There are two things I'm an unabashed fan of: sharp old broads and Pixar. Thus, when Disney came calling and offered us the chance to speak to Phyllis freakin' Diller about her appreciation for Pixar god John Lasseter (and her role in Pixar's second minor masterpiece, A Bug's Life), it was a no-brainer to accept. Before the 91-year-old comic trailblazer had to sign off to finish one of her paintings, we asked her about bugs, biopics, and Blu-Ray (the loaded disc for A Bug's Life is out now, and Diller was impressively on-point when it came to advertising it).
Hi, Ms. Diller, it's an honor to speak with you. I'm Kyle.
Is that K-Y-L-E?
It is.
Oh, that's a lovely name.
What was it like when Pixar offered you this role in A Bug's Life?
I was so thrilled, I could spit. I went in for an audition, and I was auditioning to play a stick! Now, after I read for the stick, this darling lady-producer gave me another script to read...for the queen! Well, hot damn. So I read for the queen and got the role. I've never been so thrilled in my life: to go in for a stick and come out a queen! [Inimitable cackle]
That's quite the promotion.
And you know who played the stick? I'm not positive...one of my favorite people in the world, one of the most talented actors who ever trod the boards...[pause]...oh, here we go.
David Hyde Pierce?
Yes! David Hyde Pierce. He's a Yale-educated actor who's just tearing up Broadway right now.
I would imagine that you and David Hyde Pierce must go up for the same roles quite a bit.
[Inimitable cackle] Kyle, you're funnier than I thought.
Well, we've only just met, Ms. Diller.
I'm such a fan of David's. Oh my God, he's so brilliant. He's so great as not just an actor -- talk about comedy! He is the greatest physical comic. You've seen him where, you know, he falls off the balcony, sets something on fire, bangs his head on the refrigerator. You know what I mean.
He was on The View today, talking about his marriage and Prop 8. I was wondering, Ms. Diller--
[At this point, a panicked Disney publicist intercedes: "Only movie questions."]
Duly noted! Back to the movies, then.
You know, I agreed with one of the critics who said that A Bug's Life was a wonderful little drama.
A drama, not a comedy?
Well, it can be both, can't it?
Touché. Have you seen any other Pixar films?
Oh yes, I have. The one with the fish...
Finding Nemo?
And I loved the one with the toys. I sort of identified with them, I guess.
What do you make of Pixar's streak of well-received hits?
Well, you realize that Disney's marriage with Pixar is a wonderful thing. It's just blossoming with their new ideas and their new directions, and of course the Blu-Ray thing they're espousing now. And now everything is 3-D! You're in the movie yourself.
You know the Pixar people pretty well...where does their ingenuity come from?
It all comes from the top. Disney came from Walt Disney, whom I knew, and now John Lasseter at Pixar is the guiding light. He's a brilliant producer and thinker, and a wonderful human being.
Are there any notable differences between John Lasseter and Walt Disney, since you've known them both?
The two of them? Different?
Well, I know that John wears a lot more Hawaiian shirts than Walt Disney probably did.
[Inimitable cackle] Yes! Walt Disney was always in a suit. He was a gentleman of the old school. John Lasseter is a gentleman of the old school, but he has that new way of dressing here in Hollywood. It started with laid-back, and now it's almost laid-out.
There was a rumor a while ago that there was a film that was going to be made about you...
Yes, it's running around, trying to grow legs. But I don't usually talk about those things until they hatch.
Was it true that Patricia Clarkson was attached to play you?
She was one of the ones who would have loved to have done it. There were two...but then, I really can't talk about it.
Your 92nd birthday is coming up in just over a month.
Goodness, it's at that [age]?
It is.
Kyle, now tell me: what do you think of that?
You tell me! What do you think of that?
I think it's pretty old! [Inimitable cackle] But it's wonderful to have memories that go back so far, and also to look forward to where the new people are taking us, like Pixar and Blu-Ray and all that kind of stuff.
[laughing] Nicely done, Ms. Diller.
It's always onward and upward!