[10/26/00]

Live Host: Welcome chatters! Today we are chatting with Lisa Kudrow, the Emmy Award-winning actress who brings one of our best "Friends" to life every Thursday. We'd like to welcome Lisa Kudrow! Thank you for being here and chatting with us today.

Bobs Your Uncle: What do you like best, working in films or in television?

Lisa Kudrow: I like both for different reasons. The work schedule is very good when you have a family. But, I enjoy making movies; so, I like them both.

Live Host: I'm your biggest fan!

Batgirls: Can you tell us what it was like working with John Travolta in that new movie, "Lucky Numbers?"

Lisa Kudrow: Aww. John Travolta is very decent and very nice and extremely funny. He's very funny. It was a dream come true, working with him on "Lucky Numbers." It was fun - he is a fun guy.

Pooh Bear: You do a lot of comedy movies and you are really great in them - do you have plans to do straight dramatic work too? How about action adventure films - like you could be a great "Dirty Harriet!"

Lisa Kudrow: I don't enjoy stunts, so I don't see myself doing an action or adventure movie. I believe I am too frail. (laughing) I am enjoying comedy right now, even if it is a dramatic movie with irony in it, which brings out some dark comedy. I enjoy that.

Barrelling Home: Who is the actor you've most enjoyed working with and is there anyone you're just dying to work with?

Lisa Kudrow: The cast on "Friends." Since I have been working with them for seven years now, I'd have to say they're my favorites. But, I've had only good experiences on movies with some of the big stars I've gotten to meet. I don't know where to start with naming just one person. With women, Shirley McLaine, Anne Bancroft, everyone! With men, I don't know, there are so many. I would be embarrassed by who I was leaving out. I can't say, I don't know!

Stallone Fan: Hi Lisa! I saw in the Warner Bros. chat with Sly that he really thinks you're funny and would like to do a movie with you - what are your thoughts on that?

Lisa Kudrow: That would be great. I've met him and he's really nice. And I think that would be a good time. He's also such a good actor. Yeah, I'd like that.

Live Host: Can you share some of favorite memories from "Friends?"

Lisa Kudrow: Some of my favorite memories are what's happening that's not shown on network television. There was a time when Phoebe was giving birth to triplets and the entire cast dared me to say something foul. It can't even be written. This was in front of a live audience. There was money on the line and I said it! Our producers blanched and the audience laughed so hard I thought they were going to vomit. I was proud of myself, because I'm always a good girl. To say something that horrifying was way out of character for me. Whenever we're shooting the show Matthew Perry will say something every time that we all laugh so hard that we can't even get through the scene.

Aronrose: What was or is the hardest thing you have had to give up since becoming an actress?

Lisa Kudrow: Privacy. Because, I never thought that would be so precious, but it has become precious. Now, especially with my son, there are times I would like to just go to a park with him and not see a picture in some European paper a week later.

Regina Philange: Do you think you will be coming to Australia to promote "Lucky Numbers?"

Lisa Kudrow: That's a good question! That's up to the studio, and of course, my schedule. My first commitment is always to "Friends." If it worked in the schedule, sure. I have never been there. I don't enjoy traveling, so I try to avoid it.

Bobbyc: Will you be directing your own films at some point? If so, what genre would you like to direct?

Lisa Kudrow: I've only recently started considering the possibility of directing, and I know that wouldn't happen for many years. I think I would be most comfortable directing a comedy. To me, "The Opposite of Sex," was one of my favorite types of comedy. Also, "Lucky Numbers," because it's got some dark subject matter. Not so much that I'm drawn to dark, but that it makes it all a little more grounded.

Willa10: I think your comic timing is so impressive and I really feel like you have an innate sense of timing.what do you think makes someone funny?

Lisa Kudrow: My belief is that comedy comes out of honesty. It's the kind of honesty that a person's true feelings about themselves, and any subject, whether they're conscious of it or not. That's a good question; I'm sorry I didn't answer it.

Summer Day: How do you think your character has evolved over the years, do you think she has changed and if so, for the better?

Lisa Kudrow: I think Phoebe, to me, seems less tie-dyed from the beginning of the series. She's not as innocent anymore, now that's she's faced some of the harder things about her life -- finding her real mother and real father and, you know, having a lot of those mysteries answered for her. I think she hasn't had to be in such denial, as she was in the beginning. She gets angry a little more, it seems like a normal evolution for a person.

Live Host: Growing up, what TV shows and stars influenced you the most?

