Ellen Burstyn talks women in film, Pacino interview, #MeToo

NEW YORK (AP) — Ellen Burstyn hoped her Oscar-winning performance in the 1974 film in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" would lead to more Hollywood stories told from a woman's perspective.

It didn't happen quickly, but over the past couple of years there's been an increase in female-driven films and women's voices in the wake of the #MeToo movement that has put a spotlight on sexual misconduct.

The 86-year old actress and long advocate for women calls the impact of the #MeToo movement "a long time coming" and says boundaries of what's acceptable creatively still need to be worked out.

Recently, Burstyn spoke with The Associated Press about changes in Hollywood, highlights of her seven-decade career, #MeToo, bad behavior and her turn as a host for the rebooted "Inside the Actors Studio," which airs on Ovation TV .

An episode airs Sunday in which she interviews Al Pacino.

"When we did the interview, he was - he was Al. He's a genius. He's unpredictable and deep and profound and funny and there's nobody like him," Burstyn said.

Pacino had appeared on the show with host James Lipton in 2006, but Burstyn says she was able to relate to him on a different wavelength.

"Jim was a very skilled interviewer," Burstyn said. "But Al and I have had the same training with the same teacher (Lee Strasberg) and almost the same number of years of career. And so, I can appreciate him in a different way. And it affected the kinds of questions I asked him."

She did leave one thing out — the show's iconic final segment.

"You know we didn't do the 10 questions. Somehow, we just didn't get to it. It was a freewheeling kind of event, and it had its own structure, so I never got to ask him his favorite swear words," Burstyn said.

Burstyn has had roles in iconic films "The Exorcist" and...