I have to start this by saying a little anecdote:
you got me into college.
-I swear to God, my college entrance essay, -How?
I wrote about you.
I'm not even kidding.
The whole thing was, ‘When did you know you wanted to go into entertainment?’
And I said, 'Well, I was six years old,
sketching Jennifer Lopez
in the iconic green Versace gown.
Yes, I love that. Thank you.
A lot of times, people ask us, like, 'What would you do if you weren't doing this?'
We've often talked about retiring,
and what we're gonna do.
But then you hear things like this,
or, you know—
You don't ever want to retire because you go—
It means something to be able to—Like this film,
'Second Act' is representing so many things
that mean something to people,
which is why usually [you] become an entertainer
because you want people to feel something.
And we get to do that every day,
and so it's so pleasing to hear something like that.
Thank you.
What I love about this movie so much is that showing women who
are speaking when it might be uncomfortable
for them to do so.
Right.
Has there been a moment in your lives when you've had
to step up and speak your truth when it might not be comfortable?
I mean, it's not always celebrated.
No, it's not.
Women are realizing that we actually
have a right
and a place to say
and understand our own value,
and worth, to say how we feel,
and that it should be respected
and heard. That's a beautiful thing right now
because we both have little girls,
and so we wanna make sure that the
world they grow up in is one where they feel secure
and free to speak their minds
and how they feel.
All of the things that you would wish for them, so—
And not be labeled.
Right.
You know, you're labeled a lot, as you know.
- You know, if you're different. - Too strong! Too loud!
- Too opinionated! - Too manly, too girly, too—you know what I mean?
We're just changing,
and I think it's a wonderful time for women.
- I think it's a wonderful time for— - For people. We keep emphasizing
the women, but when we do this, it makes all
-people better and makes the world better, -Exactly.
and that's I think all that this is all about and the movie's about, too.
or whatever. That you have worth and value
and so long as you work hard
and you apply yourself, that you can accomplish great things
and you deserve just as good
a life and opportunities as anybody else.
How have you guys seen industry change?
- I think women are being heard. - I think it is changing.
I think victims are being heard, whether female, male.
And people are taking responsibility—or being forced to take
responsibility for the actions.
I will say that it has changed in that way that has being forced
to make change
and it's being forced to take action.
I grew up in the Bronx, Leah grew up in Brooklyn. To be able
to produce, you know, movies, television.
I'm doing things that I never even imagined when I was a little girl growing up in the Bronx,
where people told me I would never be doing any of what I'm doing—
let alone star in a movie, whatever.
But then, to be producing them, to be owning them, to be,
you know, having my own businesses, to be
creating—anything that comes into my mind,
I can do.
And that's what I want everybody to understand,
and that's what this movie’s about.
And you don't have to do just one thing, you can do many things,
and you can do them for as long as you want
and until the day you die you can keep having different
second acts. You can keep evolving
and reinventing yourself over
and over and over again.