Keke & Cast Break Down ‘I Love Boosters’: Power, Fashion & Morality | SXSW

Keke takes the SXSW stage with Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, and Eiza González to talk I Love Boosters. The cast breaks down the film’s bold idea of “fashion-forward philanthropy,” challenging power, wealth, and consumerism, while getting into style, ambition, on-set chemistry, and the moral gray areas at the center of Boots Riley’s world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Keke Palmer?

  Hey y'all, my new film, I Love Boosters, recently premiered at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. And I did a special episode of Baby, This is Keke Palmer with my castmates. You may have seen online that during the taping, a person proposed to me and was eventually removed by security. I was definitely surprised, but my castmates and I did our best to respond with empathy in the moment. I know it was unexpected and concerning for many people in the room and for those who have watched online since, so I truly appreciate everyone who has reached out and shared love and support. We live in a time where parasocial relationships are a very real part of being a public figure, and it's important that kindness and respect exist alongside personal boundaries and safety. I hope the emphasis of this episode

• 0:45Keke Palmer?

  stays on the conversations we're having about I Love Boosters, because I'm so excited for y'all to see this new film. I will always appreciate you for having my back and caring about me. Thank you. Here's the trailer for I Love Boosters.

• 1:01Speaker 01

  What would be your biggest challenge in a job like this?

• 1:07Keke Palmer?

  I shop here a lot. And I feel like I should have it all. Just wanna take it all home, eat it up, and shoot it out my eyes.

• 1:16Keke Palmer?

  I just feel like, give it to me. It's mine, anyway.

• 1:21Speaker 01

  That is such a good answer.

• 1:26Keke Palmer?

  What's a booster? Somebody that steal clothes from a store and sell it at a discount price? It's like community service.

• 1:33Speaker 02

  I call it triple F. Fashion, forward, philanthropy.

• 1:39Speaker 02

  I know how to spell philanthropy. Branding, though.

• 1:43Keke Palmer?

  Together, we empty out every single metro designer in the Bay Area. Velvet gang, they're boosting from my stores.

• 1:49Speaker 03

  It's the Smiths, who we exist.

• 1:51Speaker 04

  They take my [BLEEP]. And sell it, because they're low-class urban bitches. With all due respect to urban bitches.

• 2:09Speaker 04

  I'm an innovator, making [BLEEP] art.

• 2:13Speaker 02

  Why are the nipples so big?

• 2:27Keke Palmer?

  No matter what we doing in the car, just chilling. Pop on Amazon Music, sit back and listen. Life, love, sex, science covering it all. Especially the bad, 'cause money always evolve. No matter what it is, we gon' make it make sense. Nothing else to do but kick it with the homies and kids. So grab you a drink and a snack you enjoy. You get into the vibe that only one can. You know it's your girl. Baby, this is, this is Kiki. Baby, this is Keke Palmer, yeah.

• 2:56Keke Palmer?

  What is up, South by Southwest? I am so excited, guys, to be here with you. My new film, I Love Boosters, directed by the brilliant Boots Riley, has just had the world premiere here in Austin. What did you guys think? Did you check it out?

• 3:14Keke Palmer?

  If you haven't seen it yet, the movie follows a team of professional shoplifters, engaging in what we call fashion-forward philanthropy. Okay? Stealing from a fashion mogul to send a message about power, money, and consumerism. But the best part of making this film was getting to work with some truly incredible women. And I am so excited to talk with them about this movie. So, please welcome Demi Moore, Naomi Aki, Taylor Page, Papi Leal, and Isaac Gonzalez.

• 3:49Keke Palmer?

  Oh, my gosh, this outfit. Girl, I just live.

• 3:59Keke Palmer?

  Come on, hat.

• 4:03Speaker 05

  Hi, Bookie Book.

• 4:04Keke Palmer?

  Yes! Give another round of applause for these beautiful girls.

• 4:14Keke Palmer?

  Is everybody being like, "Let's switch"? Sorry, they told us 17 times our seats. I do feel like we have a lot of pressure with this movie, since it's all about fashion, to really show up and show out. But you definitely did.

• 4:30Speaker 06

  We kind of coordinated without realizing.

• 4:32Keke Palmer?

  I know.

• 4:33Speaker 06

  We tried coordinating and we could not make it happen.

• 4:35Keke Palmer?

  Oh my gosh.

• 4:36Speaker 06

  Like, we're not... A group of artists in a group chat is not good for planning or organizing anything. And yet, it still happened because psychic.

• 4:45Keke Palmer?

  But we tried. I be texting Taylor back and forth. Our group chat is crazy, y'all. You know, we did the best we could. Um, how you guys feeling after last night? Everybody got to see the movie with people. Like, we've watched it before, but it's different when you get to watch it with an audience, especially like one like South by Southwest. It's like the perfect audience. Um, so how do you guys feel after just getting that reaction?

• 5:07Speaker 03

  Oh, it was wonderful. It was wonderful. I feel like it was really electric. I just don't think films come to life until you see it with an audience. It allows you to forget that you're on screen.

• 5:20Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 5:20Speaker 03

  Which is a really... It's like a really nice thing.

• 5:23Speaker 04

  It's easy when you're watching yourself.

• 5:24Speaker 03

  Yeah, exactly.

• 5:27Speaker 04

  No, but it was incredible to feel the response and also to be part of a film that you want to see with an audience.

• 5:37Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 5:37Speaker 04

  You want the communal experience. You want to look to your neighbor and go, "Holy [bleep]!"

• 5:43Keke Palmer?

  Yes. Yes. I felt the exact same way. I was just waiting for everybody in the theater to get to that Lakeith scene.

• 5:49Speaker 06

  Ah! Me too.

• 5:50Keke Palmer?

  That, like, that was me the whole time. Like, "Just wait till y'all see." You know?

• 5:55Speaker 04

  Um, Boots Riley... Those teeth on the big screen, the dripping teeth.

• 6:00Speaker 06

  Yeah, the dripping teeth.

• 6:01Keke Palmer?

  It kind of had multiple... I feel like our movie has multiple movies in it. Like, because when people hear me talking about it, they're like, "I thought this movie was about boosters." That's what you think. There's so much more going on. Um, okay, Boots Riley doesn't just make movies, right? He builds worlds. I mean, they're creative and they're surreal. What drew each of you to this story? And what's the statement you feel like the movie is making?

• 6:24Speaker 06

  Well.

• 6:25Keke Palmer?

  They all.

• 6:26Speaker 06

  Turn around. Um, well, I know that working with Boots has been like a bucket list career dream. And so when I was first sent the script, I was ecstatic and Boots and I had a Zoom and, you know, it's a complicated world. Some scripts you read and it's very intuitive, like what's going on. He, he kinda had to like say the vision. Even when we were filming it, I feel like a lot of it is a fever dream in Boots's mind. And until you're sitting there seeing the final product, it was sort of like, oh my God, that's what he was envisioning the entire time. So anyways, we talked to the character and everything and I did my tape afterwards. I remember just thinking then, I was like,

• 7:07Speaker 06

  even if I don't get this role, I was like, I already feel so happy that I got the chance to talk to him, that I got to read the script. I was like, it's making, it's reminding me that the right creative collaborators are out there. And it just gave me a feeling of hope. And then I did get to do it with him and that was such a dream come true.

