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American Morning
'It Girls' To Look at Interesting Women
Aired April 02, 2002 - 09:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So, why do some girls have it and others don't? Well, that apparently is the question at the heart of a new TV documentary premiering this weekend on the WE, the Women's Entertainment Network, WE. The cameras follow four New York socialites, as they shop, go to clubs, premieres, and fashion shows, to see just what it takes to be an It Girl.
Director Robin Leacock joins us now, along with two of the It Girls profiled in the film, Casey Johnson and Elizabeth Kieselstein- Cord. Thanks very much for being with us.
ROBIN LEACOCK, DIRECTOR, "IT GIRLS": Hi.
COOPER: Robin, what is an It Girl?
LEACOCK: An It Girl is -- well, actually, I wouldn't really call it now -- I made the film before September the 11th, and now I think I would call the film "Interesting Girls," there seems to be a connotation about "It Girls," but an It Girl is somebody who is really interesting, who has a certain pizzaz, a love of life, a charisma, a kindness, a generosity, and these things emanate from them. And when they walk into a room, everybody is drawn to them because of those things.
COOPER: But what do they do? I mean, what does an It Girl do?
LEACOCK: An It Girl...
ELIZABETH KIESELSTEIN-CORD, IT GIRL: Depends on the It Girl.
COOPER: All right, well, what do you do?
KIESELSTEIN-CORD: We're not just one It Girl.
COOPER: Did you want to be -- I mean, did you set out to be an It Girl?
KIESELSTEIN-CORD: OK, no. That would be very sad. No that would not be "It." Basically others have deemed us It Girls for whatever reason. In my belief, everyone is an It Girl to somebody, and to be somebody you just need to be self-possessed, and you need to be earnest, and you need to be enthusiastic about what you do, and what you say, and even something silly like what you wear.
COOPER: But this is a very rarefied world. I mean, there is someone sitting in trailer park in Iowa...
LEACOCK: Oh, there's plenty of It Girls in trailer parks in Iowa.
COOPER: ...wouldn't necessarily be an It Girl. But the It Girls that you are profiling in your film are this very elite group in New York. They have money, they have privilege, they go to parties. They are seen at parties. They...
LEACOCK: The film was made on a very small budget. I didn't have the budget to fly all over the world and film It Girls everywhere. I think there are It Girls in Afghanistan, I think there is It Girls in Wyoming, I think there is It Girls all over the world, and there always has been It Girls, there always will be It Girls. Cleopatra was an It Girl. It is something that comes from inside of you, and it is a real love of life. We think Paula Zahn is an It Girl.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, thank you very much.
LEACOCK: The queen mother was an It Girl. It is something from inside of you. It doesn't matter what designer clothes you are wearing, what makeup you have, what background you're from.
COOPER: But come on, it is a stretch to say that there are It Girls in Afghanistan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well...
COOPER: First of all, I mean, to compare -- I don't know, it seems to me there is a war going on, and this is a group of girls who are going to parties and having a good time, and so to make it something more serious is...
(CROSSTALK)
LEACOCK: It's not about parties, it is about charisma.
KIESELSTEIN-CORD: The reason why she made the documentary is because It Girls is almost a misnomer. It's pigeonholing a group of people that, you know, can be any group of people that other people find interesting for some reason. Now, she filmed this during fashion week in New York, and fashion week and most people involved in fashion actually come from all different socioeconomic levels from all over the world, so...
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: You actually believe that?
KIESELSTEIN-CORD: Well, I know that Iman -- I know that Iman is from, I believe, Ethiopia.
COOPER: Iman? Oh, come on. I mean...
KIESELSTEIN-CORD: I don't know. I -- my parents are in fashion, and I have met people that have come from trailers, OK? They're in fashion. I have met people that have come from palaces, like Carla Bruni that are in fashion. I think that...
COOPER: Casey, why should we care about It Girls? I mean, why should we pay attention?
KIESELSTEIN-CORD: Say something offensive, please. By all means make us seem cheap, tawdry, and offensive.
CASEY JOHNSON, IT GIRL: I think my -- the person that I sort of think of as my icon is Marilyn Monroe, when she walked in the room -- I wasn't alive when she was, of course, but when she walked in the room, everyone turned their heads, and you know, she lit up the room, and I think that didn't come from the dress she was wearing.
COOPER: Sort of captured some intangible.
JOHNSON: It was something from inside that she lit up the room, and I've been in a room with other people like that, and it comes from the inside, really.
LEACOCK: But what we're trying to say...
JOHNSON: And they light up the room, and you know...
COOPER: And that is what you are trying to capture, you are trying to capture that charisma in this film.
LEACOCK: Yes, and I am trying to say that it doesn't have to be intangible. That the secret ingredient of that charisma is not what you are wearing, it is nothing money can buy, it is something that comes from inside of you. And it's...
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: It can be some wonderfully sweet mother in Wyoming. That has something going for her...
COOPER: We have got to...
JOHNSON: ...that when she walks into this bar, everybody looks because she...
(CROSSTALK)
LEACOCK: You're an It Boy, you know.
COOPER: We have got to end it there. I'm not an It Boy. We have got to end it there. Robin Leacock --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you love your life, and you love others, and that's it.
COOPER: All right. Well, thanks a lot. We will look at the film. Robin Leacock, Casey Johnson, Elizabeth Kieselstein-Cord, thanks very much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
