Shadowing Practice: Jennifer Aniston & Lisa Kudrow | Actors on Actors - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Also, stuff feels like yesterday.
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No, it doesn't to me.
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It doesn't?
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There are things that Phoebe says that at the time are like, is Matt stupid?
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And then it's actually...
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And now I'm...
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Yeah, no, I think that's actually how it works.
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I almost slid on a giant booger.
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Oh, cameras are here okay and stuff all right so then hello jennifer hello lisa my flooosh thank you
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so the last time we did this was on zoom was on zoom during lockdown yeah yeah in 2020.
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was it oh wow right well 2020 2020 hi hi floooshy flooosh
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you that was all right lockdown was 20 right
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which feels like boy we've come a long way yeah yeah
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lots happened well come it that's done that's done you know
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just let's pick the good things right that's over right
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and we are all now living amongst each other and back to being in the same rooms and connecting.
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Right.
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And we can do actor on actor in person. In person.
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Yeah.
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And I get to be with you again.
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I know.
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It's important.
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I haven't seen you in so long. So long.
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You've been so busy.
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And it's a year and a half.
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No. Well, because that's when I started working on the comeback writing and stuff.
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And it's like being in a, yeah, I don't know.
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You were like, I can't.
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I can't.
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It's so much work.
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I'm also so single focused.
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Well, which is good.
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I can't, but it was a lot of work.
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That's a lot of work.
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Yeah, but you're busy too.
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You're always busy, and then you're okay, and you have time to do things, and I can't.
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Well, you're maybe more professional than I am.
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Yeah, looks like it.
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You never look like you know what you're doing never know
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what i'm doing that's not true we've talked about friends you we did watched it
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because we did that before we did the reunion we did
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that was right the reunion was supposed to happen march right 20 something yeah 23rd
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or 25th why do i know that number of my things you remember things
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and you know things we were supposed to do the reunion
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march of 2020 yeah we were meeting at courtney's yes all
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of us to talk about what we were going to do what it was going to look like right
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and then that happened and then we ended up doing
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when did we do the reunion in 21 yeah 2021 2021 boy oh boy like february
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or march april jesus i don't remember anything yes
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but it was like right when
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that see this is fascinating it was just trying to remember what week was it
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that you could get vaccines um so half of us had started
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that together yeah oh and you also had said
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that you had never well i knew this though you never watched friends i hadn't i hadn't not since
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and i actually remember always thinking to myself really how could she never watch friends except for
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when we would gather in the very very beginning beginning back
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in like the 19 early 1900s um in the last century yes
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and we thought oh that would be fun remember we would always get together
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and we would watch the show at one of our homes yes it was really fun yeah
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and then we got busy and then i mean
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and then we didn't care well no
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and remember we also used to watch us shoot the scenes yes
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that was great we did but we still did we still did
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that didn't we no no we didn't no we didn't remember
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that so differently but not because of you know we didn't care yeah about each other
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right then it was just like yeah you know what you're doing you're great
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because we would look to each other for what do you
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think what do you think also help me i need a
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better joke yeah what do you think do i ask for yeah yeah
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and then we just didn't need to do that anymore
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and we were up in our rooms
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and right you know did we have televisions in the room yes we did did they show
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that were they showing what we were shooting yes oh that's great they did
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so we just see we were watching each other could have been
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but not on the floor right not on the floor anyway
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so there were whole episodes that i hadn't seen yeah put together
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and i just couldn't sit there at home
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and have anybody walk by seeing me watching yourself that i'm in yeah because it felt like
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embarrassing it's just like oh i'm here i am watching my my own self yeah be brilliant
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and funny well and i wouldn't feel
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that way i know you always you never thought you were
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funny i mean watching it sometimes i would just be like he's her lobster and i just wanted to like
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like why that voice
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because it was funny oh god the bloopers though the bloopers are some of my that's my favorite
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because you could when lisa broke i'm about to talk to the audience as
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if there's an audience
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when lisa kudrow would break it was one of the most enjoyable moments of my entire life
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because the laugh i mean just there you go but
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so unprofessional no there was times
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when you'd even apologize to the audience you'd go i can't wait for you to hear it because it's
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so funny i'm sorry better be worth it too oh boy
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yeah you broke a lot too thank god all the time watch bloopers
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and so thank god all the time it wasn't just me
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and yeah okay good and court would not break no she would sometimes break
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so then she started to put her scripts in the sink
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and on bright and on the fruit
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because sometimes they would change i'm still about to go to
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the audience that's not there me too it's like are we
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on a talk show we're not it's just us it's just us it's just have no one's watching
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so we can say they'll cut all this
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so good this is an actor on an actor this is what's happening that's why they call it
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that actors that know each other too well yeah this is just a short different issue um yes boy
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that was really fun yeah
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that also still feels like yesterday doesn't it it does no
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it doesn't to me it doesn't feel like yesterday yeah no why does it feel
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that way to me maybe because to me
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so i have watched it now okay
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and it's i completely did you love it loved it with
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all my heart yeah like i didn't go to bed till really late
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because one just goes right into the next to the next to the next
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and i'd end up sitting there for three hours right
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and then it's like two in the morning it's like i didn't need to go to bed this is bad
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but oh it made me so happy to watch it
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and man you're all good holy cow
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that was what we were really good jennifer oh it's such
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a ridiculous thing to say to people well we were of course well the writing
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that was just like such lightning in a bottle yeah
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that chemistry of all of us and the writers and
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and the writers played off of us and our relationships that were truly genuine and honestly loved each other so deeply.
