JO ELLEN PELLMAN!

IS RATE HERE, THERE YOU ARE, LOOK AT YOU.

HOW ARE YOU?

>> OH, I'M GOOD, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, JAMES.

I MISS YOU.

>> James: I MISS YOU TOO.

NOW HOW IS IT GOING?

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

>> I'M HOME IN CINCINNATI, OHIO, WITH MY MOM AND OUR CATS AND OUR

DOG AND I'M JUST REALLY ENJOYING BEING HOME RIGHT NOW.

AND HUGGING MY LOVED ONES, YEAH.

>> James: YOU MOVED BACK JUST WHEN THE PANDEMIC STARTED OUT.

HOW HAS IT BEEN FOR YOU AT HOME THERE?

>> IT HAS BEEN, SO I MOVED BACK TO OHIO LIKE BACK IN MARCH RIGHT

AFTER WE SHUT DOWN.

AND IT'S BEEN, I THINK, SUCH A BLESSING BEING HOME AND HAVING

TIME WITH MY FAMILY.

I FEEL LIKE I CONNECTED WITH MY GRANDPARENTS WAY MORE THAN I

HAVE SINCE I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.

AND YEAH, IT HAS BEEN FUN GETTING TO WATCH THE PROM WITH

THEM AND SHARING THAT EXPERIENCE WITH THEM.

>> James: IS THIS THE GRANDMOTHER THAT I HAD THE

PRIVILEGE OF FACE TIMING WITH WHEN WE WERE FILMING?

>> YES, THAT IS MY MIMA, SHE IS GOOD, YEAH, SHE IS STILL BRINGS

THAT UP EVERY TIME I TALK ABOUT YOU, OH, MY FRIEND WHO I FACE

TIMED WITH.

THAT REALLY MEANT A LOT TO HER WHEN YOU FACETIMED HER IN THE

HOSPITAL THIS PAST YEAR.

>> James: WHAT DID SHE THINK OF YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE FILM.

SHE MUST HAVE BEEN SO PROVIDED?

>> SHE, I MEAN, SHE IS SO PROUD, EVERY TIME I GO OVER THERE, SHE

WANTS TO WATCH IT.

WE BRING OVER A LAPTOP AND HOOK OUR COMPUTER UP AND WATCH THE

PROM.

I HAD TO GET MY OWN NETFLIX ACCOUNT FOR THIS BECAUSE I WAS

USING A FRIEND'S FROM HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS.

LIKE IF I'M GOING TO BE SHARING THIS WITH MY GRANDPARENTS I

CAN'T BE ON A FRIEND'S ACCOUNT.

I HAVE TO GET MY OWN, SO NOW I CAN SHARE IT WITH HER.

IT IS MY ACCOUNT, IT IS GREAT.

>> James: DID NETFLIX NOT EVEN GIVE YOU AN ACCOUNT GIVEN YOU

ARE THE STAR OF ONE OF THEIR HIT FILMS.

>> NO, THEY DID NOT GIVE ME AN ACCOUNT.

IF THEY WANT TO.

>> James: THEY PAY YOU FOR THE FILM SO THEY PROBABLY THOUGHT

YOU COULD USE SOME OF THAT MONEY FOR THE 15 BUCKS OR WHATEVER IT

IS.

>> I KNOW.

>> James: NOW THE MOVIE CAME OUT AT ON CHRISTMAS AND WE'VE

SEEN A LOT OF EACH OTHER OVER SCREENS.

THESE PAST FEW WEEKS AND IN NORMAL SOMETIME TIMES, THERE

WOULD BE A PREMIER, THERE WOULD BE RED CARPETS.

BUT WE'RE ALL IN LOCKDOWN.

HAVE YOU FELT ANY CHANGE?

HAVE YOU FELT ANY REACTION SINCE THE FILM CAME OUT?

>> I MEAN I FELT AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE REACTION

ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE MESSAGES THAT I AM GETTING, LIKE FROM

PEOPLE SHARING THEIR STORY.

OR HOW THE PROM MADE THEM FEEL ACCEPTED AND LOVED.

BUT IN TERMS OF LIKE DAY TO DAY, MY LIFE IS PRETTY MUCH

COMPLETELY THE SAME.

I STILL EMPTY THE CAT LITTER BOX EVERY DAY.

