The Late Night with David Letterman - 02/18/2005

August 2nd, 2007 | by mima |

David: Our next guest is a talented actress that’s staring in a new film entitled ”Constantine”. Demons, Demons, Demons. It opened today, ladies and gentleman, here is the lovely Rachel Weisz. (Rachel Enters)

David: Great Pleasure to meet you.

Rachel: It’s a great pleasure to be here.

David: I did not see the ”Mummy” movies, but I loved you in ”Runaway Jury” I thought that was a tremendous casting, a great cast, Gene Hackman, yourself, Dustin Hoffman and John Cusack.

Rachel: I know, an honor to work with those guys.

David: Where did you make that movie?

Rachel: New Orleans.

David: Oh that’s right.

Rachel: Yeah

David: Was it fun?

Rachel: Incredible city, yeah I really, really loved it there.

David: And where did you make the ”Mummy” movies?

Rachel: ”The Mummy” ah, the first one we made in Morocco and England, and the second one we made all in England, they made kind of a jungle in England to look like Morocco.

David: The problem with mummies is what?

Rachel: Uh, (laughs) the problem with mummies is they wont just die..

David: That’s right.

Rachel: They just, they keep coming back to life and chasing girls mainly, they like to chase girls.

David: Uh, and you yourself are from…you live in London is that right?

Rachel: No, I moved here…

David: Moved here? Right.

Rachel: I moved here 3 years ago. Here being, yeah New York City.

David: You live right in the city?

Rachel: Right in the city, yeah. (Audience applauds)

David: Have you uh, have you had a chance to go up to Central Park and see the uh, the Gates thing?

Rachel: I wish I could have, I’m working in Montreal, and I’m actually here for just tonight..

David: Oh thank you very much

Rachel: To come see you, yeah. Just to see you. Have you seen the Cristo show?

David: Uh no, I have not seen it.

Rachel: Oh, I’m dying to see it. It sounds beautiful. But I do love to go and see art shows in New York. The last time I was here I saw a show that Timothy Greenfield Sanders did, he’s a photographer and he did this incredible exhibition, very beautiful, classical portraits. Huge portraits actually of adult film stars, I think is the, uh, proper way…

David: Yeah

Rachel: To…describe it. Yes, and (audience laughs) yes and so he did one picture of them in their street clothes in a certain pose, like that (demonstrates) and then he did a matching picture of that of them naked without their clothes on, you know, standing like that. And I actually went to the opening night exhibition party and I got to meet all the adult film stars.

David: They are the ones featured in all the portraits.

Rachel: All the ones featured in the portraits were there and I’ve never actually met any, any adult film stars before.

David: Yeah, nor have I.

Rachel: Yeah, (laughs with audience)

David: And how did that seem?

Rachel: Well you know, it was really fascinating. I think I, I think I ended asking them the same questions that people ask me. You know ”What do your parents think about what you do?” and they were really interesting about it. And I met in fact, a couple, two men, uh, gay adult film stars and they met on a job. And um (audience laughs and she joins) Yeah

David: That’s nice, they met at work.

Rachel: Yeah, they met at work, and they work sometimes with other people, but they prefer to work with each other.

David: Sure, I can understand that. (Audience and Rachel laugh)

Rachel: And then I went back to Montreal, and I’m renting an apartment there, from a man who’s, uh, a gay landlord.

David: Mmhm.

Rachel: And um, I asked for cable, and so I’m flipping through the channels of cable, and he’s getting uh, lots of ah, gay adult..

David: Yeah, I see

Rachel: Adult films on his thing

David: Right

Rachel: So I actually ended up seeing the work of the people that I’ve met. (Audience and Rachel laugh)

David: Wow!

Rachel: Yeah, it’s a small, small, small world.

David: Yeah, it certainly is. (Rachel laughs) And were you impressed with the work?

Rachel: Well, it was beyond my wildest dreams David, yes. (David laughs) Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

David: That’s an interesting idea though for an art exhibition I guess, with the portraits.

Rachel: Yes, a very classical treatment, on a less classical subject.

David: Were there women there also?

Rachel: Yes.

