Speaker 1: I am all in. Oh, Let's kiss you.
Speaker 2: I am all in with Scott Patterson an iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1: Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all In Podcast one
Speaker 1: on one interview with Lulu. Kirk's girlfriend. Reenie Bell played
Speaker 1: the role of Lulu Kushner for fifteen episodes from two
Speaker 1: thousand and three two thousand and seven. She's the third
Speaker 1: grade teacher at stars Hollow Elementary School and the girlfriend
Speaker 1: like I just mentioned of Kirk glease in. The first
Speaker 1: time we saw Renie as Lulu was a season four
Speaker 1: episode six, and Affair to Remember. The last time we
Speaker 1: saw Reenie as Lulu was in season seven episode twenty two,
Speaker 1: bon Voyage. I guess that was the final episode of
Speaker 1: the series. A Renie aptly named Renie. Why didn't we
Speaker 1: know that that would have been the last episode given
Speaker 1: that on Voyage dat Reni also appeared as Lulu in
Speaker 1: A Year and a Life in the episode Spring in
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen Little Bio Here. She's been in movies such
Speaker 1: as Ghost World, The Terminal, Bring It On, Road Trip,
Speaker 1: Baja Beach Bombs, and jar Headshattered, recurring role obviously on
Speaker 1: Gilmore Girls playing Lulu. She also has done some voice acting,
Speaker 1: being in the PSP game Jeanie di Arc. She also
Speaker 1: voice rolls on four episodes of the animated television series
Speaker 1: King of the Hill, Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you,
Speaker 1: the one and only Renee Bell. How you doing, been
Speaker 1: a minute, good to see it, Thanks for coming on ating.
Speaker 1: Tell us how you got into acting and what did
Speaker 1: the start of your career look like?
Speaker 2: Well as pretty, I don't know. When I was around eleven,
Speaker 2: I felt like I needed to pick a career. I
Speaker 2: guess I was just sort of overly, I don't know,
Speaker 2: obsessive eleven year old, and I did. I had done
Speaker 2: a couple of school plays and and I made the
Speaker 2: decision definitively. So I had gone to a like a
Speaker 2: convention thing like a modeling convention, and had an agent,
Speaker 2: and I was living in New Orleans. So I started
Speaker 2: going to New York in the summers and auditioning.
Speaker 1: As an eleven year old or a ten year old
Speaker 1: that young going to New York to audition, boy.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah it was great.
Speaker 3: Wow. Yeah, yeah, I was.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I was with my mom. So there were a
Speaker 2: lot of people doing that, Like Britney Spears was up
Speaker 2: there and other people that ended up were working and stuff.
Speaker 2: We're all coming from Louisiana, that's right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, she's from she's from down that way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, she's from I think kent Kentwood, Kentwood.
Speaker 1: Next time I see her, I'll ask her. Uh, that's
Speaker 1: an extraordinary way to grow up. Nobody from my area
Speaker 1: was doing anything like that. So that's kind of big stuff.
Speaker 1: That's big time talent. So when they recognize the talent
Speaker 1: in somebody that young, then it's like, get them to
Speaker 1: New York because boy, you know, that's a competitive marketplace.
Speaker 1: So if you were up there, you used to have really
Speaker 1: been showing and displaying some real talent.
Speaker 2: Thanks.
Speaker 1: How did you get the role of Lulu? Tell us
Speaker 1: about that whole process. The agent called you, you went in,
Speaker 1: tell us about that whole journey.
Speaker 2: I just remember I had a lot I was going
Speaker 2: on a lot of auditions at the time, and I
Speaker 2: wasn't booking, and I had this really hardcore manager and
Speaker 2: I said.
Speaker 4: To her, I need to go to New York for
Speaker 4: the weekend and regroup, and she was like, it was
Speaker 4: really hard because she wanted to send me on all
Speaker 4: these auditions and wouldn't let me rest for a day
Speaker 4: and so I did it and I came.
Speaker 2: Back and I owned my first audition and it was
Speaker 2: just a really good feeling, and I booked it. So
Speaker 2: it was just I needed to clear my head and
Speaker 2: it was just a good It was a good It
Speaker 2: was it was good luck.
