Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired January 08, 2004 - 07:42   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." Meet our panel of pundits. The humorist, Andy Borowitz, is always here.
Nice to see you again, Andy.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good to be here.

HEMMER: Associated Press entertainment writer Christi Lemire.

Nice to see you, Christi. Good morning.

CHRISTI LEMIRE, ASSOCIATED PRESS ENTERTAINMENT WRITER: Hi.

HEMMER: And Lola -- "The New York Times" reporter Lola Ogunnaike is with us as well.

Good morning, Lola. Nice to see you again.

LOLA, OGUNNAIKE, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: Good morning.

HEMMER: Let's start with "The Apprentice" and Donald Trump. NBC is betting big on this. What's the premise?

LEMIRE: It's their new reality show. It's like "Survivor", but you're competing to get a job as Donald Trump's apprentice.

BOROWITZ: Who wants to be the Donald?

LEMIRE: They all want to be the Donald. They had 215,000 applications for this, and they picked 16 people, men versus women. It's like an infomercial for all things Trump. It's totally ostentatious, guilty of pleasure voyeurism here.

HEMMER: So, you've seen the first show.

LEMIRE: I watched it last night, yes.

HEMMER: How much did you learn about his business style?

LEMIRE: Well, he pouts, and then he hovers over you in his helicopter. His first little challenge for them is to sell lemonade on the street, and he's in his helicopter on his phone going, they picked Stahl Street Seaport (ph), that's a horrible location. And it's just very funny. It's a guilty pleasure, I think.

HEMMER: And he would know about real estate, though, in this town. LEMIRE: Yes.

HEMMER: Lola, would you watch it?

OGUNNAIKE: I would watch it. I would want to see these ruthless people go out and see, like, all of this kind of caddy energy and people duking it out for money.

BOROWITZ: To me, the challenge for Donald Trump would be trying to avoid staring at his hair, though. I mean, it's just...

LEMIRE: Yes.

OGUNNAIKE: Really.

BOROWITZ: It's starting to look like a traffic (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

OGUNNAIKE: But there are some really cute guys on there.

LEMIRE: Yes.

OGUNNAIKE: And to know that they all have money and business savvy. That's a good thing.

LEMIRE: Yes, and the women are all gorgeous. Yes, the guys are like, oh, some are cute, but the women are like...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: NBC is betting on this to be a winner, though, are they not?

LEMIRE: Yes.

HEMMER: Coming after "Friends," a lot of promotion? . LEMIRE: I think -- and it will do really well. I mean, "Average Joe" is fun, but this is, like, even more sort of out there, bizarre reality TV.

HEMMER: And that comes tonight.

Let's talk about "The Producers," Andy. It was a movie, it was a play -- a very successful play -- and a movie again. What's the draw?

BOROWITZ: Well, I just think it's one of those great stories. And you've got to hand it to Mel Brooks. I mean, he came up with this idea 35 years ago for the movie, and it has now been a huge Broadway play. It's going to be a movie. I mean, the only other guy I know who has gotten as much mileage off of recycled material is Osama bin Laden. It's an amazing thing.

HEMMER: That's still out there.

LEMIRE: Yes, I love the original film, though. Do I want to see this remade? The original was so strange and so, like, ahead of its time. It was so funny. Do I want to see it redone again? I don't know.

OGUNNAIKE: But, you know, for the people in the Midwest who can't afford to come to a big Broadway production, if they get to see the movie for $6 or $10, that's a great thing.

HEMMER: Have you seen the Broadway show?

OGUNNAIKE: No, I can't afford to see the Broadway show.

HEMMER: Christi (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Have any of you?

LEMIRE: I haven't seen it either.

BOROWITZ: The only guy that's seen it, I think, is Donald Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: What do you think it is about the chemistry between Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick that makes this team click so well?

LEMIRE: I mean, there is immense talent between both them, and they are a lot of fun to watch. They bounce off of each other very well.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes.

LEMIRE: So, I mean, people will be curious, I think.

BOROWITZ: They're also -- they are really both huge Broadway pros. I mean, you know, Nathan Lane, but also Matthew Broderick grew up on Broadway (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: And they're shaking a lot of money off this tree, don't you think?

BOROWITZ: Oh, I'll say. I'll say.

