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It'due south like high school all over once again in the new moving picture Queen Bees (June eleven in theaters and on demand). The Saturday Dark Alive and 3rd Rock From the Sun Idiot box alum Jane Curtin, 73, plays Janet, the meanest of the "mean girls" (including Ann-Margret and Loretta Devine) who begrudgingly befriends a new arrival (Ellen Burstyn) at a retirement community.

Queen Bees feels like a rom-com for seniors.

Some people as they go older tend to retreat and not venture out into the globe. But some in their 70s, 80s and 90s want relationships, companionship and people they tin spend time with, trust, love and partner with. It'due south a human demand and it should not be restricted to a certain age group.

What was it like working with Ellen, Ann-Margret and Loretta?

They were a lot of fun and they've done this before, then they know what they're doing and they're very relaxed while they're doing information technology. And not merely was it those women, but French Stewart, Christopher Lloyd and Marianne Muellerleile—who had washed an arc on tertiary Rock, and then I got to piece of work with her once again.

Related: How Ellen Burstyn Gets Younger Every Day

Queen Bees could be Mean Girls in assisted living. What did you think when y'all first read the script?

That's pretty much what it was. I thought the script was cute. It was a story that we have seen before but not in that setting, and I thought it would be a fine piffling movie. Just for me, the appeal was I would be working with these women.

The women in this story are from a generation of women who have accomplished something; they had careers. Practice yous retrieve was information technology harder for them to give up their independence? Did you discuss that while you were filming?

No, we didn't talk about where we were—maybe considering we were too close to it—but we shot in this wonderful, assisted-living place. It was quite extraordinary, and the people seemed very happy, but nosotros never got to know the people. I always felt as though we were intruding in their lives, so I just wanted to make myself equally minor every bit I possibly could so as not to bother them.

You lot have quite an impressive career, simply it all began with Saturday Night Live. What was it like to exist there in the showtime?

It actually began with the Suggestion, an improv group, in Cambridge [Massachusetts], so existence on Saturday Night Live was like going to another improv group, only it was a more structured situation. So it wasn't scary. It just seemed equally though information technology was a logical progression.

How competitive was Saturday Night Alive?

Information technology was extremely competitive. And I think that's the fashion [producer] Lorne Michaels liked it. He wanted us to compete, but I don't like to compete, I'1000 not a fighter. Only requite me the job to exercise and I'll do it, and I'll be very happy, and I'll move on. Simply don't make me compete with anybody considering I but don't want to, and I'k not skilful at it. But he wanted us to fight with each other for some reason. I was listening to the radio yesterday and there was a conversation about high conflict. They were talking nigh conflict entrepreneurs. And I remember that that's what Lorne was establishing. He was establishing himself every bit a conflict entrepreneur so that at that place would always exist this tension.

Simply information technology didn't piece of work out quite that way for him. Information technology did with a sure group of people, simply not everybody was willing to go forth with that game plan. Then instead, it evolved into something else. But information technology was a job, and no one knew what was going to happen. All nosotros knew was that it was our task at that fourth dimension. Lorne would say things like, "Y'all're going to accept millions and millions of people watching you. Does that carp you?" "No. I did commercials, and so millions and millions of people watched me do commercials. That doesn't bother me, it's my job. Then I'm going to do information technology and I'k going to try and exercise information technology well, and I'm going to try and have a skillful time doing information technology."

SNL is now one of TV's longest-running shows. Why do yous think it however works after all these years?

Information technology'south important to accept satire, specially political satire. At that place haven't been many successful attempts in this country; information technology'due south always been imported, mostly from England. Most societies do have some outlet for satire and for us, it's Sabbatum Nighttime Live.

Do you notwithstanding tune in?

I don't stay up that late. It's only too exhausting for me!

You lot fell into improv. You went with a friend to her audience, but you got the gig and information technology inverse your life. Do y'all think there are accidents, or it was meant to exist?

If it was meant to be, it was brilliant because I couldn't have picked it myself. I had no idea it existed. I didn't know that improv existed when I went to audition. When I found out that it was a thing, I thought, Well, wait a infinitesimal, come on—people can actually do this for a living? And I thought, Well, that's what I want to do, and I was there. Somebody handed me a big present. Just I could never take figured it out myself. I could never have chosen that field considering I didn't even know information technology existed.

Y'all went on to exist office of two successful sitcoms, Kate & Allie and 3rd Stone From the Sun. Why practice y'all recall those shows worked when others don't?

I accept no idea. Maybe the chemical science of the people involved. I know Kate & Allie, I really had to be dragged boot and screaming into that one considering I hated the championship, which was 2 Mommies when it was broached. And I thought, Oh, God! I don't want to practise something called 2 Mommies. But I had washed a motion picture with Susan Saint James, and so I knew Susan, and so I knew that would be easy and fun. And then the beginning airplane pilot script that I read that had been rewritten as Kate & Allie was just so much improve than the thing that they had presented me with.

I didn't know most the process because it was the beginning sitcom I had e'er done. I didn't know how things can drastically modify from the initial phone call of, "Would you always want to practise something like…," to the bodily presentation of the show. Characters change, plots change, ages change, locations change. It can be totally unlike than what you were presented with, and more often than not, information technology's a lot better. Then, it became something that was, "OK, I'll do it." And when I realized that I got to work with Billy Persky, whom I also didn't know existed and should have, and who is just such an important person in my life, I thought, Wow, this doesn't get whatever improve.