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I know, weren't they great?
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I mean, it was a real collaboration that way, except we weren't up till four in the morning rewriting.
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No. But they were.
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That they were.
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Yeah, I know.
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And then they would have to, we'd do a take and then our whole scene and then they'd cut and then they'd rewrite it sometimes in the middle, in between the two passes.
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And we'd have to learn new dialogue.
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Right.
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That's hard.
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But what dedication of the writers.
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Oh, yeah.
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Of us to bother to learn the new lines, to make the show better.
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We were so generous.
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We were.
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But I just mean.
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Here's the thing.
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But you know what?
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With each other, that's the other thing.
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We relied on each other to say, how do I make this?
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We'd always inquire and ask for guidance of each other, which I loved so much.
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And of Marta and David.
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Always, yeah.
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And then what was great, was always great to hear was, it's not you, we need to rewrite it.
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Yes.
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Oh, thank God, okay.
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It wasn't us.
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We didn't screw it up.
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It was just a bad joke.
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But I just love that we trusted each other so much.
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Yes.
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Because I really looked to you and David and the Maddie and Matthews and Quartz,
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for approval of whether that was funny or not.
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Yeah.
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I didn't trust myself yeah me too me too oh you didn't you know
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when you're just oh was that good was
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that funny could it be funnier how do I get
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that you know right and it was
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but that's the thing about doing it all week mm-hmm
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and then you know for a run-through and you're also the right they're laughing
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but part of you is wondering are they laughing
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because they wrote it well we don't we definitely remember we
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had a guest star one time who will remain nameless who we were in the coffee shop
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and there you know how in the run-throughs the writers sort of go down
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so there's this row of i'm gonna explain it to you as
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if you don't know it yeah what happens joey
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and chandler's apartment monica rachel and then the coffee house
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and then we would slide up you know remember um
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and one of those guest stars was like listen to all those producers laughing at their own jokes And I was like,
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oh, it's not because it's funny.
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It's actually just laughing at their own joke.
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They would laugh and then it would get rewritten.
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Still.
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Because they were supporting each other too.
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That's true.
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Isn't that nice?
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Yeah, it is nice.
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It is nice.
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Have you watched the whole, all 10 years of this?
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Yes.
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Whoa.
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I think I have to go back and redo the first season because I think that was, yeah.
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I don't remember.
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Do we love the first season?
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Did we like the first season?
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There are things I forgot to watch.
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There's an episode where Phoebe and Ross have an argument over evolution.
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Oh, and I want to go back and watch that because what if Phoebe was right?
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I mean, it's crazy.
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And I studied evolutionary biology. So, right.
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I know that was partly why it was there.
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But yeah, I do.
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I want to because there are things that Phoebe says now that I'm watching it that at the time are like, isn't that stupid?
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And then it's actually.
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Now I'm, oh yeah, no, I think that's actually how it works.
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Did you have a favorite episode? Did anything stand out?
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Look, I love.
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Did you like the Thanksgiving episodes?
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Those were fun.
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Those were great Thanksgiving episodes when Brad was on, that was hilarious.
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That was hilarious and just getting like hated me i know
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how funny they're those the the movie stars
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that came on friends i know brad bruce willis julia roberts yes i mean isabella rossellini we had
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so many sean penn oh yeah they were always new
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remember surprised oh yeah susan sarandon susan sarandon yes because kathleen turner
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oh phenomenally good because i'm thinking these are movie stars
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that are coming into our sitcom and they would be
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so nervous and i was really that that was i was
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so surprised by that me too
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because the audience they they were afraid of the audience well
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because what's the tone right it's not theater it's for tv
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yeah it's not a movie what the hell is this what is and it's a good question It's a great question.
