Marci Klein, SNL Producer, On Sarah Palin's Handshake, Writing Hillary Clinton Sketches, Discovering Will Ferrell & More (VIDEO)

Marci Klein, senior producer of "Saturday Night Live" and executive producer of "30 Rock," recently sat down with host Julie Menin for her NBC New York show "Give and Take." Klein spoke about everything from Sarah Palin's firm handshake to Hillary Clinton's anger over sketches about Chelsea to how she discovered Will Ferrell.

In the wide-ranging interview, which airs on NBC New York as well as streams on JulieMenin.com, Klein — who recently booked her father Calvin for a guest spot on "30 Rock" — also discusses infamous moments in "SNL" history, like Sinead O'Connor ripping up the pope photo and Ashlee Simpson storming off-stage in the middle of her set.

"Give and Take," a new show about current events and women's issues, launched this week and "will provide a unique place for leading women from different disciplines to talk about their lives and the issues important to them and other women," says the host (who is also a Huffington Post blogger). In addition to Klein, upcoming guests include CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo, Mayor Bloomberg's longtime girlfriend Diana Taylor, Tru TV anchor Jami Floyd, and Caroline Hirsch, owner and founder of the legendary Caroline's comedy club.

The interview with Klein was cut into five clips, rolled out individually this week on JulieMenin.com. Parts III and IV are below. For Part I, in which Klein talks about meeting Lorne Michaels, and Part II, in which she discusses how she knew Will Ferrell would be a star as soon as she saw him, visit JulieMenin.com.

Part III: Klein talks all about the politicians that "SNL" has hosted over the years. She says John McCain has a "great sense of humor" and that Sarah Palin was one of the most confident people she's ever met. "I actually was the first person to meet her," Klein said of Palin. "I was standing there, and I thought, 'Oh my God, she looks just like Tina!'" Klein said Palin had an "incredibly strong handshake" and that she was overwhelmed by her resemblance to Tina Fey. "A lot of people come to our show — actors, musicians — and they're nervous...she was not nervous. I thought, this is the most confident person I've ever met."

Part IV: Klein discusses the influence of "SNL" on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," and talks about the way the media, and "SNL" specifically, treated Hillary Clinton during the campaign. "Personally, there were moments between dress and air where I'd say, 'Can we be nice to her? Why does everyone hate her so much?'" she said. Klein added that over the years Clinton has weighed in on the show's treatment of her, in particular its treatment of Chelsea.

Comments

[JustAThought56]

Okay, let's talk about the interview shall we? Does anyone else think that Marci Klein's internal censors are being overworked to the point where they need a union to represent them? You would think she was being deposed, she was so overly cautious about every question she answered.

Come on, girl! Have a little courage next time and say what you really think.

[AnnfromCA]

She did. She's just worried about the Palin-haters. :)

[zapper501]

she was clearly hesitant to say anything good about palin for the fear the the mongrel pack of palin haters would go after her. but she was also clearly impressed by palin

[protagonia]

You mean the MAJORITY of Americans?

You are hilarious!

:)

[protagonia]

The Palin haters are in league with the Cancer Haters and the Child Abuse Haters. The numbers of GOOD people are outnumbering your sort 100-1.

[LeftLeanWing]

Whose bright Idea was it to auto-start both Videos when you open the page ?

[Ms Fu]

Ha ha! Exactly!

[Ex-Kindergartner]

Seriously! I think I know how to push the "play" button if and when I want to watch!

[ModerateMouse]

Probably interns working on the weekend.

[B4warned]

re:auto start Simply push pause on one and watch the other.
Interview: Her interview was very uncomfortable to watch. Her choppy responses
were full of you knows. I expected more fluency. Her talent has to be
excecution of ideas not articulation.

[Oldtt]

Any mention of Sarah Palin on HuffPost attracts legions of detractors whose comments have all the merit of schoolyard insults. She must fulfill some psychological need for anonymous mudslinging that could not be sated after Clinton left the primary race. Even better, Carrie Prejean offers some target diversity for progressives who tire of savaging Sarah but still have insults to give. It must be enormously relaxing for many commentors not to be forced to think up rational arguments to oppose another person's politics or world views.

