Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have a new film, Sisters. They play sisters (obvs) and Amy Poehler is the sister with her sh-t together and Tina plays the trainwreck sister. They throw a raging party at their parents’ house and that’s the movie. It looks like silly fun, but I’m not sure how well it will do with a December 18 release date. I mean, that’s prime Oscar-bait-release time. I fear the film will get buried in a week, considering Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out at Christmas. Anyway, Tina has a new interview with The Advocate. She chats about her close friendship with Amy, writing gay characters on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and more. Some highlights:
On her womance with Amy Poehler: “With a w? I like that. Yes, and what makes it work is that from the moment we met each other in Chicago in 1992, we’ve had tremendous respect for each other. We started on the same improv team, and we were put together like two beautiful baby lions in a cage who miraculously did not have the impulse to eat each other. What makes it great now is that the only time we see each other is when we work on things — hosting the Golden Globes, doing Sisters — so those experiences are exciting and fun. We’re both thrilled to be there, and hopefully that’s reflected in the work. She and I haven’t really talked about this, but I don’t know if we could ever do a series together. We’re both alphas who like to do our own thing and then meet up occasionally.”
On an Amy-Tina love story: “Ooh, maybe we could do a lesbian period piece like a comedic version of Carol, that movie with Cate Blanchett. Really, we should just do a movie with all the women of SNL and set it on the Isle of Lesbos.”
Whether Tituss Burgess’s Kimmy Schmidt character is too stereotypical: “I know people like Titus. If a person exists, it’s fair game. Titus makes Barbie clothes, for example, and that’s based on an old gay friend of mine who worked as a cater-waiter when he first moved to New York. He was too broke to go out, so he’d literally sit inside and sew Barbie clothes to kill time. I try to base everything in some kind of truth. I don’t worry about what the Internet says. Getting in trouble with the Internet is not real. The Internet is not a force you have to obey.”
What happens when people get offended: “Well, there’s no consideration of context in comedy these days. There’s also a dangerous desire to silence people when they say something you don’t like. If someone has a crazy opinion, I would prefer they let me hear it so that I can disagree and know who I’m dealing with.”
“I don’t worry about what the Internet says. Getting in trouble with the Internet is not real. The Internet is not a force you have to obey.” That’s a really great perspective, and I also agree with her about “context in comedy.” Tina has gotten her fair share of “backlash” and internet grumbles over the years, but she stayed true to who she is and what she finds funny, so people can like or leave it. Oh, and I would totally watch a lesbian period comedy starring the women of SNL. Tina should totally pitch that to a studio.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’ll watch it even if it’s crappy because it’s Tina and Amy. So much love for Titus he’s so off the wall how could you accuse him of just being a stereotype? Going to go watch Pinot Noir now. On my escritoire.
I totally have Pinot Noir as one of my ringtones.
I love Titus, and I get what she’s saying. And the thing is – they’re not using his character in a negative way. Titus has had to at least attempt to rein in, or protect Kimmy multiple times. He’s such a ridiculous character, but in such a goofball, off the wall kind of way. Everyone has something about their character that can be boiled down to stereotypical, but all of the characters on this show are like super exaggerated caricatures of people – done in a funny, sweet way. I see why some people would have a problem with his character, but if you actually watch the show, you see a lot of dimensions to his character. Every character on this show is like the ‘best of’ the whacky 30 Rock characters – over the top, but lovable.
Titus is completely ridiculous, but like you said so are all the other characters too – which is what makes the show so much fun. Titus is definitely my favorite though, the actor is incredibly talented.
I really can’t wait for the second season.
I think one of my favorite Titus moments is when he finds out Kimmy’s kidnapper’s trial will be televised on the Internet and he keeps trying to be supportive but giving away the game.
There is no Entourage 2!!!!!!!!!!
Every time she says something bold and unafraid I’m reminded that as a little girl she was slashed in the face by a stranger passing her front yard.
I’m so glad she didn’t just survive but thrive — she’s comfortable with power and authority but has a sense of humor about herself.
With all the frat-boy type of male celebrities around, a real adult like her is so cool.
