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American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired July 31, 2003 - 07:51   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: "90-Second Pop" is our lightening-fast look at the world of pop culture. Here are people who help make it happen. B.J. Sigesmund, entertainment reporter for "Newsweek." Welcome back.
B.J. SIGESMUND, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, "NEWSWEEK": Thank you.

HEMMER: Thelma Adams, "US Weekly" film critic. Nice to see you, Thelma.

THELMA ADAMS, FILM CRITIC, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

HEMMER: And Tom O'Neil in the flesh, senior editor of "In Touch Weekly." How are we doing?

TOM O'NEIL, SENIOR EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Real great.

SIGESMUND: Great.

HEMMER: Yes? Thanks to our friends at FOX, we have a new level of what some would consider disgusting -- "101 Things Removed From the Human Body."

SIGESMUND: Right.

HEMMER: It starts tonight.

SIGESMUND: Yes, it's on tonight. It's a one-time special, and it's made up entirely of footage of traffic accidents and x-rays of objects inside people where they really shouldn't be.

HEMMER: Such as?

SIGESMUND: Such as a crowbar through someone's head.

ADAMS: The Richard Gere gerbil.

SIGESMUND: Yes, but the -- no, no, no.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: That's next week, yes.

HEMMER: Thelma, it's cable, but, you know, we can't go that far.

SIGESMUND: But the thing that's interesting about the show is that every single one of these people survived. So, they're spinning it as heart-warming, you know...

HEMMER: Hang on a second there, B.J. A 300 pound tumor? Where did they...

SIGESMUND: Somehow this person survived, and their doctors are on the show to talk about how they saved these people.

HEMMER: A set of handlebars? Bicycle, motorcycle, what?

SIGESMUND: You've got to tune in, Bill.

ADAMS: Which way did they go? I've got to know.

O'NEIL: Some of these...

ADAMS: I'm curious about this.

O'NEIL: What needs to be said is some of these are self- inflicted, so we're going into "Jackass" territory here. And I think that it's so cringe-inducing, the whole thing, that viewers may be tempted to take a videotape of this and implant it in an orifice of its producers.

ADAMS: Oh, my gosh!

HEMMER: Listen, we...

ADAMS: But the thing is, who is going to -- I mean, like, are you going to turn it on?

HEMMER: Well, see, that's what -- I think people will.

ADAMS: I think it's something that you channel surf through. Like, you miss the beginning, and you're channel surfing and you see something, like a handlebar, and you're, like, you can't turn away.

SIGESMUND: Right.

HEMMER: But don't you think, though, even if we consider it slightly off, some people, perhaps a lot of people...

SIGESMUND: Absolutely.

HEMMER: It's voyeurism, right?

SIGESMUND: It's going to be great.

ADAMS: Is it great?

SIGESMUND: And there are literally 101 examples in one hour. So, it's an amazing...

HEMMER: It's moving fast.

SIGESMUND: It's an amazing story.

ADAMS: It's faster than "90-Second Pop."

HEMMER: And, as B.J. noted, the people profiled all survived, so we've got that to look forward to.

"Gigli" comes out this weekend, just so our viewers know. You've seen it.

ADAMS: I've seen it.

HEMMER: This is Ben and Jen.

ADAMS: It's the Ben and Jen.

HEMMER: And?

ADAMS: And let me just say, it is, in fact, the worst movie of the summer. There is no question, there is no hiding, there is no reversal.

HEMMER: What makes it that way? Why so mediocre?

ADAMS: You know, it's...

HEMMER: And why have the reviews been so bad?

ADAMS: You know, why is Jessica Rabbit so bad? She was drawn that way. This movie, it was written that way. It's just there's a lot of it that's sexually explicit in a really -- it's almost like the "101," you know. It's just cringe-inducing. Let's just say this: We're going to put the good spin on it. J. Lo is fine in this. It's not her problem. Ben Affleck playing the title character, Gigli, and it's unpronounceable. Who knows if his name rhymes with really, like, really awful? And...

SIGESMUND: Thank you for clearing that up. What I don't understand, though, is how these two A-list actors -- I mean, Jennifer Lopez could be in any movie she wants to be in right now. How did they end up in this movie? It's not like it's just badly directed. It is a bad script, and she has shown very good taste or smart choices for herself.

