Why Watching ‘Marcel Garris’ Was an ‘Out of Body’ Experience for Star Leslie Stahl

marcel shell with shoes – Dean Fleischer-Kemp and Jenny Slate’s feature film A24, based on their viral hit starring an animated clam with an eye and a pair of kicks – is about the power of family, the comfort of grandmothers and the legendary. 60 minutes Reporter Leslie Stahl.

He is hailed as “brave” and “heroic” in the film, in which he plays himself in interview scenes with Marcel. But it wasn’t until she sat in the theater for the preview that Stahl knew the magnitude of the honor. “I was surprised and a little shy. “I blushed,” Stahl tells him. THR Watching a movie next door 60 minutes colleagues, including producer Shari Finkelstein, who also plays herself in the film. “I was embarrassed to ask you to come and see a love letter for me. The whole experience of seeing him was out of body.”

Below, Staley explains why she said yes to the project, what it was like to perform in front of the “bright” but troubled blackboard, and whether she sees more movies in her future.

When did you first hear the name Marcel the Shell and what do you think of it?

I first heard about Marcel from Shari Finkelstein, a producer I work with regularly. 60 minutesHe called me and said, “Do you want to be in the movie Marcel Shell in Shoes?” I said that? When he called, not only had he never seen a single YouTube clip, he hadn’t even heard of it. He texted me and I found it very strange. It’s very strange, but I trust Shari completely. great 60 minutes producers and told me that Marcel was popular, famous and quite famous, more famous than I was. He said he thought it would be fun and a good thing to do.

Film director Dean Fleischer-Camp and his producer Elizabeth Holm said that providing 60 minutes And their involvement was a multi-year process. How closely have you followed this process? Did Shari give you more updates while this was happening?

Well, first of all, Shari has already agreed to do the voice acting in the movie. He told me he went through something of a hectic process to get approval to do this and be named “a 60 minutes producer.” So I agreed to do it and he disappeared. I don’t remember exactly how long, maybe a year or more. It just disappeared. In fact, I thought it was gone forever and assumed it wouldn’t happen because if I knew something. Later, when Shari and I were working on the story together, I said, “I think [Marcel movie] That didn’t happen, did it?” And he said, “No, no, it’s in process,” which surprised me. Shortly after, approval came. I think what Dean and the other directors on the project wanted was what you see. [in the film]which must be fully compatible 60 minutes – from the music and logo to our watch and being in my studio. It just took forever.

Apparently authenticity was very important to the filmmakers, they hired you and Shari, but they also hired the real you. 60 minutes Crew to appear as 60 minutes The film crew. How important was it for you to shoot with people who are already your colleagues?

Extremely important, extremely important, because I care a lot about the way I am enlightened and the quality of the production. I’m very curious about it and I’ve always had it since the day I got it. 60 minutes. In fact, even before that, when I was working on hard news. The fact that I had my favorite cameraman and some of my favorite bands there meant a lot. By the way, I didn’t necessarily put anything as a condition, but they were there, and Shari’s part was very comforting.

To film the scene where you interview Marcel, I read that Jenny Slate was touching the floor to be at eye level. How was that experience?

No, Chris, he didn’t. He lay down on the floor at my feet. You may not remember, but he had a serious back problem. This poor girl was in pain and was lying on her back at my feet. And it was fun. It was a riff and an ad and it was brilliant. I was a little disappointed that more than her [improv] These side trips and avenues were not used as a diversion from the main course and could not be incorporated into the finished film as they had nothing to do with the script as it went along. The little tangents he went off on were incredibly smart. I have to understand that he wasn’t just funny, he was smart and funny.

He said that although you are not a trained improviser, you are definitely an improviser trained as a journalist because you are always reacting to the moment and breaking the script by deflecting questions prepared to suit the moment. How was it improvising with him?

