- 7 minutes ago
TK spoke at The Hollywood Reporter's Power 100 Women in Entertainment.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Hi everybody. What a room. Honored to be here with all of you today. So exactly ten
00:08years ago, as many of you know, The Hollywood Reporter and Big Brothers and
00:14Big Sisters joined forces to create a unique venture, the Women in Entertainment
00:19Mentorship Program. Each year 20 brilliant young women are paired with 20
00:26top-level mentors in film and television, and the experience is life-changing for
00:31both. Now for the first scholarship. I'd like the winner of the Chuck Lorre
00:36Family Foundation Scholarship to LMU to come on stage with her mentor, and the
00:41winner is Catherine Harrow, Mentor Dee Dee Meyer.
00:53Wow, it feels like I'm in a dream. When am I gonna wake up?
01:01Well, being in the Women in Entertainment Mentorship Program has literally
01:06transformed my life. Before the program I didn't really envision myself being able
01:12to pursue higher education, but after this program I was able to envision myself
01:17pursuing education, and building a career of my own. Being surrounded by such
01:24inspirational and such powerful women has really allowed me to envision myself
01:29becoming a working professional. And Steven, thank you for everything. This program
01:38would not be here if it wasn't for you. Thank you.
01:49I would also like to thank the amazing Debbie Martinez, wherever you are. I see you.
02:02The great support that I have at my school is amazing. Teachers administration, I would just
02:09love to thank you, and I know you're watching this live stream, so. My parents, my amazing parents, I have
02:17everything to thank them for. Their choice in coming to the United States was made worthwhile because of this.
02:28And, of course, Debbie. Debbie? Deedee, oh my God, I am so sorry. I love you, Deedee, I'm sorry.
02:39I always mix them up. Deedee, you are my inspiration. Thank you for everything.
02:55I will just add that I've never seen anybody who took advantage of every opportunity, who never
03:02complained, who understood that this was something that was within her grasp, but never took it for
03:09granted. Never let one moment pass where she could have done more in pursuit of this and wherever it
03:15would lead. It has been a true inspiration. As so many have said, it changes not only the lives of
03:20the
03:20mentees, but the mentors. My heart is about to burst out of my chest right now with joy and pride.
03:25Thank you to Chuck and to Trish for this as well. This has been an incredible program, and Katherine, I
03:31cannot wait to see where you end up.
03:32This girl is going to go so far, and so much of it will be when you look back because
03:37of all the people in this room who supported you.
03:39So I'm so proud, I'm so grateful, and I'm so thrilled, and I can barely breathe. So thank you, everybody.
03:46I am really thrilled to say that Netflix is giving out not one, but two scholarships.
03:51So I would like to thank Ted Sarandos, Cindy Holland, Lisa Tabak, and Nina Walarski.
03:59Thank you so much for your generosity. You're truly changing so many lives.
04:02And then the first Netflix scholarship is to LMU. The second Netflix scholarship is for $100,000.
04:11Thank you to Netflix for giving me the scholarship. Thank you to Steven, to Debbie. Thank you to Debbie.
04:21I love her so much. Thank you to my mentor, Julia Johnson. Without you, I wouldn't be here.
04:28I've grown so much because of this program. The opportunities, it's opened up for me. The doors, it's opened.
04:36Thank you so much for everything. I could say more. My brain is not working right now.
04:43But thank you. I'm very, very thankful. I'm so blessed. Thank you to my mom.
04:53Without my mom, I wouldn't be here, obviously.
04:59But thank you to WIE for letting this girl from the Philippines achieve her dreams, at least for now.
05:07Thank you so much.
05:14I would just like to add, I am so impressed with all of the girls, this entire program, and the
05:21opportunities and the doors it opens for all of them.
05:23The growth I've seen, I can't believe we were here just a year ago.
05:27We were sitting where the class of 2020 is sitting now.
05:30And they have so much to look forward to. They should seize every opportunity.
05:35This is just the beginning. The ride is going to be wild.
05:38And I couldn't be more proud and more appreciative. I'm so proud of you.
05:51I would like to thank my mom for always being there for me and always supporting me.
05:57And I would like to thank my wonderful mentor, Elise Scherz.
06:07And I'd like to thank Stephen Galloway and Debbie for supporting me through the whole year and the whole journey.
06:20I can't believe this is happening.
06:24Thank you, Netflix, for giving me this opportunity to go to a higher education.
06:31I never thought it would be possible.
06:42Priscilla walked into my office about a year ago and said she wanted to go to Yale.
06:47So, Priscilla, I hope you get to go to Yale or wherever you go.
06:50I know it's going to be incredible.
