1 00:00:15,090 --> 00:00:18,170 Hello everyone and welcome back to People Do Want to Know 2 00:00:18,170 --> 00:00:21,130 podcast. If you are watching this and 3 00:00:21,130 --> 00:00:24,730 you're looking at me and wondering why I look so nice, 4 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:26,960 it's because I'm going on a date. 5 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,000 But that's neither here nor there. 6 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,880 Today's episode is fun, light hearted and fast-paced featuring 7 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,640 Jill Kargman. Jill is a writer and actress 8 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,520 born in New York City. After graduating Yale in three 9 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,120 years, she worked in magazines with articles published in 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,240 Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, GQ and many others. 11 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,480 She went on to become a New York Times bestselling author of 12 12 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:53,000 books, including Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut and Mom Zillas, 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,120 which was the basis of her scripted comedy The odd mom out, 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,520 currently streaming on Peacock. Randomly. 15 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,400 I want to add that I'm having Andy Buckley from the office on 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,879 my go. You will enjoy season and he 17 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:08,320 happened to be Jill's Co star in the show odd mom out. 18 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,240 It's a small world. Jill has appeared on The Tonight 19 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,960 Show with Jimmy Fallon, late night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy 20 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:17,560 Kimmel Live and as a contributor to the Drew Barrymore Show and 21 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,440 the Today Show. She's also the Tony nominated 22 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,640 producer of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club on Broadway, which is a 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,680 musical I liked so much that I went to see it twice, once with 24 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,280 Eddie Redmayne and the other time with Adam Lambert. 25 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,120 She lives in Manhattan with her husband and her three grown 26 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,560 kids, and her new film Influence will be out in theaters on May 27 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:38,360 8th. I actually knew of Jill's 28 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,680 husband, Harry Kargman before I knew of Jill because of his 29 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,520 company, Cargo. Since I work at Adtech full time 30 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,880 and Cargo is in that industry, I had heard of him and the company 31 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,160 before. Another coincidental connection 32 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:53,280 with Jill. In this episode, Jill and I 33 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,920 discuss her movie coming out this week and her energetic life 34 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,480 story. What's funny is Jill's writing 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,240 is exactly like her speaking voice and it has such a clear, 36 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,840 resonant feel to it. It's so awesome. 37 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,120 She's so funny and real and I hope you love her as much as I 38 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,280 did. Please enjoy this episode, Jill. 39 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,720 Hello. Hi, welcome to People. 40 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,280 Do you want to Know podcast? Thank you for having me. 41 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,080 I'm so excited to chat. Please tell us about yourself. 42 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:23,760 What do you do and how did you get there? 43 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,720 I am a 51 year old Jewess from New York City. 44 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,960 My family is Sephardic on my mom's side, Ashkenazi on my 45 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,560 dad's side. They're Holocaust survivors and 46 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,000 came to New York in the 50s. My grandparents met and married 47 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,480 in Paris and moved to New York. My mom went to the Li SE 48 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,680 Francais. She was in a very tight knit 49 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,520 Orthodox Jewish community where she had to sit upstairs at 50 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:51,520 temple. They weren't allowed to get bat 51 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,280 mitzvahs. She and her sisters couldn't get 52 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,960 bat mitzvahs. And she kind of like broke free 53 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:01,120 of the ortho world when she married my atheist Jewish dad 54 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,160 whose family had been here for like 200 years. 55 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:08,840 So together they made me. And I was born in 74 when New 56 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,960 York was kind of bankrupt and there's a lot of crime. 57 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,400 But I had a really great childhood. 58 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,560 I was given so much rope. It's almost crazy. 59 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,640 Like you'd be arrested today for the shit that I was allowed to 60 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:25,640 do, like get a bus pass and subway tokens at 8 years old and 61 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,720 go anywhere I want. So I just had like free range 62 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,680 and I would spend my allowance on Tower Records vinyls. 63 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,880 And I have really hashtag blessed childhood, except that, 64 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:38,960 you know, our car window was smashed a lot. 65 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,760 Not because we are Jews, just because, like, your basic crime. 66 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,440 Yeah. So I really had a great 67 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,360 upbringing. I decided I want to be a writer. 68 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,160 I guess in college, I was always acting, but I felt like I don't 69 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,520 want to be an actress because you have to, like, blow fat 70 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,640 casting directors or something. And I wound up wanting to work 71 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:01,520 in magazines, which were a bigger deal then. 72 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,760 You're young so you don't know that, but they used to be big 73 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:07,080 and fat. Not the pamphlets you see today. 74 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,200 So I worked in magazines. I worked at Harper's Bazaar 75 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,880 intern and then started writing for a whole bunch of magazines 76 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,399 and then started writing books when I got married and had my 3 77 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,360 kids. So my husband Harry and I met on 78 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,360 a blind date set up by our Jewish grandmothers, and they 79 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,000 played bridge together for 50 years. 80 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,040 So we're what I call shtetl chic. 81 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,920 It's like yenta, actual yentas. And I thought he was going to be 82 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,240 like a fogly troll, but he was adorable and awesome and the 83 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:36,920 best dad. And then we have three kids, 84 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,360 Sadie, Ivy and Fletch, and that's who I am, I guess. 85 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:42,880 I want to shout out your husband. 86 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,280 So I work in ad tech full time and I'm very familiar with this 87 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:47,360 company. They've actually tried to 88 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:49,000 recruit me to work there and it's. 89 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,760 Cargo with AK they always seek out the best so you must be the. 90 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,440 Best. Well, thanks. 91 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,920 Listen, I'll take it, OK. You know, I'm interested to 92 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,560 know. A lot has changed in New York, 93 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:03,200 especially in the last few years. 