(uptempo music) - Hello, and welcome to Close Up with the Hollywood Reporter Actresses. I'm Matthew Belloni. I'd like to welcome our guests today. Saoirse Ronan. Allison Janey. Mary J Blige. Emma Stone. Jennifer Lawrence. And, Jessica Chastain. Let's get started. Obviously the headlines
in Hollywood this year are incidents of alleged harassment after incidents of alleged
harassment in the industry. Some people believe that
the entertainment industry will never be the same. I'm curious about your thoughts on this and whether all of
these stories coming out are going to lead to actual change, and we'll start with Jessica. - I hope the entertainment
industry will never be the same. I mean, if you look at Louis
B Mayer and Fatty Arbuckle and Jack Warner, you read
Shirley Temple's book, you find out what happened
to her when she was a child, there is a history of abuse
against women in our industry, and it's never been addressed, and I think I'm devastated
by all the stories that have come out
because its heartbreaking, but at the same time I feel hopeful because we're not ignoring it anymore. It's painful for change, but it's needed. It was needed many many years ago, but what's coming out now there's abuses not just in terms of
gender, but there's so much that needs to change about Hollywood, and I think that the
industry will become extinct unless we show a more modern version of the world that we're presented with. - Do you feel a sense
of vindication almost that these stories are being told? - Yeah, I think that the
big misconception though is that this is just in
the entertainment industry. I mean, once again the
entertainment industry is the stage at which you can see the inner workings and the problems that are all over the world. The only reason why there's so much focus on the entertainment industry is because these people are famous. If a flight attendant
comes forward about a pilot it doesn't end up in the news
'cause nobody knows about it. That doesn't meant that
there is less sexual abuse going on anywhere else in the world, in any other place of work, but fortunately we're
starting the conversation now. - Do you agree with that, or is there something specific
about being an actress where there is a power dynamic and someone is in a position
to make or break a career and to exploit an actress in that way? - Well, I think what she's
referencing is definitely true. We see these people. Maybe they grab headlines
in a different way, or what we do grabs
headlines in a different way, but no, I think it's a pandemic. It's through every industry. There's a really amazing
article that Brit Marling wrote that was essentially saying
if we were paid equally, if women were paid
equally in every industry this would not be occurring. I mean, this is something
that women have to, have had to fit into these different boxes for so many years just to get work, and if these things are happening, and they bring them to people's attention they're much more likely to be fired or to be dismissed in any industry than a man in a more powerful position, so I think that it's a huge conversation for our industry, certainly. But, I would hope that this
is only the tipping point for every industry for
us to discuss equal pay for equal work for women
across every industry because that's been a
change that we've needed since the beginning of time and industry. - Yeah. (all laugh) - Have these stories coming forward, have they caused you to look at things throughout your career
maybe with a different light and re-evaluate some of the
interactions you may have had? - I feel very fortunate
that I've never experienced any kind of harassment at all. The only reason why I can think that is I'm you know, five-foot-15, and my career didn't
start until later, 38, and my life was started in the theater. I didn't experience this,
and yet I was always aware of the casting couch. That was just something that I thought women had to navigate
growing up in the business. Or, I thought, "Well, someday
I'll probably have to do that, "but I know how I would." I always felt prepared in my mind if that were to occur what I would do, but it's exciting to think of a time where kids growing up
won't know what that is, that that will be a thing of the past, and there won't be any
more abuse of power. That's the most upsetting thing to me is people who abuse their positions, people that people look up to, artists who are revered,
and of course young people coming in are gonna look to them. It's just one of the worst crimes I think to abuse your influence and
power in a negative way, and it's exciting to think
of our culture changing, and it's high time. - Have any of the stories
that have come out been especially resonant
to you as an actress who has grown up,
essentially, in the industry? - Yeah, I mean I have to say that for me I was the same as Allison. I've never experienced that. I think I was very lucky
that I was protected from a lot of that. I never was really exposed
to what went on at parties. I was never left on my own with anyone. My mom and dad were always around, so I was very protected in that way. I mean, every story that's come out has so much gravity to it,
has so much weight to it, and I think it would be wrong to escalate one over the other, but
I think just because you can actually hear it happening. The one with that Italian,
was she an actress? - She was a model and actress. - [Saoirse] She was a model, actress. - The Harvey Weinstein story. - And, what was incredible about it was that she was brave enough
to go back the next day because she knew that this was important for this to come out, and
the fact that she put herself in that position again and
made herself so vulnerable, and still nothing was done about it. - Yeah. - And, that's the really
disappointing thing about all of this. They've had all of this shit basically on all of these men and
women for the last few years, but they haven't done anything with it. It's just been swept under the carpet. - Do you think that the
culture will change? Perhaps people will be less
inclined to do these things because of fear, but do
you think the culture of the leverage of power and
culture of abuse will change? - I hope eventually. I think it's gonna be a while. I think it's so deeply ingrained,
unfortunately, socially. I don't even know. If you think about
mothers with their sons, obviously it's not coming
from their parents. It's this social proof of
some way of your masculinity, and also what Emma was saying is so true that until we're equal in every way then how can you expect us
to be respected verbally if we're not being respected
in every other way? - Yeah, whenever you have one demographic that's in charge of the
livelihood of another you're gonna have abuses of power. I mean, for me, I'm really interested in your point of view on this in terms of coming into the industry, being in music, now being in film. - In the industry, like her,
I never had that problem. I was always a tomboy and one of the guys, and I feel really sad for the women, but I'm happy that they're free. Everyone that's coming out,