• 7:28Speaker 02

  I had just finished filming Welcome to Derry, which was a completely.

• 7:32Keke Palmer?

  By the way, that show is great. Girl, congratulations on that.

• 7:36Speaker 02

  Thank you, MoMo.

• 7:37Keke Palmer?

  No, seriously.

• 7:38Speaker 02

  But it was, that's obviously really dark and it's horror. And so this came in and y'all were already attached. And I thought, this will be really fun. But I also really wanted to work with Boots like you. And so the minute my agent said, Boots, Riley has a new fit, they couldn't even finish the sentence. I was like, send it now. And we met. And then I didn't hear anything. And then I was pregnant. And so then when he, when they, when they said, you know, you're doing it, I'm like, I'll wait to tell them when I get to.

• 8:11Keke Palmer?

  Okay, that's like you book a job and keep a job.

• 8:13Speaker 02

  And we went to dinner, remember? And I go, guess what, y'all? And Boots, I saw his panic, like, okay, well, I guess, he was like, your character, Mariah, could be pregnant. We were trying to figure it out, but.

• 8:25Keke Palmer?

  Yes. I feel like the conversations that I had with you in the beginning of the movie, like I thought that I got the movie, but also talking to you made me get the movie even more.

• 8:34Speaker 02

  Really?

• 8:34Keke Palmer?

  Yes. Because just, I remember us, the first thing that we shot was the opening, one of the opening scenes of the movie. It's when you wake me up, you got me working, working, working.

• 8:44Keke Palmer?

  And I was just like, I remember you said something like, "It's like The Wizard of Oz." You remember when you...

• 8:48Speaker 02

  Oh. Look, I have mom brain right now, so I don't remember anything. But that sounds so insightful and smart.

• 8:55Speaker 06

  And then the whole shoot, Taylor kept trying to be like, "And you're the lion."

• 8:58Speaker 02

  Yes, yes, yes.

• 8:59Speaker 06

  No, no, no, you're the Tin Man, and you're the...

• 9:03Speaker 02

  And I'm Toto. You being Toto was crazy. I thought you were Scarecrow.

• 9:07Speaker 06

  Swear to God.

• 9:08Speaker 07

  So does that mean me the wizard, or... Wizard.

• 9:11Speaker 02

  You're the wizard.

• 9:12Speaker 07

  You're the wizard girl.

• 9:14Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? But I love the idea of playing with the archetypes and bringing, you know what I mean? Just, it was just interesting, the way that you were literally indexing the movie backwards.

• 9:21Speaker 02

  Wow, thank you. Thank you for reminding me.

• 9:24Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 9:24Speaker 02

  Have to remember that. For this run that we're doing.

• 9:28Keke Palmer?

  I Love Boosters has been called a Robin Hood story, right? Grappling with the idea of, well, that technically, the Velvet Gang are criminals. But culturally, they're making a difference. So how did this film make you look at that, you know, that moral gray area?

• 9:43Speaker 03

  Hmm. You know what? I think the thing that stood out for me about this film and that attracted me was the idea of... Sorry, go.

• 9:57Keke Palmer?

  Is this serious?

• 9:59Speaker 07

  What's happening?

• 10:01Speaker 04

  What?

• 10:01Keke Palmer?

  How did this happen?

• 10:06Keke Palmer?

  I can't marry you. I don't know you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, sir.

• 10:13Keke Palmer?

  No, it's okay.

• 10:17Keke Palmer?

  What's going... Is this a prank?

• 10:20Speaker 04

  No.

• 10:20Keke Palmer?

  Y'all talking about no? Well, I guess we gotta get this settled then.

• 10:28Speaker 07

  Oh my God. Oh my goodness.

• 10:31Speaker 07

  Oh my goodness.

• 10:33Speaker 07

  I just love the shock in your face. You're like...

• 10:38Speaker 07

  Is your heart beating really fast? My heart's beating really fast. I wish this happened to me all the time like you. That's amazing.

• 10:44Keke Palmer?

  I keep waiting for somebody to say...

• 10:45Speaker 07

  Well, you have your boyfriend that brings you flowers.

• 10:48Keke Palmer?

  Isaac, guys? Are you doing a joke?

• 10:50Speaker 04

  It's okay. It's okay.

• 10:53Speaker 04

  But thank you. We just need to keep going. You just have to say no.

• 10:57Keke Palmer?

  It's okay, honey. No, thanks.

• 10:59Speaker 07

  That's very sweet.

• 11:04Keke Palmer?

  Ah, so sorry about that.

• 11:07Keke Palmer?

  Sorry, guys. Well, let's just take a deep breath. You know. Much love to you, brother. Okay. All right. All right. So let's, uh, get back into this. You know, we in hard times. For a second, I was like, oh, yay! And then I was like, no. I am, please, I can't.

• 11:26Keke Palmer?

  Now is not time for nuance.

• 11:32Keke Palmer?

  Shadé, always on that. Shadé, always on that [BLEEP]. Remember that one time?

• 11:39Speaker 02

  We'll never forget this moment.

• 11:41Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, that was, yeah, we got lots to chit chat about.

• 11:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, debrief.

• 11:47Speaker 04

  It takes you to like, wow, something real, all of a sudden.

• 11:50Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 11:51Speaker 04

  But not.

• 11:53Speaker 04

  Kinda like the movie.

• 11:55Keke Palmer?

  Yes, yes, kinda like the movie.

• 11:58Speaker 04

  What was the question, Keeks?

• 11:59Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, right. Boots Riley Projects. What, did we answer the last one?

• 12:03Speaker 04

  Yeah, she did it, you were talking.

• 12:05Speaker 02

  Right, community.

• 12:08Speaker 02

  I'm surprised you didn't hit him with the sorry to this man.

• 12:16Keke Palmer?

  I think I was just in shock. I kept thinking, I was like, oh, they bringing punk back. You know what I mean, like I just...

• 12:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 12:21Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean, I was like, I get it, it's a premiere of the South by Southland.

• 12:26Speaker 04

  That was crazy.

• 12:26Keke Palmer?

  No, no, no. Yeah, I don't even know. Yeah, we're back, we're back!

• 12:30Speaker 02

  We're back in the room.

• 12:36Speaker 02

  Babe, what was the question again?

• 12:38Keke Palmer?

  Let me give you the light back. Well, just the moral gray area of the film. We have the girls, they're essentially criminal.

• 12:43Speaker 02

  Right.

• 12:44Keke Palmer?

  But culturally, you know.