94 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,360 Talk to me about what that experience has been like for 95 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:08,320 you, especially now that you have kids that are going to 96 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,200 school. I know that a year or two ago 97 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,160 you made a difficult decision to move your son to a different 98 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,800 school because he had experienced anti-Semitism and 99 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,120 you felt like the school didn't handle it adequately. 100 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,120 Yeah, it was actually 20/19. It was. 101 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,080 He was little. I mean, he was in middle school 102 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:29,000 and a kid in his class, the parents are like, you know, 103 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,880 RedState southern people. The kid said they both ran for 104 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,040 class president and my son won. That's why like it was picked up 105 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,440 in some places online like that. He was bullied. 106 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,600 He wasn't bullied. He was class president. 107 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,600 He won the class presidency. And the other kid when he lost, 108 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:49,080 he was upset and just sore lashed out at my son and said 109 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,600 well, God sent Hitler to kill the Jews because you nailed 110 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,800 Jesus to the cross. So I totally like flip my shit. 111 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,600 I was really upset. And the reason I was upset and 112 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,320 aside from the fact that that happened is that the kid wasn't 113 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,640 punished. He had to miss a field trip and 114 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,200 write like a paragraph on why it's not OK to say that. 115 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,680 But he never gave it to us. Like he never wrote anything to 116 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,680 us. And in the grade above us a kid 117 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,320 said the N word and was expelled, rightfully so in my 118 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,160 opinion. But I went to the headmaster at 119 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,080 the time and said, OK, what's the difference? 120 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:24,760 And he was like, well, it's just different. 121 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,320 And I said, how I'd love to know if you could break that down for 122 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,120 me. And he had no answer. 123 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,840 And I just didn't feel like they had our back. 124 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:38,000 And so we applied out in July. I mean, anyone who knows New 125 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,160 York Independent Schools knows that's not a thing. 126 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,640 Like, you can't switch schools out of the admission cycle. 127 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,400 But I was desperate and just like called every school and 128 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,560 ours may it created a spot for him like they they had the fire 129 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:54,880 Marshall give permission for one more desk and I could just cry 130 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:56,720 thinking about it because they saved us. 131 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:01,200 It was such they just had our back and they were wonderful and 132 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,600 welcoming, but I didn't feel like I could send him back and 133 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:06,960 he was sad he didn't want to leave, but I didn't want him 134 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,080 there anymore. How are you having these 135 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,800 conversations with your kids today, especially in light of 136 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:13,240 what's happening in the Jewish world? 137 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:14,920 Right. I think, well, now they're 138 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,920 older, they're now they're 2219 and 18. 139 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,520 So they see it with their own eyes and they know that, you 140 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,480 know, I am not crazy about the Israeli government, not crazy 141 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,080 about our government, but I believe Israel has the right to 142 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:29,720 exist. I've been a Zionist my whole 143 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:34,200 life and you know, that there's just no room for anti-Semitism. 144 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,920 And so, yeah, they stand up for themselves. 145 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,760 My girls had like encampments and free Palestine people in 146 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,520 their school and they just walked right by in their black 147 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:43,920 tie dresses on the way to a party. 148 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,000 And they sort of said, mom, don't get upset. 149 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,200 What you see in the media, like these people really have no 150 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,040 friends and they feel part of something now. 151 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,760 So it doesn't bother us. It shouldn't bother you. 152 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,520 So then I just like didn't really care because they framed 153 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,640 it that way. But and my son, you know, he's 154 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:02,480 going off to college. I'm not worried about him. 155 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,800 He's like 6-4 Jew. A catch. 156 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:09,760 Yeah, he's a really tall Jew. That's awesome. 157 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,680 Throughout your career, you've kind of told all these different 158 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:15,880 stories that I feel like center around being a mom. 159 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:17,600 Yeah. How? 160 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,360 Why? Well, I feel like I loved 161 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,760 writing for magazines and I did celebrity interviews and I did 162 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,480 novels too, but I feel like I really found my voice when I was 163 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,320 just telling the truth about my life and the novel that was sort 164 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:35,600 of the what joined those two chapters was mom Zilla's where 165 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,320 that's, you know, right what you know that I had three kids in 166 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:40,960 four years. So that was kind of, you know, 167 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:46,120 reshaking the Etch A Sketch and it was still me, but I felt like 168 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,400 I was navigating this new world. And so when I wrote that book 169 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:53,600 and I saw the response to IT and people, it was my only book that 170 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,840 was in like 14 languages. I would hear from women all over 171 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:00,480 the world that felt less alone and less like they were sort of. 172 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,680 Even though you feel so lucky that you have these kids, you 173 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:06,000 definitely feel like you're drowning in your life a little 174 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,400 bit when you have them, at least the way I did without help at 175 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:11,760 that time. But I just I started writing the 176 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,720 truth kind of rather than hiding behind characters. 