Betty White - Universal Centennial Project

Universal is celebrating in a whole bunch of different ways, big parties, and there is going to be a whole bunch of things on DVD, and there are things online, and documentaries, all kinds of stuff. They are having me go around and interview kind of everybody. 

BETTY WHITE:  Oh, that's great.
 
 So I think this is your first movie at Universal, it was hard for me to tell. I was looking at your very long list of credits. [Technical talk]
 
BETTY WHITE:  They're not going to let you sit down and relax. [Laughs]

I'm Richard Brehm, the linebacker.
 
BETTY WHITE: [laughs and claps] 
 
What are your early associations with this studio?
 
BETTY WHITE:  Well, first of all Universal was one of the, first of all let me say congratulations and happy anniversary. But well, it was one of the, the major studios that you just, “Oh Universal.”  So the first time, I, I can't remember now, I was trying to think of the first time I ever did something on the lot. I wish I could remember what it was. You went through my credits. Do you know what it was?
 
I don't.
 
BETTY WHITE:  No, that's what, why don't you Richard for heaven’s sake? [Laughs]  But [laughs] but it was, it was such a thrill to actually come inside the gate, and on the lot, and realize, I was in a dressing room I remember that somebody else, some major star, I can't put the details together now because it was a long time ago. But some major star was in there, and I remember sitting in the dressing room all by myself
 
BETTY WHITE:   looking around thinking “they looked into this same mirror, and I'm sitting here.”  It, it, if, if you love this business, you still get excited about celebrity and certainly Universal is a [laughs] major celebrity. So congratulations on your, your anniversary.
 
I'm actually going to have you do that to the camera at the end.
 
BETTY WHITE:  Okay.
 
Let me ask a couple more questions. You are now featured in this great animated movie called The Lorax.  Do you have any stories or memories of being a part of this? This is a different kind of challenge for you. You don't do a lot of voiceover.
 
BETTY WHITE:  That's it. It was a different kind of challenge because it’s not my usual thing. Usually, in my business, especially a situation comedy, you, you use your voice of course, but your body language, and you know, certain sight, sight things that you, all tricks of the trade [laughs] you know that you do. And in this, there ain't nothing in there, in that room but your voice, and it's a challenge. It's a, it's scary. For me it was scary, but then you kind of got into it, and I found I had to picture, not just what I was doing
 
BETTY WHITE:  but you kind of had to picture what the scene was and who the other characters were. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. [Laughs]
 
We have great b-roll of you… and you are talking about the snails or whatever… And you just had this focus like getting it out this way. It wasn't your whole body. It was this way.
 
BETTY WHITE:  It was that way because in here [points to head] you had, you were seeing the scene in here, and you had to get the [laughs] the line out there. But it's, it's fascinating. And of course animation has become such big business now. And the things that they are able to do is just phenomenal.
 
What was it like for you when you saw the movie to hear your voice sort of matched up in this whole kind of beautiful world?
 
BETTY WHITE:  I haven't seen the movie yet. I don't see it until Friday. I'm dying to see it. And I, I, and I never saw the other actors because we work, you know, each of us works alone. So I'm really looking forward to seeing the put together.
 
It's funny to hear your voice, because we think of you as this petite little thing and she's a much more kind of round…
 
BETTY WHITE: [laughs] 

I have a list of movies that Universal has made over the years.  Can you look over the list and let me know if you see any movies are special to you?
 
BETTY WHITE:  [looks over movie list] [holding list]  All Quiet on the Western Front that was, I remember my father was, 
 
Can you please put the list down and talk?
 
BETTY WHITE:  Oh, my father was in World War I, and when All Quiet on the Western Front came out I think he saw it four times. [Laughs] [looks at movie list]
 
BETTY WHITE:  Oh, Babe.  I loved Babe of course, because the animal nut that I am. That little guy, I think he put pigs uh, uh moved them way up in class. Let's put it that way. [Looks at movie list]
 
BETTY WHITE:  And The Birds with Tippi Hedren.  Tippi did a wonderful job but she had also made a movie with her husband Roar with some big cats, so after the movie, the cats were still there, the Lions and the Tigers so she formed Shambala, and she now has, she has made a wonderful uh sanctuary for big cats. And we work together all the time. So it's funny how the career
 
BETTY WHITE:  changes your life many times, and turns you into another direction. [Looks at movie list]

Got about 2 minutes left with you. Is there another movie you want talk about?
 
BETTY WHITE:  No. I, I can't go through, it will take me a week to go through this. [Laughs]
 
Please reflect on Universal celebrating its 100th anniversary, and you are a part of this in a really big way with The Lorax. Maybe you can say you are very excited to be a part of Universals great 100 year legacy.
 
BETTY WHITE:  100th? Okay. And camera is over there? Into camera or to you?
 
Say it to me, and then at the end I'm going to have you say happy birthday to Universal.

BETTY WHITE:  Oh, oh, perfect. It's, it's such a thrill for me to, to be here while you're celebrating your wonderful, Universal is celebrating its wonderful 100th anniversary, and I particularly like it because I'm 90, and I'm catching up. I'm hurrying as fast as I can to catch up it.
 
That was wonderful. Do your last one to camera just say happy birthday Universal.

BETTY WHITE:  [looking at camera]  Happy birthday Universal, a wonderful 100 years. Here's to many, many more.

Fantastic. You are wonderful.

BETTY WHITE:  Thank you.