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And I remember someone asked one time and everyone was like, well, I didn't know how to explain it.
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And I said, oh, just talk louder.
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Same intention, just.
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Just louder.
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Yes, because in movies you're taught.
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Remember the first couple of movies I did after Friends or during Friends?
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Screaming.
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Me too.
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I'm still doing that.
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I'm like the kid.
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I'm still doing it too.
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I can't hear.
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I can't bear the volume and sound of my voice.
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It's too loud.
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I love it so much though
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God But I did love with all my heart All of us cracking up including me
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When Ross is playing the bagpipes
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Nothing funnier Nothing funnier And then sing along and Phoebe's like okay sure She doesn't know it's a song
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She doesn't know what song it is
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Not at all You just like sing it like the sound of the awful bagpipes Oh God It's just your tells.
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And me too, I always went, I always, I don't know.
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Yeah, you did this, I think.
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And I did that.
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I always try to hide it.
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Although we didn't, because everything else we did.
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And then there's just like a thing.
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I was the worst.
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When I watch it, I'm just like, oh, I'm fully laughing.
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At my own joke.
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I know, I know.
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I can't, well, it was funny, man.
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It was funny.
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It was funny.
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But I did crack up in tears.
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I laughed so hard when it was the Gellers anniversary party and Phoebe,
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there was an oyster and she, oh, it was Alec Baldwin was in that one.
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Oh my God.
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And he's like, here, eat this.
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Like, okay.
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And she flicked it on the floor and then Joey comes over, so you having a good time?
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He's like, no, it's horrible.
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I waited forever for the buffet line.
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Then I finally get, I almost slid on it.
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I almost slid on a giant booger.
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Why is this so stupid?
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It's so stupid.
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That an oyster-sized booger came out of someone's nose.
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It just decided. That was insane.
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But by the way, Joey was so, oh god, LeBlanc was so good.
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I'm having the worst time.
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There was a 15 minute line for the buffet, and when I finally got up to the plates, I slipped on a giant booger.
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And he played that really not smart guy, like so well.
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Yes.
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And he meant it with all his heart.
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It was a moo point.
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It's moo.
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It's just moo.
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It's a moo point.
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What are you saying, Joey?
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It's like a cow.
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It goes moo.
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It's a moo point.
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Oh, God.
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Is this Sue inside baseball?
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I don't know.
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I'm crying with tears right now.
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Remember we were going to do a rewatch podcast thing?
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Remember we were going to do that.
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Not a podcast, but a thing.
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Where it was like going through the episodes and we were going to do it.
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That was a great idea.
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What happened to that idea?
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I don't know.
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That was a great idea.
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You know.
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Oh, my God.
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That was so funny.
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yeah that would be a great show we're just like crying laughing that's so entertaining for people
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I know just watching ourselves watch us laugh at our show yeah do you miss like yeah multi-cam um
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when I'm sitting on a set waiting yeah for
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and it's been a long time right yes I do boy I miss it
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yeah I really loved that
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that medium I loved the audience yeah it was like didn't love the audience
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but I would I know you didn't you would love them
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today yeah I think I would now I would love you
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yeah by the way about Valerie yeah no I didn't mean to bring
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that up oh don't talk about Valerie chair let's not talk about
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that at all yeah no but wait
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that it was such a beautiful mix between theater and television
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so you've got that you know rehearsal yes working it out
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and then the excitement and the butterflies of opening night yeah every week yeah you got
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that we got to do that yes and then you would hear if they really liked it or not
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yeah that's right uh-huh
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and no canned laughter you didn't have laughing tracks no i
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think yeah i mean in the beginning did we no no no but i think they would
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play with because if you've done it the third time
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and that's the take they like and the audience wasn't as enthusiastic They would take the last one.
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They would take the first laugh.
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Oh, but it yeah So fair so I'm talking about it.
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I know Oh, I have a camera there.
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There's a camera there too.
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Jesus.
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Well, there's a somewhere someone's watching this I hope is why are we here?
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No, but if I would, yeah, sing a multicam show.
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Yeah.
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What a schedule.
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It was so great.
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Having a great life.
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Me too.
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We had a life at the same time.
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The more you do it, the easier it is.
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Yeah.
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It was great.
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I would love to do another one if anyone wrote a good one.
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Yeah.
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I would too.
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Okay.
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Let's do it.