177 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,040 And then when my show got made, it's on Peacock odd mom out. 178 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,920 I felt like, yes, it's sort of a fictionalized version of me at 179 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:26,760 28, but I felt like it was the most pure, you know, I always 180 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,000 say balsamic reduction of myself because it felt honest rather 181 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,160 than using what I'm using characters to say what I wanted 182 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,320 to say. So, you know, my number one 183 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,560 thing in my career, everything is it always comes back to my 184 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:41,360 family. Like that's just to me, the most 185 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,040 important thing. None of the stuff I do, even 186 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,840 though it's fulfilling, it doesn't come close to what my 187 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,040 husband and kids are. So I just, I don't know, it's 188 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,600 sort of like they they one feeds the other in terms of 189 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,400 inspiration. But you know, in my new movie, 190 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,120 it's not so much about the kids. It's more, you know, because 191 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,440 they're older now. So I have my more time back to 192 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,400 myself, more leisure time, but they're always kind of with me 193 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,280 and I hear their what they would say and they're way funnier than 194 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,800 I am, so they're always inspiring me. 195 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,480 Just like a word for that. I think there's like adolescence 196 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,440 when you go from, like when you have puberty and it's an 197 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:21,800 irreversible process. And then when you have children, 198 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,960 you also experience a process that you don't go back from. 199 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,160 And I forget what the word is, but once you become a mom, 200 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,360 that's like a one way kind of road and you're never the same 201 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:32,160 person as you were before you had kids. 202 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,000 It's so true. It's so true. 203 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:38,320 But I also feel like I was, I had a really strong personality 204 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:42,240 before then, so I wasn't going to let the noise sway me about 205 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,720 what you have to do and cut all the grapes in half and like 206 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,080 purell yourself 57 times. And like there's just a lot of 207 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,960 people telling you what to do. And I already had been a fully 208 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,800 formed person in order to be like, thanks but fuck off. 209 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,280 Like do not tell me what to do with my kids. 210 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:01,400 So I didn't get a swept into it as some people. 211 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,680 I also am from New York, so I had friends here. 212 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:08,480 It's really hard for some people who are settlers here and 213 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,800 they're meeting mom friends just through the school. 214 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,920 And so that's their community. Whereas I already had my friends 215 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,760 in all different neighborhoods here kind of steeped in. 216 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,320 So I didn't feel like unlike the character in the book where 217 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:24,960 everybody there's this mom world. 218 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:26,040 I didn't. I wasn't. 219 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,880 That wasn't like a tsunami that swept me away because I had my 220 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,040 own roots from growing up here. So if it was hard for me and I'm 221 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,080 from here, I can only imagine what it's like if you move here 222 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:39,360 and you're trying to find your way. 223 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,840 Let's talk about your upcoming film Influenced. 224 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:47,200 I thought it was so delightful and fun. 225 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,240 And just like that, it gave me this nostalgia of what I felt 226 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,880 when I watched ROM coms and like, comedy movies in the early 227 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:56,720 2000s. And I was really missing that. 228 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:58,840 And you gave me that throughout your film. 229 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,040 And just like the character, like Danielle, you know, from 230 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,600 Long Island is just quintessential Jewish mom vibe. 231 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,920 I want to kind of get into your world of like, how did you 232 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,320 decide to make this film? Why now? 233 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,480 What is your message with it? I want to know everything. 234 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,400 Well, first of all, thank you. That's exactly what I was going 235 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:18,320 for. I really feel like every the 236 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,920 world is very heavy and I grew up watching John Hughes movies 237 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,760 and Allen movies and I just love to laugh and I love a ROM com. 238 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:31,800 I mean, I feel like it wasn't really planned for quote this 239 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,600 moment in time. The truth is, I I had sold the 240 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:39,840 TV rights earlier five years ago and at to IFC as 1/2 hour 241 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,120 comedy. And then all my executives got 242 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:46,440 fired, all three. So I was so upset because I'd 243 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:50,600 put in so much work and we had done rewrites and notes and they 244 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,440 were like, OK, it's getting greenlit. 245 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,440 This is happening your your next show is coming. 246 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:57,880 And I thought it was going to be just like odd mom out like 247 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,600 smooth sailing meant multiple seasons. 248 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,880 Nope, never got picked up. So I was despondent. 249 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:08,440 And then I had like, a small acting role in a movie, and the 250 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,280 director and I were talking and we kind of had hit it off. 251 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,560 And she had seen my show. And she said, would you ever 252 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:15,120 want to work on something together? 253 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,240 And I said, yeah, sure, I have the screen, this teleplay, 254 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:20,800 whatever pilot, take a look, see what you think. 255 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,880 But I was sort of toying with the idea of turning it into a 256 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,000 feature. So that's how that happened. 257 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,240 So yeah, I would. I wanted it to be or, you know, 258 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,840 not 2026. I would have hoped that it had 259 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,240 been earlier, but I feel like now I didn't, you know, I 260 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:38,320 couldn't have forecast the state of the world. 261 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,960 And I feel like it's 88 minutes of just escape. 262 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:43,880 And that's really all that I want. 263 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,280 In the screenings we've had around the country and then the 264 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:50,040 New York premiere Sunday, a lot of people said, like, that's 265 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,360 just what I needed. I've been so stressed. 266 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,760 It just, it's an escape. And that's really all I want. 267 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,800 I'm not trying to like, change the fucking world, you know? 268 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,400 How do you hope the film is received? 269 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,720 What do you hope people see in it? 270 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,440 I know you talk about it being an escape but for anyone who 271 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,360 watches the film there are underlying tones of like a 272 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,960 greater moral like your the character. 273 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,760 Your characters relationship with her kids and teaching them 274 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,960 about wealth and happiness and what makes life worth living. 