06:52Stephen Galloway and Debbie Martinez's dedication to these incredible young women is extraordinary.
06:58And Priscilla has faced adversity and challenge in a way that I am very lucky that I've never had to
07:03experience.
07:04And I am so inspired by your strength on a daily basis.
07:08It's really extraordinary.
07:13I was invited here last year by Lena Dunham, who was the guest editor.
07:17And I sat right there and I cried for two hours.
07:20And I was so moved by you young women and what your goals are and what adversity you faced.
07:30And that this program that Stephen and Debbie have fostered in such a great way with so many people's support
07:36was the best thing I'd ever seen.
07:38And it still is.
07:40And it was the best day I'd had in Los Angeles in a long time and it's happening again.
07:45So I got in the car and I called Stephen and said, what can I do to help?
07:49And he immediately said, give money.
07:52And I said, okay, I have to call my daughter first because I have, you know, we have a rule
08:00about this, but we have an idea.
08:01And I called Billy, who is supposed to be doing this, the little nasty person that she is, but she's
08:07in India traveling.
08:08So, you know, my favorite thing, public speaking, is happening.
08:14I said, Billy, I've got this idea.
08:16I just saw this thing.
08:17And she said, let's give a scholarship in mom's name.
08:20And so I called Stephen back and he said, this is so simple.
08:24And he basically got twice as much money out of me as I intended to give him.
08:30And then it happened again.
08:32Anyway, I'm happy to do it.
08:34We're happy to do it.
08:35So this is a scholarship, that's a full scholarship in Carrie Fisher's name.
08:43And for many of you young women that have applied, you probably only know Carrie one way.
08:54And I brought a picture.
08:55That was the picture that she insisted that if we ever had to use a picture of her, that this
09:03is the picture we would use.
09:06And for those of you that know her, you know it's true.
09:11There is another picture of her that is more the picture that is the author that is probably more representative
09:18of what this is.
09:20But they're both Carrie Fisher, as you guys know.
09:25So that all happened.
09:26Billy and Sherry and a group of us sat in a room in Sherry's conference room and read all of
09:31your applications.
09:32And one person after the other is deserving and faced things that you can't imagine.
09:37You don't see in any lifetime movie.
09:39It's so much harder and so much worse.
09:42But they do it with grace and with such intelligence.
09:44And so for anyone, this is a plea from me for Stephen.
09:47He didn't ask me to do this.
09:49Anyone so moved, all you got to do is call Stephen Galloway afterwards and have your company or have you
09:54as an individual give money.
09:55Any amount of money helps.
09:57It changes these people's lives.
09:58I beg you to do it.
10:00Okay, so...
10:05Stephen asked me to say a little bit about Carrie, which Billy did too.
10:09Billy wrote a really long thing from India.
10:10I said, that's not going to happen.
10:12And so here it is.
10:16Carrie really was one of those great, you know, contradictions.
10:20She battled mental illness her entire life.
10:24And for most of her life, she didn't know to call it that and people didn't know what it was.
10:28Or why she was using drugs.
10:30Or why she had abnormal behavior.
10:32Or why she couldn't get out of bed at times.
10:34That was a mood called Pam.
10:35The rollicking Roy was the fun guy.
10:37That's who you counted on coming to town every once in a while.
10:40But this was her entire life.
10:43Carrie's biggest regret was not being able to be educated.
10:46She started in show business with her mom on stage at 14 in a show called Irene.
10:52And it all went from there.
10:53She had shampoo and then that little thing called Star Wars happened.
10:57And she used to joke that she went to USW, which was the University of Star Wars.
11:02And there were no professors there.
11:05There was no education whatsoever.
11:08Cut to Carrie and I meet a long time.
11:10She teaches me how to talk.
11:11Literally, I didn't know how to talk when I came from Louisiana.
11:14But she taught me.
11:15And Billy's a young child.
11:17And we're in bed on a Sunday morning.
11:18And we're reading the newspaper.
11:19And I remember it so well.
11:21There's a Turner Classic movie going on in the background.
11:25Probably a war movie.
11:26She liked those.
11:27Not musicals.
11:28And I got up to go to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and said, can I get
11:32you anything?
11:33And she said, without missing a beat, yes, a professor.
11:37And I looked at her and I said, what are you talking about?
11:40She goes, it's just a dream of mine.
11:41I want to hire a professor to follow me around and teach me stuff.
11:45And so, and she meant it.
11:49She tried to do it.
11:50It didn't work out so well.
11:53So today, all of you are making possible and our family's happy to make possible.
11:58Someone's dream is to get a professor and to get an education.