I'm happy that they're free because they had to hold onto a secret that they ma have seen shrinks for for years and years and years,
so I'm just happy for them, and I believe that things will change because this is making other women say, "Me too, me too, me too,"
and that's why it just keeps happening every day, every day because people are tired of sitting around with that secret and that
thing that holds them prisoner, so I think it will change things because people don't want
to be in bondage anymore, women anyway. Women have been going through this since they were children, you know? As a child I went through it all the way up until adulthood, but when I got in the music
business I never had it because I went through so
much of it in childhood. - You said you were a tomboy. Do you think you made that decision to shield yourself from it? - I did because I've been
through so much as a child and a teenager. Not that I was a guy, I
just wore baggier jeans and Timberlands and hat turned backwards, so I won't be so revealing. It took me a very long time to even wear makeup and tight clothes because I had been through so much, and that that I've been
through has been a secret. I exposed it on Oprah,
but there's so much more that people don't know, so like I said I'm happy that these
women are hopefully free because it hurts, and you
have to go through this, women all over the world, like she said. - That's another thing as well is that these people who went through it then had to get up the next
day and still go to work, or they've had to see these men for years and shake their hand and
take photographs with them or get on a flight and work
with them, whatever it is. I mean, imagine how much
strength that would have taken to do that every day. - Because I'm someone who holds a lot and gets really nervous to
speak a lot of the time, we have to also recognize
that there are so many women who haven't told their stories yet, who aren't comfortable to share, and this is a deeply, and I know this is a very millennial word, but
it's a very triggering time for a lot of women too
to see these stories come out one after the other whether they have stories to share or not about assault or harassment. It's a very difficult thing to watch. I also want to say for women I feel so much compassion for those who haven't shared their stories yet, who are still getting up
and going to work every day, they're with their abuser, or
have had abuse in their past, and who are not ready to say anything. I think that putting pressure
on women to share it, if you're not saying it
now then you're complicit in this evil that's
occurring isn't fair also. I think we need to have
a lot of compassion and patience that more and
more stories might come out in a slow way and in a
way that feels comfortable to people who have been
victims of this kind of trauma. - It's interesting. We haven't seen as many
people in the music industry come forward as in the
film and TV industry, and I'm curious why you think that is. Is it because of this? Because people may still be afraid or because it's less prevalent? - I think a lot of people are not ready, and a lot of people, or a lot of women... I don't want to say
it, but a lot of people when you're young and
you want to be an artist or you want to be an actress there's people that threaten
you to do certain things. - That's what I was gonna say. They're afraid of losing their job. - You do certain things, and
that is sexual harassment, but they don't know it
is because they agreed. - You don't know it is, but also sometimes I've had this happen. I've finally made the decision
to stand up for myself. I went to go to the bathroom at work, and one of the producers
stopped me on the way, and was like, "You know, we
can hear you on the microphone. "You've been really
unruly" which is not true. - The mic should've been off anyway. - Yeah, seriously. They were very unprofessional and basically threatened my job because the director said
something fucked up to me, and I said, "That's sick. "You can't talk to me like
that," and then I got punished. And, I was afraid I wasn't
gonna be hired again. - Yeah, you were difficult. - Yeah, I was called
difficult and a nightmare. I think a lot of people
aren't coming forward because they're afraid
they're not gonna work again. - Exactly. - That's what needs to change. You need to be able to
say, "This is wrong" and have somebody do something about it instead of saying, "Oh, it's wrong? "Well, you're fired." - I think you're right though, Emma, in what you're saying too
that the women need to know that there's support here
for them no matter what. If they don't ever want to
come out and say something that's fine, but to know that I would imagine, having
not gone through it myself, to know that other people
have experienced this as well and they're not the only one, the strength that hopefully
that will give them just for themselves too
is really important. - To relate it a little
bit to some of the films we're talking about today,
there's a big through line in your film about this fight for equality and fight to be taken seriously. What about the current climate did you bring to the
preparation for this role? - Well, we shot Battle of the
Sexes in the spring of 2016, so when it comes to our political climate we're still very... There was a lot of hope happening. It was early on, early days, so it was fascinating
because it's a true story. It's a historical event. It happened in 1973, and now
we're here 44 years later, and the depressingly
relevant facts of the film are very tough to look at. There have been strides made,
like I've mentioned before. Women can get their own credit card without a male signing for it which you couldn't in 1973. You had to have a man sign. So obviously, we have our
own credit cards, I'm sure, all of us now which is great, and we're really really thankful. - That's enough. - That's enough. Nope, we're fine. But, you know, there's
such a long way to go. - You're offering the men's
winner exactly eight times what you're offering the women's winner. Do we bring in an eighth of the crowd? - I don't know percentages. - Well, the sold the exact
same amount of tickets to the women's final today as the men's. Isn't that right, Jack? - Today, I suppose so. - Same sales, same prize
money, makes sense to me. - Oh, come on. Be reasonable. I mean, there's no way
that we could afford that. - What's your argument, Jack? - Well, for one thing
the men have families that they have to support. - Well, I'm the main
breadwinner in my family. - That was what we brought. It was studying that era
and seeing how little in many ways has changed. - Right, interesting. The pay issue is interesting because even before the current climate there was a lot of stuff
that came out about pay and getting equal- - Did you hear about this? - Getting equal pay. I will get to her. - [Emma] Just wanted to make sure. - [Jennifer] Thanks, John. - But, how much is that