275 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,000 And how to build relationships with your neighbors and with 276 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,800 people who have different life experiences than you. 277 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,680 And how to stop caring about frivolous things like how fancy 278 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,960 your dog Walker is. There is a through line of 279 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:33,920 something greater and I want to know what it is. 280 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,880 Well, I was really trying to like hot, you know, when you 281 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,760 little kids and you hide the meat in the, in the pasta. 282 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,760 I, I didn't want to like slap people in the face with 283 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,240 morality. I just wanted it to be funny, 284 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,520 but I wanted it to have some heart too. 285 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:54,240 And I guess I mean, when I look back on it, I realized that for 286 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,480 me, the main overarching moral thing is like, don't be 287 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,360 influenced by influencers, be influenced by your kids or by 288 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,480 whoever you respect that's in your inner circle. 289 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,040 You don't have to look to some billionaire with a private jet 290 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:09,520 posting about her life, her fabulosity. 291 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,040 I mean, I get it. And my kids follow some people 292 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,640 like that because they feel like it's voyeurism. 293 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,240 They're not. It's not for them. 294 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,280 They're not trying to be that, that it's more almost a cure, 295 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,760 like a morbid curiosity peeking through the keyhole or pulling 296 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:29,120 back the brocade curtain. But it's not aspirational for my 297 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:31,080 kids. But for a lot of people it is 298 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,320 aspirational. And they think, wow, I would 299 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,680 love that life. And so the the characters and 300 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,000 yell, you know, she has all these trappings, but you also 301 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,880 see there's loneliness there. So I kind of wanted to show the 302 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,320 difference between what people are posting and their outfits 303 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:50,120 and tagging everything, and then the loneliness that they might 304 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,280 feel in their penthouse. One of the funny things for me 305 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,680 was seeing the celebrity cameos because when I connected with 306 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,280 your publicist, they, I realized after the fact that they put it 307 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,160 in like the e-mail that like, by the way, this film includes all 308 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:05,400 these celebrity kind of spottings and cameos. 309 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,000 And I didn't even look at that. And then when I watched it, I 310 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:09,680 was like, oh, yeah, there's Drew Barrymore. 311 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,120 Yeah. And it was such a fun touch. 312 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,160 And I was like, wait, this is so cool. 313 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,720 How did you think about kind of who to call up and who to 314 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,520 include? Well, I feel like the tone is of 315 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,480 the movie. It can be like odd bomb out, can 316 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,400 be a little cartoonish, like a little hyperbolized. 317 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,560 It's not total reality. Like, so for example, you know, 318 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,120 there's not probably a dog Walker that has like a robot 319 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,240 pooper scooper or whatever and an odd mom out. 320 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,280 You know, I'm hallucinating in synagogue that because I'm so 321 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,520 hungry, we did a Yom Kippur episode fasting and furious, and 322 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,840 I'm hallucinating that the Torah turns into a Turkey acidics. 323 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,200 We're not happy about that. But anyway, you know, I'm just, 324 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:55,400 I like to be silly. And so to ground it in reality 325 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,560 more, I wanted to put all these cameos as Easter eggs to lend 326 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,760 veracity to New York and this world of the Upper East Side. 327 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,440 So Drew, for example, was married to my brother, so she's 328 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,599 family. But then everyone else, I just 329 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:10,240 asked favors and I said, you can do it on your phone. 330 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,079 You can do one day whatever it is. 331 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:15,400 But I have a lot of people that no one outside New York will 332 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,400 know, probably editors and writers and stylists that are 333 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,160 kind of known in the fashion world. 334 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,000 So they play themselves on the red carpet. 335 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,680 But it's just kind of fun because I think New Yorkers will 336 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,680 spot the Easter eggs. Yeah, that's great. 337 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:34,000 There's also I I saw a lot of the time it's been discussed 338 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,200 that in the movie you're wearing a blonde wig which is like super 339 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,400 opposite from what your style you're. 340 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,480 Like the Angel of darkness. In fact, you called yourself a 341 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,840 goth vampire on one, OK? Many people have called me many 342 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,640 things including that. But yeah, people say I'm Marilyn 343 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,440 Manson and drag whatever. I've always had dark hair and 344 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,120 pale skin but I had skin cancer twice so now I really can't go 345 00:17:57,120 --> 00:17:59,720 in the sun. So like a lot of I mean, I get 346 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,480 so much hate anyway from anti Zionist being like you're an 347 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,760 ugly Jew cunt, Zio whore. But usually what they go for is 348 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,480 you look like a vampire. You're so pale, get a tan, get 349 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,920 whatever. And I'd actually like do not 350 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,440 care. I don't care about any of it. 351 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,200 But I like my pallor. I think it means I'm healthy and 352 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,480 alive and not dead of Melanoma, which I could have been. 353 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,040 So I don't take it as an insult. I don't I'm not getting a spray 354 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:27,640 tan. Like, we don't all have to be 355 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:28,840 Britney Spears, you know what I mean? 356 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,440 Fellow pale girly myself, I empathize very much there. 357 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,800 You do have a style though. It's like how you layer black, 358 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,480 different blacks together and like fabrics and patterns. 359 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:42,040 Where do you think your style comes from? 360 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,040 My mom calls me a Sicilian widow, she said. 361 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,400 I always said I dress like a Sicilian widow, even as a 362 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,640 teenager. I guess just living in New York 363 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,200 and the kind of music I listen to. 364 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,280 What kind of. Music do you listen to? 365 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,760 Metal. I love rock and metal and 9 Inch 366 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:00,400 Nails, some industrial, but I'm wearing my 9 Inch Nails jacket. 