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Let's do it.
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Let's bring it back.
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I'll see you soon okay i'm so excited about
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that you heard it here oh wow what's it gonna make it happen
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can we do you me and courtney just like what would
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that be girlfriends we don't have to figure it out right
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now let's pitch it okay let's workshop it in front of all of these wonderful people
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so and then yeah then you did the morning show
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and then the morning show creeped in well for someone who
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claims they had nothing to do with the cover-up you doth protest a little too much I did not cover up anything.
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I am trying to figure out what happened.
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Uh-huh.
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You know I've been a fan of since season one.
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I know you have.
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I'm so supportive.
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Supportive?
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I just love it.
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You know?
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I mean, I do.
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I love it.
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And you're phenomenally good.
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Thank you so much.
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Wow, Jennifer.
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Oh.
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You're so good.
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You're very kind.
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We have awesome, incredible writers.
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We really do.
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And actors, too. And actors.
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Actors on actors.
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We have extraordinary kids.
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But you do yes you do have the stories are unbelievably good
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and i am in awe of them and what they have to do
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because there's so many characters
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and weaving this this sort of story weaving these stories all together
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and having it make sense yes and trying to make sure there's no holes in the canoe
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yeah because yeah i have a question though
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because in the beginning you're involved very involved do you find
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your as involved now this last season yes oh my goodness breaking the stories
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and the arcs we get the story broken and then we will i mean it's everything down to
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outline the outline they'll pitch it right then they then we get a written outline
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and then we We get the scripts and up until the day of, we're making changes.
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Okay, real executive producer.
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Absolutely.
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Not just in name.
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No. I just wanted people to know that.
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Oh, yeah.
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No, I love it too.
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Yeah, no, you're very, very good.
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Because I like to get my hands in a lot of things anyway.
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And you're very good.
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You're very kind.
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You are.
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No, you're really good.
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You're really smart.
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Thanks.
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About that stuff.
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I like it.
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Story, writing, what feels true, what feels right.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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Thank you.
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And they're very collaborative, which is incredible.
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Yeah.
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They tolerate the, this doesn't make sense, you know, or I don't understand, or I don't know if I would say that, or this feels too...
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Yeah.
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Something.
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No, but that's great.
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It's a walk in a fine line, too, with the real world.
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And we're a television show at the same time, you know?
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Yeah, I know.
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But it's great that they trust you because they should.
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Well, we started this also back in, geez. When?
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2018. Are you serious?
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We started shooting this in 2018 or premiered in 2019.
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Oh my God.
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And it's only five minutes, and we're just starting the fifth season.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Well, cause, yeah.
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It's COVID.
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We hit COVID, we hit the strikes.
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There was so many.
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Oh, right.
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We hit so many stops and starts, stops and starts.
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Yes.
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But this season was really extraordinary.
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I mean, the stories were like, it was like being on a roller coaster.
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It was so thrilling.
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Yeah, high drama.
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Yeah, but real.
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And for me, I don't know if it was episode six, with you, Alex, and her father,
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played by Jeremy Irons, no less.
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My God, how was that?
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Well, Jeremy Irons, who is a gorgeous human being,
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literally, physically breathtaking, and he is as funny and playful, he's like a big kid.
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Oh, wow.
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Good thing you never went into the law because your arguments are not- Got it, not smart.
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I know, I'm not smart enough.
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I'm not academic enough.
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I'm just not enough.
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I'm intimidated and nervous and excited at all at the same time to meet him.
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And I remember the first time we did a table read and he was in London, so he was on the screen coming in through Zoom.
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And he's just staring down at everybody and he had this cigarette in his mouth and he said where everyone's like, Jesus, there's Jeremy Irons.
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Just like, just gazing upon all of us.
