Gratitude gets me there, big and small gestures, family, friends, but it's definitely joy.
You can kind of only feel it if you're actually where you're supposed to be in the real moment.
When we think ahead or when we think about what we regret, we get a little bounced out
Hi, I'm Jess Rowe, and this is the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show, a podcast that skips the small
talk and goes big and deep.
From love to loss and everything in between, I want to show you a different side of people
who seem to have it all together in these raw and honest conversations about the things
I've got a different type of episode for you this time, and before we get to my chat with
comedy superstar Amy Poehler, I want to take you behind the scenes to give you an idea
of what happens with these big superstar interviews.
Now of course you know Amy from SNL, Mean Girls, I mean she was the mum in Mean Girls,
Parks and Rec, and of course her hilarious hosting with her bestie, Tina Fey, at the
Golden Globes, and her character Joy in the glorious Disney animation Inside Out.
Amy has been in Australia to promote Inside Out 2, where she revisits her character of
Joy, and this time in the movie a whole lot of new emotions have joined her, including
anxiety and embarrassment, who is one of my personal favourites in the film.
And the movie, much like Inside Out, is all about how our emotions interact.
It's funny, wise, and it's moving.
I'm anxiety, where can I put my stuff?
Oh I'm sorry, we wanted to make such a good first impression.
What do you mean we?
What's your name big fella?
That's embarrassment.
Welcome to headquarters embarrassment.
Oh, we're doing a fit, no, oh, no, going high, oh, you got a real sweaty palm there buddy.
And what I love about the movie is that it gives you the visual language to navigate
those big feelings that we all experience, and I reckon it helps both kids and big people
like me make sense of all those things that are going through our heads and inform how
we behave in the outside world.
So you can get a sense that the themes in this movie are right up my alley, big stuff,
lots to talk about, and you know how much I love to go deep with my guests, but you
know what, I only have five minutes to dig deep with Amy.
How on earth am I going to cover all those big questions of life in five minutes?
Why is it only five minutes?
Well, we are part of what is called a press junket.
Now you may have seen the movie Notting Hill, which I have seen, but I haven't seen it as
many times as my husband Petey, who is obsessed with rom-coms.
Notting Hill is his all-time favourite, I would say he's seen it at least 30 times.
So if you've seen it, you'd know that Hugh Grant's character finds himself masquerading
as a reporter from Horse and Hound magazine, and he has added to a list of journalists
who've been given a very strict period of time to interview the movie star, who is played
by Julia Roberts, and they're there to talk with her about the film that she's starring
One of the instructions that my Leopard Lady producer Nick and I have been given by Disney
is to arrive at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Sydney, which is a beautiful hotel.
It's right underneath the harbour bridge.
You look across and there's the Opera House.
It's all sort of quiet, understated luxury.
So we arrive 30 minutes before our time slot with Amy, where we're going to be waiting
in what they call a holding room.
Now this room that we're sitting in, it's very fancy.
There's lots of big, comfy leather armchairs that cushion the sound of my nervous laughter
as Nick and I go through our plan.
As I said, the instructions from Disney are five minutes.
You'll be moved along quick smart once that time is up.
I've done weeks of research and I'm a long-time Amy Poehler fan.
My mind is full of all these things that I'm busting to ask her.
So I'm getting a little overwhelmed, as you can imagine, with the idea of condensing
all of this curiosity into just five minutes.
So how am I going to do it?
First of all, as part of my prep, what I've done is that I've spoken with my husband Petey,
who you may know spent 10 years as a reporter for 60 Minutes.
He has interviewed a lot of the big stars and he always says that these interviews
are the hardest to do because of the limited time and you're expected to sort of create
this instant rapport with someone that you've only just met and that you might be a little
in awe of, but you've got to sort of get on like your best buddies.
But his tips to me were very much know what you want to get from them.
Have a very clear idea in mind of the answer or the theme that you want to get out of them.
And the other thing he said is, Pussycat, do not waste time.
Do not muck around because he knows that I'm a bit of a mucker-upperer.
And you know what was really lovely about being in the holding room with Nick?
Right next to me in another one of the comfy chairs was my good friend and the legendary
entertainment reporter, Angela Bisher.
Now, Ange is ahead of me in the interview line.
She's going to be going in next and she's got some fabulous tips too.
She chats with me, she makes me laugh, she makes me feel relaxed.