367 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,480 I love Metallica, Queens, the Stone Age, Guns and Roses, but I 368 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,160 feel like that it's more rocker than Widow, but it's all black. 369 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,040 And my, you know, my bat mitzvah present was actually trash and 370 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,720 vaudeville motorcycle jacket right down nearby. 371 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,040 And so I got that at 13. It was the first of many 372 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,560 motorcycle jackets. But I guess, I don't know, I 373 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,520 just love black and spikes and metal. 374 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,200 I'd like lace too, though. I mean, I like the dichotomy of 375 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,280 romance and violence together. I love leather and lace. 376 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,120 I love velvet. And you know, it's just, it's 377 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:36,240 like that juxtaposition that interests me. 378 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,600 But I feel like being a blonde in this movie was such a 379 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,280 departure that it helps me. We have the Saturday Night Live 380 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:46,880 hair department. They're on hiatus when we 381 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,160 filmed. So we had the SNL wig team make 382 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:54,640 the wig Britney and then Corinne the my hair stylist every day. 383 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,560 And it's, it's an HD lace wig. It's like what they use in 384 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,520 Marvel movies. It's super expensive and look 385 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,040 totally real. Yeah, really real. 386 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,280 And it takes a lot of work to put on and off. 387 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,720 There's like a million. I have a wig cap and a million 388 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,040 hairpins. So during lunch hour. 389 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,560 I didn't take it off because it's like a whole process. 390 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:15,400 You you wear it for the 14 hour days. 391 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,040 So during lunch hour I'd walk around and no one recognized me. 392 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:23,080 I also was dressed like a hooker and had really, really short 393 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,360 miniskirts, which I never wear. I always wear longer. 394 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,840 I'm basically like Hasidic and. That's the closest we'll ever 395 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,400 see in a shade tool, yeah. That way, that Wick. 396 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,960 Yeah. I mean, it looks more like bitch 397 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,200 whiffs. It's not. 398 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,440 It's not like screaming shuttle. But, you know, I I haven't ran 399 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:42,520 into a bunch of friends that didn't recognize me. 400 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,520 And then there's like gross people that look at you in a 401 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:47,760 different way. Like I felt like a rotisserie 402 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,720 chicken on a spit a little bit because I just don't dress that 403 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:51,960 way. Not that there's anything wrong 404 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,680 with it. You're not like inviting leering 405 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,200 eyes. But I definitely noticed a 406 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,400 change in like gross men and stuff. 407 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,200 Yeah. Like you're being perceived all 408 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:01,480 the. Time. 409 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,040 Yeah, yeah. There was a scene in the movie 410 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,440 where the character Danielle had a procedure to tighten her 411 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:10,720 vagina. Yeah. 412 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:12,200 Is that real? Does that. 413 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:13,120 Real. I did it. 414 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:14,760 What? Yeah, I did it. 415 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:20,720 I had three kids, no C sections, all badge and my friend said I 416 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,240 got re virginized. You get like raped with a 417 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,760 lightsaber. Okay, so it tightens everything 418 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,640 because it's like a. It's like a laser type thing. 419 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,240 It doesn't hurt. It's just like, I guess I don't 420 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,760 really know how lasers work, I'm not a scientist, but it emits 421 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:39,720 essentially a million tiny, tiny cuts that it sounds gross, but 422 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,480 it tightens the walls or something. 423 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:44,240 That's like how Morpheus works on your face. 424 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:46,960 Yeah, I think it's like that. I think it's like that. 425 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,840 It's probably the same technology, but yeah, I did it. 426 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,200 I think it works. So there's no like you. 427 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:53,560 They don't put you under or anything. 428 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,280 No. Well I think they numb you, 429 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:57,720 there's like a cream or something. 430 00:21:57,720 --> 00:21:59,720 I can't remember honestly, it was a while ago. 431 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:01,800 OK, well you heard it here first folks. 432 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,440 You can get re virginized. Real. 433 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,400 Really. I guess I figured why not. 434 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,960 That's fascinating. OK, so you've been going around 435 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,760 kind of now you did an event on 92nd St. 436 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,440 Why? Yeah, it was great. 437 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,640 I had so much fun. It's really great seeing 438 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,880 audiences laugh and get into it finally. 439 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,920 I wanted to get your opinion on like Jewish storytelling in 440 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,040 general for how much of A difficult experience we've had. 441 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,120 In some sense, it has become the golden era of telling Jewish 442 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:36,920 stories in different ways, and especially in New York, like so 443 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,440 many Jewish characters, Jewish films, Jewish books coming up, 444 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,800 and your movie is Jewish. Very Jewish. 445 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:45,080 Yeah. It culminates in inbornet 446 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:46,520 mitzvah. Exactly. 447 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,960 I feel like right now, I mean, listen, we need the dark, hard 448 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,800 stories. We need all of those 449 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,120 testimonials about October 7th, just like we need them about the 450 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,880 Holocaust. But I did a number of Jewish 451 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:02,000 film festivals around the country and a lot of people said 452 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,320 the same thing like this. All of the content is important, 453 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,080 but you know, a lot is very, very heavy right now and 454 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,520 disturbing. And so mine was one of the only 455 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:16,280 comedies at one of the festivals and they said, wow, we're so 456 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,320 we're so happy to laugh because we've been crying for three days 457 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,280 with these other screenings. So I'm just trying to, you know, 458 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,680 put I watch all the heavy stuff too. 459 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:28,960 I actually probably watch more dramas than comedies, but I 460 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,240 wanted to just write something light and fun and not take it 461 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,720 too seriously. Yeah, the last thing that I 462 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,520 could think of that made me feel kind of a similar way was when 463 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,640 I'm thinking of Adam Sandler's movie when his daughters had the 464 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,360 bat mitzvah. That was the the last time I 465 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:49,160 felt kind of this like lightheartedness, fun, Jewish 466 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,280 vibe. Yeah, I mean, we're niche, but 467 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,600 we're a big niche and I feel like we have other. 