Lisa Kudrow: I really liked "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and the character Rhoda. I loved "All in the Family." I was fascinated because we could love watching the show, even though Archie was a misguided person.

Live Host: What accounts for "Friends" remarkable longevity?

Lisa Kudrow: I think it's a combination of things. The writing is very good.

Live Host: How do you know that you want to be a comedian?

Lisa Kudrow: Since I was little, I thought my family was very funny. I used to make my friends laugh, so I thought I was capable. I used to imitate singers. I liked mimicking people.

Bellaruse: Do you have any plans or desire to appear on Broadway?

Lisa Kudrow: I have no plans to appear on Broadway. Right now, no I don't have desire. I like smaller theaters for plays.

Yepster: What was the first movie role you ever landed and how'd you like it?

Lisa Kudrow: The first movie role was a Roger Corman film directed by Rodman Flender. It was called "The Unborn" and it was a horror movie. I had a small comedy relief part; I was some secretary. I loved it!

ShortBerry1124: Lisa, last year I was diagnosed with cancer. It made my life pretty much concealed to the bed. My friend told me about you on Friends. I watched that in the hospital a lot. Now, I am a recovered patient and will be 15 on your birthday and I want to know what keeps you motivated?

Lisa Kudrow: There are many things that keep me motivated. Straight from knowing that this is what I need to do, from hearing a story like yours. It makes me happy to do it, probably more importantly that it makes other people happy that I do it.

Live Host: What do you enjoy most about life?

Lisa Kudrow: Honestly, what I enjoy most is a regular day where I wake up and get my son out of his crib, and we talk and laugh and play. Then, my husband joins us for Christmas, where we talk more and burst into tears over the great little boy we have. Then, go to work and laugh a lot, because everyone I work with is funny. They're all great people, and we're all very happy to be there.

Billith: Since your work with the Groundlings, do you miss sketch comedy at all?

Lisa Kudrow: Yeah, sometimes I do. I like how, especially writing sketch comedy, because usually a sketch shouldn't last more than three minutes -- and, within three minutes you have to tell the beginning, middle and end of a story, and every line has to be meaningful.

Live Host: Did you audition for the part of Phoebe or did you audition for somebody else?

Lisa Kudrow: I auditioned for the part of Phoebe.

Live Host: Any chance we will ever see Ursula again?

Lisa Kudrow: We almost did a scene with Ursula again, but it got cut out of the script that week. They like to do an Ursula appearance every now and then.

Live Host: Do you like having the chance to bring Ursula back every once in a while?

Lisa Kudrow: Yeah, sure, I do. But, I mostly enjoyed doing Ursula on "Mad About You" when she was a simple joke, you know.

Live Host: Love you on "Friends!" Do you base your Phoebe character on anyone in your life?

Lisa Kudrow: I don't think so. My characters are usually a composite of different people. So, I don't know who - no, not really.

Jamirault: Hi Ms. Kudrow. Do you enjoy working on the set of Friends and is it easy to relate to playing the character of Phoebe?

Lisa Kudrow: I love working on the set of "Friends." And, it's easy to relate to playing Phoebe. I enjoy playing Phoebe, because I like her attitude about life, especially in the beginning of this series. I like how she decides that everything is okay.

Harveyk: Do you write and if so, do you think you'll be developing screenplays of your own at some point?

Lisa Kudrow: Yes, I have written, especially when I was in The Groundlings and I wrote sketches. I think that's good training for writing. I am interested in writing a screenplay. I don't know about a sitcom. A "Friends" script would be too difficult. It's a very hard show to write for. There are six characters and usually three storylines, and sometimes they're inter-woven, so it's a very tough show. It's very well written!

Live Host: Hey Lisa! I love "Friends," it is the best show ever - I'm watching it right now as a matter of fact. My friends and I always sing your songs, I was wonder if you sing in real life?

Lisa Kudrow: I don't sing for people, in real life - no. My husband will overhear me singing a song as we're driving, and I sing to my song. But, that's it.

Live Host: What is the best thing about being on "Friends?"

Lisa Kudrow: The best thing is the people I work with. It's the cast, and the producers, and the writers, and the crew - everybody is great, nice, and fun. And everyone cares that the show is good, which is actually significant. Because you can imagine there are shows that the people that work on it don't care that much.

Chuckles: Do you work with any charitable organizations and if so, which ones?

Lisa Kudrow: Many, many. I don't know if I should start listing them or not. I've done a lot with Pediatric AIDS and recently I participated in an event with Teach For America, which is a great program. Those are just a couple. I usually respond to pretty much anyone who asks.

