Rashida Jones on Quincy Jones’ Genius, “Icon” Mother Peggy Lipton, and Parks & Rec’s Lasting Impact
you had a podcast with Bill Gates where you were just talking about the world and pondering like big questions with Bill Gates casual podcasting yeah this week’s keep it guest is an exceptional Talent who cemented herself as a comedic Powerhouse in shows like parks and wck and Angie Tribeca but now she’s entering her mystery girl era in Sunny the new sci-fi thriller series now streaming on Apple TV plus please welcome to keepit Rashida Jones hello hi hi thanks for having me oh it’s a delight to have you okay about this show I didn’t realize until watching it how little good serialized television I had in my life at the moment IRA and I are very obsessed with reality TV right now which is sort of our summer want but this takes me us right back into okay there’s actually some Intrigue going on different genres being mixed and also I mean it’s such an extreme production and I realize you had to stay in Japan for like a year in order to make this show like your life is utterly transformed because of this show it really is six months but still I I was still that qualifies this transformation okay but yeah totally so talk about just becoming part of this show and what you thought of it versus what it actually ended up becoming and and became successfully the show is so engrossing thank you God that’s so nice yeah I I think actually the show was the the kind of best version of the thing that it always purported to be since the beginning you know things morph over time they change they take on a different life but this very much kind of knew what it was when it came to me there was a a beautiful deck and scripts and a playlist like the the vibe was there already and really they just like realized it to the nth degree which is really nice because that doesn’t always happen there’s a lot that can go wrong between and this show is obviously you know you’re paired with a robot it’s about AI um what is your relationship with technology and what what was what how did your relationship with technology sort of change while working on this show h i yeah yeah no I mean it it did I mean I I was like an early Tech adopter you know I’m like Gen X and I had like a modem I had like a dial at modem and a printer which put me way ahead of my my classmates like I was like really rocking the floppy discs really hard um and then something changed along the way and I I was like never mind I’m out I couldn’t keep up anymore but um but I’ve always been really interested about about like Tech and humanity and how the two things might merge one day and how you know we could be fooled or not fooled by you know these almost you know these VAR similitudes of humanity and I feel like the thing that I never thought about before the show is the the home for the thing like I have a I mean I know we’ve there’s been so many movies and TV shows about robots but like having something next to you that like emotes and has expressions and can touch you changes everything like I I know I feel like we’re everybody’s obsessed with like you know open Ai and mid journey and chat GPT and it’s all it it does feel very scary mainly because it’s kind of disembodied but then it’s like maybe even scarier when it has a body because you do find yourself very quickly responding to it like it’s maybe human you know were there any actual like bone chilling moments on set making this you know sometimes bone chilling show wouldn’t it be crazy if I was like yeah one time we weren’t filming and the robot just started talking to me and nobody knew hello rash yeah hello Rashida would you like me to get you something from Craft service I want to smoke yeah uh no you know fortunately unfortunately it still took a lot of like very talented people robotics people and and voice voice actor Joanna so tomura who plays Sunny to like make this thing actually feel real so like it didn’t feel so real that I was like man it’s crazy this is here and it’s here now but but there were times when like you know I I was acting in scenes with this thing so yes I would feel I would feel things and then the minute they would like power her down I’d be like well sunny I would feel like I was losing her um and it’s It All Happened very quickly like even though you know it’s not real you still kind of you get caught up you know I also like this character as sort of a departure for you she has a sort of resting I guess I would say angst really I mean a lot of is happening to this character in this show I thought you were going with that resting angst okay yeah did it feel like a new kind of character for you to play too totally yes this this in some ways is the furthest away from anybody that I’ve ever played like I I’m not like some great method character actor so I tend to play people who are somewhat related to my real personality not all the way but like this is very different for me I’m not I hope I’m not this difficult to be around I’m I’m I think less misanthropic than Susie I think I’m you know I like people a little bit more than her I’m not I don’t like I don’t seek out to be like completely alone and I don’t push people away by just like cursing at them all day I don’t think I have to ask my friends well speaking about like roles that you’ve taken on obviously you know we know you for your comedic prowess and now you’re trying out you know The Angst with this um I loved your documentary about your father Quincy and I just it’s always interesting to me that