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CNN Live Today

Interview with Bill Maher

Aired March 05, 2003 - 10:45   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: He is back. Bill is back, "Real Time" with Bill Maher. It's a new show that goes beyond being politically incorrect. You can expect plenty of surprises. He not be holding back. Some of the ideas came while he was writing a new book, "When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden."
And he is joining us from Los Angeles to talk more about the new show.

Bill, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": How are you doing?

KAGAN: Good. I'm not entirely surprised to see you back, but not bitter over what happened with abc, how your show ended over there?

MAHER: Oh, no. I mean, you know, I landed on HBO, so, you know, it's not like I was exiled to Elba.

KAGAN: No, so you go from cable to the broadcast, and now back to cable. And if you think about it, I think actually HBO's a better place for you.

MAHER: It is.

KAGAN: You can kind of be Bill.

MAHER: Yes. I mean, I always could before. I mean, I think people have a romanticized version of HBO versus ABC, like at ABC I was constantly about to say something, oh, no, I can't, those censors are right over my shoulder. The truth is, I never thought twice about anything I said at ABC. Of course the bad part is I eventually did get fired.

KAGAN: You didn't think twice. But apparently the people who hired you did.

MAHER: Right, exactly.

KAGAN: Right.

MAHER: But I mean, it was a long time. I was on the air every night for six years.

KAGAN: That is true. MAHER: So you know, I certainly was not stifled in getting my thoughts out. And, of course, on top of that, we are primarily an entertainment show. I mean, we're not there to get me in hot water or to have me indoctrinating people. We're there to make people laugh and entertain them.

KAGAN: Let's talk about some of these the spots that you have. These times were made for you, I think. Even regular people, and I'm not including you in that category, Bill, even regular people wake up and just have tons of questions about the crazy world and what it's turned into today.

MAHER: Right. Well, that's true. I think part of what my job is, especially on this new show, would run once a week. It's kind a wrap-up of the week's shows, is to somehow help people to understand the situation in a way maybe they couldn't before.

For example, I have been comparing this situation in Iraq to Waco, and a lot of people tell me that has helped them to see what I'm talking about, because they all remember Waco. They all remember Waco was a situation where there was a nut with an arsenal, and because we went in and challenged him about it, the whole thing blew up in our face. I think that's what we're facing in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, to me, is David Koresh. He is a bad guy, and I don't like it he has an arsenal. But just like in Waco, what was the better situation? For the FBI to rush in there, get themselves decimated and get the nutcase to blow up the whole place? I don't think so.

KAGAN: There's still people that are taking that apart. We're going too look for you on HBO Sunday nights, also the new book, "When You ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden. ".

MAHER: Friday nights is when it airs, and it repeats on Sunday.

KAGAN: Friday.

MAHER: And it repeats on Sundays.

KAGAN: OK, we will be looking for that. We could talk to you all day, but as you know, our time is short.

MAHER: Thank you 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







Aired March 5, 2003 - 10:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: He is back. Bill is back, "Real Time" with Bill Maher. It's a new show that goes beyond being politically incorrect. You can expect plenty of surprises. He not be holding back. Some of the ideas came while he was writing a new book, "When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden."
And he is joining us from Los Angeles to talk more about the new show.

Bill, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": How are you doing?

KAGAN: Good. I'm not entirely surprised to see you back, but not bitter over what happened with abc, how your show ended over there?

MAHER: Oh, no. I mean, you know, I landed on HBO, so, you know, it's not like I was exiled to Elba.

KAGAN: No, so you go from cable to the broadcast, and now back to cable. And if you think about it, I think actually HBO's a better place for you.

MAHER: It is.

KAGAN: You can kind of be Bill.

MAHER: Yes. I mean, I always could before. I mean, I think people have a romanticized version of HBO versus ABC, like at ABC I was constantly about to say something, oh, no, I can't, those censors are right over my shoulder. The truth is, I never thought twice about anything I said at ABC. Of course the bad part is I eventually did get fired.

KAGAN: You didn't think twice. But apparently the people who hired you did.

MAHER: Right, exactly.

KAGAN: Right.

MAHER: But I mean, it was a long time. I was on the air every night for six years.

KAGAN: That is true. MAHER: So you know, I certainly was not stifled in getting my thoughts out. And, of course, on top of that, we are primarily an entertainment show. I mean, we're not there to get me in hot water or to have me indoctrinating people. We're there to make people laugh and entertain them.

KAGAN: Let's talk about some of these the spots that you have. These times were made for you, I think. Even regular people, and I'm not including you in that category, Bill, even regular people wake up and just have tons of questions about the crazy world and what it's turned into today.

MAHER: Right. Well, that's true. I think part of what my job is, especially on this new show, would run once a week. It's kind a wrap-up of the week's shows, is to somehow help people to understand the situation in a way maybe they couldn't before.

For example, I have been comparing this situation in Iraq to Waco, and a lot of people tell me that has helped them to see what I'm talking about, because they all remember Waco. They all remember Waco was a situation where there was a nut with an arsenal, and because we went in and challenged him about it, the whole thing blew up in our face. I think that's what we're facing in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, to me, is David Koresh. He is a bad guy, and I don't like it he has an arsenal. But just like in Waco, what was the better situation? For the FBI to rush in there, get themselves decimated and get the nutcase to blow up the whole place? I don't think so.

KAGAN: There's still people that are taking that apart. We're going too look for you on HBO Sunday nights, also the new book, "When You ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden. ".

MAHER: Friday nights is when it airs, and it repeats on Sunday.

KAGAN: Friday.

MAHER: And it repeats on Sundays.

KAGAN: OK, we will be looking for that. We could talk to you all day, but as you know, our time is short.

MAHER: Thank you 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