Dark Knight: Which shooting schedule do you find most exhausting, TV or Movies?

Lisa Kudrow: Our show takes longer than the normal show to shoot. Our shoot days would go until sometimes two in the morning. That was hard, especially when I was pregnant. But it has gotten a lot better. Movies can be hard, but usually there is so much time in between that it is nice to relax and gather up the energy to go up again and shoot the next scene.

Live Host: Is it important for you to film in front of a live audience?

Lisa Kudrow: I don't know, I don't think I need the audience there. Sometimes it feels like something that will work on TV might be too subtle for the audience that's present at the taping. So, I don't know - I know I don't mind if we have to shoot and there can be no audience.

Kirstima: How long does it take to make one episode of "Friends?"

Lisa Kudrow: It's usually a four-day week for the actors. We usually shoot it on a Friday, usually getting work at 9 AM, starting with reading the script for the show we will be shooting. Then we rehearse for the cameras the show that we will be shooting that day, while running in and out of makeup. We start shooting around three o'clock, until eight o'clock or later.

Live Host: Hi Lisa! I am such a big fan of the show and of all of your work. I loved you in "Hanging Up." I am even writing a paper on "Friends" for my English class. I was wondering how long you think the show will be running for (in terms of how many more seasons).

Lisa Kudrow Live: I know we've committed to this season and one more, so that will have been a total of eight.

Live Host: What was your favorite "Friends" episode?

Lisa Kudrow: There's one I remember shooting, and I remember this one best because I was pregnant and it was the last show we were shooting of the season here in LA, because the rest of the cast were preparing to go to London to shoot the rest of that episode. I was the only one - just myself, very pregnant, on the telephone with an actor who wasn't there, so tired that I could not remember the next line, so I would say a line, someone would say the next one, I would say it, I couldn't remember the next one, we would cut, and I did almost the whole show like that. It turned out to be embarrassing, but I ended up winning an Emmy for that show!

Orland1022: What was it like the first time you saw yourself on TV?

Lisa Kudrow: That was not thrilling. I was a guest star on "Cheers" and I thought I was so awful that anyone who have ever said that I was at all good, I couldn't imagine what they were thinking.

Live Host: Who was your favorite role model while growing up?

Lisa Kudrow: Honestly, I think my father, who is a retired doctor - I think from grade school on I wanted to be just like him.

Live Host: Mets or Yankees?

Lisa Kudrow: I'm sorry, I have no interest in baseball. I don't have any interest in watching sports, so I don't follow them.

Live Host: What do you do to escape from the stresses of life - raising a baby and working fulltime?

Lisa Kudrow: I take a bath every night. And I play Gameboy or games on my Palm Pilot.

Live Host: Ok, I'm 16 and I watch you all the time and I think you are so funny. I am just wondering how did you get discovered and what is it like? I look up to you as an actress because that is where I want to end up. So I just want to say thank you! You are great!

Lisa Kudrow: I guess I got discovered at the Groundlings, in LA. One of my teachers recommended me to audition for a reading of a play that a former Groundling had written. So, that was my first audition and I got it. I got to participate in what was really an audition for the play. The play had to audition itself. Then, I got cast in the play, and then the play was a big success. The play was called "Ladies Room," and I played an idiot girl. There were two of them. They were very funny but they were only onstage for about five minutes. The characters were Romy and Michelle. The first part I was ever cast for was Michelle, from that play.

Live Host: What was the convincing thing that made you choose acting for a career?

Lisa Kudrow: When I graduated from college and I was back in LA…I don't know what it is. It's not anything tangible or specific, I just felt I had to try to do acting. I had to and I don't know why.

Live Host: In terms of your career, where would you like to be 10 years from now?

Lisa Kudrow: I don't know. Working, either as an actress, writer, or director. Or, whatever it is that is going to make me happy. But, I see myself as still working.

Live Host: Thank you so much for being with us and we look forward to seeing you tonight on "Friends"and tomorrow in "Lucky Numbers!" Thanks for being here, chatters! Feel free to stick around and chat a while! And don't forget to check out our other live events at "http://www.wb.com/pages/chat/events/index.jsp." We will be chatting Live with Nikki Cox Next Thursday at 9pm ET/6pm PT. Hey chatters! In the mood for somethin' hot that hits the spot in a few ticks of the clock? Light a torch, baby, 'cuz a free Cafe Latte -- it's coffee plus frothy -- is on its way to break into your day.