12:01And so, I'd like to call up the winner of the first Carrie Fisher Award, who is Natalie Lopez.
12:11I'm a very emotional person, so I'm so sorry.
12:16I want to thank Steven and thank you so much, Brian, for this scholarship.
12:21The Hollywood Reporter and Big Brothers Big Sisters has changed my life and given me the support when I really
12:28needed it.
12:29I love, thank you so much to my family for always supporting me in my dreams and for giving me
12:36a chance at a better life.
12:38Thank you so much to Kathy.
12:40She has been there through everything.
12:42She has seen my struggles.
12:43She has seen me being up to three in the morning working on college applications.
12:48Thank you so much.
12:50Her team.
12:57Her team at SAG-AFTRA is so inspiring and I can't wait to work in this industry and be surrounded
13:03by you people because you guys are so amazing.
13:06And I want to make stories to make sure that I represent my Latino community because we need to be
13:10represented.
13:15Now more than ever.
13:17Now more than ever.
13:18So, thank you so much.
13:20And thank you so much to my teacher, Mr. Lemos.
13:22He's amazing.
13:22He's my film teacher.
13:24So, thank you so much.
13:25I know you're watching this.
13:27Thank you so much.
13:28And yes, thank you so much.
13:29I love all of you.
13:36To all of the sponsors, to all of the people who are supporting this, whether it's LMU or Lifetime or
13:47Netflix, all of you.
13:50Brian, this is special for me because of Carrie and Debbie.
13:58You guys are changing lives.
14:02If you can give, give your support and your money because you are changing lives.
14:09And Brian, you have a new client.
14:12She's going to be an amazing director.
14:15Chuck, you need to hire her.
14:18All of you guys.
14:19She's going to be an amazing director telling amazing stories.
14:24Thank you, Steven.
14:27Before I present the scholarship, I really want to give a shout out to Reese.
14:32I am so honored that you are accepting this award.
14:36You are my icon.
14:38I admire you so much.
14:40And I thank you for all the work that you do every day, not just in film and television.
14:46And I'm addicted to the morning show and was addicted to Big Little Lies.
14:50But I also thank you so much for everything you do for Stand Up to Cancer and all the other
14:56causes.
14:57You really are a role model for me.
14:59So thank you.
15:00And then I have to say, as a proud 75-year-old woman, and I am a proud 75-year
15:09-old woman, I have watched all of you.
15:16And I have to say what Olivia and Stacy said has never been truer.
15:21This is our time.
15:23And you made it happen.
15:25And you really did.
15:26And all the girls that are the mentees, they are the future.
15:31And I know the future is in very good hands when I look at them.
15:35So I am so happy to be here this morning.
15:38And I'm so happy to be presenting a scholarship that bears my name.
15:44For years, I have watched this scholarship program grow and evolve.
15:49And for years, I have listened to Stephen Galloway, who is the heart and soul and conscience of this program.
15:58I have listened to Stephen Galloway as he agonized over who the winners should be.
16:05And as empathetic as I was to Stephen, I really had no idea how difficult this process would be until
16:12I decided to give a scholarship myself.
16:14As Brian said, we literally spent hours and hours going over every girl's application, thinking about her, worrying about her,
16:26until we decided the final winners.
16:28But then, even more important, we literally spent even more hours worrying about the girls who hadn't been chosen.
16:37So I urge all of you, if you can participate in this program, please do.
16:43Because each and every one of these girls deserves a scholarship.
16:48And we need to make that happen.
16:54As difficult as it was to choose someone, I have to say that there was one girl that really touched
17:01my heart.
17:01And I hope you know that the girls do not know who the winners are until this very moment.
17:06It's kind of like the Academy Awards, but better.
17:10It is better.
17:13So, there was one girl that really touched my heart.
17:17This is a young woman who has been raised in poverty.
17:21She's been surrounded by drugs and violence.
17:24She experienced homelessness.
17:26And despite all of that, she was able to maintain an all-A average and become the class valedictorian.
17:35Wow.
17:36Yes.
17:40But what is even more amazing to me is that she wants to go to college so that she can
17:46study social justice.
17:47She wants to give back to her community.
17:52In particular, she wants to give back to girls who are experiencing homelessness.
17:58She wants to be their mentor.
18:00She wants to learn how to help them overcome their obstacles so that they can reach their full potential.
18:09And before I say her name, which I'm going to because I know who it is, so I'll open the
18:13envelope, but I know it already.
18:17It was really, in the Jewish religion we call it Beshert, and you will call it a sign from a
18:23spiritual sign.
18:24But when I went to the reunion of the mentors and mentees, I was being introduced to various people.
