welcome to the show for having me I've
never been here before yeah it's great
to have you your show is fantastic thank
you very much thanks looking back there
laughs oh that's that's what I hope
that's what I would hope congratulations
season two the this the show started off
in a way that I think very few people
could have predicted in how it connected
I mean everyone assumed because of the
cost it was gonna be successful but a
story about domestic abuse and the
community where there are lies that are
being told doesn't seem like it's gonna
be as viral as its become what do you
think the show owes its success to well
I think it's sort of a peek behind the
curtain about how women really feel I
mean a lot of us larger Nicole Kidman
myself when we were doing season one we
would marvel at the fact that we
actually had lines and scenes with each
other right when you know so much of our
early careers had been we were the only
woman on set so now it was this real
exploration into the private lives of
women like really dealing with serious
issues whether it was sexual assault or
domestic violence infidelity we kind of
tackled it all from a woman's
perspective it seems like an everyday
world where extraordinary things are
happening that's what it really feels
like in this space and you have all of
these women who are interacting with
each other but what's what's crazy and I
don't wanna spoil what happens at the
end of season one but but there is a
death
we don't know who's killed or who has
been killed or why they've been killed
by whom but the second season as we've
seen in the clip the second season you
should I tell you but what are you sure
I think you like spoiling shows don't
spoil it I know what happens at the end
of Game of Thrones to don't spoil
anything
before anything an Avengers is please no
please will censor everything no no you
have Meryl Streep coming in for season
two yes that's like--that's does that
just take everything to another level
because you've already got like a
stellar cast that everyone loves and you
go you add Meryl Streep it feels like
that's stacking that's like team
stacking that's unfair Nicole and I'm
pretty shocked when she wrote us an
email and she said okay I think I'll
join your show cuz I think it needs a
boost where you thought I was so great
and then day one scene one I had to be
faced off with Meryl it wasn't that
scene but it was a very similar scene
and I was like I think I got so
tongue-tied I was like I bad a bad bad
bad bad and I was like hold on I had to
go behind a curtain go okay you're
Madeline you're Madeline you're not
you're not Reese you're Madeline and
your top fit I was like okay now I got
it and I still went out there and I
stuttered a little bit bit but she cause
she was very thoughtful
she comes in playing a huge role as well
though because because we do know that
there's a there's a man who's being
killed in season one and Meryl comes in
I'm not supporting that part but then
like Meryl comes in and Meryl comes in
going I want to find out what happened
to my son and it really creates a new
dynamic but who kills him you're gonna
make me spoil the thing I feel like I'm
trying to avoid the spoilers and you
you're like the Jedi mind trick you into
spoiling everything but she but she
comes in and creates a new dynamic where
you now have a world where it's women
who are together and then it's women who
are fighting amongst each is the dynamic
in the she does really and I think the
what's really kind of fascinating too is
because we have multiple generations in
the show and it kind of talks about
different waves of feminism and how
exactly different women feel about the
response to a loved one being accused of
a crime or whether or not her someone
she's related to is guilty of a crime
yes so and also what is a mother's love
so it's just
fascinating exploration of every side of
it do you defend him do you defend his
honor even after his death and and I
mean she was just amazing and she had so
many great ideas - the fascinating thing
is like not only do you get to work with
her but then you get to go and have
dinner with her and she tells you all
her amazing ideas so you're just like
it's incredible it's like a master class
I really great I genuinely think the
show's gonna get even bigger if that's
possible just just just by adding that
addition to the show and the storylines
but it feels like this is very much what
you are all about right now you you have
a production company that's been really
successful I mean because it's not just
this show you also have big little lies
you also have gone girl as well that
your production company produced and it
feels like the storytelling that you
have is is really in touch with stories
about women but not stories that are
full of stories for everyone which
people for some reason didn't realize
you could make has that been your
mandate for the company yeah I think you
know a few years ago I just decided I
was sick and tired of reading terrible
parts for women and and if it wasn't
good enough for me and it wasn't good
enough my friends it wasn't good enough
for my daughter to be watching how women
were represented in the world so I just
decided to do it myself and started with
buying books and turning them into TV
shows and I just finished one with
Jennifer Aniston which is really great
yeah and then I'm starting my next when
I start next week is with Kerry
Washington based on a book called little
fires yes you read like four or five
books a month I read a lot of books yeah
and then you just go like I'm gonna turn
these into movies some of them not all
of them no I mean like the ones that you
that you really love though the ones I
really love you take a passion and you
and you create something I think there's
a better spectrum of female the female
experience than what we're really seeing
in film and television and then right
the great the emergence of streaming has
made that just an opportunity to to
broaden the storytelling for women and
and for every every person that feels
like they haven't seen themselves
represented in film it's a great time to
be a creator people love you because you
you represent the stories you're a
fantastic actor on screen you you're one
of the biggest names in Hollywood and
also recently because you've been a face
and one of the main you know propulsive
forces in the times up
movement that movement gained steam
because it was women saying hey we're
sick of these ideas that are happening
we're sick of these these things that
are happening to us and time is up when
you look at what has happened from the
time you are part of the inception and
you look at how far we've gotten now
what are you most proud of and what do
you still think we need to work on well
I think you know women need to feel safe
in the workplace I mean I think if women
in Hollywood are standing up and saying
we don't feel safe you got to think
about our sisters who are working in the
farm lands and our sisters who are
working in the restaurant service or the
hotel workers and I think the thing I'm
proudest of the times of movement is
raising 22 million dollars for a Legal
Defense Fund through the National
Women's Law Center it's not about a
bunch of Hollywood women saying you know
boohoo poor us it's actually going what
can we do for our sisters who don't have
any legal recourse and how can we use
our collective influence to help them so
and and band together because we are in
this together and the more you know we
do for each other the better we all are
I'm excited for everything you're doing
on screen upstream thank you so much for
joining us on the show
wonderful
welcome air on HBO June 9th Reese
Witherspoon everybody
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