David: And what were the women like when you talked to them?

Rachel: They were, they were very, very sweet, and they were talking about um, acting. I was talking about the fact to them that I have to reveal my emotions..

David: Right

Rachel: As an actress and they were telling me about how they have to reveal their bodies and (David laughs) you know. We’re both, faking it you know? (David and audience laugh) I must tell you that all my girlfriends are so jealous that I’m getting to be on the show tonight and that I’m sitting here next to you.

David: Really?

Rachel: (laughs) yeah. My friend Tina has got the biggest crush on you.

David: Well I’m terribly flattered. (Looks at audience and waves) Tina. (Rachel and audience laugh). Ah, so you said you’ve been in New York City for 3 years, is that what you said?

Rachel: 3 years, yes.

David: Have you had the chance to see other parts of the country? You did the film in New Orleans. Have you been able to drive around at all, on road trips? That kind of thing.

Rachel: Yeah, well actually, I’ve been to New Orleans before. Once on a road trip, before, this was before I lived in America, with my girlfriend Mel. And we drove, we started in New Orleans, and we drove all the way to New York.

David: Wow

Rachel: And we had the greatest time. Memphis, I think, was my favorite place. I got to go to Grace land.

David: Yeah

Rachel: It was just spectacular.

David: What were your impressions of Grace land?

Rachel: Ah, it was kitschier than I could ever have imagined. You know that great big leopard skin bed. And the uh, tour guide was very uh, was quite comical actually. But the house is beautiful. I’m a huge, huge Elvis fan.

David: Yeah, were there many people there when you were there?

Rachel: No, there weren’t. On the tour we went on, it was just me, Mel and one other person. I think it was low season.

David: Mhmm.

Rachel: Yeah. (Laughs)

David: Low Elvis season.

Rachel: Yeah, We went to, in fact, Dolly…it must have been a holiday because we went to Dollywood and it was closed.

David: (laughing)

Rachel: Oh, and you know what else David? We went to um, we saw, we saw Al Green.

David: Oh, Al Green?

Rachel: We saw him preach in his church.

David: He’s a tremendous singer, Al Green.

Rachel: The most charismatic.

David: And this was like, on a weeknight? You go to his church? What day was it?

Rachel: No, it was Sunday.

David: Oh it was Sunday. So, Sunday morning service

Rachel: Sunday morning service.

David: Oh that must have been a wonderful experience.

Rachel: Ohh it was incredible. I don’t know if you, have you been to his church?

David: No

Rachel: It’s not a big, fancy church. It’s a very simple little church with a tin roof. I mean so un ‘’show biz”.

David: Yeah.

Rachel: Yeah, and uh I went with my girlfriend Mel and we sat in the back. We weren’t obviously part of the congregation, so we were sitting quite meekly at the back.

David: Mhm.

Rachel: And Al Green was singing and preaching and it was so beautiful and then he said, he said something about you know ”Hands up everybody who wants something from the lord.” And you know the whole congregation put their hands up. We didn’t, because you know we didn’t feel part of the congregation and he said, ”What you two girls in the back, you don’t want nothing from the lord?” and we were like, ”Oh no, yeah sorry, we do, we do!” (David laughs with audience) Yeah. Al Green, he spoke to us.

David: That’s a great experience.

Rachel: It’s a great experience.

David: Now uh, if a person was to come to your country and do something comparable, would they find anything similar like that? I mean.

Rachel: Like, Al Green?

David: Like, Al Green or Elvis Presley’s birthplace? Well not his birthplace but his home?

Rachel: No, I’m trying to think of icons. Ah, you can visit Lady Di’s grave. Its actually been closed, cause I think the fountain’s flooded or something awful like that. No we don’t have anything.

David: Well I guess if you go to Liverpool there were the Beatles.

Rachel: Yeah, the Beatles the Hacienda night club, yeah. (Audience applauds) Do, do you know why Al Green turned back to God and stopped being an entertainer?

David: Well, uh, Paul do you know about him?

Paul: Well is it a riddle? Do you know why?

Rachel: Well someone told me a really odd story about somebody throwing hot grits on him in a pub.

