Full Comedy Roundtable: Kate Hudson, David Alan Grier, Bridget Everett, Nathan Lane & More
Paul W. Downs ('Hacks') joins Lisa Ann Walter ('Abbott Elementary'), Bridget Everett ('Somebody Somewhere'), David Alan Grier ('St. Denis Medical'), Kate Hudson ('Running Point') and Nathan Lane ('Mid Century Modern') on the L.A. Times Envelope Comedy Roundtable.
Presented by The Walt Disney Studios.
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7 hours ago
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An Oscar party snub forged Kate Hudson and Mindy Kaling's enduring friendship
Kate Hudson and Mindy Kaling's friendship began in classic Hollywood fashion: while being snubbed at an Oscar party. "We were in line to get our portraits taken by the great Mark Seliger, and a very famous celebrity, who we won't mention, cut in front of us in line," recalled Kaling. "I remember looking at Kate, who I didn't know that well, and asked, 'Is this normal?' And she's like, 'Not really.'" "It was a bad move," added Hudson. "And by the way, he wasn't as famous as he should've been if he was going to do that." "I've held it against him ever since," continued Kaling. "I'm glad we gave a gender too, because I want people to know that it was a man and not a woman." The pair's lasting bond has now spawned a hit Netflix series, "Running Point," loosely based on the life of L.A. Lakers President Jeanie Buss. The first season — the show's already been renewed for a second — follows Isla Gordon (Hudson), who's chosen to run her family's legendary basketball franchise after a scandal forces her brother (Justin Theroux) to resign. Hudson and Kaling, who created the series along with Elaine Ko, Ike Barinholtz and showrunner David Stassen, recently joined The Envelope to discuss the strength of their partnership, the show's enthusiastic endorsement by Hudson's parents, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, and what to expect in Season 2. Can you talk about the specifics of your partnership and creative strengths? How's Kate as an executive producer? Kaling: She's really good at pacing. I come from the sitcom world and "The Office," where you have 21½ minutes to jam in as much comedy and story as possible. And I think what was great about having her in the editing room in post-[production], she is so good about saying, 'We need to let things breathe here more.' And music. She literally launched a music career while we were shooting this, but music is not my strong suit, the score and finding great new songs, so she was extremely helpful with that. Hudson: Let me go back to our first meeting. A lot of times, in my experience, you read a script, you get involved, and then the next thing you know, because it's female-led, it gets dumbed down. It's like, 'You can't curse, you can't do this, you can't do that because we're going for a more female audience.' And I've always felt like, for me, I wouldn't compromise the comedy for the sake of some idea that women can't handle a harder comedy. I think a lot of times when you sign up to do something, it does change a lot. You're sort of brought in and then it shifts. And that never happened once in this process. Loaded question, but has there been one especially magical or memorable moment with the show so far? Hudson: My magic moment was when I realized I was the only girl surrounded by really hot guys. And I was like, "Mindy knew I'd be the right girl for this job." Kaling: [Laughs] When you're creating a show, I would say there's probably 40 of these moments where you're like, 'Ooh, we're marching in the right direction.' This show looks expensive, but Kate and I can fill you in: It's done on a very tight budget. We are making very modest things look amazing. How have loved ones responded? What feedback have you received? Hudson: From my 13-year-old son to my friend's 96-year-old grandmother, it hit every demographic, which to me is so exciting because it's so rare that it's something everyone can sit and enjoy. Even though it might be inappropriate for some teenagers, not mine — I let them watch things like this. The biggest compliment I got was from my dad, who is a big sports guy. His big thing is the believability factor. Do you believe that this person could actually run a sports team and at the same time deal with all the dynamics of the family and love, and have it be funny and have it be light on its feet? That is actually a very complicated execution. And my dad, that was one of the things he never compliments. We're not that kind of family. We don't really talk about each other's work. But when they got excited about it, and because he loves sports, it was like a big one. He really loved it. Kaling: By the way, I asked the same thing. Literally like, 'What do Goldie and Kurt think?' I think I asked once in person, and then she was on an international press tour for this, and then I thought, 'I won't follow up in a text because she'll be like, 'Hey, don't be a loser. Stop asking what my famous parents think of the show. I'll tell you when I see you.'' I was sensitive to that, but I'm really happy to hear it now. I think this is what I'm hearing. This would be a funny place for you to be like, 'They didn't care for it,' which is fine. Hudson: [Laughs] Look, we're a critical family. You know what I mean? If it's not great, it wasn't great. But that was exciting [to hear from them]. They binged it in one night. Kaling: Really? Oh, that's nice. What's telling for me is, I have my friends from suburban Boston that I grew up with, I have my L.A. mom friends, and then I have professors from college. And just universally, out of everything that I've ever done, this has been the one that I've gotten the most instantaneous feedback about. The writers came out to Malibu to do a little writers' retreat, and when we were having lunch in the yard, my stepmom came out. She's never done this on any show that she's ever met the writing staff of, and she came over and she's like, 'I just have to tell you, 'Running Point' is my favorite show. All of my friends are watching it.' How are you both feeling about the industry now, about what you get to make now versus earlier in your careers? Hudson: This is the hardest industry to get anything made in the world. Does the landscape change? Does it move, do the conversations shift all the time into different important areas that we need to be focused on? Yes, but I don't think it's ever easy. Even when you think someone has such success, that's just a subjective outside-looking-in perspective. When you get success, then they want you to do the things that you didn't sign up to do as an actor or as an artist. But they're going to end up paying you. You'll pay some bills, you're going to make a good living doing the things that now maybe people want you to do, but that's not why you got into the business. Kaling: I think in the past, since I came off of 'The Office,' I have been someone that gets things on the air, which