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CNN Live At Daybreak

Spielberg's Star and Weekend Box Office Movies

Aired January 10, 2003 - 06:40   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.


JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Director Steven Spielberg gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant says Mr. Spielberg could have been honored 20 years ago if he had had time to attend the ceremony. But we all know that Steven Spielberg has just been waiting for a better location because his star will be located outside the new home of the Academy Awards. It's all about location, location, location.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Location, location. Yes, we should have remembered that.

Want to talk more about Spielberg's honorary star and then maybe some weekend movies, too.

VAUSE: Thelma Adams of "US" magazine joins us now from New York for that -- good morning.

THELMA ADAMS, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

COSTELLO: So was it really location, location, location?

ADAMS: It must have been, because I was thinking why did it take so long? Obviously he was finicky about, you know, he didn't want to be in front of the McDonald's.

COSTELLO: I know, but like Lassie has a star.

ADAMS: Yes, it's true, Lassie does. If you walk -- if you walk on Hollywood Boulevard, you'd be amazed at some of the people who have stars.

But here he is, he's the man who ushered in the blockbuster. He did two great movies this year. "Catch Me If You Can" is on many top 10 lists. I just watched "Raiders of the Ark" the other night, you know, and I can't believe how many great movies this man has made; and now he has his star.

COSTELLO: Yes.

VAUSE: The amazing thing about Spielberg though is that he goes from like something like "Schindler's List," which is such a powerful movie and says so much about a period of history,...

ADAMS: The Holocaust.

VAUSE: ... and then he can go to something like "ET" or "Raider of the Lost Ark," like you just mentioned. What does that say about him as a director?

ADAMS: Well, first of all, that he did usher in the era of the blockbuster, that he has an incredible range of movies, that he can go from things like "ET" that are magical and you know in many ways for children, but also that he crosses -- he understands the child in all of us and that all his movies, really even to -- up to "Catch Me If You Can," are about trying to find the lost father. And so there's a thematic tie whether he's doing comedy, whether he's doing drama, whether it's historical, whether it's fantasy, that really is the through line.

COSTELLO: OK, let's move on to weekend movies because there ain't much out there this weekend.

VAUSE: Yes, slim pickings.

ADAMS: "Just Married."

VAUSE: "Just Married." Oh, you're kidding?

ADAMS: The Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy that's so poorly reviewed. The big question is, they're a couple off screen and can their love survive these bad reviews?

COSTELLO: That will be the real drama.

VAUSE: Oh man!

ADAMS: That's the real drama.

COSTELLO: What's another movie that's new this weekend?

ADAMS: Well the truth of the matter is it's not -- this weekend isn't about the new movies, it's about the movies that are out there that maybe while you were Christmas shopping and celebrating and drinking eggnog you didn't see. So I would recommend you go out and see perhaps the "25th Hour," which is the best Spike Lee movie in forever with a terrific performance from Edward Norton. Rosario Dawson is the best she's ever been. You might remember her from "Josie and the Pussycats."

COSTELLO: Oh yes!

ADAMS: This is really a terrific movie about New York right now this minute post 9/11.

VAUSE: And it's a great cast too, isn't it?

ADAMS: Oh, a great cast. Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it really shows all the merits of Spike Lee. For a long time he's been doing movies and you're kind of underwhelmed. And you're like, Spike, we know you can do better, and he proved that he can.

COSTELLO: Oh, good for him!

Let's talk about the movie "The Hours," because I read the book and I was totally enthralled. I'm afraid to go see the movie because it might ruin the book for me.

ADAMS: No, I mean the book stands alone as a terrific, terrific modern novel, one of the best in the past decade. The difference between the book and the movie is really these three actresses who bring this book to life. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, I mean acting their little legs off. They are so good. They are so strong. And this is such a terrific moment between Julianne Moore and this child. The real question here I think for many, many critics is how do you pick? It's such a Sophie's Choice. Which actress do you select to give an Oscar nomination?

COSTELLO: Oh, the one with the prosthetic nose.

ADAMS: The one with prosthetic nose.

VAUSE: The prosthetic nose always gets it.

COSTELLO: Whatever. Exactly.

ADAMS: And I would recommend if you have time, go out and rent "Mrs. Dalloway," the Virginia Woolf novel that's laced into this. There was a great adaptation a few years back with Vanessa Redgrave. And I think if -- you know if you can't get out to the movies, you got the kids, it's snowing, try that.

VAUSE: I thought Thelma was going to say go out and rent "Mrs. Doubtfire."

COSTELLO: Me too. I was going to say, Thelma, please.

VAUSE: I know.

COSTELLO: Thelma, thanks so much. Very entertaining...

ADAMS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: ... and good advice.

VAUSE: There you go.