Paul: Yes, Felecia said she’s heard the same story.

Rachel: Huh, it doesn’t make sense.

Paul: Yeah, what is it? Hot grits? Yeah that’s all I could get out of her.

David: Well he had misbehaved, and I believe his wife or girlfriend, maybe both. (Rachel and audience laugh) Uh cooking the hot grits and saying ”Here Al, take this” then Al saw the lord.

Rachel: Yeah, I see now, yeah, yeah it makes sense now.

David: Now, what kind of things, I know your terribly busy with the film work, what do you do, uh, just regularly for fun without traveling or that kind of thing, here in the city?

Rachel: Here in the city? Um, I’ve been taking some lessons.

David: What kind of lessons?

Rachel: Ah, I took some cooking lessons, actually just one so far.

David: And what did you learn to cook in one lesson?

Rachel: I learnt to cook Miso soup. It was a couple called Lee and Dee and they actually came to my house and taught me.

David: Lee and Dee?

Rachel: Lee and Dee.

David: And they came and told you how to make Miso soup?

Rachel: Miso soup and Salmon and uh, Squash. I feel so ashamed that I don’t know how to cook. I can make omelets and chicken already.

David: Well that’s it, that’s enough.

Rachel: Its not enough, I feel, I’m ashamed.

David: Well you have the soup now. The Miso…what is Miso?

Rachel: It’s a paste made of soybeans and chick pees and you grind it in a Sire Bachi, which is a Japanese pastel and mortar.

David: Yeah

Rachel: Yeah

David: Did it turn out nice?

Rachel: I beg your pardon?

David: I said did it turn out nice?

Rachel: It did. It turned out very well. Yeah so, cooking lessons, um, some singing lessons.

David: Singing lessons, good.

Rachel: Yeah, cause I sing you know, in the bath like anybody else, but I’m not that good, so I thought I’d learn to sing properly.

David: This movie, it uh, and I mean this in the most positive sense of the word, its certainly creepy, isn’t it?

Rachel: Its creepy. Demons, Demons, Demons.

David: And you just think everything’s fine and then all of a sudden. Like in the beginning, they got this wacky deal that this young demon hops right out of a thing and goes into a mirror, and its just berserk!

Rachel: Yeah

David: Yeah and then, just hang on because that’s just the beginning.

Rachel: Yeah, there’s no controlling those demons.

David: No.

Rachel: Keanu has a go. They are, they are wild.

David: Yeah, that’s right and they seem to get bigger and nastier.

Rachel: They do.

David: And in this film, you play twins.

Rachel: Yeah I do, yeah, that’s partly why I wanted to be in the movie. I’ve always wanted to play twins.

David: And what does that do as an actress, do twins act differently enough to be a challenge? Or do they act the same?

Rachel: Um, you know, one had really long hair and one had short hair. (Rachel and David laugh) They weren’t too different. Their situation’s a little bit different, but. Yeah.

David: All right now lets take a look at the clip here. Now tell people what we’re going to see. Is the movie maybe a little bit too creepy? Or is it just creepy enough?

Rachel: I don’t think anything can be too creepy.

David: Oh yeah? You ought to come over to my house. (Rachel laughs) All right, so it is creepy but in a good way, and uh, but people like to be creeped out in a film don’t you think?

Rachel: I think people enjoy it. You know, people pay to be scared.

David: Yeah that’s right.

Rachel: Yeah.

David: So the scene we’re going to see here now..

Rachel: Um, it’s a moment where I’m trying to figure out all the shenanigans and I actually get pulled through uh, a building a huge office box by a huge demon.

David: A demon.

Rachel: Yeah, a demon grabbed me.

(Shows the clip)

David: (Audience applauds) Wow you see! Exactly what I was talking about. You look lovely in the movie.

Rachel: Thank you.

David: You have great hair.

Rachel: Thank you!

David: Great pleasure to meet you!

Rachel: Pleasure to meet you!

David: Continue to enjoy yourself and great success.

Rachel: Thank you!

David: Rachel Weisz ladies and gentlemen.

Credit: Nefertirievy