At The “Don't Look Up” Press Conference, Its A-List Actors Discuss The Comedy of A Planet-Killing Event

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Interviews

Published on Saturday, 26 March 2022 20:36

Written by Brad Balfour

Known for his raft of successful left-leaning satires such as “Vice” and “The Big Short,” Director Adam McKay once again tries to find the balance between serious social commentary and an acidic attack on the right wing conservative views especially when it relates to global issues.

In his Oscar-nominated “Don't Look Up”(now on Netflix)  two low-level astronomers (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) attempt to warn mankind via a media tour about an approaching comet that will destroy Earth. As the city-sized object heads to earth, the rightwing American president (Meryl Streep) at first agrees to and then denies the seriousness of its impending impact. This satirical allegory of media, government, and cultural indifference to the crisis of anthropogenic climate change details the chaos that ensues from an Earth-destroying event.

Lawrence became the film's first cast member with DiCaprio signing on after rewriting McKay's script. Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Ron Perlman, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Himesh Patel, Melanie Lynskey, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep round out the ensemble cast. Grande and Mescudi also collaborated on the song "Just Look Up" as part of the film's soundtrack.

Filming was to begin in April 2020 around Massachusetts, but was delayed until November due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The shoot then lasted through February 2021. The result received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast but found the 53-year old’s approach heavy-handed.

Despite those reviews, the movie was named one of the top 10 films of 2021 by the National Board of Review and American Film Institute. It also received four nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture - Musical or Comedy, and six at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture. The film won Best Original Screenplay at the 74th Writers Guild of America Awards. It also set a new record for the most viewing hours in a single week on Netflix, and went on to become the second most-watched movie on Netflix within 28 days of release.

When a flurry of activity kicked up over the movie’s release, IEUSA acquired a transcript of an extensive press conference held recently. It included cast members Mescudi, Perry, Hill, Streep, DiCaprio, Lawrence, and its writer/director/producer.

Moderator/scientist Amy Mainzer (who contributed to the film) tried asking questions but really just managed the verbal jousting between this stellar cast and its creator.

Q: I have had the great pleasure of working with this incredibly talented cast and crew on the movie where, as an astronomer and planetary scientist, I served as the science advisor on the film.

TP: What a lineup here, man.

Q: Leo, now that Dr. Dibiasky [Jen Lawrence] is over here... Oh, sorry, not quite Dr. Dibiasky. Now that she's contributed all this to science, we need to get her defense scheduled. When would you like to schedule her defense? The committee needs at least three months to plan [laughs].

LD: I think three months is a proper amount of time.

Q: Okay, great. Will you be ready for your PhD defense?

MS: I just broke out in a sweat.

JL: I was so afraid she was going to look at me and say something. I was like, don't do it.

TP: They really call it a defense?

Q: Not like Harry Potter Defense Against the Dark Arts, but sort of.

TP: You're a real astronomer?

MS: She discovered a comet.

Q: It's not hitting the Earth, though. Don't worry.

TP: Really? Oh, wow. Okay, good. That's awesome.

AM: She's the real deal.

TP: I'm blown away. I've never met an astronomer.

LD: And she was imperative in the narrative of this movie. Was our advisor and an unbelievable help. So thank you very much.

Q: Thanks for making the movie. The public perception of scientists has really taken a beating in recent times. As people who portrayed scientists in the movie, do you hope that this movie changes the public's perception of science and the people who practice science?

LD: Adam created this film, which was about the climate crisis, but he created a sense of urgency with it by making it about a comet that's going to hit Earth within six months' time and how science has become politicized with “alternative facts. I was just thankful to play a character who is solely based on many of the people I've met from the scientific community, in particular, climate scientists who've been trying to communicate the urgency of this issue and feeling like they're subjected to the last page on the newspaper.

There's too many other things that we're inundated with. I love the way he portrayed these two different characters. One that is incredibly outspoken, like a Greta Thunberg type of character in Jen's, and mine that’s trying to play within the system. I also love the way he was just incredibly truthful about how we're so immensely distracted from the truth nowadays. And then COVID hit and there was a whole new scientific argument going on there. And it's just such an important film to be a part of at this particular time.

Q: Jen, what do you think about that? You portrayed PhD candidate Kate Dibiasky.