part of the conversation when you approach a new job? Is it something that you're adamant about? You want to know what
everyone else is being paid? You want to know that there's
pay equality on a project? Is that something that you bring up before you take on a role? - I do. I think when you look at the industry a lot of problems in
terms of wage equality, but also in terms of writers and directors coming onto a project, it
starts at the agency level because I now have a production company, and I'm asking, "Can you guys
send me a list of writers?" And, it's all men. And, I'm realizing that
on, not necessarily parts because we wouldn't probably
play the same role as an actor, but for the agents they're gonna submit the writers that have the higher quote because they get a
percentage of the quote, so that's leading us to why there's not so many female filmmakers, right? But then also, in terms of wage equality I don't understand if you're
at a very successful agency, and they know what
everyone's making on the film how an agent is okay
with you making a third of your co-star's salary? I've been on projects. After Zero Dark Thirty I
was sent a lot of scripts where it's a female protagonist, and they wouldn't do
my deal until they knew who the male actor was because they needed to do his deal first and
then see what was leftover. (all groan) - What? - Yeah, and I was like, "I'm
not doing that anymore." So from now on, if someone has something they're bringing to me,
great, let's do my deal, but also if someone's
showing up for three weeks of a two month film, they're
not getting paid more than me. - No! - No. - It's something that I feel like before I used to trust the industry. - Be protectors. - Exactly, but I think
we've just come to realize we have to be more proactive. - Is that a priority for you? You've been vocal on this issue. - It's much easier for
me now to be paid fairly. The reason I spoke out about
it was really, I'm fine. I'm okay. It's just if I'm going through this, and once again we're in the industry, everybody's looking at us,
if we're going through this every woman in the world
is going through this, so now obviously it's something
that I look closely at. The real problem is the
normalization of it. It's the reason why your
agents don't think twice about paying you a third
because it's been so normalized for so long. That's why when I was being
disrespected on the movie, and I was being treated a
certain way, and I would call, nobody could do anything about it because the behavior was normalized. - It's an industry that's
normalized abuse and violence and pay gaps. - Allison, is there a
role that you've played that has really stuck with
you and influenced you in your personal life especially? - I was not expecting that question. - Can I answer it for you? - Please do that for me. - If you'd like to talk about pay you can do that as well, but... - If I'd like to talk about what? - About pay. - Oh, pay. It's so funny. I do a TV show that two
women are the leads, so we're like, "Damn,
we don't know how much "we're not getting paid." We don't have any way to compare. - How much could we be making? - [Matthew] If a man
made more than you guys, I would be surprised. - Oh, I would, I would, I would... You know, I suppose, well West Wing, CJ Cregg was huge because
she's such a great role and role model, and I have a lot of people that come up to me and say that that character inspired
them to go into politics, go into public service,
and that's fantastic. I just feel like such a
pretender to the throne in that role because I'm
not as clever or smart as CJ is, and I feel bad about it like I let people down
when they actually meet me, like, "Oh, you're not anything like CJ." But, then there's some other roles... That's the one. I'm gonna go with that one. - That's a good one. - Was that what you were hoping I'd say? - I'm a fan of that show. (all chattering) - I feel like I'm playing Password, and I'm like, "Is this the right answer?" (all chattering) - I have watched that so many times, and I'm like, "I am stealing that moment "and that moment and that laughing thing." - You have got to work with my... - What's interesting
is you just worked with Aaron Sorkin on this film, and
I was mentioning it before. He has been criticized
a little bit in the past over some of the female characters, and people have said that they don't control their own destiny
and things like that, but then you look at a
character like CJ Cregg on the West Wing or your
character in this film. It seems like they do
control their own destiny. What's your take on that? (Jessica sighs) - What's my take on that? What I'm so excited about, and I hope that other people
who've been in the industry as long as Aaron Sorkin has and ones that have as much power as he has are inspired by what he did because for his directorial debut he decided to tell the story
with a female protagonist, and he made a film about patriarchy in terms of family, in terms
of industry, and government. And, what women have to
do to try to navigate the rules of men. - My brilliant find. He lost $6 million on my table. - Stop, stop. - Moved to Florida, got a
job as a substitute teacher, then hanged himself in his shower. - Oh, and that's your fault? That's not your fault! - Johnny Sutherland is dead. Harlan Eustice is in jail in Nevada wishing he was, but that's
not why I'm saying no. - You're not saying no. - I was named after my great grandmother. - I don't care. We will stay here all night
- Molly Dublin Bloom is my name.
- until you understand nobody gives a shit about your good name. - I do. - [Charlie] Why? Why?
- Because. - Tell me why! - Because it's all I have left! - When I read the script in the beginning I was like, "I just can't
believe he's telling this story." Twice in the film men tell Molly that she's not presenting
herself appropriately physically. Her boss tells her she has ugly clothes, so she goes and buys really sexy clothes to make her more desirable in the room, and then also her lawyer tells her she looks like a Cinemax
version of herself, and that she needs to change her clothes. I mean, there's so much in this film that deals with what a woman has to do to try to find some bit of success, to find some sense of
power over her own life, and I'm really impressed
that Aaron Sorkin, who could have told any
story that he wanted, chose to tell that story. - I love to believe that it's
because he has a daughter now. I really think that has
empowered him to write. - He said that. - He did say that? Oh, well. - But, also do you know what
he did say to me the other day when we were talking about what's going on in the industry? His daughter, Roxy, he said
that he was talking to her and saying, "Listen. "When you go into the workforce "if a guy grabs you or does anything to do "you can scream, you can fight back, "you can do all these things," and that she turned to him and said, "Dad, why are you teaching
me to defend myself "and not teaching those
guys not to be creeps?" (Jennifer laughs) - Good point.
