♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: WELCOME BACK,
EVERYBODY.
SHE IS AN EMMY, GRAMMY, AND ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS
YOU KNOW FROM "TITANIC," "THE READER," AND NOW,
"AMMONITE."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "A LATE SHOW," KATE WINSLET!
HELLO, KATE.
>> IT SOUNDS SO WEIRD, GRAMMY.
OH, YES, OKAY -- >> Stephen: WHAT IS IT FOR?
>> IT'S ACTUALLY FOR SPOKEN WORD.
>> Stephen: SURE, I GOT ONE OF THOSE.
>> IT'S FOR SPOKEN WORDS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY GIVE THOSE
OUT A LOT.
>> Stephen: SURE.
>> I'M VERY GRATEFUL.
YES, I DO HAVE A GRAMMY.
ANYWAY, MOVING ON.
>> Stephen: I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN BINGING, ANY BUT
WE'RE COMING UP TO THE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND OF COURSE WATCHING
MOVIES ON TV DURING THE HOLIDAYS MEANS WATCHING "THE HOLIDAY."
"THE HOLIDAY."
WHENEVER IT COMES ON, IT JUST SUCKS YOU RIGHT IN.
THERE'S NO ESCAPING THE STORY OF YOU AND JACK BLACK AND JUDE LAW
AND CAMERON DIAZ.
YOU HAVE TO.
IT IS CONSTITUTIONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR AMERICANS TO
WATCH "THE HOLIDAY" WHENEVER IT COMES ON.
DO YOU WATCH YOUR OWN HOLIDAY MOVIE?
>> NO, I DON'T, STEPHEN, NO.
>> Stephen: GOD BLESSED!
COME ON!
>> BUT YOU CLEARLY WATCH "THE HOLIDAY," STEPHEN.
>> Stephen: EVERY YEAR, EVERY YEAR.
>> YOU POOR THING.
>> Stephen: MY WIFE INSISTS-- "WE'RE WATCHING IT.
WE'RE WATCHING IT."
I ALWAYS ENJOY IT.
IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE.
I'VE BEEN THANKSGIVING IN LONDON.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS OVER THERE, BECAUSE NOT
THIS YEAR BUT THE YEAR BEFORE THAT, WE WENT OVER AND SPENT
THANKSGIVING IN LONDON VISITING SOME FRIENDS.
I CANNOT BELIEVE-- AND I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE-- BUT I CANNOT
BELIEVE THE LEVEL TO WHICH YOU BRITS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS.
MUCH HIGHER THAN WE DO OVER HERE.
DO YOU-- BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THANKSGIVING TO GET IN YOUR WAY.
YOU CAN RAMP UP EARLIER.
HOW-- >> I GUESS SO.
I MEAN, YEAH, WE-- WE DO-- CHRISTMAS IS A BIG DEAL HERE.
AND I THINK IT'S-- IT'S-- I DON'T KNOW.
IT'S GOOD, OLD-FASHIONED TRADITION.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SIT AROUND AND EAT A LOT AND DRINK A LOT AND
GENERALLY EAT A LOT AND DRING A LOT.
>> Stephen: DO YOU DO, LIKE, MULLED WINE AND THE FIGGY
PUDDING AND ALL THAT STUFF, LIKE THE CLASSIC DIKEYNESIAN STUFF?
>> YES, WE DO, YES, WE DO.
WE DO THE CLASSIC DIKEYNESIAN STUFF.
THAT'S JUST HOW WE ARE.
WE'RE ALL DIKEYNESIAN OVER HERE.
WE DO MULLED WINE.
AND IN MY FAMILY, WE HAVE A TRADITION WITH THE FIGGY PUDDING
WHICH IS WE STIR IT WITH A SPOON THAT HAS BEEN IN OUR FAMILY FOR
A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND ACTUALLY, WE'RE DOING THAT THIS WEEKEND.
IT'S A LOVELY THING TO PASS ON TO THE CHILDREN BECAUSE IT
BELONGED TO THEIR GRANDMOTHER AND TO HER MOTHER BEFORE HER.
SO IT'S LOVELY.
>> Stephen: I HAVE-- I NEED TO ASK YOU ABOUT A PHOTOGRAPH, IF
YOU DON'T MIND.
>> OKAY.
>> Stephen: THIS IS...
THIS IS YOU IN A DREAM MOTH BALLET, APPARENTLY.
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE.
WHY ARE YOU UNDER WATER WITH A MAN IN SCUBA GEAR WEARING MOTH
WINGS?
>> THEY WERE REALLY HEAVY.
CAN I JUST TELL YOU?
>> Stephen: YES.
>> THEY WERE REALLY HEAVY.
BECAUSE TO CREATE DEFINITE MOVEMENT UNDER WATER WITH A
PIECE OF FABRIC THAT DOESN'T ROLL INTO A SORT OF NASTY BIT OF
TOWEL, THEY HAD TO REALLY WEIGHT EVERYTHING DOWN.
I'VE GOT WEIGHTS AROUND MY WAIST, AS WELL AS MY NECK, A
NECK WEIGHT TO HOLD ME DOWN.
