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CNN Live Today

Interview With Tom Clancy

Aired August 09, 2002 - 11:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: His list of bestsellers include "The Hunt for Red October," "Clear and Present Danger," "Patriot Games," and "The Sum of All Fears." And now Tom Clancy is out with his latest book, "Red Rabbit." This one takes place at the height of the Cold War and tell the story of young Jack Ryan trying to thwart a plot to assassinate the pope.
Tom Clancy is here with us in Atlanta, and he's going to talk about the book and more .

Good to see you. How are you?

TOM CLANCY, WRITER: Nice to be here.

This is really technology central here, isn't it?

HARRIS: You know, a lot of folks have the same impression when come in here and look around for the first time with your eyes.

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: ... all these switches and buttons.

HARRIS: Let's talk about the book. I got a chance to have it for a couple of days. I have got to say, I read the synopsis as well. Great story. But where did this idea about assassinating the pope come from?

CLANCY: It really happened, in '81, remember? It is a fictionalization of a real event. Everything in this book pretty much happened.

HARRIS: That is pretty much true.

And this is a prequel, pretty much, to "The Hunt for Red October," is that it?

CLANCY: I get tired of replaying that.

HARRIS: Well, it's Jack Ryan before...

CLANCY: It's Jack's early career, yes. After "Patriot Games," before "Red October, he's moving over to England, he's working on a joint CIS and MI6 liaison team and then he gets wrapped into this operation.

HARRIS: I should ask you how much more would you want to tell the audience about the book before they actually go out and buy it?

CLANCY: Aside from buy it...

HARRIS: Now way to tell how it's doing so far. It's only been out for about four days now, right?

CLANCY: I have no idea. I mean, it's not my job. I'm production, not sales.

HARRIS: Will this make a good movie?

CLANCY: Ask Paramount. They are the ones that got to buy it.

HARRIS: Would you pitch it?

CLANCY: I don't do that. I have an agent to do that for me.

HARRIS: All right.

Let me ask you about a couple other things. You've been, from what I understand, the president of the U.S. character in this book is Ronald Reagan. But you don't mention him by name. Why not?

CLANCY: It's just a convention of literature or fiction you just keep things a little bit vague. So you are not strictly tied down to real events or real personalities. You can kind of blur the picture a little bit.

HARRIS: You did mention Yuri Andropov, who plays a key role in the plot.

CLANCY: But he's dropped off along the way.

HARRIS: Let me ask you about the current climate, today. This book is set back in 1983. But in today's climate. I would think what is going on right now with this war against terrorism, does that give you some good story ideas?

CLANCY: Yes, I have written three terrorism books already. That may be enough. But I really haven't thought about it. I started working on this I guess about a year ago really. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And in between, a lot of bad things happened. I was supposed to -- the week of September 11 -- or September 10, I guess it was -- I started off on the in New York on the 10th, went home. I was supposed to fly over to Europe the end of that week. But I ended up not doing it -- flying over -- until February.

HARRIS: What do you make of what is happening right now in Washington with this formulation of the Homeland Security Department?

CLANCY: I don't know that I'm entirely comfortable with it.

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: You don't make the a government more efficient by adding a bureaucracy; you make it more efficient by deleting beauracracies. I don't know that the president's really made his case for that, and when he does, I will pay attention.

HARRIS: How much more do you want to hear from the administration on that?

CLANCY: What the mission is, what the objective is, and what he expects the new agency to do.

HARRIS: What do you make of the talk about how much control this agency would have over the FBI and CIA?

CLANCY: The FBI is part of the Department of Justice. It says that on the seal. And it's worked farily well. The Bureau is one of the parts of government that actually does work fairly well. And I don't think it needs to be fiddled with too much.

HARRIS: Getting back to the book yet. We talked a moment ago about "The Hunt for Red October." That was your first book and made a great movie. I think I have got two copies at home, one VHS and one DVD. And I asked you about this one. But we are looking now at some scenes from that movie, as a matter of fact.

These Cold War themes: How much longer do you think people will be interested in that?

CLANCY: The first one of those I've written since 1986 -- so give me a break.

HARRIS: Well, this may be your first one, but there are others that are out there.

CLANCY: Well, it's a real event, it really happened. There really was a country called the Soviet Union that didn't like us very much; that is fair game for writing a book. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to write novels about World War II also, and we've made peace with the Germans and the Japanese.

HARRIS: Yes, that's true. So you could see this going on for some time then?

CLANCY: As a literary genre, sure, why not?

HARRIS: One more question I have to ask you about the war. Do you think Osama bin Laden is alive?

CLANCY: I think he has probably been dead for quite a while. The guy had heart and kidney problems before all this hoorah started. I'm part-owner of the Orioles, and we had a bunch of -- 70 or so -- troopers back from Afghanistan for that opening game when we beat the Yankees -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- and I wouldn't want those kids chasing me anywhere. They are very formidable. So I just don't see him successfully dragging a dialysis machine up the hills of Afghanistan.

HARRIS: That would be a sight. That would be a sight.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Can I ask a small question on behalf of moviegoers. I saw, this summer, with Ben Affleck playing Jack Ryan. So now it's kind of turned into this almost like a Bond kind of debate, Ben Affleck versus Harrison Ford. Yes, who do you like?

CLANCY: I think Ben's doing just fine. He was down at the house awhile back. He would not consent to taking the part without getting my blessing, which I thought was a remarkably generous thing for him to do.

KAGAN: So he has that?

CLANCY: Yes, definitely. We hit if off great. He is a fabulous young guy. He has got more talent than he needs, a huge future ahead of him.

KAGAN: And a writer as well. You have you that in common.

CLANCY: And he listens, always a sign of intelligence, a person who listens.

KAGAN: So just based on that, so if this book is even earlier, do you need someone's even younger than Ben Affleck to play Jack Ryan in...

CLANCY: He hasn't even turned 30 yet. See, that young, that could -- talented at 30...

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: You hate him.

CLANCY: It makes you want to kill yourself.

HARRIS: When you watch your work like that played out on the big screen, does that affect you any at all?

CLANCY: Sometimes it is good. Sometimes it's not so good. I thought that Ben could not have done much better with the material that he had. He has got a lot of talent, and he's got a huge future in front of him. We will be working together in the future. I'm delighted.

HARRIS: What is your project now? What are you working on right now?

CLANCY: My golf swing, which really needs the help. Believe me, Tiger Woods I ain't.

KAGAN: Talk to Leon.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE)

CLANCY: ... I would trade identities with in a heartbeat. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a golf ball 350 yards.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE)

HARRIS: ... the British Open.

CLANCY: Hey, nobody's perfect all the time.

KAGAN: Only two strokes back (UNINTELLIGIBLE) as of today, though.

HARRIS: That's right, that's right.

KAGAN: Yes, doing OK.

HARRIS: Bounced back pretty well.

You don't have to worry about bouncing back. You are already at the head of the pack. Tom Clancy, thank you much for the time.

CLANCY: My pleasure. Good to be here.

KAGAN: Thanks for stopping by.

HARRIS: Pleasure to have you here today.

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