MAGNIFICENT MERYL STREEP IS ON THE SHOW!

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT!

HOW ARE YOU, MERYL, ARE YOU WELL?

>> I'M VERY WELL, THANKS.

I FEEL EXTREMELY WEIRD SITTING IN MY OWN LIVING ROOM COVERED IN

DOG HAIRS.

>> James: YES, WELL, I'VE SEEN YOU ON A LOT OF ZOOMS THIS PAST

FEW MONTHS AND I'M LIKING THIS BACKGROUND.

A LOVELY PAINTING.

>> THANK YOU.

YEAH, I'M HOME AND COMMUTING TO BOSTON TO MAKE A MOVIE.

>> James: THAT'S RIGHT, IT JUST STARTED.

>> YES.

I JUST STARTED ON FRIDAY.

>> James: BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO START THIS

BEFORE LOCKDOWN, AND THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME BACK AFTER -- I

IMAGINE, FOR YOU, QUITE A LONG PERIOD OF NOT WORKING, RIGHT?

WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING BACK ON SET FOR THE FIRST TIME?

>> IT WAS HORRIBLE (LAUGHING).

>> James: WHY?

BECAUSE I WAS HERE.

WE HAD TO QUARANTINE FOR TWO WEEKS AND NO ONE COULD COME AND

THEY DELIVERED MEALS, AND I HAVE BEEN TESTED UP THE WAZOO LIKE A

HUNDRED TIMES.

SO I'M PLAYING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN THIS FILM

AND THE FIRST DAY OF WORK WAS A GREAT BIG ADDRESS TO A STADIUM,

A BASKETBALL STADIUM, AND THEY HAD SENT ME THE SCRIPT AND I HAD

LEARNED A BIG SPEECH FOR THE FIRS FIRST DAY.

YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE.

USUALLY YOU LIKE TO GET IN AND OUT OF CAR THE FIRST DAY OF WORK

OR SOMETHING.3 >> James: SURE, YEAH.

TO EASE IN.

BUT THIS WAS FULL ON.

AND THERE WAS MY BIG FACE ON THE JumboTron IN FRONT OF ME,

AND IT WAS JUST SO HUGE AND CAVERNOUS, AND THE SPEECH WAS

REWRITTEN AND I HADN'T GOTTEN IT THE NIGHT BEFORE, SO I TRIED TO

LEARN IT REALLY FAST AND I COULDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING I WAS

SUPPOSED TO SAY, AND THE EXTRAS ARE ALL LOOKING AT ME, LIKE --

( LAUGHTER ) >> James: YOU GOT UP THERE AND

YOU KEPT FORGETTING YOUR LINES?

>> YEAH, YEAH, IT WAS AWFUL.

BUT I HAD THE GREAT JONAH HILL WITH ME, SO HE WOULD IMPROVISE

AROUND AND HAVE FUN.

BUT IT WAS JUST SORT OF, YOU KNOW THAT FEELING, IT'S LIKE

HIGH SCHOOL, YOU DIDN'T STUDY FOR THE TEST OR YOU HAVE A DREAM

THAT YOU DIDN'T -- THAT YOU'RE NUDE ON STAGE IN HIGH SCHOOL OR

SOMETHING.

IT JUST FELT TERRIBLE.

I HAD, LIKE, WHITE-HOTHOT LEAD GOING DOWN TO MY FEET.

I GOT THROUGH IT SOMEHOW, GOT IN MY CAR, RIPPED OFF THE FAKE

EYELASHES AND DROVE HOME, WITH MY DOG, AND I WAS BACK IN THE

SILENT NIGHT.

AND I WAS JUST SO ( BLEEP ) BIZARRE, YOU KNOW.

>> James: ALL OF THOSE EXTRAS MUST HAVE JUST BEEN, LIKE, IT'S

AMAZING WHAT THEY CAN DO, ISN'T IT, BECAUSE SHE IS TERRIBLE.

( LAUGHTER ) SHE'S TERRIBLE!

THEY MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE, DONALD TRUMP WAS RIGHT, SHE IS

OVERRATED!

THIS IS -- ( LAUGHTER )

>> I TOTALLY AGREED WITH HIM, YEAH, YEAH.

>> James: NOW, I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF CARRYING YOU

THROUGH TWO MOVIES NOW.

( LAUGHTER ) I MEAN, IT IS A PRIVILEGE.

THE FIRST TIME WE WORKED TOGETHER WAS IN 2013 ON INTO THE

WOODS, AND IT WAS A MOST GLORIOUS TIME.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS, DID YOU KNOW THAT I

STARTED A RUMOR ON THE FILM, WHEN YOU WEREN'T IN, IN THE

MORNING, THAT YOU'D BEEN FIRED FROM THE MOVIE?

( LAUGHTER ) IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST RUSES

I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE, AND PEOPLE REALLY WENT FOR IT.

THEY WERE, LIKE, NO!

WERE YOU AWARE THAT THIS WAS GOING ON?

>> NO, BUT THEY WERE VERY GLAD TO SEE ME THE NEXT DAY WHEN I

CAME TO THE SET.

BUT WERE PEOPLE RELIEVED KIND OF, DID YOU GET THAT FEELING?

