Hollywood comedian Amy Poehler hits purple carpet at Vivid Sydney
Despite a TikTok following of nearly a million, even Hollywood star Amy Poehler thinks we should look at the age at which teenagers can access social media.
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Despite a TikTok following of nearly a million, even Hollywood star Amy Poehler thinks we should look at the age at which teenagers can access social media.
Poehler has backed The Daily Telegraph’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, which has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland to raise the age from 13 to 16.
She also thinks young people’s opinion’s count in the debate.
“I mean, sure. I would never deign to tell Australia what to do,” Poehler smiled as she sat down with Confidential. “I will say this, young people are growing up in a world of social media (where) in many ways they are more anxious than ever. I’d be really interested to hear if 16-year-olds think that we should raise the age. They are smarter than we give them credit for in what they are able to do and not do with the tools that were given to them.”
Poehler noted that many adults too struggled with social media addiction.
“It is not just a teen problem,” she said.
The mother of two teen boys is in town as part of Vivid Sydney to present footage of her upcoming animated flick, Inside Out 2, which opens in cinemas on June 13.
She voices the character of Joy, one of the emotions inside the head of 13-year-old Riley.
The sequel introduces a raft of new emotions, among them anxiety, envy, ennui and embarrassment.
“Don’t you feel like the stuff a 13-year-old young girl is experiencing is not that different to the stuff we are all experiencing? Which is, how do we fit into the world? Who are we? What do we care about? What do we believe in? What do people think of us? As adults we think teens are so obsessed with what people think of them. So are we, we just never get out of that cycle, we have to keep reminding ourselves to check back in with ourselves.”
Social media was a different beast when the first Inside Out film was released in 2015, when it won an Academy Award.
“It is not easy to pass around some version of yourself to strangers however you do that,” Poehler said. “Like everything, there is some incredible ways in which it can be used as a tool and then it can be also a little overwhelming, especially for a young person whose frontal lobe is still forming.”
Amy Poehler hits purple carpet at Vivid Sydney
Hollywood star Amy Poehler has now ticked one of the world’s most iconic venues off her bucket list, the Sydney Opera House.
The American comedian was the star attraction for Vivid Sydney on Monday, with a slew of our most familiar Aussie faces walking the bespoke purple carpet for a glimpse of the actor.
“I mean a lot of people don’t know that opera is my first love but I am going to try to sing my answers tonight,” Poehler told The Daily Telegraph as she entered the venue.
“It is really cool (to be here). We just did a little sound check and it was awesome to be in the room, it is so gorgeous.”
The Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner was last in Sydney in 2015 for the Australian premiere of animated feature, Inside Out.
She’s back nearly a decade later to present Inside Out 2, which opens in cinemas nationally on June 13.
“I came here about nine or 10 years ago to promote the first film and we did not get a chance to come to the Sydney Opera House so things are going well,” she said.
“If you are a fan of the first, you are going to absolutely love the second. I am very proud of the fact the people at Pixar took on the challenge to kind of dismantle these emotions and mix them up and give them a big challenge. I think any age will love this film.”
In Conversation With Amy Poehler provided a special first look at Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2, in which she returns to voice the character of Joy.
“It is very different,” she said of providing the voice for an animated character. ”You are not in a room with the same people that you are recording with so I am looking forward to when we can all be on a carpet together and see them in person.”
Poehler, 52, spoke highly of Australia’s top acting talent, referring to “those Hemsworth’s” and recalling another favourite.
“I don’t think I was on SNL when he hosted but his essence remained, he was so powerful,” she said of Chris Hemsworth. “You know who was one of my faves, Hugh Jackman, an absolute prince and so talented and he gave everyone in the cast a case of Fosters.”
Among the celebrity names to walk the carpet are Rove McManus, Sylvia Jeffreys, Emma Watkins, Courtney Act, Tanya Hennessy and April Rose Pengilly.
Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email tips@dailytelegraph.com.au
‘Line up overnight’: Bizarre new craze has Aussies queueing in the rain
North West has one. So does Rihanna. This social media-fuelled craze has now taken hold in Sydney. Here is all you need to know about the in-demand monster plushies.
‘No one smart is interested in Donald Trump’
World famous drag performer Bianca Del Rio has explained what bothers her the most about Trump being re-elected for a second term, in JMo’s Mental As Anyone interview.