[ModerateMouse]

I love my country and I don't appreciate people who raicebait and rile mobs in country with a history of a s s a s s i n a t i o n. I don't appreciate people who question other people's patriotism when they themselves belong to a secessionist party whose founder said, "I've got no use for America and her
d a m n e d institutio­ns." As someone with relatives in Iraq I resent this.

Why should it come as a surprise that liberals and progressives would dislike someone who wants a constitutional amendment criminalizing choice. Who is a climate change denier. Who thinks gays can be cured. Who charged r a p e victims for their exams.

If anyone has something to account for it is Palin's supporters.

[AnnfromCA]

Her crowds were more polite than Obama's were towards Hillary.

Remember the big "Unity" rally? That was truly pathetic.

[Freesia2]

Thank you. Those are some of the bigger points of the pointlessness of Palin's candidacy. And it's really rich to be accused of not giving rational arguments to an irrational situation. John McCain risked us to a hoax - a good chunk of the posters on this site are better informed about issues and able to debate their point than Sarah Palin, and they aren't qualified to be a heartbeat from the Presidency. So what does it say about anyone who still thinks she's just swell? And after those revolting rallies I don't ever want to hear any of her supporters use the word "mudslinging".

Account for? You pegged it. They've got some " 'splain'n to do". But I hope they won't. It's tiresome. Not that that will stop them. After all they still think FOX is a news channel.

[talis]

LOL
She was running for the 2nd most power postion in the world. She was and is totally unqualified. She deserves to be savaged anytime she is in the press.

[Oldtt]

The election is over. Lots of people are unqualified to hold higher office, but don't get savaged anytime they are in the press. Why is Palin singled out as a special case?

[AnnfromCA]

BS........­it's nothing but sexism.

There's no excuse for the scapegoating or harassment.

BTW, 2 ethics charges were dismissed. Frivolous.

[fictioneer]

If by this you mean, they ask for it, well, they do. They're both smug, superior-acting, ignorant women who are insulting by nature and disrespectful, and they get torn apart in public because they go out there trying to hurt people first.

[Oldtt]

I'm sure you meant smug, superior-acting, ignorant PEOPLE, right?

[2008CaliforniaFan]

"World views"...? Palin has no World views. Other than the fact that she see's Russia from her porch.... and that she speaks to the Fake President of France, Sarkozy, Disc jockeys.

Is that the World experience you speak of...?

[Oldtt]

Maybe you meant that Palin has no valid world views, where the test for validity is whether or not you personally agree with her.

[AnnfromCA]

Just group think. People scapegoat, and cowards never think for themselves.

[protagonia]

That one only works in one direction - to the right. But please feel free to aim it at the ones who said it first. It will be fascinating to see if it has purchase in the place where it was written.

[iamrightagain]

She is so inarticula­te...canno­t watch this thing

[kiwi1]

Let's face it.... Marci was very impressed with Sarah Palin. Unlike, you leftests who are bent on detesting her. This must really annoy you people as you get blocked from channeling your hatred toward her.

[hereitis]

Ya, kiwi1, some people are very easily impressed. However, for alot of people, it is difficult to be impressed with someone who did nothing short of holding KKK rallies in her bid for second in command. But if that impresses you and marci . . .

[kiwi1]

What a joke you are.

[Cycadeoidea]

Yep. I'm going to change my opinion of the moose lady based upon the one-on-one impression of a SNL producer.

[GrandGuignol]

They say Jim Jones was pretty confident and charismatic.

[digeridoo]

Good point. I bet she is starting a cult up in Alaska - it's easy to find i g n or a n t repubs up there who need a leader to blindly follow.

[rabiddog6708]

Who cares who she was or not impressed by? I form my own opinions by listening and reading about Palin.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

George W. Bush was "confident" too.

And that worked out realy well, didn't it?

[rabiddog6708]

Repubs are usually confident because they think they know everything. Dubya had his swagger when the man had absolutely no reason to swagger...­...he messed up everything he touched.

[Texas4Patriots]

I keep waiting for President BoBo to break out in a rap routine every time he heads toward the microphone.

