All right, I'm going to start off by saying I love you.
I think you're awesome.
I have always loved you.
I think you're just incredible.
Wow.
Yeah, I think you're amazing.
It's mutual.
And we met years ago briefly at a Vanity Fair party.
Right?
I do remember that.
Yeah, just briefly.
But I haven't seen you since then.
And you've never been on the show, even though you had--
We kind of interconnected.
Yes, we have.
You have a big part of Dory in "Finding Dory."
She hears Sigourney Weaver's voice all the time.
And it's hilarious, right?
I love the way you say, my friend, Sigourney,
told me to do this.
Oh, hi, Sigourney!
I-- I need your help.
Won't you please join us--
Oh, wait, wait, wait!
--as we explore the wonders of the Pacific
Ocean and the amazing life it holds within.
Sigourney?
Sigourney Weaver, where are you?
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
Every time I was doing that in the recording studios, it was--
and it was so funny.
Like I said, you had such a huge impact on me
in a lot of your films, but especially Gorillas
in the Mist.
So when I was saying Sigourney Weaver over and over again--
and now I'm actually trying to build this campus in Rwanda
to join the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which
you have been a part of since you did that film.
Right?
I did.
I just-- I just have to say at the very beginning that this
gift that Ellen and the wilderness fund--
the Wildlife Fund are giving our Dian Fossey, and Africa,
and Rwanda, and the gorillas is going
to be such a game changer.
And it's just the generosity and brilliance
of the gift just absolutely overwhelms me.
And the way Portia came on and did
it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
I agree.
Thank you so much.
I couldn't believe she remembered that.
So I have been in love with animals
since I was a little girl, and especially with the gorillas,
and really, all of the animals in Africa that need protection.
But specifically, Dian Fossey, for some reason, touched me.
I remember reading about her in the National Geographic.
Did you-- were you aware of her before they
asked you to play that role?
Oh, yes.
I had actually read the book.
I remember thinking, this is the greatest job
in the world to go out in the field, and study animals
every day, and live with them.
And so she was a great hero to me.
And I remember reading the book and thinking,
well, it's too bad they can never make a movie of this
because you would never want to intrude
on the gorillas in their wilderness.
And so it was amazing to me that we actually made a movie of it.
And we were there.
And I was with her Study Group 5 and--
Yeah, I mean, I was jealous that you got to do that.
I was like, what a great role, like you said.
So tell me about what that was like the first day you were
there and you actually-- because you can't interact with
the gorillas anymore because they can get sick from us and--
Exactly.
But what was that like for you, the first day that you
got to touch a gorilla?
Well, it was absolutely incredible.
I had been taught, you know, to stay low
and to kind of go [LOW GUTTURAL SOUND],, which
is a gorilla sound for saying, hi, I'm cool.
How are you?
Just sitting here.
And you kind of pretend to eat the celery a little bit,
the wild celery.
You're going, [LOW GUTTURAL SOUND]..
So you're doing that.
I do that anyway, so that's good.
[LAUGHTER]
And-- and then I felt this warmth on my arm.
And this little gorilla, Josie, had come up,
and was kind of like this.
And I felt her before I saw her.
And it's just-- being with the gorillas
was the most exciting, transcending experience I've
ever had.
And I always loved animals.
But this is completely different because you're
sort of with your cousins.
I mean, you're with your family, only they're just that much
more wonderful than we are.
[LAUGHTER]
They don't make war.
They just make love, and you know, and play, and eat.
And they're just beautiful.
You're going to have a wonderful time.
I can't wait.
We're leaving-- we're going in June.
And we're going to visit the site where we're
going to build the campus.
And I'm going to see the gorillas.
And I mean, I'm just so jealous that I don't get to do that.
Like, I don't get to hold them like you did.
But just seeing them is going to make me so happy.
Yeah.
Didn't you get charged by a silverback once?
I did.
It's not in the movie because it was really
my angle that was so exciting.
I did.
I was--
What did you do wrong that it charged you?
Because I blame you.
Yeah.
I'm sure you're right.
You know, we'll never know.
But the big gorilla--
I stayed next to this very big silverback, Ziz,
who was about 450 pounds.
Because there was another silverback
named Pablo who used to grab women by their hair
and drag them down the mountain.
So by staying near Ziz, the big silverback,
he would keep his eye on Pablo.
So I always felt very safe next to him.
He's in around me all the time in the movie.
And one day, I came in.
And it was just me, and the cinematographer,
and the focus puller.
And I went up on a little rise, and we were looking down
at the gorilla group.
And I noticed that Ziz was like this, looking at me.
And it was unusual that I would attract
any attention, unless you were a baby
and wanted my food in my bag.
Because usually, I had babies all over me.
But today, I didn't.
And he just kept looking at me.
And he just got up.
And he beat his chest.
And he charged right up the hill at me.
And he swatted me.
And I-- I went over, of course, because he's very powerful.
And I just stayed down.
And I remember thinking, I know Dian is watching over me.
She wants this movie made.
[LAUGHTER]
She's not going to let anything bad happen to me.
But I could-- you know, I'm sure you've
been in these situations.
All I could hear was my heart beating
and the blood rushing through my veins
because everything is so--
you know.
And then I started to crawl away through the underbrush.
And I ran into this scientist, David Watts,
who was sort of our liaison.
And he had this huge grin on his face.
And he said, well, you've just joined a very exclusive club.
You've just been hit by a silverback gorilla.
And I was sort of like, (PANTS) yes, yes, I was.
[LAUGHTER]
I can't imagine having--
like, basically, you're telling me if I want them to--
I just do the [LOW GUTTURAL SOUND]
and then pretend to eat something.
The wild celery, these big, long strings there.
And do that, and then that's it.
Yeah, and you will be more comfortable.
I mean, you get--
the smell of the place.
Do they smell?
What do they smell like?
They smell so good.
They just smell-- they really do.
Well, it's a great earthy scent.
[LAUGHTER]
I question your sense of smell.
All right--
We'll have to talk about this after you go.
All right.