• 12:46Speaker 03

  So I think the thing is, is that like, I, I remember, obviously, I'm, I'm not from the States, right? And we didn't call it boosting back home, but Wolfenstone Market, at school time, or lunchtime or whatever, we go down the market, and you're seeing high-end stuff. On the market stalls that literally were in the shops next door, which is crazy, but like it was a thing that we could afford. It was a thing that gave us an access to a world that we didn't have. And yeah, it's great, but it's also a community. It's also like, it feels like someone sharing something with you that you can aspire to and you can have a little bit of to create your own vision of yourself,

• 13:30Speaker 03

  which kind of leads to power in a way. And there's something so special as well, and even though it's gray, yes, about how you can take little bits of everything and you turn it into a culture. And that is what is special about working class being of a marginalized community. You take little things and you collect them and then you make them into your own. And it's something that's actually really inspiring. And the cost from the big man isn't as big. It's not that big. They take more than we get. So I think it's justified.

• 14:12Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, girl, preach. Anybody want to add to that? I mean, she really did eat.

• 14:16Speaker 04

  You know, the thing that in watching it last night with the audience that really moved me was seeing the shift from a singular focus for oneself versus the collective focus of people coming together and the impact we can make when we're not just working for our own self.

• 14:40Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 14:41Speaker 04

  And that for me was, you know, like it was deeply moving. I remember last night when I saw you at dinner, like just like it it had a greater impact than I even realized by seeing it with with with an audience.

• 14:59Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 14:59Speaker 04

  And the importance of that.

• 15:01Keke Palmer?

  I really love the mirroring that happens between Christie Smith and Corvette, because there's this idea that just that, you know, Christie is the bad guy. You know what I mean? And that can be true in many ways. But you also see Corvette go on this journey where. What would it be like if she had a chance to be on top? And she has to look around and she has to go through that transition in a movie where she's looking up at this person that she's mimicking and that she wants to be like because she aspires to have success. But at the same time, she's slowly forgetting the people around her. They're now just, they've now just turned it into the background to her foreground. And so we get to see this reality that I think is so important that, you know, no matter what, where you're standing from,

• 15:44Keke Palmer?

  integrity is something that you have to be consciously thinking about having in every scene, whether you're on the top or whether you're on the bottom. And the people around you, they're not just here to support you, but they're here to exist alongside you. So that's what I love that Corvette finds. And that really was hitting, touched me the more that I watched the movie.

• 16:01Speaker 07

  You know what it really hit to me when I was watching your performance was the concept of we are conditioned as a society to idolize these people while still having a moral compass, right? She is completely a morally balanced human being of who she is, but somehow we are all trapped in this vortex of, you see her when she talks about her, like her eyes glisten and it's, she has an identity of her own, she knows who she is, yet somehow she's like, you know, like a fly to the light. And I think it really encompasses the world we live in. Because it is, I find myself, especially with social media now and seeing all these kids and us, including us, adults.

• 16:44Speaker 07

  You know, we kind of hate it, beloved, but hate it, beloved. We all live in this dimension of this duality. And I think it does capture that because you're not just villainizing her. And I think it, I have to say, it owes to the performances as well that everyone brings. It's very nuanced. It's not linear like she is the villain, we hate her. I want to be her, but why do I want to be her? If she is this version that I hate and I'm fighting, but yet I still want to be her. And I think we can all see ourselves in those moments throughout life. That is the real human experience. And I think what Boots is really good is understanding society. He does social commentary about society and he's always on point.

• 17:29Speaker 07

  And he's quiet, man. He's not like, you know, he's on set and he's just observing, observing, observing. And then he just plasters it on art. And I think... People will watch this movie and re-watch it and get so much more from it because these are very fundamentally balanced women, yet still being swayed by the one thing they hate. And we can all relate to that, I think.

• 17:56Speaker 02

  Well, we all have a sense that it doesn't have to be this way. And we've all, we all are victims of it, but also benefit from it. I mean, we critique America, but we all benefit from being here also. The world is, it's gonna continue to spin and we're gonna continue to wanna wear clothes and have nice things and, you know, your car system, your transportation, your options. You have, we have options, you know? It's like, I don't really like bananas. I actually would prefer this. And most of the world doesn't live like that. Most of the world doesn't have options. Most of the world has one pair of shoes, you know?

• 18:40Speaker 02

  And so it gets really, it is this kind of...

• 18:44Speaker 07

  The big conglomerate, yeah.

• 18:45Keke Palmer?

  I think that awareness is very important. You spoke to the duality of it, and that is the duality. Because the moment that Corvett meets Tian Hu, did I pronounce it right?

• 18:55Speaker 07

  Yeah, you did.

• 18:56Keke Palmer?

  Because I kept acting like John Hughes. It was like my accent wasn't correct. So Tian Hu, you know, the first thing after we see...

• 19:05Speaker 06

  I named one of my chickens John Hughes. Yes. Well, so my first name is Tian Hu. But, you know, you're on set, everyone's, can John Hu come to, we need John Hu, right? So then it became John Hugh, which turned into John Hughes. And then now I'm John Hughes. And so I have, I raise chickens, and so one of my chickens is now John Hughes.

• 19:25Keke Palmer?

  Period.

• 19:26Speaker 06

  She's a gorgeous silky. I think she's also autistic.

• 19:29Keke Palmer?

  Fabulous.

• 19:30Speaker 06

  Yes. And also, but she was also, you know, like, I think she's now becoming a bit of a bully. It's a whole thing. She was kind of bullied as a big young chick, and you see like the cycle of violence, hurt people, hurt people, hurt chickens, hurt chickens. That's John Hughes. And that's also boosters, so, you know?

• 19:46Keke Palmer?

  Poppy, everybody. This was us on set with her.

• 19:52Keke Palmer?

  It's stand-up, non-stop.

• 19:53Speaker 06

  I just, like, I think it's so iconic that, like, I mean, we have a whole sequence where we're fully in China. And I feel like this entire movie works with us, without us having to go to China. I keep saying that "Boosters" to me feels like it's a movie that is Trojan horsing a story about class solidarity and class struggle. And you could have kept it just here. There's enough between the Velvet Gang, between Christie Smith, about, you know, the value of material goods, what options someone has, given the choices in front of them, et cetera, et cetera. But he took it all the way back to like, okay, we're talking about clothes, talking about choices, where is that coming from?

• 20:31Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 20:31Speaker 06

  And who is making that?

• 20:32Keke Palmer?

  Because we're all the star of our own story, and we're all on one side of the same contradiction.

• 20:36Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 20:37Keke Palmer?

  That goes both ways. Because the moment that Corvett, I like that Corvett isn't just the underdog. The moment that she meets Yan Hu, she talking about, yeah, that's good, this what we gonna do for me.

• 20:46Speaker 05

  Right. That's right.

• 20:47Keke Palmer?

  That's what she pulls with Christie Smith.

• 20:49Speaker 05

  That's right.

• 20:49Keke Palmer?

  There, at that table, we watched the whole forehead movie, it all goes down, we see Yan Hu's storyline, and the first thing Corvett says is, that's great, give me the machine. I got some stuff I'm trying to do. And it's not until, Isaac, your character, where we actually, the whole movie, she popping out the window, she saying, hey, y'all, message. I'm here to tell you that, finally, Corvett gets it. We all, we all are the star of our own movie, we all got a struggle, we're all the villain in somebody's world, and we all have a vision, we just trying to bring to life. And I think that awareness is what helps us. It doesn't change everything, but it can at least help us to see each other more fully, you know?