you um you haven’t really done a project where it seems like you’re doing music like whether you’re singing or like you’re like immersed in like a character like it it would almost make sense if you were in that High Fidelity reboot you know instead of Zoe you know and it’s like is that something that interest you in sort of writing about the music world or are you just sort of like you’re happy to have music in your life in one way and you keep it separate I I love music I mean it’s a stupid thing to say because I don’t know I don’t know that many people who don’t love music but I did grow up appreciating what I think is the best music in the world and because of that I’m very intimidated by anything in the music thing because like when you have a father who’s a genius like you tend to stay away from that thing he’s a genius at because you know why would I do that to myself but no I love the world of music and I and I you know if I could find a way to write about it myself I would love to and if I if you know anything came up that I felt like I could do in the world of music I would consider it but like I’m I have a very high bar when it comes to that stuff and I will never reach that bar so I I tend to just like stay away you know your dad is also like Prince and that you could go on and on just about what is underrated in his career like he literally won album of the year for an album called back on the Block which has a song called one man woman on it which has a say Garrett uh double oscom oh yeah I love that song you never hear that song um I was wondering what you think you have do you have favorite like deep Cuts in your father’s catalog uh stuff like that another song I Love by him stuff like the whole album stuff like that amazing and so is the dude like those two albums for me I think maybe because it was like my that is my most like amazing childhood memories are are set to like both those records Brothers Johnson I think is also like that’s early memories for me um and and then all his like movie scores he’s got a lot of really incredible movie scores the beginning of his career yeah right the beginning of his career is like a such a mind Thug too who he collaborated with early on like how was so movie oriented before it became you know the other Quincy Jones we know and love yes yeah he’s it’s also crazy like Thriller came out when he was 50 he produced the biggest album selling album of all time when he was 50 I’m not even 50 like that’s crazy he had a whole career and a whole life in jazz and and pop but then like you know that’s that’s kind of when it’s supposed to happen but these days it happens for young people like you’re not 50 and making like the you’re not at the Pinnacle of your career at 50 you know it’s amazing no to know cool things at 50 I don’t know if you listen to podcasts but people generally don’t get cooler when they’re moving up to 50 I’m keeping track of some of my colleagues that’s just in podcast I think that’s like in general that’s kind of true you know I know that I’m moving close to 50 I know I’m feeling less cool every day it’s so interesting to me you know too like um you know make recording music for film you know I mean is that something that I feel like were you a film person as well do you call HIIT like sort of like a film offici Auto or is it just you’re making music for the film and you’re not really that into cinem in general no I love I mean I you know I grew up in Hollywood in an era of Hollywood that was very different than it is now there was no social media there was no co-mingling between Tick Tock and movies you know it was just you had film and you had TV and that was it so so and it was the you know the 70s and the 80s which are in some ways the best ERA of cinema’ 7s to me is like really you know Peak aour the most kind of experimented experimenting across the board American Cinema and also European Cinema Japanese Cinema um so yeah no I love I love movies and Japanese Cinema and then Japanese culture were you immersed in sort of any interest in Japan um before this series like were you sort of uh had you been there before um or was this sort of a completely new experience for you I had been there before and I think I’m not alone in saying when you go to Japan and I I don’t I know I’m not unique in this way and you go oh my God this is this is where my my soul lives I want to be here all the time this place is incredible I know a lot of people feel that way um and to get the experience to actually live there uh is so different than just coming in and you know W wandering around in wonderment and amazement um and be you know having to figure out like where you get your groceries and you know um how you’re uh like who call when your AC breaks all that kind of stuff is a very different experience of living somewhere that you’ve romanticized for so long but I will say overall it was like the mo one of the most positive experiences of my life the culture Japanese culture um is so it’s so well preserved like there’s a real sense of preservation of history and tradition and also a forward motion and a and a um an innovation like they somehow manag to do both things and they don’t feel like they conflict with each other and I I’m not sure I know any other country like that I won’t mention our by name but we have a problem there yes oh yes and our future anyway um uh Sunny has been likened in certain ways to Black Mirror which of course you wrote an episode of and uh I was wondering in general what inspires you to