If you’re a pop culture hound with an interest in movies — and awards season — chances are you’ve seen the viral clips of some of the biggest movie stars in the world disarmed by a deadpan interviewer.
From Margot Robbie to Andrew Garfield, social media star Amelia Dimoldenberg has found herself rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood elite thanks to her charming and offbeat interviews at red carpet premieres (and fried chicken restaurants). But this year, she’s working on the entertainment industry’s grandest stage: the Oscars.
Dimoldenberg was selected by the motion picture academy to be the 96th Oscars ambassador, a position that will allow her to bring her signature interview style to the steps of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday as the nominees make their way into the show. “What better place to interview Hollywood stars than the Oscars?” Dimoldenberg told the academy.
What is “Chicken Shop Date”?
Dimoldenberg’s buzzy online career began with her YouTube series “Chicken Shop Date.” The premise is simple: Amelia talks with a musician, actor or other notable person over a fried chicken meal in a small restaurant. What separates her videos from others is that she positions these interviews as dates and delivers her questions with a disarming deadpan delivery.
From Cher and Jennifer Lawrence to documentarian Louis Theroux, Dimoldenberg has had delightfully awkward meals with Hollywood’s biggest names. In one viral interview, Jack Harlow explains his love of “little libraries” installed on sidewalks, to which she responds, “Can you read?” Harlow exasperatedly replies, “What the hell is this?” before she corrects herself by asking, “Do you like to read?” The conversation is one of her most-viewed “Chicken Shop” videos and highlights her willingness to sit in uncomfortable moments with her celebrity guests, a skill she brings to her red carpet gigs.
Outside the chicken shop, Dimoldenberg has found a steady stream of gigs at red carpets and fashion shows, appearing as a correspondent at the premieres of “Barbie” and “Dune: Part Two,” talking with Peso Pluma at the VMAs, joking around with Harris Dickinson at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, meeting Emma Chamberlain at a Gucci show and more.
“I feel like I’m bringing my personality and the same energy that there is on ‘Chicken Shop’ onto the red carpet,” she told the academy about her Oscars night plans. But don’t expect her to stray too far from what audiences have come to expect from her. “And who knows,” she adds, “there might be a chicken nugget here or there.”