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Like, we're just like i don't know if he knew the camera was on
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or not but he was just he was just incredible
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and wanted it always to make you know how was
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that was that good like same thing as you know you would say to each other right how was
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that did that feel right yeah did that feel good
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should we do that again
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or how do we make this feel more just i love
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i love he was just a wonderful collaborator oh extraordinary human that's fantastic yeah too
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because he's yeah because he cares about what he's doing yeah
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so he's not afraid to say and i think it's such a beautiful trait
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and it that you know to still always not be sure
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and not right and to just we never you know it's it's important it's never get comfortable
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and and right be curious yeah continue to be curious yeah that's important
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and interested can i ask you though about the scene
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in alex's apartment and alex is learning for the first time that her mother
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did postpartum depression
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and then left that's postpartum it doesn't matter what it was
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called what difference does it make it makes all the difference in the world it was
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so there were so many emotional bombs it was a lot of bombs it was um
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that was yeah because we all have such complicated relationships with our own fathers right
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or i did at least i mean not complicated
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but you know right divorce families all that stuff
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and just it was just so right being a part of
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that scene which was a took a long time to kind of get to the place
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that it that it got i was wondering
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but just to have sort of have an understanding of like oh this is why i am the way i am
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and all of a sudden you learn all this information in your 50s about oh i thought she left because you're
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so horrible right i didn't know she had a problem you
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could have helped her we could have helped her yeah
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but we didn't you know no one talked about it back
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then just think about those generations how much suffering they they just internalized
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and never were able to process or talk to or now it's
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or be institutionalized right too yeah that's right yeah it's true and but
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yeah no and alex saying like that was postpartum depression yeah oh my god
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but not only that
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and he's letting you know you well yeah letting you know like well no i never wanted you oh
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that was brutal yeah and then she left yeah
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and you drove her out right and now i was left with you yes
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but it felt like watching it
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that you're actually processing some empathy about oh he lost the woman he loved
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and he's blamed me
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and that's not on me right right really it wasn't about me it was
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that was so great i was like i'm really so grateful
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that i get to have to just this material
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that we get to work with it's so beautiful and layered
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and yes and hard and yeah but like you said when When you're so focused,
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there is no real time because you go home, learn all the dialogue.
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Once you learn the dialogue, memorize the dialogue, then we have to breathe the life into the dialogue.
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Right, no, you're existing in an alternate reality, basically, yeah, basically.
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But that's what it feels like to me.
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But boy, I don't know.
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That whole scene for me was, That's why Alex is so strong.
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Because she always just took care of herself and okay.
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And this is the moment where she's letting him, you know, just letting that, like it hurt.
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It hurt and it was also her drive.
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It gave her her drive.
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I mean, I have a similar thing in terms of, I'm gonna try to do the best job I possibly can because that then they'll notice.
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Right.
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Approval see what I can do?
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But I think there's something inside.
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And I might be wrong, just imposing my own personal beliefs about things.
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I love them.
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I love all of your beliefs.
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But that ultimately, no, she does like herself.
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She's there for herself.
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She does take care of herself.
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And it's not out of, you know, anger.
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I don't know.
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And I think that's ultimately what's important, too.
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I agree.
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Hello, hello, hello.
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Oh, no one's here.
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No, no, no, no, I'm here.
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I'm here.
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Hello.
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Brandon.
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Hello.
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Valerie Cherish.
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First of all, the comeback.
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And I love Valerie Cherish so much.
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Good.
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I love her.
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Really?
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She breaks my heart.
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Okay.
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Like, on such a lot.
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She really does.
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She makes me laugh and she breaks my heart.
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I also think that life of the comeback has been fascinating.
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Isn't it crazy?
524
It started, what was the first year that you did it?
525
2005. 2005.
526
So that's 20 years ago.
527
21 years ago.
528
And then you came back, literally, there was a comeback.
529
Yeah.
530
Eight years later, nine years later?
531
Nine, ten.
532
And then another ten.
533
Ten.
534
Ten, eleven.
535
Why did it end the first time?
536
It was canceled.
537
Why was it canceled?
538
It was canceled.
539
Yes.
540
Well, how often does something like that happen? and a show gets canceled, then someone nine years later goes, you know, remember that show that Comeback?
541
Damn, that was good.
542
Yeah, because there were different people in charge who had been fans of it.
543
And it did have this very strong niche audience, maybe more than niche.
544
I don't know, but some people wrote about it and liked it
545
and it made lists of you know good shows so
546
that was kind of extraordinary it only had one season
547
and hbo said yeah we think
548
that would be an event for the people who love the show yeah to do another season do another
549
and it was supposed to be a limited like just a limited series
550
but because we were a series yeah
551
that it had to be a season two right
552
so we didn't have expectations of coming back at all after the second season how did you
553
and michael patrick feel when they said hey did they come to you
554
and say we have an idea that we would like to throw up the flagpole
555
and see if someone salutes they sort of did i mean they wanted to know
556
if we were interested and we did have an idea
557
but we didn't know if they were you know it's sort of like
558
but we broke up i don't
559
but i don't have hard feelings to you do you want to have a coffee nothing not a big commitment
560
or it was like that so and yeah and we did we had an idea you know for that second season
561
first season was honestly reality reality tv the world how it
562
felt like it was going to be the end of scripted television
563
and writers remember we were really afraid of that right yes
564
because it's less expensive to do there were no rules there were no unions governing
565
that much i mean there were but not like today yeah
566
and it was just
567
so much easier for them i mean the landscape of from
568
one decade to another right of television the industry is exponentially
569
different right there weren't as many 22 episodes no multi-camera sitcoms in 2014-15
570
when i think it was on look as
571
if the comeback wasn't one of those a single camera sort of comedy you know
572
that i'm right I'm being so dismissive of.
