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  • Hi.

  • Hi.

  • You look fantastic.

  • I try to clean up for you.

  • You clean up real good.

  • I try.

  • You know you're always cleaned up real good.

  • The last time you were here you were with the entire cast

  • of Scandal.

  • Long time ago.

  • [INAUDIBLE]

  • Yeah.

  • Yeah.

  • And then you had a reunion the other day.

  • We did.

  • We got together at George's house.

  • And we all came, everybody came dressed in regular clothes

  • except for Toni and I. We were like the embarrassing parents

  • at camp.

  • We both had on like Scandal swag, sweatshirts and t-shirts

  • and hats, to so it was so corny.

  • Like everybody else was normal, and we were goofy

  • because we were stupid.

  • But that was a fun thing.

  • So you just for the hell of it just had a reunion?

  • We do, we try to.

  • I mean we're really close.

  • Seven years being each other's besties.

  • It's hard to let go.

  • And we won't.

  • You refuse.

  • We will not.

  • Yes.

  • Next time, everyone will dress up.

  • Yes.

  • But you've been really, really busy.

  • So you did this, the movie that is it now a movie.

  • It was a play.

  • I can't-- and we'll talk about that in a minute--

  • I cannot believe you did that eight shows a week.

  • Eight shows a week.

  • And man Oh man, it's intense.

  • It's the hardest thing I've ever done.

  • For sure.

  • I can imagine.

  • So we'll talk about that in a minute.

  • But you just finished filming something with Reese.

  • Yes, Little Fires Everywhere.

  • I love that book.

  • Isn't the book so great?

  • You have to read the book.

  • 'Cause we'll be out next year.

  • But it's a limited series for Hulu.

  • We're really excited.

  • I loved working with Reese, she's amazing.

  • She's busy, too.

  • She's very busy.

  • She's a busy girl.

  • But yeah, I love the book.

  • So I'm so happy to hear that you're doing that.

  • She's so good in it, too.

  • Yeah.

  • And your dad had a cameo.

  • My dad is a featured background artist,

  • he prefers to be called.

  • And he didn't have any lines, but he was very-- this is him.

  • And basically Reese created a monster,

  • because he walked into the hair and makeup trailer

  • and she was like, I knew the moment

  • I met you that you were a star.

  • Oh God.

  • I was like, how am I going to take this guy home?

  • And he was-- he did a good job.

  • Did he pretend like he was talking in the background,

  • is that what he was doing?

  • He couldn't, because we would have had to pay him more.

  • And I'm not doing that.

  • Even for my dad.

  • But they pretend.

  • I'm a good producer.

  • But he-- really what I've been doing

  • is leveraging it for good behavior.

  • Right?

  • So like if my dad misbehaves, I'm like,

  • I could cut you out of that show.

  • I'm a producer.

  • I could cut you out of that show.

  • Smart.

  • So kind of keeps him in check.

  • So he's a regular background artist.

  • He's a featured background artist.

  • Wow, well, we'll look for them, then.

  • That's--

  • He's like the only one.

  • He's the only one standing in the background,

  • and like his presence means something

  • about Reese's emotional arc.

  • Oh.

  • So he really is.

  • So he really is featured.

  • I thought you were just kind of making fun of the situation.

  • No, no.

  • He's an artist.

  • That man is an artist.

  • Good to know.

  • All right so maybe we should feature him here just

  • in the background.

  • He's going to destroy my career by being everywhere

  • I go in the background.

  • Every show you're like, wait, is that Carrie's dad?

  • Is that him again?

  • He's kind of become insta famous, too.

  • I've done these videos with my dad.

  • We're doing like facials for Neutrogena and he loves it.

  • He loves-- he's been featured on all these shows.

  • Wow.

  • Yeah, he'll be offended that you didn't feature him longer.

  • That one picture won't be enough.

  • I see.

  • Well.

  • Maybe he can come on next time.

  • He seems kind of high maintenance.

  • No.

  • I didn't say it, Dad, she did.

  • However.

  • Truth hurts.

  • Let's leave that on the background, the entire show.

  • Every guest.

  • No matter who's out here.

  • You did something that is really important, that a lot of people

  • should be doing.

  • You went door to door.

  • You were in Virginia when--

  • I did, this weekend.

  • Because you were like, you got to get out and vote.

  • Well, what happens is every time that people are feeling

  • frustrated with politics, which is happening a lot lately,

  • I get all these messages on text or on social media

  • I like Olivia Pope, fix this.

  • Olivia Pope, you have to save the day.

  • And at first it was really funny, and I felt kind of cool

  • to be so famous.

  • But I have started to realize that it means

  • we have forgotten our power.

  • Right, that people think that a pretend character on television

  • has more power than we do.

  • And that's not what a democracy is.

  • We all have the power to change our communities

  • by voting and volunteering and showing up and running

  • for community boards and commissions.

  • But instead we want to believe in this one

  • candidate or this one imaginary character.

  • So I've just been trying to knock

  • on doors that tell people, you are more

  • important than Olivia Pope.

  • Olivia Pope can't vote.

  • You can.

  • Good for you for doing that.

  • All right, let's talk about the American Son.

  • This is the most intense--

  • And I've just realized my dad is still up there.

  • He has to stay there.

  • I don't want him to get mad at me.

  • OK, good.

  • American Son.

  • Explain what this is about.

  • So the whole film takes place in 90 minutes

  • real time in the lobby of a police precinct.

  • It's a black mom and a white dad who are desperately

  • looking for their 18-year-old son who's just

  • had an altercation with the cops,

  • but we don't know exactly what.

  • So it's like dropping into this nightmare of a parent's worst

  • night.

  • And just really wanting to know where your kid is, and it's

  • that-- it's every parent's worst nightmare to wake up at 3:00 AM

  • and have your teenager not be home,

  • but also when you are the parent of a black child

  • it's so much more complicated because of that fraught

  • relationship between police officers

  • and the black community.

  • Right.

  • So you have a white cop, you have a black cop.

  • Yes.

  • And you have-- you talk about every scenario of race which

  • is so important.

  • It really goes to so many different places.

  • We talk about a lot of different issues and a lot of different

  • takes on the issue, and I think that's one of the reasons why

  • I'm so proud of the film, because I think

  • we're in a moment when we don't really

  • talk to each other enough.

  • Like we tend to watch the news channels that

  • are going to give us the news that makes us comfortable,

  • and we only have conversations with people

  • who think the same way we do, and at dinner parties

  • if somebody brings up something that makes us uncomfortable

  • we just change the subject.

  • And I think for a long time.

  • I thought that a safe space meant that everybody should

  • be comfortable all of the time.

  • So avoid, avoid.

  • But I'm starting to understand that I think really

  • to have a safe space, that means that everybody in the room

  • has to commit to being uncomfortable

  • for a little bit of time.

  • It's really, it's interesting and I agree with you

  • when I heard you say that we all tend

  • to watch the news that we want to watch,

  • and any other news is they're wrong.

  • And we hang out with people who agree with us,

  • and I think that is making us more and more and more divided,

  • and it is not working.

  • We need to change this, because we all

  • need to come together and figure out how we become a human race

  • and not start judging each other the way we have been doing.

  • Something has to change.

  • All right, more with Carrie after this.

Hi.

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