Melissa Fitzgerald & Mary McCormack on MSNBC's Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell - 8.28.24

>>> THE >>> THE MUSIC GETS ME EVERY TIME. 25 YEARS AGO, IN SEPTEMBER, 1999, NBC PREMIERED A NEW DRAMA TITLED THE WEST WING. AS ONE OF THE WRITERS I WAS WORRIED THE AUDIENCE MIGHT THINK IT IS ABOUT AIRPLANES. THE WORDS THE WEST WING HAD NO MEANING OUTSIDE WASHINGTON AT THAT TIME. TELEVISIONS DRAMA SET IN THE WHITE HOUSE WAS AN INSTANT HIT. IN MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN 25 YEARS LATER THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA IS CELEBRATING WITH A WONDERFUL EXHIBIT THAT RUNS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 8. A COLLECTION OF SCRIPTS ON DISPLAY INCLUDES ONE THAT I WROTE FOR THE FINAL SEASON OF THE SHOW IN 2006 AND THE EMMY- WINNING SCRIPT FROM SEASON ONE, COWRITTEN BY AARON SORKIN IS ON DISPLAY THERE. YOU CAN GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT THE SAME PODIUM IN THE WINTER AND NOW OSCAR-WINNER ALLISON JANNEY USED WHEN SHE WAS PLAYING THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY AND YOU CAN STUDY A MODEL OF THE SET WE BUILT ON A SOUND STAGE AT WARNER BROS. IN BURBANK AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO HOW HE COMPOSED THE EMMY- WINNING THEME MUSIC TO THE WEST WING, WHICH GRABBED OUR HEARTS THE FIRST TIME WE HEARD IT AND NEVER LET GO. AND THERE IS A NEW BOOK TELLING THE DETAILED, INSIDE STORIES OF HOW THE SHOW WAS DONE, INCLUDING MANY THAT I DID NOT KNOW. THE BOOK WAS TITLED WHAT'S NEXT? IT'S AUTHORS ARE CAST MEMBERS MELISSA FITZGERALD AND MARY McCORMACK. MARY McCORMACK AND THE STAR OF THE SHOW, MARTIN SHEEN, WHO PLAYED THE PRESIDENT, APPEARED ON JEN PSAKI'S MORNING SHOW RECENTLY AND JEN PSAKI'S PREVENT INTRODUCTION OF THE SEGMENT CREATED THE MOST MOVING MOMENT ABOUT THE SHOW THAT ALL OF US WHO WORKED ON IT HAVE FELT SINCE WE SHOT THAT FINAL SCENE IN THE SPRING OF 2006. >> OKAY, THE STORY GOES LIKE THIS. THE HISTORICALLY SUCCESSFUL BUT AGING DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT PREPARES TO STEP ASIDE FROM PUBLIC LIFE AND THROWS HIS SUPPORT BEHIND A YOUNG, IMPRESSIVE, DIVERSE SUCCESSOR AND NO I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS. >> >> OUR PRESIDENT, OUR COMMANDER, STILL THE LEADER OF OUR PARTY -- ♪♪ ♪♪ >> >>> >>> LET'S GO TO THE MOMENT BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE MAY NOT REALIZE THIS, BUT IT IS VERY COMMON AMONG ACTORS TO NOT WATCH THEIR WORK. PLENTY NEVER WATCH IT, SO I DID NOT KNOW THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME MARTIN WAS SEEING THAT. WE HAD TO WRITE THAT INTO THE SHOW. WE START THE SHOW IN ORDER TO CHANGE EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF IT . IT'S ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WE DID DEAL WITH AT THAT TIME, BUT IT STILL LIVES WITH US. >> THAT WAS SO MOVING. IT JUST GOT ME WATCHING IT AGAIN. I DID NOT KNOW HE HAD NEVER SEEN THAT, AND I DID NOT KNOW THAT CLIP IS GOING TO BE PLAYED. IT TOOK HIM BY SURPRISE. HIS EMOTIONS TOOK ME BY SURPRISE. THEY WERE LIKE OUR PARENTS. THEY WERE SO CLOSE. I THINK WE ALL FELT HIS LOSS. THEY WERE LIKE BROTHERS. >> WE COULD SPEND THE ENTIRE SEGMENT TALKING ABOUT HIM, AND DIED MAY BE THE FAIR THING TO DO. YOU BILLY WAS A ROLLS-ROYCE OF AN ACTOR. WHEN YOU'RE SITTING IN A CHAIR READING A SCRIPT DOING NOTHING YOU COULD FEEL IT ALL. IT WAS ALL THERE IN HIS FIRST READING OF THOSE WORDS. >> HE WAS JUST EXCEPTIONAL. EXTRAORDINARY ACTOR. IT WAS IN HIS BONES. EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM WAS ABOUT ACTING. AT THE CASTING DIRECTOR SAID IN HIS AUDITION IF NOT FOR THE PHOTO OF HIS CHILD IN THE BACKGROUND THEY COULD HAVE AIRED HIS AUDITION FOR THE WEST WING. HE WAS ALSO JUST SUCH A SUPPORTIVE AND GENEROUS ACTOR TO GET TO WORK WITH HIM. IT WAS A REAL GIFT AND MARTIN AS WELL. >> THE BOOK IS FILLED WITH STORIES AND IT IS SUCH A GIFT FOR ALL OF US WHO WORKED THERE AS IF YOU CREATED A YEARBOOK FOR US AND TOLD US THE STORIES WE DID NOT KNOW. I KNOW THERE ARE FANS OF THE SHOW OUT THERE WHO ARE GOING TO LOVE SO MUCH OF THIS. WHAT DID YOU DISCOVER THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW?>> SO MANY THINGS. MARTIN CALLED US LAST WEEK WHEN HE READ IT OR I GUESS IT WAS A FEW WEEKS AGO NOW. YOU SAYING THAT IS RINGING TRUE FOR THE REACTIONS WE ARE GETTING FOR ALL OF THE CAST, WHICH IS SO NICE. IT IS TOO MUCH TO COVER. WE COULD RENT ANOTHER BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE WE DIDN'T GET TO INTERVIEW AND EPISODES THAT WE LOVE WE DIDN'T GET TO BREAK DOWN. SO MANY THINGS. BUT IT IS A THICK BOOK. HOW MANY PAGES? 1000.>> YOU WERE THERE FROM THE START. YOU SAW THE SHOW GROW AND CHANGE OVER TIME. TOWARDS THE END OF THE SHOW. I REMEMBER HAVING THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT AND SAYING TO ME IS THERE ANYWAY YOU CAN GET ALL THREE OF THEM IN A ROOM TOGETHER? IN AN EPISODE BUT GOT THEM IN THE OVAL OFFICE TOGETHER. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE JOBS WERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT AS DIFFICULT AS IT WAS I THINK I KNEW EVERY MINUTE I WAS THERE THAT THIS WAS A PEAK MOMENT. EVERY YEAR AND EVERY DAY. THIS WAS A PEAK WORKING MOMENT FOR US. >> 100%. I HAVE TOLD THE STORY IN THE BOOK. MARTIN AND I WERE DRIVING TO SAN DIEGO AND