- Well played, Roxy. - Yeah, so absolutely. I think that's what he's trying to do now is to teach men not to be creeps. The onus isn't on the women. Society has a way of blaming victims. "You didn't come out soon enough" or "you're not asking for enough money," but actually the onus is on the others not to abuse their power. - [Allison] Absolutely. - Mary, this is your most
ambitious feature you've done. What was the preparation
process like for this compared to your normal music career and preparation that
you normally go through? - Well, of course I
needed an acting coach. But, I think I was being
prepared for this role ever since I was a little girl. My mom and my dad are Southern people, and they came to New York in their 20's, and they had me, and I
was born in the Bronx, so I'm a New York girl, but my mom sent me to
Georgia, Savannah, Georgia, every summer. My grandmother was this woman, Florence. My aunt was this woman,
Florence, all my aunts. And, every woman in the South they had farms and chickens
and all these different things, but they had this silent power. They didn't really say much, but you knew that they were powerful because of the way their men treated them and because of how everybody treated them. So, that part of my life
prepared me to be Florence. Florence was a silent, powerful woman, and when she spoke, her husband listened because she didn't say much, and she loved her family. So, she was just this
woman that really really loved her family. They were all stripped down. They didn't wear things
that we wear these days, and they didn't hang on to them. They just were free. Free, strong women, so
that's what prepared me. Of course, and an acting coach. (all laugh) - You just come back. - I will. - You come call the way back. You hear? - I love you, mama. - I love you too, baby. (somber music) - My acting coach is one of my friends, so I was going through
hell in my personal life, and I just ran over to her house, and I just threw myself on the floor, and just started crying. And, she was like, "This is what you do." She didn't baby me. She said, "You take all of that shit "and you give it to Florence." - And, I was so like, "Oh
no, hug me, do something." And, I had to pull myself together and just give everything to Florence, so that was the first thing I said to her. "Help me, I'm going through it," and she said, "Forget it. "Give it to Florence." (lively music) - Is there something memorable that an acting coach
has said to one of you through your career or mentor figure or something that you carry
with you for each performance? - Yeah, Sanford Mesiner told me don't let anyone tell you
you're too tall to act. (all laugh) - That's that James Dean quote. "How can you measure acting in inches?" They told him he was too short. - Oh my god, that's so funny. That always stays with me. - Al Pacino told me, he
directed my first film, and he said that for
film it has to be real, so whatever you are feeling
the camera's an extension. It can see more into you
than your scene partner. So, to look at it not like
it's a separate thing, but it's part of your body almost. It has a direct link to your soul, so whatever you're feeling
you can try to hide it, but the camera's gonna get it. There's this sense of once you allow that and allow yourself to hide
a little bit if you want, but it's still gonna see it anyway, and whatever you are feeling that's what the character's feeling. I was so lucky that that was my first film because I was afraid to go from... I started in theater, and I was afraid to go
from theater to film. I thought there was gonna be a
big difference in the acting, and that advice changed everything for me. - That's great. - I did a period film recently, and it was set in the 16th century. - Brooklyn? - No. - [Jennifer] 16th century. (all chattering) - One of the best pieces
of advice I've ever gotten was from one of the other
actors that was on the job. I was trying to figure out a scene, and it's like, you know, so much of it is this beautiful,
traditional, old language which is great, but it's very hard to get to the heart of it, and there's this big scene in the film between me and one of
the other characters, and I was trying to
figure out how to do it, and it was just this big turning point for this bit in Mary
Queen of Scots for Mary, and I was talking to one of
the other actors, and he said, "Basically what it comes down to "is you just have to talk like a human," and as soon as he said
it to me I just went, "Oh yeah, that's actually it." No matter what era you're in or what kind of language you're using, it's just about remember that this person is just a human being regardless of what situation they're in. - Did you have any challenge in playing a version of your director
on Lady Bird with her there? - Well, I was just
terrified that I was gonna mess it up, I think, 'cause
she was there every day. She was there every day. It's not necessarily autobiographical, but I think what we've been saying is when Greta and I came together Lady Bird was born. She's come from us, but she's
very separate to us too, and she's the girl that we've
aspired to be a little bit or aspired to be when we were 17. - I want to go where
culture is like New York. - How did I raise such a snob? - Or, at least Connecticut
or New Hampshire where writers live in the woods. - You couldn't get into
those schools anyway. - Mom. - You can't even pass your driver's test. - Because you wouldn't
let me practice enough. - The way that you work, or
the way that you don't work, you're not even worth
state tuition, Christine. - My name is Lady Bird. - Well, actually it's
not, and it's ridiculous because your name
- Call me Lady Bird like you said you would.
- is Christine. You should just got to city college. With your work ethic
just go to city college and then to jail and
then back to city college and then maybe you'd
learn to pull yourself up and not expect everybody to do everything. (screams) - She's a ballsy girl as well. She's confident and she's
got a lot of self-belief, and she's also got a lot of self-doubt. And again, we've talked
about it a lot now, but just having well-rounded
female characters is so important, and it's
something that we're all gonna gravitate towards 'cause
we want to do good work. So, getting to play a character like that that's magic and she's
also flawed is amazing. - Jennifer, when you were making mother! I'm curious about the process 'cause obviously when
you sign on to this film you know it's gonna be polarizing, and you know it's gonna go to a place that's gonna make some
people uncomfortable. What is it like making a film like that? Is there a conversation around people are gonna go nuts over this? - I mean, we would laugh about it, but by the time we showed
up nobody had any doubts about what we were doing. We spent three months meeting
in a warehouse in Brooklyn talking over the themes of the movie and talking about the movie. By the time we got
there we were rock solid on what we were doing to the point that even
when the movie came out and we have an F on Cinemascore, 63%, nobody's really surprised. We're just like, "Well, yeah." We know that when we were on set, and it's kind of like an inside joke. I've never done a movie before where... Every time you make a movie you're like, "I hope everyone likes it." This was the first time
I've ever made a movie where we know not
everybody's gonna like it. - [Matthew] There was no fear of that? - I mean, people hate it. No. I mean, if there was fear of that none of us would have been there. Anybody who showed up on