THAT'S AVATAR.
>> Stephen: SO THIS IS THE JAMES CAMERON-- YOU WERE IN 2
AND 3, RIGHT?
>> YES, CORRECT, YEAH, 2 AND 3.
AND THAT IS A-- THAT'S ACTUALLY, I THINK-- THAT'S A SORT OF A--
THAT'S ACTUALLY A BIRTH-GIVING CEREMONY THAT MY CHARACTER, WHO
IS A WATER GODDESS, IS ESSENTIALLY HOSTING.
AND, YEAH, WE ALL HELD OUR BREATH AND WENT UNDER WATER AND
GAVE BIRTH.
>> Stephen: HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO HOLD YOUR BREATH?
HOW LONG CAN THEY DO THIS SHOT?
HOW LONG ARE YOU HOLDING YOUR BREATH, KATE WINSLET?
>> WELL, THAT SHOT, THAT PARTICULAR SCENE, I THINK WE ALL
OF US THAT WERE DOWN THERE GOT UP TO ABOUT FOUR MINUTES.
BUT MY LONGEST BREATH HOLD ACTUALLY WAS SEVEN MINUTES AND
14.
YEAH, PEOPLE!
>> Stephen: SEVEN MINUTES AND 14-- THAT'S DAVID BLAINE-LEVEL
STUFF.
HOW DO YOU HOLD-- HOW DO YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR SEVEN
MINUTES AND 14 SECONDS?
DID YOU HAVE TO TRAIN?
>> I TRAINED.
I TRAINED WITH THE GENTLEMAN WHO I THINK YOU CAN SEE, ACTUALLY,
IN THAT PICTURE TO MY LEFT.
HE'S HOVERING WITH A REGULATOR.
>> Stephen: YES.
>> SO THAT WAS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL INSTRUCTOR NAMED CURT
CROCK, AND HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO HOLD MY BREATH FOR THAT LONG.
WHAT ELSE CAN I TELL YOU?
IT'S NOT THE KIND OF THING I COULD JUMP INTO A BATH TUB AND
DO RIGHT NOW.
YOU HAVE TO PREPARE YOUR BODY FOR IT.
IT'S QUITE COMPLICATED.
BUT I DID IT.
I THOUGHT I DIED.
I SURFACED AND I SAID, "AM I DEAD.
HAVE I DIED?" >> Stephen: WHAT'S COMPLICATED
ABOUT IT?
WHAT'S COMPLICATED ABOUT HOLDING YOUR BREATH?
WHAT DO YOU DO?
>> SO TYPICALLY-- GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M TALKING ABOUT THIS
ON YOUR SHOW.
TYPICALLY, WHEN YOU TAKE A BIG BREATH
( GASPS ) WE BREATHE FROM HERE, BUT TO
TAKE A PROPER DEEP BREATH IS CALLED A DEEP INHALATION.
YOU HAVE TO BREATHE RIGHT FROM THE BASE OF YOUR STOMACH, AND
EVEN THE PROCESS OF TAKING THAT PEEK INHALATION CAN TAKE 25
SECONDS, THE PROCESS OF BREATHING IN.
BUT YOU HAVE TO GET YOUR BODY TO ADJUST, AND IT'S A COMPLICATED
PROCESS.
AND I LOVED IT, THOUGH.
I MEAN I FOUND THE WHOLE THING VERY MEDITATIVE.
IT WAS AMAZING.
I MEAN, WHAT A GREAT THING TO BE ABLE TO LEARN FOR YOUR JOB.
I WAS VERY LUCKY.
>> Stephen: THE NEW MOVIE IS "AMMONITE."
WHEN I'VE SEEN.
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL FILM.
IT'S YOU AND SAOIRSE RONAN, AND OTHERS, BUT YOU'RE THE TWO MAIN
CHARACTERS.
AND YOU PLAY A WOMAN NAMED MARY ANNING.
THIS IS A REAL PERSON.
WHO WAS MARY ANNING?
>> SO, MARY ANNING, SHE LIVED FROM 1799 TO ABOUT 1847, AND SHE
WAS-- SHE WAS A WOMAN OF SCIENTIFIC BRILLIANCE IN THE
WORLD OF PALEONTOLOGY.
SHE WAS SELF-TAUGHT.
SHE WAS UNEDUCATED, AND VERY, VERY WORKING CLASS FROM A
POVERTY-STRICKEN BACKGROUND.
AND SHE-- SHE WAS THE UNSUNG HERO OF FOSSIL DISCOVERY.
SHE FOUND THE FIRST ICUOUS, WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 11 YEARS OLD, AND
LATER ON IN HER 20s FOUND WHAT WAS THEN DISCOVERED TO BE THE
FIRST REMAINS OF A PTERODACTYL.
SHE WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR FINDING THE COPPERRITE, WHICH IS
FOSSILIZED POO.
FROM THAT DISCOVERY SCIENTISTS WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT
DINOSAURS HAD EATEN.