JL: I think Leo said it perfectly. It's just so sad and frustrating to watch people who have dedicated their lives to learning the truth, be turned away because people don't like what the truth has to say.

Q: I appreciate that and think that really resonated with me and a lot of my colleagues in the science community. Adam, what is the mindset going into a film that's viewing such a serious, real-life issue through the lens of comedy? How do you pull that off?

AM: We were talking about the idea we wanted to deal with – the climate crisis – which is so overwhelming. It's arguably the greatest threat to life in the history of mankind. We just felt like you can get… It can almost be like an animal attacking you — It can just be overwhelming. But if you're able to laugh, that means you have some distance. I actually think that's really important. You can feel urgency and you can feel sadness and you can feel loss, while also having a sense of humor.

That was really the intention with this movie. After the crazy last five or 10 years we've all had across the planet, wouldn't it be nice to laugh at some of this and feel the other feelings? So that was the approach, 'cause I think we get hit with the thumping doomsday talk quite a bit. Which, by the way, is totally legit when it comes to climate change. But , it was important that people be allowed to laugh and have some distance. It's also a great unifier. You can't really fake laughter. It's not a political thing. They've tried, but it never really works whenever you try and fake that. So, yeah, that was kind of the thinking behind it.

Q: Leo, you've done actions towards protecting biodiversity and climate change. What encouraged you to take part in a movie that tackles these issues through comedy?

LD: I've been looking for a movie that was about this subject for decades now. But it’s like I said earlier, this is an issue where everyone feels ultimately like what kind of difference can we make?

How can we contribute to this cause? Adam really cracked the code with this-with this narrative. There's so many comparisons that we can make to the climate crisis with this storyline. And, you know, as a whole, it's probably the most important issue all of us could be talking about on a regular basis. It takes artists like this to change the narrative, you know? To create conversation and it’s just an honor to be a part of it, really.

Q: They say science brings us the facts, but art is what allows us to process the emotions and the feelings about it. What was the most important aspect or interesting aspect that you all learned from working together on this-on this film?

JL: Jonah, I think you should take it. What have you learned [in playing the President’s son]?

JH: Well, this is the first time we've met, so I haven't learned that much from you yet, except that you're nice, you're charming. Honestly, I've been friends with Leo for a long time. I've always had mad respect for how much he puts his money and time where his mouth is, in regards to this issue. Not only as a friend but as someone who’s not just talking a big game, but actually walks the walk I have really heavy respect for him.

For me, I've learned how everyone was so bummed the past two years. I got in a room with all these people that are geniuses – some of whom are friends of mine, some of whom I didn't know, but all of whom I respect. It was just amazing to laugh and think and create something in a time where everyone's been stuck in their houses. It was really emotionally meaningful to me.

SM: I came into this project very nervous, because if you can imagine, just like the weight of it and who the cast is. So like the first day, the first moment was really nerve-racking. But watching Adam, watching Tyler, watching Cate, watching Ariana, and seeing how everyone was kind of just like in the element, so laid back and so in tune and, like, comfortable, it made me comfortable.

Even though I was there for, what, three days, it felt like a family setting, and everybody embraced me. You know, it was my first time meeting Tyler who I'm a fan of, and it was so cool. I didn't know he was so tall but I just learned that, sometimes you've just got to relax, go with the flow and just be in your space and be comfortable with shit, you know?

I was just ready for… I heard before when I talked to Kathryn Hahn, who's a friend of mine, and she was telling me about Adam. She was like, "Just be ready for him to throw you anything," And I was like, okay, that makes me even more nervous. But no, it was great. It was a great experience.

Q: It's really fun to see it all come together. Adam, what about from your perspective, working with everybody?

JL: What did you learn from me?

AM: Jen taught me that as much as we all think we're a big deal, there's still a beating heart of a child inside each one of us. And Jen also taught me about justice, true justice.

JL: Where are you going with that?

AM: You can't just put on a mask and go out and topple crime at the end of the day. Honestly, the thing that is beautiful about this movie was that it highlighted just how special collaboration is for me, because we're in the middle of a pandemic, there was no vaccine that time. There’s definitely a vaccine now, and everyone should be getting it. But at that time, there was no vaccine. We all had to wear crazy masks and stay away and have zones and everything. But everyone did it and found a way to be creative, in a way that was genuinely moving and touching.