that set was prepared. We knew what we were doing. There really were no surprises. (floor creaks) (gasps) (high pitched ringing) - Do you fear what the reaction
to your work is gonna be? (Jennifer scoffs) - Yeah. (Emma laughs) We all do. - Yeah, but how so? When you're making it, you
said that you went into this- - [Jennifer] Sorry, you were asking them. - I know, but you went into this - None of us do. - knowing it was gonna be polarizing. When you're going into your projects do you fear that is this
gonna be taken the right way, am I making a fool of myself? That kind of thing. - Yeah. Yes, definitely. But, I think that also there comes a point where you just have to let it go, and go, "All right, well this is it." Like she was talking about,
you get to know it so well you go into it and you're like, "Well this is what we're doing," so in the end if you had the
great collaborative experience with a group of people who
really cared about the project... I mean, I think it's actually harder when the wheels come off when
you're filming something, when there's a bunch of different ideas that are happening on the day 'cause I've certainly had that experience, going into something
thinking it was one thing, and having it turn into a
completely different experience. That's harder to get behind
it when it's coming out and not be afraid of
that kind of reaction, but when you're in a team mentality, which is the greatest thing,
that's my favorite part about getting to do the job that I do is that feeling of being a team and being a cog in a bigger machine, it's so amazing to know well all right, we all did this together,
and whatever happens we're going down with that ship. - It's always a gamble. You never know. - And, you hope that you're doing work that's exciting or challenging enough that you don't know what the reaction is necessarily gonna be. - Are you usually right? Are you usually right in how
your films will be received? - Well, it's interesting
because I don't do anything... I just assume it's not gonna
be commercially successful. I don't know why. When I'm going in I always assume that, but for me my fear is that
they're not gonna understand what we were doing. (Emma laughs) So, the idea of you need the Cliff Notes, you know what I mean? To go to an audience member and be like, "Did you get that part?" You know, all the work we put in. - So, your biggest fear was
my experience on mother! (all laugh) - But, I watched that movie and I loved it because I was like, "Wow, this is so deep. "Look at all this stuff they did." For me, I love all the
work that goes into a film that my greatest fear is that
they're not gonna understand or get it, what we were doing, but those are the films
that usually in 20 years all of a sudden will
be revisited, you know? So, I allow that to happen. - I'm not normally right. I have no instincts at all. I just go in blindly, and
then while I'm there I'm like, "Who knows?" I'm so bad at knowing if a
movie is gonna be bad or good. - Even after you've seen
the finished product? - Oh, yeah. When I saw Winter's Bone I was like, "Well, better lock up shop. "No one's gonna see this." You don't know, it's so hard. The first time I watch anything I'm just watching my
double chin and my acne, am I bloated? Yeah, the first time I ever see a movie. Am I the only one? (all chattering) - Listen, I'm my worst critic, so I don't even listen to myself. - You don't listen? - I know I'm my worst
critic 'cause like she said I'm looking at just how
horrible everything looks. - You don't listen to your music either? - No. - [Saoirse] Do you not? - No, not really. And, I don't even look at any
of my performances back again. I just don't want to see it. I just got used to listening
to my own speaking voice maybe five years ago. - Speaking voice is the hardest part. That's like listening to
yourself on a voicemail. It's like, "That's what I sound like?" - No, seriously. I just started listening
to maybe a song from me. - But, you know what's
good about that though is that its just going from your feeling 'cause I hate watching
anything that I'm in, never get anything out of it. Ladybird was the first time
I've even been able to sit down and go, "Oh yeah, it's really good." But, I think that's because you obviously go from your instinct as well, and you're performing from your instinct. I find I don't need to
look at the end product. That's not what I'm doing it for. I'm doing it for being on set and work. - Right, and I don't want to see it again and get programmed and do that again. I don't ever want to do
the same thing ever again in anything I do. I want to be fresh every time, and I just don't want to see it anyway. - I do my work is on the
set, I have the experience, and that's what it was for me, and I don't need to see it. And, then the movie comes out, and I'm like, "Oh god, I got to go." I will go down the red carpet, and then I will go out to dinner and meet people at the
party, but I don't want to... (all chattering) - Yeah, what were you saying? - We were saying Tate Taylor
because we all had a little bit to do with The Help,
not all of us, I know, but a lot of us at this table, and Tate Taylor the director of The Help made me laugh so much because
I'd seen myself do this before and on the set of The Help he goes, "All right, why don't you
just do your teary cry smile?" And, I'm like, "I know
exactly what it is." It's like, with a tear. "Do your teary cry smile in this scene. "I don't care." I was like, "Oh my god." I've never done it since. I was like, "Fuck, it's my
teary cry smile moment." If I see it in movies,
I'm like, "God damn it." - That's the worst if I see
something and I recognize it. So, you're the opposite. You learn from watching yourself? (all laugh) - You're like, "He's figured me out. "He got it." - It's my shtick! - I wonder if its because in real life I don't really wear a
lot of makeup normally. I'm at my house, whatever, normal. No one really stops me on the street or anything like that. Perhaps it's because I don't
love the way I look normally that when I'm acting my
characters look so different. - Is that important for you
when you're choosing a role? - [Jessica] Yes. - Or, even once you've
agreed to do something that physically you just want it to be very different to you. - In fact with Molly's
Game before I showed it, it was a month before,
Aaron started saying, "You know, I think I want
Molly to look like you." And, I was like, "What?" It was a whole out of nowhere because if you Google Molly Bloom she looks like a Kardashian. It's a completely different thing. - Take it easy. (all laugh) - In a good way, in the most fabulous way. We did the shading, we did
everything for this character to show that. I realized that for me I don't want it to be me in a character. - I think it's the same
with accents as well. I find that with accents. I'm only starting to get
to the stage now where- - You don't have to do
that accent anymore. - Okay, all right guys. I'm so excited to be here, honestly. This is who I really am. But, I think that was
something that I found I could use as a shield. Not that I wasn't delving into
the characters or anything. Maybe because I started when I was young it was a great way to
separate myself from it. - [Jennifer] Yeah, it's easier
to come in and out that way. - Yeah, I mean, your
accent is such a huge part of who you are, how you
communicate, how you interact, and I found only recently
I'm getting to the stage where I actually want to
use my accent in a film. It's a very vulnerable thing to do I think with your physicality and how you sound and things like that. - Well. (Mary laughs) When I watched Rock of Ages I was like, "That's Mary J Blige." - [Saoirse] And, you didn't
