Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno, Sally Field celebrate premiere of '80 For Brady'

How did the Palm Springs International Film Festival decide to celebrate opening night? By holding a red carpet and world premiere with some legendary Hollywood actors, of course.

Legends Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field hit the red carpet together Friday night at Palm Springs High School for their film "80 For Brady." The stars held each other tight as they took group photos on the red carpet, and their excitement was evident as they spoke with reporters.

In the film, the four women play Tom Brady super fans who watch every New England Patriots football game together and have silly superstitious rituals to ensure the team wins. Living life to the fullest, the group decides to take a wild trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero play. But a few hilarious bumps along the way, like accidentally eating marijuana gummies and participating in a Guy Fieri hot wings eating competition, threaten their chances of making it to the game.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback produced the film and has a cameo, as well as his former Patriots teammates Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. The film also stars Bob Balaban, Glynn Turman, Ron Funches, Jimmy O. Yang, Fieri and Harry Hamlin.

Fonda plays Trish, who she described as a woman who "writes erotic novels about football, likes to have boyfriends and has 21 wigs."

Working on the film with three other acting icons was a "good time," she said, and director Kyle Marvin could never break them up.

"We'd go and sit down waiting for the next scene, sharing stories, telling jokes, Rita and I singing songs," Fonda said. "It was hard to sort of say, 'OK, girls, come on, it's time to go work.'"

The two-time Academy Award winner is no stranger to calling some of the biggest and brightest in the industry her colleagues. She and Tomlin have worked on a number of projects together over the past four decades, from "9 to 5" (also starring Dolly Parton, who wrote a song for "80 For Brady") to the Netflix series "Grace and Frankie."

"It's great because you get to know somebody on a deeper level," she said. "I've admired Sally (for) 40, 50 years and ... being able to watch her create a character, watch her process of working, it was a real privilege for me."

Tomlin's character, Lou, is the one who spearheads the dream of attending the Super Bowl, although in real life the actress isn't much of a fan of the sport. After seeing reports of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsing from a cardiac arrest on the field, along with countless other injuries players sustain, she said "it's too much."

However, she did have glowing things to say about Brady.

"I like Tom Brady. I love him as an actor," she said. "He was really great and very cute."

Fonda and Tomlin have another film playing at the film festival, "Moving On," at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, at Palm Springs High School. Director Paul Weitz will hold a question and answer session afterward.

"At the height of my career I didn't have two films at a festival, so it feels pretty exciting," Fonda said.

For screenwriters Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern, the 2017 Super Bowl was one made to be showcased in a film. The Patriots, squaring off against the Atlanta Falcons, overcame a 28–3 deficit to become champions that year. In "80 For Brady," Lou gets to take some credit for the win.

"It was such a historic comeback, so surprising and showcased all the best things about Tom Brady, and we were like, 'What if four women are a little bit of a part of that, or maybe a big part of it,'" Haskins said.

Working with the four film legends was also quite the learning experience for director Marvin. He said he was able to understand the ways that each of them are different in how they want to perform and have the set operate, and he had a chance to see actors who were so comfortable in their craft and knew exactly what works for them.

"It was an incredible experience. To work with one of these actresses would make your career, and to work with four of them is unbelievable, so for me it was a real magical experience," he added.

"80 For Brady" will be in theaters Feb. 3.

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: '80 For Brady' stars Fonda, Tomlin celebrate premiere in Palm Springs