-Hi, Jessica, how are you?
-I'm good. How are you? -I'm doing wonderful.
It's lovely to see you.
You know, one of the trickiest parts of this time
we're living through is people not seeing loved ones.
But you're very lucky. You're actually quarantining with your grandmother.
-Yes, my grandmother was quarantining by herself.
She started in February.
She was ahead of the whole
government, you know, recommendation,
and she got really lonely.
So, starting beginning of April, she drove to my house,
and we have been quarantining ever since.
We're exercising and cooking. And she's a good hangout buddy.
-That's pretty great because not a lot of people,
you know, in adulthood
get to spend that much quality time with a grandparent.
So, in a way, you guys
have found a pretty nice silver lining.
-Yeah, I mean, she's a pretty cool grandparent.
You know, her Instagram handle is, like, @motorcyclegramma,
so, you know, she's not your typical grandma.
-Yeah, that's definitely -- I'm pretty sure that handle
was available when she went looking for it.
-She didn't have to fight for that one.
It's not "motorcyclegramma1."
-Right. [ Laughs ]
So, congratulations on this movie.
This is a female-led, female-produced spy thriller
called "The 355."
And the name has significance, right?
-Yeah.
I learned about 355, the name, from actually the consultant
that I'd worked with on "Zero Dark Thirty,"
and she told me that 355 was the code name
for the first female spy during the American Revolution.
And no one knows her real name to this day,
but that was how she was acknowledged.
She was this invisible person who really,
you know, helped us -- helped our country.
So, women today in espionage in the United States
use that moniker as a badge of honor, like, 355.
The women doing the work behind the scenes.
-And this was your idea, right?
To have a movie like this that had a bunch of, you know,
female action stars doing an espionage thriller.
It's sort of based on the fact that you were seeing
that it was happening on the other side.
-Yeah, I had seen so many movies
with, you know, ensembles with male actors
that were great films and great actors.
But I was wondering, like, why don't we have movies with women?
I had known that in real life
women are at the forefront of espionage.
And it kind of, in some sense, was a wish list of mine.
Because I got to work with Penelope Cruz
and Lupita Nyong'o and Diane Kruger
and Fan Bingbing and these incredible actresses
that, you know, in the past, our industry hasn't been so great
at allowing more than one woman on a set at the same time.
They don't want us in the same room.
So, yeah, I wanted to do it,
and I guess I kind of made it happen.
-You, I guess, presented the idea that a film like this
would necessarily then need a Bond Boy,
the sort of alternative to the Bond Girls that
we've gotten used to over the last, I guess, 50 years.
And was that --
How were you greeted with the idea of the Bond Boy?
-Well, you know, I had realized
that men have been discriminated against for so long
because they had only been known for their skills
and their talent and their knowledge
and the things that they say,
and they were not acknowledged for their sexual desirability
in the way that women have had.
So I thought, you know what?
It's about time we do men justice
and let's have some Bond Boys.
So, I just said it as a tweet, as a joke,
and the funny thing is I actually received requests
and submissions from people to be Bond Boys.
-That's -- I mean, that says a lot because
based on the history of Bond Girls,
you're really on the chopping block
as far as your character's,
you know, ability to survive a whole film.
But you got some pretty --
You got some really nice hunks in this film.
I tip my cap. -Yeah. I will say.
And also, too, it's time
that the guys get to be eye candy, too.
-Yeah. Why not?
You know, they're the ones that are floating
in the middle of a pool and somebody goes, "Whoa."
-Well, I don't want to give too much away,
but I will say that not all of them
have a successful journey in our film.
-Hey, such is the life of a Bond Boy.
You know what? You get what you sign up for.
We actually have a trailer.
You know, we didn't show a clip on the way in because we have
something a little more substantial to show.
So let's take a quick look.
-The threat's not on the horizon.
It's here. Right now.
We're the only ones that can prevent World War III.
I'm putting together a team, and you're the best at what you do.
-We all work for different intelligence agencies --
American, British, Colombian, German, Chinese.
♪♪
But now we need to join forces.
-They have an army.
-What do we have? And please don't say each other.
-Never.
-I'm scared. -Good.
Only an idiot isn't scared.
♪♪
-We're The 355.
-I like the new team. -We'll take it from here.
♪♪
-I'm very pro anything that has the line "joining forces."
I like that a great deal.
-A lot of great movies have had that line.
Rival agents joining forces. -Right.
You're watching the trailer saying,
"I hope they can make it work."
You had to return to production. Was it in London?
Is that where you went back to finish up filming?
-Yeah, that's where we --
That was our base for when we shot the film.
And then we did some additional scenes right in the middle
of this whole 2020 situation we're in.
So in July, we went, and it was quite an ordeal.
You know, testing all the time.
We didn't have any cases. Thank goodness.
We were very, very careful and very safe.
And so I guess it proved that it can be done.
-One of the steps you had to take personally
was the self test.
I have also -- You know, we have protocols in place here.
And it's a mix of being tested and then also the self-swabbing.
How do you feel like you did as a self-swabber?
-Well, in the beginning, I was terrible.
Because, you know, you think --
You see all the -- hear the horror stories
about it has to go all the way up your nose.
And I was like, "This is just not going to work."
And I was always crying. And then I just got used it.
And the instructions say --
Just, you know, you stop when you feel a gentle resistance.
As soon as I realized that, I was like, "This is super easy."
And I still do it, actually,
because quarantining with my grandmother,
I want to make sure that there's
a safe environment that we're in.
I want to be responsible to the people around me.
So I test myself regularly.
-A couple times a week, I am doing the self-swab, as well.
And I can't believe I've reached this point.
And it's really depressing to be in a place where I'm like,
"I think I'm really good at this now.
I think I'm a really good self-swabber."
-"I am so good at putting things up my nose."
-It's also really fun to think of someone who's in that trailer
being like, "Uh, I don't want to put anything up my nose!"
-We actually did a -- I will say --
I'm sure you're really good at it, but I did hear
that there were a lot of big babies on our set,
and some of the biggest babies have the biggest muscles.
-[ Laughs ]
-Then I meant to say I was a baby about it.
So great to see you as always, Jessica.
I really look forward to the film.
And hopefully next time we can see you in person.
-I know. I look forward to being in a room together.
And let's finish off this year in a great place.
Nowhere to go but up, right? -That's sounds like
a very accurate framing of the situation we're in.
-Yes.