♪ >> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY,

WELCOME BACK TO "A LATE SHOW."

LET'S SAY HELLO TO JON BATISTE.

HELLO, JON BATISTE.

OOOH, I LIKE THAT COAT.

>> Jon: IT'S GETTING COLD.

THE WINTER IS COMING.

THE HAWK IS COMING.

IT'S FLYING.

>> Stephen: YOU LOOK LIKE A PACKAGE OF LIFE SAVERS.

>> Jon: IT'S LIKE A BLANKET AND COAT ALL IN ONE.

>> Stephen: I LIKE IT.

>> Jon: IT'S A LIFE SAVER.

>> Stephen: IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET ME SOMETHING FOR

CHRISTMAS.

>> Jon: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO GET?

>> Stephen: I DON'T THINK I COULD PULL OFF THAT COAT.

I DON'T THINK IT WOULD LOOK THE SAME ON ME.

>> Jon: I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT.

( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: I THINK I WOULD

LOOK LIKE AN EXTRA PUPPET.

>> Jon: YOU EVER WATCH THESE -- IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE

FABRIC THAT THE MUPPETS ARE MADE OUT OF.

>> Stephen: THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING.

I WOULD LOOK LIKE A BACKGROUND EXTRA IN AVENUE Q.

( LAUGHTER ) DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO PLAY FOR

TRANSITIONING TO MERYL STREEP?

>> Jon: OH, MARLE, LET'S SEE --

♪ ♪

♪ >> Stephen: JON BATISTE,

EVERYBODY.

THANK YOU, JON.

>> Jon: YES, INDEED.

>> Stephen: MY GUEST TONIGHT IS AN ACTOR WHOSE CAREER IS

SYNONYMOUS WITH EXCELLENCE, PLEASE WELCOME TO "A LATE SHOW"

MERYL STREEP.

HELLO, MERYL.

>> HI, STEPHEN.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

>> Stephen: LOVELY TO SEE YOU.

GREAT TO SEE YOU.

>> Stephen: I LIKE TO ASK ALL MY GUESTS GIVEN WHERE WE ARE

GIVEN THE COVID AND THE LOCKDOWNS, WHERE IN THE WORLD

ARE WE FINDING YOU?

ARE YOU HOME RIGHT NOW?

>> I'M AT HOME AND YOU CAN HEAR THE HEAT COMING ON.

IN THE BERKSHIRES.

I'M FILMING IN BOSTON, SO I'M COMMUTING.

BACK AND FORTH.

>> Stephen: AM I ALLOWED TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THIS

FILM?

>> IT'S CALMED "DON'T LOOK UP" AND IT'S ABOUT A GLOBAL

CATASTROPHE, BUT IT'S SORT OF FUNNY, LIKE DR. STRANGE LOVE FOR

2020, A GLOBAL WARMING METAPHOR FOR THAT.

IT'S A BIG STARRY CAST AND LOTS OF FUN PEOPLE.

>> Stephen: AND WHO DO YOU PLAY?

>> WELL, I PLAY PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

>> Stephen: OH, PERFECT.

PERFECT.

SO IN THE STRANGE LOVE MODEL, YOU ARE PRESIDENT MERCK MUFFLIN.

>> YES, INDEED (LAUGHING) EXCEPT I HAVE A CHIEF OF STAFF, WHO IS

MY SON, AND THAT'S JO JONAH HILL HAD OUR FIRST SCENE ON FRIDAY

AND I WAS SO BAD.

>> Stephen: WHAT?

WELL, I'VE BEEN IN THIS, YOU KNOW, QUARANTINE BECAUSE THEY

HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL, AND I'M TOTALLY ALONE, AND MY FIRST

SCENE WAS ENTERING A STADIUM FULL OF 20,000 PEOPLE AS THE

PRESIDENT, MY BIG FACE ON THE JumboTron IN FRONT OF ME,

AND I JUST, LIKE, COMPLETELY LOST IT, I COULDN'T REMEMBER

ANYTHING.

UH BUT I'M SURE IT WILL BE FINE IN THE EDIT.

>> Stephen: WELL, IT'S SO AMAZING.

THAT'S WHERE THE REAL MOVIEMAKING HAPPENS AND THE REAL

ACTING TAKES PLACE IS IN THE EDIT.

THEY SURE MADE ME LOOK BERT OVER THE YEARS.

WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO MAKE A MOVIE.

SHOULD BE NORMAL.

DOES IT FEEL NORMAL TO DO?

>> NO, NOT AT ALL.

THERE WEREN'T 20,000 PEOPLE.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, BUT THEY'LL DUPLICATE THEM.

THERE WERE EXTRAS ALL AROUND THE STADIUM, LONELY PEOPLE SEPARATED

BY 20 FEET OF AIR WEARING MASKS AND VISORS THAT ARE CLEAR.

SO THEY'RE MEANT TO MAKE A BIG NOISE, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE --

( MUFFLED ) -- AND THE WHOLE THING IS SO

EERIE AND ODD AND DISCONCERTING, AND WE ALL HAVE, OF COURSE,

MASKS.

