2022: Interviewer of Haim Band Forbidden to Ask About "Licorice Pizza"

As of this writing(February 2022), "Licorice Pizza" has three Oscar nominations (the ceremony hasn't happened yet), seems to be not much of a money maker, still has a lot of great reviews, and isn't on streaming yet (perhaps PTA wants to wait to keep it in theaters to edge the 'streaming" nominees at the Oscars.)

All well and good. The deed is done, the movie has been made and released and joins PTA's canon. Personally, I liked it.

The movie led me to read up on the "sister act" rock band Haim and all their mythology: sisters raised by their amateur musician parents in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles to become a professional act all their own. Selling out big venues now. Jewish. Big in the UK before the US. Friends with fellow Valley-ite Paul Thomas Anderson, who chose to give "Baby Haim" Alana the lead in "Licorice Pizza" and to cast her sisters and parents in "cameo support."

Anyway, after over a year in quarantine, the sisters are coming out of hibernation to tour the world in 2022, and good for them!

I was perusing a new internet interview with Haim in advance of the 2022 tour. The writer said that the interview was conducted by Zoom, each sister in a different location on a different video screen(with only the eldest, Este, turning her camera on.) The writer ALSO said that he'd been given a requirement before the interview could be given:

He could not ask any of the Haim sisters about "Licorice Pizza."

Hmm. Interesting. Since December, Alana Haim has given a LOT of interviews on Licorice Pizza(even as her co-star Cooper Hoffman has mostly been shielded from the press; his father is the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.) And a few interviews on Licorice Pizza featured all three sisters -- with Este and Danielle praising their little sister on her acting and remarking on their own short roles with mom and dad in the film.

"That was then, this is now." An interviewer is told he cannot ask about Licorice Pizza. I wonder why?

Some guesses:

ONE: The interview is about all three sisters in general, and their upcoming tour in particular.
TWO: "Licorice Pizza" is all played out. Time to move on to new projects.
THREE: Maybe Alana doesn't want to be singled out when the band talks about ...the band.
FOUR: Licorice Pizza is nominated for three Oscars ...but Alana isn't nominated for Best Actress.
FIVE: "Licorice Pizza" remains controversial, with some haters on it (about the age gap of the platonic lovers, about the Japanese restaurant scenes.)

I dunno. The reasons could be any of the above, but I guess we will never know. I think it is funny that even though the interviewer could not ASK about Licorice Pizza, the fact that he mentioned he was forbidden to do so ...is news all by itself.

That is all.