our next guest stars on the popular television comedy entitled The New Adventures of Old
Christine the third season premieres February 4th at 9 30 right here on CBS here's the lovely
Julia Louis Dreyfus ladies
[Music] [Applause]
[Music] [Applause] thank you how you doing Happy New Year and to you sir so so now the
the show is premiering in a in a couple of weeks really February 3rd right fourth fourth
Monday 9 30. third season beginning February 4th now yeah but then you did these shows
before The Writers Guild strike is that what it is yes we we had shot eight shows we're
in the middle of shooting episode number nine Riders strike hit we stopped shooting shut
down shut down completely and uh I even joined my writers on the picket line oh good for
you thank you very much
and that was uh very exciting and uh kind of invigorating and we even went to a Desperate
Housewives location shoot and we picketed there we made quite a Ruckus and we shut them
down oh great wow but it was a strange day for me because because um we got there there
about 20 Riders and we were marching up and down and and as and as the day uh went on
more and more writers joined and we're making a huge Ruckus and they were saying things
like Marsha don't cross that picket line and yeah yeah it's good it's good right they're
not writers for nothing [Applause] this one uh we we
write them wow that'll get them that'll get them right yeah take that Studios
and um and then they were just chanting things like we've got Julia yes we do come on Felicity
how about you blah blah so it was very it was very thrilling as you can imagine for
me and then what happened yeah look at that look at this there you are out there on the
very day supporting your fellow writers yeah
that picture was on the front page of the LA Times or something like that and my son
saw it and I thought oh he's gonna be so proud there's mommy picketing being an activist
and he goes oh Mommy that's a terrible picture that's really all that counts at the end of
the day sure yeah and so then we're out there we're picking we're making this huge Ruckus
and then out comes Eva Longoria and she comes off of the shoot and she walks outside and
she stands up there now me tell you something she is in full hair and makeup huge bling
earring she looks She's beautiful to begin with and she's really dolled up because she's
been shooting and I'm in my yoga pants and my solar powered t-shirt and you know I look
like a I don't know hag Norma Ray activist type and she yeah she really and then she
gets up there and she starts talking to the writers and saying how she's so upset and
she doesn't wish to be doing this but she's caught between a rock and a hard place and
she starts to cry and all these writers who have been you know I was the girl you know
for like an hour there and then all of a sudden Eva everyone's heart is breaking for Eva yeah
and then she delivered pizza for everybody and uh and there were cameras there and I
didn't have any makeup on I mean not even chapstick is that strictly speaking makeup
chapstick I I call it makeup on the picket line and there you can see oh yeah see I had
my head down in that picture because I knew they were
look at even my hair yeah right if you're still doing the right thing for heaven's sakes
yeah God bless you and I know the support meant a great deal and means a great deal
to everybody involved uh what was it last a spring that you delivered a commencement
address at your old College yes I was um
eager at Northwestern University oh no that's a lot of pressure one because it's a lot of
pressure two Northwestern we're not kidding around that's a real deal yeah we're not kidding
around and I should add it was particularly ironic because I didn't graduate from North
from North [Applause] oh the pressure's off no you have to worry about that I think a
few people must have passed before they made their call to me but we had done it the previous
year well I'm afraid Barack Obama had done it the previous year well you see yeah so
it was like Barack you know future presidential hopeful and one of Jerry's looking at the
other way I mean you're at that level you know and maybe they think well we're doing
better this year than we did last year you got to look at it that way I'm trying to look
at it that way I'm trying to look at it did you have a topic did you have a theme what
did you tell those well I took about a long time explaining to them why I was a bad choice
to be the speaker and and I think that went over well you know self-deprecation seems
to work and then uh and then I gave them essentially three sort of uh words of wisdom or ideas
advice the first one was now that you've got your education go out and get educated that's
true that's true uh another uh the second idea was to act no I don't mean like act like
an actor theatrical acting but to be an activist be active in your life exactly I right exactly
be an activist and I gave each graduate a compact fluorescent light bulb as a symbol
of activism and change you know because they're energy efficient now do you have a deal still
have a deal with GE is that way oh yeah I get a couple million bucks a year for that
yeah and then um and then the third uh piece of advice I gave them was don't be an ass
that's great in fact you don't need the first two if you can just accomplish that is not
no it's not an easy thing virtually impossible The New Adventures of Old Christine the third
season premieres February 4th at 9 30 right here on CBS thank you very much for that now
um here here's a question you get tired of and people ask when they they're dumb so I'll
ask it oh good uh your your comedy is your is your life really and does it come from
your life or have you moved to it you know what I'm saying what show am I on yeah I have
no idea I'm just trying to get some pie are you power I'll try to do that
right now just turn into another show awful
thoughtful for heaven's sakes huh you know what I'm saying is it did it surround you
in your family or your upbringing there are a lot of funny women in my family my grandmother
in particular was very funny yeah she I mean she was a drunk but she was really because
if everybody laughs but that can be serious well yes it was quite serious yes but did
you know as a kid she was no no
sarcastic and then she would
she would probably not kidding and uh I asked him drunk and then she would yeah and and
uh and also was very incongruous because she was quite beautiful so so she would just you
know collapse and and then everybody would be mad at her and I was a little girl I didn't
know why would he be mad at granny you know she just fell and then it's sad really it
is sad but you know I've in fact but I was very close to her and um you know so to this
day that so and she was a big smoker too so this the smell of scotch and cigarettes just
takes me back to a cozy time [Applause] how old did your grandmother live to be uh something
or rather well that's not so bad for somebody who would hobby was smoking and drinking yeah
no kidding yeah I think she probably would have lived much longer how are your kids by
the way you mentioned them earlier oh they seem to be fine yeah yeah they seem to be
sure again February 4th good to have you back on the air good to see you back on the show
thank you very much to see you too there you are
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