write because when I look back at your projects they don’t necessarily have anything in common really like Celeste and Jesse Forever does not remind me of Black Mirror you know yes no I know I know it’s I know I have I’m I have a lot of personalities I think I just I don’t know I mean Black Mirror I I was just a huge fan of Charlie Brooker the Creator and I just was like I whatever I just want to be involved whatever you do and he called me when he was doing his first comedy episode um because that was like somewhat new for him and and then I called Mike sh because he’s like a real comedy writer and my friend and I was like do you want to write this with me but um yeah I don’t know I’m sort of like to me the the if there’s anything in common maybe it’s that there’s like a relationship thing there like I like the the exploration of kind of like the the saddest darkest loneliest um most human corners of being alive so like you know the Black Mirror episode is about wanting to be liked and like now it’s you know exaggerated by this rating system that makes it even harder to deal with the idea that maybe somebody won’t like you or maybe you’ll up and you’ll you know give a big embarrassing toast at your friend’s wedding like that to me the the root of that is wanting to be liked is being codependent and needing people to like you or like celest and Jesse is like that relationship you have that you think is going to be the one that you’re with that person for the rest of your life and it doesn’t work out and it’s the most devastating thing ever until the next devastating thing happens but just like capturing that moment in time when you like finally have the first adult relationship in your life um and it doesn’t work out or you know just it I like the the the kind of like hu Humanity the the human interpersonal Dynamics regardless of the genre I think yeah I mean that makes sense because I I also recall that which is wild to me to like think about it now that you had a podcast with Bill Gates where you were just talking about the world and pondering like big questions with Bill Gates and casting yeah I mean I mean I said yes I was like okay I’ll I’ll do that that sounds interesting I mean was there something really fun about just I don’t know talking to Bill Gates every time you recorded things like did you come away from it I guess a new person learning thinking about the world different everything I do I come away a new person you know I mean that’s that’s the hope but yes it was fascinating experience we couldn’t be more different which was kind of fun and we would like get into it you know and and in a weird way I think because he was kind of like who are you and I was kind of like I know who you are but who are you we just we you know we had less we had less at stake with each other you know to just have these like these conversations with each other and other people and obviously we think about things very differently I think I come he comes from a data point of view I’m very much interested in like the cultural point of view and how culture impacts everything science politics um you know socioeconomic status um every conversation to me comes out of culture he’s thinking about it as a data set so it was It was kind of fun to to have those conversations yeah I mean nowadays when we look back on Parks and W it really feels like it now feels like what we consider Second City to be for SNL like all these people just popped off from it and are now every which direction whatever did it feel kind of like at the time oh here here it is like a meeting ground for people I mean obviously Emy polar was already really established then but all these other people began there uh was there a sense of something percolating on that show immediately we always felt that way it felt extremely special I know that sounds like a rewriting of history but it it the whole time we worked on that show we were so grateful of each other we were so grateful of like how different everybody’s comedy styles were we were grateful of how deep our bench was there were so many things to to play there were so many jokes to be had and that was really a combination of Mike Shar and Greg Daniels and the writers having a really good relationship with the whole cast and then you know doing a great job casting all these kinds of unknowns who obviously went on to be these like Mega stars but in such different you know alleys um so we were never stepping on each other’s toes on each other’s rhythm like we were always just playing against each other and then you know there’s just the reality that we were on musse TV NBC and you know maybe it was the beginning of the end in terms of TV and ratings and stuff but we were never like a runaway hit when we were on Prime Time television I think it was really after the fact when it was on Netflix and peacock that people got to binge it and spend time with these people for Seven Seasons that they started to love it but we always felt like there was something special there and we also like held on to each other because we weren’t ever sure if the show was going to get picked up or come back or how many more episodes we’d have so we really like you know enjoyed those those moments together and I think you can tell by the way an electric spark ran through me when you said the words must TV oh my God I missed when TV was exciting oh my God we all would agree on it and watch it must see you actually must see it remember that it was a mandate yes right now you’re like what’s TV what