know what you looked like 'cause you never watch
footage of yourself. - I'm like, "Oh, that's awful." That's not supposed to be Mary J Blige, that's supposed to be the character. And, then I saw Mudbound at Sundance, and I looked at the character
when I was finally able 'cause I was trying to direct everybody. "Your part's coming, your part's coming." I was trying to hide from my part, and God was like. And, when I saw the
character, when I saw Florence I just started crying
because it wasn't me. I was like, "Who is that?" It was a character, so
that was a moment for me where it was like, "Wow
okay, I've done something. - And, then was it easier
for you to watch yourself because you could watch it and think, "That's a character"? - [Mary] I'm sorry? - Was it easier for you to
watch yourself on screen because it wasn't you? - From that moment on I was able to watch the movie at Sundance. I sat and I watched the whole movie, but before my part came I was
like, "Your part's coming." - You sound horrible to
sit next to at a premiere. (all laugh) - Everybody's like, "Shut
up, shut up, shut up." I'm trying to direct them, and when my part came I
was completely directed to look at it, and I had to
look at it, and it wasn't me. - Have you watched it since? - [Mary] And, I cried. - [Saoirse] Have you watched it since or have you only watched it the once? - I think I watched it twice. I think so. I think we watched it in
Toronto if I'm not mistaken. But yeah, I mean, that was cool 'cause I see Mary J
Blige in everything I do, so I'm so glad we got rid of her. (all laugh) - Allison, is there someone in your career or a performer that has
most influenced your work? - Oh gosh. I don't know if there are. Well, I mean Laurie Metcalf. I first saw her in- - That's Saoirse Ronan. (all laugh) - She plays her mother in Ladybird, and I saw her on Broadway. - You're still pointing at me. - Well, I'm thinking. Now it just went out of
my head, in this play. It was Balm in Gilead. - The one this year? - Oh yeah, the one with the monologue, where Laurie had the long monologue. - No, where Laurie did a monologue, and I saw her and Glenne Headly, and I literally, I had two feelings. One was that I was gonna quit acting 'cause I would never be
able to do what they did, and then the other was
like, "I want to do that." They inspired me and
scared the shit out of me watching those brilliant women perform, and then through the
years other performances, it's not like I'm just
glued to one actress, but different performances have
inspired me over the years. Of course, now that you're
asking me I can't think of one, but certainly every one of
these women around this table have inspired me. - Laurie Metcalf. Myself, Laurie. - Jessica Chastain. - [Saoirse] No, she's not Mary J Blige. - Well, I am now. - Yeah right, okay. (all laugh) - My god, Judi Dench. - [Saoirse] Judi, she's so cool. - One thing about I,
Tonya that's interesting, and this is something
for the table as well is the decision to take
on a nasty character and someone who is not just
a villain in the story, but is actually a real person. - Yeah, and how about that
one of my best friends actually wrote it for me. - [Matthew] Right. - Whoa, they wrote that casting? - Very offensive. - [Mary] There was something about you. - That's what I'm saying. He must know the dark underside
of my soul, I don't know. He just knew that I would... I think he knew. We had one little short video clip of the real LaVona Harding, and in the clip she wears a fur coat with a bird on her
shoulder and a bowl haircut and these big glasses,
and it's phenomenal, but it's the only footage we had, and he couldn't find her. He interviewed Tonya
Harding and Jeff Gillooly and found both of their stories
were so wildly contradictory that he decided, "I've
got to tell this movie "through everybody's point of view" 'cause it's crazy how everyone has a completely different
version of what happened, so we couldn't find the mother, so it's Tonya's version of her mother, and Tonya thought her
mother was a monster. - Even when I was a kid did
you ever love me or anything? - You think Sonja
Henie's mother loved her? Poor fuckin' you. I didn't stay home making
apple Brown Betties. No, I made you a champion knowing you'd hate me for it. That's the sacrifice a mother makes. I wish I had a mother
like me instead of nice. Nice gets you shit. I didn't like my mother either, so what? I fucking gave you a gift! - It was wonderful because I got to do all this old age makeup. I was three hours in makeup,
and then I saw myself, and I was like, "Oh my
god, this is fantastic." I don't have to worry about my jowls. I didn't care about it. It was so freeing to go
in and work on a part that I didn't care what I looked like, and it was really fantastic. Even seeing it I was like,
"Oh god, I can watch myself." I'm so awful. I don't know it was easy to watch. - [Matthew] It takes away the vanity. - Yeah, there's no vanity involved in it. It was really fun to play her. I have to always find
something in my characters that I like or I understand
what motivates her, and there actually was
something positive and good that motivated her even though she's not gonna win Mother of Year at all. - Do you think about the
morals of the character before you agree to play the character? No. - [Jessica] I don't. - No. It doesn't matter. - I mean, before I signed
on I judged Molly a lot 'cause I saw pictures of her, and I was like mmh, and then I met her, and actually then blamed myself for believing this story
that the media had given me, but I've played people
who've killed people, and I don't think you can judge them. For me, I actually feel
more sorry for people who are making mistakes. I have more empathy for the characters that do the wrong thing. - I judge mine, but then... I'll just go right in. (all laugh) When I was doing mother!
I've never played a character that was so different in
her personality than myself, and it was incredibly irritating
through the whole thing. I would just continue to say, "Well, why would she put up with that?" And, "Why would she say that?" Because she's not me. That's not how she would handle something, so I was very judgmental and
thought she was very annoying, but in between action and cut, and when I was her I fully understood why she would think that way, but when I was me I was
like, "What an idiot." (all laugh) (lively music) - [Matthew] Emma, what's
the worst career advice you've ever been given? - It's something I've said probably. - Probably something that she told me. (all laugh) - Let me run your life. - Let me run your life. - No, that's actually pretty good advice. Probably advice I've given to myself, things that I've told myself. - I was just thinking the same thing. I was just gonna tell you
the worst advice you've given is by yourself. She's so hard on herself. - Yeah. And, I think because
I've made mistakes before I have such a hard time forgiving myself that I get scared and then I lock up, and I'm like, "Well, maybe
I shouldn't do this." As time has gone on,
I've gotten more excited to play people that are unlike me, or where I need to go
into different worlds because I've felt for so
long in my own experience, so that's what I understood how to play, but now that I am able to
see how rewarding it is to lose yourself in
someone else's experience, to find these people that
are nothing like you, and let their traits infuse your life. I mean, playing Billie Jean
has truly changed my life. She's infused so much into my spirit. Now it's incredibly exciting.
