Interview with Heather Locklear

TV Interview!

Panelists for the movie "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" on Lifetime

Interview with actor Heather Locklear, executive produers Meghan McCain and Maura Dunbar, and author Kristine Carlson of “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story” on Lifetime by Suzanne 9/14/21

This was a fun panel. These women clearly enjoyed the story they were producing and became great friends. I was very happy to speak to Heather Locklear, who is about my same age (as it turns out). I used to watch her all the time on “TJ Hooker” and “Dynasty,” and then later on “Spin City,” and of course, “Melrose Place.” She’s very good in this movie, too. I’m glad to see her doing more acting. She had some personal and legal problems in 2018, but it sounds like she’s cleaned up her act. That’s great because we all missed her. She seems so nice in this interview, and I just love that chair she’s sitting in. It was such a great group of people. It’s the first time that I ever saw a star stop the panel from ending so that she could tell everyone how much she loves them! That was very sweet.

Don’t forget to watch “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” this Saturday, October 16 on Lifetime!

Heather Locklear and Kristine Carlson

MODERATOR:Ā  Hi, everybody.Ā  Our last panel today is ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story.ā€Ā  Weā€™re pleased to welcome and have with us today Heather Locklear, and I think sheā€™ll be on camera in just a minute, who stars in the movie, author Kristine Carlson, and executive producers Meghan McCain and Maura Dunbar.Ā  Thank you all for joining us, and I think weā€™re just going to give Heather just one more second to get on camera and then we will get started.Ā  Just a reminder to anyone whoā€™d like to ask a question, use the raise your hand button at the bottom of your screen.Ā  If you have the newer version of Zoom itā€™s by hitting the reactions button, and if you have the older Zoom version use the participantsā€™ button, so thatā€™s just how you can raise your hand.Ā  Just give us one more second and we will get started, so thank you so much.Ā  While we wait for Heather to get on camera Iā€™m going to start with a question I just received for Maura.Ā  Maura, it seems like ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuffā€ has been a passion project of yours for years in the making.Ā  Can you briefly share with the audience your personal story behind making this movie a reality?

MAURA DUNBAR:Ā  Thank you so much for that question, yes.Ā  This project, this little book ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuffā€ has been a 21-year passion project of mine.Ā  It started because, sadly, 27 years ago I lost four immediate family members in my life, and Richardā€™s book came out about six or seven years after that, and I found that book, and the book, even though itā€™s about not sweating the small stuff, and I was enveloped by the darkness of loss and grief, the little pinpoints of light that Richard so beautifully distills in his books about not sweating the small stuff in everyday living became the little footholds that I was able to grab onto, and as you started to string those little pieces of light together, when youā€™re so overwhelmed and you canā€™t see your way through, those little lights became beams of light, became rays of light that began to light up the room where I began to find my way through, and when youā€™re so lost and you find that pathway it became the pathway to healing for me.Ā  And so I had the privilege of, when I left ABC as a network executive after sixteen years, of being introduced to Richard by his publisher, and I drove up.Ā  I flew up and met Richard, Dr. Carlson, and Kris and had the pleasure of spending a weekend up there and getting to know them and got the rights, and itā€™s been an honor and a privilege, and itā€™s just been a passion of mine for the last 21 years to be a steward of Richardā€™s in getting this story out there, and Kris has been amazing and in indulging me for forever coming back to her, knocking on her door and saying, ā€œIā€™ve got another chance, Iā€™ve got another chance.ā€Ā  And now with the incredible support of Tanya Lopez and Lifetime, who was my first agent, by the way, when I sold it for the very first time twenty years ago at ABC as a half hour.Ā  So thanks to Tanya Lopez and my producing partner Mark Teitelbaum on the project, whoā€™s not with us, and to Meghan McCain.Ā  So thank you.Ā  It has been an amazing journey.Ā  I cried the first day of filming.Ā  And to Heather Locklear who has just done, I want to say, the most unbelievable, breathtaking job taking on the role of Kris Carlson and has been one of the most amazing professionals Iā€™ve ever working with in the business under sweltering heat conditions that Iā€™ve never seen anyone be so unflappable on a set with such a great sense of humor.Ā  I think itā€™s her best work to date.Ā  So thank you for the question.Ā  Itā€™s been the most important movie Iā€™ve made in my 37-year career.