It was normal, that’s what we do. I always come prepared for the main interview, and believe me, Marcel’s interview was important. He would be the center of our story and so the role would depend on a strong interview and that means I’m strong and the subject matter is equally strong and articulate and receptive at the moment. [Improv] That’s more or less what we do. I have to be ready to deflect my prepared questions and follow where the topic takes me.

I also read that you rewrote or rewrote the segment intro because it didn’t look authentic. Do you remember exactly how you redid it or why?

I don’t remember the words, but I do remember going to Shari and saying, “We would never say that” or “We would never use that language.” I think it was more subjective than we would ever use. We always speak in the third person. There will never be a “me” in the studio. We worked to make it more in line with our style and they approved our small changes.

This movie is a true love letter to Leslie Stahl and her 60 minutes. Obviously your career speaks for itself and you have a CV and awards to prove it, along with fans and admirers. But I imagine hearing all these beautiful compliments on the big screen is a completely different experience. How do you get praise because there’s so much about you in this movie?

Oh my God. It’s funny that you mentioned this because no one had told me about it until now. I saw the movie for the first time in a small studio with other people. I had no idea what was in store for me, or that I would be called “Fearless” and “Hero”. He was surprised and a little embarrassed. I blushed. Nobody could see us because we were in the dark. Shari was there and I invited some of our colleagues to watch it with me, but then I was too embarrassed to ask them to see a love letter for me. I was really surprised.

You know, I did my duty and went to interview Marcel, which was peculiar to say the least because he was interviewing an inanimate object, a small, half-inch plastic object. It was one thing to find out how I was portrayed, which I had no idea would happen. What I later learned is that the original concept was that Dean didn’t watch TV, so Marcel and his grandmother didn’t watch TV either, except when they could look out the neighbor’s window. And the neighbor fell 60 minutes A demographic that is older, older is. The neighbor didn’t watch dramas or comedies, so the only thing Marcel and his grandmother watched was 60 minutes. it made me laugh

The film is not just a love letter to Leslie Staley, but also to the families and grandparents, as Nana Cohn is at the center of the story. It also made me think of you as a grandmother and the book you wrote about being a grandmother. Did seeing this game on screen stop you from realizing how close you are to your own grandchildren?

He didn’t give me time off. I think it’s funny that there’s that tone. I don’t think they didn’t want me to be in the movie because I wrote a book about Granny; It was a coincidence. But when I’ve seen the movie, I’ve seen it twice and I’m going a third time soon with my grandkids, who haven’t seen it yet, I wonder if anyone made the connection you have. The whole experience of seeing him was out of body. There were these waves of connections in my body about me being presented as I was. This is exciting.

Seeing that in the movie and now that you’ve been to the movies again, I was wondering what kind of movie you like to watch when you go to the movies.

I missed going to the movies for the last two years due to COVID. I miss that period so much. It’s a little personal, but I’ll tell you, and it’s on the record: my husband has Parkinson’s. He has COVID. We’ve known each other since the beginning. It really slowed the course of his illness. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative disorder and has had a very slow and gradual but not bad tendency to decline. When he contracted COVID, he just fell off a cliff. Now I can’t go to the movies with him. I cannot bear it. Aside from seeing Marseille and another movie I saw for a story I was working on, I haven’t been to a cinema and I’m heartbroken.

But we watch a lot of movies at home with streaming. We have a big TV, but it’s not the same. I miss going to the theater. [Editor’s Note: Stahl’s husband, Aaron Latham, passed away Saturday at age 78.]

This is not his first screen role. you appeared Murphy Brown, Fraser, Madagascar: Escape to Africa, Eagle Eye and several other projects. I love that you told your colleague at CBS that you’re up for more and ready to move on. Is it a dream to be part of a certain movie or franchise?

That’s a good question. My husband has written several movies and now my daughter [Taylor] He’s in the movie business. He didn’t ask me to participate in any of his projects. Maybe it was really fun, designed by my own son. I’d love to send you a little tip. hello taylor trail trail.

A version of this story first appeared in the July 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.