And then she also, though, very much reinforces that I'm going to be getting a signal from
the production crew, two fingers, meaning you've got two minutes left, and then I'll
be getting one finger up, which means you only have one minute left.
And Ange's advice was, when you see that, know that you really only have time for one
more cracker of a question, then you've got to get out of there.
OK, so I've taken all of this on board.
I take a deep breath, Nick and I swish our way down the corridor through the lush carpet
to the next room, which is one of the very fancy hotel rooms, which has a beautiful view
over the Opera House.
We don't know that yet because we're still in a holding pattern, standing behind the
door, waiting for Ange to come out through one door and then we go through the other
While I'm waiting, though, because I'm wearing a shimmery rainbow-coloured camilla frock
because I figure that I want to bring all the colour, channel all the emotions in one
frock when I'm interviewing Amy, because as you know, I'm a huge believer in wearing things
that bring us confidence and help define our mood for the day.
So I'm there swishing my skirt around and one of Amy's people comes out and she says,
Amy's going to love me.
She'll love my outfit.
So that helps settle my nerves a little.
But you know what?
My hands are still clammy.
I always get clammy hands when I get nervous.
And I remember over the years when I used to read the news, I'd look down at my scripts.
I'd always like to have my scripts on paper in front of me and there'd be these little
sweaty fingerprints that were my little paw prints that I'd left from putting my hands
So you know what?
It doesn't matter how long you've been doing what you do, you do still get nervous.
I could tell I had my little sweaty fingertips and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, do I shake
Is she going to know that I have sweaty hands?
So Nick and I stride into the room and this room, there are a lot of people in the room.
There's six people.
There's a cameraman behind each camera.
There's also a sound recordist who's set up the microphones.
And then there's another three people with laptops who look very important, who were
sitting up next to the wall.
There's also another producer who's going to be giving me the hand signals.
And of course, Nick, my wonderful leopard lady producer.
So I come into the room and then I clamber up onto the set because it's sort of raised
a bit higher off the floor.
I think this is so they can maximise the view of the opera house over Amy's shoulder.
And while I'm clambering up, I narrowly miss clunking my head on the microphone that has
been set up above me.
And while I'm sitting down sort of trying to take a deep breath, and this is all happening
very quickly, you know when time just speeds by.
As I'm sitting down, the beautiful Amy starts chatting to me about my rainbow frock.
And just what you wear on a Tuesday.
It's a Tuesday with Amy outfit.
And I'm clutching now the second microphone that we've managed to put the listener logo
And then out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse my producer, Nick.
He creeps over with two mugs of the Jess Row Big Talk Show podcast emblazoned across the
front with some water in them.
Because we are always looking for opportunities to get our podcast out there.
Would you like a glass of water?
Would that be all right?
Is this okay, Amy?
Would you like a Jess Row Big Talk Show?
You put water in it.
I promise you this is fresh water from the Jess Row Big Talk Show podcast.
I'll take your word for it.
What if you do a giant spit taste and then light it on fire?
If only like anger.
Congratulations, Amy, on the movie Inside Out 2.
It's a really, really important, funny, beautiful film.
I can't wait for people to see it.
On my podcast, the Jess Row Big Talk Show podcast, we skip the small talk and we talk
about big things.
We talk about emotion.
And that's why I adored the movie.
And for me, joy is such a biggie.
What for you is the secret of finding joy?
Well, you know what?
Australia's so good at joy, I have to say.
They do joy very well because they're interested in these big moments and they're outdoor people.
And so they have these giant endorphins.
What brings me joy and why I love playing this character is it's this very good reminder
to stay in the present moment, to just, you know, gratitude gets me there.
Big and small gestures, family, friends, but it's definitely joy.
You can kind of only feel it if you're actually where you're supposed to be in the real moment.
When we think ahead or when we think about what we regret, we get a little bounced out
And a bit bouncy when anxiety arrives.
And that anxiety arrives for the first time in Inside Out 2.
What's anxiety look like for you in your life?
Well, I feel like it can manifest in a bunch of different ways.
What I love is that when they first present anxiety in this film, it's actually quite
It is friendly and she comes with, you know, with just this attitude of everyone's doing
There's a couple things we want to pay attention to and that is what anxiety does is anxiety
can be a motivator.
It can keep you safe.
You know, it's not all bad.
It can help you discern people and places and things.
When it gets out of control and when it takes the controls and it kind of freezes, there's
a great moment in the film where anxiety and Riley are kind of frozen.
