Ah, the hoops we entertainment reporters jump through for a good celebrity interview.

Last night was the premiere of the film “The Wackness,” starring Sir Ben Kingsley. The elusive Mary-Kate Olsen has a small but memorable role in the film.

In the interest of landing an interview with Mary-Kate, I hounded the film’s publicists for weeks, demanding a good spot on the red carpet.

I rearranged my schedule last week to attend a screening of the film, so I’d be able to ask informed questions about it. (I know, I know…Poor Jill, she has to go to free movies. But it’s not always easy to find a 2-hour block of time in the middle of a busy workweek!)

Yesterday, I hounded the film’s publicists some more.

And then, my friends at Fox Report booked me for a live shot last night. The 7:40pm hit was, of course, at the exact same time as the premiere. I love Fox Report and was very happy to be part of the show, but this meant asking Entertainment-Producer-Extraordinaire Ashley Dvorkin to attend the premiere in my place.

So Dvorkin heads downtown for the premiere. She is given a great spot on the red carpet (thank you, publicists!). Mary-Kate Olsen arrives, poses for photos, and speaks to only one crew, bypassing all the rest of the reporters.

All that planning, and no Mary-Kate interview. Sigh.

Mary-Kate, if you’re reading this, I promise we weren’t going to be rude or invasive. My list of questions included the following:

–Your scene with Ben Kingsley was the highlight of the film! Did you enjoy working with him?
–Seems like this character has some similarities to your character on the Showtime series, “Weeds.” What can you tell us about that?
–What was it about this film that made you want to do it?
–What types of projects will we see you in next?
–What’s your feeling on being a fashion trendsetter?

So Mary-Kate, if you have a moment, feel free to email me your responses to those questions! We’d love to share your perspective with your fans. And a big thank-you to stars Josh Peck and Olivia Thirlby, and director Jonathan Levine — who did give us great interviews last night about “The Wackness.” We already shared your soundbites with 140 local FOX stations, plus viewers in 90 countries.