O'NEIL: B.J., we have two Oscar winners in this movie, too, doing cameos. We have Al Pacino and Christopher Walken, so it's not just her showing bad taste. But what's interesting is that we have a phenomenon of these pop singers trying desperately to be major movie stars.

ADAMS: You are so desperate to take this back to glitter. You are trying to take it back to glitter.

O'NEIL: No, but let's take it the other way. Let's take it to a positive areas, where many pop singers have actually done it, even trashy ones, like Cher, who went on to win an Oscar. The problem with these stars is that they win a Razzies. Last year, J. Lo was nominated for worst actress of the year and lost in a tie, lost to Britney Spears and Madonna. I think she'll probably win... HEMMER: Listen, a lot of people will be drawn to it, and in nine months, we'll come back and talk about it, because "Jersey Girl" is out next spring.

ADAMS: Right, true.

HEMMER: Quickly, almost out of time, MTV2 has some new ads popping up. They feature a baby. Some say it's cute; others disagree. You've seen it, Tom. What about it?

O'NEIL: They call it a talking baby. It's a little doll. It's kind of like Chucky the Doll that's half scary and half -- the idea is to release our inner child in a mascot for them. Unfortunately, what they have forgotten is that nobody likes a screaming baby. We like a few adorable babies, and this thing is screaming stupid things, like...

HEMMER: So, you don't think it sells then?

O'NEIL: I think that they achieved what they set out to do, to create a character more annoying than Beavis and Butthead.

HEMMER: It's not funny?

ADAMS: I like Beavis and Butthead.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: And I think it's kind of funny.

HEMMER: Is it? OK.

SIGESMUND: I've watched them on the Internet, and I think that they're decently funny. What I don't understand is MTV2 is all about the music, so why are they now creating, you know, little shows and little commercials for themselves?

HEMMER: A good question.

SIGESMUND: Yes, we need MTV-3 now.

HEMMER: Next week. Good to see you, Tom, Thelma and B.J. Have a great week, all right?

SIGESMUND: Thank you.

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 July 31, 2003 - 07:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: "90-Second Pop" is our lightening-fast look at the world of pop culture. Here are people who help make it happen. B.J. Sigesmund, entertainment reporter for "Newsweek." Welcome back.
B.J. SIGESMUND, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, "NEWSWEEK": Thank you.

HEMMER: Thelma Adams, "US Weekly" film critic. Nice to see you, Thelma.

THELMA ADAMS, FILM CRITIC, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

HEMMER: And Tom O'Neil in the flesh, senior editor of "In Touch Weekly." How are we doing?

TOM O'NEIL, SENIOR EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Real great.

SIGESMUND: Great.

HEMMER: Yes? Thanks to our friends at FOX, we have a new level of what some would consider disgusting -- "101 Things Removed From the Human Body."

SIGESMUND: Right.

HEMMER: It starts tonight.

SIGESMUND: Yes, it's on tonight. It's a one-time special, and it's made up entirely of footage of traffic accidents and x-rays of objects inside people where they really shouldn't be.

HEMMER: Such as?

SIGESMUND: Such as a crowbar through someone's head.

ADAMS: The Richard Gere gerbil.

SIGESMUND: Yes, but the -- no, no, no.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: That's next week, yes.

HEMMER: Thelma, it's cable, but, you know, we can't go that far.

SIGESMUND: But the thing that's interesting about the show is that every single one of these people survived. So, they're spinning it as heart-warming, you know...

HEMMER: Hang on a second there, B.J. A 300 pound tumor? Where did they...

SIGESMUND: Somehow this person survived, and their doctors are on the show to talk about how they saved these people.

HEMMER: A set of handlebars? Bicycle, motorcycle, what?

SIGESMUND: You've got to tune in, Bill.

ADAMS: Which way did they go? I've got to know.

O'NEIL: Some of these...

ADAMS: I'm curious about this.

O'NEIL: What needs to be said is some of these are self- inflicted, so we're going into "Jackass" territory here. And I think that it's so cringe-inducing, the whole thing, that viewers may be tempted to take a videotape of this and implant it in an orifice of its producers.

