I never communicate over social with people I’m writing about. I give them my card at the end of our first meeting and put my cell onto it, and if they have something they forgot to tell me or are worried about, they can contact me.

It has led to a lot of further interactions that have really made the story. Also, it’s helpful to ask Bradley Cooper over text what kind of hat he was wearing rather than go through other people, particularly during film promotion time. I’m not so organized all the time, and sometimes I don’t think to ask pertinent questions until I read the transcript or realize I want to describe something I saw that I didn’t ask about in the room.

When people you write about share a story or not share what you’ve written on social media, what do you generally consider that to mean?

God, that’s a hard one. I think it’s really hard to be written about. You’re essentially vulnerable to a stranger. I feel very bad for everyone I write about. I tell them before publication: “You can read this if you want, but it’s not really for you. It’s about you, but it’s not for you.”

When someone asks if it’s a good or a bad story, I always say, “It’s not good or bad, it’s a third thing.” Some people want to stay in touch. Some people never want to see me again. There are very few people who have hated their story.

But that’s not the same as the person being comfortable with it. If I do a good job and tell the intimate story that I, as a reader, want to read, then probably that person I wrote about never wants to be in a room with me again.

This is a long way of saying: I don’t take it personally. I don’t even notice most of the time when it happens, because I unfollow people pretty quickly because the experience was also very intense for me, and it’s sad to me that I have these short-lived intensive relationships and then they’re over. Like, when “Shakespeare in Love” used to come on HBO, I’d watch it. Now I have a hard time watching it. When I see Gwyneth, I have every emotion I had when I was reporting and writing and closing and publishing that story, which is the opposite of escapism.