Speaker 1: And that was the Gilmour audition, and that was Gilmore.
Speaker 2: I remember I was in having like a style inspiration
Speaker 2: and I was into wearing flowers in my hair and
Speaker 2: and that worked for the characters. So they they commented
Speaker 2: on that.
Speaker 1: Who did you meet? Who was in the room?
Speaker 2: First it was casting, It was Mara and Jamie, and
Speaker 2: then they brought me back with I know that Amy
Speaker 2: was there and just another sea of faces. I'm not
Speaker 2: sure who else.
Speaker 1: Actually, probably I was Gavin there, Gavin Polong, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I had been in a few times already on the show,
Speaker 2: and I was at a point where I sort of
Speaker 2: made a point on not saying too much attention to
Speaker 2: what went in went on in the room. So it's
Speaker 2: just kind of like that was my way of being
Speaker 2: zen or I would get like over stimulated.
Speaker 1: So so just you probably come in, focus on the reader,
Speaker 1: focus on the work, get that tile, version. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: know what you mean. You get you just want to
Speaker 1: focus in on that reader, because boy, that other stuff
Speaker 1: can distract you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah it can.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I remember going in a room once and
Speaker 1: there sat the reader and then Walter Hill was over
Speaker 1: his shoulder, sitting at a desk, and then to the
Speaker 1: left of me was Jeff Bridges, and I just froze.
Speaker 1: I was like, yeah, this is too intimidating for me.
Speaker 1: This is what I.
Speaker 2: Would I don't think i'd want to know that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I just want to be the character.
Speaker 1: And I wasn't told that they would be in the room.
Speaker 1: I did not know. And I walked in like all
Speaker 1: full of confidence and ready to go, and then boom,
Speaker 1: there they were. And I was like, yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: I did Okay, I managed to get my focus back,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure I've been in this situation, but you
Speaker 1: have to just rally and deliver anyway. Yeah, those those
Speaker 1: rooms can be really something. So it's good that you focused.
Speaker 1: So you focused, you nailed it. How did how did
Speaker 1: you find out that you got the job?
Speaker 2: I think I don't know. I don't really remember. I
Speaker 2: just remember. Mostly what I remember is getting the calls after,
Speaker 2: like for the following episodes, and what a good feeling
Speaker 2: that was to be invited back without reading again or
Speaker 2: anything like that, and to feel like they knew me
Speaker 2: and that it was a good match.
Speaker 1: Were were you watching the show before the auditions? Were
Speaker 1: you aware the show?
Speaker 2: I was aware of it. I think i'd seen it
Speaker 2: once or twice, but I wasn't a fan. I wasn't
Speaker 2: someone who watched it. I didn't get into the fans
Speaker 2: stuff until like nowadays, more to relate to the fans,
Speaker 2: to know what what they're talking about when they're talking
Speaker 2: about all these Gilmore topics, and that's been a nice,
Speaker 2: a nice way to connect with people. It's been really cool.
Speaker 1: So here's here's the big question. The big question is,
Speaker 1: and because we all know difficult, how difficult he can be,
Speaker 1: and how temperamental and how angry he can get, what
Speaker 1: was it like working with Sean Gunn? It's like he
Speaker 1: I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2: That was really funny.
Speaker 1: Sean Gunn is like the most delightful guy in the world.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I did a lot of laughing. Yeah, there was
Speaker 2: a lot of that's a good one. Yeah, I was right, Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was it. It was easy.
Speaker 1: Do you have any behind the scene moments with the
Speaker 1: cast that you remember fondly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there were. It was always a good vibe. I mean,
Speaker 2: the show itself is just this like for me, it
Speaker 2: was just this pleasant little imaginary world, and the cast
Speaker 2: reflected that. It was very peaceful from my point of view.
Speaker 2: I liked the Sally Struthers and Liz Torres scene. They
Speaker 2: were always telling like seventies dance show tunes stories and
Speaker 2: theaters stuff, theater stories, and the laughter would be like
Speaker 2: it was just so funny. They're just like born funny people.