573
And that's where she would be.
574
And the worst guy to her in the world, Polly G, was writing about, and people were also just writing about their own thing,
575
their own experience and all of that.
576
That's what it felt like in 2014, whenever.
577
And of course Valerie would, you know, but that's about me.
578
I'm going to be in it then.
579
Like, really?
580
You're going to work with him? and he just made the most unflattering portrayal of you.
581
Of you, yeah.
582
Well, I don't want anybody else playing.
583
So, all right.
584
But she's on an HBO show.
585
And then we had her win an Emmy.
586
God, and that last episode.
587
Oh, my God.
588
And leave the cameras.
589
I know.
590
I didn't know if that was going to work.
591
Michael said, pitched it in the room because we were trying to figure out.
592
And I was on board with, yeah, she would leave the Emmys.
593
I mean, my son broke his arm and I couldn't breathe till I could just sit and watch him in the hospital.
594
You know, broke his leg.
595
That's what a great mother I am.
596
I don't know what limb he broke.
597
It's a broken something.
598
I have nightmares about it.
599
That's okay.
600
Could have been a leg, could have been an arm.
601
And at this point, it doesn't really matter.
602
Doesn't matter.
603
But I get the point is.
604
The point is, I could see she didn't have a child.
605
Mickey was really important to her.
606
That was her family for all we knew, you know?
607
Yes.
608
So yeah, I could see her leaving the Emmys to go do that because she couldn't sit there not knowing.
609
And he was sick.
610
You know, and then the actor who played Mickey, Robert Michael Morris, did die in 2017.
611
Like not long after, right?
612
Two years after.
613
Yeah.
614
So I couldn't even think about doing more.
615
We're done.
616
Right.
617
There's no show without Mickey.
618
Right.
619
Too hard to think about.
620
And there was nothing big.
621
How did this season come about, the third?
622
Michael Patrick King, whenever he and I would get together, we would always end it with, what do you think Valerie would be doing?
623
Or he would say, what if she's doing this or that?
624
And it's like, it doesn't feel right.
625
Not she's on Broadway.
626
All right.
627
And then what?
628
Like, it's not a thing.
629
And then the last time he, he said, what if, um,
630
Valerie's offered the lead in a multi-cam, but it's written by AI.
631
I went, yes, that's of course.
632
Yes. Of course.
633
Of course she would sign up for that nightmare of, you know, scrutiny and horrible.
634
That scene, that scene in the room when they're on the Zoom and you guys are in the office.
635
Yeah.
636
And they're explaining everything and it just sounds so.
637
Right.
638
It's an easy buy for her.
639
Guys, just pin yourselves.
640
Pin, pin, pin, pin yourselves for Valerie.
641
Oh, okay.
642
Don't say I didn't warn you, Valerie.
643
Hello, everyone.
644
Absolutely, everyone.
645
Andrew Scott is so genius.
646
I know.
647
Brilliant at playing the sleazy.
648
I mean, not sleazy, but, you know.
649
Well, what's the word?
650
Because they are, yes, they're a wolf in sheep's clothing, basically, right?
651
Right.
652
I mean, they kind of have to be.
653
Yeah, they have to be.
654
But Andrew Scott.
655
God, that was brilliant.
656
Tears came out of my eyes when I heard he would want it to be in the show.
657
Honestly, I get that.
658
I just, yeah, started crying.
659
And Michael Patrick King, in fact, had said, no, no, we can't have someone known.
660
That's not what we do because we need for the audience to believe this world is real.
661
And I just said, Michael, 20 years ago, Phoebe put on a red wig and said her name was Valerie and people bought it.
662
So I don't think that's an issue.
663
They're called actors.
664
That's what they do.
665
They play different characters.
666
And it's our last season.
667
It's the last time we're doing this.
668
Come on.
669
Well, you say that.
670
Let's have some sparkle.
671
I say it and I mean it.
672
Do you really mean it?
673
Yeah, because now it's a piece.
674
It's a trilogy.
675
Right.
676
Right.
677
And we went from the first extinction event that we thought was going to be reality TV to this extinction event.