• 21:30Speaker 02

  That's why it's profound when Christie says, you're just fighting yourself.

• 21:34Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 21:38Speaker 02

  True.

• 21:39Keke Palmer?

  I love when we get a "woo."

• 21:42Speaker 06

  I will say, though, I do think that in her heart that Yan Hu is a revolutionary, because I've always thought, think about it, she gets her hands on a teleporter, and instead of being like, I'm gonna rob a bank, or like, whatever. Or even just take these clothes and try to resell them and do whatever. She says, "We're gonna use these clothes as a bargaining chip for labor rights and for us to unionize."

• 22:04Keke Palmer?

  Absolutely fabulous.

• 22:05Speaker 06

  You know, I was like, "Oh, this girl isn't thinking in terms of capitalism. She's actually like thinking in a human-centric way." And I feel like that twist is like, like you were saying, when Corvett hears about this, her first thought is to do an exchange, is to perform capitalism.

• 22:20Keke Palmer?

  Totally.

• 22:21Speaker 06

  And Zia, who is like, "I want to make sure that like my, my family members stop dying from the, like, you know, the sand blasted denim."

• 22:29Keke Palmer?

  Your great point, Taylor. You know, everybody has a different vantage point from what is around them and what they know. That's why I do feel like it's such a great power when we can create art that impacts or moves the way that people think and reaches us from different vantage points. We go online, we could see somebody else's world, we could see somebody's perspective. I mean, I take it back to MySpace. Tom just wanted us to see somebody's space.

• 22:50Speaker 06

  Tom!

• 22:51Keke Palmer?

  He just said, "'Cause if you see their space, you might understand things differently."

• 22:55Speaker 02

  God bless Tom.

• 22:56Keke Palmer?

  He didn't foresee.

• 22:56Speaker 06

  Sitting sideways, Tom.

• 22:58Keke Palmer?

  You know, we love Tom. He just taught us how to code.

• 23:01Speaker 02

  Rich on an island somewhere, probably.

• 23:03Keke Palmer?

  Okay, out of the way. All right.

• 23:06Speaker 02

  Maybe on an island.

• 23:07Keke Palmer?

  Boots always holds up a mirror to society. And there's a lot that, that he's showing us with this movie. But what do you think he's saying about the moment that we're living in right now? And I know we said a lot of it here, but maybe in, in a few words, what would you say he's trying to, trying to say?

• 23:23Speaker 06

  I think he's saying that borders are not real and that the thing that unites us all is class struggle and that it needs to be a global international movement. Personally. Yeah.

• 23:34Speaker 06

  And as she said, everyone's their own sort of revolutionary. And, and I think that we can kind of, as a society. I mean, it, it, it does blow my mind because we did film this movie how long ago?

• 23:48Speaker 07

  And the timing couldn't be more exact. Like, in this moment, it feels like he filmed it two weeks ago and he was like, "This is the time to drop it." And that, I think it's, I mean, obviously as a foreshadowing, I think we've all been seeing where we're heading towards slowly but surely. But I think, you know, again, I go back to, he's a person of the people. He makes movies for people, for audiences. Boots is not someone who's like bothered and flustered about what Hollywood wants, clearly, as you watch that movie. And, you know, I think that's what I appreciate about him as a filmmaker, is this man who has something really important to say outside of the system.

• 24:31Speaker 07

  And the point is to criticize the system within being in the system. It's quite meta. Yes, I live for the meta of it all. And he's like, "But F the system, and this is what it's at, and this is a patriarchy, and this is how it's set, and this is..." And by the way, the fact that, I mean, I don't like to go gender specific, but most of these revolutionary characters are women. I don't know, like, he's a father, he's a partner, he gets it, man, in a deep cellular way of what's this world looking like. And I think that last moment in the movie, I mean, we were talking about it, it moves you, it hits you deep with turning on the news and what's going on in the world.

• 25:12Speaker 07

  And I think when you watch characters like this going through these journeys, it makes you believe, "Damn, man, my life has purpose. Even if I'm in this small place or in a big place, like, my desires, my dreams, what I look for, I can go for it, whatever that looks like, and I just gotta push. Don't let the system brainwash you, because it's designed for us to just be completely drawn by it." And so we are getting to a place where like, I think as everything, the pendulum swings so far right and so far left. And now people are like, "Nah, nah, nah, nah, not anymore." We're pushing back. And I think that's very motivating. We see it with the strikes on the streets, we see it with, you know,

• 25:56Speaker 07

  it started all with like in the middle of COVID and Black Lives Matter. And like, we're just like, "No, the system doesn't dictate anymore." And I think in a world that feels so bleak, this feels like a ray of sunshine.

• 26:12Speaker 04

  Do you think he's saying that there is a sweet demon trying to suck the life out of us somewhere? I'm still wrapping myself around the Cunnilingus demon.

• 26:26Keke Palmer?

  I've been around a few of them.

• 26:28Speaker 04

  I mean, I was just wondering.

• 26:29Speaker 06

  Someone one day is gonna write their PhD on what the symbolism of that, you know, Cunnilingus demon is doing.

• 26:35Speaker 04

  Oh my god.

• 26:36Speaker 06

  And I want to read it. I will say, I mean, to what Asa was saying, there is an irony about a film which, you know, I feel like fundamentally is about class being told through Hollywood. And I feel like that irony is like, really not lost on any of us. But I feel like that's also what makes this special because it's not just the kind of art that Boots makes. Part of my excitement about working with him is also about who he is as a person. And, you know, at his level as a director and where he is in Hollywood, he has never shied away from like, being politically outspoken, regardless of the repercussions.

• 27:17Speaker 06

  He was one of the first, I think, that was outspoken about Gaza and Palestine and the genocide. And he has never wavered at all. And I think he did that knowing that there would be a cost and not knowing what. So I feel like that, that plays into the miracle that like, he has gotten all this support and this film has gotten all this support and, you know, sometimes I, I, I struggle too with like artists who I feel like are doing a lot of important storytelling with their art, but then in their personal life can't follow that moral code or, you know, take the same kind of risks. And I just feel like Boots is like, a, just, he is...

• 27:53Keke Palmer?

  It's not a performance. It's who he is.

• 27:54Speaker 06

  Not at all, yeah.

• 27:55Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? And at the end of the day...

• 27:56Speaker 06

  And I admire that a lot about him and I feel proud to work with him.

• 28:00Keke Palmer?

  I do too, because the truth is the truth. It'll always be the truth, whether you acknowledge it or not. And that's how he lives his life. He's just speaking his truth. And so how could you be mad at somebody that has, that knows their POV and is sticking to it, you know?

• 28:11Speaker 02

  And Boots, but Boots is, I feel his baseline is still all with an open heart. So we have these conversations and we could disagree or he could, and there's still just this openness. And I wonder what that would be like if all of us have different brains and different upbringings and different perspectives and the way we see, we're not supposed to see it the same. I mean, we're diverse in the way that we think. And the way that we profess and what we like and what we gravitate toward. But what would it be like to sit with that with an open heart? Like, what would the world be like? It's like, I don't really agree, but I'm gonna open my heart to you. And now you open your heart to me. We could do something with that.

