Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Gal Gadot

Episode Date: December 27, 2020

Gal Gadot was ready to walk away from show business before she teamed up with director Patty Jenkins on the blockbuster movie Wonder Woman, which became a cultural phenomenon and made Gadot a role model for women and girls around the world. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Gadot for a virtual conversation about the film’s highly-anticipated sequel, Wonder Woman 1984. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Very excited to bring you this week's episode with Gao Deduct, who is Wonder Woman, of course, the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984 hit theaters on Christmas Day. And Gal and I got together a few days beforehand to talk about that movie, to talk about her life since it absolutely exploded with the like $900 million success. of the first Wonder Woman movie three years ago. The two of us actually got together and talked on the back end of that. About three years ago, she got through the summer when the movie blew up,

her life changed forever. If you don't know about Gaul, she's Israeli. She was a beauty queen. She was Miss Israel. She went to the Miss USA pageant and swears on her life that she sabotaged herself because she didn't want to win. She wasn't saying she was going to win. She just wanted to make sure she didn't win so she pretended she didn't speak English. That's back in our first interview if you want to go into the archives and listen to that one. So now we got together again, as I said a few days ago, a little different this time. These interviews are being done remotely. So I'm at home, basically in a garage.

She is somewhere in L.A. doing rounds of interviews. So she gets dressed up just like the rest of us. Maybe you do this for your work meetings up top. On the bottom, you'll hear she's wearing just a pair ofugs and some jeans, I think it was. And we have a great conversation about Wonder Woman, what it means to her, what it has meant to the movie industry, her enhanced role with the sequel, now a producer on the film, getting paid what she's due for this one. And just generally a lot of fun to talk to. A charm bomb, if you will, is Gal Gadda. Also want to point out this movie has moved release dates, I think, six times, five or six times.

It's supposed to first come out in November of 2019. It moved. It moved again. and then we got into COVID. So now it's being released in select theaters, but on HBO Max, mostly is where people started watching it on Christmas Day. So I hope you enjoyed the conversation

as much as I did with Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Gal, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for doing this. Thank you so much for having me. How are you? I'm doing well. I've seen the movie, so I'm doing very well.

It's amazing. the action is incredible and most of all it's here. I feel like we've been waiting for this movie. You've built up the anticipation so much. What's it like to finally have it here after all these starts and restarts? It feels great, but because it feels really, really good because, you know, we shot the movie back in 2018 and the movie was supposed to come out a long time ago.

So it feels like a huge relief to be able to finally share it with everyone. but at the same time it's like it's a conundrum. It's because everything is virtual and like you don't get to feel, you know, the red carpets and all of that. So I'm like, I'm delayed. I mean, a bit of a delay. But it's great. I'm so excited for everyone to watch it. And what do you think about the rollout on HBO Max in some limited theaters?

It becoming basically a Christmas movie, honestly, at home that people like my kids can sit and watch? And is that kind of a cool element, even if you didn't intend it to be that way? It is. It is very much so now. If someone would have told me a year ago that that's what was going to happen, I would flip out and be like, no way. But there's something about the movie that I just feel it's so relevant the movie. It's more relevant that we could ever anticipate it, you know, back then when we should,

shot it. And the idea of having families being able watched a movie together on a Christmas day is, you know, it just warms my heart. So I'm very, very happy about it. The last time we spoke was about three years ago. We were on the back end of Wonder Woman mania. It already exploded and done everything that it did. And I asked you about potentially another movie, another Wonder Woman movie. And you say, well, there's something like a Wonder Woman Bible and every chapter reveals something else about her. So where would you say Wonder Woman is in this chapter? Truth. Truth. Truth. The first one was all about love, and it's still there in the movie that we just shot, but now the focus was more about truth. Yeah, I was interested to hear you say the

movie's more relevant than ever because it did feel that way. Was I reading too much into it as I listen to some of the lines and and listen to the themes of it that the truth is something that we need to hear more about right now? Yeah. And again, when we shot, when we, when Patty and I started to talk about the story for the next one, it was when we shot when we were still in the midst of shooting the first movie. But we had this urge to explore more of the character and just to, you know, we just fantasize. what we want to do with the character and with the story.

And we already felt like the world and us were going to a darker place. And the power of truth is something that is super relevant for Wonder Woman as a character, but also for us as a society. And just now it's like it's a crazy timing. It is. And the message is right there literally in the opening. scene of the movie. When we have the young Diana at the competition, I think she's 12 years old or maybe younger in that scene. And that theme of truth and lies comes out right away. And I know

you've said that that scene to watch was emotional for you, right, right off the beginning of the movie. Why did it hit you so hard? Because I've never seen it before. It was all of the and I was involved in every aspect of the movie. And I knew what we were doing and I was there when we shot it. So it wasn't a surprise for me, but see everything, watch everything come together and experience this potential of this young girl and see it on the big screen. All of a sudden, I got so emotional because it wasn't me the 35-year-old girl, woman. It was me, the 12-year-old girl watching another 12-year-old girl doing these incredible things. And then I remember telling Yaron, my husband, oh, my God, I've never seen anything like this before.