HEMMER: I want to talk about a somewhat morbid story here. George Harrison, when he was dying apparently -- there is a suit out there. The estate of George Harrison is suing a doctor. They claim that he forced him to sign a guitar for his son? Is that the facts as we understand them?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, if this turns out to be true, then I think it's really pretty creepy, having George Harrison -- I would think the last thing he wants to do right before he dies is sign an autograph and listen to this kid play his guitar.

HEMMER: But does the estate claim that they had a deal to keep the doctor away from any contact or anything like that? Or do you know?

OGUNNAIKE: No, no, that's not it at all. They are saying that this wasn't supposed to happen, that George Harrison wasn't supposed to be signing autographs on his death bed, and he wasn't supposed to be listening to some kid play guitar. BOROWITZ: You know, I'm not a conspiracy theorist.

HEMMER: But?

BOROWITZ: But between this and the Crocodile Hunter, I think it's a conspiracy to make Michael Jackson look good.

HEMMER: You think so? How (AUDIO GAP)? What does the suit allege?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, I don't think it harmed -- I don't think the suit alleges that it harmed Harrison necessarily, but I think it's just...

HEMMER: But didn't the doctor talk a little about his condition in the end, and the family came back and said you know what? That's off limits.

OGUNNAIKE: Well, the doctor -- the family was angry about the doctor going and having all of these interviews after George Harrison's death. They thought that he was exploiting Harrison's death for his own professional gain.

LEMIRE: And, like, didn't they think he wanted to sell the guitar and give the money to charity or something?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, he -- they decided that maybe they would come to a compromise and have -- he'd give the guitar to charity. But it's still kind of gross at the end of the day.

LEMIRE: It's totally sick, yes.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes.

HEMMER: A heck of a way to go.

By the way, congratulations -- borowitz.com...

BOROWITZ: Borowitzreport.com.

HEMMER: I'm sorry. It won some awards, right? Tell us about it.

BOROWITZ: Yes, we did. We won the about.com/political.comedy awards that they give to the funny Web site. So, for those of you who want to log on: borowitzreport.com.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: What do you win?

BOROWITZ: Oh, well, it's typical of the Internet. I win a free Internet banner, I think, on the site.

LEMIRE: Oh, that's good.

HEMMER: Nice. And your own free mouse, right?

BOROWITZ: Exactly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: Thanks. We've got to run. Andy, Christi, Lola, nice to see you.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

HEMMER: All right.

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 8, 2004 - 07:42   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." Meet our panel of pundits. The humorist, Andy Borowitz, is always here.
Nice to see you again, Andy.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good to be here.

HEMMER: Associated Press entertainment writer Christi Lemire.

Nice to see you, Christi. Good morning.

CHRISTI LEMIRE, ASSOCIATED PRESS ENTERTAINMENT WRITER: Hi.

HEMMER: And Lola -- "The New York Times" reporter Lola Ogunnaike is with us as well.

Good morning, Lola. Nice to see you again.

LOLA, OGUNNAIKE, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: Good morning.

HEMMER: Let's start with "The Apprentice" and Donald Trump. NBC is betting big on this. What's the premise?

LEMIRE: It's their new reality show. It's like "Survivor", but you're competing to get a job as Donald Trump's apprentice.

BOROWITZ: Who wants to be the Donald?

LEMIRE: They all want to be the Donald. They had 215,000 applications for this, and they picked 16 people, men versus women. It's like an infomercial for all things Trump. It's totally ostentatious, guilty of pleasure voyeurism here.

HEMMER: So, you've seen the first show.

LEMIRE: I watched it last night, yes.

HEMMER: How much did you learn about his business style?

LEMIRE: Well, he pouts, and then he hovers over you in his helicopter. His first little challenge for them is to sell lemonade on the street, and he's in his helicopter on his phone going, they picked Stahl Street Seaport (ph), that's a horrible location. And it's just very funny. It's a guilty pleasure, I think.

HEMMER: And he would know about real estate, though, in this town. LEMIRE: Yes.

HEMMER: Lola, would you watch it?

OGUNNAIKE: I would watch it. I would want to see these ruthless people go out and see, like, all of this kind of caddy energy and people duking it out for money.

BOROWITZ: To me, the challenge for Donald Trump would be trying to avoid staring at his hair, though. I mean, it's just...

LEMIRE: Yes.

OGUNNAIKE: Really.

BOROWITZ: It's starting to look like a traffic (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

OGUNNAIKE: But there are some really cute guys on there.

LEMIRE: Yes.

OGUNNAIKE: And to know that they all have money and business savvy. That's a good thing.

