NEWSMeryl, Pierce Make ‘Mamma Mia!’
Jul. 18 2008, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Meryl Streep glides down the sea-blue carpet kissing a well-wisher on the cheek as Rita Wilson, wife of Tom Hanks, races into the Mamma Mia! premiere held at Ziegfeld Theatre in NYC.
Shirtless hunks in scuba gear line the carpet as the stars arrive. The sounds of ABBA’s Dancing Queen fills the air as the group’s own Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus stream through, and oh, there’s Jane Seymour smiling and waving.
Here comes Pierce Brosnan, joined by his lovely wife Keely Shaye Smith.
“I loved this,” he says. “I had a great time. Between Meryl Streep and Mamma Mia!, it doesn’t get better than that. I had the most fantastic songs, and the film really worked on many levels. It seems to be taking audiences in across Europe.”
What was it like working with Meryl?
“It’s a great experience. This is a woman we’ve seen in Bridges of Madison, Out Of Africa, Silkwood and you see all these characters live before you as you are acting with this woman. I’m a huge fan of this woman’s work. There are actors, and then there are people touched by grace and the Gods of acting, and she is definitely one of them.”
Amanda Seyfried is living a dream. How does it feel to be on the posters?
“You can’t get used to it,” she laughs. “I know it’s bad and you feel like I’m stalking you all over New York City, but I swear to God, that’s not what I set out to do. Yeah, it’s cool.”
What did she love about her character?
“That I got to sing, that my character sings. In the movie, it’s kind of amazing that she sang her emotions through ABBA music. It’s kind of ridiculous and amazing. That’s what I like most about her. Also that she’s so positive and that I got to play a happy role as opposed to a deep, dark emotional role.”
Christine Baranski admits her shoe keeps getting caught as she walks down the line, but that's the only downside.
“I took off my French maid costume because I’m doing Boeing-Boeing on Broadway,” she says. “I had to take off my maid makeup and my outfit and get all glitzed up for this. But I couldn’t be happier. This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire career. It was a combination of the people I was working with, the music I got to sing and the clothes. It’s thrilling. ”
Mamma Mia! is in theaters now.
