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American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired August 28, 2003 - 07:50   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: Time for our "90-Second Pop," when our panel of fast-talking entertainment experts weigh in on three topics, hot topics in pop culture today, spending about 90 seconds on each one.
Today, we have Christopher John Farley of "TIME" magazine. Nice to see you, Chris. Good morning.

CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, SENIOR EDITOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.

HEMMER: Leah Rozen is back with us, a film critic for "People" magazine. You have a few opinions, don't you, Leah?

LEAH ROZEN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Absolutely.

HEMMER: I know that. Andy Borowitz, humorist, author of "Who Moved my" -- is that still bookstands, by the way?

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: It is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: It seems like we've been pimping that book for months now.

Good morning. Great to have all of you.

The VMA is tonight, Chris.

FARLEY: Yes, I think it will be an interesting show. You know, it's going to be -- it's somewhat of an unsurprising show, because music sales are down right now. There are no kind of genre-changing acts out there now like Nirvana, like Pearl Jam, like NWA, Back in the Day, Public Enemy that are really shaking up music. But that said, I'm looking forward to seeing Johnny Cash, you know, get a few awards tonight. You know, I'm looking forward to seeing 50 Cent perform and Mary J. Blige.

HEMMER: But, you know, that's just -- I was telling Soledad, only at the VMAs can you get Johnny Cash and Eminem and 50 Cent and Missy Elliott all in the same room.

FARLEY: Well, that's what MTV is all about, and these video music awards, is bringing together people you might not expect, you know, together. Like, you know, for instance, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. Who would expect them to kiss on stage? And that was a surprising thing on that show. HEMMER: Have you seen this carousel by the way, across the street at Rockefeller Plaza? What's this all about here, the giant bobble head dolls going on?

FARLEY: Those are actual size, I think. I think if you meet some of these celebrities, those heads are actually, you know, to scale.

ROZEN: The thing is, though, you have to watch. You have to watch the show live, because when they later show the edited versions, they take out the really good controversial stuff.

HEMMER: Is that right?

ROZEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Well, it's going to start around 8:00 tonight. I think about this time tomorrow morning it will actually conclude. This thing goes forever, doesn't it, Andy?

BOROWITZ: It does take a long time. But it's really important for the music industry, because if a song wins the VMA, the next day millions of fans download it for free.

HEMMER: And that they do.

BOROWITZ: It's a big deal.

HEMMER: Axl Rose was the retro act last year. Is there one this year or not? Do we know?

FARLEY: Well, Johnny Cash, you know, is one of the nominees, and he counts as a retro act. I mean, half of the acts are that are there tonight.

HEMMER: I think you're right.

FARLEY: Britney Spears, does she count as a retro act now? I think so.

BOROWITZ: I think so.

ROZEN: She's already what? Past 20?

HEMMER: The next topic, "Temptation 3." If you're not watching the VMAs tonight, you're watching "T3," aren't you, Andy?

BOROWITZ: You know, I'm not really into "Temptation Island 3." And the concept of "Temptation Island" is you take a bunch of people, stick them on an island and surround them with temptation. And to me, that's Manhattan. You know, I've sort of lived that, so I don't find it too...

HEMMER: Well, the first season was pretty good, right?

BOROWITZ: Yes. HEMMER: It did really well in the ratings. The second season was OK. This year is going to be what?

BOROWITZ: I just don't see -- I don't hear much buzz for "Temptation 3." I'm going to be watching the show, "Extreme Makeover" that's on tonight. It's interesting, because they're going to be making over Ann Coulter until she looks like Al Franken, which I think that's going to be kind of good.

HEMMER: Coming to a bookstand near you, I'm certain, too.

Let's move on right now. Let's talk about movies. Leah, this is your topic. What do you like this weekend?

ROZEN: Not much.

HEMMER: Really?

