What do you do when you become friends with one of the coolest women on the planet? Get them to read your movie script, of course. During a phone interview with Bustle, Mindy Kaling revealed that Oprah Winfrey read her script for the upcoming movie Late Night — and she gave The Mindy Project creator notes. If that sounds like a magical experience, it's because it almost certainly was for the 38-year-old.
Kaling explained to Bustle, "Oprah read my movie. I'm shooting a movie with Emma Thompson in the spring, in New York, where she's a late night talk show host and I'm the first female writer on her staff. And Oprah loves Emma Thompson and is friends with her and was like, 'I'd love to read the script.' So when we were flying to New Zealand she read the script, and then she gave me notes on it. Which was — if you can get free notes from Oprah Winfrey on a script — like, incredible. But you're also scared, because you're like, 'I hope Oprah likes this movie!'"
Winfrey and Kaling's friendship began during filming for A Wrinkle in Time. The two are co-stars in the film, and it appears to have led to a warm relationship between them. In fact, the former talk show host is the person who revealed to the public that Kaling was expecting a baby — a slip-up that Kaling didn't actually mind, because if anyone is going to inadvertently announce your baby news, then Winfrey is a legendary choice.
In October, Kaling appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she discussed having Winfrey be the one to reveal her news to the press. The actor told DeGeneres,
"At first it was like, 'OK, if anyone was going to announce big news about your private life, Oprah Winfrey is the person.' You can't complain that much about it. You also can't be like, 'Hey, Oprah, zip it.' Because she's almost like a religious figure."
Their budding friendship continued after little Katherine Kaling arrived. During an interview with USA Today in February, Kaling revealed that Winfrey gave her the most thoughtful baby gift. Her A Wrinkle in Time co-star had a castle-shaped bookcase hand-carved for Katherine, and sent it over with a full set of classic books for kids. Winfrey even had the books personalized to read, "Katherine's Book Club." As far as baby gifts go, they don't get much more thoughtful or touching than a personal library.
It's clear that Winfrey and Kaling's relationship isn't just about celebrating Katherine though — if the news about the 64-year-old icon reading her script is any indication, then these two have formed a mentor relationship as well. As a producer, Winfrey knows a thing or two about nurturing projects, and her advice no doubt helped Late Night become the best script it possibly could be.
Since filming on Late Night hasn't begun just yet, fans of Kaling will just have to wait a little bit longer to see how her latest project turns out. Whenever it does make it to theaters though, remember that Winfrey was one of the first people to read the film and she even offered up notes on the script before the cameras started rolling. According to Variety, Late Night is about Thompson's character, whose late night show is failing until she hires a female writer for the show (Kaling), who renews people's interest and also has an impact on the creator's personal life — basically this project features incredible women in front of and behind the camera, so it's definitely a project to keep a watch out for.
Just knowing that Kaling and Winfrey are collaborators is an amazing feeling. These two talented women have served up remarkable performances and stories through their work as actors, writers, and producers. There's likely no end to what they could accomplish together, whether it's sharing notes or working hard to make sure A Wrinkle in Time is a success. As far as celebrity friendships go, this one should definitely be among your favorites.
Additional reporting by Sage Young, Associate TV Editor.
