unusual designers doing all kinds of things. I like Thom Browne,
and I still love Ralph Lauren suits. They’re so well structured.”
How do you feel about online shopping? “My daughter, Dexter,
is an online shopper. I think she’s crazy. Part of the great joy is just
being in the stores. It’s sad what’s happening to them. They’re
just closing, and people are doing exactly what you’re telling me
[buying online]. It’s like, ‘Stop! How can you do that? You don’t
k now what it ’s goi ng to look l i ke on you! ’”
You could try it on at home and then return it. “Oh, you’re
insane. That’s crazy.”
They make it so easy for you. “ But you miss out on seei ng it l ive! ”
I understand what you’re saying, but time is a real consideration.
“Time. Time. There’s never enough time! But there’s always enough
time to do something you love. I love it.”
When do you feel the most powerful and confident? “ It ’s ha rd to say
that I ever feel powerful or confident. Those two words are not really
in my purview. I enjoy being engaged by imagery. That’s important
for me. I have all these three-ring binders, in categories, full of
images that I’ve cut out of magazines. I’m thinking about doing
another book where I combine everything that I’m interested in.”
Do you consider yourself a bad-ass? “I would call myself somebody
who avoid s more t ha n a ny t h i ng else. I’ve got t hat eig ht-foot wa l l
[points toward the house’s gate]. It makes me feel protected, you
know? Safe. I’m fearless about what I like. In other words, I’ll take it
wherever I want to go. I’ve had a lot of independence, and nobody’s
telling me what to do. I had a mother who encouraged that and helped
me achieve the things I wanted to achieve. I’ve followed the paths
I’ve wanted to follow. I like redoing houses, I like architecture,
I like visuals, I like fashion—I like all of it.”
What are you most proud of in your career, acting-wise? “I’ve done
a lot of things. I think that I was better in some things and not so great
in others. And some of the movies were better. I mean, obviously, I
owe it all to Annie Hall. That was the beginning. I did several movies
with him [Woody Allen], and then a lot of other movies, like
Looking for Mr. Goodbar [19 7 7], which my dad hated.”
How do you process bad movie reviews? “I don’t look. I know
when they’re a bomb, and I go, ‘Okay, so that’s not good. And I’m
not going to look at it.’”
Do you know when you’re making it? “You don’t know. It was a
su r pr ise to me t hat Book Club [2018] was a big hit. I didn’t expect
it. I just thought, ‘Oh, well, I got a job—that’s good.’ Blah, blah,
on and on. So you don’t know. You may have an opinion about it
while you’re making it, but frequently you’re wrong. [Laughs]
That’s true with a lot of things.”
I feel like Poms [2019] got an unfair shake. “They didn’t like Poms.”
I thought it was very sweet. “It is sweet. It’s okay [about the reviews].”
Do you just move on? On to the next [movie]? “What else am I
going to do? And also, I’ve had so many ‘nexts’. How many more
‘nexts’ am I going to get?”
Is there a role you haven’t played that you still want to do? “Oh, no.
Oh, God, I’m not thinking, ‘Gee, I need to play a role.’ I’m not a real
actress. Okay, wait, I have to tell you this. So, Jessica Lange. I was in
New York, and I saw her in The Glass Menagerie [in 2005]. And it was
a matinee, which means she had to do another show after that. She
was just totally emotional, totally brilliant. I went backstage because
I made that movie Crimes of the Heart [1986] wit h her. I looked at her,
and she had been crying. I asked, ‘How can you do this over and over
in front of people?’ She looked at me and said, ‘I love it so much.’ I said,
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ Count me out.”
But you’ve done theatre. “A f t e r Hair [1968] I did Play It Again,
Sam [by Woody Allen, 1969, for which Keaton received a Tony
nomination]. We were on for over a year. I remember that over the
course of time, I began to hate it. Woody would make jokes while we
were working on set, and, of course, I would crack-up. [We were] kind
of non-professional, kind of jerks. The truth is, I don’t want to do it live
night after night. What I like about the movies is that you get on there
and you get to do one thing over and over. I like fragments.”
How do you live with being called an icon? “ Wel l, t h is word ‘icon’
is new to me. No-one has ever called me an icon. I guess with time
you call people an icon because they’ve been around for a long
time. That’s an icon for you.”
You have this incredible body of work that people admire.
“Really? I’m not aware of that.”
You’re so good at deflecting and pivoting to the next thing! Are
you ambitious? “Yeah, I am. I’m totally ambitious. Otherwise I
wouldn’t be sitting here in my brick house, you know what I mean?
I was from a very early age. I remember exactly why: I’m eight, and
my mother, who was ambitious, but didn’t get to realise her dreams.”
No time with four kids, right? “Exactly. My mother ran for
Mrs. America [a pageant for married homemakers, in 1955].
I’m sitting there watching her on the stage, and I remember I
t houg ht , ‘ I wa nt to do t hat .’ And t hat ’s it. Once you have t hat , it
guides your life. I was ambitious about wanting to sing, wanting
to be pa id at tent ion to. It ca me st ra ig ht f rom t hat. My mot her wa s
really an artist herself, and she could’ve had an amazing career.
She just wasn’t born at the right time.”
What is a typical day in your life like? “I get up really early. I feed
the dog, and I get the food for the horses [her neighbour’s across the
street]. I feed them and I come back. Then I hit it over there [points to
her office]. I always have work to do, and I love it. So the morning is my
favourite time because it sets the tone for what the day’s going to be
and what I’m going to do and how I’m going to manage.”
What about dating? Do guys ask you out? “Never. Alright?
[Laughs] Let’s just get that straight. That one’s important. I haven’t
been on a date in, I would say, 35 years. No dates.”
Do you want to be on a date? “I have a lot of male friends. I
have a lot of friends, but no dates. No mwah-mwah.”
You seem to be enjoying Instagram these days. “I do. It’s just fun
for me to go into my files. I get to share things in that way—harmless
kind of stuff. There was something that was going on with me when
I did that hat video, and I just thought, ‘Oh, what the hell?’ Because
you’re a lways t r y i ng to t h i n k of idea s.”
Do you read the comments? “I do, and I do respond, but I don’t
really think I’m all that clever. [Laughs].” ■