ROZEN: The only movie that's -- actually, Labor Day weekend is sort of traditionally the only weekend that Hollywood doesn't open a lot of big pictures. They figure people are at the last weekend on the beach, back-to-school shopping. So, the only movie opening up this weekend from the studios really is "Jeepers Creepers 2."

HEMMER: And, you like or no like?

ROZEN: No, this is pretty much for teenagers who want to be scared and jump into their boyfriend's lap and go, ooh! You know, there is no reason adults have to see "Jeepers Creepers 2."

HEMMER: So, if you've seen "Freddy Versus Jason," you don't need to check this one out?

ROZEN: Well...

BOROWITZ: Well, let me ask you, Leah. I would like to see the "Jeepers Creepers 2," but I missed "Jeepers Creepers 1." Is that going to hurt me in terms of understanding what's going on?

ROZEN: No, Andy, you will still understand that there is a monster out there eating teenagers.

HEMMER: Yes.

ROZEN: That's pretty much the plot.

HEMMER: Well, listen, I'm really picky when it comes to movies. I do a lot of research, I ask friends. I like the word-of-mouth to know whether or not I should go. If there is one film that I have to see this weekend, what is it?

ROZEN: Right now, I'm sending people to "Step Into Liquid," which is a documentary about surfing. They go around the world and they just show you scenes of surfing, and that's a lot of fun. Look for the little movies. Look for "Thirteen," which about an indie film about a 13-year-old behaving badly. Look for "Secret Lives of"... BOROWITZ: Leah, how about "American Splendor," the Harvey Pekar story?

ROZEN: "American Splendor" is a great movie.

(CROSSTALK)

FARLEY: I think if you can find the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) film.

ROZEN: It's terrific.

FARLEY: I think it's worth checking out.

HEMMER: Good deal. You guys have a good weekend, OK?

ROZEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Don't get caught up in the traffic across the street.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Chris, good to see you.

FARLEY: Thank you.

HEMMER: Leah, Andy, always a pleasure. Thanks.

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 August 28, 2003 - 07:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Time for our "90-Second Pop," when our panel of fast-talking entertainment experts weigh in on three topics, hot topics in pop culture today, spending about 90 seconds on each one.
Today, we have Christopher John Farley of "TIME" magazine. Nice to see you, Chris. Good morning.

CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, SENIOR EDITOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.

HEMMER: Leah Rozen is back with us, a film critic for "People" magazine. You have a few opinions, don't you, Leah?

LEAH ROZEN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Absolutely.

HEMMER: I know that. Andy Borowitz, humorist, author of "Who Moved my" -- is that still bookstands, by the way?

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: It is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: It seems like we've been pimping that book for months now.

Good morning. Great to have all of you.

The VMA is tonight, Chris.

FARLEY: Yes, I think it will be an interesting show. You know, it's going to be -- it's somewhat of an unsurprising show, because music sales are down right now. There are no kind of genre-changing acts out there now like Nirvana, like Pearl Jam, like NWA, Back in the Day, Public Enemy that are really shaking up music. But that said, I'm looking forward to seeing Johnny Cash, you know, get a few awards tonight. You know, I'm looking forward to seeing 50 Cent perform and Mary J. Blige.

HEMMER: But, you know, that's just -- I was telling Soledad, only at the VMAs can you get Johnny Cash and Eminem and 50 Cent and Missy Elliott all in the same room.

FARLEY: Well, that's what MTV is all about, and these video music awards, is bringing together people you might not expect, you know, together. Like, you know, for instance, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. Who would expect them to kiss on stage? And that was a surprising thing on that show. HEMMER: Have you seen this carousel by the way, across the street at Rockefeller Plaza? What's this all about here, the giant bobble head dolls going on?

FARLEY: Those are actual size, I think. I think if you meet some of these celebrities, those heads are actually, you know, to scale.

ROZEN: The thing is, though, you have to watch. You have to watch the show live, because when they later show the edited versions, they take out the really good controversial stuff.