678
Right.
679
And that everyone thinks is going to be an extinction event.
680
So it felt like, oh, it's full circle.
681
Right.
682
In that way.
683
I hear you.
684
I'll be okay with that, I guess.
685
It's full circle.
686
It is.
687
The big thing from the first season.
688
And you were saying it like heartbreaking.
689
Oh, my God.
690
But now it's like you know what's going on.
691
Yeah, she's now, you know, involuntarily in charge.
692
Yes.
693
It's a role reversal.
694
Yeah.
695
And in a way that we think could happen, right?
696
Where they're like, well, we have AI.
697
Do we need a showrunner?
698
yeah yes yes
699
that beautiful Jimmy Burroughs moment Jimmy Burroughs by the way who
700
plays the director on the comeback yeah Jimmy the director
701
and now Jimmy Burroughs on right the director the director yeah
702
who was our first director on the friends yeah sitcom show
703
the friendship show the first 10 episodes yeah he's a legend yeah he's a legend he's a legend
704
and what a treat that was to see remember when you sent me and Courtney a picture of you and Jimmy?
705
On stage 24.
706
Stage 24, which is where the Friends show.
707
How did you even walk onto that?
708
How did that happen?
709
Oh, my God.
710
So we were looking at stages, and Warner Brothers offered stage 24.
711
Stop that.
712
Just coincidence.
713
Well, maybe.
714
Or they intentionally offered stage 24, which was really nice.
715
We needed a big stage.
716
Yes.
717
And I can't tell you how many ways that moved me.
718
I can't.
719
Oops.
720
I know.
721
Because knowing, you know, this is the end of Valerie Cherish and the comeback.
722
And that was where it was the end of Friends.
723
And, you know, next to Friends, this is, I know.
724
Sorry.
725
Give me one.
726
God damn.
727
Thank you.
728
I did this last time.
729
And that was next to friends, the comeback means the most to me, right?
730
Mm-hmm.
731
Right.
732
Sorry.
733
I have to make fun of myself.
734
Please don't put this in there.
735
And then I'm seeing like shots of this backstage, like seeing where Inger's room was and where craft service was and the stairway and so much of the...
736
I have a picture of my Julian at two years old standing on a step stool washing his dishes
737
and a washing of cup and a sink and then he's there on
738
that stage doing his first thing in a big show not a short
739
or student film no he's literally that was that's his first
740
that was the other thing i was going to say there's julian
741
i could not i was beside myself because i didn't i was that was a surprise for me a really good
742
a really amazing surprise.
743
Yeah, he was so good.
744
And he's so good.
745
Really bad.
746
That young man was baked on that show.
747
He literally was- Literally.
748
He literally baked in that oven.
749
Every huddle.
750
Every huddle.
751
The laughter he heard.
752
Everyone would touch my stomach before we'd show out.
753
Always touch the fluish belly.
754
And the, so he was basically- Wait, when I was pregnant with Julian, they weren't just touching my stomach every- No, and when Julian came out,
755
we still wanted to touch your stomach.
756
No, I'm kidding.
757
Aw, it's not creepy.
758
It's a sweet thing.
759
You don't get it.
760
No. Only we do.
761
But to imagine being growing inside your mother, and that's what you are as a baking child.
762
What's the word?
763
I keep saying baking.
764
As he's growing in your stomach.
765
Did you want to say gestating?
766
No, I don't think that sounds even weirder.
767
i just thought of
768
that right now it's like he grew up hearing laughter all
769
the time yeah i mean he was developing his body i
770
know can you imagine the amount of can you imagine just the amount of joy yeah
771
because it was the most fun
772
and he is today one of the most joyful human beings
773
that i get to spend time with he's great
774
and he's like i love him would want to choose him
775
as a person i would like to spend time with as a friend not just
776
because he's your son he's extraordinary well done
777
well played and also when he was when he could first speak he'd look at the tv point to jennifer
778
mommy yeah so that was weird he has he had a connection he knew somehow
779
but that that would make me feel good all those things
780
and julian being there yeah that stage where it already meant
781
so much and now there's a whole other layer yeah there holy oh god in the shot
782
when when you you were saying look at all the movies
783
that have shot here this is amazing not looking
784
and then you're saying then well finally this state this stage is gonna get a great sitcom yeah how's that Finally,
785
and then you leave the frame and then they zoom in on friends.
786
It's so fantastic and meta.
787
Isn't that funny?
788
I know.
789
How's that?
790
Can be the big TV hit for stage 24, huh?