what’s on do I have to watch it where do I go to talk about it yeah exctly where do I yeah where do I go to see it even I mean the idea how many how many times how many times a week sorry do you guys Google how do I see X show on like where do I watch you’ll end up anywhere right yeah I have no idea isn’t that crazy how hard it is to figure that out and yet you all see it on the same screen too so it’s like a stupid question yeah exactly I mean even watching a movie these days right it’s you you have to you have to Google what service it’s on or it’s on and then you have to download that app and pay for the or sign up for the one free week to see the movie before you have to pay for the subscription it’s just like it’s a whole new world it feels like it should be really easy to watch things now and it’s not miss Blockbuster is what I really miss BL I must sitting like sitting there looking at all the titles you know yeah like I I’ll pick house sitter with goldon again yes great movie fabulous movie my Blockbuster had just for years when I was a kid it had a one Shelf with about 80 copies of amadas right yes so I me talk about musty TV that’s what you’re watching I guess right you have to yes right it’s what’s available good movie by the way a banger young Cynthia Nixon yes um wait before we let you go I have one final question which is um you obviously have a fabulous father you have a fabulous mom too Peggy Lipton when I look back at like when I watch Mod Squad episodes I’m like oh my God a television star this so exciting what yes do you have any um just like rad memories of your mom to share with us she was the best um and and always an icon she you know she was 19 or 20 when she did The Mod Squad I think it was like very overwhelming for her because there was you know two channels on TV unlike now and so everybody sat down to watch her show um so it was a lot for like a young person and then she was kind of just with our family she gave it up and raised us and then came back just casually on Twin Peaks which is just like can’t help make the coolest decision ever now yes right yeah yeah yeah um she she just was yes she was like the ultimate cool girl and it it’s not even anything you can manufacture she just had that Vibe about her you know yeah I mean I loved The Mod Squad uh I got into it because I I mean I used to watch old TV shows all the time than you Nick at night but I just feel like it’s so interesting you you bring up that cool girl aspect that’s a Vibe of a show that doesn’t really exist anymore um and then even parks and wreck it’s so interesting rewatching it it’s it’s fun to re-watch the office or like 30 Rock you know but you rewatch parks and wreck and it it really does feel like a time capsule of and America that does not exist anymore totally it’s hope there’s a lot of Hope in that show it’s a very different time and I think it’s like that’s the only time you could have made that show in a way you know um we really capitalized on that and I think you know comedy can be very cynical and you know like the sunny it’s it is it’s dark it’s a seric it’s it’s it’s Ry um but there is there’s a levity about Parks that’s like the main characters really believe in their cause like they really do collectively believe that there’s good in people and there’s good to be had in the world and that’s you know it’s sad but that’s just it’s it’s hard to come by these days you know it’s hard to come by and then that deeply apocalyptic thank you sorry terrible way to end it but but it’s possible it’s possible it’s possible because parks and wreck is still H you could still watch it so and also also just to say Sunny is it is a little dark but it isn’t totally pessimistic it’s not totally nihilistic like right my relationship with sunny even though you’re like is she violent is she just a robot is she becoming sentient is she is she my friend is she not like it’s not there’s not a clear answer it’s very complicated and I feel like that’s a little bit of like a parable for Humanity too like we’re complicated too we’re flawed we we’re hard to love you know like it’s we might have that problem with technology but we’ve always had that problem with people and like you kind of do have to push through that because caring about people being connected to people or robots is kind of the reason we’re here you know that’s a nice note thank very very Jerry Springer final thought you know you just somebody saw somebody get a chair thrown at them but by the way I have something cute to say about it fair enough fair enough yeah you’re right thank you so much for being here God also we were saying before can’t believe you haven’t been here before you’re such a fabulous interviewee anyway so it’s so cool to talk to thank you it was super fun so fun to talk to you guys also tell Ezra to come back we I’ll tell him he’s busy but I’ll tell him I’ll he says hi by the way and and tell him to play what’s the song we agreed we both oh we both love um Mississippi Woman wait Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn tell them to play play that for me oh you guys can do a little yes please I will be thank you yes yeah right yeah yeah [Music] [Music]
From July 10, 2024: Rashida Jones joins Ira and Louis to discuss her new Apple TV+ show “Sunny,” podcasting with Bill Gates, the hope provided from “Parks & Recreation,” and her favorite works from parents Peggy Lipton and Quincy Jones.
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1 Comment
Thank you for interviewing her. She's awesome!