And there's a big adult moment where the character of Riley has to find a way to calm herself
And it's a really beautiful moment because, you know, Joy is kind of the parent in many
ways and she has to watch Riley do it on her own.
That is the part of growing up is you have to find these ways to dig deep and soothe
So, I think anxiety can be sneaky because she's a lot of fun.
I mean, anxiety and excitement have the same physical.
Has anxiety ever frozen you?
Oh, yeah, of course.
I mean, I think there's been, you know, certainly times where, you know, you just kind of feel
And it's especially if you have an active imagination.
Your imagination can create scenarios where anxiety can say, it might be better if you
You know, just don't risk it.
And I mean, the past 10 years, I mean, it's given us a lot of reasons to stay inside.
A lot has happened.
What about though as well, oops, there go my notes, with anxiety, I was surprised to
read that you have social anxiety.
I like sometimes at parties, a lot of talking, I get a little overwhelmed.
So I like moving rather than talking.
I think moving around is really good.
So I would actually rather dance than talk at most parties.
It's awkward when there's no music.
But you dance like no one's watching.
Isn't that the thing?
Well, isn't that the dream?
Dance like no one's watching is a great way of summing up what 12 looks like.
And then 13 is be careful how you dance because everyone's watching.
That's what suddenly happens.
Yeah, you're always trying to get back to that feeling that nobody's watching.
But yeah, I would rather shake and move around than chat most of the time.
And then embarrassment comes along.
Embarrassment, I wanted to hug in the movie.
No, embarrassment is this big, pink-faced creature that...
A bit like I feel now.
I'm pink-faced seeing you.
No, you should not feel that way.
Embarrassing takes up all this space and doesn't know how to hide and is always pulling its
hoodie and just trying to get out of the way.
Embarrassment is so nice and also so tender because we all feel that.
We all have that feeling when our cheeks get red, we've done something that we can't believe
Luckily, I think, at least for me, embarrassment when you're older, you know, you're kind of...
Well, you care less, don't you?
Well, that's a really good point.
Do you care less or have you made friends with the more complicated emotions?
Have you figured out a way to create a bigger space for them?
Embarrassment is a real specific teen one.
It's a tough one.
No one wants to be embarrassed.
When you're older, sometimes I think you can disassociate and you can just, I don't know,
go to a different place in your head.
Because you're fearless and does that come from age and experience?
You know, I would not describe myself as fearless.
I think I would describe myself as like being okay with being afraid.
I think there are two different things.
I think fearlessness is like you're kind of bypassing that feeling.
But I think if you're like, oh boy, here we go, but you head on out anyway, I think that's
kind of what the goal is.
Like, hopefully you can sit with both of those feelings at the same time.
Thank you for showing us how to be fearless and strong, fabulous women in our lives.
Even if we are pink cheeked and I've got little clammy hands holding my mug.
Filled with vodka, filled to the brim.
Thank you so much.
It was a pleasure.
Yeah, lovely to meet you.
So as you can hear there, I didn't really take all of Petey's advice.
I did muck around a little bit with the mug off the top.
I hope I didn't waste too many seconds with that.
And do you know what?
After all of that thinking about the mug, it wasn't even in the camera shot because
I was too busy making sure that I was holding the mic close to my mouth and then I had
the mug underneath.
And then while I was doing that, my notepad slipped down off my sequiny skirt.
But anyway, that all happens.
You've just got to keep going.
And you know what I also managed to do?
I got six minutes and 51 seconds out of our chat.
And you know why?
I didn't have my glasses on.
So I couldn't see the crew member giving me this frantic wrap up, which is essentially
they point their finger at you and they keep spinning it round and round and round and
So essentially your time's out.
Come on, you've got to get out of here.
So I didn't see him doing that.
And Nick told me afterwards that he had in fact been doing that for quite a while.
Well, let's say it would have been a minute and 51 seconds to be precise.
But Amy didn't miss a beat.
She wasn't looking at the clock.
She was giving me her beautiful energy, attention and warmth and wisdom.
She was so generous and big hearted.
But because we can never get enough of Amy, what I'd like to do now is to share with you
some of the life lessons that I've learnt from Amy, from doing all of that research
that I did for the interview, and as well as from following her career and of being
a huge fan of her work.
And I think, you know what I love about her?
She's a strong, proud woman and she's a feminist and she rocks.
So these are some of her life lessons that have really resonated with me.
I heard her talk on stage about laughter and how laughter is the stuff of life and there's
an intimacy about having a laugh with someone.
