LIVE Magazine #217 September 11, 2015

LIVE Magazine
EXCLUSIVE By Levvy Carriker
supporting cameos in it. It is really a “dramedy” and
“seriously comedic character study” film, but they
all change each other throughout the film. And I did
educate Lily about a lot of Paul Weitz films before
she made “Admission” with him. He is the writer,
director,and a producer of “Grandma” and created
it for Lily to star as Elle Reid a Feminist, Lesbian poet.
Paul Weitz wrote the character of Elle with Lily in
mind. It all take place in one day. It is a very simple
film. It is not a very long film. You have to watch the
story unfold. And Sam Elliott. I don’t want to give
his scene away, but he has an eleven minute scene
that I think is the highlight of the film. The film is
so seamless and so perfect, but he just rocks the
screen and his performance with them together is
just dynamite. So, I am campaigning for it on many
levels. I am planning a retrospective on Lily’s career.
There has never really been one done. And she has
been giving me copies of her films and tv shows
and things that I had never seen. I had always been
a fan but she has really educated me on her early
career. I have my own one-woman show and I also
play characters. More so prevalent now since I have
matured. She has inspired me.
Levvy: She can play the characters, can’t she?
Kat: She is the queen of it! She is just a role model. I
am so inspired by her.
Levvy: I know! I waited in line for quite some time
to get in to this club to see her, probably in 1988.
And when I got in, I got seated next to her friends
and when the show was over she was so nice! She
said if people wanted to stay, she would go over her
content. So I stayed with a bunch of my friends.
There were about 20 people. It was fun to get to
see her like that mixing it up with her fans. A very
memorable night for me.
Kat: Well actually back in the 70’s, she would
actually BE the character. Like she would come out
as Mrs. Beasley before the show and the audience
would be totally shocked and she would meet them
all as one of her characters.
Levvy: How funny!
Kat Kramer
Levvy: You have been working on various projects
with Lily Tomlin. Tell us about that. I am also curious
about Lily Tomlin’s film, ‘Grandma’. That is about the
ventures of a grandmother and a granddaughter?
Kat: I have been working with Lily [Tomlin] so
strongly on my screening series for the last five
years and have been the first person, and hopefully
the only one, to do musical salutes in her honor,
because I am an expert on her career. And she really
is like a mentor to me. She is also the ambassador
to the cinema series, in which I only screen
documentaries and socially conscious films. And she
narrates in one of them. And she is actually in one
of them coming up. She has done four so far.
Levvy: Lily is back on top of the industry. She is amazing!
Kat: ‘Grandma’ and ‘Gracie and Frankie’are her
resurgence. She hasn’t starred in a film since ‘Big
Business’, in 1988, and that was actually co-starring
Bette Midler. And so in this film, she is the star in a
role made for her and tailor made around her. The
beauty of it is that not only do I have a relationship
with her, but also with the director, who is also the
writer and producer. I have worked with Paul Weitz.
And his grandfather was my dad’s agent. So it is really
kind of spiritual how that worked out. And Lily had
done ‘Admission’ with him. Do you remember that
film? Lily was so strong in that film. She was the best
thing in the movie. And she was just a supporting role,
playing Tina Fey’s mother.
Levvy: It all comes back full circle, right?
Kat: So I had said to him, you should use her [Lily]
more. And when she first started working with
him, she only knew ‘About A Boy’. She wasn’t really
familiar with a lot of the positive films. And he does
a lot of films with his brother, Chris Weitz. ‘About A
Boy’ was really their breakthrough film, but he has
done a lot of films on his own as writer, director,
producer. I worked with him when he did ‘Little
Fockers’(2010), the third one in the franchise.
Levvy: That was a great series. I love it when a film
has franchised...lol
Kat: Yes, it was. I wanted so much to be a part of
it. Even though we have a family connection, that
was my first time working with him. In a way I feel
like on a spiritual level and merely on championing
of their work, that I am kind of the catalyst for
what is happening. ‘Grandma’ really is a film about
abortion, even though that is not the central journey
or issue of the film. So for me, right away, it is an
issue film. It is in the vein of my father’s family,
Kramer. It is the kind of film that I screen in my
series.
Levvy: Its has a social conscience, Kat, I love that.
Kat: Yes. And what is so beautiful when you see
it, is that it is not like hitting everybody over the
head. It is pro choice, but the abortion issue is kind
of interwoven throughout the story. And it is also
about three generations of women, which would be:
the grandmother, played by Lily, Marsha, the mother
played by Gay Harden, and her daughter, Sage,
played by Julia Garner. And there are so many great
Kat: I don’t think anyone has ever done that before!
She is a pioneer and that is why I have created this
retrospective. But I want to do two different kinds. I
want to do a plain regular retrospective for a couple of
her films. But I have a special thing that I want to do that
I haven’t announced yet. I am keeping it under wraps,
but you will be the first one to know. That in itself will
be ground-breaking. It will be surrounding ‘Grandma’
and the evolution of her career. But I also have a variety
show retrospective that I have been working on for
four or five years. And I just now have offers on it. I
think it is finally going to come into fruition. You know,
it is something that has never been done. And this
will launch a new series called, ‘AN EVENING WITH A
TRAILBLAZER’, which I am trying to champion. It will
be a different subject. And you will be the first to know,
but it will be kind of like an ongoing series, kind of like
an off-branch of my reading series. Yes, and I am telling
you first, so you can go ahead and announce that. I am
looking to do this in 2016. I just don’t have it made yet.
Levvy: If there is anything I can do to help you with
that, just let me know. I want to ask you about
another film. It seems Lily has another film popping
right now, ‘Grace and Frankie’?
Kat: Yes, that is a Netflix series. And that is another
one that has never before been done like that.
First of all, Netflix is changing the way television is
[distributed]. I actually want to be on that show.
I would love to be part of one of the seasons.
Probably not as a main character, but as a guest
star or recurring character. I watched the pilot and I
have to say that they did a great job with the whole
show and the casting. And I really love the episodes.
She is filming Season Two as we speak.
Levvy: Wow! So much production going on.
Kat: Actually, she has been filming it since last
month. And then I just did something with Martin
Sheen back in April. He hosted my seventh
installment for my cinema series, ‘Kat Kramer’s Films
That Change The World’. This wasn’t a documentary
as much as a docu-drama. True story. And he is
very much behind the issue, and so he hosted that.
It is called ‘Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain’. And it is all
about the gas leak in Bhopal, India in 1984. And
you know, he is such an activist, as is Jane Fonda. I