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CNN Live Today
Military Hearing for Lynndie England Now in Its Third Day; Talk with Stars of 'Open Water'
Aired August 05, 2004 - 10:32 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at the stories now in the news. Federal law enforcement officials tell CNN that an FBI sting led to this overnight raid of a mosque in downtown Albany, New York. Two men are being held, the founder of the mosque and its imam. Sources say the suspects agreed to launder money in a sting involving a would-be terrorist and a shoulder-fired missile.
Anti-terror officials in Pakistan are trying to unravel of meaning of information found on the computers of two al Qaeda fugitives arrested there last month. Detailed computer files prompted the extraordinary security now in place around financial hubs in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey. Pakistani officials found pictures of London's Heathrow Airport.
And a U.S. helicopter has been shot down by insurgents, as violence escalates in Najaf, Iraq. U.S. forces have been battling alongside Iraqi security in fierce fighting with militant loyals to radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr. A coalition spokesman says that no one was killed in the chopper crash.
In the southern city of Basra, two Shiite insurgents were killed in a gun battle with British troops.
Four more workers at the Los Alamos National Nuclear Laboratory are now on paid leave. So far, 23 workers have been suspended in the wake of a security and safety scandal involving two missing computer disks containing classified information.
And coming up next hour, new details from doctors at Children's Hospital in New York, where conjoined twins were successfully separated last night. The 2-year-old Filipino boys had been conjoined at the head.
Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.
The military hearing for Lynndie England is now in its third day, with prosecutors challenging defense claims that she was merely following orders in the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken has been covering the proceedings and joins us from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And of course, Lynndie England is defending herself against charges that have grown out of the alleged abuse at the prison in Iraq. This morning, the testimony has come from some of the investigators who were called in after the allegations came out. One of them said, and I'm quoting now, that he was of the opinion that the abusive treatment, quote, "seemed to go on all the time."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): Lynndie England was described by members of her former unit as an unreliable, undisciplined soldier at Abu Ghraib Prison, who failed to show up for work because of her sexual activities.
But the testimony also focused on more substantive charges, graphic charges of brutality. England and everyone in the courtroom listened to a speakerphone, as Specialist Matthew Wisdom, a guard at Abu Ghraib, told of the night in November of last year when he witnessed what he called the actual abuse, the beatings.
In one case, he described how he entered the cell block and encountered inmates forced into simulated oral sex. He also said he heard the voice of Lynndie England exclaiming, the prisoners were starting to get aroused. Wisdom said one of the other guards, who is also being charged, derisively shouted, "Look at what these animals do when we leave them alone for 10 seconds."
It was a day of telephone testimony, with defense lawyers, for their part, trying to make the case that the prisoner treatment was often directed by military intelligence officers.
One of the guards did acknowledge that the intelligence wing could sometimes get authorization to decide on conditions for inmates.
LT. COL. GREG WOODS, MILITARY ATTY.: The defense will be permitted the opportunity to call any witnesses they would like to call at the end of the government's case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And as England listened to the government's case again today, the question about the military intelligence influence came up, and the investigator said that he had been told that M.I.s had called and had ordered them to do some of this treatment, but he said nobody could say who told them to do it -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Bob Franken at Fort Bragg. Bob, thank you for that.
U.S.-Iraqi relations suffered a blow in Memphis, Tennessee when a group of visiting Iraqi leaders were shunned and insulted, and then they were mugged.
We get the details from report Eric Diamond of our Memphis affiliate WMC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ERIC DIAMOND, WMC REPORTER (voice-over): Shelby County Mayor A.C. Wharton extends an 11-hour olive branch to a State Department- sponsored delegation of Iraqi civic leaders. Their hosts say the group's three-day stay in Memphis was anything but a lesson in Southern hospitality.
SUZANNE LANDERS, DELEGATION HOST: And so we spent a good portion of the day trying to console hurt feelings.
DIAMOND: Feelings hurt after, initially, both city and county mayors were unable to meet with the delegates, then on Monday city council chairman Joe Brown barred the group from entering city hall, calling it a security risk.
JOE BROWN, MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL: You know, I still feel the same. It has to be protocol procedures taking place.
DIAMOND: For that, Wharton offered the delegates an apology, telling them in America, people should be judged on character, not color.
MYR. A.C. WHARTON, SHELBY CO., TENN.: And I know that sometimes I have been prejudged on the color of my skin.
DIAMOND: The delegates' thoughts?
RWAD FARARY, DELEGATION PARTNERS: I don't want to talk about it, to tell you the truth. I mean, I would say there was kind of misunderstanding, if I want to be some nice, and that's all. And everything is clear now.
DIMONT (on camera): Are you surprised at all?
FARARY: A little bit.
DIMONT (voice-over): And while the mayor's apology may have softened the blow, what was supposed to be a civil rights tour, some say, turned into one slap in the face after another.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that was reporter Aaron Diamond of our Memphis affiliate WMC.
Frightening accusations just ahead. A claim that a child had been groped, the surprising verdict in the closely watched case of a Tigger and a 13-year-old girl.