- Did you have to be convinced to do that? - Sort of. I mean, there was a
shift that was happening a couple of years ago,
maybe it's just maturity, or whatever my half is as an actor and as a human, as a woman, but it become something
that I really wanted to expand into because for a long time I was playing different
versions of myself, teary cry smile and all. (all laugh) And, even if it wasn't supposed
to be a version of myself I didn't really fully
understand how to access that. - She's so mean. You're so mean to my good friend, Emily. - I know. Please don't talk about
my friend like that. Yeah, but as time as gone on it's been so incredibly
rewarding to take risks, to dare, to not be afraid to make mistakes because as the most anxious kid you've ever met my whole
life has been defined by, "Please don't mess up,
I can't mess up, no." And, that's changing which is incredible. - How about you, Allison? Worst career advice? - It would be obviously from myself. Don't do that, you're terrible. I'm just a terrible
self-critic too, I guess. Are we all that way or no? I don't know. I'm really really hard on myself, but I usually try to go, "What is Allison telling Allison to do? "Let's do the opposite." - That's good advice. - I joined a Broadway musical. I got offered that, and I was like, "I'm not doing a Broadway musical. "I can't sing. "I'm not doing that." I would've loved to do it.
- I saw you in a musical! - Did you seen nine? It's the only one I've done,
so it had to be that one. - [Jessica] It was good. - It was good, I was all right, right? - You were good. You're always good. - I love you. - [Jessica] Please. - Anyway, definitely myself. No one else has. Oh, there was one movie. Nevermind. (all laugh) - How about you, Saoirse? You've made interesting
choices as an actress, and you've avoided going the gigantic Hollywood blockbuster route. Is that by choice, or is that something that you see yourself as
a certain type of actress? - No, definitely not. I mean, listen. If a big budget film came
along that was great, and they wanted me to be
in it, and I liked the role then yeah, of course I would do it. But, I've just found I've just gravitated towards certain things, but
I think it would be wrong to pigeon-hole yourself as an indie actor or a movie star or whatever. It was one of the best pieces of advice that someone gave me recently is that you should never do something
because you should do it, if you know what I mean. You should only do something because you want to or because
you feel like you need to, and so I think that's something 'cause I've been the same as you, very very harsh critic on myself, really beaten myself up about
certain things over the years. And, also just knowing
that you haven't stood up for yourself as much
as you probably should, and I've always had that in my head. "I should do this, I should do this." Not even just with work, but just in life. It's something that I
think you get over that with maturity and just realizing
what's actually important, so that's something I've
had to work on for sure. - Is there an actor living or dead that you would most like to
meet or collaborate with? - [Jessica] Gary Oldman. - [Matthew] Really? - Gary Oldman and Isabelle
Huppert are my favorite. Isabelle played my mother in a movie, so Gary Oldman for sure. - [Matthew] Why him? - Since I was a little kid when
I would watch him on screen he's someone that when you watch from performance to performance he doesn't look like himself. - [Jennifer] Totally, yeah. You can never recognize him. - That's what I'm drawn to in acting, and it means that in real life I'm sure he can go down the street and people don't recognize him which is insane to me that people wouldn't recognize Gary Oldman,
but he's a shape shifter. He changes his voice, he
changes the way he looks. He's spectacular.
- Especially in the new film. - I've said that in my earlier interviews, so I just want to say I think
Jessica stole that from me. - [Matthew] She stole that from you? - Yeah, 'cause I used to
talk about Gary Oldman. - In 2012 I did an interview where I said he was my cinematic crush. - I hate answering these questions because I feel like I'll say one actor, and then I'll leave and
there's like 45 other actors. I want to say Bill Murray, but I can't. - [Matthew] You can say Bill Murray. - No, no, I'm gonna say Bill Murray. No, I mean it. Bill Murray. I don't mean it flippantly,
I mean Bill Murray, but I hate answering these questions 'cause there's just too many. - How about you? - I mean, if I don't do
something with Diane Keaton before the end of time I
don't know what I'll do. She's my everything. I love her so much. - You talk about her a lot. - I talk about her a little bit too much, and I also absolutely love Hank Azaria. I think he's criminally
underrated and brilliant. - Mary, you recently
decided to focus on acting. Is there a career path
that you are envisioning? - [Mary] A career path I'm
envisioning for acting? - Yeah, someone you'd
really like to emulate in the acting side, the
choices they've made, some of the roles they've played. - I thought you meant personally, no. I know this may sound cliche
'cause everyone says this. Meryl Streep is... I wish I could do some of that. She's another one that transforms. She goes from Death Becomes Her to the movie where she's
not even speaking English. I forget the name of the movie. - [Jessica] Sophie's Choice. - Yeah. She's just oh my goodness. The question of someone
I would like to act with dead or alive, Frank Sinatra
because I didn't know he was a great actor like that, and of course he's a great singer. Yeah anyway, Angela Bassett is another one that I think is just amazing. Those are my top two, and her because she's
just amazing in Juno. She made me laugh 'til I cried in Juno, and she's just amazing
in everything she does. They just do it so easily. I want to be able to do that.
