Katie Couric talks with Kate Winslet about her film Iris on the Today Show.

Coming up this half hour...

Katie Couric: Do you know who this is?

[Clip from What If video.]

Katie: Kate Winslet singing What If from the animated film A Christmas Carol. She's here to talk about her new film Iris which is receiving great buzz as they say.

Matt Lauer: Great voice.

Katie: Yeah, great person.

Katie: After taking some time off to be a mom Kate Winslet is here with her new film Iris. Kate plays Iris during her younger years, while Dame Judi Dench portrays her later in life. The film follows the growing relationship of Iris and John Bayley -- the man she eventually married.

[Iris Clip]

Iris: [introducing John to a friend.] John bayley.

John: [to friend] How do you do?

John: How do you do? [to Iris motioning to dance] Shall we?

Iris: What are your rooms like?

John: Adequate, thank you.

Iris: I'd like to see them.

John: Oh. Do you -- do you have a lot of friends?

Iris: There is a list of my friends necessary?

John: I wondered you had many?

Iris: There aren't many people that one wants to know one. Do you --

[Iris trips on a step and slides down the stairs.]

John: Iris!

Katie: I'm glad she was laughing. Or you were laughing. Kate Winslet, good morning. Nice to see you, Kate.

Kate: Nice to see you, too.

Katie: Congratulations. You received the L.A. Film Critics Award for your role. That's very exciting.

Kate: Thank you, yes.

Katie: Why did you do this movie, Kate?

Kate: I think because I knew it was going to be a challenge. When the director called me and spoke to me about it, i was completely petrified at the idea of playing a young Judi Dench, frankly.

Katie: Not Iris Murdoch?

Kate: That as well but frankly living up to what Judi is and what Judi can do say pretty tough one. But it was just such a great part, such a fantastic role. The young Iris was a very feisty and free-thinking woman. An author and philosopher. People probably in this country don't appreciate or really understand what a major literary figure she was in Great Britain for so many years.

Kate: She was a major literary figure, she was a Dame, Dame Iris Murdoch and yes, very, very highly respected until her death sadly in '99. The film is very much about the relationship that she had, her life with John Bayley, her husband. And i play the young her with john broadbent. That is about the meeting and the joy and the fun they had.

Katie: It is based on two books written by her husband, John Bayley. But in preparation for the role, Kate did you read much of Iris murdoch's writing because you got not flattering publicity that you hadn't read any of her books? Did you pick some up after you got the role?

Kate: Hugh and I -- we didn't read the novels from start to finish but dipped in some of them. There are so many of them. You can't read everything. I was really focusing on her back story and her youth and childhood and things like that in order to try and work out who she was.

Katie: I know you didn't have much interaction, Kate, because i interviewed Dame Judi Dench now and she says you all didn't really work together except for in one scene. Did you collaborate much or discuss --

Kate: People ask me this all the time.

Katie: Oh, I'm sorry.

Kate: No, it is okay. It is an interesting one to answer. We sort of didn't do that. We didn't really -- we didn't really have the time, it wasn't set aside there was so much rehearsal time taken up between myself and hugh and jim and Judi that was focusing on those relationships and between the two of either parties. So we actually didn't really do it. I think that when I first came to see the movie, i was so nervous. I thought are we going to appear to be the same people? And with hugh and jim, they look exactly the same so they got away with it. But Judi Dench and i look nothing alike at all. And all credit is due to the fantastickic hair and makeup time and costume designers for creating this look and making us look very much like the same person. But it was a relief to watch the film and go whew, we do look like the same woman.

Katie: Miramax is marketing this movie as a love story, not -- even though frankly it is a heart-breaking story of someone's, you know, situation in terms of her Alzheimer's disease. Do you think that's fair? Do you think it really is first and foremost a love story?

Kate: Yes.

Katie: Obviously your part is.

Kate: I describe it as a love story as well. It is a true love story. Because it is a true story, i think that's why it is so touching and so moving. It is so fun and sort of enjoyable and pleasant to watch as well.

Katie: What is so profound about their relationship?

Kate: I don't know. It is very hard to describe. What is love about? What is it? We all try and find it. And yet they seem to -- they seem to have it. They seem to do it right. I think they were -- they're both -- they were both very childlike. They both gave each other so much and that was why I think they remained so solid and they were very, very honest with each other. They didn't want either foreign change at all.

Katie: Meanwhile, I want to veer a little bit from the movie because as you saw probably we played a clip of this music video.

Kate: Yes.

[Clip of 'What If'.]

Katie [talking over clip]: That was produced in Great Britain. You're not embarrassed by it because you actually sound beautiful. As i said earlier to our producer, I love that song "As If," but it is not "As If". It is 'What If'. It is from the animated version of --

Kate: A Christmas Carol.

Katie: Let's listen for a moment.

What if i had never let you go?

Would you be the man i used to know?

Katie: Kate Winslet, who knew? You have a beautiful voice.

Kate: Thank you very much.

Katie: Was that fun to do?

Kate: It was fun, yes it was fun.

Katie: I understand it did quite well in Great Britain. Do you have any interest in releasing it here in this country?

Kate: I don't know. I don't know what the plan is with it in terms of over here. I was asked by the producers of the movie a year after i recorded the voice for the animated film. They said, look, we've written a song for the character you played and would you like to sing it? I said, you know, I'll give it a go. I'm perfectly happy to do that. If you aren't happy with how i sing it, then, please feel free to get somebody else. So they were quite pleased and wanted to release it as a single.

Katie: I can see why.

Kate: First I said no I didn't want them do that and I thought about it and I thought, well, let's try and do something good with this and all the proceeds went to children's cancer charities.

Katie: Which is so wonderful. Thank you for doing that anyways always great to see you. You look beautiful, sound beautiful. And Iris is a terrific movie. It is playing now in New York and Los Angeles and will open in all cities, or more cities February 15th.

Source: Transcription by Discover Kate.