468 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,000 There are a lot of gentiles that came to 92nd St. 469 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:02,040 Y and people who write me on Instagram who want to see it or 470 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,960 already bought tickets. It's playing in 10 cities and 471 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:08,120 they're not all Jewish cities, you know. 472 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:11,080 I mean, I guess they're probably Jews in every city, but there 473 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,240 are a lot of Christian people who write who are fans of the 474 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,920 show or whatever because odd Mom out played everywhere. 475 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:23,120 And I mean, I don't know the the Peacock geography numbers, but I 476 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:26,880 feel like, you know, there's definitely people of all 477 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,480 backgrounds. It's not like just a private 478 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,280 joke for Jews or something. Do you think the way that the 479 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,640 kids were portrayed in the movie somehow resemble your actual 480 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,880 kids or no? They don't look like my kids. 481 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,040 They look like each other. They're boy, girl twins. 482 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,280 So we wanted, we needed boy, girl twins, which boy girl 483 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:45,400 actors who looked like each other. 484 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,360 So that was really the goal. And then Justin Bartha has blue 485 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:50,360 eyes. So we just did the best we could 486 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,000 and they look like they could be siblings, but they don't look 487 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,400 like my kids. Yeah, but I mean, do they act 488 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:57,960 like your kids? Do you do they resemble in a 489 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,200 more like emotional or? No, no, no. 490 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:05,240 I think they had a sweetness and a purity to them that New York 491 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,680 City native kids probably don't have. 492 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,400 Like, my kids were a lot edgier. Also, I was, you know, an 493 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,200 irreverent mom. Like, I cursed a lot. 494 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,760 And I I give them a lot of freedom. 495 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:20,040 And I think the kids in the movie, without giving too much 496 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,720 away, are going through, you know, it changes and struggling 497 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,280 a little bit with this, the pressure of the bar mitzvah, 498 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,600 banay mitzvah, I don't know. My kids didn't luckily have 499 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:32,280 that. How old were your kids when they 500 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:33,840 started taking the subway by themselves? 501 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,200 My son was really doing it first. 502 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,080 And I would say like 12, but I was eight. 503 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,240 I was 8. I mean, it's so crazy. 504 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,360 And they were. And I didn't have a cell phone. 505 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,000 My son was the youngest 1 to get a cell phone. 506 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:50,280 He got it at 12. My girls got it at 13 as bar 507 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,720 mitzvah presents. When I got my first cell phone 508 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,720 when I was 5. Six. 509 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,280 I was 25. How about that? 510 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,040 Because they didn't exist and I'm old as dirt, ready for the 511 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,120 urn. So you don't know this about me, 512 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,240 but I was a child pop star in Ukraine before my family 513 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,040 immigrated to America. No way that is. 514 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,760 So cool. So the reason I had a phone is 515 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,600 because at five years old, I would be out and about, like, 516 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,960 singing on albums at a recording studio. 517 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:19,760 And then my parents would have to coordinate pickup. 518 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,440 And they, just like, they didn't want to entrust other adults 519 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,920 with me necessarily. They always wanted to give me a 520 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,520 chance to talk to them directly. Because in Ukraine, there's a 521 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:34,440 lot of like, adults lie. Like adults can take your kid 522 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,840 and do take them somewhere else. Like sex traffic you. 523 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:41,200 Or like hold you for ransom because they think your family's 524 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:42,680 rich and they can get money out of. 525 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,320 You OK? But why did they like drop you 526 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,240 off there in the 1st place? Why weren't they like lurking? 527 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,200 It's not about that. It's more that you never know, 528 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:52,800 like in Ukraine was a developing country in the 90s, there was a 529 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,080 lot of like mafia. Yeah, a lot of corrupt. 530 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,480 Crime and people were being held at ransom, Like, Americans would 531 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:01,080 travel to the former Soviet Union, get kidnapped and held 532 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,000 for like a bunch of money. And that could happen to 533 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,240 anybody. No rhyme or reason. 534 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,760 That's how people made money. That was part of the life there. 535 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,640 And so my parents could drop me off with a nanny who's 536 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,200 completely safe and reliable. She looks away for five seconds. 537 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:14,880 Somebody grabs me off the street, Right. 538 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,520 That has nothing to do with the nanny, necessarily. 539 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:18,480 Scary. Yeah. 540 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:22,240 And so from a very young age, I had a phone, and I was always 541 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,960 responsible for communicating my needs to my parents, myself. 542 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,440 Somebody could call on my behalf, but they always talk to 543 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,840 me. I called from school myself. 544 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,560 I asked them to pick me up. And I guess that's like the 545 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,600 closest thing to being a New Yorker kid in some sense, but in 546 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,400 a very different way. Did you get out of Ukraine 547 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,960 because you had special abilities as pop *? 548 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:47,200 Oh, no, I, I had, we were Jewish refugees when we came to 549 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,040 America, and we were very poor. It was far from glamorous. 550 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:55,280 It was like food stamps, you know, Section 8 housing, ESL. 551 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,480 And you crushed it and look at you now you're. 552 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:02,840 Crazy. Cool ass studio on the Lower 553 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,000 East Side looking out, it's so badass. 