- She has the Bill Murray-esque where
no matter what she's doing you love her so much. Even in I, Tonya when she was being the worst mother in the world I was like, "No, I think this is gonna turn around. "I really like her." - I haven't seen I, Tonya yet, and I saw a preview at
the Hollywood Film Awards, and I was like, "Oh, I
have to see this movie." When she's cursing her
out with the cigarette. - You're so brilliant in Mom as well. When I'm sad that's what I would watch. I love it. I love you and Anna together. It's great to watch. - I love you, thank you. That's really sweet. - I want one Billie Jean King question. How much did you interact with her? How much did you take
from her personal cues and the things you learned
from her in playing the role? - Early on we met. I sat with her and her partner Ilana and we talked for a long time, and we got each other's phone numbers, and I was like, "Whew." We started talking about things, and I realized she had
over 40 years of hindsight on those kinds of events. If you asked me about an event that happened when I was 12. I mean, obviously I would be in my 40's, but I would say, "Well, okay. "here's what I learned from that, "and here's how my life changed from then. "I can understand it in
a different way now." So, I realized pretty
quickly that watching footage of her at that time, studying
as much as I possibly could from that era was gonna
benefit me in a different way because she was in the midst
of so much turmoil and struggle and yet had to put on this public face as essentially the leader
of equality in her industry. It was actually really
helpful to immerse myself in that time period and ask her questions every one in a while, but now we've gotten to know each other,
now we're best friends. - Did you see it for the first time when she saw it for the first time? - No, she watched it on her own in Vegas twice in a row in a hotel room. I was like, "She's watching it now?" And, they were like, "Yeah,
she's watching it again." I was like, "What?" (all laugh) I didn't hear from her for a week. - [Matthew] Really, and what
was the first communication? - She was so wonderful, and she's been so
supportive the whole time, but I think it's just a deeply
emotional experience for her. I mean, think about your first
love and how that turned out, and then you're watching someone play the heights of that love. There was so much secrecy,
and she was married. She's so generous with her life story, and that has to be so excruciating, and she said that for her to watch or for Ilana to watch, you know Ilana's seen it nine times now, and it's a lot. I think it's a lot to take in. It's really painful to sit with, so she's been incredible
to let us take that story and share it with the world in that way. - Is there one line
from one of your movies, one of your character's lines that has stuck with you and that you just really love? - "You are not a stand up guy." It's from Silver Linings Playbook, and whenever David makes me
mad I always said it to him. - How often is that? - Yesterday. (all laugh) - How about you, Jessica? - Well, the only thing
'cause it's the line that's always quoted to me. Whenever someone recognizes me they say, "I'm the mother
fucker who found this place." Always. That's the only one. - [Matthew] It's your line. - It's good. I was actually at a boat show
in Florida a few weeks ago, and these guys came over, this gay couple, and they were Southern,
and they were like, "Pardon my language, but
I love mother fucker." I was like, "Yes!" - [Matthew] That's fun. - Yeah, it was good. - [Matthew] Saoirse? - I have to think about that for a second. I think the one that I can just remember which I think is just
quite a good message anyway is, "Adapt or die, think on your feet," or, "think on my feet
even when I'm sleeping" and that's from Hanna, and it's this bit where her dad is basically
preparing her for the world, and she's got all of this
drilled into her head in order to go out into this world that she knows nothing about, but I think that's quite
a good thing to remember, to just adapt to every
situation that you're in as much as you can. - I have a good one that
actually I've wanted to say in probably actually every
movie I've ever done, but I get to say it in this one. "Well, my storyline is disappearing. "What the fuck?" (all laugh) - [Matthew] That's a good line. That was a big laugh line at the premiere. - It's a very funny little scene. They thought they were gonna cut it out, but they just found, "Well,
that might work here." They kept moving it all
throughout the movie 'cause it's such a funny. - Very in the character too. - "Love is a kind of survival." Florence Jackson. - [Matthew] Interesting. That's great. And, you have the last word. - "Piss off Quiznos." It's from Easy A. I just shove a Quiznos guy and just say, "Piss off Quiznos." - [Matthew] That's a good one. - I just watched it last night. - I auditioned for Easy A. I wanted it so bad. - Well, guess what? (Jennifer laughs) You didn't get it. You didn't get it because you suck! - Outside! - Have you ever told her that before? - [Jennifer] We've auditioned
for all the same stuff. Oh my god. - All the same stuff. - Two days we spent doing this. - We're texting back and forth. That was only a couple
months ago when we realized. We were like, "Really? - Well, what was funny
is you and I were going, and we were like, "Oh, I
auditioned for that too!" And, it wasn't until the
next day that I was like, "Oh my god, I auditioned for Easy A." I didn't even remember it.
- So weird. - Have you ever thought
about working together? - No. What? (all laugh) - [Matthew] Why not? - [Emma] I would love to. I keep trying to convince her. - Damn. - I have so many ideas. She's always like, "We'll
talk about it later." - There's one idea that's floating around, but it's secret. - Yeah, it's a secret idea. - Wait, did you forget about it, or where you being a better secret keeper? - No, I was just tying to
be a good secret keeper. - Oh, you're so much better than me. - [Matthew] You can tell us what it is. - No, we can't. - On that note, I'd like
to thank our guests today. That was a terrific conversation. Thank you everyone. (lively music) - Ready? - [Cameraman] Okay, quiet on set. - And, I look down the lens. - Let's do it. - Hi, I'm Margot Robbie. - Bryan Cranston. - Robert Pattinson. - John Boyega. - I'm Sam Rockwell. - William Defoe. - Emma Stone. - Allison Janey. - Guillermo del Toro, and
thank you for watching. - Thank you. - Thank you for watching. - Thanks for watching
the Hollywood Reporter. - The Hollywood Reporter. - The Hollywood Reporter. - On YouTube. - On YouTube.
Why is Lawrence in there? Was this filmed before the nominations were announced? THR has always been so bad at predicting the nominees.