Julia-Louis Dreyfus in Veep: God Bless Julia

In the first batch of ‘They Need No Introduction’ (Netflix), David Letterman interviewed Tina Fey. In the second he does it to Julia-Louis Dreyfus. Tina Fey explained to Letterman why there should be diversity in a writing team with the sketch of the classic napkin, big as a baguette, to the slipstream of the Coca Cola classic and Nike classic commercials. Men did not see grace; women, yes. Tina Fey also said how great it was not to work on ‘Saturday Night Live’ every week. “It’s a tough time. There is a lot of outrage.” Talking to anyone in 2018 is like crossing a minefield.

Julia-Louis Dreyfus doesn’t have a good memory of SNL. “It wasn’t very rewarding.” The 20-page scripts for a sketch and the face of the writers of being totally high on drugs. She was three years. Third came Larry David. They consoled each other (“he was bitter, but in a funny way”). Then they coincided in ‘Seinfeld’. Elaine wasn’t in the pilot, but someone said they needed a woman. Julia-Louis Dreyfus (New York, 1961), the daughter of a millionaire, has won Emmys for ‘Seinfeld’, for ‘The Old Adventures of the New Christine’ and for ‘Veep’. She is the great American television comedian, the successor to Lucille Ball, who had 13 nominations and four Emmys. Dreyfus has 26 nominations and 11 Emmys. She for three series. Lucille Ball only for ‘I Love Lucy’. The Emmy was once unfair to Dreyfus. In 2006 she was up against Jane Kaczmarek, nominated for the final season of ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ (that wonderful Lois Wilkerson, the best/worst mother on TV). Julia was for ‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’ and she won. Bradley Whitford told ‘Ellen’ that, the day after the ceremony, Julia sent Kaczmarek flowers with a note: “Dear Jane, you’ve been screwed. I love you. Julia Louis-Dreyfus”.

David Letterman is a fan of ‘Veep’. “If he had worked there I would tell the gravedigger to put it on the headstone and I would die.” ‘Veep’ is the brainchild of Armando Iannucci (‘The Thick of It’) and an American adaptation of the politically laughable. A politician and his advisers. Both ‘The Thick of It’ and ‘Veep’ are heirs to ‘Yes, Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’, where the idiot politician was already there and they laughed at the cunning of those around.

Julia-Louis Dreyfus in ‘Veep’. /

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In the fourth season of ‘Veep’, Selina was no longer vice president, she was president (something between the Damien of ‘The prophecy’ and Lina Morgan).

Julia-Louis Dreyfus talks to Letterman about her cancer. It was just before the sixth season. Selina Meyer was out of administration and wanted to find a place in the world. In the real White House a president had turned the crazy scripts of ‘Veep’ into reality. But Selina has always been better. There’s an episode of ‘Veep’ where Selina Meyer is concocting a fiery, inaccurate speech about why she wants to be president. «Because she already touches me, damn it. I shit on the glass ceiling. America owes me an eight-year stay in the White House. And this time I want a war! But she picks up on the wacko: “She would sound like she was screaming on a balcony in Munich.” “Oh, like Evita,” says Gary, who is transcribing. Tony Hale (Gary) is a wonderful person, Julia tells Letterman.

There is another episode in which Selina was addressing an emerging black senator in a debate. She told her to stop complaining because she was a woman, that she had to endure as a young woman, when she was a lawyer, that they pinch her ass. “Be a man”. And she received a loud applause. “God bless America, who hates women as much as I do.” ‘Veep’ has always been a minefield. And Julia-Louis Dreyfus her prophet.