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I grew up idolizing Madeline Kahn and Lily Tomlin and Carol Burnett, Ruth Gordon, Rosalind Russell, Amy Irving, women who were stylish and real actresses who did real work and could not be replaced with anyone else. You cannot cast anyone else in Madeline Kahn's roles.

And Brooke Elliott is a great actress.

I wanted to work with Cate Blanchett. She is one of the five greatest movie actresses of her generation.

I wanted to be Katharine Hepburn-ish - there was a bit of nobility about her.

There were rumors I wasn't going to die. The whole cast was sitting around the table reading the script. I fell on the floor - I'm not kidding. I looked up at Katherine Heigl, and she was crying.

There are lots of actresses I consider to be my icons, from Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly to Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep.

I admire those women who really knew who they were and didn't apologize for it. Katharine Hepburn? She was ahead of her time.

Catherine Tate was a proven comedy actress from a comedy background with great taste. I knew her work, and was an incredible fan.

I think maybe my mom thought that Katharine Hepburn would be a good role model of, like, a strong, smart, independent woman. Maybe she steered me in that direction. You know, because she was really so ahead of her time.