Shadowing Practice: Amanda Seyfried Covers Joni Mitchell’s “California” on the Dulcimer | The Tonight Show - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Welcome back.
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Welcome back.
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Thanks.
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It is always great to see you.
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Since the last time you've been here,
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you've won a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award.
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Congratulations.
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You're great.
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Congratulations.
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That's a big deal.
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I know.
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Feels good.
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You're a very talented actor,
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and I always say you're a very talented singer as well.
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I've heard you sing in Les Miserables.
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We heard you sing in Mamma Mia movies.
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Did you get asked...
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Yeah.
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I got another...
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I got another musical coming out at the end of the movie, too.
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You do?
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Yeah.
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I'll talk to you about it later.
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No, you can tell me a little...
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No, it's just like a thing.
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Is it a movie?
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It's about the leader of the Shaker movement in 1770,
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but it's a musical.
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Wow.
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More on that later.
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Watch this space.
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I was gonna go more pop culture and go,
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are you gonna do Mamma Mia 3?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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I think, honestly, I can see the future,
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and it looks like before 2038,
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we're gonna be on the track.
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You're on the right track.
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No, but people must ask you all the time, because you're so great.
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Every week.
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Every week?
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Yeah.
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Yeah, I just saw something you said maybe if they do do Mamma Mia 3, you want.. because Cher is your grandma.
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Meryl Streep is your mom.
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And then I've heard some in some interviews you said maybe Sabrina Carpenter should play your daughter.
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Yeah, listen, I'm aging, as everybody does, naturally.
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It's fine.
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It's great.
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I love it.
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But wouldn't it be fun if...
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Somebody said she was a fan of the musical,
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and they said, couldn't she play her daughter one day?
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They fed it to me,
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and I was like, yeah, that would be great.
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And then it's the headline.
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It's not like I was like,
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you know who should play my daughter?
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Yeah.
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You brought it up.
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Yeah.
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Big fan.
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Big fan.
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Yeah, me too.
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Big fan.
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That would be unbelievable.
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Anyway, just putting it out there.
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Putting it out there.
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It's going to happen. By 2038.
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Yeah.
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We know that you have a great singing voice.
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I was going to ask you,
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do you play any instruments?
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I do, yeah.
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I started piano when I was seven,
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and I did that for four years,
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and I did the clarinet.
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I did a little clarinet, too.
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You did?
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Why?
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It's a great question.
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I think it was, you know, free, I think.
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Okay, yeah, same.
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It was with my high school,
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and I go, they go,
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no one chose this, so would you like to play it?
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That's absolutely how it started with me as well,
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and I only lasted a year, because it was hard.
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Me too, it's hard.
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Yeah, it's hard, it's weird.
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And also, it's not an instrument you could walk into a room and be like,
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you guys want to hear any Benny Goodman?
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There's like literally no flex with that.
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No. But guitar, play guitar.
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I played this dulcimer.
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Do you know what the dulcimer is?
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A dulcimer?
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Do you know what?
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Yeah, I know it.
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Oh, good, great.
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It's like a lap instrument.
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It's like a...
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It's an acoustic instrument.
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It's a wood instrument.
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And I learned that during the pandemic.
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Is that right?
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We always have a dulcimer here, just in case anyone...
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Just in case anyone plays a dulcimer.
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She is gorgeous.
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It is a beautiful...
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Would you look at her?
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I mean, this is a work of art.
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A treat.
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Are you gonna play?
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I was thinking about it, but I'd rather...
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Maybe...
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Would you guys like to see Amanda try a little bit?
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Oh, no. They said so.
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Wow, this is what I learned to play during the pandemic for almost two years.
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Uh, what...
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Does anybody know what this is?
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I don't really...
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I know a little bit of it.
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I know...
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Ooh. Can we...
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Can we see if it's in tune for a certain song?
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Yeah, sure.
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Anybody?
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Uh...
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No?
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Mm-hmm, yep.
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Mm.
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Uh-huh, uh-huh.
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Oh!
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Yeah!
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Oh, yeah, that's pretty good.
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All right.