>> James: NO, EVERYONE WAS DEVASTATED, AND I COULDN'T HAVE

DONE IT ON MY OWN.

IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE I HAD CHRISTINE BORANSKI BACKING ME

UP.

>> OH, SHE'S AN EVIL BITCH, REALLY IS.

( LAUGHTER ) >> James: AS SOON AS I WINKEDT

AT HER, SHE JUST WENT INTO, MERYL IS DEVASTATED, SHE'S

DEVASTATED, SHE'S FLOWN HOME ON A JET, SHE'S DEVASTATED.

( LAUGHTER ) >> BUT THAT WAS SUCH A GREAT

SHOOT.

>> James: HAS MERYL STREEP EVER BEEN FIRED FROM ANYTHING?

HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED THAT?

>> ONLY FROM RELATIONSHIPS, NOT FROM A JOB.

>> James: NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PROM.

>> YEAH.

>> James: I CAN HONESTLY SAY I HAD THE SINGLE GREATEST TIME OF

MY LIFE ON THE DAYS -- MY CAREER, ON THE DAYS THAT YOU AND

I WERE TOGETHER.

>> YEAH.

>> James: FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW, TELL THEM WHAT THE

FILM'S ABOUT AND WHO YOU PLAY.

>> WELL, IT'S ABOUT -- BASED ON A REAL STORY FROM A LITTLE

COUPLE IN INDIANA, TWO GIRLS WHO WANTED TO GO TO THE PROM

TOGETHER, AND THE P.T.A. DIDN'T WANT SAME-SEX COUPLES AT THEIR

HIGH SCHOOL PROM, SO THEY FOOLED THIS YOUNG GIRL INTO THINKING

THAT THE PROM WAS GOING TO BE HELD IN THE GYM, AND IT WAS NOT.

THEY HELD ANOTHER ONE SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND SHE WAS LEFT ON HER

OWN, AND IT SORT OF -- IT MADE THE NEWS, AND THEY MADE A

MUSICAL OF IT THAT WAS AN ENORMOUS HIT ON BROADWAY, BUT

HAS SINCE CLOSED.

I THINK THEY'RE REVIVING IT, ACTUALLY, RIGHT NOW.

>> James: OH, I HOPE THEY DO.

OH, I DO, TOO.

I SAW IT RIGHT BEFORE IT CLOSED, AND I'VE NEVER SEEN AN AUDIENCE

JUST SCREAMING WITH JOY.

IT WAS SO MUCH FUN AND REALLY, REALLY GREAT.

BUT YOU AND I PLAY BIG BROADWAY STARS WHO ARE ON THE EBB OF

THEIR CAREERS, AND THEY ARE SORT OF TANKING, AND THEY DECIDE TO

TAKE THIS CAUSE OF THE GIRLS AND GO OUT TO INDIANA AND GET SOME

GOOD PUBLICITY.

>> James: AND YOU PLAY AN INCREDIBLE CHARACTER,

DEDeALLEN, WHO IS SORT OF A SELF-OBSESSED DIVA NARCISSIST.

WAS THIS A STRETCH FOR YOU?

( LAUGHTER ) >> I DON'T KNOW WHERE I PULLED

IT FROM, BUT I DID WATCH YOU FOR SEVERAL MONTHS IN PREPARATION

AND -- ( LAUGHTER )

-- I HAD THE CHARACTER.

I LOVE PLAYING IT.

NARCISSISM IS HILARIOUS UNLESS IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE PRESIDENT,

AND THEN IT'S HORRIBLE.

>> James: WHEN WE WERE SHOOTING THE FILM, YOU WOULD

CONSTANTLY SAY YOU WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE BIG DANCE NUMBERS, YOU

WOULD SAY IT ALL THE TIME.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS ARE IN THOSE DANCE ROUTINES AND

YOU'RE JUST IN THE CORNER OF YOUR MOUTH GOING I CAN'T

( BLEEP ) DO THIS.

( LAUGHTER ) BUT YOU WERE SO FANTASTIC IN

THEM.

HOW DID IT FEEL FOR YOU WHEN WE DID THOSE BIG SONGS AND DANCES?

>> OH, I WAS SO WORRIED!

YOU ARE SUCH A FANTASTIC DANCER.

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT ABOUT YOU, BUT YOU ARE.

YOU'RE AMAZING!

YEAH, NO, IT WAS REALLY HARD.

WHEN I WENT TO SEE THE BROADWAY SHOW, I SAW THE GREAT BETH LAVEL

DO THE PART.

IT WAS AMAZING.

BUT SHE DID A LOT OF POSING AND STANDING AND MOVING HER ARMS.

I THOUGHT, I CAN MOVE MY ARMS.

AND THEN WE GOT TO THE REHEARSALS, AND IT WAS THESE BIG

DANCE NUMBERS WITH MULTIPLE SORT OF STEPS AND THINGS AND THAT WAS

HARD.

WE WERE ALL TERRIFIED.

>> James: YOU'RE SO TERRIFIC.

MY FAVORITE MEMORIES ARE, LIKE, THE TWO OF US BEING LIFTED UP BY

THOSE DANCERS AND CARRIED THROUGH SARDI'S.

I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET IT.

YOU ARE SO INCREDIBLE.