LEMIRE: Yes, and the women are all gorgeous. Yes, the guys are like, oh, some are cute, but the women are like...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: NBC is betting on this to be a winner, though, are they not?

LEMIRE: Yes.

HEMMER: Coming after "Friends," a lot of promotion? . LEMIRE: I think -- and it will do really well. I mean, "Average Joe" is fun, but this is, like, even more sort of out there, bizarre reality TV.

HEMMER: And that comes tonight.

Let's talk about "The Producers," Andy. It was a movie, it was a play -- a very successful play -- and a movie again. What's the draw?

BOROWITZ: Well, I just think it's one of those great stories. And you've got to hand it to Mel Brooks. I mean, he came up with this idea 35 years ago for the movie, and it has now been a huge Broadway play. It's going to be a movie. I mean, the only other guy I know who has gotten as much mileage off of recycled material is Osama bin Laden. It's an amazing thing.

HEMMER: That's still out there.

LEMIRE: Yes, I love the original film, though. Do I want to see this remade? The original was so strange and so, like, ahead of its time. It was so funny. Do I want to see it redone again? I don't know.

OGUNNAIKE: But, you know, for the people in the Midwest who can't afford to come to a big Broadway production, if they get to see the movie for $6 or $10, that's a great thing.

HEMMER: Have you seen the Broadway show?

OGUNNAIKE: No, I can't afford to see the Broadway show.

HEMMER: Christi (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Have any of you?

LEMIRE: I haven't seen it either.

BOROWITZ: The only guy that's seen it, I think, is Donald Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: What do you think it is about the chemistry between Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick that makes this team click so well?

LEMIRE: I mean, there is immense talent between both them, and they are a lot of fun to watch. They bounce off of each other very well.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes.

LEMIRE: So, I mean, people will be curious, I think.

BOROWITZ: They're also -- they are really both huge Broadway pros. I mean, you know, Nathan Lane, but also Matthew Broderick grew up on Broadway (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: And they're shaking a lot of money off this tree, don't you think?

BOROWITZ: Oh, I'll say. I'll say.

HEMMER: I want to talk about a somewhat morbid story here. George Harrison, when he was dying apparently -- there is a suit out there. The estate of George Harrison is suing a doctor. They claim that he forced him to sign a guitar for his son? Is that the facts as we understand them?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, if this turns out to be true, then I think it's really pretty creepy, having George Harrison -- I would think the last thing he wants to do right before he dies is sign an autograph and listen to this kid play his guitar.

HEMMER: But does the estate claim that they had a deal to keep the doctor away from any contact or anything like that? Or do you know?

OGUNNAIKE: No, no, that's not it at all. They are saying that this wasn't supposed to happen, that George Harrison wasn't supposed to be signing autographs on his death bed, and he wasn't supposed to be listening to some kid play guitar. BOROWITZ: You know, I'm not a conspiracy theorist.

HEMMER: But?

BOROWITZ: But between this and the Crocodile Hunter, I think it's a conspiracy to make Michael Jackson look good.

HEMMER: You think so? How (AUDIO GAP)? What does the suit allege?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, I don't think it harmed -- I don't think the suit alleges that it harmed Harrison necessarily, but I think it's just...

HEMMER: But didn't the doctor talk a little about his condition in the end, and the family came back and said you know what? That's off limits.

OGUNNAIKE: Well, the doctor -- the family was angry about the doctor going and having all of these interviews after George Harrison's death. They thought that he was exploiting Harrison's death for his own professional gain.

LEMIRE: And, like, didn't they think he wanted to sell the guitar and give the money to charity or something?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, he -- they decided that maybe they would come to a compromise and have -- he'd give the guitar to charity. But it's still kind of gross at the end of the day.

LEMIRE: It's totally sick, yes.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes.

HEMMER: A heck of a way to go.

By the way, congratulations -- borowitz.com...

BOROWITZ: Borowitzreport.com.

HEMMER: I'm sorry. It won some awards, right? Tell us about it.

BOROWITZ: Yes, we did. We won the about.com/political.comedy awards that they give to the funny Web site. So, for those of you who want to log on: borowitzreport.com.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: What do you win?

BOROWITZ: Oh, well, it's typical of the Internet. I win a free Internet banner, I think, on the site.

LEMIRE: Oh, that's good.

HEMMER: Nice. And your own free mouse, right?

BOROWITZ: Exactly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: Thanks. We've got to run. Andy, Christi, Lola, nice to see you.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

HEMMER: All right.

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