SAY what you like about Twitter – go on, I do.
Public figures are probably closer to ordinary people than ever before, for good or ill.
But for every negative tweet I get giving me a gentle ribbing – by which I mean absolutely filleted by some random punter – I get a lot of positive comments too.
However, last week I received some abuse after tweeting a picture of the beautiful sunrise over Santa Monica here in Los Angeles.
“Horrible view. Stop Photoshopping, Ross”, it read.
Cheeky swine, I thought. Wait until I get a hold of them. Unfortunately it turned out to be beefcake megastar Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock.
As you were, sir. Say what you like.
The highest-paid movie star in the world sent me the message as I waited to interview him last week for the animated blockbuster Moana – out on December 2.
Dwayne (I still can’t believe a man of his stature is called that) was very open and funny – and I’ll bring you more from that chat next week.
Horrible view. Stop photoshopping Ross. #Moana #GlobalJunket https://t.co/S7Aw0k4f46
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) November 13, 2016
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me jetting back and forth. My microphone was nearly worn out at the BAFTA Britannia Awards in Los Angeles.
Among the stars were the likes of Jodie Foster, Ricky Gervais, Samuel L. Jackson, Felicity Jones, Ang Lee and star of the hotly-anticipated Trainspotting 2, Ewan McGregor.
He was there to receive a Humanitarian Award for his sterling work with UNICEF.
“It’s an odd thing to be awarded,” Ewan told me. “But it gives me an opportunity to talk about UNICEF and my trip to Iraq where I saw what’s happening with the Syrian refugees.
“I saw how it all works, I was really touched by the essential work UNICEF is doing.
“It’s difficult to conceive of the problems these people face but we’ve got to be there for them.”
I asked Ewan if it was a bit of a jolt to go from working in stricken refugee camps to being on movie sets a few days later.
“Because of my movie work I wouldn’t be able to help UNICEF,” he said. “If you’ve got a voice or a platform then you should use it to help people.
“But it’s easy for me – it’s the volunteers who work with these children, day-in, day-out, who are doing the hard work.”
Well said, Perth’s finest!
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