As for me, I feel like the whole time I've been working in movies or theater or TV or whatever, that's the thing that I love the most. And seeing this group do that was one of the more special experiences I've ever had. Should I be looking at that camera when I answer? I should have looked at you. Sorry, I should have looked at them while I was saying it.

JH: Say it to the people that you're talking about.

MS: Otherwise you don't believe it. Yeah.

JH: It just felt like you were performing. Did you actually learn anything through the course of this movie?

AM: They wanted me to talk about Subway, which apparently has a new 5.99 sandwich.

Q: So the comet in the movie is named after your character. How did this make you feel?

JL: I never thought about it. I think at first it's very exciting, until it becomes, you know, a catastrophe, and then you're named after it…

TP: Something that's [terrifying?]

MS: The end of civilization.

JL: Something that people are really not happy about.

Q: Do you think that your character would have been proud of this, or mostly pissed off, or both?

JL: I think there was probably an evolution. I think at first she was very, very proud of this, and then I'm sure resentment started to build up as people started fearing Comet Dibiasky.

MS: Yes. But scientists want to name the achievement after themselves…

AM: Sometimes it's not always a good thing. Fortunately, in real life, with the asteroids, uh, we would not name one that's actually hazardous after a living person. That's not allowed. Who was the inspiration for your character, and did you try to emulate anyone?

MS: My character? [laughs] There were so many places to take things from, because there's so many preposterous people who've put themselves in public places recently. And shamelessly. It was fun to put together this character that was just pure id, just what her appetite wanted. And about amassing power, money, more power, and more money, and that's pretty much- and nice hair and nails to top it off.

TP: And the Birkin [bag].

SM: And amazing suits.

MS: Amazing suits [Laughs]. But no fellow feeling. Unfortunately, that is the cost of being a public servant now, that you really have to make a big sacrifice. Your family makes a sacrifice, and you have to be willing to do that. It's amazing that we get good people to do it [SIGH]. We need them right now more than ever.

Q: For Jonah and Leo, having developed a friendship and now on your third film together, how do you feel your chemistry affects the production? As you can see, the chemistry is clearly affecting this press conference.

LD: That's right, Django two.

JL: Django. I was like, that was going to drive me nuts.

LD: I'll just start right out of the gate and say he is an absolute genius, this young man, this friend of mine. His ability to improvise and take control of a scene and have the narrative be shifted in the most amazing, colorful ways is a sight to witness and something truly remarkable to experience. He's absolutely a genius. I'd love to work with him on a hundred more films.

MS: Amen. Really fun.

JH: Thanks, buddy. Well, my time to answer. I agree with what he said. Real talk like, I've worked with pretty much all the best actors in the world, a lot of whom are up here right now. And there's been no more loyal friend or anything I've ever made in show business Then aside from that, put all those feelings aside. What you see when they yell action and what he does – truly, no disrespect to anyone – nothing I've ever seen like it. That's all I got to say, hands down.

Q: You two had some of the funniest scenes like the scene in the president's office, when there's this sort of ping ponging back and forth about probability. As a scientist, this is the first time I've seen probability so extensively debated in a movie. And you just completely trashed it in the most amazing, funny way which at the same time is horrifying.

JH: Yeah. Look, I don't like nerds, and I have always been harsh on it. [LAUGH] No, dude, he's the best. I mean, I'm sitting up here with a lot of other of the best, and I genuinely feel that way.

But having made a few movies with Leo and lived with him, he’s the best person. Shuffle that all aside, if I didn't know him and I had to be like, “What's it like to work with another actor that's like who's the best actor to me?” I'd choose him every time.

LD: Thank you, Jonah.

Q: This is for Tyler. In 2012, you co-hosted “Live with Kelly” when the show was in between hosts. Did you use that experience in crafting your character, or any other talk show hosts or friends in the process? Who did you model your character after?

TP: Okay, as fun as that was in that moment, I actually made a couple phone calls to a couple of people who are on morning shows right now, that I admire. Joe Scarborough is one, and Michael Strahan is the other. So I asked them, I actually sent them part of the script. I said, "Why don't you read this and send it back to me on your iPhone? Just tape it." And they did, and I was like, okay, I got some bits here, I got some bits there. Those guys are professional journalists. This guy is the guy I played. So they were very helpful in pulling that off and helping me to pull it off. I appreciate that.

