to be a part of, to see your-
self on the other side of the
camera as well.Nora, as someone who is
still relatively fresh in
your career, do you find
this moment, does it feel
like one that’s full of
possibility? Is it exciting
for you to know that
there’s all these opportu-
nities working with fe-
male filmmakers, having
new distribution plat-
forms? That must make
this a really excitingmoment to be emerging as
a performer.
Lum: It does. And I’ve
always been very outspoken.
I’m very optimistic about
the direction that we’re
going. But that’s also not to
say that you don’t have to
acknowledge where it’s
changing from. To hear that
a lot of actresses haven’t
worked with a lot of women.
I’ve worked with equal parts
men and women. I’ve
worked with female DPs,
I’ve worked with female
writers, all-female writersrooms. So, yes, it does seem
like there is a lot of possibil-
ity, not just for me but for
everyone. It seems like
people want to hear our
stories and different kinds of
stories are being put on. But
we have to realize what
we’re changing from what
other people had to go
through before us.So, Jennifer, you are very
good at being a celebrity.
It seems like something
you are naturally good at
and comfortable with. Is
that something you’ve
learned?
Theron: Tell us. Help us.
Lopez: I feel like there is
a responsibility when you’re
a public person. You can’t
get around it. I know we all
want to be, like, “I just want
to be me and I just want to
do this and I just want to do
that. And I don’t care what
people say or think.” But we
have to, because we do care
what people say. And so it’s
just about being your best
self. And I think that’s where
I keep my mind. It’s like you
think I’m a good celebrity
because what I’m trying to
do is put my best foot for-
ward all the time and still be
myself, still be authentic to
who I am.
Theron: You’ve never
lost that. And I want that. So
when you’re tired, and it’s
inappropriate. What do you
do? What do you tell your-
self? Because I think I’m just
[a jerk].
Lopez: I know exactly
what you mean, because I’m
like that too. And I just try
to stay super conscious of
the fact that I have a respon-
sibility and that maybe that
person is never gonna meet
me again. And it’s not that I
don’t have bad days. I’m a
human being. So I get tired.And people are constantly
judging you.
I had terrible things
happen in the beginning of
my career that I had to come
back from. I did magazine
articles where I said the
wrong thing. It was a trial-
and-error thing. And then
you get put in a category of
like you’re this person or
that person and you’re a
diva. But at the same time, I
had to look and go, what am
I doing? Because at the end
of the day, it’s always: Do
you like what you’re doing.
And for me, it’s always
about: How can I get better?
That’s why I do so much.
How can I be better? I’m
going to be a better mom,
sister, daughter, friend,
business partner, a better
actress, better singer, better
dancer, better producer. It’s
always about: How can we
do it better next time?
Because you make mistakes.Renée, I’m thinking
that everyone here is on
Instagram except you.
Have you always been a
bit more private in that
way?
Zellweger: I think about
this a lot. And I think about
the way that I grew up and
the way that I was raised.
My parents are very private
people. And we didn’t talkabout family things out in
public. And I just feel un-
comfortable with it. Our
generation is probably the
last to have some expecta-
tion of privacy. And so it’s a
peculiar thing when it
doesn’t occur to the younger
generation that it’s weird to
take a picture of somebody a
foot from their face without
saying hello, because that’s
just the nature of things
these days. And it’s perfectly
normal. And I get that. I
completely understand it.
And I have no problem with
it.Cynthia, for you, what are
the things the story of
Harriet Tubman has to
say to a contemporary
audience?
Erivo: First, she was
uneducated. She didn’t have
any reading and writing
skills but still managed to
save the money that she was
earning from being hired out
to different farms to hire a
lawyer to draw up the pa-
pers for her mother’s free-
dom.
So I think the thing to
take away from her is that if
you set your mind to do
something, you should
probably be able to do it.THERON
S24
THE ENVELOPE LOS ANGELES TIMES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2019
ZELLWEGER
‘I TRY TO DO
THINGS THAT I
KNOW ARE
SUBJECT
MATTERS THAT I
WANT TO STAY
ENGAGED WITH
FOR HOWEVER
LONG IT’S
GOING TO TAKE.’‘OUR
GENERATION
IS PROBABLY
THE LAST TO
HAVE SOME
EXPECTATION
OF PRIVACY.’The capacity to change the
world is more in our reach
than we think it is.
The second is to look at
these moments in time as a
warning. That was a terrible
time, not just for grievous
bodily harm, but for family
separation, which is also
violence in itself.
And we’re watching it
now, right?
We need to take heed
when things like this hap-
pen, when movies like this
come out, they need to just
stand as a warning. It’s not a
coincidence that it took 20
years and [we] have it actu-
ally happening today. ■