Nosotros were doing a half 60 minutes and it was done on videotape back at that time, so lighting didn't actually matter. When you lot were doing rehearsals, it took no time at all because the camera basically had to notice you. There were four cameras, and you were blocking the scenes, and then you had your camera and so at that place were cameras for other areas. But there was ane camera that followed y'all. So these poor cameras had to follow usa wherever nosotros were going, and we were fast. But they were fun, and they were willing to become forth with the adventure. But Baton created this atmosphere where it was just a joy to go to piece of work in the morning, and nosotros could bring our kids and they were babies. Y'all put the babies on the floor, and y'all'd work around them. It was bliss. Once we got the show really upward and running, which was about a yr and a half, we started doing it in iii days, which is unheard of.

And perfect for a mom.

And perfect for a mom. When nosotros actually filmed the show, we would leave at eight o'clock at night so I could go upwards and say goodnight to my girl. And most nights I cooked dinner.

It was and so nonthreatening. To go from Sat Nighttime Live, where y'all were threatening to people because information technology was such a public relations miracle, to Kate & Allie, which was something that was and so non-threatening, and light-headed, and funny, and sweet, it was a perfect stepping stone for me. To become from Sat Night Live to Kate & Allie let it be known that in that location is life subsequently Saturday Night Live and you're not scary. Y'all're only not a scary person, you lot just happen to accept a job that in some way intimidates people.

Recently, you've played mom to funny people like Paul Rudd, Andy Samberg and Melissa McCarthy.

It's such a joy. Paul Rudd is probably the nicest guy always, and he'south hysterically funny just sitting in a chair. Melissa McCarthy has more heart than any homo I have ever met in my life.

You lot worked opposite Melissa in her Oscar-nominated functioning in Can You Ever Forgive Me? What was that like?

I played her agent. She played this writer who is selling forged [letters from deceased authors]. We're doing a scene, a book political party at my apartment, and I was talking to three actors. Melissa's character walked into the room and took a correct into the dining room, and she saw this group of people that I was talking to.

We gear up up the scene, we apposite it, and they were setting the lights and we're simply continuing in place. I was talking to these people and Melissa came in and she joined the group. And she said to the woman in the scene, "I'k pitiful, what's your name?" And the woman said her name and Melissa said, "Oh, my God! You're the reason I became an actor. I was doing costumes for a theater company in New York, and they were doing a play and you were in information technology. And your operation made me believe, 'That'south what I want to practice. That's exactly what I want to exercise.'" She said this to a adult female who's a working actress, whose been on the radar for a long time, but had really been nether the radar for a long time. And you could see what Melissa did for her ego, for her pride, for her sense of self. It was so generous and warm and honest. That's who she is. Aside from being hysterically funny and kind.

You've said that you've been getting more interesting parts these days. Why do you lot think that is?

I have no thought. Maybe it's because I've never expected to take certain kinds of parts. I don't meet myself as 1 thing, and then I've never been insulted when I've been offered a part. I merely read some identify where some extra was complaining that she was being offered grandmother parts at the historic period of twoscore. At that place are grandmothers who are 40. Unfortunately, they're non very glamorous, but they be. And I noticed that a lot of the women that I worked with when I was younger, who were just really exceptionally pretty, they never wanted to allow become of that. So being older is very hard for them. Then maybe it's a question of my lack of vanity, I don't know.

Back in the day it was, "Your career will be over by 40."

Your career was over past the time you were 40 because back in the twenty-four hours you had no value as an older woman. Dorsum in the twenty-four hours, I had friends who were quite accomplished actresses, and they didn't want to play mothers because that took away their value as somebody who was attractive.

Kathleen Turner recently told Parade that she knew by the time she was xl she was going to be doing theater because that's where the interesting roles were for women of a sure age. And that's what she did.

If that's what you want to practice. I love doing theater and I did a lot of theater when I was younger. Simply right now, I don't desire to practise that. I don't want to put in that much time and effort. And, also, I'm a morning person, so doing theater is really hard.

Right, you said you can't stay up past 10 p.g., which is why yous don't watch SNL alive.

No, I tin't. I've done it and I love it while I'k doing it, but, my God, the process. Information technology'due south only too exhausting for me. And then I'm more than happy to do ii days on a movie. Just let me play, that'due south all I inquire.

Y'all were in Connecticut for virtually of the lockdown. What did y'all larn during this past year almost yourself?

I spent most of the fourth dimension in a identify where there are very few people. My husband and I are in the country and nosotros have a big canis familiaris, so our life didn't really alter that much. We talked about it. We said he was very lucky considering he had been in the National Guard, so he knew what it was like to have hardships and to make sacrifices. I had gone to boarding school, then I too knew what it was like to have to brand sacrifices and that kind of stuff. So, for us, I think it was a trivial fleck easier.

But for my daughter, who lives in Los Angeles and has kids, she and her hubby, information technology was hard. And I simply thought, I don't know if I could have been every bit graceful as she was in dealing with this, especially with petty kids. But, for us, information technology was not that different from our life, except that we didn't get to go out to dinner and see friends, merely we'd see them on Zoom.

Side by side, Julianna Margulies on the Privilege of Aging and Finding Her Truest Self in New Memoir