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American Morning
90-Second Pop, Culture Watch
Aired January 27, 2004 - 07:41 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hollywood is still buzzing about the Golden Globes, and the Oscar nominations are coming out this morning. The final chapter in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a good bet to capture a best picture nomination. "The Return of the King" won for best drama and for best director at the Golden Globes.
So, who better to give us an Oscar preview than our panel of "90- Second Pop" stars? "Pop tarts" I believe you all call yourselves on occasion.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Oh, well.
O'BRIEN: And I mean that with great respect. Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" joins us this morning, and Jessica Shaw of "Entertainment Weekly," and B.J. Sigesmund, who is a staff editor for "US Weekly."
Nice to see you guys. Thanks guys for being with us.
BOROWITZ: Good to be here.
O'BRIEN: Andy, let's start with you. "Lord of the Rings," it has just sort of trounced at all of the award shows, done really incredibly well. Peter Jackson is saying that he had turned into a hobbit in the seven years. I thought it was kind of funny.
BOROWITZ: That's true, I think.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": And true.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and it's kind of true, too. Funny, because it's true. What is your best bet for the nominations, and also eventually the Oscars? Do you think this is a movie that's just going to win it all?
BOROWITZ: "Lord of the Rings" will get every nod. And "Lord of the Rings" may get the Democratic nomination. I think it's just so honest...
O'BRIEN: Peter Jackson in '04.
BOROWITZ: Yes, that's a frightening thing. No, I think it just -- it does have this steamroller thing. It almost reminds me a little bit of "Titanic," where "Titanic" got nominated for everything and won a lot of stuff. I actually think they should have a separate Academy Awards just for "Lord of the Rings," so we don't have to suffer through that night where they keep on playing the same theme over and over again. And it's all a conspiracy to make me see the film, and it's not going to work. I won't...
O'BRIEN: You haven't seen any of them?
BOROWITZ: I have not. I'm not. I'm sticking to that. That was...
(CROSSTALK)
SHAW: The actors aren't really buzzed about it, though. It's more the picture overall.
BOROWITZ: Right. Well, the actors...
SHAW: I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: But the actors are hobbits. They really shouldn't count.
O'BRIEN: Your point being?
SHAW: Hobbit's deserve awards, too.
BOROWITZ: I guess so.
O'BRIEN: B.J., you loved Charlize Theron.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Yes.
O'BRIEN: You were touting her in "Monster." And, of course, it's different this time around, because there are not these individual categories that we saw in the Golden Globes.
SIGESMUND: Right.
O'BRIEN: So, it really is going to a good fight between the best actor women.
SIGESMUND: Yes, in the Golden Globes, they can nominate five actresses from comedy and five actresses from drama. It's not so with the Oscars. It's only five.
It's been amazing to watch "Monster" come up and become this phenomenon. You know, earlier in the year, they talked about Jennifer Connelly possibly for best actress and Naomi Watts, and, of course, Nicole Kidman in "Cold Mountain."
O'BRIEN: Diss, diss, diss at the Golden Globes.
SIGESMUND: Well, now, I mean, just...
SHAW: Yes, Naomi Watts didn't even get nominated, nor did Jennifer Connelly.
SIGESMUND: Yes, but she'll probably get a nomination this morning. But this role for Charlize Theron goes with the trend that we've seen the last few years. It began with Hilary Swank, you know, in "Boys Don't Cry." And then it continued with Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball," this sort of downplaying your looks and taking on this role and living this role, becoming this person, you know, as everyone knows by now.
Even though the movie still made less than $10 million, Charlize Theron gained 30 points, she wore these ugly teeth, her skin is terrible in the film. And even though it's a tough, tough movie to watch -- much harder than "Boys Don't Cry" -- this is the performance of year in many ways.
BOROWITZ: I think there should be...
O'BRIEN: And its not only better -- I'm sorry, go ahead.
BOROWITZ: There should be a special award for Dr. Atkins for helping her loss all of that weight. She looks fantastic.
O'BRIEN: Oh, the acting was good, too.
SHAW: Yes, she looked so good, too. You know, he looked so good at the Golden Globes. She has to get an Oscar nomination.
O'BRIEN: Well, it would be terrible to come to the Golden Globes and look schlumpy (ph) with your hair in a ponytail because you haven't lost the 30 pounds you gained in the film.
SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) might be a good...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: How come when I look bad, I don't get any awards? That's what I want to know. It doesn't seem fair.
O'BRIEN: We're going to work out an award for you.
BOROWITZ: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about best actor, Bill Murray, again, the Golden Globes, he gave a very funny speech.
SHAW: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I thought he was actually one of the highlights of the Golden Globes. What are your expectations for the Oscars?
SHAW: Well, that, I think, is one of the best categories this year. It's pretty much between Bill Murray and Sean Penn. But it's interesting, because you don't know if Tom Cruise will get one or Russell Crowe or Jude Law. I mean, "Cold Mountain" has some momentum going. But -- or Ben Kingsley. It's sort of like no one really knows who is going to fill out that slot.
SIGESMUND: But ultimately it will be Sean Penn versus Bill Murray. SHAW: Absolutely.
SIGESMUND: Unless our crystal balls are wrong, and that's going to really a great race.
O'BRIEN: Which they never are.
SHAW: Right. Or Jack Nicholson could pull off an upset. You never know.
BOROWITZ: There was a lot of excitement about Bill Murray a few years ago for his performance in "Rushmore." And I think some people thought he should have gotten something for that.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BOROWITZ: I really think he should get something for this, and probably will.
SHAW: He will give the best acceptance speech of the night for sure.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. There is no question about that. For that reason alone, he should win.
All right, as always, you guys, thanks so much. Appreciate it, Andy and Jessica and B.J., as always.
