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CNN Live Today

Interview with Harvey Levin

Aired December 06, 2002 - 10:40   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the final scenes of Winona Ryder's courtroom drama unfold next hour. The actress is going to be sentenced on felony grand theft and vandalism charges stemming from a shoplifting arrest. Prosecutors say they don't want any jail time for Ryder. Instead, they are going to recommend community service, as well as drug and psychiatric counseling and some fines as well.
For more on all of this, we're joined now by Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice." And this time, Harvey, we have plenty of time, OK, so we are not going to rush you out of here.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": OK, Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Let's talk about this. What do you expect to happen in this Winona Ryder case this morning, or this afternoon?

LEVIN: I think she's going to get probation. She's a first offender, but what's really interesting about this case is what the D.A. said in the probation recommendations. They say she has a serious drug problem. They found eight prescription drugs in her purse when she was arrested and they say that they want drug counseling as part of probation. That's what they'll ask the judge. They say she used at least two aliases to get some rather hard prescription drugs. Also, they are asking for psychiatric counseling, and Leon, we've talked about this before. I mean, this is a rich, famous woman who apparently doesn't really need to steal what she is convicted of stealing.

HARRIS: You know what strikes me, too, Harvey, would a guy like me or like you get the same kind of deal if we -- especially -- aside from the shoplifting, it's obvious that you actually are getting illegal prescriptions? That's pretty heavy duty stuff, isn't it?

LEVIN: Well, you have got to wonder about the doctors as much as you do the patient, if somebody is getting drugs under an alias like this. So, I mean, I think there are some other questions that need to be asked. But beyond that, I think she is getting, in some ways -- she's certainly not getting soft treatment. A first offender would never get jail. She had four felonies filed against her, Leon, and there is nobody in a similar situation in the last year and a half in L.A. who had that many charges filed against her for this kind of an offense.

HARRIS: Yes, OK. Gotcha. All right, let's move on and talk some more about the Whitney Houston story. We talked yesterday a bit about the interview that she did the other night with Diane Sawyer, and you got a chance to sit down and talk with her father, John is his name, correct?

LEVIN: Right. We talked to him for an hour.

HARRIS: As a matter of fact, I think we have a clip of tape from the show that you ran from your interview. Let's listen in to a piece of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HOUSTON, WHITNEY HOUSTON'S FATHER: I never thought about suing my daughter. I never thought about it that way. I thought about suing the corporation that belongs to Whitney, and she happened to be right in the middle of it. You get your act together, honey, and you pay me the money that you owe me. If you do that, you haven't got a lawsuit. I need a guarantee, myself, against poverty. And at my age, I haven't got that long. Now, if you think I got that long, you think about it. You step into my shoes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Now, he's suing her for $10 million, right? And this is to stave off poverty. What do you make of all of this, after you had a chance to sit down and talk with him?

LEVIN: Well, he says he does not harbor ill will toward her, although you have to wonder when anybody sues flesh and blood, if there isn't a little ill will. He seems particularly upset, as he puts it, that he has to go to her and she kind of doles out money, or has doled out money. He says, Look, I helped her through her career. I was entitled to a certain percentage of what she made. And he says, what's mine is mine. He says he's viewing this as business. Business is business, family is family. In my world, the two mix when you sue flesh and blood, but that's what he says.

HARRIS: What exactly did he do for this money?

LEVIN: Well, he says that he managed her career, he helped her out of some of the problems, for example, when she was arrested in Kona, Hawaii for allegedly having marijuana on her possession. He helped her through that.

I mean, he was kind of a publicity firm, Svengali-like (ph) person, along with a business partner. He blames Bobby Brown for controlling her and, I guess, kind of putting that void between father, daughter. But again, he says this is a business proposition for him. He needs money to live on.

HARRIS: Now, it looked to me like he was obviously not well. Is he in the hospital or something or what?

LEVIN: Yes, he has been in the hospital for about ten days. He's not a well guy. He could barely get -- move out of the bed. And he says, Look, this is kind of the sunset of my life. I want to be taken care of.

HARRIS: So where does this go? Is this going to be the next big, shocking tabloid trial we'll see unfold on pages of newspapers across the country or what?

LEVIN: It really would be unbelievable to see Whitney Houston in court being sued by her father. I mean, Leon, it's so sad. I watched the interview with Diane Sawyer, and I got to tell you, I have never sat for an hour watching a celebrity who has had this kind of trouble, and really walked away just thinking this is really sad.

In some ways, I think this was really a big break for Whitney Houston in the sense that I think a lot of people feel sympathy for her that they may not have felt before. It was just a really sad situation.

HARRIS: Yes, but some of the things that she confessed doing and taking, if you will, during that interview, couldn't that hurt her if she has to go to trial?

LEVIN: Well, and listen, Bobby Brown got in there and said, Look, I smoke dope because lithium makes me crazy, and I'm bipolar. So, I mean, this was like -- this was like "The Osbournes" times five. I mean, I watched this, and I just thought, this is unbelievable, and they were so open. I have just never seen anything like it.

HARRIS: Yes. For me, it was almost a bit uncomfortable to watch, but that's just me.

LEVIN: But you didn't turn your eyes away, did you?

HARRIS: You know, it's a car wreck. You can't turn away. Hey Harvey, thanks for coming back and talking with us this morning. Appreciate it. Harvey Levin, "Celebrity Justice." Take care, and have a good weekend, all right?

