How James Lipton got Tina Fey to resurrect Palin

>> should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy .

>> and i can see russia from my house!

>> seems like yesterday when you watch that, but it's been four and a half years since tina fey introduced her stunning impression of sarah palin on "saturday night live." and just when tina fey fans thought they had seen the last of that palin impression, one man, the only man who could do this, was able to get her to do it once again tuesday night.

>> would you allow me to introduce sarah palin , please?

>> we could try.

>> i'm the one taking the chance, not you, pal. you asked joe biden if you could call him "joe."

>> uh-huh.

>> shall i address you as governor? you served only half a term, so what's the right term of address?

>> well, i'll tell ya, i don't know. and i'm a half governor or you could call me a maverick at large.

>> perhaps gov.

>> gov would be fine by me too.

>> i know that you're very fond of shooting wolves from a helicopter. which is understandable enough. have your views on gun laws or wolves changed at all?

>> you know, jimmy, i believe that if everybody had guns, then there would be fewer guns in the stores.

>> i believe if everybody had guns there would be fewer people left on the streets.

>> also good.

>> right? what about -- i know it's a touchy subject. same-sex marriage. what is your view on that, please?

>> well, the bible says it's gross. and i don't judge it. a lot of the amazing, wonderful people i met in the audience at " dancing with the stars " seem to go that way.

>> right.

>> but no.

>> no? no same-sex marriage.

>> uh-uh. marriage is meant for people who wear different kinds of swim suits .

>> there's a logic to that that is absolutely indisputable. now, fw ov, or whoever you are, countless women took up to you. do you have any fashion and hairstyling advice for them?

>> well, i'm a fan of the bump-it. also to a tan, a tan you couldn't possibly have in alaska. and that's really all you need.

>> greater importance. how does a woman like you make her way through a man's world?

>> i don't think of it as a man's world or a woman's world unless, again, we're talking about marriage. but i think of it as people being mavericks or not being mavericks.

>> may i be permitted just one more.

>> okay then. but you know sometimes people ask me stuff and i don't answer it anyway, so go ahead. slippery one.

>> what do you think of tina fey 's portrayal of you?

>> it's the best one i never watched.

>> thank you very much. thank you.

>> joining me now, my friend james lipton , creator, executive producer, writer and host of bravo's inside the actor's studio which has received a record 15 emmy nominations in 18 years and you just saw why. jimmy, i feel like i can call you jimmy, because tina does or sarah palin does. that is absolutely stunning for me, because i know actors generally are very, very uncomfortable doing any kind of character out of the structure that makes the character work. set, makeup, all that stuff. was that -- was that -- did you warn her at all you were going to pull that on her?

>> remember that my show is the only one, i think, of its kind that has no preinterview ever. that's why i do all those blue cards. so the guest never knows what's coming next. and neither do i. that's the secret, if there is a secret of "inside the actor's stud studio" but if i'm going to ask them which might be embarrassing, i do ask them in the green room . by the way, i said, would you let me interview sarah palin and she said okay. and let me tell you something. you were talking about reality television , that was reality television . that was real. there wasn't one moment of that was scripted. that was an improvisation, and i was improvising with one of the two or three best improvisers in the world. that takes guts.

>> it was fantastic, like sneaking into an acting class. and you could tell how real it was. and also, i mean -- she knew she could bail at any point. at any point she knew if she bailed out of it as tina fey , she would be able to do that. but i was marveling at how long the both of you were able to keep that ball in the air.

>> she doesn't bail. we talked about improvisation. she was teaching other students, the actor studio drama school at pace university , that's where we were. and she was teaching them about improv, and the principal must agree, and yes, and, whatever you're given, you have to say yes, and, and add something to it. that's exactly what we were doing. it was a long improvisation and it worked. not because of me, but because of her. she is amazing.

>> no, but your side of it is easy to underestimate. i mean, you were serving her perfectly -- you were in the jimmy character. playing it perfectly. what did it feel like -- you were working a scene with her.

>> absolutely. we were improvising. well, i'm from the acting studio, vice president of the actor's studio, trained by stella adler , robert lewis . so i've had a little bit of practice in that area. but when you're doing it with a master, like her, you are really -- you are being lifted off the ground. and that was what the experience was like.

>> well, you've set a new bar, even for your show. jimmy lipton, thank you very much for joining me tonight.

>> thank you, lawrence. great to see you, although you're far away, i think, aren't you? i don't know where you are.

>> well, we'll be together again in new york soon. thanks very much, james.