Rebecca Keegan is Unfazed by Fame

Rebecca Keegan knows exactly what her job demands– and what it doesn’t.

“I think one of the reasons I’m good at this is because I don’t care,” she said. “I’m not confused into thinking that Taylor Swift and I will be friends.”

As a Senior Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter, Keegan has made a name for herself by tackling some of the industry’s most complex and controversial figures, from Jonathan Majors to Robert Downey Jr., and even the lesser known but equally polarizing Tosca Musk, the film producer sister of Tesla CEO Elon Musk

However, her career didn’t start in entertainment journalism. A graduate of Northwestern University, Keegan began in hard news but pivoted after 9/11. “I didn’t have the DNA to run into buildings,” she said.

Instead, she applied her “hard news muscles” to feature writing, bringing the rigor of hard news to the entertainment beat. One of her personal stories involved covering the tragic on-set shooting of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was a former classmate from UCLA’s film program.

Keegan is known for her meticulous preparation and for cultivating lasting relationships with her sources. This dedication paid off even with notoriously difficult figures like Ben Stiller. “People can tell when you’ve done your homework,” she said.

But not every interview goes smoothly. Whether due to miscommunication or a celebrity’s temperament, Keegan has found herself trapped in uncomfortable situations, like an interview she had with Angelina Jolie. “It’s an occupational hazard,” she said. “Some people naturally let you go there, some don’t.” 

Despite the bumps, Keegan has continued to expand her journalistic reach. She launched a podcast centered on “The Godfather” as both a new creative outlet and an additional source of income.

Sitting upright and composed in USC’s JOUR 447, Keegan exudes confidence and self-awareness. “I’m in high demand,” she says with a knowing nod– less as a boast than a matter of fact.