How to Prep for a Kiss with Meryl Streep and More Dish from the Stars of The Prom Movie

Ahead of The Prom's Netflix premiere on December 11, director Ryan Murphy and the star-packed cast, including Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman, participated in a virtual press conference moderated by Jess Cagle. Here are five takeaways from The Prom movie's kings and queens.

1. Go for gold, Meryl! Streep swam as part of her Prom prep.
Three-time Oscar winner Streep got wet while prepping for her Prom role as diva Dee Dee Allen. “I swam a mile a day,” she said, adding that it helped her prepare to dance in the film. “I’m not a dancer in my actual life. We’d be in the rehearsals, struggling with these numbers, and then [the young ensemble members] would get up and just sort of lift the roof with their exuberance and joy. It’s irresistible in movie musicals when people start to dance.” 

2. Andrew Rannells' own prom date caused a town stir.
Starring in The Prom gave the perfromers a reason to reminisce about their own high school dances. Though four Broadway stars didn't take his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska by storm, two-time Tony nominee Andrew Rannells revealed his date to the dance caused a lot of buzz. “I went to an all boys Catholic school, and I took an older woman to my prom," he said. "She was 20, and the difference between 17 and 20 at that age is pretty severe. She wore like a black cocktail dress—not a prom dress. It made me very popular for my senior year.” 

3. Keegan-Michael Key's kiss with Meryl Streep was minty fresh.
Sharing an onscreen kiss with  the one and only Meryl Streep made Keegan-Michael Key lose his cool a little. "Ryan [Murphy] is a lovely person because he doesn't make you do it first. I was waiting for it the entire shoot," Key said. "When you’re a kid in theater school—if your future self came back and said, ‘In 2020, you’re going to kiss Meryl Streep as her love interest in a movie.’ You’d be like, ‘Get outta here, lying demon!'"  So, how was it?! "I think I had an entire tin of Altoids," he said. "It was exhilarating."

4. Watching TV and movies is meditation. Kerry Washington said so.
Having trouble quieting your mind? Kerry Washington just perfectly summed up why bingewatching feels necessary at the moment. "We all have to heal right now. A friend of mine said, 'We all need to be sitting in meditation.' I think for a lot of people, where they sit in the dark and have transformative thoughts is in movie theaters or in their living rooms watching TV. That’s the stillness that I think so many of us engage in when we sit and watch these stories." 

5. They're super fans of the original Broadway production.
Newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman saw and loved The Prom on Broadway, as did her co-star and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose, who saw the show three times. Murphy also counts himself as a fan of the Broadway production. “People were just in love with it," he said of the run at the Longacre Theatre. "There was so much joy in the room." Streep, who has paid tribute to original Broadway star Beth Leavel, shared a similar experience. “I went to the theater and found out that it was closing. I couldn’t believe it," she said. "It was absolutely packed. I’ve honestly never heard a reaction like that in the theater. People were standing on their chairs at the curtain call.” Stand on your own chair when theThe Prom premieres on Netflix on December 11.