Emma Thompson Returns

Two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson is the only person to have won Oscars for both acting and writing. She again brings both those talents into play by reviving the beloved, magical Nanny McPhee, small C, big P. In the new family comedy, Nanny McPhee Returns. Listen to me very carefully. I am going to explain to you the way I work. When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go. How could anyone possibly want you? Well, it's an odd thought I grant you, but there it is. And here she is, Emma Thompson, good morning. Good morning. You had your premiere last night. Yes, I'm fine though. That's great. Fine. Is this the gin I asked for? I hope it's the right blend for you. Thank you. Nanny McPhee Returns, such a fun movie. I have to say I loved it. But it's set in, for anybody who's familiar with Nanny McPhee, this is a completely different time, it's a different family. So she's returning, but not to the place we know her from. Yeah, she's my James Bond, basically. She can be anywhere at any time. Nanny, double O Nanny. Shake and not stir. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. So that I can tell different kinds of stories, because she's sort of like a guy in a Western. She's the stranger who rode in from out of town and sought something out. So I got rather overexcited and thought, I could tell any story. And so you could do it with adults. And so this story is really kid versus kid in this respect. And there are five very important lessons that Nanny McPhee has to teach them. I mean, are those lessons that you find were important to your own kids, or are they just... Well, you know, the lessons I use is a structural thing, really. I mean, when she says they've learned how to share nicely, they're sharing with a goat, a cow, and an elephant. So there's something slightly subversive about those lessons. That actually what she's really doing is giving the children the confidence to understand that most of the time they can solve their own problems. Because they've got them now. Sometimes they need a little bit of help, maybe a bit of transport, maybe an idea, you know, or a tiny bit of magic. But most of the time they can sort it out on their own. Which, in a way, is kind of a nice lesson for today. Because a lot of times it feels like we talk so much about helicopter parenting and parents swooping and doing everything for their kids. Absolutely. Disastrous, actually. If you remove risk from a person's life, and the possibility of accident, you remove the possibility of them becoming truly independent. And that takes a lot of the joy out of it. Absolutely. You know, even a little fall down the stairs, you think, I'll remember not to... But if you never get the chance to make those mistakes, you just don't learn. You're much more likely to have a much worse accident later on in life. And to not be able to recover from it, and to be a lot miserable. One of the things that really stuck out to me in the film is the way Nanny McPhee's appearance changes. But it's never once referenced. What is that about? Can you tell us? Well, I referenced it in the first movie. And this time around, we played them, but we cut them because it didn't seem to matter. And what's so interesting is you talk to children, and they all have different attitudes to it. But mostly they think that it's because the children are changing. Because I thought, how interesting is that psychologically? You've got someone who changes on the outside, but not on the inside. And everyone who changes on the inside sees her differently. So is it to do with what's in your heart? Is it to do with your emotional state? And I think that if you consider that what we love is always beautiful, then that's a very interesting lesson, I think. And it's an unspoken lesson. It is. It's beautiful. She looks more like Emma Thompson. She looks like you at the end. She looks like a beautiful woman, as opposed to this woman with warts and hairs growing out of the warts. But you'll find that most children prefer the ugly version. Why? Because it's so much more interesting. And it's charming and funny. And it's much more exciting than me looking just like me, with a bit of lippy and a spot of mascara. It must have been a little fun then for you to put on all that makeup. It is. It is fun. Sometimes I forget. Ewan McGregor came on set to play something, and he's so gorgeous, so I started flirting with him. And people kept on coming up to me and saying, you're still in the nose and the warts. And you have this large tooth protruding. Yes, it's not going to... No, I didn't get many dates. Well, you can still try. What's great is you're not done. We mentioned that you're writing. The book is out, actually, for Anonymous Q Returns. Yes, that's an interesting book, because it's a diary as well as the story of the film. So it's two different things, and it's quite a new thing. No one's ever done that before, so I thought children might be quite interested in that. Which is great. And also, I know that coming up, you're going to be reworking My Fair Lady, also tackling Peter Rabbit for a big anniversary. So we're looking forward to all those things, and we're looking forward to you coming back again. Thanks, Erica. Thanks for being here this morning. That's great. Well, I've had a lovely time, and now I'm going to go back to bed. Sweet dreams.