I HAVE YET TO BE RECOGNIZED ANYWHERE.

NO AUTOGRAPHS, NO SELFIES OR ANYTHING, SO I AM ENJOYING THAT

IT HAS BEEN PRETTY NORMAL.

>> James: ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS WHEN PEOPLE TALK TO ME

ABOUT THE FILM AND ALWAYS WITHOUT QUESTION BRING UP YOUR

PERFORMANCE IN IT, AND I TELL THEM THAT IT IS YOUR FIRST FILM,

NO ONE CAN BELIEVE IT.

AND IN TRUTH I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME YOU

WALKED ON TO THE SET YOU WERE SO COMPOSED.

I JUST THOUGHT OH MY GOD, THIS IS THE MOST NATURAL PERFORMER I

HAVE ENSOO.

WHAT WAS THAT FIRST DAY LIKE FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW?

WERE YOU NERVOUS GOING IN WITH MERYL STREEP AND NIKOLE KIDMAN.

>> THANK GOODNESS FOR YOU AND ALL THE ACTORS THAT LOOKED OUT

BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT GOING 10-1 MEANT.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT CRAFT MEANT.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A FIRST-- WAS OR THAT THERE WAS A SECRETARY

ONE.

SO THANK YOU FOR GUIDING ME THROUGH MY FIRST DAY.

>> James: WELL, I CAN REMEMBER THERE WAS A REALLY LOVELY MOMENT

WHEN YOU CAME ON, WE HAD BEEN FILMING I THINK, MYSELF AND

NICOLE AND MERYL AND ANDREW AND YOU ARRIVED SORT OF LATER THAT

DAY.

AND THERE WAS A REALLY INCREDIBLE MOMENT WHERE MERYL,

JUST SAY WHAT MERYL STREEP DID WHEN YOU ARRIVED ON SET.

I THINK IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT HER AND A LOT ABOUT YOU.

>> WE WERE FILMING IN THE HOTEL LOBBY AND I WALKED IN.

AND ALL YOU DPIES WERE SITTING ON THE COUCHES TALKING WITH EACH

OTHER AND LAUGHING WITH EACH OTHER.

AND I WALKED OVER AND MERYL SCOOTED OVER AND MADE A SWEET

FOR ME, LITERALLY MADE ROOM FOR ME AND SYMBOLICALLY IT WAS LAKE

HEY, YOU ARE A PART OF THIS CAST.

YOU ARE ONE OF THIS, AND LET'S DO THIS THING.

IT IS STILL ONE OF MY MOST TREASURED MEMORIES OF THAT

EXPERIENCE.

>> James: SO GREAT.

I HAVE SUCH GREAT MEMORIES OF ALL THOSE DAYS.

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, YOU AND YOUR COSTAR IN THE FILM.

ARIANA DEBOSE, THE TWO OF YOU WERE SO BRILLIANT IN THE SHOW.

YOU HAVE LAUNCHED THE UNARE YOULY HEARTS INITIATIVE.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THIS IS, WHAT IT IS AND HOW THEY CAN BE

INVOLVED.

>> YES, THANK YOU FOR BRUNGING THAT UP.

WE STARTED THE UNRESULTY HEARTS INITIATIVE FOR ANYONE WHO FEELS

CALLED TO ACTION AFTER WATCHING THE PROM WHERE IT IS TO GET HELP

OR TO GIVE HELP.

SO THIS YEAR FOR 2021 WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THREE FANTASTIC

ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE DOING INCREDIBLE WORK.

THE TREVOR WERE JECT, COVENANT HOUSE AND THE POINT FOUNDATION.

AND SO WE ARE CONNECTING OUR YOUNG LGBTQ AUDIENCES WITH THESE

ORGANIZES AND RAISING MONEY FOR THEM.

AND I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE YEAR TO COME.

>> James: THAT IS A WONDERFUL THING.

IT HAS BEEN THE GREATEST PLEASURE OF THIS WHOLE JOB,

REALLY, GETTING TO KNOW YOU.

AND I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD TO SEE HOW

UNBELIEVABLY GIFTED AND TALENTED AND WONDERFUL YOU ARE.

I LOVE YOU VERY, VERY MUCH, JO "ELLEN" PELLMAN, EVERYBODY.

THE PROM IS ON NETFLIX RIGHT NOW.