>>> WE’RE BACK WITH A MULTITALENTED MINDY KALING WHO
DIDN’T EVEN WRITE THAT, BUT IT
HAPPENS TO BE TRUE.
SHE’S MULTITALENTED AND WRITES
AND STARS IN THE NEW MOVIE "LATE
NIGHT."
NIGHT." >> PLAYS ON THE MOVIE A WRITER
ON A STRUGGLING LATE-NIGHT SHOW
DOESN’T HIT IT OFF WITH A HOST
PLAYED BY EMMA THOMPSON.
YOU’D NEVER KNOW IT WHEN THEY
GATHER FOR AN EVENT WITH
REPORTERS, HOW WOULD YOU
DESCRIBE MOLLY?
DESCRIBE MOLLY? >> MOLLY?
>> MOLLY? MOLLY -- MOLLY IS, OH --
>> SHE SAID I WAS A VIBRANT
SLASH OF LETTER COLOR ON THE
GRAY CANVAS OF OUR WRITING
STAFF.
STAFF. I WAS REALLY TOUCHED AND THEN
SAID SOMETHING TO ME I WILL
NEVER FORGET.
NEVER FORGET. SHE SAID TO ME DESPITE OUR VERY
DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS THAT I
REMINDED HER OF A YOUNGER HER.
>> A YOUNGER ME.
>> WONDERFUL?
>> WONDERFUL? >> PSHHHH.
>> PSHHHH. HUGE.
HUGE. >> MINDY, GOOD MORNING.
>> THANK YOU.
>> CARSON WAS MENTIONING YOUR
FIRST SCREENPLAY, KIND OF HARD
TO BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU ARE SUCH
A PROLIFIC WRITER?
>> DOING TV FOR A WHILE AND
THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A FUN
CHALLENGE.
CHALLENGE. >> YOU WERE AN INTERN TO CONAN
O’BRIEN.
O’BRIEN. >> I WAS.
>> I WAS. >> DID YOU BUILD FROM THERE?
>> SHE IS NOTHING LIKE -- A
TOUGH CHARACTER AND CONAN WAS
THE IDEAL BOSS, BUT, YOU KNOW
WHEN YOU’RE RESEARCHING THESE
LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOW HOSTS YOU
SEE HOW THESE BIG PERSONALITIES
ON CAMERA ARE VERY DIFFERENT
SOMETIMES THAN OFF-CAMERA.
>> YOU HEAR THAT.
A LOT OF RUMORS ABOUT THAT.
THAT’S OFTEN TRUE, THOUGH.
>> AND SO I WAS -- I THOUGHT
THAT WAS INTERESTING, BECAUSE
THE EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING THOSE
SHOWS IS SO FUN AND SO JOYFUL,
AND YOU THINK THAT THE
EXPERIENCE OF MAKING THEM WOULD
BE THE SAME.
SO OFTEN IN THE CASE IT’S NOT.
>> WIDELY REPORTED EMMA TOMPSHOM
WAS IN MIND WHEN YOU WERE
WRITING THE MOVIE.
SHE WAS HERE AND SAID YOUR DEBUT
SCRIPT WAS LITERALLY ONE OF THE
BEST SHE’S EVER READ.
>> EM NA THOMPSON SAID THAT.
DAME EMMA THOMPSON.
>> I KNOW.
DAME EMMA THOMPSON.
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT.
SHE IS HERSELF AND OSCAR WRITING
SCREEN ACTRESS AND WRITER,
COMING FROM HER AMAZING.
>> HER NAME IS KATHERINE AND
YOUR DAUGHTER’S NAME IS
KATHERINE.
KATHERINE. SUPPOSED TO CONNECT THE DOTS?
ACTUALLY SHE’S NOT A VERY NICE
CHARACTER.
CHARACTER. >> I’M UNCREATIVE.
THERE’S, LIKE, FIVE NAMES THAT I
LIKE.
LIKE. SAVANNAH, CARSON, KATHERINE.
>> MINDY.
>> MINDY. >> MINDY.
>> MINDY. >> AND WILLIE.
>> WILLIE!
>> WILLIE! WILLIE GEIST OUR OLD FRIEND.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> I WAS HERE TWO HOURS EARLY TO
SEE WHERE HE WAS.
COULDN’T FIND HIM.
>> SLEEPING IN TODAY.
NO.
NO. HE’S ACROSS THE STREET.
SO TELL ME ABOUT, WHEN YOU FIRST
STARTED, LIKE, WERE YOU KIND OF
LIKE THE CHARACTER IN THIS
MOVIE?
MOVIE? I MEAN, SHE WANTS TO GO IN THERE
AND KIND OF TELL THEM WHAT’S THE
WHAT AND HOW THEY SHOULD DO YOUR
JOBS.