Speaker 2: And I liked one time when Sally went through her
Speaker 2: enormous purse. I tell this story a lot because it's
Speaker 2: one of my faves. She just pulled everything out and
Speaker 2: made a big show what was in her purse. And
Speaker 2: she had an extra of fork that she would use
Speaker 2: bury with a lot of bride and she would show
Speaker 2: it up. She would like harass people across the room
Speaker 2: with it, and.
Speaker 1: It's really funny. She said. That was very useful on
Speaker 1: airplanes she did to entertain babies that were crying and
Speaker 1: upset and right, so she'd go through her purse and
Speaker 1: she'd pull out like you know, the fake hand or
Speaker 1: the extend the extend a hand or extend to fork
Speaker 1: as you prefer to.
Speaker 2: That's so funny.
Speaker 1: She's amazing. Yeah, the two of the Liz and Sally together,
Speaker 1: you know, that's when it was the most professional, the
Speaker 1: consummate professionals, the experienced theater ladies who were keeping this
Speaker 1: set in an upbeat mood and a lively youth because
Speaker 1: they knew how drained everybody was, especially Lauren and Alexis uh,
Speaker 1: and they just injected that energy and that's spirit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're just like generous, generous theater people.
Speaker 1: Yeah right, It's like part of their job is to
Speaker 1: do that, and they I've never seen two people better
Speaker 1: at that job, you know. Yeah, just to really live
Speaker 1: and everything up and keep everybody loose and so so
Speaker 1: valuable to the show. Such great people. When did you
Speaker 1: hear that that Gilmour was going to do a revival
Speaker 1: with Netflix?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, well I was living in New York and
Speaker 2: I heard about it, but I wasn't really invited until
Speaker 2: pretty last minute. So they kind of called me and
Speaker 2: were like come out. It was like this week or
Speaker 2: next week or something. So I was so glad to
Speaker 2: be included. But I don't remember when I heard about it,
Speaker 2: but rumors flowed around all the time. I didn't know,
Speaker 2: and then it was at a certain point I knew, Yeah,
Speaker 2: a few months before.
Speaker 1: It must have been. It must have been a bit
Speaker 1: anxiety ridden, not you know, did you being feel feeling
Speaker 1: that maybe you got passed over or something, you know,
Speaker 1: because you didn't hear me.
Speaker 2: Of course I wanted to be a part of it,
Speaker 2: but a lot of people were not included, and it
Speaker 2: was just an enormous cast.
Speaker 1: So who wasn't included? Uh, Shelley Shelley Cole, Yes, yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess not. I guess not.
Speaker 2: She might not have been it. I'm not even totally
Speaker 2: sure she was.
Speaker 1: You know, I think Ariel Kebble wasn't either, because we
Speaker 1: just talked to her and she said she she was
Speaker 1: really bummed that she wasn't a part of that.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean it was finding a place for the characters
Speaker 2: to go that made sense, you know, That's all it
Speaker 2: really was. I guess right. Yeah, So so it was. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it was definitely a huge treat and so trippy, so
Speaker 2: trippy to be in that room around all.
Speaker 1: These people and nine years later.
Speaker 2: Yeah, some of it, Yeah, some of the things were
Speaker 2: exactly the same. Some of the things were totally different,
Speaker 2: Like it's weird. How often do you have that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, to revisit nine years later, and it was. It
Speaker 1: was a completely different experience. It was completely different. The
Speaker 1: sets were different, everything was better, the cameras were different,
Speaker 1: the technology was more grandiose, it was more ubiquitous. It was.
Speaker 1: It was just one an experience. Didn't you feel like
Speaker 1: you were making movies because we kind of were. We
Speaker 1: were making films. It wasn't television. We were not making television.
