They Thought I Was You
Hosts Becca Roth and Lani Harms revisit their childhood obsessions with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, analyzing their work, examining their impact on pop culture, and talking with the people who worked with them. It's the deep dive you've always wanted and the recognition the Olsen Twins always deserved.
They Thought I Was You
New York Minute Press Tour 2004
The countdown to New York Minute continues! And today, we're examining all the late night interviews and talk show appearances that Mary-Kate and Ashley did to promote their action comedy feature, New York Minute (excluding their appearance on Oprah, that will be its whole own episode).
Many of these interviews happened just days apart, but watching them all in sequence feels like watching a lifetime go by. In their first interview with Letterman, they're poised, well trained, and eager to promote their SNL episode and upcoming film. The next day at their TRL appearance, they're goofier, loose, and casual, clearly trying to relate to their fellow teens. Then, while hosting "25 hottest under 25," we see them hollow, bored, and aloof, seemingly trying to fit into the '"sexy" MTV aesthetic of the 00's.
All of these appearances seem to demand something different from them, and on top of that they're also in the throes of graduating from high school, getting ready to host SNL, and somehow trying to celebrate an 18th birthday that the world keeps counting down to. To say they were under pressure would be a wild understatement.
We discuss each of these appearances and what stood out to us, and also try to figure out if they knew before this press tour if they were going to be firing their team as soon as they turned 18, or if this grueling schedule brought them to that decision.
We hope you enjoy, and if you'd like to follow along with the videos we discuss, here are the links:
- Letterman, May 3rd 2004, Letterman
- TRL, May 4th 2004:
- "Olsen Eye for the Video Guy" Jan 2004 (not NYM promo, but we're obsessed)
- Teen People's 25 Hottest under 25
- Rove Australia (just Ashley) June 2004
- VMA’s, September 2004
You can watch the video version of this ep and get more bonus content by subscribing to our Patreon here.
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Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms
Email us at: theythoughtiwasyou@gmail.com