That plot line sounds like what Amy and JLaw are trying to do.
Tina is a doll. She’s funny and stays out of the news for all the right reasons. But….I don’t know how 40 something year old sisters being wacky at their parent’s house will be. Only time will tell, those two are crazy….and if I don’t like it, I’m only an internet person so she won’t care!
It worked for Stepbrothers! That movie was hilarious. Can’t wait to see the Tina & Amy one.
Lol. I kinda wondered the same thing about the plot.
“I’m only an internet person,” love it.
There are so many comedies about guys in their fourties who haven’t grown up and behave like teenagers. I’m totally going to watch the one that finally does the same thing with women.
I have found that plot doesn’t always matter so much as how the story is told. I like how Tina and Amy tell stories, so I think I will dig it.
She’s really the gold standard for how to be a famous person with a normal life.
I love Tina and Amy, no apologies but…
Can we STOP with those awful 2 strap sandals?? The bottom strap sits at the base of the toes and because they have no support they usually end up looking like they’ve given up all f-ks and are making a break for it.
It also looks like you have bunions
THIS COMMENT #yess #facts
Yes! I second this motion!
Because it’s so hilarious that people are lesbians? Girls kissing – what a hoot? I don’t get it, I guess.
Eeeeh that isn’t exactly true… the internet can actually tank your career. And get you into trouble. Just saying.
Agreed, there are numerous people who have gone viral for something stupid/bad and lost their careers or had their lives upended.
But I think she’s talking in the context of show biz and people on twitter or whatever complaining about a show or movie. And in that she’s probably right, it usually doesn’t have much effect and at most gets a PR apology.
Examples? Of actual talented people? I’m not trying to diss what your saying, I really cannot think of anyone established who was “taken down”. She means these Internet Twitter/tumblr campaigns of outrage. If they were a true indicator of the world then Justin Bieber and the Kartrashisns would have no careers. On the flip side if Internet buzz were reliable then the Twilight actors would be drawing huge crowds to their films and Snakes on a Plane would have made a billion dollars. It’s a concentrated illusion.
I can’t think of anyone who has really been taken down by the internet either. I thought Sean Penn would land in trouble for his recent lawsuit by opening up a can of worms that people might discuss on the internet, but nothing has happened to him, and he’s a truly bad man.
Mel Gibson’s career has gone downhill, but I don’t think the internet had much to do with that. His stupidity was all over the mainstream media.
I agree. People are always bowing down to the Internet, apologizing to the Internet, begging the Internet for forgiveness so wives will decide to stay, bosses will offer second chances, and Jesus will set people on the right course. Ray Rice, for example. Beat the crap out of his wife, but who does he beg for forgiveness, the Internet. Did it work? Nope. I would also add Charlie Sheen to the list of people taken down by the Internet.
Ray Rice was caught committing a crime. They put that that video on the evening news. That takes it well beyond the net surfers. Even then, while he’s a free agent he has been reinstated to the NFL. Charlie Sheen made $100 million off of Anger Management post-breakdown and Internet outrage.
I agree. It’s real and sad.
People who get in trouble on the internet and have it affect their actual career got in trouble because they said/did something that was actually *wrong.* My brother posted something on his (private!) facebook that his previous job found out about and they fired him. He worked for a non-profit with religious ties and they thought his post was against their creed as an organization. While that sucks, they had every right to do that. But that’s a far cry from a comedian telling a bad joke that everyone goes “ew bad!” at. That has never brought anyone down.
Yep. This is the age of instant information~there have been many times that things I have read on the internet have influenced my purchasing decisions~whether for products or occasions, I read reviews before I make a lot of decisions. Pay attention to this “the interwebs” stuff, Tina! I love your stuff for the most part, had you not come in your popularity in the age of cliches I would call you a genius. Don’t get too cocky~hubris goes before a movie flop!
Liz Lemon and Leslie Knope were there for me in a really tough time in my life.
And if you aren’t already, please follow Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls on Facebook!
why doesn’t she do any more Ask Amy videos! They were amazing even for me as a thirty something!!