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OK, you know what?
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I would love to play something.
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I would love to play something that's about a state which deserves a lot of love right now.
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Can anyone guess?
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Yeah.
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California?
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Yes, Calabarnia!
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But there's a lot of California's.
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Joni Mitchell?
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Because she wrote a lot of the songs from the Blue album That's the sound.
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On the dulcimer.
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And I learned a lot of her stuff from the Blue album when the world stopped.
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And I'm going to play it for you, but guess what?
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I'm nervous.
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DON'T.
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Never be nervous.
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OK, ready?
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Ready?
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Yeah.
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SITTING IN A PARK IN PARIS PRINCE READING THE NEWS
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AND IT SURE LOOKS BAD THEY WON'T GIVE CHEESE A CHANCE IT WAS JUST A DREAM SOME OF US HAD
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Still a lot of lands to see,
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but I wouldn't want to stay here.
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It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here.
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California.
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California, I'm coming home.
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I'm going to see the folks I dig.
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I'll even kiss a sunset pig.
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California, I'm coming home.
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What are you talking about?
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What are you talking about?
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Playing the dulcetor?
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Are you kidding me?
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That is amazing.
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Thanks.
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Really, though?
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Really?
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Yes.
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God, that was unbelievable.
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But you know what happens when you become bored?
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Yeah.
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You want to learn new things.
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Yeah, you want to try new things.
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That was a home run.
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Unbelievable.
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You were so good.
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Oh, thank you.
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That's very nice.
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Thank you.
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Unbelievable.
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I hope we can clear it.
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I want to talk about your new show, Long Bright River.
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I know you have a lot of animals,
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and so in this show I was watching, there's a parrot.
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No animals except the parrot, yeah.
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There's a parrot.
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Did you get along with that parrot?
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Yeah, I did.
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Yeah, famously.
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Famously.
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I mean, within the confines of set.
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Yeah, they wouldn't tell me some days when Sammy,
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the parrot, was gonna be on set because they didn't want me to be distracted from the task at hand,
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which is trying to get through each scene and trying to get through the day.
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So, yeah, I got really tight with Sammy, and it was...
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It's so exciting being on a set with an animal because they're,
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like, trained differently than civilian animals.
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Did Sammy meet any of your chickens or anything?
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Uh, no. You didn't?
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No. No, no, no. No,
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I couldn't take Sammy off the premises.
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Oh, you can't?
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That would be, like, a kidnapping situation.
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Can you bring the chicken to work?
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Uh, no, I don't think so.
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No?
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No. Did you ever think about getting a bird?
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Uh, I have peacocks, and, um, they're, uh, HM.
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High-maint as...
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Um...
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HMAF?
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They...
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HMAF.
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Oh, I should have done that.
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No, the peacocks, I got a lot of hens.
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I got 20 hens.
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Yeah, I got a lot of birds, but no parrots.
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I think they're high-maintenance.
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I got a bearded dragon instead,
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when it felt like we had a hole,
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and we needed to fill it with an animal.
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Yeah.
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Um, for my daughter. And...
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Are they easy to take care of?
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No. But you know what's great about them is we got it because we have this dog who's, um...
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I mean, I've paraded him around my whole life,
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Finn, and he's 15 and a half,
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and we didn't want anyone to impose on his floor space.
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So we thought the only thing we could do is get a bird or a bearded dragon.
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Yeah.
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And because the bird's H-M-A-F,
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I got a bearded dragon,
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which also happens to be H-M-A-F.
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Yeah, I mean, we're good-looking out for Finn, by the way.
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Shout-out, Finn.
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We love you, bud.
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Shout-out to Finny boy.
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Come on.
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Shout-out to Finn.
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15 and a half.
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Fantastic.
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Uh, can you tell everyone what Long Bright River is about?
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Longbirt River is a...
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Oof.
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It's a very, very grounded crime show about this woman who's a cop,
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who's not a very good cop.
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I always wanted to play a cop,
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who works in and around Kensington and Philadelphia.
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It's a very specific neighborhood that's been marginalized and feared.
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And we kind of change the perspective.
