Meryl Streep Meets Anna Wintour at Vogue

Can I take your coat? Yes, you may. Lovely to see you. Thank you so much for coming in. I hope I get the job. Many times over. So, Meryl, jumping right in. We're here to talk about your new film, The Post, where you play my late friend and incredible woman, Catherine Graham. Yeah. Obviously, you've played a lot of extraordinary women. What was the most challenging woman you ever played? Oh, I should say. No, no, we're not going there, Meryl. That wasn't, anyway. It was, that was fun. Catherine, I remember, is one of the most intimidating women I've ever met. Really? Yes. She intimidated you? Terrified, terrified. I mean, she was amazing and became a great friend and mentor. She was so tall and so imposing and spoke so well. And she, of course, led The Washington Post. Through the Watergate scandal. So, obviously, the film is relevant for today in that it's about how a woman can make herself heard. One of the themes of the film is how difficult it is to stand up. And so that sort of speaks to our moment where the truth is so amorphous and difficult to nail down. That's a feeling shared by not only women, but men. It's hard to risk a great deal to tell the truth. One has to think about the Mueller investigation and the current climate in which investigative journalism is daily pitched against fake news. The key is knowing when we're being lied to, or worse, when we're being diverted from looking in a direction where we might learn something. The suspense that Steven Spielberg has imbued the story with and how many times it resonates with the present moment is something that's pretty exciting. There was no halfway measures with Kay. Everything she wanted to do, she had to do well. Yes, I was reading about her mother who said, I don't care what you kids do, but you have to be the best at it. Yes, I think that. And the burden of that. Yeah, that was deep. What our mothers do to us. And I just think, as a mother, what am I doing to these children? Well, as a mother... It's inadvertent and I didn't mean it. What do you sit around talking about in the dining room table? Three daughters. Harvey Weinstein. That's all we talk about. I mean, you know, it's horrible. You know, we want them to be free. We want them to be proud. We want them to be female. But you can't... You put them in danger by not informing them about the male gaze and how it works on young girls. Do you feel that the recent events regarding predatory workplace behavior will advance the feminist agenda and opportunities for women or set it back? Oh, I think this moment is absolutely thrilling. This is a door that will not be closed. Got her foot in there now. And it'll be very difficult for people to conduct their lives the way they have in the past. Oh, that's just locker room talk. Oh, that's just the way men are. No, it's not. We're civilized people and we learn from our mistakes. Do you think, with everything that's happened, do you feel the awards season will be very different this year? More political, more restrained, more serious? Aware. I think it'll be more aware. I think it might lead to the moment where, at least in my business, where people walk into a room and they look around and they see three women and nine men and they think there's something wrong. But it's off. You're going to run for office? You should. No, you should. You're mad. You should. You're a good boss. I'm a boss that's beat up at my house. The one where it's the last say in anything. Do you think we'll see a female president in our lifetime, Meryl? I think so. Yes, I do. Good. I thought we would have sooner, but I think we will. Good. Yes. I think that's a good place to end, so then Meryl and I can talk about important things. Oh, I want to show you something with much love and admiration. Oh my god! Look at that day! Thank you. Well, thank you for doing it, Meryl. I wish my mother were alive to see it. Thank you.