is nice, but it's not like any of it is easy. Even in the most delightful of shooting circumstances, it's still hard. But I feel so lucky. I did the show about an Indian American family, 'Never Have I Ever.' Then I do a show about girls in college ['The Sex Lives of College Girls']. Now I'm doing this show that Kate is the star of. So I feel like it has gotten easier for me, Mindy Kaling, to launch a show, which I hoped would be the case. But as a producer who wants to get other writers' shows about Indian families or Pakistani families or other things made, that's still challenging. So it's, like, how do I, as someone who thinks of myself as an effective producer and a mentor, try to help other people and produce other things for them? So just because things are easier for me, I don't necessarily think it's become easier. You hope that when you open the door, it kicks it open for other people. Hudson: No matter how much you prove yourself, you're always still reproving yourself. It's where art and commerce don't mix well, because it doesn't matter how much you try to convince someone that it's going to be beautiful or great. They're not looking at it the way that we're looking at it. Any specific hopes and dreams for Season 2, or hints of what's to come? Kaling: We're in the room right now for it. And honestly, some of [the hopes and dreams] are sort of boringly administrative and logistical, which is, like, Kate really did work 60, 16-hour days in a row, so that's not healthy, we would like to change that. But unlike other shows where it's like, "Ooh, we hope to get this big guest star," I love how cozy the show is. This is boring but more of the same [next season]. Hudson: More nudity [laughs]. Get the Envelope newsletter, sent three times a week during awards season, for exclusive reporting, insights and commentary. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kate Hudson's fiancé was confused when she arrived home with a 'massive bruise' on her leg
Kate Hudson's fiancé was confused when she arrived home with a "massive bruise" on her leg. The 46-year-old actress - who has been engaged to Danny Fujikawa, 38, since 2021 and has six-year-old daughter Rani with him - had been filming her Netflix sports comedy 'Running Point' and hadn't even noticed the injury herself before getting into bed. She told PEOPLE: "I remember one time I had this big bruise on my left thigh and I was getting into bed and [my fiancé Danny Fujikawa] was ... like, 'Babe, what's going on?' And it was like massive! And I was like, 'Oh, that's weird. Something's wrong!'" In the series, the 'Almost Famous' star plays a former party girl who becomes the president of her family's basketball team and it took her a while to realise that the bruise came from having to shoot several takes of the scene where her character discovers a secret stash of drugs in a desk drawer. She said: "And then I was like, 'Oh wait, the drug drawer.' That's all. I have been hitting a drug drawer for like two weeks. "Yeah, you know, the war wounds!" Kate - who also has Ryder, 21, with ex-husband Chris Robinson, Bingham, 13, with ex-fiance Matt Bellamy - previously looked back on her own memories of sibling rivalry as she prepared to launch the show. Speaking on UK TV show 'Lorraine', Kate - who is the daughter of Hollywood stars Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson - said: "It's a very dysfunctional family and I think they're all striving to be validated by their siblings and to be good at something because they had a very difficult father. "It's really about the comedy in that dysfunction. "Art is so different than franchise business. What I do understand is growing up with brothers. "I'm the only girl of three brothers and you have to yell to be heard. Those little foundational things that go on when you're the only girl in a group of three boys is so frustrating. And I love the sibling dynamic because you can be as cruel to each other as humanly possible but you still love them."
Yahoo
15 hours ago
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Kate Hudson Says Mindy Kaling Was Sending Notes for 'Running Point' 'Like an Hour After' Giving Birth: 'Isn't Mindy in Labor?'
Kate Hudson said Mindy Kaling, 45, was sending script notes about their show Running Point 'like an hour after' giving birth During a panel at an Emmy FYC event for the show on Friday, May 30, Hudson also described Kaling as a 'powerhouse' who 'delivers what she says she's going to deliver' Kaling, who co-created and executive-produces the series, quietly welcomed her third baby in February 2024 while the Netflix series was in productionMindy Kaling is officially the GOAT — at least according to Kate Hudson! Hudson, 46, spoke about her immense love for Kaling, 45, while attending an Emmy consideration event for their Netflix show Running Point on Friday, May 30, at the UCLA Lakers Training Center in Los Angeles. 'I have to say, I've fallen in love with this woman,' Hudson said of Kaling, who co-created and executive-produced the show. 'And she's just not only so brilliant, but so trusting … she puts the best team together,' she said. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! 'And she was pregnant,' she continued. 'We had a script, like our first table read. She's on Zoom. She then has the baby and is sending notes like an hour after she has the baby. I was like, 'Isn't Mindy literally in labor?' ' 'She is a powerhouse and delivers what she says she's going to deliver,' Hudson continued. Kaling, who quietly welcomed her third baby in February of 2024, created the show with Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Hudson, who plays high-powered NBA team owner Isla Gordon, also revealed that she put in some blood and sweat of her own while working on the sports-comedy series during an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE at Friday's event. '[I had] so many bruises,' she recalled. 'I remember one time I had this big bruise on my left thigh, and I was getting into bed and Danny [Fujikawa], my partner, was like, 'Babe, what's going on?' And it was massive. And I was like, 'Oh, that's weird. Something's wrong.' And then I was like, 'Oh, wait, the drug drawer.' I had been hitting a drug drawer for two weeks.' 'Yeah, the war wounds,' she added. The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star also shared that filming the show was 'so fun' and that the cast had 'the best time shooting.' '[We] all fell in love with each other, and our hope was that people would enjoy watching it as much as we did making it,' she told PEOPLE. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. She added, 'Especially for comedy, that's what you hope for. And then for it to have the success that it did, and for people to really enjoy [it], it's just wonderful.' The first season of Running Point is streaming now on Netflix, and the show has officially been renewed for a second season. Read the original article on People