AM: Tyler is being very humble, by the way. Because the big trick with him and Cate Blanchett was that they had to have real chemistry. It was so remarkable to see the two of you within five minutes. It was like you guys had been on a show together for 10 years.

TP: That happens when there's sexual chemistry. She wants me.That was obvious from day one, I'd say, "Oh, okay, I just have to flirt. I get it." She's gonna kill me.

Q: Jen, how long did it take you to learn the lyrics to the Wu Tang song at the beginning?

JL: I keep meaning to tell you, I only just recently.... The song came back on my phone and I was like, "All right, it's been enough time, I'll listen to it." It took a while, it took a couple weeks. And then, of course … something happened with Covid where that ended up being my very first scene at work in the movie. And it was horrifying, 'cause I'm in this huge hanger, and it's so quiet. I don't know anybody. And I had to rap for the Wu-Tang Clan. It was just horrendous. What's in the movie is like five seconds. I really wish I had known that. If I could have foreseen what you would have used. It was the worst day of my life.

Q: That had to have been a really strange experience of being in there in the middle of Covid. I can't even imagine.

JL: Yeah, it was. And everybody's behind masks. It was very embarrassing. Hey, I knew my assignment. I did know every word, I still do.

AM: And you did it very casually, like you heard it.

JL: There's no place to hide, Dr. Doom prepares for the boom [laughs].

Q: Speaking of music here... I personally loved the ballad. I loved the song. As a scientist, how often do we get a song from Scott and Ariana Grande about science and the end of the world? There's a killer line in there [laughs].

SM: It doesn't happen often, no.

AM: No, I loved it. So what was it like for you to work with Ariana and to just go through this experience of writing music about the end of the world?

SM: I met up with Nick Britell and he played me the song. I immediately was like, holy shit, Where do I fit? Do you even need me? How do I approach this? And, he had something written for me. We tried, but it just wasn't working, I was just like, "Maybe it would be better if I approached this like doin' my flavor, and kinda taking that approach." Another thing was really like, okay, this is not me writing a song from the Kid Cudi perspective; this is from DJ Chello's perspective. And they just linked back up. So he's pretty much confessing and expressing his love to her. He's forgetting about the importance of the song in general and is like, "Oh I'm just happy to be with my baby. You know?

I just took this approach of you're on the stage with this girl, you're making this love song, Not a love song, but you're making this song with the love of your life, and it's your time to… You guys just had a huge fallout and everyone around the world knew about it.

Now you guys are coming together. So it was this kind of reunion moment for me. It was intense at first because Ariana is such an incredible artist. And you know, her vocal performance is just stellar. It's like her voice is just amazing. I'm sure everybody can agree. I'm just really happy that we were able to figure it out, and it worked man. I'm really proud of it.

AM: All right, can you do a whole album of science songs?

SM: We can figure this out [laughs]. We can figure this out. We can do a NASA mixtape and NASA mixtape Platinum [laughs].

AM: I can play this for all my classes.

SM: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but y'all gotta cut a check though. And y'all gotta talk [laughs].

AM: A science album [laughs].

TP: We were just talking about this, what I find fascinating about this movie and him writing it is, it seems so prophetic to see where we are right now with, uh, NASA sending a rocket to try and knock a comet off of course. I don't know the language, we're astronomers. I thought that was absolutely fascinating it’s happening in real life today, right now as we sit here. Did I dream that? It's really happening, right?

SM: They said it's not life-threatening.

TP: Just to see if we can do it, if we can move one off course.

AM: it was a test to see whether or not an asteroid can have its orbit deliberately changed in a slight way.

TP: And when do we know?

AM: About a year from now, roughly a year. It's pretty fast.

MS: Because it's 2.1 million miles away or something.

AM: Something like that. It's pretty far. But we still have to find the asteroids first, so we like to work on that.

LD: What kind of explosive device are we talking about here?

AM: In this case this thing is just gonna bump into the asteroid. So nothing too complicated. It really is just a bump into the asteroid and trying to slightly push it just a little bit. There's actually an asteroid that's about the size of the comet in our movie named after Amy that's in a harmless orbit. But it's something like nine kilometers wide. But it's about the size of our movie’s comet, right?

Q: Yeah, it's pretty big but perfectly harmless, totally.

JH: Everyone thinks their comet is harmless [laughs]. Look in the mirror for a second. Your comet's a danger call.