I can't believe we can do that. Like, you know, it was so raw and it was a first for me. So I think it's important to have it out there in the world, to lay the dream for girls and boys to see what a potential one could have. And yeah, it's special. It was a special moment for me. Part of the real fun of the movie, too, is the setting, the 1980s, which is so rich with music and fashion and everything else. How did you and Patty arrive on 1984 when you were first conceiving of it those years ago?

Sorry, someone came in. How did we... How did you decide on the 1980s as the setting for this movie? Why was 1984 the right time for this one? A bunch of reasons. First of all, we shot the first one in 1970s. It was gray and gloomy and it was First World War. And to be able to shot the next chapter in her life in one of the most colorful poppy, you know, alive of a decade was something that we were looking forward to bring because it was almost like another character in the movie.

And also it felt like a resembled time to nowadays because it was all about access. and more and, you know, the world was at its heights. So that was something that was working very well with the story as well. You said that this was maybe the hardest movie you've ever done. Not maybe, for sure. Was it for sure? For sure. I mean, I think most people assume when they see a movie like this, it's green screen,

and they're not really doing the stunts and everything else, but you and your stunt double are doing just about everything, right? Yeah, yeah, there was a lot of heavy lifting. When Patty wanted to have this amount of CGI in the movie, which was great and I loved, but I didn't really realize what it's going to mean for me. So it was much more laborious,

but I got to say that as much as it was exhausting and all of that, it was worth it because you see it. It's like watching a movie that was shot on film versus watching a movie that was shot digitally. There's just another atmosphere that it adds. You see it in the speed and in the weight and in our facial expressions. And it was worth it, but it was challenging. Were there moments where Patty said, Gall, here's what we're doing today.

And you said, really? Are you sure I'm going to do that? Are you kidding me? We made jokes about it all because it became so absurd. like I had to wear harness. Like I wore a harness and then I was wired from all different angles. And then I was pulled up into the air and then they pushed me down to the water. And then they pulled me back up again and then I had to say my line.

So Patty literally started to tease me and she was like, okay, now do it on one foot. And with one eye shut and, you know, it was extreme. And you weren't going to say no to your friend Patty. You just go out and do it, right? Yeah, I'm a sucker. I'm a petty sucker. No, but you know, that's the nice thing because it always starts from the head. When you have a director, a filmmaker that is so invested and is working 24-7 and is dreaming about the movie when they finally get some sleep, then you've got to come and bring everything. You know, it's not about us. It's about the movie. It's about the character and what she means to everybody.

So we had to do it. It was the only way. One of the hard parts about doing an interview with you about, you got me back? Okay. One of the hard parts about interviewing about this film is that you just don't want to give away very much. And almost any question I ask you might give away too much. But we do know that Steve Trevor is in the movie because he's in the trailer. So that we can say safely, which will lead many of fans of the first movie to wonder how he's in the next movie.

Can you shed any light on that? Or you're just going to have to see it to figure it out? No, I can. You're just going to have to wait and watch the movie. Okay, fair enough. Dramatic pause. I wasn't going to get that at it. Okay, got it.

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Gal Gadot right after the break. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Now more of my conversation with Gal Gadot. Your girls, you were obviously pregnant. We talked about this last time, too, when you shot the first Wonder Woman movie. You talked about using the Shield. sometimes to cover your belly.

And now you have two beautiful girls who are aware that their mom is Wonder Woman. Have they seen the movie? And if so, what do they think? Alma saw the first movie. We have two girls. Maya is three and Alma is nine. Alma watched the first movie only.

She's very much looking forward to see the next one. Maya didn't watch anything. Just yesterday I showed her a trailer. and she was like, she was looking at the computer and then she was looking back at me and she said, you could fly? Ima, you can fly?

She was like, now go and explain a three-year-old girl that it's not for real, it's in the movies, I was hungry to a thing. So yeah, Maya is still too young to watch the movie, but she will. And are they aware of your sort of role

as Wonder Woman that people know you and recognize you as that and look up to you as that? Or have you kind of kept them insulated from all of that? No, it's kind of impossible to keep them, you know, in a bubble from that. They're aware and they appreciate it as much as one could when you're a kid. But at the end of the day, they're my daughters and I'm their Emma. You know, it's like it's not about that.

They're proud and it makes them happy to save them. that, you know, but, but nothing more than that. So much has changed in your life, obviously, since that first movie, because of that first movie and the success, but it was more than box office. It was representation and you're being a role model and having that strong woman central character. How would you say your life has been changed by Wonder Woman? Well, it changed a lot.