ADAMS: Oh, my gosh!

HEMMER: Listen, we...

ADAMS: But the thing is, who is going to -- I mean, like, are you going to turn it on?

HEMMER: Well, see, that's what -- I think people will.

ADAMS: I think it's something that you channel surf through. Like, you miss the beginning, and you're channel surfing and you see something, like a handlebar, and you're, like, you can't turn away.

SIGESMUND: Right.

HEMMER: But don't you think, though, even if we consider it slightly off, some people, perhaps a lot of people...

SIGESMUND: Absolutely.

HEMMER: It's voyeurism, right?

SIGESMUND: It's going to be great.

ADAMS: Is it great?

SIGESMUND: And there are literally 101 examples in one hour. So, it's an amazing...

HEMMER: It's moving fast.

SIGESMUND: It's an amazing story.

ADAMS: It's faster than "90-Second Pop."

HEMMER: And, as B.J. noted, the people profiled all survived, so we've got that to look forward to.

"Gigli" comes out this weekend, just so our viewers know. You've seen it.

ADAMS: I've seen it.

HEMMER: This is Ben and Jen.

ADAMS: It's the Ben and Jen.

HEMMER: And?

ADAMS: And let me just say, it is, in fact, the worst movie of the summer. There is no question, there is no hiding, there is no reversal.

HEMMER: What makes it that way? Why so mediocre?

ADAMS: You know, it's...

HEMMER: And why have the reviews been so bad?

ADAMS: You know, why is Jessica Rabbit so bad? She was drawn that way. This movie, it was written that way. It's just there's a lot of it that's sexually explicit in a really -- it's almost like the "101," you know. It's just cringe-inducing. Let's just say this: We're going to put the good spin on it. J. Lo is fine in this. It's not her problem. Ben Affleck playing the title character, Gigli, and it's unpronounceable. Who knows if his name rhymes with really, like, really awful? And...

SIGESMUND: Thank you for clearing that up. What I don't understand, though, is how these two A-list actors -- I mean, Jennifer Lopez could be in any movie she wants to be in right now. How did they end up in this movie? It's not like it's just badly directed. It is a bad script, and she has shown very good taste or smart choices for herself.

O'NEIL: B.J., we have two Oscar winners in this movie, too, doing cameos. We have Al Pacino and Christopher Walken, so it's not just her showing bad taste. But what's interesting is that we have a phenomenon of these pop singers trying desperately to be major movie stars.

ADAMS: You are so desperate to take this back to glitter. You are trying to take it back to glitter.

O'NEIL: No, but let's take it the other way. Let's take it to a positive areas, where many pop singers have actually done it, even trashy ones, like Cher, who went on to win an Oscar. The problem with these stars is that they win a Razzies. Last year, J. Lo was nominated for worst actress of the year and lost in a tie, lost to Britney Spears and Madonna. I think she'll probably win... HEMMER: Listen, a lot of people will be drawn to it, and in nine months, we'll come back and talk about it, because "Jersey Girl" is out next spring.

ADAMS: Right, true.

HEMMER: Quickly, almost out of time, MTV2 has some new ads popping up. They feature a baby. Some say it's cute; others disagree. You've seen it, Tom. What about it?

O'NEIL: They call it a talking baby. It's a little doll. It's kind of like Chucky the Doll that's half scary and half -- the idea is to release our inner child in a mascot for them. Unfortunately, what they have forgotten is that nobody likes a screaming baby. We like a few adorable babies, and this thing is screaming stupid things, like...

HEMMER: So, you don't think it sells then?

O'NEIL: I think that they achieved what they set out to do, to create a character more annoying than Beavis and Butthead.

HEMMER: It's not funny?

ADAMS: I like Beavis and Butthead.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: And I think it's kind of funny.

HEMMER: Is it? OK.

SIGESMUND: I've watched them on the Internet, and I think that they're decently funny. What I don't understand is MTV2 is all about the music, so why are they now creating, you know, little shows and little commercials for themselves?

HEMMER: A good question.

SIGESMUND: Yes, we need MTV-3 now.

HEMMER: Next week. Good to see you, Tom, Thelma and B.J. Have a great week, all right?

SIGESMUND: Thank you.

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