Q: Leo, in real life you're active in bringing awareness to environmental problems. Did that make it easier to tap into Dr. Mindy's speech? He's got this really fiery speech in the movie. How did that inform your approach for it?

LD: Very much so. I just have to articulate it again and you know, this climate isn't your field of expertise. But I spoke to you as if you were a climate scientist through the lens of an astronomer. And you were so incredibly helpful in the convergence of these two worlds, which is what Adam was trying to do, in creating this character and the entire movie.

So, we worked on the speech probably 50 times together. And what I really wanted to do was to try to articulate the frustration of the scientific community … how one is sitting there on a pulpit speaking the truth. And Adam wrote so brilliantly, you know, all these other noises sort of drown out the main message.

And so we worked a lot together on, you know, trying to understand the frustration of the scientific community and how one would be in a situation like that of ultimate frustration realizing the world is falling apart. And how do you, you know, take off this sort of professional jacket to cut straight to the chase about the-the truth of this issue. So again, I wanted to thank you for all the great conversations we had. Cause you were really the convergence of those two things for me.

Q: It felt really cathartic watching that speech, uh, especially we had a screening in LA with other scientists, and they were cheering. [laughs] Jen you mentioned that you fan-girled so hard when you saw Ariana Grande. [LAUGH] Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to meet her?

JL: It was shocking. She's so tiny. I'm a huge fan of her music and Scott's. It's just overwhelming. 'Cause our worlds don't normally collide. I just felt like a radio contest winner. I just didn't know how to talk to her. I just did my best [laughs].

Q: To everybody here, which scenes in the movie felt uncomfortably real to all of you? Tyler I want to start with you. Which were the ones that really made you uncomfortable?

TP: You know, just when they were in the Oval Office and Meryl's character is there with her son and just talking about, eh, just dismissing the facts and science. That to me was just very much ringing true because of what's happening especially at the time, and the country where we were with the pandemic and things just being dismissed. And everybody's saying things counter to what the truth is. So for a narrative while people are dying, that was pretty right down the road scary!

Q: How about you Jonah, what did you feel was uncomfortable?

JH: I agree. I just also wanna say, like, Adam walked the craziest tightrope in this movie, which I think is almost impossible and he pulled off. It’s like taking things that are terrifying and using comedy to maybe make them digestible in some way or palatable in some way or entertaining in some way. So I found the whole movie to just be like the truth, both terrifying and hilarious.

When the pop stars are promoting their projects on the show while someone else is talking about the world ending. The topics are all treated with the same weight, without one being more important than the other, like it's all the same. We're all guilty of it too. It’s not like I'm any better. You know what I'm saying? So I think there's something deeply human that he tapped into. It’s terrifying but also the truth.

Q: That's how we connect. How about for you Meryl?

MS: There are a lot of chilling moments. One just — I don't know why — but it really hit me was the scene in the bar with Tyler and Cate when everything's going to shit outside. And she says, “I just want, you know, to get drunk and talk shit about people.”

I know lots of people like that, that's not an unusual reaction. But it kinda chilled my bones. And then the one where they're in the car and Timothée Chalamet ... I don't want spoilers, but he proposes an idea to Jen and she goes, yeah. And it's so clear, there's just no way it's ever gonna happen. You know, but it's just that glimmer of the human dream where we hope something good  is going to happen, even though we know something bad is. And that's sort of the kernel of truth of this is that we push this information away. Smart people, people who don't have a scientific background, everyone pushes it away, because it's just too painful.

I said to Adam when we first talked about promoting it, that you’ve got to give people three things that they can do [LAUGH] so they want to kill themselves at the end. Because it would be great to have three things, if it were only that simple. But one of them is obviously devoted…. For people who believe and understand the imminence of this threat to all our lives __ rich people, poor people, everybody, everything flows from this, every issue of injustice, inequity, everything. If we don't survive, none of it matters.

Q: We gotta make science-based decisions. I think that it's core. That's what this movie is really about. It's important to do that. Science is happening whether we like it or not. Right? [laughs]

That's just what happens. Okay, so let's go to Jovem Nerd from Brazil for the group. And you know, in one scene – continuing on this theme a little bit – Leo's character says that not everything has to be positive all the time. Is this a criticism of our current way of life, the way that we think, our media right now? I mean how do you all feel about that?