554 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:07,200 Once a pop star, always a pop star, what can I say? 555 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,680 But I have a lot of like understanding and empathy for 556 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,400 kids that grow up in this kind of fun, lively environment, 557 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,680 especially child performers. I really intimately understand 558 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:20,480 artists who did it from being a child, even though I'm no longer 559 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:21,600 that. But the kind of like the 560 00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:25,240 trade-offs that come with that, how you view the world, how you 561 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,520 treat others around you, how you want to be treated. 562 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:29,800 And that's something that will never go away. 563 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,160 That's why I have a lot of friends who are creatives and 564 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:34,280 artists, because I just get how it works. 565 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,360 Yeah, you learned at a really young age. 566 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:39,560 Luckily you were safe and OK and made it through. 567 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,000 A lot of them are really hella fucked up. 568 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:43,560 Yeah. On the contrast though, my 569 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,760 brother, he was one when we came to America. 570 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,480 So he didn't grow up in Ukraine like I did. 571 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,720 I did 3 grades before we moved. And so he doesn't know, you 572 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,640 know, what it was like to live. I mean, our whole apartment in 573 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:58,200 Ukraine was probably like two of these rooms. 574 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:00,920 Wow. And back then, it felt so 575 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,960 normal, like there was nothing small about it. 576 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:06,680 It's only when we came to America and we were like, wait, 577 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,240 there are larger things. They're drinking fountains. 578 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:10,920 This is. Not in New York City, well. 579 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,080 I guess 12. In a room in America. 580 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,600 Yeah, because we came to Minnesota, we didn't move to New 581 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,640 York. So for him, it's like a 582 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:22,640 different world. Like he doesn't understand any 583 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,400 of this. I went to one of the nicest 584 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,320 schools in my town. It didn't have toilets. 585 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:28,760 It was holes in the ground. You brought your own toilet 586 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:29,520 paper. Shut up. 587 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,360 Yeah, well. That's like our whole shtick in 588 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,480 America. Growing up in the Cold War as I 589 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:37,000 did, was like, they have to line up for toilet. 590 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,160 Paper that is correct, that is actually true. 591 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,720 And you know what the running joke is? 592 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,280 Sometimes I ask my parents about their like childhood because 593 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:45,360 they grew up in the Soviet Union. 594 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:50,320 They're we're a little bit older than you and my dad, when we 595 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,640 were being bratty with my brother, he would always say 596 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,240 these like horrific things about growing up in the former Soviet 597 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:57,720 Union. Like if we'd complain about 598 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,200 anything, he'd be like, no, I had to wipe my butt with the 599 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:02,760 newspaper because they didn't have toilet paper in the former 600 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,080 Soviet Union. And then my mom would look at 601 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,400 him and be like, he didn't, what do you mean? 602 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:09,400 We had toilet paper? Like, what are you talking 603 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,880 about? And he's like, maybe you had 604 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:13,080 toilet paper. We did not have to. 605 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,840 And then they'd get into these arguments of like, how who had 606 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,720 it worse and who was poor and how bad it was. 607 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,560 It's a different world. But we're so lucky. 608 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,200 I mean, for them to be able to have kids here and say, do you 609 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,360 know how lucky you are your water fountains in your 610 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,720 beautiful public school? Of course. 611 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,200 You know. This is it's truly the American 612 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,000 dream. And you know, being a Jew whose 613 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:41,480 family, they experienced so much pain and oppression, granted, I 614 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,360 don't have any Holocaust survivors in my family. 615 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,880 My grandparents, great grandparents, they were either 616 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,520 fighting for the Soviet army or they had moved by then. 617 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,000 So I don't have that experience. But my family experienced pain 618 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:58,040 of its own kind, of course. And to see how life, how it can 619 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:01,800 flourish, especially Jewish life in cities like New York, it just 620 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,600 the American dream like this is what we hope to experience. 621 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:08,120 And it's really the most profound feeling. 622 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,840 I am wondering, you know, what is your message to the Jewish 623 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,800 people in this time? I guess it would just be stay 624 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:16,720 strong and stay positive. Like you. 625 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:21,120 I feel like I'm not, you know, prophet of doom or anything, but 626 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,560 there are days is with with this mayor in office and his wife 627 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:29,280 liking October 7th, you know, celebrating that you can get a 628 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,760 little down and feel like, oh gosh, I grew up never thinking 629 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,160 the Holocaust could happen here and it wouldn't happen in the 630 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,240 same way. But how do we know they're not 631 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:39,960 going to just start like shooting up? 632 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:42,000 I have like a squirrel hill every Friday night. 633 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,160 Like it. You just don't know if that all 634 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,240 of this rhetoric will translate to violence. 635 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:50,920 So I want to try to be more positive and not fear and just 636 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:55,440 celebrate mitzvahs in your life and, you know, happy occasions 637 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,560 and just Jewish joy, which is really kind of the point of the 638 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,520 movie is like Jewish joy, celebrate each other, celebrate 639 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,120 family, celebrate love and like Lahaya motherfuckers. 640 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:12,200 Yeah, I had Moshe Davis, who used to serve for Merrick Adams 641 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,280 as the Jewish liaison a week or two ago on my show. 642 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,880 And he was like, go on ceremoniously on Mandani's first 643 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,720 day, obviously, and another Jewish liaison was hired 644 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:24,400 immediately. Who's like a pro palisade? 645 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:25,480 Correct. Correct. 