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American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired December 04, 2003 - 07:43   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's time now for "90-Second Pop," our always entertaining look at pop culture through the eyes of our fast-talking panel.
Here they are: humanist and author, Andy Borowitz, Jessica Shaw of "Entertainment Weekly," and B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly." Great to see you all.

Let's talk first about Gwyneth Paltrow. She is pregnant, B.J., to this Coldplay guy.

B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": With this Coldplay guy. Yes, this is so out of character for Gwyneth Paltrow, which is very interesting to me. You know, she was this Upper East Side girl, very ambitious, hyper-control...

COOPER: Wait, out of character because she got pregnant? What are you talking about?

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: No, no, no. She was the daughter of show biz royalty, so talented that she won an Oscar by age 26. She had it all. And now, here it is five years later, she's this bohemian chick living in London with her rock star boyfriend having a kid out of wedlock. This is very...

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": But since she's been friends with Madonna now, Madonna had to give her tips. And she was, like, sure, get knocked up, go for it, it will help your career.

COOPER: Oh, you think that's what happened?

SHAW: Absolutely.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: You know, when I heard about this, I decided to double check to make sure she didn't have a Miramax (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because this just felt like one of those publicity stunts that Harvey Weinstein (ph) would...

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: Oh! Also, you know, she beat several Hollywood couples to the punch, including both her ex-boyfriends. You know, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, celebrity watchers...

COOPER: It is a competition to get pregnant. SHAW: Of course.

SIGESMUND: Well, celebrity watchers are so into couples getting pregnant, Brad and Jen, they're, like, when's it going to happen? When's it going to happen? And Ben Affleck, when is he even going to marry Jennifer Lopez, let alone have a family?

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: I like it when celebrities reproduce, like, with (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it keeps it all in the same gene pool. I mean...

COOPER: And a very rarified gene pool it is.

Let's move on. Talking about rarified gene pool, let's talk about Paris Hilton. "The Simple Life," Jessica, it did incredibly well in the ratings.

SHAW: Yes, it did. Thirteen million people tuned in. I think...

COOPER: Which is about as many people as watch AMERICAN MORNING on an average day, basically.

SHAW: And probably as many people that tried to download her sex tape.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some more people...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: She's used to being watched, that's true.

SHAW: Yes, but...

COOPER: Did you watch it?

SHAW: I did. I loved it.

COOPER: You did? Really?

SHAW: I did. I think...

COOPER: We're going to play a quick clip, and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPLE LIFE")

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, do you guys hang out at Wal-Mart?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've always heard that people hang out at Wal-Mart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is Wal-Mart?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Oh, come on, that's just fake.

BOROWITZ: It was so shrewd. The producers actually got Jessica Simpson to write the dialogue. You don't get those lines out of nowhere.

COOPER: She does make Jessica Simpson also...

SIGESMUND: Yes.

COOPER: ... kind of look like...

SHAW: Like a Rhodes scholar.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: Yes. There's a plus side to this show for Paris Hilton, obviously. I heard that she had seen several of the episodes, and she thinks that they're really going to help people erase the memory of this tape from people's minds. And maybe there is going to be a second season. You know, I interviewed both these girls awhile ago about the show, and they both said they would never do it again.

SHAW: I actually talked to Nicole a couple weeks ago, and she said she actually had concept that maybe they should go to Africa, the two of them, and maybe...

COOPER: Does she even know where Africa is? I mean...

SIGESMUND: You could definitely see a second season of this show.

SHAW: It's right outside the Beverly Center, I think.

COOPER: So, she's out of rehab now, so you can talk to her?

SHAW: I think she's about to go back in.

COOPER: Oh, really? Is that...

SIGESMUND: No.

COOPER: Oh, all right. Well, who knows, you know?

SIGESMUND: No, they would both benefit, because Nicole has been to rehab and Paris Hilton obviously with the sex tape. They would benefit really from a second season of this show.

COOPER: All right, let's...

BOROWITZ: I'm perturbed that I haven't been speaking to either of these two women.

COOPER: I know, it seems like they are easily available.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Andy, how excited are you about the Grammys? The nominations are going to be announced.

BOROWITZ: Well, it's pretty exciting. You know, there are going to be some sort of sentimental favorites, I think, like Johnny Cash and possibly Luther Vandross.

COOPER: And probably (UNINTELLIGIBLE) maybe?

BOROWITZ: Yes, absolutely. The actual announcement of the nominations are always a little dicey, though, because last year Avril Lavigne (ph) was doing the announcements, and she pronounced David Bowie David Bowee (ph). So, I'm hoping we don't have a similar problem this year with 50 Cent. Whoever is doing the announcements, there is no "s" at the end of 50 Cent. It's just 50 Cent.

SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) fiddy (ph).

BOROWITZ: Fiddy (ph), fiddy cent (ph).

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: You know, speaking of the announcements, you can always look at the people who are there scheduled at 11:30 today to help do the announcements for a clue as to who is going to probably get a lot of nominations. The one I'm thinking that's going to cross over to mainstream success today is Dido (ph). Her album is a huge critical favorite. It's actually one of my personal favorites, too. And people always note that if you're there doing the nominations, like Dido (ph) is, there's a very good chance that your name is going to be called out several times.

COOPER: But it does seem like maybe Johnny Cash, Warren Steve Vaughn (ph), Luther Vandross...

SHAW: Don't forget Justin Timberlake.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: The Grammys do not tend to be on the cutting edge. I mean, a couple years back, they did name Jethro Tull best heavy metal band, which is for a guy who plays flute, you know, it's sort of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SIGESMUND: But they're getting more -- you know, Beyonce also...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: They gave a nod to Beyonce.

SIGESMUND: Yes, Beyonce, she probably is going to see some nominations today.

COOPER: right.

SIGESMUND: But it won't be because she's a critical favorite. It will be more because of her commercial success.

SHAW: And her wardrobe.

SIGESMUND: And they do try to keep...

COOPER: And her wardrobe, which is fantastic.

SHAW: Yes.

COOPER: Let's talk just very briefly, "The Last Samurai," Tom Cruise's new big blockbuster movie. You saw it.

SIGESMUND: Yes, I can't say I loved it.

COOPER: Really?

SIGESMUND: But I'm going to give you the "US Weekly" thing.

COOPER: OK.

SIGESMUND: You know, this is about a disillusioned Civil War soldier who goes to Japan to help them with their army and ends up helping out a big group of renegades. What's good is the cinematography. Look at it. It's beautiful. Japan has never looked better even though it was filmed in New Zealand. What's bad -- this is the way we do it at "US Weekly" -- is Tom Cruise overacting...

COOPER: Oh, ouch!

SIGESMUND: Yes. Overacting, not very good.

COOPER: All right, we've got to end it there. B.J. Sigesmund, Jessica Shaw, Andy Borowitz, thanks very much.

SHAW: 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 December 4, 2003 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It's time now for "90-Second Pop," our always entertaining look at pop culture through the eyes of our fast-talking panel.
Here they are: humanist and author, Andy Borowitz, Jessica Shaw of "Entertainment Weekly," and B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly." Great to see you all.

Let's talk first about Gwyneth Paltrow. She is pregnant, B.J., to this Coldplay guy.

B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": With this Coldplay guy. Yes, this is so out of character for Gwyneth Paltrow, which is very interesting to me. You know, she was this Upper East Side girl, very ambitious, hyper-control...

COOPER: Wait, out of character because she got pregnant? What are you talking about?

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: No, no, no. She was the daughter of show biz royalty, so talented that she won an Oscar by age 26. She had it all. And now, here it is five years later, she's this bohemian chick living in London with her rock star boyfriend having a kid out of wedlock. This is very...

JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": But since she's been friends with Madonna now, Madonna had to give her tips. And she was, like, sure, get knocked up, go for it, it will help your career.

COOPER: Oh, you think that's what happened?

SHAW: Absolutely.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: You know, when I heard about this, I decided to double check to make sure she didn't have a Miramax (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because this just felt like one of those publicity stunts that Harvey Weinstein (ph) would...

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: Oh! Also, you know, she beat several Hollywood couples to the punch, including both her ex-boyfriends. You know, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, celebrity watchers...

COOPER: It is a competition to get pregnant. SHAW: Of course.

SIGESMUND: Well, celebrity watchers are so into couples getting pregnant, Brad and Jen, they're, like, when's it going to happen? When's it going to happen? And Ben Affleck, when is he even going to marry Jennifer Lopez, let alone have a family?

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: I like it when celebrities reproduce, like, with (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it keeps it all in the same gene pool. I mean...

COOPER: And a very rarified gene pool it is.

Let's move on. Talking about rarified gene pool, let's talk about Paris Hilton. "The Simple Life," Jessica, it did incredibly well in the ratings.

SHAW: Yes, it did. Thirteen million people tuned in. I think...

COOPER: Which is about as many people as watch AMERICAN MORNING on an average day, basically.

SHAW: And probably as many people that tried to download her sex tape.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some more people...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: She's used to being watched, that's true.

SHAW: Yes, but...

COOPER: Did you watch it?