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And we get very involved in her day-to-day life.
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And there's a series of murders that she's trying to solve
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because somebody she loves very dearly could possibly be the next victim.
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And, um, it's a real love story to Philly.
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And James Poyser is...
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Yeah, James Poyser from the Roots did the music for the show.
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Yeah, he did.
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Our very own James Poyser.
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Come on, bud.
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Congratulations.
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It's a pretty small world.
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We got...
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We got a lot of Philly love.
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And, um, we had a lot of people...
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We didn't shoot in Philly, which is.. which is interesting,
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but I think it was good because we created a space for people from Philly to come up.
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And we've got graffiti all over the show.
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We've got local artists from the show that came in and did a bunch of roles.
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And we just...
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It's a...
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It's a powerful show.
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I wouldn't have done it.
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I wouldn't have stayed away from my kids,
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you know, five nights a week if it wasn't something that I think needed to be spoken about.
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It's the opioid epidemic.
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It's sex workers.
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It's people who people are trying to remove at all costs,
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and it's not fair.
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And it's, like, this show of respect to this community.
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So I'm excited for people to have an eye-opening kind of account You're always doing something cool,
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but I want to show everyone a clip.
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Here's Amanda Seyfried in Long Bright River.
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Take a look at this.
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Do you think somebody killed her?
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Not sure.
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No one in the right mind would inject themselves with that much insulin,
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but right mind is the operative term here.
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Unless the other bodies were injected, too.
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Are you gonna do an autopsy?
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Wasn't planning on it.
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Both of them came in as accidental ODs.
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You know something I don't?
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Three bodies discovered in four days.
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Similar demographics on the victims and one of them might have been murdered?
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If there's a bad batch of something out there,
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then these girls need to know what it is.
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If there isn't, then they need to know to wash their backs.
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And if I don't tell them...
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Amanda Seyfried.
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All episodes of Long Bright River premiere Thursday,
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March 13th, exclusively on Peacock.
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Joshua Jackson joins us after the break.
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Stick around, everybody.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you'll practice your English speaking skills by shadowing a segment from Amanda Seyfried's interview on "The Tonight Show." This engaging conversation not only highlights her achievements in acting and singing but also provides an opportunity to develop your pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. By focusing on how Amanda communicates, you'll enhance your ability to articulate thoughts clearly and confidently in English. Utilizing "learn English with YouTube" resources, you can integrate listening skills with practical speaking exercises that closely mimic real-life dialogues.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Golden Globe - An award presented to recognize excellence in film and television.
- Emmy Award - An award honoring outstanding achievements in the television industry.
- Musical - A theatrical production that combines songs, spoken dialogue, and dance.
- Pop culture - The set of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, and images that are prevalent in mainstream culture.
- Shaker movement - A religious sect known for its communal living and unique furniture designs, dating back to the 18th century.
- Aging - The process of becoming older; can refer to both the physical and emotional transitions in life.
- Fan - A person who has a strong interest in or admiration for a particular entity or person, such as a musician or actor.
Practice Tips
To effectively use this video for shadowing practice, follow these tips:
- Watch Actively: Begin by watching the clip without attempting to speak. Focus on Amanda's articulation and the nuances of her speech. Pay attention to how she emphasizes certain words and manages her tone.
- Slow it Down: Many videos now allow you to adjust playback speed. If you find the conversation too fast initially, slow it down to 0.75x or 0.5x speed. This will help you catch every detail while practicing your own phrasing.
- Shadowing: Once you feel comfortable, repeat phrases immediately after Amanda speaks. This technique, often referred to as "shadowspeak," will help you mimic the rhythm and intonation of native speakers.
- Record Yourself: After shadowing, record your own voice as you repeat the conversation. Listening to your recordings can reveal areas for improvement in pronunciation and fluency.
- Engage in IELTS Speaking Practice: Incorporate relevant vocabulary and phrases from the transcript into your own sentences. This will not only prepare you for English exams but also enrich your everyday conversations.
By integrating these techniques into your study routine, you can refine your speaking skills and enhance your confidence in using English conversationally.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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