-Welcome back, everybody!
I'm here with the one-and-only Taylor Swift!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Last time you were here,
we talked about your short film "All Too Well."
It was about to come out.
And then it went on to win three VMAs,
including Video of the Year.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Do you think you'll direct all of your videos
from here on forward?
-I really love doing it. -You're great at it.
-Thank you so much. -Yeah.
-Writing them and then directing them --
that's kind of the way that it works in my head.
If I write it, then I can shot-list it
and I can storyboard it and I know how to shoot it.
So it's -- They kind of go hand in hand.
-Yeah.
-If someone else wrote the concept or the treatment
or the manuscript or whatever,
I don't think I would love it as much.
But it's the thing that goes hand in hand,
the writing and directing.
-"Anti-Hero," the -- It's hilarious.
It's fantastic. -Thank you!
-I love it. It's so good. -Thank you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-My favorite -- Besides some of the casting,
my favorite is when you're, like,
I feel like a giant's coming in and, like,
kind of ruining the party and coming in and not --
And you sneak in and you're a giant at this dinner party.
And they're all freaking out, screaming.
-Yeah.
-But then you eat -- -Too big to hang out.
-But then -- Yeah.
But then you eat some of the food with this tiny fork.
-Yeah. It was really -- It was such a blast,
because we had -- We shot that in two-sized rooms, right?
Like, one of the rooms had
our actors who were at the dinner party,
and it was a normal-sized room.
And they had to act with, like, a laser pen.
And I'd just be, like, "And a monster's coming in the room.
Follow the laser pen.
It's a scary monster." -And that's you, yeah.
-And then we had a teeny, tiny little room
with a teeny, tiny table.
We just had the most amazing --
We had the most amazing production design
and we had the most incredible crew.
And they just got me those tiny little forks.
-Yeah. -And tiny little wine bottle.
-A little, tiny wine bottle. -It was just incredible.
-It's so well-done, and you cast some great people
in here to play --
-Oh, yeah, I was really lucky with
the casting of my beautiful children.
-Mary Elizabeth Ellis, John Early,
and, of course, Mike Birbiglia, right there,
who is one of the funniest human beings I know.
-Absolutely.
-And you were saying that I might have had
something to do with him getting cast?
-Well, so, I -- One of the prerequisites
of when I cast anyone for anything is like, "Are they fun?
And are they nice?
And are we gonna have a fun time on set?"
Obviously, like, talent -- that's number one,
like, "Do you fit the part?"
But then there's also this sort of caveat of like,
"Well, like, we're gonna be on set for a while.
Like, is this gonna be a blast or is this --
You know, does this person have, like,
this internal struggle with what they do
and they can't stand acting, but they're good at it?
Like, it's -- I meet a lot of people out and about,
and that's how I'll cast things.
So, you had a pizza party, and I went to it.
And I ended up in a corner talking to
Mike Birbiglia and his wife, Jen, who's a poet, all night.
They're the most wonderful people.
And I just remember thinking -- 'Cause I'd seen Mike in things
and I'd seen some of his --
You know, he does these amazing shows.
He just makes such thoughtful performances and comedy.
-He has a new one coming out on Broadway.
-Yeah, he has one that I can't wait to see.
-Yeah.
-And, so, I was talking to them and I was just thinking --
I'd written the "Anti-Hero" video.
And I was like, "He's perfect.
I want him to play my son Preston."
My future son. -Yeah, future son Preston.
-My country-club-going son, Preston.
-And they get in a big argument over the will
and what you left them.
-Yeah, it was great.
Like, I also met Mary Elizabeth Ellis at a party.
And, so, that's -- It's a great way to...
-Cast. -...to cast stuff.
-Just go to parties.
-You don't -- You know, nobody has to audition.
Just come up and say hi at a party.
-We had amazing pizza that night.
And then -- -It was great. It was a blast.
I mean, there's some good pictures from that night, too.
-Well, you had this camera. You had a really cool camera.
I don't know -- it was, like,
something from the '80s or something.
-Push the button, it goes flash.
-Yeah, and it's real film. -Then you remember it.
-And, so, there's a nice photo that I really appreciate you --
I don't know how this happened.
But at one point, we ended up doing a cheerleader pyramid.
-That's -- Yeah. That's because --
-That's me there.
-Yeah. That's because wine, as well.
-Yeah, wine. Wine was involved, yeah.
-That's -- -And there's Mike.
And there's Jack.
And then I thought it'd be funny --
'Cause we were having fun.
And there was other people on this side, too.
And I was taking your camera
and I just I kept taking photos of other things.