MODERATOR:Ā  Thank you so much, Maura.Ā  And welcome, Heather.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Hi.

MODERATOR:Ā  And the next question is from Jay Bobbin.

QUESTION:Ā  Hello, everyone —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Oh.Ā  Hi, Jay.

QUESTION:Ā  Hi, Heather.Ā  Actually, my question if for Meghan.Ā  How did it come to be that you became attached to this material, and maybe this is me watching ā€œThe View,ā€ and bravo on your years there, but are you kind of surprised this is your first TV movie as opposed to something maybe a little more political?

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Yeah.Ā  Itā€™s funny.Ā  This is the only — the second thing Iā€™ve ever executive produced, and the last one was a very serious political documentary, so itā€™s Iā€™m delighted to be doing something that everyone in my life will want to consume because, obviously, politics is incredibly divisive, and this is something that is meant to be, you know, feel good and itā€™s going to bring people together.Ā  I had read ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuffā€ at different incarnations in my life.Ā  I read it when I was much younger when my mother had read it when it first was released, and I told Kristine and Maura when I first met them it was a book that my mother had on her nightstand in her bedroom growing up, and I can remember just the very distinctive title and it always being sort of like something I remembered, and then after my dad died I went on Amazon and just looked up books that were good for grief, and the book came up again, books for good — the good books about in moments of crisis in your life.Ā  And then my agent had come to me saying Lifetime was possibly interested in partnering with me on projects, and I said it would have to be something that would be organic and something that I would have to be authentically passionate about, otherwise, it wouldnā€™t work.Ā  And when Maura came to me with ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuffā€ I felt like it was incredibly serendipitous, because I had started rereading again for some of its meaningful and evergreen messages during COVID, and I just was so excited at the idea of this medium being turned into a film because, again, I have a lot of friends who are incredibly busy and they donā€™t have time to read all the time.Ā  Sometimes they donā€™t have the bandwidth, and I just think Kristineā€™s story and Richardā€™s story is something that so many people can relate to, especially post COVID during this time of such pain and loss.Ā  And Iā€™m just really proud of it, and Iā€™m really excited to be doing something that everyone I know and everyone I respect has been excited about and will be excited to watch.Ā  And this is a movie that youā€™ll be able to watch thirty years from now and fifty years from now and sixty years from now.Ā  I really believe this is going to be one of those movies thatā€™s going to stay in our lexicon just like the book has.Ā  So itā€™s really just a privilege to be working with these incredible women and to be a part of this project, and Iā€™m really delighted, and I just am so excited for its release coming out soon, and itā€™s around my birthday, and I just — I donā€™t know.Ā  Itā€™s just been — This whole experience has been wonderful and Iā€™m really, really honored to be a part of it.

QUESTION:Ā  Thank you very much.

MODERATOR:Ā  Thank you, Jay.Ā  We thank you, Meghan.Ā  The next question is from Suzanne.

QUESTION:Ā  Hi.Ā  My question is for Heather.Ā  Did you meet Kristine before the filming of the movie and talk to her to get an idea about your character at all?

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Yes.Ā  I did meet her.Ā  I flew up on a coach flight, just saying, to meet her, and she picked me up and was a little late but, yeah, I went up, and I spent the night, and we spent a night with our friends, both of our friends that happened to know each other, which is all synchronicity.Ā  And I had read the book before, and I had talked to her a lot saying I canā€™t get through your book right away, because itā€™s making me cry.Ā  Itā€™s giving me — which happens every time I talk about it.Ā  Anyway, so, meeting her was such a joy and such a light in my life, and I canā€™t imagine what she was and is in everyone elseā€™s light — life, but meeting her, and I went to dinner, and she talked about all kinds of stuff and showed me Richardā€™s jacket that was in her office that stayed there since he passed — thatā€™s fifteen years, by the way — and told me different stories and told me stuff that I was afraid of, to do, to play, and how, you know, what happened.Ā  And then I got to have coffee with her in the morning in her bed, and I felt like this must have been what Richard and Kris together.Ā  They sat there with their coffee.Ā  They meditated right here, and it felt so unique and so special and on a different level than I am on.Ā  I would like to be her level, but Iā€™m not quite there, or their level.Ā  And it was so, so special, so special that sheā€™s coming out for my 60th birthday to stay with me, yay.Ā  What more can I say?Ā  Oh, I can say something else that has nothing to do with that question.Ā  So my mom says today that Meghan is her favorite person.Ā  Sheā€™s watched her.Ā  Yeah, and but she actually happens to love your husband.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Then she is hardcore, she loves my husband —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Sheā€™s hardcore.Ā  Sheā€™s definitely.Ā  Sheā€™s so hardcore that I have to stop her and go: ā€œEnough, donā€™t sweat the small stuff; donā€™t sweat the small stuff.ā€Ā  But sheā€™s in love with your husband and thinks youā€™re fantastic.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Thank you.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  And thatā€™s all I wanted to tell you and let you know that.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Thank you very much.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Yeah.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Tell her, please, thank you.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Oh, trust me.

