- I can barely learn my lines
I had to walk and talk.
(gasps)
Oh my goodness, okay. (laughs)
I'm actually scared for this one.
It's gonna be okay, just have fun.
Oh.
This was a tough scene for Brenda.
Hey, I'm Brenda Song
and today I'm doing Breakdown Breakdown with Cosmo.
Today I'm reliving some of the most dramatic moments
in my career and giving you all the
behind the scenes stuff of what really happened.
Let's do it, I'm excited actually.
- Have you buckled your seatbelt?
- I was going to, but this outfit just wrinkles so easily.
So I thought- - Just do it.
- The funny thing is people, I was actually learning
how to drive when we were filming this
and this car was a manual and I got in the car
and I looked at Phil and I was like,
"Phil, why are there two like pedals?
I don't know what to do."
- Now, are you familiar with the gear shift?
- You mean the prndl?
(laugh track) - The what?
- Ah, the iconic prndl.
The funny thing is, when we were filming this
obviously I thought it was really funny.
I had no idea that to this day,
people still ask me about the prindle.
It's pretty awesome.
Also, I really love this outfit.
- Are you referring to the shift lever that says P-R-N-D-L?
- Oh, Phil made me laugh so many times
when he does the am and the fm.
He made me crack up so many times.
I think we have so many ruined takes
because he made me laugh.
He made me break character so many times.
You're making me nervous with all this technical talk!
Oh my gosh, what is this?
(gasps)
Oh my goodness, okay. (laughs)
I'm actually scared for this one.
Look at baby Brenda.
Oh God.
Oh my gosh, I was so nervous and the thing is like,
Aly, Aly Michalka is one of my like,
a really good friend of mine and she's such a good singer
and I remember being so nervous and she coming up to me like
"It's gonna be okay, just have fun."
So I am not a singer at all.
Even though my last name is Song, I am not a singer.
and when this came about, I did not wanna do this.
I was very scared, but also the opportunity
to be able to sing like such an iconic song
with such iconic people I couldn't say no to
but I was terrified because I do not sing, guys.
I hope this clip died somewhere
but also like I got to be with Kyla, Kyla's the best
and also like fun fact is, the Proud Family's coming back
and I'm on the new season of Proud Family
which is like a huge thing
'cause I loved the show growing up.
So full circle.
- Why does your status say single on your Facebook page?
- What? - Oh my gosh.
This was so crazy.
Relationship status say single on your Facebook page?
- I was single when I set up the page
- Andrew was so good in this scene, like...
What?
- I don't know how.
- I remember when we were filming this,
I didn't really know a lot about Facebook
because I didn't have a Facebook
and so I had to learn a lot about it while filming this
and a lot of people always ask me, like,
where did you channel this jealous, crazy girlfriend from?
I was like, channel it?
Uh, it came kinda natural.
(laughs)
(phone rings)
It's Mark.
I have not seen this in so long, oh my God, I was a baby.
Have you ever seen me wear a scarf?
- This will be your first.
- Oh my gosh, this was so... this is so much fun.
So the funny thing is, I didn't know how to use a lighter
and I had to... David Fincher tried to take me aside
and teach me how to use like a little flick up lighter.
So anytime I like ever have to like light birthday cake
I'm like David Fincher taught me how to like use a lighter.
Working on this project was literally life changing
because David Fincher is one of my favorite
directors, filmmakers of all time.
Fight Club is one of my favorite movies,
being on set every day was like
the masterclass in filmmaking.
It was absolutely incredible.
I was also very nervous doing the scene 'cause...
but Andrew is such an incredible scene partner.
It was amazing.
The scene was so much fun to film.
We probably filmed this for like half a day.
David's infamous for doing a lot of takes
but the thing is they never felt excessive
and he likes you to do a bunch in succession
to sort of just break you out of that,
to get the most kind of like freeing performance.
and for me, I thought it was very advantageous
and I think I just loved being on set
with this project so much that
it never felt like it was like, too much.
I like, wanted more.
I was like, "We can shoot the scene for all day.
I'll be here for like two weeks shooting the scene.
I'll take it."
But I really haven't seen this in like,
since probably like we went to the premiere
'cause I don't like watching myself.
If I wasn't in this I'd probably watch this movie
so many times because personally, take myself out of it,
I think it's such an incredible movie
but because I'm in it, I can't watch it
and it kills me because it's such a good movie.
- Your husband's here to see you.
- Hey, what happened?
How did I get here?
- Jennifer, you were in an accident and you hit your head.
You don't remember me, do you?
- I don't even know your name.
- I'm Russell. - Oh my goodness.
- It's really nice to meet you.
Oh my God, the special effects makeup in this
was so much fun.
The makeup artist Megan was absolutely incredible.
I had never done anything like this before
so I was really nervous because I didn't want it to feel
like a skit or something like that.
Mike who plays like my fake husband, he was so lovely.
Made it such a comfortable set, we had such a good time
and we really got to just like have fun and to play
and I personally love this genre of film a whole lot.
So being able to do one was kind of like
checking off the bucket list.
Fun fact is we actually shot all this kind of stuff
at this like abandoned college campus in Pomona,
and it was so creepy.
Honestly, I've only seen this movie once
and so again, I don't like watching myself,
so it's like reliving... I was like, I forgot we did that.
Actually I had my producer's meeting for Dollface
in the middle of filming this.
I was filming in Malibu.
We did a night shoot and I finished probably
around maybe like six that morning.
