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American Morning

Paramount Celebrates 90th Anniversary

Aired July 15, 2002 - 09:17   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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: Even at the ripe old age of 90, they still know how to party. Paramount Pictures is celebrating its 90th birthday with an anniversary party for the ages. Ninety stars came out last night to mark the studio's 90 years in showbiz.

And our Sam Rubin, a star in LA out there in his own right, was also there, and the entertainment maven joins us now from Los Angeles with all the celebrity scoop -- good morning, Sam, nice to see you.

SAM RUBIN, KTLA ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Hey, Arthel. Good morning to you, and good morning to Paula as well. And I tell you what, you know this -- you both do, that usually these events are a chore, but this was not the case. Paramount celebrating 90 years, and for "Vanity Fair" magazine, Paramount gathered from literally all over the world, flown in very often by private jet, 90 of the biggest stars they could find. Champagne on hand, a special 90th anniversary bottle.

And from the -- quote-unquote -- "oldtimers" like Mickey Rooney and Charlton Heston and Gloria Stewart to some of Hollywood's newest and brightest names, apparently the photograph for Annie Leibovitz only took about 20 minutes. Jim Carrey and Al Pacino the two most accused of clowning around there. Leslie Nielsen there bringing his own portable whoopie cushion, as he often does, amusing quite a few of the stars.

Just something where everyone was truly pleased to be there. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas. I mean, it was one star after another. Some of the syndicated stars from Paramount TV, Judge Joe Brown, Mary Hart, Judge Judy, Whoopi Goldberg. It is one of those things where the names go on and on and on. It was hard to think of who was not there. Mike Myers, Benicio Del Toro.

And every single one of them -- you know, this is something that happens when you encounter the celebrities, they're fans themselves. Katie Holmes from "Dawson's Creek," and of course, a young film actress, and Al Pacino both brought their own cameras to get pictures, you know, next to various stars. But one of the rare things -- we have been to so many premiers where it is like, Oh, this again. This was something the stars really wanted to do because it truly is, you know, Hollywood hyperbole aside, a historic photo. You will see it in the October "Vanity Fair."

NEVILLE: Well, it seems like you got excited about this one too, Sam.

RUBIN: Well, it was one of those things where -- and it is a very typical situation with the press. You wait and you wait and you wait, and then in the course of a half hour's time, going from the photograph to a private party, just this true parade of stars.

And every moment it is like, Oh, you're Sharon Stone. Sharon, lovely to talk to you. Well, wait, there's Michael Douglas. You know, one after another. Reminded me of the Oscar red carpet.

NEVILLE: Exactly. Hey, listen, we have got to talk box office. I mean, where you surprised at all, "Road to Perdition," the performance there?

RUBIN: Well, you know, the performances on screen, Arthel, are so very, very good, and audiences responded to the positive reviews and what's more, the movie did extraordinarily well, playing in less than half the theaters of "Men in Black," and doubling the box office in the individual theaters, indicating that "Road to Perdition" mostly a sellout. "Men in Black" made more money, but it was more widely distributed. "Road to Perdition," a very respectable 2nd place, 22 million and change, and I think now word of mouth will spread about this film. It is obviously going to do well during the summer, and, of course, during award season as well.

NEVILLE: All right. Sam, nice to see you.

RUBIN: Likewise, Arthel. Talk to you later.

NEVILLE: All right.

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