Lily Tomlin
Interview By: Stephen Snart
StephenSnart@TheCinemaSource.com
Anyone who watched this year's Oscar ceremony surely remembers the show stopping performance by Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep. On stage to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Robert Altman, the two took a fresh and innovative approach to a duty that usually comes off stale and forced. This was not the case with Tomlin and Streep. The two took the ingenious approach of presenting the award in the style of an Altman film: overlapping and harmonizing their dialogue with an organic and unrehearsed zeal. Their performances unfurled so confidently that they appeared to be having a self-assured lark, not an ounce of insecurity to be found. Tomlin now reveals that wasn't entirely the case, 'We don't remember any of it. We were in a kind of comatose, just praying that we wouldn't be humiliated.'
Their worrying was for naught. Audiences lapped up their spectacle with joyous wonderment, completely captivated by the inimitable rapport between these Hollywood legends. In regard to their intrinsic chemistry, Tomlin jokes, 'We found out we're related genetically. We have a biological gland. Wouldn't that be great' I was hoping her Father had been to Detroit and I was really her half-sister.' In actuality, the two barely knew each other before they started working together on the latest Robert Altman film, A Prairie Home Companion.
In the film, Streep and Tomlin share virtually every moment together on screen. Their Oscar Show antics were just an appetizer for the joyous merriment that exudes from their every scene. However, the two brilliant actresses aren't alone; they share their time with one of the hottest young stars of today, Lindsey Lohan. Surely Lohan was in awe of being in the presence of these highly decorated actresses. But apparently she managed to keep it at bay. When asked if Lohan looked up to them for guidance, Tomlin retorts, 'I was asking her for advice, frankly. Where's the club' Is there a club in town' I'm just kidding; she was like a professional actress, like one of our colleagues.'
Tomlin recounts that the days shooting with Streep and Lohan were a non-stop laugh riot, hoping that the DVD will include some deleted material showcasing some of their improvisation. Her favorite example was Meryl calling upon some of her Norweigan relatives to fill in character backstory. 'Her ex-husband, who is Lindsey's father, was never named. So Meryl called him Yammer Gesthmine. It was never on screen but we talked about Yammer all the time,' she explains with an ecstatic shriek of laughter.
Tomlin explains that contrary to appearance, it wasn't all fun and games; there was a lot of hard work involved as well. 'Rich Dwarsky, the conductor, was in touch with my singing coach all the time. They had laid out the harmony sheets and I learned it. I practiced and went over there every day and sang. At first you think 'Oh God, I'll never be able to do this. I'll never be able to hit the right notes. I won't get the harmony at all.' And eventually I would get one that was elusive! And you suddenly get it again and again and again! You just own it and it's yours! You're just on top of the world!'
A Prairie Home Companion isn't Tomlin's first collaboration with Altman. In fact it's her third! Before Short Cuts in 1993 she made her feature film debut in 1975 with Nashville ' a film not too far removed from Prairie Home. 'Of course I thought of Nashville, music was a big character there. That was my very first movie. Only Altman would give me a part in a movie in those days. It was much more sprawling. We were there for two months and each of us worked only two weeks out of two months.' Despite their unsteady work schedule, she remembers the actors gravitating to the set every day to watch Altman work.
Given her reputation as a fiery stand-up comedian, fans are often surprised by how understated she can appear on film. Tomlin explains, 'Film is another medium, you just do what is called for. If you're doing something broader like The Beverly Hillbillies, you're given permission to be more broad and farcical. But there are always gradations.' The versatile actress sums it up best by quoting one of Prairie Home scripter, Garrison Keillor's favorite mottos. 'Comedy and tragedy, they're the same, they just end differently. I forget who's it is but he always references it.'