I think mostly by the opportunities that I get, the offers that I get for roles and the fact that I'm a household name and all of that. The basic things, they didn't change. I think because I'm so grounded and a mother and a wife and, you know, and even when I work, the glory and the fame is just like, is just a side effect.

focus on that at all. So I'm just like focused on on on my work and and and about making what I love to do. But but but it for sure changed for for for it's it's amazing. I'm still pinching myself from times. Have you felt your own sway in Hollywood change a little bit in terms of you mentioned the roles you get but pay equity and all the things that come with being a star. Do you view yourself as having changed that a little bit over the last three years? I don't know if I can take the credit for someone who changed it because it's not just me, but I can speak about the experience that I'm going through that I think that I definitely fight for it. And I think that it's all about once you understand your value,

then it's different, you know? So I try to fight for it in my own way by, you know, by fighting for what I believe I should get, you know. Like I believe in equality and equal pay and all of that. So I definitely fight for that. Do you still feel like you have to fight for it? Most people would be like, come on, she's Wonder Woman. She gets what she wants.

I still feel like I have to fight for it. So it's a battle every time. Yeah, but it's a healthy battle. And I'm grateful that I can fight it. You know what I mean? I'm grateful that I can hold my grounds. And if it's not going to work, it's not going to work, and that's okay too. but I think that we can't just talk the talk.

We have to walk the walk as well. And that's something that I try to do. One of the neat things about this movie, too, is your relationship with Kristen Whig, on screen and off. We were just singing an earworm of a song from a music video that will be stuck with me for a week. Thank you very much for that. Very welcome. Did you know Kristen before the movie?

Because the chemistry on screen is powerful. It's real. Very, very briefly. Patty and I both are big fans of hers. And we met, you know, briefly in awards, events and stuff like that. And we were both like, oh, my God, Kristen's here. Let's go say hi. But we had an immediate connection when we just first met and really started to talk about the characters and the script and life.

And we all moved our families to London. for eight months or a year or whatever. So we, it changed like I'm a big believer in the, you know, in the process. Because I think that the process has to be, you know, it has to be, it just, it just, you've got to make the best out of it. And you can only make the best out of it when you have good partners around you. and she is an amazing partner and an amazing friend and a great, generous scene partner. So she made this whole experience super special for me.

Again, without giving away too much, people may be surprised, pleasantly surprised in the way they see Kristen. I'll leave it at that. So what made her the right person for this part for you and Patty? All the characters that she portray are very complex, even the funny ones from S&L skits. She's just a very intelligent and like emotional performer.

You know, she can, she has the whole range. And for Barbara, we knew we got to have someone that can go from insecure, shy, quirky, to like the most sexy, vicious. villain and she totally nailed it. Isn't it cool, gal, to be in a position? Just the way you're talking about this movie is you as a producer, your friend Patty as the director, you got to make all these decisions. I mean, that's real power in Hollywood, wouldn't you say?

It's, I couldn't be more grateful. I got to say that even in the first movie, Patty was always empowering me. I was always part of the process. I was involved in many, many things. So wearing the hats of the producer this time around was just more empowering and more educating. And it was an amazing experience. I mean, getting to work with people like Chuck Rovin,

who's like the mayor of all producers in Hollywood that done so many amazing movies is, it's great. It was a lot of fun. Yeah. Do you, I don't want to push you too far along, we're still in this, but do you see another chapter for Diana as we look ahead? Have you and Patty become that? We always see another chapter. We always talk about it. And I would love to work with, you know, Chuck and Patty and our amazing cast again and crew. But, you know, now the world had changed so much. Who knows what's going to happen? I would love for to have another chapter. for Wonder Woman, but time won't tell. Do you feel like the movie business is changing,

maybe involuntarily, because of this pandemic? In other words, you might have your movies go straight to HBO Max or straight to Netflix or whatever the outlet is. Is that sort of the new world that we're looking at? I think the pandemic definitely accelerated where the streamers were heading anyway. But I think with movie like ours, you can never you know we shot the movie on film for iMex Hans Zimmer composed the entire score of the movie

this movie was meant to be seen on the biggest biggest screen possible so I think that just music concerts that you know we can hear all the music on Apple and Spotify and all of that but we're still going to go to a good concert I think that's, I'm a big believer in theaters and I do think that the theaters will be back once we're over this crazy pandemic. So I have, I do think that we'll go back to the cinemas again. Well, gal, I want to know I made it all the way through this interview without singing your song with Kristen Wigg. And I'm very proud of myself.

Do you want to do it now? But it's in your hand, right? I can't get it out. You started Chrissy and Gal? We did the clapping, by the way. Chrissy and Gal and Chrissy. She's the best. Thank you so much.

Gal, I thank you very much. Congratulations. It's great to see you again. The movie's fantastic. You do. Okay. Thank you so much, really.

If you have not seen Gal and Chrissy, take a minute and go watch it online. I guarantee it will be stuck in your head too. My big thanks to Gal, always a blast sitting down and talking with her. You, of course, can catch Wonder Woman, 1984 in select theaters and streaming on HBO Max right now. My thanks, as always, to all of you for tuning in again this week. If you want to hear more of the full-length conversations with my

guests every week, be sure to click subscribe so you never miss an episode. And of course, don't forget to tune in to Sunday today, every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.