>> HI.
>> James: HOW NICE TO SEE YOU, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR BEING
HERE, NOW YOU KNOW EACH OTHER A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT, YOU WORKED
TOGETHER.
>> WELL, WE DID BACKSTAGE.
>> WE DO HAVE AN CREDIT IN COMMON, WAG THE DOG.
>> James: WHICH IS ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FILM, I LOVE
THAT FILM.
>> ST A GREAT FILM.
>> James: BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE SCENES TOGETHER.
>> NO, WE DIDN'T, HUH-UH.
>> James: WHY?
>> I WAS BASICALLY AN EXTRA IN THE WHITE HOUSE WAR ROOM.
AND FOR MANY YEARS I WASN'T 100 PERCENT SURE I WAS IN THE FILM
BECAUSE I WAS WATCHING ON A VCR OR HBO, BUT RECENTLY BECAUSE OF
NETFLIX I WAS ABLE TO SLOW IT DOWN AND CONFIRM THAT I AM IN
THE MOVIE.
>> THAT'S GOOD.
>> James: LOOK AT THAT.
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT SHOOTING THAT FILM.
>> I WAS IN A SCENE WITH ROBERT DE NIRO AND DUSTIN HOFFMAN AT
THE SAME TIME.
>> James: INCREDIBLE.
>> I JUST THINK I WAS-- IT WAS ONE LONG TRACKING SHOT AND I
THINK I JUST REMEMBER JUST DON'T MESS UP THIS ONE LINE THAT YOU
HAVE, KIRSTEN BECAUSE YOU ARE WORKING WITH THESE TWO LEGENDS
RIGHT NOW.
>> James: I REALLY IMPLORE ANYBODY TO SEARCH THAT FILM OUT,
I LOVE IT.
NOW KIRSTEN SINCE YOU WERE LAST ON THE SHOW WE HAVE TO
CONGRATULATE YOU, YOUR SECOND SON EARLIER THIS YEAR.
>> I KNOW.
>> James: SO THRILLED FOR YOU.
ON A SCALE OF ONE TO EXHAUSTED, WHERE ARE WE?
WHERE ARE WE ON THAT.
>> A 0, NO, REALLY BELOW ONE, NO, LAST NIGHT WAS ROUGH, WE, WE
ARE ON A NEW, HE WAS SICK LAST NIGHT, WE ARE ON-- WE ARE REALLY
IN IT.
>> James: THOSE NIGHTS.
>> THOSE NIGHTS.
>> James: THEY ARE BRUTAL.
>> EVEN JUST SLEEPING NEXT TO THEM, YOU DOB REALLY SLEEP.
>> James: NO.
>> AND THIS BLUE LIGHT, ARE YOU NOT SLEEPING, YOU'RE NOT
SLEEPING.
>> James: YOUR KIDS ARE A LITTLE OLDER.
>> YEAH, THEY ARE 8 AND 13.
>> James: AND YOU ARE RIGHT, YOU ARE WRITING A BOOK FOR
TEENS.
>> YES, I HAVE WRITTEN A MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL CALLED TROUBLE
MAKER.
AND YEAH, I WAS ACTUALLY SET TO WRITE KIND OF A FUN MYSTERY
NOVEL BUT IT WAS LAST YEAR AND THE PANDEMIC HIT AND GEORGE
FLOYD WAS MURDERED AND THERE WAS ALL THIS ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE.
AND I WAS TRYING TO-- I WAS STRUGGLING WITH HOW TO TALK
ABOUT IT WITH MY KIDS AND MY THOUGHT DRIFTED AND I WENT BACK
TO THE RIOTS IN 1992 AND THINKING ABOUT THAT.
SO THE STORY CONCERNS A BOY WITHOUT COMES HOME FROM SCHOOL
ON THAT DAY.
HIS SHOP OWNER FATHER IMOAS TO THE STORE IN SOUTH CENTRAL TO
BOARD IT UP AND HE IN A MISGUIDE ADD TEMPT TO WIN HIS AFFECTION
DECIDES THAT HIS FATHER MUST HAVE A GUN TO PROTECT HIMSELF.
SO HE SNEAKS OUT OF THE HOUSEnd DELIVERS A GUN TO
HIS FATHER AND THAT IS THE STORY OF THE NOVEL.
>> WOW, I SEE THAT RUNNING QUITE DEEP, I THINK IT A WONDERFUL
THING TO TALK ABOUT IN MANY WAYS.
>> I GUESS I CAME TO THE REALIZATION, I WAS LIKE ARE
THESE SUBJECTS TOO MATURE, SO I THOUGHT YOU KNOW WHAT, I THINK
IT SAY DISSERVICE TO ACTUALLY NOT TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS WITH
CHILDREN NOW.
BECAUSE IT IS IN THEIR LIVES, WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT.
>> WITH YEAH.
>> GUNS, RACISM, WHATEVER IT IS.