-Yeah, yeah.
Which everybody loves that guy. You know what I mean?
'Cause then you go and you get the candid shots.
And then I develop the pictures. I'm like, "That's so great.
I didn't know that happened."
-Yeah. And then you're in some of the photos,
'cause it usually -- If it's your camera,
you're taking all the pictures.
-Yeah, it's a good guy to be. -Yeah.
And then I took probably the worst photo
I've ever seen of myself ever.
-Let's see it.
-I'm gonna show it because -- but I'm upset to really show it.
I'm not -- know if I'm ready for this.
But Jack keeps sending this to me
because he thinks it's the funniest thing.
It's so bad. [ Drumroll ]
Honestly, this is, like, therapeutic for me.
Alright, here it is, a selfie that I took of myself.
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Sad tuba plays, cymbal crash ]
-Wow. [ Laughs ]
-What -- It's so gross.
-It's so beautiful.
-It looks like I have tape on my nose.
-I just never thought I'd see inside of your brain.
It's so special to get to see all the way up the nostril,
into the nasal cavities.
-It's the worst thing I've ever seen.
And I go, "I have to just -- I have to lay it all out there."
Like, I'm taking lessons from you from "Midnights."
I'm laying it all out there. -That's a gorgeous photo.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Because that's what the night really was.
Okay? -Oh, my gosh.
-Pyramid, everybody's posing. -This I love.
-This was the mode I was in that night.
This is the goal I'm trying -- -Whew!
And you can't delete film.
You know what I'm saying?
That is the most embarrassing -- I'm sweating.
Can you feel the heat coming off of me?
It's so bad.
You've announced that a new video
is coming out at midnight tonight.
-Yes, yes! [ Cheers and applause ]
-It's around midnight.
It's around midnight right now.
Can you say what song this video is for?
-It's for a song called "Bejeweled."
[ Cheers and applause ]
Oh, good. -Love it.
-They approve. -Yes.
-Okay, so, basically, the first video, "Anti-Hero,"
I was like, "This is gonna be the first single."
And I knew that.
But I was like, "I want to make a video
that is just for the fans who like certain things,
like glitter and Easter eggs and lots of little cameos."
And, so, basically,
I was thinking about "Midnights," the concept
and I was like, "Where do we hear about midnights a lot?"
We hear about it a lot
when we talk about the Cinderella fairy tale.
And so I was like,
"What if we did a little twist on a Cinderella story?
And I could cast my friends."
You know, like, my best friends, the Haim sisters --
what if they played the step-sisters?
[ Cheers and applause ]
And I was like, "What if we really shoot for the stars
with the other casting, with, like --
You know, what if it was, like,
Oscar winner Laura Dern playing my step-mother?"
-How'd you get in touch with Laura Dern?
-It was like, "Oscar winner Laura Dern..."
-Yes. -"...hello.
Um, I've written a script.
It's a one-scene script in which you are going to call me
a "tired, tacky wench."
-And she was like, "I'm in." -And she was like, "I'm down."
She's the coolest. She's so funny.
She's another one. I'm like, "Friend."
-Yes. -"You are my friend now."
-How do you direct Laura Dern, Oscar winner Laura Dern?
-Oh, I mean, you know, directing Oscar winner Laura Dern
is easier than anything I've ever done in my life.
-Yeah, just she just goes, "I know how to do it, yeah."
-Well, yeah, I mean, she's just the greatest.
And she's -- I mean, I don't --
I don't even believe I'm saying things like this.
-And then -- And so, then, we have one of
my favorite performers, who I think
has been so influential in pop music.
And I've nicknamed this character
not the Fairy Godmother, but the Fairy Goddess,
and that is played by Dita Von Teese,
who is, I think, one of the most iconic performers.
And it's so exciting to get to see her
do what she does in this.
-Yes. -Jack Antonoff is in it.
The genius, legendary make-up artist
and creator Pat McGrath is in it.
-Oh, yeah.
-So, I'm really, really, really excited.
-And this one, you were saying, but I will let you say again.
This has maybe the most Easter eggs.
-A psychotic amount.
It is like -- We have a PDF file
for the Easter eggs in this video.
-Yes!
-Because there are so many that we could not keep track.
-Oh, I love it. Alright.
Everyone, check it out right now
and see how many Easter eggs you can find.
We love it every time you are here.
You hit a home run with this one, buddy.
-Thank you so much!
-A home run.
We love you. Taylor Swift, everybody.
The new album, "Midnights," is out now.
Meghan Trainor joins us after the break.
Stick around!