JOBS. RIGHT?
RIGHT? >> WELL, MY CHARACTER?
>> YOUR CHARACTER.
>> THE CHARACTER IS A LITTLE
BASED -- I MEAN, I STARTED AT
THE "OFFICE" THE ONLY MINORITY
WRITER THERE FIRST YEAR I WAS
THERE.
THERE. IT WAS TERRIFYING.
BECAUSE FOR A WHILE WHEN YOU’RE
THE ONLY PERSON THERE YOU THINK
YOU REPRESENT ALL MINORITIES AND
ALL WOMEN AND I THOUGHT A LOT OF
PEOPLE FACE THAT IN THEIR
WORKPLACE.
WORKPLACE. EVEN THOUGH THIS CHARACTER HAS A
LOT OF FLAWS I WANTED TO WRITE
SOMETHING THAT WAS, A., REALLY
FUNNY AND B. REPRESENT PD WHAT A
LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH
AND DON’T SEE THEMSELVES IN THIS
KIND OF STORY.
>> AND WHEN YOU WRITE FOR
TELEVISION VERSUS LATE NIGHT, IS
DIFFERENCE?
DIFFERENCE? >> A GOOD QUESTION.
I HAD TO DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT
KINDS OF WRITING.
THERE’S WRITING DIALOGUE AND
THEN MONOLOGUE JOKES AND
STAND-UP JOKES.
STAND-UP JOKES. CHALLENGING.
CHALLENGING. AND MAKING SURE EVERYTHING WAS
REALLY -- ACTUALLY FUNNY.
THAT WAS HARD.
I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH, WITH A
LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO
WORKED FOR YOUR SHOW.
AND HAD GREAT THINGS TO SAY
ABOUT YOU.
ABOUT YOU. >> GOOD.
>> GOOD. I’M GLAD.
I’M GLAD. THANK GOD.
THANK GOD. I WAS SWEATING.
17 YEARS OF "LAST CALL" WILL DO
IT FOR YOU.
LATE-NIGHT SHOWS, AN INSTITUTION
THE CLASSIC LATE-NIGHT SHOW,
JOHNNY CARSON, JAY LENO AND A
NEW ONE HAPPENING.
WHAT WORLD DOES THIS TAKE PLACE
IN?
IN? >> THE TRADITIONAL BIG THREE
NETWORK, YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF
THING.
THING. THAT WAS, I READ EVERY BOOK
ABOUT ALL OF THOSE LATE-NIGHT
WARS.
WARS. SURE YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT.
YOU’RE ENTRENCHED IN THAT WHOLE
WORLD, BUT IT’S FASCINATING TO
ME.
ME. LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOWS STILL
SOMETHING WHERE EVEN IF I DON’T
ACTIVELY STAY UP AND WATCH A
TALK SHOW AT NIGHT I SEE CLIPS
ABOUT THEM.
ABOUT THEM. JIMMY KIMMEL, JIMMY FALLON.
THEY’RE A HUGE PART OF OUR
CULTURE.
CULTURE. >> AND BILL CARTER, "NEW YORK
TIMES"?
TIMES"? >> I READ A LOT OF BILL CARTER.
>> WROTE THAT BOOK.
>> WRITTEN TWO BOOKS ON TWO
DIFFERENT -- I DIDN’T TALK TO
HIM ABOUT IT BUT RESEARCHED EDED
LOT OF THIS WRITING.
>> DID YOU TALK, YOU TALKED
ABOUT BEING AT "THE OFFICE," A
WERE YOUNG WRITER, LOOKING
DIFFERENT THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
HOW DID YOU GET YOURSELF A PART
ON THE SHOW?
DID YOU WRITE IT AND SAY I THINK
I COULD PLAY THIS PART.
HOW DID YOU MAKE THAT LEAP IN
FRONT OF THE CAMERA?
>> MY BOSS HAD SEEN ME IN A PLAY
I HAD WRITTEN AND ALSO STARRED
IN AND HAD IN THE BACK THE
WONDERFUL THING IN "THE OFFICE"
IT LOOKED LIKE PEOPLE YOU KNOW.
DIDN’T HAVE TO LOOK LIKE MODELS
AND WANTED THE ROOM TO BE
DIVERSE AND HIRED ME THERE WAS
AN ACTING CLAUSE IN IT.
SECOND EPISODE, DIVERSITY DAY,
I’VE JUSTIFY SLAPPED STEVE
CARELL’S CHARACTER, THAT SHOULD
BE AN OFFENDED MINORITY WOMAN.
THERE I WAS IN THE ROOM.
HE’S GREAT.
HE’S GREAT. IT WILL BE YOU.
>> RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME.