abby ryder fortson, everybody! thank you, abby! the song, "those eyes." new west! [cheers and applause] ♪ when we're out in a crowd laughing loud ♪ ♪ and nobody knows why ♪ ♪ when we're lost at a club, getting drunk ♪ ♪ and you give me that smile ♪ ♪ going home in the back of a car ♪ ♪ and your hand touches mine ♪ ♪ when we're done making love ♪ ♪ and you look up and give me those eyes ♪ ♪ 'cause all of the small things that you do ♪ ♪ are what remind me why i fell for you ♪ ♪ and when we're apart, and i'm missing you ♪ ♪ i close my eyes and all i see is you ♪ ♪ and the small things you do ♪ ♪ when you call me at night while you're out ♪ ♪ getting high with your friends ♪ every "hi", every "bye", every "i love you" you've ever said ♪ ♪ 'cause all of the small things that you do ♪ ♪ are what remind me why i fell for you ♪ ♪ and when we're apart, and i'm missing you ♪ ♪ i close my eyes and all i see is you ♪ ♪ and the small things you do ♪ ♪ when we're done making love ♪ ♪ and you look up and give me those eyes ♪ ♪ 'cause all of the s

reporter: 15-year-old abby ryder fortson plays margaret, and she thinks the story remains very relevanther generation. >> i feel like, especially in this time of social media, where everything is kind of posed to make people look the best, and things are edited, i think that it's a good going off point, especially for this film, where you get to see all the awkward, funny, weird moments that make a person a person. >> i particularly think about the kids who went through puberty during the pandemic and how isolating that must have been and, you know, just how freaking it can be to connect withomeone who has had the same thing. you can share your story of your first bra, and it's always funny and horrible, and it just brings us all together. >> i think one of the reasons why the movie is such an important film is because it really opens up conversations where, as a parent, you might not want to sit down and say, we are going to talk about sex and puberty and booths -- boobs today. reporter: in fact, director kelly fremon craig is reading the book to her nine-year-old son to prepare him fo

young abby ryder fortson co starred in the first 2 ant-man movies is margaret, a 6th grader whose family moved to a different state forcing her to adjust to a new house, new friends, new school and all the new changes that are 12 year-old body is going through at no time at all. she finds a group of friends. we're all going through the same thing with similar questions. questions that margaret privately puts to god each night, even though her parents are of different religious backgrounds and raced or without any religious training oscar nominee rachel mcadams and oscar winner kathy bates are both great as margaret's mother and paternal grandmother. and also learning along the way gently guiding her and sometimes further confusing her bloom story touches on the relay. double topics and experiences perfectly. but balance with humor, taste and compassion. it's a definite must-see movie for women and girls of all ages but i also think that it wouldn't end to go see this, too, as matter of better understanding and empathy for the ones that you love. are you there? god? it's me. margaret hits

god, it's me, margaret abby ryder fortson. and we'll have music from new west. our first guest tonight is among the best of the best. he turned a not so funny year into an exceptionally funny comedy special called john mulaney, baby j. the whole time i was in rehab, it was very locked down for covid. so we never got to leave the building. but i've heard it. some rehabs. they take you on field trips like the one i was at. i guess in better times, you got to go to a farm and meet a horse. they do it a lot. it's called equine therapy. that sounds really nice, but how bad do you feel for that horse? it's born being like, one day i'm going to win the kentucky derby and its whole life is just junky guys being like, okay, they all right. john mulaney, baby joe is on netflix now. please welcome john mulaney. how are you? how are you? how are you, jimmy? i'm doing well. your special is so funny. you're. you're really your drug addiction turned out to be hilarious. it was. yeah, it worked out. the plan worked out well for everyone. i'm very flattered. you like it? thanks.

abby ryder fortson stars as margaret. i relate to margaret on so many levels. gone through pretty much everything that she has. and i was doing it at the exact same time that i was developing her character, rachel mcadams, plays margaret's supportive mother. barbara. how does that feel? i cannot wait to take it off. yeah welcome to womanhood. i do hope it inspires conversation about things that are really normal that sometimes have some awkwardness around them. yeah, i hope it's a fun ride and i and i hope it brings families closer together in a way. the classic judy blume novel was first published in 1970 when the movie takes place for years, the author turned down offers to make her book into a film. i thought, you know, it will just be too disappointing to the fans of the book. then she was courted by edge of 17 director kelly freeman, craig and producer james l. brooks they came to visit me in key west, and i think by the time that lunch was over, that's right. we knew we knew we had something and we were going to do this. i don't know if i want to do this

abby ryder fortson is margaret. >> not even a aa. >> reporter: and her understanding mom is oscar-nominatedwomanhood. >> reporter: you read a lot of books when you were a kid? >> i did when i was little. >> reporter: we met mcadams at annabell's book club in los angeles, a store that carries, what else? books for young adults. >> people love this book. judy blume wouldn't let anyone make a movie about it for 50 years. so did you feel that pressure? >> yeah, just a little bit. we all just wanted to make judy proud, really. >> we are getting committees together over at the junior high and i can think of three you would be perfect for. >> oh, jan, that sounds great. >> reporter: mcadams does herself proud as a woman trying to balance motherhood and career. >> i don't want to. >> she is the queen bee. >> reporter: a far cry from her breakout role as the toxic regina george. >> sit down. >> reporter: meanest of the "mean girls." >> you're, like, really pretty. >> thank you. >> you agree? >> you think you're really pretty? >> i remember where i was when i read that script for the first mediately