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 27, 2004 - 07:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hollywood is still buzzing about the Golden Globes, and the Oscar nominations are coming out this morning. The final chapter in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a good bet to capture a best picture nomination. "The Return of the King" won for best drama and for best director at the Golden Globes.
So, who better to give us an Oscar preview than our panel of "90- Second Pop" stars? "Pop tarts" I believe you all call yourselves on occasion.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Oh, well.
O'BRIEN: And I mean that with great respect. Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" joins us this morning, and Jessica Shaw of "Entertainment Weekly," and B.J. Sigesmund, who is a staff editor for "US Weekly."
Nice to see you guys. Thanks guys for being with us.
BOROWITZ: Good to be here.
O'BRIEN: Andy, let's start with you. "Lord of the Rings," it has just sort of trounced at all of the award shows, done really incredibly well. Peter Jackson is saying that he had turned into a hobbit in the seven years. I thought it was kind of funny.
BOROWITZ: That's true, I think.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": And true.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and it's kind of true, too. Funny, because it's true. What is your best bet for the nominations, and also eventually the Oscars? Do you think this is a movie that's just going to win it all?
BOROWITZ: "Lord of the Rings" will get every nod. And "Lord of the Rings" may get the Democratic nomination. I think it's just so honest...
O'BRIEN: Peter Jackson in '04.
BOROWITZ: Yes, that's a frightening thing. No, I think it just -- it does have this steamroller thing. It almost reminds me a little bit of "Titanic," where "Titanic" got nominated for everything and won a lot of stuff. I actually think they should have a separate Academy Awards just for "Lord of the Rings," so we don't have to suffer through that night where they keep on playing the same theme over and over again. And it's all a conspiracy to make me see the film, and it's not going to work. I won't...
O'BRIEN: You haven't seen any of them?
BOROWITZ: I have not. I'm not. I'm sticking to that. That was...
(CROSSTALK)
SHAW: The actors aren't really buzzed about it, though. It's more the picture overall.
BOROWITZ: Right. Well, the actors...
SHAW: I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: But the actors are hobbits. They really shouldn't count.
O'BRIEN: Your point being?
SHAW: Hobbit's deserve awards, too.
BOROWITZ: I guess so.
O'BRIEN: B.J., you loved Charlize Theron.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Yes.
O'BRIEN: You were touting her in "Monster." And, of course, it's different this time around, because there are not these individual categories that we saw in the Golden Globes.
SIGESMUND: Right.
O'BRIEN: So, it really is going to a good fight between the best actor women.
SIGESMUND: Yes, in the Golden Globes, they can nominate five actresses from comedy and five actresses from drama. It's not so with the Oscars. It's only five.
It's been amazing to watch "Monster" come up and become this phenomenon. You know, earlier in the year, they talked about Jennifer Connelly possibly for best actress and Naomi Watts, and, of course, Nicole Kidman in "Cold Mountain."
O'BRIEN: Diss, diss, diss at the Golden Globes.
SIGESMUND: Well, now, I mean, just...
SHAW: Yes, Naomi Watts didn't even get nominated, nor did Jennifer Connelly.
SIGESMUND: Yes, but she'll probably get a nomination this morning. But this role for Charlize Theron goes with the trend that we've seen the last few years. It began with Hilary Swank, you know, in "Boys Don't Cry." And then it continued with Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball," this sort of downplaying your looks and taking on this role and living this role, becoming this person, you know, as everyone knows by now.
Even though the movie still made less than $10 million, Charlize Theron gained 30 points, she wore these ugly teeth, her skin is terrible in the film. And even though it's a tough, tough movie to watch -- much harder than "Boys Don't Cry" -- this is the performance of year in many ways.
BOROWITZ: I think there should be...
O'BRIEN: And its not only better -- I'm sorry, go ahead.
BOROWITZ: There should be a special award for Dr. Atkins for helping her loss all of that weight. She looks fantastic.
O'BRIEN: Oh, the acting was good, too.
SHAW: Yes, she looked so good, too. You know, he looked so good at the Golden Globes. She has to get an Oscar nomination.
O'BRIEN: Well, it would be terrible to come to the Golden Globes and look schlumpy (ph) with your hair in a ponytail because you haven't lost the 30 pounds you gained in the film.
SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) might be a good...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: How come when I look bad, I don't get any awards? That's what I want to know. It doesn't seem fair.
O'BRIEN: We're going to work out an award for you.
BOROWITZ: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about best actor, Bill Murray, again, the Golden Globes, he gave a very funny speech.
SHAW: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I thought he was actually one of the highlights of the Golden Globes. What are your expectations for the Oscars?
SHAW: Well, that, I think, is one of the best categories this year. It's pretty much between Bill Murray and Sean Penn. But it's interesting, because you don't know if Tom Cruise will get one or Russell Crowe or Jude Law. I mean, "Cold Mountain" has some momentum going. But -- or Ben Kingsley. It's sort of like no one really knows who is going to fill out that slot.
SIGESMUND: But ultimately it will be Sean Penn versus Bill Murray. SHAW: Absolutely.
SIGESMUND: Unless our crystal balls are wrong, and that's going to really a great race.
O'BRIEN: Which they never are.
SHAW: Right. Or Jack Nicholson could pull off an upset. You never know.
BOROWITZ: There was a lot of excitement about Bill Murray a few years ago for his performance in "Rushmore." And I think some people thought he should have gotten something for that.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BOROWITZ: I really think he should get something for this, and probably will.
SHAW: He will give the best acceptance speech of the night for sure.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. There is no question about that. For that reason alone, he should win.
All right, as always, you guys, thanks so much. Appreciate it, Andy and Jessica and B.J., as always.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