Speaker 1: We were making romantic comedy films.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean I can see that now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, I felt that at the time because I
Speaker 1: would mention to be I said, this isn't television, this
Speaker 1: is film. We're doing filmmaking right now, this is these
Speaker 1: are four films we're making. And by golly, I want
Speaker 1: to be paid for them. Talk about like a movie,
Speaker 1: you know, full of me with your TV episodes hour
Speaker 1: and a half episode, good for you? No no, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: you're not tricking me.
Speaker 2: No, yeah it was it was. Yeah, it was movies. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean it was movies.
Speaker 1: They were they played like films, and they were films.
Speaker 1: I made four films without having to release them in theaters.
Speaker 1: They released them on Netflix. Yeah, yeah, without without giving
Speaker 1: away any spoilers. Okay, okay, what was your favorite part
Speaker 1: about returning to the Gilmore Girls set.
Speaker 2: Oh? I love that it's a little town.
Speaker 5: It's just feels like those the Like childhood, there was
Speaker 5: this place where you could go have the story books
Speaker 5: and they were all it was called Storyville and you'd
Speaker 5: go and it was like you'd play in the actual
Speaker 5: stories and it's just so on and it was like
Speaker 5: that brought up that childlike uh lay that it was
Speaker 5: they really built a town and you're really playing in it, right, right,
Speaker 5: it's doable.
Speaker 1: Yes, And we were. We were all the little plastic
Speaker 1: pieces that they moved around so gracefully, so gracefully, a
Speaker 1: little plastic pieces they moved around. Do you keep up
Speaker 1: with a lot of casts. Who have you been keeping
Speaker 1: in touch with?
Speaker 2: Well, it varies. I just had Shelley came to my wedding.
Speaker 2: I just got.
Speaker 1: Mend Oh my goodness, wow, great, big news, big news.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't know that you're just supposed to congratulate the bride,
Speaker 1: but congratulations. I don't think you're supposed to gradually congratulate
Speaker 1: the bride.
Speaker 2: But that's a lot of traditions out there.
Speaker 1: There certainly are, and my head is stuck in a
Speaker 1: few of them, but that one I'm not too sure about.
Speaker 1: But anyway, that's except that that's great news, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1: Good for you, Thank you.
Speaker 2: In New Orleans, so Shelley came, didn't really And then
Speaker 2: we ran into Devin the Yale dude.
Speaker 1: Did, one of the Yale guys.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but like in the French Quarter. We ran into
Speaker 2: him randomly at a parade.
Speaker 1: Okay, And.
Speaker 2: Sometimes I see Airis around town.
Speaker 1: Oh sure, yeah.
Speaker 2: It just I see Valerie Valeries like the great connector
Speaker 2: of all time. She's the most networking connector of everybody.
Speaker 2: So I see her because because Valerie is amazing at
Speaker 2: that stuff. So we stay in touch, right, Valerie Campbell, Yes,
Speaker 2: I see people around Stan he was a writer on
Speaker 2: the show.
Speaker 1: Oh you know, he just wrote this Norman Mayler episode
Speaker 1: or he co wrote it Norman Mailer I'm pregnant, Yes,
Speaker 1: Season five, episodes six, So it's got I think I
Speaker 1: remember Stan's name on the credits. Really terrific episode, really
Speaker 1: funny and really intriguing because now there's a whole new
Speaker 1: door opening up on this on the show as as
Speaker 1: Rory's entering the Logan Huntsburger Portal, and we're going to
Speaker 1: see where that takes it. So it's really exciting and
Speaker 1: it really gives the show this new life, you know,
Speaker 1: really really energy. All right, do you think fans recognize
Speaker 1: you more for Gilmore Girls or Bring It On?
Speaker 2: Bring It On? I had the pleasure of being recognized
Speaker 2: for both last week. There you go, let's examine the demographic.
Speaker 2: One was at a I was at a mescal tasting
Speaker 2: where a young man from Brazil recognized me from Bring
Speaker 2: It On. And then I was at a groundling show
Speaker 2: where I was recognized for Gilmore Girls. So oh nice check,
Speaker 2: so young check.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Now we're going to play a game called rapid Fire.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask you questions you're gonna fire back. The
Speaker 1: answer is you ready? Yeah, that's exciting. How do you
Speaker 1: like your coffee?
