30 Rock star Tina Fey spills on taking her kid to work, the parenting trend she'd most love to spoof right now, and how she found the funny in infertility.
Q. Did being a mom factor into your interest in making a movie like Baby Mama?
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
A. There were a lot of things about the movie that were appealing to me. First of all, it was written for my friend Amy Poehler and me and we were able to work with the writer/director to come up with this idea of a movie about surrogacy. And yes, I do think that having been through the pregnancy experience and also having known a number of career women who faced fertility issues as a result of waiting to have kids made me want to make this movie. I just thought it would be a really interesting, juicy topic to tackle.
Q. Was it difficult to find the funny in such a serious subject as infertility?
A. I really like starting out and developing projects around high-stakes issues. I think that when you're dealing with really emotional stuff you end up with a better, more substantial story and really, better comedy. For me, humor is the only coping mechanism for dealing with lots of stress. Hopefully the women who've been through infertility will be able to find some release and see the humor in this movie as well.
Q. What advice would you give moms about juggling your busy career with motherhood?
A. I think that any working parent will tell you there are times when it just seems absolutely impossible. The amount of time you spend coordinating logistics is like a third or fourth job. You just have to admit that you need a lot of help. I'm very lucky that I have a spouse who's a very hands-on dad and I have a great nanny.
Also, I'm lucky enough to bring my daughter with me to work [on the set of NBC's 30 Rock]. I'm the boss there -- so no one can be like who's this lady bringing her kid to work? We try to do lots of events at 30 Rock where everyone can bring in their kids because it really does just make your day 1,000 times better.
Q. How do you deal with the extreme exhaustion of being a parent?
A. You just have to go to sleep. There's a strong desire to get stuff done and be an adult, but just go to bed. Blow off sending your family birthday cards or setting the table for Thanksgiving -- just go to sleep whenever you can. I just go to bed all the time.
Q. How important is a sense of humor in your marriage and approach to parenting?
A. It's very important. When it comes down to it, my husband and I laugh at stuff more than we argue. It's a challenge when you're so tired -- it's really hard to get everything done that you need to get done while still being nice to your spouse. Inevitably, there are times when you're yelling over your kid -- just because she's singing or watching TV or something. You end up screaming at each other "Hand me that thing. HAND ME THAT THING," but you just have to remember to laugh and explain "I'm not yelling at you. I'm just yelling over the Wonder Pets theme."
Q. You wrote the hilarious "Mom Jeans" commercial for SNL [Commercial includes the line: "Give her something that says, 'I'm not a woman anymore. I'm a Mom.'"]. What parenting trend would you most like to spoof now?
A. We recently went through the crazy application process to get my daughter into preschool in Manhattan. I kept trying to tell myself during the process that if she didn't get in anywhere it would be fine -- I didn't go to school until I was 5. When I was a kid, preschool was just sitting at home, watching The Joker's Wild while Mom smoked, so I guess I'd poke fun at that whole process. Maybe I'd make a commercial for little tiny business suits your kid could wear to her preschool interviews or a commercial for kidsresumes.com -- something like that.
Q. What are your hopes for your daughter's future?
A. I hope for her to be an intelligent and kind person. On the positive side, I foresee there being a female president before she becomes an adult. On the bad side, unfortunately, I foresee there being a lot of really weird weather.
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