AT THE LAST MINUTE, YOU TAKE EVERYTHING OFF, AND THE L LIPSTI

IS ALL UP HERE.

>> Stephen: AND YOU HAVE THE NICE RING AND I SWEAT.

>> YOU HAVE THE NICE RING.

THE ILLUSION IS SO EASY TO MAINTAIN.

IT'S HILARIOUS.

THEY WERE ALL GREAT.

GOD, I HAVE TO PULL MYSELF TOGETHER FOR MONDAY.

>> Stephen: BUT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, UIVED KIND ENOUGH TO

GIFT YOUR FANS WITH TWO MOVIES SHOT BEFORE COVID, SO WE WERE

ABLE TO SHOOT THIS WITHOUT ANY MASKS.

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEM.

BUT THE FIRST IS LET THEM ALL TALK, WHICH I WATCHED THIS

WEEKEND AND I REALLY ENJOYED.

IT'S A STEVEN SODERBERGH MOVIE WITH A GREAT CAST DIANE WIEST,

GERMAN CHAN, CANDICE BERGEN, LUCAS HEDGES.

THIS TAKES PLACE ON THE QUEEN MARY.

>> YEAH.

>> Stephen: IT MADE CRUISING LOOK ATTRACTIVE.

>> WELL, IT COULDN'T GET MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN ON THAT

PARTICULAR SHIP.

IT'S PRETTY SPECTACULAR.

BUT, YEAH, WE WENT -- I GUESS IT WAS LAST AUGUST.

I MEAN, BEFORE THE QUARANTINE, BEFORE THE COVID THING, AND WE

CROSSED FOR, I GUESS IT'S SEVEN OR EIGHT DAYS, AND MADE THE

WHOLE MOVIE PRETTY MUCH THEN.

THERE WERE TWO OR THREE SCENES IN ENGLAND ONCE WE LANDED, BUT

THE ADDED THING WAS THAT DEBRA ISENBERG, THE GREAT NOVELIST,

AND STEPHEN HAD OUTLINED AN IDEA.

AND EACH SCENE EACH DAY HAD THE OUTLINES OF AN IDEA BUT NO

SCRIPT.

SO WE MADE IT UP AS WE WENT ALONG.

>> Stephen: SO HOW WOULD THEY DO IT?

WOULD THEY HAND YOU YOUR INTENTION OR SOMETHING?

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING?

>> WELL, YOU HAVE WHERE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO END UP, THE SORT OF

RESULT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT THE END OF THE SCENE.

BUT HOW YOU GET THERE WAS JUST INDIVIDUALLY UP TO THE ACTORS

THAT WERE IN THE SCENE.

SO IT WAS REALLY FUN AND REALLY LIVELY, AND THEY'RE VERY BRIGHT,

INTERESTING, IMAGINATIVE PEOPLE TTHAT I WAS WORKING WITH.

IT WAS A KICK, BUT IT WAS TERRIFYING.

>> Stephen: I WAS WONDERING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF

DIRECTORS AND ACTORS USING IMPROVISATION IN THE REHEARSAL

PROCESS TO FIND THE ROOTS OF INTENTION AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

BUT HAD YOU DONE A WHOLE MOVIE THAT WAS ESSENTIALLY IMPROVISED

LIKE THAT BEFORE?

>> NO, WHO HAS?

I CERTAINLY NEVER MADE A MOVIE IN EIGHT DAYS EITHER.

>> Stephen: AND CHRONOLOGICAL BECAUSE BASICALLY T WHAT'S

HAPPENING TO THE CHARACTERS IS BASICALLY IN THE ORDER IN WHICH

YOU SHOT IT?

>> YEAH, AND IT WAS OUR OWN CLOTHES.

I WOULD GET UP IN THE MORNING, PUT ON MY OWN CLOTHES, GO NEXT

DOOR AND HAVE THE BREAKFAST SCENE WITH LUCAS HEDGES, SORT OF

MY PAJAMAS AND A ROBE THAT I HAVE HERE AT HOME, AND WE'D HAVE

BREAKFAST AND WE WOULD JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO

TALK ABOUT IN A WAY, BUT WEEKEND VEER OFF, HE DIDN'T CARE.

THEN HE EDIT IT OVER LUNCH AND DINNER, AND WE WOULD BE

EXHAUSTED AND QUICKLY READ WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO ACHIEVE THE

NEXT DAY, AND THEN GO TO BED RACKED WITH ANXIETY THAT WE

WOULDN'T COME UP WITH ANYTHING INTERESTING.

>> Stephen: DID HE EVER REJECT WHAT YOU'D CREATED AND GO, NO,

NO, NO, NO, YOU'VE GOT TO DO THAT DIFFERENTLY, THAT THE WHAT

YOUR CHARACTER WOULD SAY?

>> NO.

HE NEVER DID.

>> Stephen: WOW.

THAT'S GREAT.

>> IT'S ALL IN THE EDITING, BABE.

HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO CUT IT OUT.

HE'S THINKING CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, YOU KNOW, I DON'T NEED

THAT.

>> Stephen: MERYL, WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK BUT STICK

AROUND, EVERYBODY.

WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE MERYL STREEP.