Blythe Danner - The Goop Newsletter

On a red carpet, you can always separate the pros from those who are new to fame. Younger women get expertly made up, wear some incredible outfit, and stand frozen while paps snap away. But then there are those who have been doing the red carpet walk for years — effortless ladies who stroll through the paparazzi, stop to chat with everyone, show up wearing only one must-have accessory: A pin supporting their favorite politician.

Enter: Blythe Danner, who first appeared on the big screen 40 years ago (to the year!), and has been an inspiration ever since, be it in films by visionaries like Sidney Lumet or Woody Allen, or her own political activism, or the mom to our favorite Gooper, Gwynnie. Danner swung by her pal Christopher Walken's Seven Psychopaths screening hosted by The Cinema Society — with a special message to share for voters. We caught up with the inimitable star, and we just had to ask: Is she as much of a fan of her daughter's newsletter as we are?

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While we are glad to see you, this isn't your movie! What brings you out tonight?

"Chris Walken! I adore him and have worked with [him] on several things at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and I'd go anywhere to work with Chris, or watch him work..."

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is amazing! We go every summer!

"Well, that's where my daughter cut her teeth on this acting thing many years ago when she was tiny."

Tonight you are wearing an Obama pin. How important is it for people with higher visibility to be involved in politics?

"As long as you are well-informed and you are giving the facts as they really are, the ones you can get from the Congressional Budget Office, and you don't go off the path (which is so important) — you know, we are citizens, and we have the right to express ourselves. And, I have been doing a lot of work in Pennsylvania (my home state), and I am going to Iowa and Wisconsin in the next few days.

I like it better than acting. You can see that people get excited. You just try to get them to the polls and tell them that if they vote for Romney it is going to be Bush all over again. Women will lose their health insurance, and kids will not be able to be under their parents' health umbrella. There are so many things that Obama has accomplished, and he doesn't blow his own horn — as we saw the other night, even more than usual — so we have to get out there and blow it for him."

We are dying to know: Do you read Goop?

"Of course I do. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't read Goop. I love Goop. It's fabulous."

Photos: Patrick McMullan

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