• 28:54Keke Palmer?

  That's community.

• 29:04Keke Palmer?

  You know your girl loves to travel. Some of my favorite trips have been with my fam to far-off places like Rome. But this spring, we're eyeing a more local spot like South Carolina, because our non-negotiables are delicious food and a beach, where we can have fun, but also get some much-needed R and R. And when I'm planning where we're gonna stay, I'm not only thinking about logistics, like, where is everyone going to sleep? But also, how can I really experience the place I'm visiting? That's why I book a stay on Airbnb for family trips. We get to stay in neighborhoods where locals actually live and really connect with the city through authentic experiences. Plus, everyone can spread out with separate bedrooms,

• 29:46Keke Palmer?

  like, my son's bedtime doesn't have to be my bedtime. And we've got a real kitchen to cook some meals together if we end up staying in. It's also way more cost-effective than booking multiple hotel rooms. We all get our own space, but still come together to create those genuine memories. For that kind of trip, hotels just don't give us what we need. Find a home for your next family adventure on Airbnb.

• 30:15Keke Palmer?

  I mean, you guys could see, my next question was, what would the vibes like on set? You could see this what the vibe was like. We were always talking, having some, and honestly, it could have been about pizza. It could have been about the State of the Union. It could have been anything across the board. But we were always having dialogue, and it felt really good. And we were also excited when Dami came. We were like, what y'all think she gonna be like? How you think she gonna, I can't wait to see what she wear. What she think she gonna kick, is she gonna talk to? Was, she came, right, sit down in the middle of the floor. She was like, hey, girls. With her little pup. How's it going? I'm so hyped for the movie. And we just would get into it. I mean, do you guys have a favorite moment or a favorite day that you remember on set?

• 30:58Keke Palmer?

  Naomi looking back.

• 31:01Speaker 02

  They blur into one day. But fun memory, it was kind of, sorry. I can't share what was shared, but you shared a story and then you shared a story and we all collapsed on the hotel.

• 31:12Keke Palmer?

  We was talking about.

• 31:13Speaker 02

  No, I don't remember. We, when we came back, we got back.

• 31:16Keke Palmer?

  Oh, no, it was the tea, it was the tea, it was a tea day, in a pink look.

• 31:19Speaker 02

  Is that Asa has tea? But also because I was pregnant, baby's pushing, I peed on myself in the hallway. Twice in this film, twice, once on set and once in the hallway, I was like, you guys, I can't. We were collapsed on the floor. I can't with you guys, I don't have a pelvic floor. If you only knew what was being talked about.

• 31:39Keke Palmer?

  I do feel like, I do feel like this doesn't happen often, but I do feel like we was telling each other our business on this job. Like, you don't, like, you don't, y'all know at your, at your job, whether you're on set, whether you're in an office, wherever you are, these are, these are my colleagues. But then there'll come a moment where it's like, this is my [BLEEP].

• 31:57Keke Palmer?

  You know what I mean? We were getting in, I know so much about child life, y'all know so much about my life.

• 32:02Speaker 02

  We were getting into it.

• 32:03Keke Palmer?

  Yes, I loved it. Oh my, and by the way, you were pregnant on set, you now have your baby.

• 32:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:10Keke Palmer?

  This is incredible.

• 32:12Speaker 02

  He's in the movie. That is an amazing story. Do you guys remember when the doctor came and made us hear the heartbeat?

• 32:18Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 32:19Speaker 02

  The doctor came. Our, our set, uh. The set nurse. The set nurse. Set nurse. She also happened to be a doula and midwife and she'd let me, uh, hear his heartbeat all the time. And there was once where we were looking for it, because I'd get a little panicked and the girls would start talking and all of a sudden, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

• 32:38Speaker 03

  What can I just say, I'm not being funny, right? I've met him twice now, oh, and I was there for, when you were in labor?

• 32:46Speaker 02

  You both sent me a video right before I was. I was, I was in L.A. and I was like, "Hey, can I come around? I wanna see you."

• 32:54Keke Palmer?

  You saw me two days before I popped.

• 32:56Speaker 02

  Yeah, sure, sure, yeah. No, I think I'm in labor, but like, totally come around. I was in labor. I was humpty dumpty. It was, ooh.

• 33:04Keke Palmer?

  It was crazy.

• 33:05Speaker 02

  I was humpty dumpty, girl. I was about to roll down that hill, right? I was big.

• 33:11Speaker 07

  My biggest memory of this movie is Taylor in that like, big titty onesie.

• 33:15Keke Palmer?

  Oh, yeah.

• 33:17Speaker 07

  I have a million photos of her on my phone with those. The other day I was going through and I just have your titties there, not her titties.

• 33:24Speaker 02

  Who made that?

• 33:25Speaker 07

  Not her, her titties, which I would love, but it wasn't that. No, it was that suit. It's so funny, like, the idea of boosters is Taylor in that onesie, walking around like rubbing her belly.

• 33:35Speaker 02

  It was giving me a, it was letting me, you know, get used to the idea of being, you know, more womanly, more voluptuous, more areola.

• 33:45Keke Palmer?

  How do you feel about that time now, you know, looking back at the movie, how it's impact, you know, the work we were doing, but also like in your now new, new mind? Because you do, I mean, anybody in the audience with kids, moms, you know, you are not the same person you were before the baby, you know what I mean? And so how do you feel about that time and, you know, compared to now?

• 34:05Speaker 02

  I'm so grateful to all of you. I feel you, you raised him in the, in there because I laughed so much and he's so happy. It makes me cry because he's so happy, he's so healthy, he's so beautiful.

• 34:19Keke Palmer?

  Really?

• 34:19Speaker 02

  And it really, birthing him initiated me into this life that I've always wanted for myself and I just feel I'm finally living inside my life. But you guys being there with me, it was just so amazing. We just laughed so mu- I mean, I think my belly, he was in there probably like, "Okay."

• 34:37Speaker 07

  Yeah, you were happy.

• 34:38Speaker 02

  "All right, it's really funny, like, I wanna sleep now," you know? But he's so, that's how he is today. He's always in on, you know, I'm laughing and he just starts giggling. It's just incredible. It's incredible.

• 34:50Keke Palmer?

  Kids do have this really incredible power. You just said something quick and I wanna pull it out because just make sure everybody heard it, is that now you're living inside your life. You know what I'm saying, like kids really, especially when we're in our kind of industry, and look, in our kind of world, or in our kind of country, whatever, where, you know, you're working, you're working, you know, everybody's hyper-functioning, and trying to do it right, and get it done, and be the one, and get the job. You can, you know what I'm saying, you end up just like, who am I? Because you're just the thing now. You're just the product, you're the, you're the, you're not a human being, you're a human doing. You know what I mean? And so, I know for me, that was really big, when I had my son, of just like, because my son, he's just big. So then you start being like, well damn, I want to be like you.

• 35:32Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 35:33Keke Palmer?

  My son would be like, no.

• 35:36Speaker 02

  It's so true.