LEVIN: Thanks. You too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 6, 2002 - 10:40   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the final scenes of Winona Ryder's courtroom drama unfold next hour. The actress is going to be sentenced on felony grand theft and vandalism charges stemming from a shoplifting arrest. Prosecutors say they don't want any jail time for Ryder. Instead, they are going to recommend community service, as well as drug and psychiatric counseling and some fines as well.
For more on all of this, we're joined now by Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice." And this time, Harvey, we have plenty of time, OK, so we are not going to rush you out of here.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": OK, Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Let's talk about this. What do you expect to happen in this Winona Ryder case this morning, or this afternoon?

LEVIN: I think she's going to get probation. She's a first offender, but what's really interesting about this case is what the D.A. said in the probation recommendations. They say she has a serious drug problem. They found eight prescription drugs in her purse when she was arrested and they say that they want drug counseling as part of probation. That's what they'll ask the judge. They say she used at least two aliases to get some rather hard prescription drugs. Also, they are asking for psychiatric counseling, and Leon, we've talked about this before. I mean, this is a rich, famous woman who apparently doesn't really need to steal what she is convicted of stealing.

HARRIS: You know what strikes me, too, Harvey, would a guy like me or like you get the same kind of deal if we -- especially -- aside from the shoplifting, it's obvious that you actually are getting illegal prescriptions? That's pretty heavy duty stuff, isn't it?

LEVIN: Well, you have got to wonder about the doctors as much as you do the patient, if somebody is getting drugs under an alias like this. So, I mean, I think there are some other questions that need to be asked. But beyond that, I think she is getting, in some ways -- she's certainly not getting soft treatment. A first offender would never get jail. She had four felonies filed against her, Leon, and there is nobody in a similar situation in the last year and a half in L.A. who had that many charges filed against her for this kind of an offense.

HARRIS: Yes, OK. Gotcha. All right, let's move on and talk some more about the Whitney Houston story. We talked yesterday a bit about the interview that she did the other night with Diane Sawyer, and you got a chance to sit down and talk with her father, John is his name, correct?

LEVIN: Right. We talked to him for an hour.

HARRIS: As a matter of fact, I think we have a clip of tape from the show that you ran from your interview. Let's listen in to a piece of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HOUSTON, WHITNEY HOUSTON'S FATHER: I never thought about suing my daughter. I never thought about it that way. I thought about suing the corporation that belongs to Whitney, and she happened to be right in the middle of it. You get your act together, honey, and you pay me the money that you owe me. If you do that, you haven't got a lawsuit. I need a guarantee, myself, against poverty. And at my age, I haven't got that long. Now, if you think I got that long, you think about it. You step into my shoes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Now, he's suing her for $10 million, right? And this is to stave off poverty. What do you make of all of this, after you had a chance to sit down and talk with him?

LEVIN: Well, he says he does not harbor ill will toward her, although you have to wonder when anybody sues flesh and blood, if there isn't a little ill will. He seems particularly upset, as he puts it, that he has to go to her and she kind of doles out money, or has doled out money. He says, Look, I helped her through her career. I was entitled to a certain percentage of what she made. And he says, what's mine is mine. He says he's viewing this as business. Business is business, family is family. In my world, the two mix when you sue flesh and blood, but that's what he says.

HARRIS: What exactly did he do for this money?

LEVIN: Well, he says that he managed her career, he helped her out of some of the problems, for example, when she was arrested in Kona, Hawaii for allegedly having marijuana on her possession. He helped her through that.

I mean, he was kind of a publicity firm, Svengali-like (ph) person, along with a business partner. He blames Bobby Brown for controlling her and, I guess, kind of putting that void between father, daughter. But again, he says this is a business proposition for him. He needs money to live on.

HARRIS: Now, it looked to me like he was obviously not well. Is he in the hospital or something or what?

LEVIN: Yes, he has been in the hospital for about ten days. He's not a well guy. He could barely get -- move out of the bed. And he says, Look, this is kind of the sunset of my life. I want to be taken care of.

HARRIS: So where does this go? Is this going to be the next big, shocking tabloid trial we'll see unfold on pages of newspapers across the country or what?

LEVIN: It really would be unbelievable to see Whitney Houston in court being sued by her father. I mean, Leon, it's so sad. I watched the interview with Diane Sawyer, and I got to tell you, I have never sat for an hour watching a celebrity who has had this kind of trouble, and really walked away just thinking this is really sad.

In some ways, I think this was really a big break for Whitney Houston in the sense that I think a lot of people feel sympathy for her that they may not have felt before. It was just a really sad situation.

HARRIS: Yes, but some of the things that she confessed doing and taking, if you will, during that interview, couldn't that hurt her if she has to go to trial?

LEVIN: Well, and listen, Bobby Brown got in there and said, Look, I smoke dope because lithium makes me crazy, and I'm bipolar. So, I mean, this was like -- this was like "The Osbournes" times five. I mean, I watched this, and I just thought, this is unbelievable, and they were so open. I have just never seen anything like it.

HARRIS: Yes. For me, it was almost a bit uncomfortable to watch, but that's just me.

LEVIN: But you didn't turn your eyes away, did you?

HARRIS: You know, it's a car wreck. You can't turn away. Hey Harvey, thanks for coming back and talking with us this morning. Appreciate it. Harvey Levin, "Celebrity Justice." Take care, and have a good weekend, all right?

LEVIN: Thanks. You too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com