Me too. I am WAY too similar to Liz Lemon, and I want to be Leslie Knope. Parks & Rec was the most uplifting comedy ever, and when I’m feeling really down or the world seems crazy, I’ll put on an episode.
And Smart Girls is just fantastic.
She’s right in a lot of ways. I obviously love to express my opinion just like everyone else but sometimes i read comment sections and think ‘Look how pathetic we all are talking about celebrities based on stories that are 70% based on complete tabloid fan fiction.’ We all think we are experts in everything. I think if we were made to stand on a stage in front of a packed audience and have out comments on Kylie Jenner or any of these people, we would want the ground to open up and disappear! Perspective is a good thing to remember sometimes.
Tina and Amy are hosting the xmas episode of SNL next month with Bruce Springsteen as host. And Ryan Gosling is hosting another week too! Killer line up!
sounds a bit like Seinfeld.
I have a theory that Tina Fey is a lot warmer and friendlier in person than Amy, even though their public personas would suggest otherwise. Tina has even talked about how internet comments about her and Amy paint her as a cold, hard wench with ‘cold, shark eyes!!!)whereas Amy is super sweet, bubbly and would want to immediately be your Bff. Tina admits that she is actually quite shy, so i think she would be a lot nicer and relatable when out of the public spotlight, whereas i definitely think Amy, as nice as she is, is a ‘back off’ type of person in reality. It’s just based on reading their books, interviews and different observations.
Its weird how we can have a wrong perception of people. I met one of my closest friends around 5 years ago when we did a course together. The chairs were shaped like a U and i was seated directly opposite of her and whenever i would make eye contact with her she would immediately look away and was basically hard to get to know in general. She always hung with this super loud and extroverted girl who basically lead every class discussion and none of us could get a word in edgeways. I thought this girl was really unfriendly and standoffish … cut to a year later when we crossed paths again and it all came out that she was actually super shy, that she hated the girl she was sitting beside who basically bulldozed over her in everything and is one of the sweetest girls you could meet. Obviously this isn’t similar to the Tina/Amy dynamic but it just shows how we get the wrong impression of people and we form opinions without really knowing their story.
*My friend is also cursed with an epic bitchy resting face that transforms when she smiles, which she does a lot! When she is happy!
Love her. I can watch any 30 Rock episode on Netflix and laugh like I’m seeing it for this first time.
She’s looking pretty botoxy, no?
“I fear the film will get buried in a week, considering Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out at Christmas.”
Star Wars opens on 12/18, the same day as Sisters. it’s going to get slaughtered.
I can’t be the only person completely uninterested in seeing Star Wars. I get that I am in the minority, but choices are nice.
I really want to see both, but since Star Wars will probably be sold out and packed with people in theaters for a while, I’m going to wait a bit. So I’ll try to go see Sisters instead.
I don’t think it is really in competition with SW, though. They are going for counterprograming.
Should have gone for late January when everyone is bored and looking for a laugh
I guess i’m a lone wolf here, but, I think she’s trying to justify any nasty thing she says about anybody. She lost me when that doctor she made fun of committed suicide. I have no doubt in my mind he committed suicide because she mocked him. Some people are more sensitive than we realize. I , for one, will never watch anything she does.
TBH I completely forgot about that incident. Probably on purpose because it made me really upset. It’s one thing to take something from your real life as inspiration, it’s another to openly mock someone.
Internet trouble isn’t real for her because she is a wealthy celebrity. There might be a 1 or 2 or 3 day outrage, but then it will pass and she can go on about her day. The internet absolutely can destroy a life, a regular person’s life. When Jennifer Lawarence and other actresses suffered their privacy being so horribly violated – about which JLaw herself said “not a scandal but a sex crime” – the FBI were on it in short order. Whereas I have had nude photos and private, intimate text messages splashed all over the internet 2 years ago and have had no help from any law enforcement to help me get it off the internet, which has been a source of on-going humiliation and trauma for me for 2 years.
So, with all due respect, Tina Fey: internet trouble is an entirely different experience for you or any other celebrity than it is for us regulars. And I think you are more than aware of that.
Of course Tina Fey wouldn’t care about internet backlash she doesn’t have any controversial ideas.