AM: I mean he says that line, he says not everything has to be charming or clever ... not necessarily positive. But I do think there's this demand, because there's so much money behind the media with advertising and clicks and apps that there has to be some engagement happening on some level, or people have to have a hot take or be clever. And I love the way ... we must have re-written that speech like 20 times, and it's one of my favorite moments when you say that. Sometimes we just have to be able to say things to each other.

That seems to be the basic line that's been corrupted, that we profitize the very way that we speak to each other through social media, through phones, commercials, shows. Everything is – you know, they know – it's crazy to think about it. I mean they now call it ... they don't call it TV shows or songs, they call it “content.”

It's literally a word from a boardroom. That's how much we've prophesied the way we talk to each other. So yeah, I think sometimes you just have to be able to hear things. There has to be a neutral playing field occasionally that is not brightly lit with sound effects and-and great looking people that have, you know, high focus group test numbers. So that's one of my favorite moments in the movie for sure. And what Leo did with that speech was incredible. You worked so ... he just was tireless with that. We kept going back and back. And your sense of that speech was so spot-on that it was going to be that moment.

MS: And my favorite thing is that you think it's over, and then it regenerates even bigger. It's just-it's just like, he's goin' on way too on this. Way too long.

AM: Do you guys feel like we're so hungry for someone to express real emotion?

MS: Yes, we're mad as hell. And we're not gonna take it anymore [laughs].

AM: Yeah, like, I mean you just see these politicians' speeches in that same cadence every single time. And it's like, will someone be angry or afraid or sad? Like, you're kind of missing it. It's so satisfying when both you guys have your moments. It just feels like, ah, I'm dying for that.

MS: Well, yes, I love Jen's righteous anger. I mean it's just – and her despair.

JL: You don't have to compliment me just 'because you guys complemented Leo [laughs].

MS: Oh, well I don't like Leo, so I'm complimenting you [laughs].

AM: It all really compliments Meryl, so don't worry about it.

JL: I really liked Meryl's incompetence as a President.

MS: And my shoes. but it is a question. How do you make that … how do you make it penetrate? And the thing about music, this song is so great. Because music goes in … it's just in your head. It's not even something that's at a distance now. We have it in here and carry it around. Kids carry it around.

Q: So it's fun to actually have something that speaks to science through music. I mean how many songs are there about geometry?

SM: Well if you consider Cardi B, I mean she's got ... No, I'm kidding.

Q: That's true. It is really powerful. It's a way of communicating that maybe is a different way into the material. Which is sometimes really complicated and dense. And also too, not all that happy, right? How do we take it and process it? As an astronomer working on this subject, there is no comet or asteroid that's heading our way. But hypothetically if there were one, what would be your most immediate action? What would you do if it were the last day on Earth?

SM: I would definitely try to get to my daughter wherever she's at. Now of course, I wanna see my mom, and my sister. But my daughter I gotta get to her, definitely.

TP: What I love is at one point in the movie there's some people sitting around the table, and I think that that is just so powerful. And I think that's exactly what I would do, sit around the table with people that I love and care about, have some wine, and have a great meal. And give everybody cyanide right before it happens.

SM: That's a great plan. I'm comin' to your house [laughs].

JH: I would tweet to make sure that people knew the cool thoughts that I had to say and my opinions on different stuff like movies and stars, how the stars live their lives, what they look like and who they’re dating and stuff.

TP: That's brilliant.

AM: That's so different too, that would be cool to hear about that.

JH: Yeah, I think people in their last moments would wanna read that.

AM: You know, I've always wanted…

JL: He's not wrong. In my last moments I would die commenting on TikTok.

JH: I mean it goes without saying for me – surfing, girlfriend, dog, family, love – all that matters. I also want to give Jen Lawrence props because she's my friend. Sometimes I don't say how amazing and brilliant it was to watch her work. And like, we joke around so much, but Jen, you're a boss.

TP: I agree. Even with that wig you were wearing was amazing.

MS: I loved that wig.

JH: Don't you want to know what Meryl would do if the world was ending? She is Meryl Streep, I'm curious to know what…

Q: Yeah, she is Meryl Streep. So Meryl, what would you do if the world was ending?

MS: I'm sure I would just try to find my grandchildren and be with them. My kids, they've had enough of me [laughs].

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