SHAW: I did. I loved it.

COOPER: You did? Really?

SHAW: I did. I think...

COOPER: We're going to play a quick clip, and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPLE LIFE")

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, do you guys hang out at Wal-Mart?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've always heard that people hang out at Wal-Mart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is Wal-Mart?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Oh, come on, that's just fake.

BOROWITZ: It was so shrewd. The producers actually got Jessica Simpson to write the dialogue. You don't get those lines out of nowhere.

COOPER: She does make Jessica Simpson also...

SIGESMUND: Yes.

COOPER: ... kind of look like...

SHAW: Like a Rhodes scholar.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: Yes. There's a plus side to this show for Paris Hilton, obviously. I heard that she had seen several of the episodes, and she thinks that they're really going to help people erase the memory of this tape from people's minds. And maybe there is going to be a second season. You know, I interviewed both these girls awhile ago about the show, and they both said they would never do it again.

SHAW: I actually talked to Nicole a couple weeks ago, and she said she actually had concept that maybe they should go to Africa, the two of them, and maybe...

COOPER: Does she even know where Africa is? I mean...

SIGESMUND: You could definitely see a second season of this show.

SHAW: It's right outside the Beverly Center, I think.

COOPER: So, she's out of rehab now, so you can talk to her?

SHAW: I think she's about to go back in.

COOPER: Oh, really? Is that...

SIGESMUND: No.

COOPER: Oh, all right. Well, who knows, you know?

SIGESMUND: No, they would both benefit, because Nicole has been to rehab and Paris Hilton obviously with the sex tape. They would benefit really from a second season of this show.

COOPER: All right, let's...

BOROWITZ: I'm perturbed that I haven't been speaking to either of these two women.

COOPER: I know, it seems like they are easily available.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Andy, how excited are you about the Grammys? The nominations are going to be announced.

BOROWITZ: Well, it's pretty exciting. You know, there are going to be some sort of sentimental favorites, I think, like Johnny Cash and possibly Luther Vandross.

COOPER: And probably (UNINTELLIGIBLE) maybe?

BOROWITZ: Yes, absolutely. The actual announcement of the nominations are always a little dicey, though, because last year Avril Lavigne (ph) was doing the announcements, and she pronounced David Bowie David Bowee (ph). So, I'm hoping we don't have a similar problem this year with 50 Cent. Whoever is doing the announcements, there is no "s" at the end of 50 Cent. It's just 50 Cent.

SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) fiddy (ph).

BOROWITZ: Fiddy (ph), fiddy cent (ph).

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: You know, speaking of the announcements, you can always look at the people who are there scheduled at 11:30 today to help do the announcements for a clue as to who is going to probably get a lot of nominations. The one I'm thinking that's going to cross over to mainstream success today is Dido (ph). Her album is a huge critical favorite. It's actually one of my personal favorites, too. And people always note that if you're there doing the nominations, like Dido (ph) is, there's a very good chance that your name is going to be called out several times.

COOPER: But it does seem like maybe Johnny Cash, Warren Steve Vaughn (ph), Luther Vandross...

SHAW: Don't forget Justin Timberlake.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: The Grammys do not tend to be on the cutting edge. I mean, a couple years back, they did name Jethro Tull best heavy metal band, which is for a guy who plays flute, you know, it's sort of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SIGESMUND: But they're getting more -- you know, Beyonce also...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: They gave a nod to Beyonce.

SIGESMUND: Yes, Beyonce, she probably is going to see some nominations today.

COOPER: right.

SIGESMUND: But it won't be because she's a critical favorite. It will be more because of her commercial success.

SHAW: And her wardrobe.

SIGESMUND: And they do try to keep...

COOPER: And her wardrobe, which is fantastic.

SHAW: Yes.

COOPER: Let's talk just very briefly, "The Last Samurai," Tom Cruise's new big blockbuster movie. You saw it.

SIGESMUND: Yes, I can't say I loved it.

COOPER: Really?

SIGESMUND: But I'm going to give you the "US Weekly" thing.

COOPER: OK.

SIGESMUND: You know, this is about a disillusioned Civil War soldier who goes to Japan to help them with their army and ends up helping out a big group of renegades. What's good is the cinematography. Look at it. It's beautiful. Japan has never looked better even though it was filmed in New Zealand. What's bad -- this is the way we do it at "US Weekly" -- is Tom Cruise overacting...

COOPER: Oh, ouch!

SIGESMUND: Yes. Overacting, not very good.

COOPER: All right, we've got to end it there. B.J. Sigesmund, Jessica Shaw, Andy Borowitz, thanks very much.

SHAW: 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.