[zann]

Palin seems like somebody I know too. She's the one who rallies her friends to her side and demands their loyalty when she has a gripe with somebody. She's the one who doesn't know how to separate the public good from what she wants. She does have tremendous confidence, and she knows how to use it against you.

[HamletsMill]

She is a classic narcissistic personality. Very, very dangerous people.

[AnnfromCA]

*hooting*

Such preposterous arrogance here. What's rich is that you're actually diagnosing via a Tina Fey skit, most likely, while talking about HER arrogance.

You can't make this stuff up.

[Freesia2]

She is very much a narcissistic personality. She thinks simply being Sarah Palin qualifies her for anything she wants. That people's lives are at stake, that a country would be at her mercy, means nothing to her. She doesn't care. It's about Sarah. If she has enough fans, if enough people applaud- she's the grand prize winner. Politics is just another version of a beauty pageant to her. The Presidency is just another crown.

And that is indeed dangerous. To win a pageant you don't have to be the best at anything - talent, talking, knowledge, ethics. You just have to look pretty and get through 2 hours of smiling and waving. Her rallies were just another Miss America Pageant. She made the finals. She was so proud. And that ought to scare anyone to death.

[JulieSA]

So this producer says Palin is extremely confident and lovely to deal with, and you twist that into imagining her to be some person you new. That's weird.

[hereitis]

Oh, Julie . . . Here's a a couple of clues you missed . . . sp let us know exactly who she was when she described herself as a pitbull in lipstick and that she has foreign policy experience because she can see Russia from her house. Did you miss that? I did not even make these up. These are quotes from the con artist herself.

[GrandGuignol]

Julie hearts racebaiting secessionists.

[Steph Walther]

Marci! How did you get where you are today without the ability to articulate a thought? The interviews are - um, uh , well, uh - unwatchable.

[houseafire]

I agree completely­....I found myself wanting to help her speak. Sheesh!

[Tim Rochford]

I couldn't even watch it after 30 seconds or so. Unbearable inarticulateness.

[Citizen54]

I'm sure this has nothing to do with it, but her father is Calvin Klein.

[AngieMom57]

"...or maybe he's going to host" Yes!

[gdatomic]

Confident? Or insane? When someone isn't nervous in a situations that SHOULD make them nervous, that seems more pathological than admirable. She's scary...

[sinclairtx]

Absolutely, I totally agree. Sociopaths don't get nervous, right?

[JulieSA]

You sound like kids making up boogieman stories around the campfire. Ooooh, she's so scary.

[Antifascist-08]

Delusional is the operative word, I think.

The Empress has no clothes!

Duh.

[JulieSA]

Are you frightened of strong women? A lot of people are. There was a lot of misogyny in the campaign.

[kenEBport]

I'm not frightened of strong women, I know many and love them all for being who they are. However, that regard for strong women doesn't lead me to love them unequivocally, and as for someone like Sarah Palin (or anyone for that matter) I make up my mind about them from as much available info as I can. SP left a trail of thoughts, remarks, ad libs and planned political ads a mile wide, and I was very unimpressed by virtually all of them. It' s not because I don't think she has a right to her opinions, or shouldn't express them in public, she was thrust on the national stage in almost unbelievable fashion after all, but it was her willingness to say, and then repeat ad nauseum, statements and slogans that were extremely trite, stupid, hateful, spiteful, hate-inducing, judgemental w/o proof and lacking cohesive or coercive logic,... sorry for the run-on sentence but those are ALL atributes I don't look for in strong women, or men, that expect me to take them seriously and/or worthy of much further consideration!!

[GrandGuignol]

I am afraid of fanatics that want to turn America into a theocracy.

Hillary Clinton is a role model for young women. Sarah Palin is an embarrassment.

[OdaNobunaga]

Strong, confident women are hot.

I'm frightened of bats#it insane women who have no business being in a position of any kind of power.

[Freesia2]

No, there was a lot of insult to strong woman in the campaign, by a woman resorting to every old trick in the book in place of substance. There was race baiting in place of better policy, winking instead of answering hard questions, whining instead of accepting responsibility. She seemed to think she could flirt her way into high office and there's nothing strong about that. Any cocktail waitress can do it.