Speaker 3: Black?
Speaker 1: Are your team Logan, Team Jess or Team Dean Logan?
Speaker 1: Who's your all?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: Right now? I'm like all about Logan. I know I'm
Speaker 1: always going to be Jess, but Logan, like Logan's you know,
Speaker 1: he's kind of dig in the dude, Uh, who's your
Speaker 1: favorite Gilmore girls? Compel Luke and Laurel, I, Richard and Emily.
Speaker 2: Ah uh well just okay, just Richard and Emily, but
Speaker 2: only because they're older and that's sweet.
Speaker 1: What would you order at Luke Steiner?
Speaker 2: Oh coffee?
Speaker 1: I mean Jackson or Taylor for hounds select man?
Speaker 2: Jackson's the cool one, right him?
Speaker 1: Jackson? You know, Jackson is the is Suki is is
Speaker 1: Suki's white wife Ski husband. Now you know Jackson vegetables,
Speaker 1: Jackson with the vegetables.
Speaker 2: I mean I like him.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, well he sucks at that job and he's
Speaker 1: going to but if you like him, you like him.
Speaker 1: Had your vote matters. You know, he's a wonderful wife
Speaker 1: and a horrible selectman. There you go. Would you rather
Speaker 1: listen to help Alien or the Troubadour's cover songs?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: The hep Alien any day?
Speaker 1: Hell? Yeah? Harvard? Or Yale?
Speaker 2: Oh god, you don't know. I went to Yale one time. Wait,
Speaker 2: and I said, I don't want to say a faux pa,
Speaker 2: but I spent a weekend at Yale with some girlfriends. Once.
Speaker 2: It's fun, so.
Speaker 1: It's yeah, it's gonna be Yale. All right, uh oh,
Speaker 1: I got wait a minute, Harvard just called. They're really angry.
Speaker 2: I know, probably something wrong.
Speaker 1: And then they looked at their endowment and they said,
Speaker 1: well they're not. They got over it. What's Rory's bigger mistake?
Speaker 1: Crashing the car her boyfriend built for her or sleeping
Speaker 1: with her ex who is married.
Speaker 2: I'm sleeping with her ex.
Speaker 1: Is married, right, because that's like a life crash. That's
Speaker 1: like driving the car of life.
Speaker 2: Off the road, crashing a heart, that's.
Speaker 1: Crashing two hearts. Really well, it's really good. Who from
Speaker 1: Gilmore girls? Would you not want to be stuck on
Speaker 1: a desert island with.
Speaker 2: Oh oh oh to find somebody? I don't know. That's
Speaker 2: a mean Paris. I guess she'd probably getting over grading
Speaker 2: after a while.
Speaker 1: You're great, but she might save our lives.
Speaker 2: Well, I know she might be very useful.
Speaker 1: She could be very useful. So it would be a
Speaker 1: brief encounter with an annoying person is very capable to get.
Speaker 2: You right out of there, as opposed to being all
Speaker 2: entertained but never leaving right.
Speaker 1: I mean, can you imagine a plane coming within five
Speaker 1: miles and not noticing her, and she'd be screaming at
Speaker 1: the top of her lung. She'd figure it out. She'd
Speaker 1: figure it out. Yeah, that's probably a good game. Desert
Speaker 1: lying which what how would you each Gilmore affect the
Speaker 1: outcome something in your life? You are all in on.
Speaker 2: I guess my marriage. There you go is the definition.
Speaker 3: Of all in.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean there you go. I mean that just
Speaker 1: defines it. Anyway, Thank you for your time. It's been
Speaker 1: a it's been a blast catching up with you, taking
Speaker 1: a little trip.
Speaker 2: It's been so fun. Nice to see you.
Speaker 1: Good to see you too, and good luck, uh with
Speaker 1: your career and uh, thank you so much.
Speaker 3: Be welcome my pleasure.
Speaker 6: Hey everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at
Speaker 6: I Am All In podcast and email us at Gilmore
Speaker 6: at iHeartRadio dot com.
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