Since my time with The Red & Black, I have spoken to Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr. and Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) from the “Saw” movies – all because of college conference calls.

After participating in four conference calls this semester, I have become a pro.

They’re a great opportunity for those of us wanting to report for a living but also come with some humorous anecdotes.

To participate, publicity firms and film organizations send e-mails to college newspapers asking if they would like the opportunity to talk to actors or directors.

The information and quotes obtained from the call are available for everyone to use.

Once they get your confirmation, you receive the time of the call with the phone number and an identification code.

Then comes the most awkward part.

Your line is connected with all of the other students waiting for the interview to start.

Then the moderator comes on the line to explain the order of those asking the questions.

Sometimes your line is left open to yell whenever the mood hits.

Not a good idea.

I had to almost fight with a girl to ask the last question when we chimed in at the same time, but they let both of us have a chance.

For more “important” celebrities, the lines are “closed” until your turn for inquiry arrives.

These also have more strict time constraints and more students on the line.

Jerry Seinfeld’s promotion for “Bee Movie” was 20 minutes, and students asked questions in order of their call-in time.

So when one girl began chatting Seinfeld up, I was screaming into the phone, “stop wasting time!”

Luckily, no one else could hear that, and thankfully, my turn came soon after.

The call with director Todd Haynes for “I’m Not There” also was “closed,” and writers were supposed to push the pound key to “form a line” for questions.

For some reason, our moderator disappeared and let the first student talk to Haynes for 15 minutes by himself.

The lost referee eventually came back, explaining she didn’t want to interrupt their discussion and began regulating the call again, letting others speak.

At the end of the day, I can’t complain. Seinfeld playfully joked, and Carlos Mencia voiced his jealousy of Uga’s superstar treatment.

It’s all in a day’s work.

- Mandy Rodgers is a senior from Loganville majoring in magazines and film studies and a variety staff writer.