“At the end of an interview I was allowed to take a photo with the star but it had to be from their publicist’s phone and they said they would send the approved photo by the end of the day,” one reporter told us. “Maybe they wanted to FaceTune it first.”

Another recalled being told no photos were allowed… which made for an awkward moment when the celeb actually asked her for one themselves.

“I had a moment of panic, looking around for the PR in case she was going to yell at me – but she just frustratingly nodded,” they said.