I went home, I slept, I went to do my Dollface
producers meeting at like 2:00 PM and I was like delirious
and then I literally finished that and went straight
to work, drove right back to Malibu to go back to work
and I thought I like bombed my Dollface audition
because I was so tired, my eye was twitching, I was a mess
and I'm very, very fortunate that
they didn't think I was terrible. (laughs)
Oh my God, this vintage robe is absolutely incredible.
I love that robe so much.
(door slams) (knocking at door)
Fake door snap, because I couldn't actually shut it
because I couldn't shut it on her line.
That actually took a lot more finesse than we thought
and we did this in like one on both sides of...
with just one take with the camera
and so like all these clothes and stuff,
we had to rehearse this so many times.
I slipped on clothes, keeping the continuity.
I could barely learn my lines.
I had to walk and talk and then also not like,
pick up and throw a clothes around.
I was like, this is a tough scene for Brenda.
Are you picking up my-
- I clean when I'm upset!
- I have to be at the summit in an hour
and now I have an emotional induced migraine
that necessitates a cup of coffee.
Also I really miss that hair color.
This is a scene that I tested with Kat Dennings
when I tested with her for Dollface.
So this scene has a very special place in my heart.
In the middle of shooting secret obsession
I was also like, this was my audition scene.
I thought I like bombed my Dollface audition
because I was so tired, my eye was twitching, I was a mess.
I heard the tone of the show right away.
and I was like, oh my God.
Like it was the first time in a long time
that I just wanted like this part so badly
because it felt so good and it was so much fun.
In this new season of Dollface, you know,
we are coming from a post-pandemic world.
This is the last part of our official youth, stuck inside.
Just here, watering house plants.
But I also think it's a fun way to kind of
jumpstart the girls ready to get back into life,
back into society, ready to like have fun.
I think because we laid the groundwork of their friendship
in season one and who they are like for season two.
Specifically for Madison, season one, she's got it together
and at the end of season one,
obviously she has a big breakup, the pandemic happens.
So she's like, ready to get back, to dive into work,
to like, you know, let's do this
and then instead of getting promoted
like she thought she would, she gets let go.
It's a journey of self love, self confidence,
finding your own self-worth that isn't tied to work
or to like the guy she was dating or her success
and I think a lot of people can relate to that.
'Cause I think at some point, myself included,
we've all been there, where we thought we had it all
and then it all comes crashing down
and we don't know where to go from there
and you don't realize that when that happens
like the amazing thing is you can go anywhere.
- Pop that (beep)!
- That's how friends work.
- Wait, I think I know what this is.
- And what's your name, little girl?
- Susan, and I want a Magic Mary townhouse
with (indistinct) cars and a horse stable
and a new makeup set and a CD Walkman-
Oh my God, I will say this.
Okay, first of all, growing up, we loved like,
who didn't like Hulk Hogan?
He was so nice.
I remember like going to his trailer,
getting a signed picture for my brother.
I actually improv'd all of that.
Like my line, I was just supposed to like, you know,
just say like, what I wanted for Christmas
and I remember the director telling me like,
"Oh, just keep going, just keep going"
and I just kept going.
And I want a Magic Mary Townhouse
with (indistinct) cars and a horse stable.
- Oh my God, I can't believe how young I was.
I can't believe you found this, this is so crazy.
I also look exactly like my nieces. (laughs)
- My Leo? Sis?
- Auntie Frida!
- So I actually don't do a whole lot of voice work
but the thing about voice work that's really fun
is you get to do things that you'll never get to do ever
and I remember when this came about, I was like,
wait, this sounds so fun.
And this was one of the very few shows that like,
we would actually do with other actors, like in the booth
'cause that doesn't happen a lot
and so we would read it as like a whole cast,
some of these scenes, which was really, really cool.
Oh gosh, I almost don't even remember this.
This is crazy.
It's really intimidating because I'm not a voice actor
so I would go in and be like, guys, I'm a one trick pony.
This is all you get.
Like I can't do crazy voices.
(chipmunk voice) I can't do any of those things, this is it.
(normal voice) Actors in general go in there
and they can do so many incredible things with their voice
and also it's really freeing though,
because like especially when you're first recording
there's no animation, so you really have to imagine it
and that's always fun because you get to do so much
and the best thing about voiceover work is truly,
you should see like my hand movements
like you get to do crazy things with your body
to get your voice to a certain place, which is really fun.
(intense music begins)
(Brenda grunting)
Oh my gosh, Wendy Wu.
Okay, here's the thing about Wendy Wu
that people don't know is
I have a black belt in martial arts
and a lot of people don't know that
'cause I think a lot of characters I play are super girly
and so this was an opportunity to like,
show this other side that a lot of people didn't know
and what I really loved was at the time,
Disney Channel was already color blind casting
and being able to like tell stories about different cultures
and different races for especially the younger generation,
was such an incredible opportunity.
Getting to sort of like, send a positive message
about being different, being from someplace different,
eating different foods and also getting to
delve into a really fun genre that is
very different from London Tipton was so fun for me.
And I got to do wire work.
I'd been doing martial arts since I was like nine
and getting to like, put that to work was so much fun.
I actually miss this.
I would actually love to do like, some more action
just because this was so much fun
and this fight sequence, like when I was in the prom dress,
I was in heels and they actually had to tell me that I,
they're like, it's unsafe for you to do this in heels.
and I was like, I can do it in heels, I promise.
I'm so grateful to Disney Channel
for giving me the opportunity to play a lead in a movie
talking about like culture and things that
really weren't being represented on TV at the time
It was really fun and a real honor.
That was really fun and also like,
crazy going down memory lane. (laughs)