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It probably sounds like the most glamorous job in the world - but let me tell you, the red carpet gig is the world's dullest.

Corralled into pens by bossy London PRs - who make the rules up as they go along - only to snatch a glimpse of a celeb fall out of a taxi and dash for the front door.

Those who do stop will have nothing more profound to tell you than the creator of their frock, the make of their shoes or of course reiterate how much they love coming to Edinburgh/Cannes/Venice - delete as appropriate.

I can say all this quite candidly because - aside from a brief flurry at the and one very memorable trip to the Oscars - I don't have to get on the film industry carousel.

It's an endless round of bored actors, answering the same questions, in hotel rooms - which apart from the strategically placed film poster, look exactly the same.

It's a thankless task for which you'll have to jump through hoops, fill forms and agree questions with an equally bored collection of PR people.

The golden rule with all - just talk about the film - what else would we want to talk about? But somewhere in this mind-numbing process, the film is forgotten, the three minute interview descends into utter trivia and before you know it, a PR is tapping her pen on her clipboard, ushering the star on to the next TV reporter - standing just a foot away.

Until now the Edinburgh International Film Festival somehow avoided all of that. Maybe it's the matter of fact Scots attitude, which means most people - even the cast of the film - would rather side step the red carpet and go in the side entrance.

Maybe, because in the old days of premieres at the Odeon or the ABC, the general public were encouraged to come along too - not be penned in behind fences on the other side of the road as they are in Fountainbridge.

And maybe because when the film festival happened in the thick of August, stars could easily disappear in the crowds and enjoy themselves relatively incognito.

Whatever has happened, it's changed, and not for the better. Don't get me wrong, I think Hannah McGill's programme is a good one, full of witty and interesting films.

I suspect Edinburgh is currently full of witty and interesting interviewees - it's just that in order to speak to them, you have to answer 20 questions, fill in a form and we'll let you know a week next Tuesday.

It's hardly conducive to frank and interesting discussion. In most cases, if you're n not a regular on the film PR conveyer belt, you're lucky to get an interview at all.

There's also the suspicion that the PR teams are trying to ramp up excitement - and therefore press coverage - by throwing circus style events.

Thus, we were all invited to EdinburghCastle to meet and others from the new film The Edge of Love.

We all waited patiently at the esplanade for an hour while three London PR ladies checked our names on three different clipboards - then advanced to the one o'clock gun where we were promptly turned around again because they'd misspelled our sound man's name and they couldn't be sure he was who he said he was [the sound recorder and big furry microphone might have been a giveaway].

Then we were all packed into the Queen Anne Room at the castle - where all the camera men grabbed spots along the best line of vision - only to be told they couldn't stand there after all.

A new PR rule apparently - but one no one could explain. Tempers got frayed, some of the cameramen retired to the back of the room, our man switched off his camera - there are few ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ programmes who'd run footage of the backs of people's heads.

Half an hour later, the "talent" clip-clopped in. The newspaper hacks asked their questions - how did Keira like working with her mum [Sharman MacDonald who wrote the screenplay]; how did Sharman feel about her daughter doing a raunchy sex scene; did Keira like singing? Did she like being naked on film? Did she like haggis? Did she like Scotland?

Poor Sienna just looked on in dignified silence - perhaps explaining why PR rule 261 is that Keira and Sienna are a job lot - to be interviewed together.

A man from Spain asked if Keira would like to work with Pedro Almodovar. She said yes. It was that profound.

Then came the TV and radio interviews - and more rules. No leaving the building (never mind the fact we are standing feet away from one of the most picturesque views of Scotland), no personal questions, no more than five minutes.

No furniture apparently - our first interviewee drowned out by the sound of chairs being clattered away.

Keira and Sienna said they loved their characters, had a great time filming in Wales, didn't like singing, loved Edinburgh...Bing! Time up - and they were on to the next reporter standing just two feet away. Sharman MacDonald wanted to talk about her love of the Traverse - the PR frowned and tapped her watch - another time. Matthew Rhys had loads to say about preparing for every Welshman's dream role - but nothing he could cram into three minutes.

And before we knew it, it was over and we were racing down the Royal Mile with a tape of not much at all.

But having promised the evening news- just as every other journalist there had promised their newsdesk, we had to come back with something.

And so the TV and radio news - and papers next day - were full of smiling images of Keira and Sienna - Matthew Rhys and Cillian Murphy sensibly leaving the red carpet small talk to their leading ladies.

And actually the film was rather good and deserved to be talked about some more - but on this PR carousel it seems that the film is actually the last thing anyone talks about.