And what people laugh at can tell you a whole lot about who they are and if in fact you
want to have these people in your life.
And isn't she spot on with that?
I know the people that I laugh with know me best.
That is when I'm at my freest and there's a lovely unburdening I think that happens
You feel lighter.
And I know for me laughter is such an important part of who I am.
It's a huge part of my make-up and I'm really quite deliberate in a way about making sure
I seek people out who make me laugh.
Because as we know life can be hard and there's so many serious parts of life that we really
To me that is what makes my heart sing.
Another thing that I've learnt from Amy is that creativity doesn't equal chaos and that
it isn't an excuse for bad behaviour or tolerating difficult people.
I know if I think back in my earlier life when you work with so-called creatives and
sometimes there might be a sort of chaotic nature to that.
And when I say chaotic I don't mean messy.
What I mean is people who are quite chaotic with the way they carry themselves through
They don't think about what their actions are doing to other people but then they'll
just justify it by saying oh well I'm a creative so I can behave this way.
But Amy made a real point of saying no that isn't what creativity is about.
In fact it's the opposite.
And she makes very deliberate choices about who she works with and who she surrounds herself
And having that calmness and being drawn to people that are creative but know what they're
doing is what has brought the best out in her.
And I think that is such a powerful piece of advice and a learning from her.
Amy is also a big believer in saying yes and.
And this if you know Amy you would know is something that she learnt from her improv.
And this was a skill which honed her comedy chops at the famed Improv Olympic in Chicago
before she founded the United Citizens Brigade in New York.
And this was an extraordinary time where comedians would be together and they would be improvising
and the whole key towards that is you don't know what that person's going to say but you
can't block them.
They might be saying something to you but rather than saying oh no don't be ridiculous
no why would I do that.
Your thought process is yes and so you move it along.
You bring that story forward that experience forward with that person.
And how we can interpret that and how Amy talks about it too is to saying yes and to
opportunities in our life.
Don't block things out with negativity or because perhaps you don't see them as sitting
We've got to be brave don't we.
It's still hard though isn't it.
There are still times I know I struggle to be brave in my life but I know I really feel
like I'm living when I'm brave and I say like Amy yes and.
Some other things that improv taught her was about the importance of working with a team.
You can't just be good on your own.
You need to be working with a team and you help your team.
Also being bold which I think taps into being brave as well and also this notion of being
unafraid to look bad and that to me taps into that idea of not worrying about what people
think and that's hard.
I care less now as I get older and I spoke with Amy about that but there is still that
part of me that still has that factor of what will people think but I reckon let's
be more unafraid in our lives just like Amy is.
That other beautiful lesson that I heard Amy talk about is the power of female friendships.
Now Amy Poehler and Tina Fey they've recently finished their Restless Leg tour in the US.
Wouldn't that be a show to see.
I would love it if she toured that here in Australia.
She was sharing how they can be fearless on stage together but at the end of the show
what they do they go to check out the local Macy's store sort of the local department
store they head back to their hotel room and they put on their PJs so they're sort of living
a quiet life so to speak but they're fearless on stage and also she says she's at that point
in her life she's a similar age to me I'm 53 where she's often thinking of when she
goes somewhere she's thinking but where can I sit down and then I can take that a step
further when I think about me it's often but where am I going to park.
That's another big one too what's the parking situation and I say parking like that because
for many years I've teased my husband Petey about that that has always been his first
question since I first knew him but what about the parking but now I'm finding that's a
bit of an issue for me too where am I going to park where am I going to sit down.
Amy also shared that kindness is a big motivator for her and that being kind really informs
how she moves through the world and that the biggest name she's worked with have been the
easiest to get on with as they've already made it they're not motivated by fear or
an obsession with getting ahead they simply want to work as a team and they want to get
the best result possible for the team.
So as you can tell I hope by me giving you a bit of an insight into what happened when
I got to spend six minutes and 51 seconds with Amy that there was a lot more that went
into our chat there was a lot that I thought about and there was a lot that I got out of
it as well and I hope you have as well and if you do want your heart to feel even fuller
get along and see Amy Poehler now as joy in Inside Out 2.
The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show is hosted by me, Jess Rowe, executive producer Nick McClure.
She's a wonderful leopard lady, audio imager Nat Marshall, supervising producer Sam Kavanagh.
Until next time remember to live big, life is just too crazy and glorious to waste time
on the stuff that doesn't matter.