18:32And there were about 250 people there.
18:36And the very first person I met was this young woman.
18:40So, I was a very bad actress.
18:42But I kept saying, oh, it's so nice to meet you.
18:45Tell me about yourself.
18:46I knew everything about her.
18:48Tell me where you want to go to school.
18:50Tell me what you want to do.
18:51And then as I left her, I said, I bet all your dreams do come true.
18:55So, Brianna Maldonado, it is my privilege to present you.
19:07It doesn't come out.
19:11Okay, I'm just going to say, Brianna, I'm so proud of you.
19:15You work so hard.
19:16Your heart is so pure, and your future is so bright, and you have inspired me so much.
19:21And I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.
19:25And you deserve this scholarship so much.
19:27And I'm so proud of you.
19:33Well, first of all, I just want to say thank you to Sherry Langston.
19:45Wow, my heart hurts.
19:48I want to give a huge thank you to Steven and Debbie.
19:59They have supported me throughout this whole year.
20:02Like, Debbie's always emailing us and reminding us.
20:05And we're like, yes, Debbie, yes, Debbie.
20:12And also my biggest supporter, my mentor, Hannah Lincoln-Hoker.
20:22At the beginning, when I first met her, like, I nearly almost forgot my name when we were, like, getting
20:27introduced.
20:28And I was like, wow, like, she's amazing.
20:32Like, that's my mentor, like, wow.
20:36And I just want to say that I appreciate everyone who has been in my life and has helped me
20:42get to this point.
20:44I never really thought I would have the opportunity to go to college because my older brother wasn't able to
20:50go.
20:50So, yeah, thank you to everyone.
21:00As people who believe that every child deserves access to a quality education, Maggie and I would like to thank
21:06the entire team at Spotify.
21:09Yes.
21:12For funding a $100,000 scholarship for one truly unique young woman to go to the university of her dreams.
21:21And we have something else.
21:24These incredible women have come together to fund the first Angel Scholarship, also for $100,000.
21:31I'd like to thank Nina Shaw, Melissa Blake, and Loria Grenier.
21:35Wow.
21:36I would just like to say thank you to big brothers, big sisters, and Stephen Galloway for giving me this
21:43opportunity.
21:54Thank you to Debbie Martinez and my wonderful mentor, Chika Chikudabalu, for always being my biggest supporters.
22:02Thank you to my mom.
22:05Without her, I wouldn't be here.
22:07She's done so much to support me.
22:11And thank you to my beautiful cohort.
22:14It's been amazing working with you guys.
22:19And I hope for the best for all of you.
22:21Thank you so much.
22:22And thank you to Spotify for funding my education.
22:25Thank you so much.
22:34I have nothing to say but Trinity is such an incredibly resilient hard worker.
22:41I'm so proud of the woman she's growing into.
22:44Stephen is the scholarship hustler.
22:49I've never seen anyone leverage his position and his power on behalf of people who couldn't have the same access.
22:58Thank you, Debbie.
23:00You are amazing.
23:07I can't wait to see the woman that Trinity becomes.
23:10Thank you, guys.
23:30I would like to start off by saying thank you to anyone and everyone that had anything to do with
23:37this.
23:41I am a first-generation Mexican-American student from Englandwood, California.
23:53And I have been given many opportunities that I would not have been able to receive in my neighborhood through
24:03this program.
24:03So I would love to thank Stephen and Debbie for always advocating for every single girl.
24:08I would love to thank my fellow sisters, every other mentee.
24:17I want to thank my parents for just loving me and supporting me through everything that I've done.
24:24And I would love to thank my mentor for being the biggest inspiration in my life.
24:30I would not have been able to do anything like this without her.
24:35So thank you, Spring.
24:42I would just like to say that Samantha is a brilliant writer.
24:46She has a huge future and a great story to tell.
24:49And I also want to thank the program, Spotify, everybody in this room.
24:54There's really nothing more powerful than changing the world in real time, one person at a time.
25:00And I encourage everybody here to do it.
25:13I think I've done.
25:19Unless anybody else wants to give me some money to give away, which I highly encourage.
25:24Come on.
25:25The future is looking bright over there.
25:27Yes.
25:28All of us, really.
25:28Is this to me?
25:30Thank you for letting me do this.
25:31I'm not even supposed to talk anymore.
25:32I'm going to go.
25:33But thank you for feeding my soul to this morning.
25:37I'm so incredibly moved by all of those young women over there.
25:41You are the change that we so desperately need.
25:44So go out there.
25:46Kick ass.
25:47Take names.
25:48Do whatever you need to do.
25:50Thanks, guys.
Comments