I do not agree that Sarah Abo was smirking or leading AS at all. Her face is completely relaxed throughout. If someone doesn't like her looks or features, that is their prerogative. To me, however, she is completely relaxed and neutral.
There is pretty much zero chance that all of the questions for Alan weren't discussed ahead of time. More than one "take" was likely filmed so they'd have options when editing. In the old days, one would say that more cut film ended up on the editing room floor than what actually went into the production, but that's old fashioned since its all digital, now. For the seventeen minutes of the time on 60 Minutes, they likely taped for hours to get the seventeen minutes worth. For instance, they didn't just go from the set or a hotel room to standing in the forest by someone waving their magic wand. A lot of thought went into where they were going to film, and what they were going to cover. As someone who has done the videography on half-hour productions, I can tell you it takes hours to change venues and settings and get the people and equipment all in the same place at once. Then, there are hours of filming. Followed by hours of editing, which AS likely had a say in, as well. "Take that bit out. Now add that bit in the hotel room. No, put the bit we took out before back in. That is REALLY how it goes,
I am a retired Instructional Designer and Corporate Trainer and for ten years I wrote content, scripts and production storyboards for high-level marketing and training videos. You don't just walk into a room, turn the camera on your subject and shoot for half an hour asking random questions. That is a waste of time and resources. The interviewer has handlers who decide what will be discussed. The interviewer discusses them with the interviewee and they work through the "script" before they ever begin taping. She didn't surprise him or catch him off guard and he had time to think about what he was going to say ahead of time.
This isn't a guess. This is how producing a new piece is done, and in addition to my own career in the corporate world, I frequently worked with a production company on top news stories in NYC. I thought Sarah was very professional; she didn't tromp on AS's toes nor treat him with kid gloves. I think that everyone involved in the production, logistics, directing and editing did a really nice job.
But AS did the best job of all. Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and his shotgun INDEED. Alan is a bright and witty man and he has a quirky yet astute way of expressing himself that is quite engaging. By the time he got to 60 Minutes he would undoubtedly have been very comfortable around Sarah after two weeks with her. She didn't try to trap him or belittle him or lead him; she just provided agreed-upon questions to ask and kept the convo on track while allowing AS a lot of freedom, script-wise. JMO, as always.
