Fellow people of the internet, rejoice, for Amy Poehler's AMA on Reddit is everything you hoped it would be and more. I'm glad I missed it yesterday because honestly I would have been paralyzed at the keyboard trying to think of what to type. I have so many questions, some of them revolving around the waffles at JJ's Diner in Pawnee, a ton of them related to her recent and refreshingly honest memoir, Yes Please. In it, she openly discusses her past cocaine use, the emotional struggle of divorce, and friendship with Tina Fey and other comedians, giving readers the awesome opportunity to pick her brain.
Now Reddit it taking it a step further with an AMA covering everything and anything that didn't make it into the memoir, and thank god, because internet remarks like this might be all we have to live off of once Parks and Rec finally finishes its final season. (That's the last time I'm going to mention that in this article because I can't type through my tears.) As usual, Poehler is candid, hilarious, and very, very real. So just in case you also missed the AMA roundup, here are a few gems from yesterday's conversation:
Adam Scott Smells Exactly How You Thought He Would
Question:
"Hi Amy, my girlfriend teaches and Reddit is blocked at her school, but she wanted me to ask you:
- What was your inspiration for "Ask Amy"?
- Does your love for Harry Potter mirror Leslie's?
- "Does Adam Scott smell as good as I think he smells?"
Thanks!"
Answer:
"1) Oh!! Just the idea of connecting with some people, and just answering letters and questions that come in to us. Simple as that.
2) Ha! Well, in very exciting news, there was a moment of time where Daniel Radcliffe and I were in the same building. And I am a HUGE fan of his work, and I think he's an awesome actor. That being said, unlike Leslie, I have never read the books! I have 2 young sons and I am looking forward to doing that with them soon.
3) Adam Scott smells like...lemons and possibility. Future and peppermint. Loyalty and vanilla ice cream."
Her second answer is only made more prolific by the fact that Daniel Radcliffe had his own Reddit AMA earlier this week.
Jerry/Terry/Gary Isn't An Actual "Jerry" In Real Life
Question:
"Hello Amy, love your work!
Who is most like and who is least like their character on P & R off screen? (including yourself and people no longer on the show)"
Answer:
"Ah!
Well, uh, let's see. I think there's a little bit of everybody in their characters, but we aren't all annoyed by Jim O'Hare. So when the character of Jerry comes around, we all can't wait for him to get out of there, but when Jim goes around, we only want him to stay. But Joan Calamezzo, the character, is based on Moe Collin's life. JUST KIDDING!!!"
The Jurassic Mystery That Has Haunted Your Dreams
Question:
"What's your favorite dinosaur?"
Answer:
"Oh! Pterodactyl. Because the P is silent. And my kids - that's the punch line to one of my kids' favorite jokes."
For so long I have wondered what dinosaur she preferred, but CURSES, for this answer only riddled me with more questions.
How Much Leslie Knope Actually Talks (Surprise, It's A Lot)
Question:
"You are just amazing and so hilarious! I just adore Parks & Recreation and your character. You do facial expressions like no other. Does playing such a hyper character take a lot out of you? Do you need mass amounts of caffeine?"
Answer:
"I love playing Leslie Knope, but she says SO many words, and she does talk so much, that sometimes I think my mouth is gonna break. But she does do a lot of talking. I would love for somebody on the internet to figure out how many words Leslie Knope has actually said.
Someone on the internet can do that, right?"
Insane Redditor I Bow Down To:
"So I found 3 scripts online (in a good enough format to easily parse out Leslie's lines only from zen134237) and the word count came to 3,001 for those 3 episodes:
- 1-2 Canvassing [1122 words]
- 2-4 Practice Date [944 words]
- 2-7 Greg Pikitis [935 words]
I think we can safely say 1000 words per episode. So in seasons 1-6, she's spoken about 112,000 words.
More math: based on some quick googling for "average number of spoken words", Leslie Knope speaks at about 2x the rate of the average woman - and 4-5x the rate of the average man.
Update: gold, woot! If somebody can find me more scripts I can count those too - I'm also working on counting unique words.
Update 2: Ron ended up with only 530 words through all 3 episodes..."
How To Beat Nick Offerman In A Battle Of Wills
Question:
"Roughly how many clones of you do you think it would take to beat 1 Nick Offerman in a fist fight?"
Answer:
"First of all, this person assumes that I would fight Nick Offerman in a physical way. They are wrong. I would destroy him mentally.
I would get into that complex, wood-covered mind of his, and rip him to Shreds. And if this is Nick Offerman - nice try, buddy!
I'm coming for you!"
Her Upcoming Cameo In Fifty Shades Of Gray
Question:
"HI AMY, I have to say I absolutely love you and have been waiting for this ama all day. My question to you is, is there a chance we'll get to see you on the big screen anytime soon?"
Answer:
"We just finished a movie called "The Nest" that is coming out next year! And I'm also doing a voice in the new Pixar movie "Inside Out" which is coming out in June, and it's a great film, can't wait for people to see it. And catch me as a dungeonmaster in "50 Shades of Grey!" You can't tell it's me cuz I'm wearing a mask!"
In True Poehler Form, Great Life Advice
Question:
"What is the most rewarding piece of advice you have been given during your life?"
Answer:
"Um: hmm. Well, that's a good one. Maybe "Pay attention to what people do, not what they say.""
Images: Getty Images; Giphy(6)
