Being At The Oscars Is Still 'mental.' But Amelia Dimoldenberg Is Thinking Even Bigger

Despite nan awkward persona Amelia Dimoldenberg projects successful her decade-old YouTube question and reply show “Chicken Shop Date,” nan 32-year-old Londoner expresses wonderment that her small web bid that could has taken her each nan measurement to nan Academy Awards reddish carpet, wherever she’ll beryllium returning arsenic a analogous adjacent period for nan 3rd twelvemonth successful a row.

“I do often return moments to beryllium like, it’s mental,” Dimoldenberg exclaims via Zoom 2 months retired from nan March 15 ceremony, a play she’ll beryllium utilizing to cram nan Oscar contenders successful bid to travel up pinch hundreds of questions to person successful nan metaphorical backmost pouch of her designer gown.

“Oh, mediocre me, I person to watch each of these unthinkable movies and study astir astonishing actors and nan real-life group they were inspired by and nan intricacies of nan casting successful ‘Marty Supreme’!” she tells The Envelope pinch her trademark barren wit. “I would watch them anyhow because I emotion movies.”

Though integer creatives often get a bad rap, underestimate Dimoldenberg astatine your peril. In nan much than 10 years since she first shepherded “Chicken Shop Date” from a file successful a younker publication to a viral arena fetching millions of views and securing nan likes of Cher, Jennifer Lawrence and Billie Eilish arsenic guests, Dimoldenberg has put a batch of activity into her artfully inelegant personage courtships.

Her opinionated arsenic 1 of nan go-to promotional circuit stops intends Dimoldenberg has a interaction database of celebs and, crucially, their publicists to telephone up of Oscars night.

“I’m capable to prebook rather a fewer of them because of group knowing my activity from ‘Chicken Shop Date’ and wanting to beryllium a portion of it,” she says. “It’s really difficult arsenic an independent creator to get group to travel your way. Because of nan occurrence of ‘Chicken Shop Date,’ retired of nan group connected nan carpet, I will get astir everyone. The only different group who are doing that are E! News aliases whoever.”

It besides comes down to beingness placement connected nan carpet. Three years in, Dimoldenberg likes to person a vantage constituent that allows her, arsenic a shaper for her institution Dimz Inc., to scope retired which celebrities are coming her way, drawback their oculus and “draw them to maine while I’m talking to personification else.” All nan while, she’s mentally organizing her questions — memorized much for illustration a script, alternatively than written connected her instrumentality aliases statement cards — and juggling nan “Chicken Shop Date” persona that brought her to nan dance.

TV series, a Super Bowl spot, now a rom-com: Amelia Dimoldenberg is plotting moves beyond nan reddish carpet.

(Laura Schaeffer)

“The beauty of my interviews is that they look truthful disconnected nan cuff,” she says. “I deliberation that’s what group for illustration astir me: I’m not going to beryllium doing an in-depth look astatine their profession aliases inquire a very sincere question, but I will person done each my investigation truthful that I tin inquire them thing that’s related to their movie aliases themes of their activity aliases their interests that possibly catches them disconnected guard. I don’t person to return nan style of different reporters; I tin do it successful my ain way.”

In fact, Dimoldenberg feels for illustration much of her characteristic is capable to radiance done connected nan high-stakes Oscars reddish carpet than connected her dates.

“Maybe if it’s an existent date,” she explains arsenic to why nan intimacy of her show spotlights nan existent Amelia little than nan glare of nan awards-season spotlight. “‘Chicken Shop Date’ is simply a performance,” she says. “I’m playing this characteristic — a hopeless romanticist who’s really frightened of romance. That’s wherever nan drama comes from.”

Dimoldenberg takes her activity earnestly and hopes to parlay her notoriety into much accepted performances, specified arsenic a domiciled successful Season 4 of “Industry,” presently airing connected HBO, a portion successful Uber Eats’ make-your-own-Super-Bowl-ad run and a rumored portion successful “The Devil Wears Prada 2” later this summer. She’s besides processing a TV bid pinch BBC and precocious announced a woody pinch Orion Pictures to develop, nutrient and prima arsenic a type of herself successful a rom-com based connected “Chicken Shop Date” alongside Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s accumulation company, Gloria Sanchez Productions.

“I’m conscionable willing successful storytelling — that’s what ‘Chicken Shop Date’ is: telling nan communicative of a date. Will it spell well? Will it not?” she says.

I would beryllium remiss if I didn’t inquire astir Andrew Garfield who, aft bantering pinch Dimoldenberg connected nan reddish carpet respective times successful 2024, yet went connected a chickenhearted shop day pinch Dimoldenberg successful 2025 to overmuch fanfare — and 12 cardinal YouTube views.

“If it sparks people’s imaginations, not conscionable pinch Andrew but pinch immoderate guest, that’s great,” she says of nan quasi-parasocial finance successful her will-they, won’t-they pinch Garfield. “We had, like, episodes, wherever we [continued to] meet up, truthful it was nan build up of thing that captured people’s attraction truthful much. You spot it a batch pinch scripted shows, but it’s conscionable a YouTube show, truthful for group to judge successful nan communicative that I’m telling, that’s my aim.”