QUESTION:Ā  Thank you.

MODERATOR: Ā Thank you, Suzanne.Ā  Thank you, Heather.Ā  The next question is from Jamie Ruby.

QUESTION:Ā  Hi.Ā  Thanks for talking to me.Ā  Heather, obviously, youā€™ve been acting for quite a long time now, but is there anything that you still find challenging when you do a project like this?

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Oh, no.Ā  The challenging part was it was so fearful to me, and it was the second to the last day is when I get on the phone, and I find out that Richard has passed.Ā  And Kris had told me — oh, my God.Ā  Iā€™m going to die — she had told me this is what I did, this is what I did, and I said Iā€™m so glad that youā€™re telling me because I donā€™t want to ask this question of how it felt or what it did.Ā  And she said, ā€œItā€™s almost like a child died.ā€Ā  And that stopped me in my tracks, and Iā€™m like I canā€™t go there.Ā  I canā€™t do it.Ā  So itā€™s always my fear of the whole, like, when is this going to be scheduled that I have to take in when her husband died.Ā  And Iā€™ve read her book and what happened and all that.Ā  And Iā€™m like, okay, Iā€™ll go back to these pages before I do this, and we talked on the phone the morning of, because they wanted to know certain things, the producers and director wanted to know certain things about what happened and blah, blah, blah, and I go I can get her on the phone right now.Ā  And so my fear was Iā€™m not going to where my child passes.Ā  I could never do that.Ā  So that was my fear and what am I going to go to.Ā  I donā€™t even know what I went to, because it was the spirit of Richard, the spirit of Kris, so that was challenging, and they did it great.Ā  They did all kinds of shots and all, and so it felt — I felt very safe, but that was my biggest fear.

QUESTION:Ā  Thank you so much

MODERATOR:Ā  Thank you both.Ā  The next question is from Francine Brokaw.

QUESTION:Ā  There we go.Ā  Yeah.Ā  I read the book ages ago.Ā  It seems like a lifetime ago.Ā  But I want to know from the whole panel have you really perfected the art of not sweating the small stuff, because in this crazy world, I mean, itā€™s hard to just go through life all the time and just be la-la about the really small stuff, but they do affect us.Ā  So how do you deal with that?Ā  Have you perfected that art?

MAURA DUNBAR:Ā  Well, I can say itā€™s sort of an ongoing process, but itā€™s having read these books and lived with these books for so long and being dear friends with Kris. Ā In fact Kris and I have the same birthday, July 5th.Ā  I donā€™t know if itā€™s July 5th girls, but itā€™s about being mindful and treasuring the journey, as Kris often says, and just being centered in not getting caught up in those small, little things and being in gratitude for so much, and life is filled with those little joys if you just change your perspective and focus on that, and thatā€™s what being with Richard and being with Kris and reading these books and being with this material for so long has taught me.Ā  So I really do try, and it kind of starts to come naturally after a long time, and after 21 years itā€™s kind of come naturally by now.

QUESTION:Ā  Meghan?

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Oh, my gosh.Ā  Well, if youā€™re asking me if Iā€™m good at donā€™t sweat the small stuff, not all the time, but I am working on it.Ā  And one of the mantras from the book that always helped me is ā€œmake peace with imperfection.ā€

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  (Inaudible @ 01:50:53).