ADAMS: Thank you. Good watching.

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 January 10, 2003 - 06:40   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Director Steven Spielberg gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant says Mr. Spielberg could have been honored 20 years ago if he had had time to attend the ceremony. But we all know that Steven Spielberg has just been waiting for a better location because his star will be located outside the new home of the Academy Awards. It's all about location, location, location.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Location, location. Yes, we should have remembered that.

Want to talk more about Spielberg's honorary star and then maybe some weekend movies, too.

VAUSE: Thelma Adams of "US" magazine joins us now from New York for that -- good morning.

THELMA ADAMS, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

COSTELLO: So was it really location, location, location?

ADAMS: It must have been, because I was thinking why did it take so long? Obviously he was finicky about, you know, he didn't want to be in front of the McDonald's.

COSTELLO: I know, but like Lassie has a star.

ADAMS: Yes, it's true, Lassie does. If you walk -- if you walk on Hollywood Boulevard, you'd be amazed at some of the people who have stars.

But here he is, he's the man who ushered in the blockbuster. He did two great movies this year. "Catch Me If You Can" is on many top 10 lists. I just watched "Raiders of the Ark" the other night, you know, and I can't believe how many great movies this man has made; and now he has his star.

COSTELLO: Yes.

VAUSE: The amazing thing about Spielberg though is that he goes from like something like "Schindler's List," which is such a powerful movie and says so much about a period of history,...

ADAMS: The Holocaust.

VAUSE: ... and then he can go to something like "ET" or "Raider of the Lost Ark," like you just mentioned. What does that say about him as a director?

ADAMS: Well, first of all, that he did usher in the era of the blockbuster, that he has an incredible range of movies, that he can go from things like "ET" that are magical and you know in many ways for children, but also that he crosses -- he understands the child in all of us and that all his movies, really even to -- up to "Catch Me If You Can," are about trying to find the lost father. And so there's a thematic tie whether he's doing comedy, whether he's doing drama, whether it's historical, whether it's fantasy, that really is the through line.

COSTELLO: OK, let's move on to weekend movies because there ain't much out there this weekend.

VAUSE: Yes, slim pickings.

ADAMS: "Just Married."

VAUSE: "Just Married." Oh, you're kidding?

ADAMS: The Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy that's so poorly reviewed. The big question is, they're a couple off screen and can their love survive these bad reviews?

COSTELLO: That will be the real drama.

VAUSE: Oh man!

ADAMS: That's the real drama.

COSTELLO: What's another movie that's new this weekend?

ADAMS: Well the truth of the matter is it's not -- this weekend isn't about the new movies, it's about the movies that are out there that maybe while you were Christmas shopping and celebrating and drinking eggnog you didn't see. So I would recommend you go out and see perhaps the "25th Hour," which is the best Spike Lee movie in forever with a terrific performance from Edward Norton. Rosario Dawson is the best she's ever been. You might remember her from "Josie and the Pussycats."

COSTELLO: Oh yes!

ADAMS: This is really a terrific movie about New York right now this minute post 9/11.

VAUSE: And it's a great cast too, isn't it?

ADAMS: Oh, a great cast. Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it really shows all the merits of Spike Lee. For a long time he's been doing movies and you're kind of underwhelmed. And you're like, Spike, we know you can do better, and he proved that he can.

COSTELLO: Oh, good for him!

Let's talk about the movie "The Hours," because I read the book and I was totally enthralled. I'm afraid to go see the movie because it might ruin the book for me.

ADAMS: No, I mean the book stands alone as a terrific, terrific modern novel, one of the best in the past decade. The difference between the book and the movie is really these three actresses who bring this book to life. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, I mean acting their little legs off. They are so good. They are so strong. And this is such a terrific moment between Julianne Moore and this child. The real question here I think for many, many critics is how do you pick? It's such a Sophie's Choice. Which actress do you select to give an Oscar nomination?

COSTELLO: Oh, the one with the prosthetic nose.

ADAMS: The one with prosthetic nose.

VAUSE: The prosthetic nose always gets it.

COSTELLO: Whatever. Exactly.

ADAMS: And I would recommend if you have time, go out and rent "Mrs. Dalloway," the Virginia Woolf novel that's laced into this. There was a great adaptation a few years back with Vanessa Redgrave. And I think if -- you know if you can't get out to the movies, you got the kids, it's snowing, try that.

VAUSE: I thought Thelma was going to say go out and rent "Mrs. Doubtfire."

COSTELLO: Me too. I was going to say, Thelma, please.

VAUSE: I know.

COSTELLO: Thelma, thanks so much. Very entertaining...

ADAMS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: ... and good advice.

VAUSE: There you go.

ADAMS: Thank you. Good watching.

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