WHAT AGE WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED ACTING.
>> I MEAN CAN YOU CALL IT ACTING, I WAS LIKE THREED
MODELING IN NEW YORK AND LITTLE COMMERCIALS.
>> James: SO WHEN YOU MOVED HERE YOU MOVED IN, IT WAS QUITE
INFAMOUS, THE APARTMENTS.
>> James: WHERE THE LOTS OF CHILD STARS AND PEOPLE WOULD GO
AND STAY.
>> IT IT WAS A SAFE VIEMENTD FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE IN WITH THEIR
CHILDREN AND IT WAS FURNISHED APARTMENTS.
SO YOU FELT SAFE, YEAH.
>> James: WHAT WAS IT LIKE.
>> WELL BE, IT WAS LIKE, WELL, WE KIND OF KEPT TO OURSELVES BUT
I DO REMEMBER, WHEN I BOOKED INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE WHICH
WAS OBVIOUSLY SUCH A BIG DEAL, SO MANY AUDITIONS.
I REMEMBER LIKE THE NEXT DAY GOING TO THE LOCAL CONVENIENCE
STORE AND ONE OF THE LITTLE GIRLS THERE WAS LIKE OH, MY
AGENT SAYS I AM GOING TO BE THE NEXT KIRSTEN DUNST, AND I WAS
LIKE THAT'S ME, LIKE SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO SHE WAS TALKING
ABOUT AND IT WAS ALREADY LIKE A THING, LIKE THIS LITTLE GIRL GOT
THIS THING.
>> James: AND NOW LOOK AT YOU, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT
YOUR BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE IN YOUR INCREDIBLE NEW MOVIE, THE
POWERS OF THE DOG.
THE REVIEWS ARE SENSATIONAL.
>> I'M VERY LUCKY, YEAH.
>> James: PEOPLE ARE TALKING, OSCAR BUTZ, ALL THOSE THINGS,
FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW, TELL US WHAT THE FILM IS ABOUT
AND WHO YOU PLAY.
>> IT IS HARD TO SUM UP PRETTY QUICKLY BUT IT IS BASICALLY I
PLAY A WIDOW ROW WHO RUNS AN INN AND MY SON AND I MOVE TO THIS
RANCH.
AND I MARY GEORGE AND HIS BROTHER STARTS TO GASLIGHT ME.
HE DOESN'T WANT ME THERE AND HE STARTS TO PSYCHOLOGICALLY
TORTURE ME SO THAT IS THE FILM.
>> James: IT IS A BIG BROAD COMEDY.
>> IT IS A HUGE COMEDY.
>> James: IT LIKE THE HANGOVER.
>> IT IS A MUSICAL, THERE IS PIANO PLAYING, I PLAY PIANO IN
THE FILM.
>> DO YOU REALLY.
>> I DO, I LEARNED PIANO FOR THE FILM.
>> James: HOW HARD WAS THAT.
>> IT WAS HARD T WAS REALLY HARD, ACTUALLY BUT I JUST, IT'S
HARD TO TALK ABOUT HOW HARD EVERYTHING IS SOMETIMES AS
ACTORS, OKAY, I DID THOUGH LEARN HOW TO FLAY TWO PIECES, ONE WAS
CUT OUT WHICH IS KIND OF A BUMMER BECAUSE EVERY NIGHT I
WOULD BE LIKE ONE HAND, ANOTHER HAND, AND THEN WHEN I FINALLY
COMBINED THE HANDS, I CRIED AND THANKED GOD. IT IS VERY HARD TO
LEARN AN INSTRUMENT WHEN YOU ARE OLDER.
>> James: IT REALLY IS.
I HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS TO PLAY THE PIANO.
IT IS JUST NOT GOING, I DON'T WANT TO THRERN TO FLAY, I WANT
TO JUST BE ABLE IT TO PLAY, JUST DIVE IN THERE.
>> BENEDICT IS JUST LEARNING HOW TO ROLL CIGARETTES.
>> HE LEARNED A LOT OF OTHER THINGS TOO BUT ROLLING
CIGARETTES ONE-HANDED.
>> OH, ONE-HANDED.
>> THAT IS KIND OF LIKE, I WOULD JUST BE LIKE THIS.
>> I WOULD PAY TO SEE THAT.
>> >> James: NOW THERE IS SOME
PIANO PLAYING IN THE CLIP YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE, CAN YOU SET UP
THIS CLIP FOR US.
>> SURE, SO BENEDICT'S CHARACTER IS GAS LIGHTING ME AND KIND OF
TRUMPING ME WITH HIS ARTISTRY AND TRYING TO INTIMIDATE ME
BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO FRA FOR THIS BIG DINNER WE ARE ABOUT TO
HAVE.
>> James: LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT A CLIP FROM THE POWER OF THE
DOG, IN THEATERS STREAMING ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 1ST..