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  I find myself, yeah, itā€™s my favorite one, I find myself saying that to my — in so many — I have a almost one-year-old daughter, and thereā€™s something about motherhood that you just really have to surrender and make peace with imperfection, and there are so many small pockets of wisdom in the book that I and hundreds of millions of other people find so accessible.Ā  And I think all of us, no matter who are you, I think are going through some kind of existential moment in the past two years because of the nature of the crisis that have happened in the world.Ā  And I think the best part about ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuffā€ is that it is accessible and itā€™s not overwhelming for people that want to grow and want to sort of make changes in their life that are more accessible than say, you know, whatever, reading the Dalai Lama.Ā  I have given this book to, I have it on my Amazon list, and I have sent it to eight people in the past few months just saying, ā€œThis is a book that will really help you, and itā€™s not overwhelming, and you can just read ten pages at night before you go to bed, whatever.ā€Ā  And some of my friends, I think, sometimes when things are so popular people just are thinking that maybe itā€™s not evergreen, and so many of my friends have just been saying how much itā€™s helped them; how much itā€™s helping them get through this moment.Ā  And Iā€™m trying, but I also find that the book is something you can really just continue reading and dip in and out of.Ā  And thereā€™s other incarnations of it like, ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms,ā€ and, etcetera, and I think that Iā€™m certainly trying, and I think thatā€™s all we can hope for anyone.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  I —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Iā€™ll — oh, sorry.Ā  No, go, Kris.Ā  Go, my friend.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  Oh, no.Ā  Go ahead.Ā  You go ahead, Heather.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  No, you go.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  Oh, yeah.Ā  I was just going to say that ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuffā€ is really a life philosophy.Ā  Itā€™s something that is the way you practice every day, and like Meghan just so beautifully said, itā€™s the small ways that we practice life that makes the biggest difference in our lives.Ā  And whatā€™ happened over the last 25 years of the series is that the book tends to do very well in times of crisis, because people need to get back to the basics and, certainly, what weā€™ve all been through this last two years shows us that life is very basic, and if you donā€™t get back to the basics youā€™re going to get lost in all of the worry and the concerns and the troubles that we see ahead of us.Ā  And I also want to say that when you have a real-life crisis happen to you, what you were sweating the day before that crisis happened never gets on your radar again.Ā  And, certainly, as you recover from crisis there are small things that get to you at different times.Ā  I will never say that I am the one that never sweats the small stuff.Ā  That simply is not possible nor true, but like I said, it is a philosophy, and it helps you to focus on what matters most to your heart when you donā€™t sweat the small stuff.Ā  And at the very cornerstone of the philosophy is to be grateful for the small things in life, because life is incredibly precious.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Okay.Ā  Now Iā€™ll speak.Ā  I didnā€™t know that it was make peace with imperfection.Ā  I thought it was make peace with perfection, but thatā€™s from the script.Ā  I donā€™t know.Ā  And, you know, they write whatever they write.Ā  But I think one of the things that Meghan was talking about is imperfect or perfection that we learn every day.Ā  We learn something new, hopefully, if we connect with people.Ā  And I would always say on the set, Iā€™m such an a-hole, I would say, now only to Maura — maybe I would, because she was a little bit uptight; just a little involved — I would say, ā€œDonā€™t sweat the small stuff; donā€™t sweat the small stuff.Ā  Itā€™s a movie.Ā  The sun will go down.Ā  The sun will come up.Ā  Weā€™ll be alive or weā€™ll be dead.ā€Ā  And I used to do that on other things that I worked with that I was in fear of, in front of an audience.Ā  I would go, ā€œOkay, the sunā€™s going to go down.Ā  I will be alive when it comes up.ā€Ā  And so being a kind of jerky person, I would say to other people, because theyā€™re going weā€™re trying to get the lights, Iā€™d go: ā€œDonā€™t sweat the small stuff.Ā  Itā€™s just a movie.ā€Ā  But itā€™s a beautiful movie and itā€™s a beautiful story, but I kept trying to say that, and even in my fears of what I was doing: ā€œHeather, youā€™re going to be okay.Ā  Everythingā€™s going to work out.Ā  Everything will be okay.ā€Ā  And I actually came into this book I think in the nineties maybe, and I was so busy working — So I read it.Ā  I did read it, and until youā€™re kind of solid and not busy doing things in your life in a busy world, you donā€™t really grasp it, but I think in the last year-and-a-half it was easier to grasp, and because weā€™re all sitting still, and itā€™s so simplified —