BUT SHE LEFD IN A WORLD OF GEOLOGY THAT WAS DOMINATED BY
MEN AND WHO WOULD BUY HER FINDS AND CLAIM THEM AS THEIR OWN
DISCOVERY.
SO THAT'S WHY I SAY SHE WAS AN UNSUNG HERO.
AND IT WAS AN ENORMOUS PRIVILEGE TO PLAY SOMEONE LIKE HER.
SHE WAS A FORMIDABLE CHARACTER.
>> Stephen: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL FILM.
A BIT BLEAK AT TIMES.
IT'S THE 1840s ON THE SEASIDE IN ENGLAND.
I THINK BEFORE HAPPINESS WAS INVENTED.
IS AND YOUR CHARACTER-- AM I GIVING ANYTHING AWAY WHEN I SAY
YOU AND SAOIRSE RONAN FALL IN LOVE?
>> YOU'RE NOT GIVING ANYTHING WAY.
>> Stephen: OKAY.
AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, HESI HESITANT...
EVENTUALLY PASSIONATE LOVE STORY.
BUT IT'S-- IT BUILDS IN-- AMIDST SUCH FEAR AND UNKNOWN BETWEEN
THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
BUT THE WHOLE TIME I'M WATCHING IT, AS BEAUTIFUL AS IT IS, I'M
THINKING, "GOD, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN SO UNCOMFORTABLE TO HAVE
ALL OF THAT SEA WATER ON TOP OF ALL THAT WOOL YOU'RE WEARING."
WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
>> YEAH, IT WAS-- YOU KNOW, IT WAS ALL VERY CHALLENGING.
I'LL BE HONEST.
THE EXPERIENCE OF MAKING THE FILM WAS VERY HARD.
MARY ANNING HAD LIVED A VERY HARSH LIFE.
AND, YEAH, AS YOU YOU SAY, AT TIMES VERY BLEAK.
AND SHE WAS ISOLATED.
SHE WORKED ALONE.
SHE LIVED LARGELY ALONE WITH THIS QUITE DIFFICULT, CAN
TANKUOUS MOTHER.
AND ON MEETING SAOIRSE'S CHARACTER, CHARLOTTE MURCHISON,
SOME GENTLE JOY COMES INTO HER LIFE.
IT WAS A REAL PRIVILEGE TO BE ABE TO GIVE MARY, I THINK, A
RELATIONSHIP THAT FELT-- THAT FELT WORTHY OF HER AND TO PAIR
HER WITH AN EQUAL WITH A WOMAN WAS JUST A REALLY WONDERFUL
EXPERIENCE.
AND I HAD TO LIVE A SORT OF STRANGE ISOLATED LIFE, THOUGH,
WHEN I WAS PLAYING HER.
BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE AN ACTOR THEY PUT YOU UP IN HOTELS
AND THEY MAKE IT COMFORTABLE FOR YOU.
AND I JUST KNEW I COULDN'T REALLY DO THAT.
BECAUSE I HAD TO-- I HAD TO DO EVERYTHING I COULD TO SORT OF BE
MARY.
I GOT A BIT METHOD.
I LIVED IN A LITTLE COTTAGE BY MYSELF FROM MONDAY UNTIL FRIDAY
ON THE BEACH.
AND IT WAS SO-- IT WAS SO ISOLATED AND COLD AND RATTLY,
THAT WHEN THERE WAS A BIG STORM THE WAVES WOULD HIT THE WINDOWS
OF THE HOUSE AND THE POWER WOULD GO DOWN, AND I WOULD LIKE THERE
THINKING, "KATE, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?
GO TO THE HOTEL WITH EVERYBODY ELSE."
>> Stephen: CLUB SANDWICH AND ORDER FRIES.
>> HONESTLY, I WOULD EAT THIS WEIRD SOUP AND I WOULD WALK
AROUND SKETCHING THINGS AND TRYING TO LIVE BY CANDLELIGHT.
IT WAS RIDICULOUS, ACTUALLY.
IT WAS RIDICULOUS.
>> Stephen: WE HAVE A CLIP HERE.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS CLIP?
>> I THINK THIS IS A CLIP WHEN-- THIS IS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF
CHARLOTTE'S MARY'S ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP BEGINNING, AND
THEY'RE OUT ON THE BEACH, AND TOGETHER THEY DISCOVER-- THEY
DISCOVER A FOSSIL TOGETHER.
>> Stephen:EATE, JIM.
>> MARY, LOOK WHAT'S FALLEN DOWN.
THE ROCK THING.
>> IT'S TOO BIG.
IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE.
>> YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME.
>> Stephen: KATE, IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
>> GREAT TO SEE YOU, TOO.
THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: YOU CAN SEE "AMMONITE" IN SELECT THEATERS
NOW AND ON VIDEO ON DEMAND THIS FRIDAY.
KATE WINSLET, EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH THE AUTHOR OF "LONG TIME COMING:
RECKONING WITH RACE IN AMERICA," MICHAEL ERIC DYSON.
THANKS, KATE.
♪ ♪ ♪