She started off her campaign with the announcement "Here you go girls. Here's a 2nd chance to break that glass ceiling". It took about a week for women to realize that she wasn't busting a ceiling, she was reinforcing it. She used her sexuality in place of qualifications and women everywhere rolled their eyes and spat. Strong? Well the smell was.

[Oldtt]

Does that logic apply to President Obama or just to Sarah Palin?

[Iamcaptainamerica]

Just SP, as OUR president's a man; not a woman.

[christymaryann]

I didn't listen to all of it. She cannot finish a sentence and its very annoying.

[googlymoogly]

You are correct. Too many you knows, I means, ums, likes and word stumbling. She is a terrible interview .

[TorhamZed]

Marci Klein may be one of the worst talk show um, uh, you know guests ever. These , um, uh, you know, clips are you know excruciating. Um. If the hostess is at a loss for a follow-up, I suggest: "NO, Marci, I don't know. If I did know, I wouldn't need to ask you." You know.

[JoyIsGwenNYC]

Maybe thats why she doesn't interview much, lol. Comedy writers are typically socially awkward though.

[lvginclp]

Me thinks Miss Klein mistook P alin's confidence for her cluelessness. P alin had no idea what a big deal it is to host SNL. She probably didn't grow up watching SNL and doesn't know much about pop culture. As we've discovered from the recent study regarding conservatives and their inability to understand satire, she just went in there, recited the lines she was told to say and did what she was told to do, and then skedaddled out of there. Marci Klein fell for it. But then again, so did a whole heck of a lot of Americans. P alin has no confidence; it's just her arrogance that masks her fear.

[Antifascist-08]

Spot on. Arrogant, ignorant people are often perceived as more than they really are. An arrogant ignorant woman with beauty pageant skills. Big deal.

Palin is toast anyway. The world has passed her and the rest of the Republican by. They lost the election for a reason.

I hope she does run. She has about 18% popularity in a general election.

[AnnfromCA]

:)

Just annoys you guys to no end when someone won't jump on your 'she's stupid" bandwagon.

[Knowbetter]

I guess she's a real genius by your standards.

[Vieux Charles]

"Oh my God, she looks just like Tina"


From the perspective of my living room during that brief moment they were on stage together Palin appeared to be far more attractive. Tina Fey has no lips and kind of a weaselly narrowness to her face. Now Palin has that those thick lips and that wholesome, take charge, 'pushy' woman thing going on - kind of like my wife. Her husband is a lucky man.

They both have nice cheek bones.

[ywcachieve]

You must be henpecked to think a pushy wife is a lucky thing.

[Vieux Charles]

Oh, she doesn't push me.

[lynettema]

You must watch her with the audio turned off.

[Vieux Charles]

Kind of like how I used to watch Soul Train dancers as a kid; sound off, the Rolling Stones on.

[marko77]

Sarah Palin is confident, but can't string two words together. That won't change. She's also a little short on the IQ side of things. That's can work to one's advantage in a theocracy or dictatorship, but it makes her unelectable in a Democracy.

[JoyIsGwenNYC]

She comes off as confident because she's used to having things her way because of her looks... Hell she almost became leader of the free world because of her looks.

[protagonia]

It is bravado. She has been coached and it shows. Real confidence does not have the same sort of "Poker-Tells".

[E-MU]

She has been elected - Governor, mayor, council member. That's quite an impressive resume for someone "unelectable" (try getting elected to a coop board and see how hard it is to get elected to anything). She's also been appointed to a couple of important posts - Energy commission in an energy based state and VP nominee. Again, not bad for someone "short on the IQ side of things".

She didn't get and probably won't get the top job but she joins some name brands in that category: Henry Clay, Nelson Rockefeller, Hillary Clinton, Charles Evan Hughes, Hubert Humphrey, etc. No shame there.

But all these posts beg a central question: If she's such a nobody who has done nothing and will do nothing, why are you all so concerned about her, consumed by her every move and comment?

[SlithyTove]

Are you for real? Do you realize who won (in a manner of speaking) TWO terms as president not so long ago?