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Yeah.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  And like Oprah said that she put it on her night table, I had it in my bathroom.Ā  Sorry.Ā  Sorry.Ā  Because thatā€™s where we donā€™t sweat the small stuff according to my boyfriend.Ā  Maura (inaudible).Ā  But reading a little bit at a time, because you can only —

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Yeah.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Itā€™s so specific and so good that if we just take the one step that we read that day, itā€™s almost like reading a Bible verse or something, maybe thatā€™s too much, and you take that into your day and you can learn something, you can remember it, you canā€™t remember it, you can go back.Ā  So thatā€™s all Iā€™ve got.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Yeah.

MAURA DUNBAR:Ā  Well, she did help me on set.Ā  Thatā€™s true.Ā  I do tend to sweat the small stuff when Iā€™m working on set, but in my personal life I do try to make peace with imperfection ergo the not sweating the small stuff.Ā  But, yes, as a producer, yes, I want everything to be perfect.Ā  I admit it.Ā  Iā€™m sorry.Ā  But thatā€™s why we have such a beautiful movie, I believe.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Donā€™t be sorry.Ā  You were amazing.Ā  You were effing amazing, and you brought the world down.Ā  When she would come, the first day of set, I think after we finished the first day, she gave this story about Kris and itā€™s not about Maura.Ā  Itā€™s about Kris and Richard, but itā€™s about Maura and all of her trying to get this together, and it would bring people to tears, because it was so heartfelt and so real and what sheā€™s worked on and all, and then I have to go: ā€œWait, this is Kris and Richard, because theyā€™re combined lives of Maura,ā€ and itā€™s all their story together.Ā  So it was always a blessing to have you there, my friend.

MODERATOR:Ā  Thank you, Francine.Ā  Weā€™re going a tiny bit over.Ā  I know we started a tiny bit late.Ā  So weā€™re going to try to squeeze in two last questions.Ā  The first person to ask would be Dana and then followed by Steve Gidlow.Ā  Dana?

QUESTION:Ā  Hi.Ā  My question is for Heather.Ā  Why was this the right project for you to return to TV with, and how did it feel to be back?

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  It felt like what I was praying for, and Iā€™m like God-driven, and I was praying for something solid for me that had to do with something spiritually that was important, and that was really what I was praying for, because I didnā€™t want to do light — Iā€™ve done lightweight stuff.Ā  I didnā€™t want the dumb stuff.Ā  Sitcoms are great but unless theyā€™re ā€œVeepā€ theyā€™re not my kind of sitcoms.Ā  And so itā€™s weird that when you pray for something it comes or it doesnā€™t come, but it seemed to come.Ā  And that was super important to me and spirituality and God, and I donā€™t know how this happens, but it landed in my lap.Ā  And then these two great people showed up, Maura and Mark Teitelbaum, and I was just so — I felt so blessed, and it was just something special that I go I can do this, and then I had Valerie Bertinelli tell me, because I was scared, and my makeup artist who does her, too, and I said, ā€œIā€™m scared remembering lines,ā€ and blah, blah, blah, and it came back in seconds.Ā  And she said, ā€œHeather, it will, you will, itā€™s like riding a bike.ā€Ā  Itā€™s so easy, and it was so easy.Ā  I donā€™t know why weā€™re so fearful of memorizing lines.Ā  How about getting the emotion across?Ā  I donā€™t know.Ā  But that was just it felt really good to hear from someone else fearing the way I feared, and itā€™s always been important for me to memorize lines.Ā  Iā€™m always nervous.Ā  But these great people came and then Kris came and Meghan came, and it all fit together.Ā  I love that I see women, four women.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Yeah.Ā  Itā€™s pretty cool.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  I think itā€™s fantastic.Ā  Iā€™ve always been a womanā€™s woman.Ā  Iā€™ve always been competitive with men, which does not mean men are bad, but I used to race them and would come in second to one man and four boys.Ā  So Iā€™ve always been competitive, and because I donā€™t think thereā€™s a difference, but then thereā€™s love and thereā€™s opening your arms to sisterhood, and I think Ellen Pressman being our director, was unbelievable about women, right, about women and the softness of her direction, which wasnā€™t hard and do this and this is important, this scene, or this angle is important.Ā  It was incredible, and she came to me with flowers.Ā  Iā€™m like what are you doing?Ā  And I was in sweats and stuff.Ā  Iā€™m like, ā€œOh, youā€™re being so formal.ā€Ā  But it was just amazing that Maura put together a great bunch of women that can support each other.Ā  No bashing on men because we have Mark. Markā€™s my (inaudible @ 02:01:49) who I love.