HEMMER: Is that right?

ROZEN: Yes.

HEMMER: Well, it's going to start around 8:00 tonight. I think about this time tomorrow morning it will actually conclude. This thing goes forever, doesn't it, Andy?

BOROWITZ: It does take a long time. But it's really important for the music industry, because if a song wins the VMA, the next day millions of fans download it for free.

HEMMER: And that they do.

BOROWITZ: It's a big deal.

HEMMER: Axl Rose was the retro act last year. Is there one this year or not? Do we know?

FARLEY: Well, Johnny Cash, you know, is one of the nominees, and he counts as a retro act. I mean, half of the acts are that are there tonight.

HEMMER: I think you're right.

FARLEY: Britney Spears, does she count as a retro act now? I think so.

BOROWITZ: I think so.

ROZEN: She's already what? Past 20?

HEMMER: The next topic, "Temptation 3." If you're not watching the VMAs tonight, you're watching "T3," aren't you, Andy?

BOROWITZ: You know, I'm not really into "Temptation Island 3." And the concept of "Temptation Island" is you take a bunch of people, stick them on an island and surround them with temptation. And to me, that's Manhattan. You know, I've sort of lived that, so I don't find it too...

HEMMER: Well, the first season was pretty good, right?

BOROWITZ: Yes. HEMMER: It did really well in the ratings. The second season was OK. This year is going to be what?

BOROWITZ: I just don't see -- I don't hear much buzz for "Temptation 3." I'm going to be watching the show, "Extreme Makeover" that's on tonight. It's interesting, because they're going to be making over Ann Coulter until she looks like Al Franken, which I think that's going to be kind of good.

HEMMER: Coming to a bookstand near you, I'm certain, too.

Let's move on right now. Let's talk about movies. Leah, this is your topic. What do you like this weekend?

ROZEN: Not much.

HEMMER: Really?

ROZEN: The only movie that's -- actually, Labor Day weekend is sort of traditionally the only weekend that Hollywood doesn't open a lot of big pictures. They figure people are at the last weekend on the beach, back-to-school shopping. So, the only movie opening up this weekend from the studios really is "Jeepers Creepers 2."

HEMMER: And, you like or no like?

ROZEN: No, this is pretty much for teenagers who want to be scared and jump into their boyfriend's lap and go, ooh! You know, there is no reason adults have to see "Jeepers Creepers 2."

HEMMER: So, if you've seen "Freddy Versus Jason," you don't need to check this one out?

ROZEN: Well...

BOROWITZ: Well, let me ask you, Leah. I would like to see the "Jeepers Creepers 2," but I missed "Jeepers Creepers 1." Is that going to hurt me in terms of understanding what's going on?

ROZEN: No, Andy, you will still understand that there is a monster out there eating teenagers.

HEMMER: Yes.

ROZEN: That's pretty much the plot.

HEMMER: Well, listen, I'm really picky when it comes to movies. I do a lot of research, I ask friends. I like the word-of-mouth to know whether or not I should go. If there is one film that I have to see this weekend, what is it?

ROZEN: Right now, I'm sending people to "Step Into Liquid," which is a documentary about surfing. They go around the world and they just show you scenes of surfing, and that's a lot of fun. Look for the little movies. Look for "Thirteen," which about an indie film about a 13-year-old behaving badly. Look for "Secret Lives of"... BOROWITZ: Leah, how about "American Splendor," the Harvey Pekar story?

ROZEN: "American Splendor" is a great movie.

(CROSSTALK)

FARLEY: I think if you can find the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) film.

ROZEN: It's terrific.

FARLEY: I think it's worth checking out.

HEMMER: Good deal. You guys have a good weekend, OK?

ROZEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Don't get caught up in the traffic across the street.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Chris, good to see you.

FARLEY: Thank you.

HEMMER: Leah, Andy, always a pleasure. Thanks.

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