• 35:37Keke Palmer?

  I had to turn that damn boss baby off. He was learning too much from that baby. Walking around acting like Alec Baldwin. Sit your ass down. Seriously, he'd be like, absolutely not. But it helps you, it reminds you, you know?

• 35:51Speaker 02

  It's true, you, you, you're looking at this baby, and they're, they're on an acid trip all day. They're like, wow, the sky, my feet. So I'm like, feeling the bottom of my feet. I'm like, here I am in this moment. Wow, my feet. Wow, my hands. You know, everything, his belly button, his, a lemon. He's like, this lemon. You know, like, all these amazing things, being alive is so cool. It really is.

• 36:16Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 36:16Speaker 02

  To love, and to be alive, and to love people, to love people around you, to love your baby. It's just like, it's incredible.

• 36:24Keke Palmer?

  I completely agree with you. Was there a moment, you guys, where you felt like? I know for me, I'll say this, because the question is about when we knew our chemistry was working. I remember when we did that first read, if y'all remember. It was like, before we started filming the movie. And we were in there, and, uh, Bush was just like, just, just talk, you know, just do the lines. Just do the, and we were, this is our first session, or whatever, like that. And I could, I'm a very rhythm person. I don't care if it's comedy, I don't care if it's drama, I don't care what the material is. I'm just always hearing the voices as like, beats. You know, it's like music in my ear. And we were, we're doing the lines, and I was like, this beat is sick. Come on, I want to take a ride into Disco St. Don't get me wrong.

• 37:04Speaker 02

  Yes, I thought you were going there.

• 37:07Keke Palmer?

  But I was like, how did you know we were gonna sound like this? Not even, how did you know we were gonna act like this? Like, how did you know we were gonna sound like this? Because we were like ping, it's just like now, it's like ping ping, boom boom. And that's when I knew, oh, this is, Boots is not just like a great writer, you know, director, but like, this casting, like, we matched.

• 37:26Speaker 07

  Yeah.

• 37:27Keke Palmer?

  That's when I saw it. Was there a moment or a scene where you guys felt that?

• 37:31Speaker 06

  Well, because we didn't even do a chemistry read beforehand. And the thing about this rehearsal, in quotes, in heavy, heavy quotes, is that it was three, three to four hours long. I think we went through the scene two times, maximum. And the rest of it, one thing I admire about Boots is that he takes up like zero space as a man, which is like one of the most endearing qualities ever.

• 37:52Keke Palmer?

  Oh, for real, he really let us go.

• 37:54Speaker 06

  We, and like, we'll just be like yapping and I'll just turn around and Boots is right there.

• 37:58Keke Palmer?

  He's just observing us.

• 37:59Speaker 06

  Yeah, he's just like with a huge smile on his face, like. But like this rehearsal, it was just us like yapping and he would just sit back and at the end of it, we were like, do we need to read this scene more? And he was like, no, he was like, I think that's the rehearsal. And we were like, okay.

• 38:15Speaker 07

  You know, he has this quality of seeing people. And that's not easy. And we see it, obviously, there are directors that have vision and some that follow the pattern of what the industry tells them and they're like, she's the cool girl, or that's the cool person, or she's what people are gonna be like, thumbs up. And he just doesn't care. He's just like, who are you? What's your deal? And I felt that, like, when I watched all of you perform, you know, he sees you, he's not trying to impose into you, he's just letting the collaboration exist. And you see it, like, it's not, it's, I really want to highlight this, it's not a casualty that most of the performances are good. That's not a casualty, that's not, oh my god, everyone's amazing, because a lot of these

• 39:00Speaker 07

  actors go on to other movies and they don't get the chance to get these performances. Why is that? Because you have a director who's imposing into you and not a director that has wanted to collaborate with you.

• 39:11Speaker 06

  Preach.

• 39:12Speaker 07

  And that is a ginormous difference, because you see... I mean, who the hell would think of me as a goth, like physicist knowledgeable?

• 39:22Keke Palmer?

  Conspiracy theories, yeah.

• 39:24Speaker 07

  And then he's like, I see something, you're a fighter and I feel that way in the inside. I feel it, but no one sees me that way. No one sees like you like that, you know? They're like, she can really bring this layer into a hall there. And that is just a blessing. It's like the most, like when you leave the set and you go home and you watch this movie and whatever the movie does amazing and hopefully it does amazing because you're all gonna go watch it when it opens, but.

• 39:52Keke Palmer?

  Okay.

• 39:52Speaker 07

  Because you're gonna pay and bring all your friends. But, but my point is like, you're just like, God, thank you for giving us a director that sees me and sees what is my voice wanting to say as an artist, as an individual, as a moral compass? And that man is like gold. And in every movie, you see, you see Sorry to Bother You, you see obviously Virgo, there is magical performances. This is a man watching you, listening to you and saying, bring it on.

• 40:22Keke Palmer?

  To that point, what about your characters do you relate to the most? Or what were you zeroing in on in their story that allowed you to have empathy, compassion, and bring them to life?

• 40:41Keke Palmer?

  Y'all, I have questions about everything. What should I cook tonight? Is it jacket weather or am I overthinking this? Should I take that opportunity? And I've been using Claude. It's changed how I make decisions. Because here's the thing, most AI just gives you information and that's it. Claude actually helps you decide, think things through fully and take action. Like when I'm prepping for guests or trying to figure out whether something I read is legit, I'll go back and forth with Claude and it won't just hand me some surface level answer. It pushes back and asks me what I mean. It treats the question like it deserves more than 30 seconds. I also love that you can now connect your health data to Claude through Apple Health.

• 41:26Keke Palmer?

  And when I'm trying to figure out if my sleep is off, Claude helps me see the patterns. Try Claude for free at claude.ai/Keke Palmer and see why problem solvers choose Claude as their thinking partner.

• 41:43Speaker 03

  For me, I'm ever the realist.

• 41:47Keke Palmer?

  Me neither.

• 41:47Speaker 03

  I'm ever the realist. I think Sade has a kind of... She's extremely grounded. And I think that was the thing that I was like, "Oh, I understand that."

• 42:01Speaker 03

  Maybe it comes with age and stuff, but there's this sense for me of like, what you see is what you see. I'm a very "say what you see" type person, and I know the truth. And if it's evident, then I do it. And I think Sade has a grounding energy in the film, but especially for Caver. To bring... You know, it's such a special thing, ambition. And it's such a special dream to have dreams.

• 42:32Speaker 03

  But that has to be grounded in reality. That has to have a sense of what does this not just do for me, but what does this do for everyone? Like, I remember even wanting to be an actor, and at first it was like, "I want to be a star." You know? "Oh, my god, the red carpet," and all of that stuff. And then you go, "Oh, wait, no, this is a service." I'm providing a service that, potentially, if I do my craft right, opens people up to empathy, opens people up for discussion. And that is the richness of the thing. And so, in a way, bringing it even back to the film, it's like, this skirt, I don't know what it's made of, let's assume it's silk, right? This came from a worm.