MAURA DUNBAR:Ā  He loves women, too.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  And he apparently does.Ā  No, not apparently.Ā  No, no, no.Ā  Heā€™s very married.Ā  But, yeah, so I thought it was an amazing project.

QUESTION:Ā  Thank you, Heather.Ā  Thank you, Dana.Ā  And the last question for today is Steve Gidlow.

QUESTION:Ā  Hi.Ā  My questionā€™s actually for Kristine.Ā  Given youā€™re collaborators on this, obviously, youā€™re all cheering about it, how safe did you feel having the story told?Ā  And second part is how excited were you that Heather was the one that was going to be telling it?

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Tell the story of Pepperdine.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  Which one?

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  I donā€™t know.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  Yeah.Ā  Oh, well, I will tell that story.Ā  So, first of all, I want to say just my heartfelt thanks is really to Maura Dunbar, and to the writer that was hired, Shannon Colleary, because I knew that they had my back on this, and I knew that they were going to share the story with their whole hearts, and that made me feel a lot more comfortable just knowing that.Ā  Itā€™s a very vulnerable position to share probably what you could consider the worst of year of your life and the worst year of your childrenā€™s lives.Ā  And, of course, my kids are grown now.Ā  Theyā€™re thirty and thirty-two years old, and I have five grandkids now.Ā  And so it was very vulnerable for me to bring them into it in such a public way as well.Ā  So, I really trusted Maura and trust her, and I trusted Shannon, and I worked very closely with Shannon, and I just knew.Ā  I just knew that this was going to be a good thing for people.Ā  I knew that, I believe that itā€™s how we learn is through story, and I believe that itā€™s part of the heroā€™s journey is to share your story and to bring home a message of hope and healing to other people.Ā  And you canā€™t really take advice on grief from somebody who hasnā€™t gone through it.Ā  You canā€™t really understand or people donā€™t think you understand unless youā€™ve been through it.Ā  So Iā€™m really hoping that story sheds so much hope.Ā  And also a pathway for people to follow so that they know they can return to life again and return to joy and that life continues, and you have to learn to continue with grief.Ā  So that said, I was absolutely, I mean, truly just — I donā€™t think thereā€™s any woman alive that wouldnā€™t be thrilled to have Heather Locklear play them.

(Laughter.)

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  I mean, I think she was the — You know, sheā€™s just, in my mind, I mean, I, of course, was a big fan always.Ā  She was at UCLA when I was at Pepperdine.Ā  We have all these very weird, common synchronicities that have happened.Ā  And she said that she put up this prayer for this project to come by, and we had this really amazing synchronicity where one of her college roommates turned out to be one of Richardā€™s very first crushes in junior high, and itā€™s one of her very best friends, and we find out all of these common threads and that really not six degrees of separation, but more like one-and-a-half degrees of separation, and I really felt that this was very divinely orchestrated, and that Heather was picked and hand chosen by my husband Richard to play me in this movie.Ā  So itā€™s been amazing.Ā  Itā€™s been an amazing journey to get to know her and to just really fall in love with who she is as a beautiful woman and just a woman with just tremendous heart and empathy.Ā  So Iā€™m thrilled.Ā  Like I couldnā€™t have asked for — But she was everything I had hoped for and more, way more.

QUESTION:Ā  Thank you so much.

