Melissa McCarthy and Allison Janney put their own twists on some of the biggest movies this holiday season during Wednesday’s episode of The Late Late Show With James Corden, where McCarthy is filling in as guest host while Corden films Netflix’s The Prom.
The segment opened with McCarthy and Janney doing a joint interview. “A lot of big movies are being released this holiday season, and I’m proud to say we were in most of them,” said Janney.
McCarthy added that while they appeared in the films Cats, Little Women and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, their scenes were cut. “The scenes that get cut out of movies are oftentimes better than the ones that stay in,” she explained.
The duo first introduced their scene from Cats. “Cats, cats, we’re both cats / There are all kinds of kitty kitty cats,” they sang. After listing different breeds of cats, both McCarthy and Janney coughed up furballs.
McCarthy also revealed that she and Janney wrote the song themselves. She said that Cats composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was jealous of the song, which is why their performances didn’t make it in the final cut.
Janney admitted that she didn’t know who ended up being in the film. An interviewer behind the camera listed members of the cast: Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Rebel Wilson and Ian McKellen. The actresses said they weren’t familiar with anyone listed, especially Late Late Show host James Corden. “Now you’re just saying crazy words together,” said McCarthy.
Next up was the deleted scene from Greta Gerwig’s new Little Women adaptation. McCarthy and Janney appeared much larger than their co-star in the scene, with the tiny woman handing them cups of tea, which they drank as their scene partner cried. The duo then attempted to leave surreptitiously, but they both hit their heads against the ceiling of the miniature room.
“It’s not our fault if people don’t understand our art,” McCarthy said after the clip finished, with Janney adding, “I blame Hollywood sexism for them cutting us out of that one.”
“Who cares about a classic period drama centering around strong, independent women that is just as relevant today as it was when it was originally written 130 years ago?” McCarthy quipped.
McCarthy revealed that they did their last movie because they “wanted to support an indie film,” which she called “War of Stars.”
Their cut scene from the latest Star Wars film opened with McCarthy donning Princess Leia buns and Janney sporting a high ponytail. The two fought against each other using lightsabers and made their own sound effects throughout the battle.
The director stopped the scene to tell them that they didn’t have to make lightsaber sounds because they would be added later.
Despite the director’s notes, they continued to make the sound effects in their next take. “I thought that note was just for Melissa,” said Janney when they were stopped a second time.
After a third take, McCarthy took a break to “feed the baby.” She grabbed a Baby Yoda doll and pretended to breastfeed him. “He’s cute, but he’s a biter,” she said.
Watch the full segment below.