• 43:17Speaker 03

  Someone's hands were on it. It transported on a cargo ship or a van. And then someone took their hands and they sewed it, and they thought about how to cut it. And then I'm wearing it right now. All of those things are so important. And I think when you're grounded and you have a sense of where everything comes from and where it should be going, you can have a real access to the world as it actually is instead of an illusion.

• 43:42Keke Palmer?

  Ah, yes.

• 43:43Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 43:45Speaker 07

  You're really good at this.

• 43:47Keke Palmer?

  And I do, I want to hear what everybody says, but I do feel like, um, the reason why I asked this question is because I see all of you in your characters. Now, you guys are all acting boots down. You know, you created a different, uh, reflection of this. It's not like you went to work and you were being yourselves, but I see that quality in you. You are so grounded, you know what I mean? And you were grounding for us all on set. I know you probably were side of us leaning up on your shoulder. Because you are very much that person that just gets it. And you don't say everything you know, but you know, you know what I mean?

• 44:20Speaker 07

  That is her, yeah.

• 44:20Keke Palmer?

  Because you don't even want to put that on nobody. But it's like when it's time, like Sade in the movie, when it's time to get real, because hey, you need to wake up? She'll say that. And that, I, that you do have that soulfully grounding energy where it's like, I'ma chill. When I need to speak up, I'ma speak up. You know? And we saw that side of you in this role, yeah. Thank you. Anybody else?

• 44:42Speaker 04

  I mean, for me, I feel like he gave me a chance to play somebody who is so not me. And that was the, like, the excitement of this exploration, of then being able to take this kind of extreme narcissist and find a, a, a way to bring a thread of humanity that I believe we all come from, that sometimes gets lost as we're in the pathway of struggling. Like Christie, you know, really does believe in what she's saying. It's, and has lost sight of, of others, but I think really cares.

• 45:27Speaker 04

  But the idea that he actually saw me, one, to be able to do something that was comedic, that, um, was just so out of the box, was, was what the, the joy and excitement of this for me. That it, that it so wasn't me.

• 45:46Keke Palmer?

  The part that I will say is similar to you to Christie.

• 45:49Speaker 04

  Tell me.

• 45:50Keke Palmer?

  Is you're brilliantly gifted.

• 45:53Speaker 04

  Oh.

• 45:54Keke Palmer?

  Watching you act is a gift.

• 45:59Speaker 04

  Oh my god.

• 46:00Keke Palmer?

  Because ju- no, I'm so serious.

• 46:03Speaker 04

  You guys.

• 46:03Keke Palmer?

  Because like that moment when they're like, when he does the Christie Smith breakdown and she was a mad scientist and da-da-da. That's how it was watching you act. Your subtleties, the way you shift your eyes, the way you brought up your gestures, your attitude and movement with Christie Smith. All of that, right? Yes, that was all mathematical. That was all mathematical, you know, but I mean, sure for you, this is just you, what you do, this is what you see and what you know. But when people are observing, when we're observing you, me and Taylor will be like, you see that (bleep) went off? You know, like, that was so cool. I love that she added that, this nuance, so that is, that is like, you know, when you do something so effortlessly good, like you have for so many decades, sometimes people don't know how hard it is.

• 46:44Speaker 07

  That's it. She has that commanding thing without trying.

• 46:48Keke Palmer?

  Yeah, and that's the part, that's the Christie Smith element is that, no, no, no. She's doing something that's not easy to do.

• 46:55Speaker 07

  Yeah.

• 46:56Speaker 06

  I remember, um, Demi, your last monologue when you were being, like, right before you were taken away by the guards, when they turned the camera around and it was me, Taylor and Kiki watching you do it. The three of us were just like jaw open, like, we weren't even being good scene partners really, because we were just like, uh. And the feeling I had was, I was like, I was like, there are people that are talented and that are stars and this is a star.

• 47:22Keke Palmer?

  That's it. That's it.

• 47:24Speaker 06

  Like, Demi is a star.

• 47:25Keke Palmer?

  It is what it is, you know?

• 47:26Speaker 04

  Well, I will say, I came in, you guys had already been shooting, and you, and I came into, like, an open door of welcoming that gave me permission to also be more brave and to take more risks, because you guys were all so loving and kind and warm that it made it really easy. There was no ego that I came into. It was all just open heart. And it makes a huge difference.

• 47:56Speaker 07

  It goes, yeah, it goes back to Kiki too, because I have to say, it becomes a domino effect. It's really interesting what happens on a set, right? If someone's having fun, then the next person's having fun, then you get into the door. You're like, oh my god, everyone's having fun. And then you, it just becomes an environment. And that's to you, girl, too, because you really came in.

• 48:14Speaker 02

  You're such a ball of wisdom and light and joy.

• 48:18Keke Palmer?

  I give y'all the money for saying this after.

• 48:21Speaker 07

  You're like, keep going, y'all did good.

• 48:22Speaker 04

  But we all did, we all dumped in, did deep dives. Immediate, immediate, personal deep dives in between. They had to pull us out, like, you guys need to go work.

• 48:31Speaker 07

  Those poor PAs, man, they were like...

• 48:34Keke Palmer?

  Those poor PAs.

• 48:36Speaker 04

  Wrangling cats.

• 48:37Keke Palmer?

  I had a flashback.

• 48:38Speaker 06

  But it's true, number one on the call sheet always determines the vibe of the set. Even if everyone else is amazing, if number one on the call sheet is like, [BLEEP]. It, you can't, it can't be fixed. And you set that tone, Kiki, and it was very, very special. Yes, you did.

• 48:55Keke Palmer?

  I really, really appreciate that.

• 48:56Speaker 02

  What do you find similar to Corvett?

• 48:59Keke Palmer?

  Girl, I thought you never asked.

• 49:05Keke Palmer?

  Um, I really relate to Corvett being wrapped in her vision. I've always known what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be.

• 49:14Speaker 07

  Girl, you're a superstar. You're a superstar, girl.

• 49:18Keke Palmer?

  I've always felt like, I want to do this, and I want to do this, and I want to have this.

• 49:23Speaker 02

  And you've done it, mamas. You've done it.

• 49:25Keke Palmer?

  She really has. But like my Shadé says, like Naomi always says every time she sees me, she touch my leg and she say, "How you doing?" And it don't sound like much, you know what I mean? But what she's saying is how are, not Keke Palmer, how is Lauren Kiana Palmer doing? You know? That I relate to Corvett, because just like Corvett, like, I just want, I just want to do what I, it started from, I want to do something that I can enjoy and I can also help my family. You know, and then you become something. And then it's like, you got to always make sure that you know, this is why I did it. This is what, and when it doesn't feel like that anymore, I don't want to do it anymore.

• 50:07Keke Palmer?

  When it doesn't feel like community, when it doesn't feel like me, I got my velvet gang, they all in the audience. When it don't feel like that, then there's no point to do it. And so I really relate to Corvett, what you were saying in the beginning, like, we... Are all in this world trying to make it and we gotta always make sure that our integrity is always maintained on that fight, on that rise, to be able to do what we're trying to do for our community. The community still has to maintain the core. And so that, I really relate to that, to Corvette. Wanting to be great, but not wanting it to cost her her ethics. Or learning what it means for it not to. That's important, so.