MODERATOR:Ā  Thank you, Steve.Ā  And thank you, Kristine, and special thanks to all of our panelists for ā€œDonā€™t Sweat the Small Stuff.ā€Ā  We really appreciate you sharing your stories today.Ā  That concludes Lifetimeā€™s fall movie press day.Ā  To all of you —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Can I just say I love everyone on this panel.Ā  I think I look like Jennifer Aniston in this — I donā€™t know who that is in the freaking left, I donā€™t know who, but I feel pretty.Ā  But thanks Maura and Meghan and Kris.Ā  Iā€™m so grateful to be a part of this and thank you.Ā  You all move me.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Yeah.Ā  Thank you too —

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  And then I just have to say really quick that my daughter, when she found out that you were involved was like, oh, my God, she is such a kick ass woman.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Iā€™m really just so honored to be a part of this, and everyone is so inspiring.Ā  And, Maura, thank you for even thinking of me to begin with and Kristine.Ā  And, obviously, Heather, youā€™re a fucking icon, so itā€™s incredible to have my name attached to anything youā€™re attached —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Meghan your name is attached to my parent so big Iā€™m just —

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Okay.Ā  Iā€™m going to have my husband make a video for your mom, which he does, because women over 60 love my mom and my husband.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Oh, my gosh.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  So Iā€™m happy to have him make a video for you, but Iā€™m just very —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  But she loves you, too.Ā  She loves you, too.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  But I just hope —

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  And then she went off on your husband.

MEGHAN MCCAIN:Ā  Thank you.Ā  I hope people — You know, grief has been a big theme for all of us.Ā  Itā€™s been something weā€™ve all experienced.Ā  Maura, when you originally shared your story about the immense amount of grief you went through losing so many family members.Ā  Obviously, Kristine and Heather, I know you have as well.Ā  And one of my passions in life is helping people get over grief, because I donā€™t think itā€™s something that we talk about enough in culture, in anything, in any medium.Ā  Americans are very fearful of talking about grief, and this is a very accessible, kind story that has a philosophy, literally, a book and philosophy behind it, and I really think this is going to help and heal people in a time when people really need helping and healing.Ā  So thatā€™s why Iā€™m so passionate about this movie as well, and I just think itā€™s going to be hugely impactful and hugely healing for a lot of people.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  You are spectacular.

MAURA DUNBAR:Ā  (Inaudible) for Meghan.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  Yeah.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Actually, all three of you are spectacular —

MAURA DUNBAR:Ā  Youā€™re awesome.

KRISTINE CARLSON:Ā  As are you, Heather.

MODERATOR:Ā  I concur.Ā  And thank you all.Ā  Really appreciate it.

HEATHER LOCKLEAR:Ā  Thank you.

MODERATOR:Ā  And thank you to all of our attendees who tuned in today hearing about our entire fall slate, and thank you very much.

(Goodbyes.)

MORE INFO:

Trailer

poster for "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story" on LifetimeDon’t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story
Saturday, October 16 at 8p/7c

Co-authors of TheĀ New York TimesĀ bestselling book series,Ā Donā€™t Sweat the Small Stuff,Ā Kristine Carlson (Locklear)Ā and her husband Dr. Richard Carlson (Jason MacDonald) had an amazing life with their two daughters.Ā  But when Richard tragically passes away, Kristine is knocked off balance.Ā  Comfortable with living in Richardā€™s shadow, she is now forced to navigate the unchartered territory of becoming a single mom while dealing with pressure to become the new face and voice of theĀ Donā€™t Sweat the Small StuffĀ brand. Ā Looking deep inside herself,Ā Kristine comes to understand the true essence of emotional authenticity and not sweating the small stuff, which leads to the resilience and confidence needed to carry on the legacy of the beloved brand.Ā Ā 

Selling over 25 million copies, the groundbreaking inspirational book,Ā Donā€™t Sweat the Small Stuff,Ā teaches how to put challenges in perspective, reduce stress and anxiety through little daily changes, and guides how to let go of the small things to attain peace of mind in order to achieve goals.

Donā€™t Sweat the Small StuffĀ is produced for Lifetime by The Johnson Production Group and Teitelbaum Artists.Ā  Maura Dunbar (The American Bible Challenge, What Should You Do?),Ā Mark Teitelbaum (Superior Donuts, The Crazy Ones) and Meghan McCain (The View, Moms) are executive producers.Ā  Ellen S. Pressman will direct from a script written by Shannon Bradley-Colleary.

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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