791
Let's go in.
792
We should go in there.
793
I loved that so much.
794
We were going to have some moment where someone brings up friends, you know.
795
Didn't you bring up friends?
796
she starts to say yes i think jimmy burrows you know
797
if we're up to his agents you know he never would have done cheers
798
or taxi or well and grace or fraser or
799
and abby goes we got to go yeah it's perfect timing abby jacobson very good yeah
800
but we were going to do something where um the studio
801
has these younger guest stars come in like for a community college i don't know something
802
And they are definitely characters from other sitcoms that you can tell.
803
And one of them has a guitar and blonde.
804
It's Phoebe.
805
And Valerie would say, and that's, why would you have that girl?
806
Why not, you know, the Monica or the Rachel?
807
Prettier.
808
Oh, no. Would have been, I wanted, we didn't do it.
809
No, I'm so glad you didn't do that.
810
The scripts were too long, but I thought it would have been funny
811
or early on I wanted to have a scene where Valerie is invited to Jennifer Aniston's for dinner
812
and there's a lot of actors around and she's think like oh well all right here we go she's arrived
813
and all they want to do is say so you're doing
814
that AI show why are you doing you know are you doing
815
that offended and upset with you it's being written by AI
816
uh-huh now is is that allowed well it must be
817
because they're doing it what do you feel about AI I
818
feel like we're gonna learn a lot about what doesn't work right
819
and that there will be some aspects of it
820
that will be really helpful I think an audience will always let you know
821
what works for them and what doesn't
822
and what doesn't yeah that's what I think and I think right now just as actors,
823
I think we're safe because young people can tell so much better than I can tell what's an AI-generated human.
824
Isn't it crazy?
825
I can't tell that well.
826
The amount of things that I get sent from people that think it's actually me and it's so clearly not.
827
Yeah.
828
But yeah, it's such uncharted territory and I think we have to learn about it.
829
It feels like it's already just grown into this,
830
you know, 900-headed head monster that we don't understand enough about it.
831
Yeah.
832
No, I know.
833
I mean, you've probably, I know you.
834
You've probably looked and tried to learn about it.
835
I want to learn more.
836
I want to understand what this this is
837
because I think there's a lot of it's just
838
so many questions it's just
839
so many questions well I don't want I hope you come
840
back sometime I don't want to ever stop talking to you
841
I know well the good thing is we don't have to we don't I know
842
but here on this particular set in these seats with these wonderful mugs
843
that match our seats this is not one of our homes no
844
so no and we can continue our conversations when we
845
when you come over
846
or I come over we go have dinner we got to get Courtney we do got to get
847
that our thirst our threesome yeah back together yes I know I love seeing you always I love you
848
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 847 sentences and 7145 words to shadow. The speech runs for 43:47. The speaker talks at a natural 163 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| jimmy noun | /ˈd͡ʒɪmi/ | A device used to circumvent a locking mechanism. |
| extraordinary adjective | /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/ | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual. |
| dialogue noun | /ˈdaɪəˌlɑɡ/ | A conversation or other form of discourse between two or more individuals. |
| zoom verb | /zuːm/ | To move fast with a humming noise. |
| sitcom noun | /ˈsɪtˌkɑm/ | Situation comedy. |
| stomach noun | /ˈstʌmək/ | An organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion. |
| slide noun | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again. |
| cancel verb | /ˈkæn.sl̩/ | To cross out something with lines etc. |
| reunion noun | /ɹiːˈjuːnjən/ | The process or act of reuniting. |
| bake verb | /beɪk/ | To cook (something) in an oven (for someone). |
| horrible adjective | /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/ | Causing horror; terrible; shocking. |
| legend noun | /ˈlɛd͡ʒ.ənd/ | The life story of a saint (such stories are often embellished, but any kind is called a legend). |
| pitch noun | /pɪt͡ʃ/ | A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand. |
| script noun | /skɹɪpt/ | A writing; a written document. |
| tear verb | /tɛɹ/ | To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come over verb | To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse. |
| bring up verb | To mention. |
| cover up verb | To conceal or disguise. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. |
| get together verb | To meet, to gather together, to congregate. |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. |
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've come · haven't seen · You've been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be institutionalized · was left · was canceled |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Well, which is · collaborative, which is · scene which was |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 222 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: theater /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/, breathe /bɹiːð/, clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: extinction /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/, wash /wɑʃ/, evolution /ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/, friendship /ˈfɹɛn(d)ʃɪp/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, evolution /ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like jimmy, extraordinary, dialogue.
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.