• 50:45Keke Palmer?

  You guys, we can go straight to the game because I only got one minute. I wanted to hear briefly your connection to y'all characters.

• 50:52Speaker 02

  I think Mariah, I always think that things could be better and that we should be having fun. And to love your friends and those around you and I think Boot said it, but something my husband said to me a few weeks ago, he's like, you know, one of my favorite things about you? And I'm like, what? I'm scared. And he was like, you know, every time you look at your phone or you say something, I always feel you're gonna tell me something good. You always have something. But it's true. I actually, I'm like appreciating my heart lately. Because I'm like, it's actually true. I'm like, I do do that. I do feel that I look up. I'm always looking up.

• 51:34Speaker 02

  I'm always like, it could be better, it could be better, we could be better. It's gonna work out. And I really believe that. I have faith. I do have faith.

• 51:43Speaker 04

  You find the glass half full.

• 51:44Speaker 02

  I do. Or I'm even just like, whatever.

• 51:50Keke Palmer?

  But you also, what we

• 51:51Speaker 02

  I'll drink out of a faucet.

• 51:53Keke Palmer?

  What we get to see in this movie is you're really, really funny. Yeah, she's so funny. You know what I'm saying? Like you're really, I think sometimes we're, you know, it's this thing like with comedy or whatever, like you feel like, okay, what do I do? You're naturally very, very funny. And I'm happy that people get a chance in this movie to really see you flexing that. Because there was not a moment that you didn't say something on the screen where the audience was acclrying. And I know you was outside with the baby, so I don't know if you saw, but like, girl, it was so funny. And that's how it feels being with you. You always is cracking some type of joke. You know what I mean? Without trying, too. Without trying. So funny.

• 52:29Speaker 04

  Oh, well, thank you.

• 52:30Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 52:32Speaker 06

  Well, okay, well, first, I need to wrap up one more thought about Demi, because I need to say this on the record. I told her this in person already. But I did tell her that Demi has a chokehold on Asian aunties. Oh, my God. There is nobody in Hollywood that they love more than our girl, Demi Moore.

• 52:58Speaker 06

  My mother has never been more proud of me or my career than knowing that I was in a film with Demi. And that is what, you want to know what the WeChat aunties are saying in Minnesota right now? That Tylee Quinn's daughter is in a movie with Demi. She has never once talked about any other job I've gotten, anything at all. And it's, I don't know why, I mean, obviously, you're a star, but it's just like, like, for some reason, through the cultural ether or whatever, there's only a couple people that have broken through.

• 53:28Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 53:29Speaker 06

  And it's a shortlist.

• 53:30Keke Palmer?

  She on the blacks aunties, too. Same in Mexico. Black aunties, too. It's true. My mama love you down.

• 53:37Speaker 06

  What's the haircut? What's the haircut? It's the ghost. It's the ghost.

• 53:41Keke Palmer?

  Of course.

• 53:43Keke Palmer?

  It's you, baby. That ghost roll. That ghost roll.

• 53:47Speaker 06

  What's the name of the haircut?

• 53:51Keke Palmer?

  My mom in the audience talking about, I go back to General Hospital. Love you down.

• 53:57Speaker 06

  Like, my soundtrack growing up was, oh, my love. My mom weeping.

• 54:03Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 54:04Speaker 06

  Weeping. But, yeah, so, you know, Asian aunties, you would crush in Asia. Crush. I'm going to add it to my bucket list. Yes. Okay, but, right, my, I feel very connected to her. I think that we both, like, have a heart that cares very much about social justice. And I really feel like the journey that Diya Hu goes on through the course of the movie is a little bit the emotional journey I went on, maybe like in my adulthood, through my twenties to now, where, you know, she starts off very idealistic. And she's, and I think she has this belief that, like, that we can change the system from within. We can use bargaining chips. We can, like, use our power to, and that's true.

• 54:48Speaker 06

  And also, she gets to a point in the film, right before we go into the fashion show, where she says, like, Christie Smith, like, let's [BLEEP] kill her. You know, and it's like, that's not like where I'm at. But like, you know, but like it's, she reaches a point where she was like, oh, actually, the system can't be changed. Some things need to be burned down.

• 55:08Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 55:08Speaker 06

  And I think I, I had a moment too where, you know, and I, I think I'm still grappling with it and, and wondering, but like, you know, like, empires fall.

• 55:19Keke Palmer?

  Yeah. Yeah. Especially when they not doing right.

• 55:22Speaker 06

  Yes, and sometimes they have to.

• 55:24Keke Palmer?

  When you're not doing right, again, the truth is the truth. No matter what day or week you decide to acknowledge it or not, coherence is the center. If you're not moving coherently, things will collapse. Or maybe your building is built sideways. Okay, and now you're in a. And people can't stand up straight. We in a decadian tower like this.

• 55:39Speaker 06

  Truly.

• 55:40Keke Palmer?

  I'm messing with you because you didn't want to respect the rules. You gotta respect the rules of life.

• 55:44Speaker 06

  Truly.

• 55:44Keke Palmer?

  You don't, it will, things will break. You have to respect it.

• 55:47Speaker 06

  Yes, and I think that like, at least for myself, I think when I went through that, there was a, there was a moment of like hopelessness and helplessness of being like, the thing, the ideals I held on to before, I don't know if those things can change.

• 55:57Keke Palmer?

  Yeah.

• 55:58Speaker 06

  But like, I think similar to, you know, who like, she finds her fire again, where she was like, okay, I'm gonna let this motivate me. Like, let's like, let's take this down. And I feel like you really see that with like, you know, I think Dianhu and Corvette have like a shared, they have a shared thread of being like, you know, Corvette wants to play the game, wants to be the Chrissy Smith. Dianhu wants to bargain with Chrissy Smith, wants to like ask, and at one point, they're just like, no, actually, I think we need a, like,

• 56:25Keke Palmer?

  Yes.

• 56:25Speaker 06

  The dictator needs to fall.

• 56:27Keke Palmer?

  Yeah. And it, the, the system doesn't, I know, they want me to leave. Okay, dang. I heard you. It literally said, please rap in red.

• 56:35Speaker 06

  They're like, please in different bold colors.

• 56:36Keke Palmer?

  That's crazy.

• 56:36Speaker 06

  They highlighted it, they changed seven different tones.

• 56:39Keke Palmer?

  I Love Boosters is funny, stylish, rebellious, and full of ideas about power, fashion, and who really gets to control the story.

• 56:48Keke Palmer?

  It was an incredible experience making this movie with these amazing women and Boots Riley. Let's hear it one more time for Demi Moore, Naomi Aki, Taylor Paige, Poppy Liu, and Isa Gonzalez. Thank you, South by Southwest.

• 57:02Speaker 06

  Thank you for coming.

• 57:02Keke Palmer?

  Thank you, Austin.

• 57:03Speaker 06

  We love you.

• 57:03Keke Palmer?

  And make sure to check out I Love Boosters, May 22nd, y'all. Let's run it up. See you at the theaters. Bye bye.