An on-camera interview is a bit like having a film crew at a first date. You're meeting someone, usually, for the first time, and you both have something that you'd like to get out of the situation. And so, like many first dates, this can often be a contradiction with differing objectives and personalities clashing.
We've trawled through the best and worst of 2014's interview footage and found these, the most awkward examples of the year.
Watch and hide:
Spike Jonze on Newsnight
"Let's get Spike Jonze on the show!"
"But his new film isn't really newsworthy!"
"Who cares!"
...is how we imagine the Newsnight brainstorm might have gone back in February, Yes, Jonze's film Her exists in a futuristic society where people are able to engage in romantic affairs with artificial intelligence but it's a romance rather than a satire. For Emily Maitlis though, she took issue with the portrayal of women in the film and proceeded to prod, which only served to show the utter pointlessness of inviting a film director to speak on a current affairs show.
Riff Raff on Complex
Riff Raff, in case you're not aware, is a rapper who swaggered his way into the spotlight in 2014 thanks to a guest spot on a Katy Perry track. But as you can see from this disastrous chat with Complex, he's also the actual embodiment of James Franco's character in Spring Breakers. The interview goes exactly how you would expect from someone whose Twitter bio reads: MY MAiN GOAL iS TO BLOW UP AND ACT LiKE i DONT KNOW NOBODY.
Pharrell on Channel 4 News
Another attempt to get something newsworthy out of someone who has no interest in making the news, this embarrassing moment in Krishnan Guru-Murthy's interview with Pharrell was made nightmarishly memorable by the use of the phrase "naughty thoughts" and the ensuing awfulness that it brings.
Sky Ferreira on The Noite
While a lot of the awkwardness in this Brazilian interview with 2014's breakout singer can be attributed to the language barrier (a translator has to relay the questions), a lot of it is also down to sheer strangeness (talking about crack), poor co-ordination (witness the horror of a clumsy handshake followed by a clumsy fist pump) and just plain rudeness (the first question needs to be seen to be believed). Bonus points to Ferreira for handling it all like a pro.
Kristen Wiig & Bill Hader on Channel 2 News
One important rule to abide by when you're interviewing an actor: always watch the movie that you're talking about first. Or, if you're not able to, at least make sure that you pretend convincingly. For the release of The Skeleton Twins, ex-SNL castmates Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader discover that their interviewer has a vague idea of what their movie is actually about. At best.
Arsene Wenger on Match of the Day
Post-match interviews are patchy at best, especially when the result isn't a great one and this uncomfortable chat with Arsene Wenger and MOTD's Jacqui Oatley is easily the most difficult to watch of the year. Even Gary Lineker tweeted to say: "Must say, I thought Arsene Wenger was arrogant, defensive and patronising to Jacqui Oatley in the face of excellent and fair questioning."
Aretha Franklin on Everything
A wonderful montage here of Aretha Franklin loathing every second of a day of interviews thanks to a mix of bad sound, loud music and inane questions.
Richard Ayoade on Channel 4 News
Another appearance here for Krishnan Guru-Murthy where he speaks to the notoriously shy Richard Ayoade about his new book. Ayoade decided to turn it into a meta interview about the interview and while being incredibly awkward, it's also rather brilliant.
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