646 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,080 And I was asking him, I'm like, you're Orthodox, Like, you walk 647 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,560 around with a keeper, You live on the Upper West Side. 648 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:33,800 Like, are you concerned for your safety? 649 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:38,480 And he was like, no, good. And I'm like, Are you sure? 650 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:41,200 I just got so confused. I was not expecting to hear that 651 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,440 answer. And he was like, this is my 652 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:46,520 city. Like, there's a Jewish community 653 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,760 here. We have agency, We have control. 654 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,680 No, I'm not scared. And if I'm scared, that means 655 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,000 things are really, really bad and you should not live here. 656 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:56,880 And I was like, well, how do you know? 657 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:58,720 How do you know when it's gotten to that point? 658 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:04,040 And he said, I don't. And what should I choose 659 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:05,760 instead? Like, what's my alternative, 660 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,720 right? My alternative is to be strong 661 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:11,240 and proud and positive and show up like and exist. 662 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:13,960 That's what I do too. But I still have fear. 663 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,840 I mean, I like you. I'll tuck my Jewish star in the 664 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,320 subway, stuff like that. I don't need to. 665 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:21,360 Be performative. Yeah, right. 666 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,840 It's also because we're women and he's a guy, you know, I 667 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:26,320 think there's some difference there as well. 668 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,680 But it was so refreshing to hear him say that. 669 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:32,640 Because it's refreshing. I I want to feel that way. 670 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:35,360 And I generally do Uptown for sure. 671 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:39,520 But like, you know, I encounter people, let's say I'm like at 672 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:41,720 brunch in Bushwick and someone's wearing a kafia. 673 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:44,160 Like, I just don't want to engage. 674 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,520 I kind of look away. It looks like a swastika to me. 675 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,200 But they're everywhere. They're everywhere. 676 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,720 So you just have to sort of be like, OK, we're not, you know, 677 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,920 not going there. But I think what's nice is for 678 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,520 your movie helps contribute towards getting to a point where 679 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:03,840 we can feel positive and delighted and optimistic. 680 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,800 And that's wonderful. And I thank you for bringing 681 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,960 this to to the screens instead of something that feels like 682 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,159 doom and gloom and depressing and hopeless. 683 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:14,320 Thank you. No, I mean those, those are 684 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,120 important too. It's just I, I'm not in a place 685 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:21,000 in my life where I can watch things that feel like you're 686 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,800 just crying a lot. Like I just want to laugh. 687 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,679 And it's hard for me to sometimes find content that's 688 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:28,960 fast. This is under an hour and a half 689 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,520 and like silly, like that's just all I want sometimes. 690 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:36,400 So I hope that people especially like tired moms, you know, you 691 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:38,400 don't want something heavy. The world's heavy enough and you 692 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,920 feel so protective of your kids. You just want to kind of pull 693 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:45,360 the escape hatch, so hopefully this will be that for people. 694 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,080 Tell me, how can people connect with you and watch your upcoming 695 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:50,520 film? You're so nice. 696 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,000 Thank you. It's if you go to the Instagram 697 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,200 is influence dot movie they have they're going to have all the 698 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,360 schedules, all the ticket links for all the theaters it's 699 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:04,280 playing in. And we open May 8th at the Quad 700 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,440 in New York. I think that night is sold out, 701 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,360 but the 9th and 10th are not yet. 702 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:11,200 I think they're still seats and it'll be every night. 703 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:15,080 You know, regular weeknights too, but I'm doing Q&A's after 704 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:20,320 the weekend screenings, opening weekend, and then my Instagram's 705 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:23,640 Jill Kargman, and I'll just keep posting that stuff too. 706 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:27,040 And when I'm coming to your town, I'm coming to Boston. 707 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,200 I know I'm going to LA May 15th to 17th. 708 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,440 It's going to be at the Lemley in Westwood, it'll be at West 709 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:37,360 Newton Cinema in Boston. I'm going to DC, Chicago, 710 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,120 Philadelphia, so hopefully coming to a city near you. 711 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:43,640 And I'll just add that if you want to look at funny memes, 712 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:46,280 Jill shares those as well, for Instagram is very funny. 713 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,960 I am such a meme whore. OK, I have one final question 714 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:52,400 for you. It's one that I ask every guest 715 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,600 of the show. Who would you like to nominate 716 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:55,720 for people? Do you want to know? 717 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,920 Oh. That's a good question. 718 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:02,720 I would like to nominate neurotic Jewish gay Amelia 719 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:06,000 Adams, who I follow on Instagram and is a friend in real life. 720 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:10,440 I actually did the ceremony for her wedding to her wife Amanda. 721 00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:14,320 I did not know that. Yes, I officiated and I think 722 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,880 she's really fucking smart. She's Australian, so she has 723 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:20,320 that perspective on anti-Semitism as well. 724 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,400 But she's she wouldn't probably call herself an activist because 725 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,560 she's just so funny. But she is an activist and she's 726 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:30,040 a lawyer and brilliant and I think she would make an 727 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:31,880 excellent guest. And she passed the bar. 728 00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:34,800 Amelia, congratulations. You will be like the 10th guest 729 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,720 to nominate her and really can't wait to have her on. 730 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:38,160 She's the best, so thank you so much. 731 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:40,680 Mazel tov, Amelia. Yeah, thank you for doing this. 732 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:42,560 This has been. My pleasure, thank you for 733 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:44,120 having me. This is so nice. 734 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,480 If you've enjoyed this podcast, please go ahead and rate US five 735 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:49,280 stars. Be the first to hear our 736 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,360 episodes by subscribing to People Juwatch Know wherever you 737 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,840 get your podcasts and for exclusive content, follow us on 738 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:57,560 Instagram at PEOPLE. Do you want to know?