And then later, fear in "Open Water." You're going to meet the stars of the film and hear how sometimes during shooting, things got a little too realistic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast. First to California, an accused killer surrenders. You might remember him, though, as a victim.
Back in 1993, William Nessler's mother shot and killed his accused molester in a California courtroom. Well, he's led a troubled life ever since, and now he is accused of beating to death a man in an unrelated case.
Not exactly what you want to hear when you call 911. But police in Anne Arundel County, Maryland are investigating the case of a 911 operator who fell asleep while taking an emergency call. The operator can be heard snoring on the tape, as a caller reports someone breaking into her home. No disciplinary action has been taken so far against the operator, a 10-year veteran of the midnight shift.
To Los Angeles, a TV show exonerated this man of murder. Now he's filing a lawsuit for being wrongfully jailed for several months. The tape scene from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" showed he was at a Dodgers baseball game near the time of the killing.
And in an Orlando courtroom, a lawsuit on one side, a Tigger suit on the other, and in the middle, a beloved character accused of fondling a 13-year-old girl.
Our John Zarrella has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was state's exhibit number seven. Known practically everywhere else in the world as Tigger. The costume of Disney's bouncy feline character was a key piece of evidence in the Orlando trial of Disney worker Michael Chartrand. He was accused of touching a 13-year-old girl, while he was wearing the Tigger costume.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He touched me.
QUESTION: Where did he touch you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right on my breast.
ZARRELLA: Pictures taken of the girl with Tigger didn't show groping, but prosecutors said Chartrand knew where his hands were. Chartrand said he was innocent.
QUESTION: Did you intentionally touch this person?
MICHAEL CHARTRAND, DEFENDANT: No, I did not.
ZARRELLA: The jury agreed with Chartrand, finding him not guilty after deliberating for less than one hour. At one point, his attorney, Jeffrey Kaufman, tried to get the sheriff's department lead investigator to put on Tigger's head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you put it on, and we can tell you what kind of vision you're going to get?
ZARRELLA: The judge stopped that from happening. Kaufman, who has himself worked part-time as a Disney character, used the costume to try convincing the jury that its limited vision and bulky paws make it possible to accidentally touch someone in the wrong way. Kaufman also painted the girl's mother as wanting to get to Disney's deep pockets.
QUESTION: Did you ever discuss suing Disney with the father of the child?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It came up, yes.
ZARRELLA: During the trial, prosecutors portrayed the 36-year- old Chartrand as a man who abused his job and stole a child's innocence. Disney, concerned that the Tigger image would be damaged suggested the costume be altered, before being introduced into evidence. That didn't happen. In fact, to show how difficult it is to move around in the costume, the defense attorney wore it during his closing statement.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Fearing what may lurk beneath, it is not a new plot line, but one thing separates this shark tale from the rest -- no special effects. See what you think, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, there were boats all around us and you refused! And now, look! Look around us. We're stuck in the middle of the ocean! With nobody!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Left behind in "Open Water." It's a new movie that critics describe as "Jaws" meets "The Blair Witch Project." The thriller is based on a true story, shot on a shoestring budget, and the sharks in the movie, they are real. "Open Water" opens tomorrow. It stars Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, and they are with me here today.
Good to see you in one piece.
BLANCHARD RYAN, ACTRESS: Hi, thank you. Good to be in one piece.
KAGAN: Good morning.
Now I want to hear, I want to go back to the beginning of the story for you guys. Every actor in Hollywood wants their big break, abut I want to hear how this was pitched to you -- we have a great idea.
RYAN: Yes. Well, to me it wasn't actually pitched to me. My agent called, Wendy at the Gauge Group (ph) -- God bless her -- and said, you know, they're doing this movie about scuba diving, I think there may be some sharks involved, you know, and a lot of water time, but you would be filming in the Bahamas and the part is excellent.
KAGAN: They stressed the Bahamas, not that you'd be in open water with no shark cage.
RYAN: Exactly. And I really, was attracted to the part, despite all the fearful elements, not because of them.
DANIEL TRAVIS, ACTOR: And I actually Chris Kentis, our director, myself; I pitched to him that I should be in the film after I heard the premise. It was a fascinating project to me.
KAGAN: You're a little nuts, Dan.
RYAN: Yes, he's crazy.
KAGAN: A little nuts there, Daniel.
RYAN: I was fascinated by it actually.
KAGAN: So explain the premise of the story, two people, two kind of workaholic couples go on a scuba-diving trip.
RYAN: Yes. And they're on their boat, and they go for their dive with everybody else. But because of a series of mishaps on the boat, a miscount, a head count error takes place, and the couple is left behind. When they surface, their boat is nowhere to be found.
KAGAN: Explain how this was shot?
TRAVIS: We shot on digital video. Chris Kentis was in the water, and his wife, our producer, Laura Lau, was actually on the boat with the second camera, and that was the crew. It was just the four of us. We had two actors in the water and two people shooting.
KAGAN: But a bunch of sharks, and a bunch of bloody tuna being thrown in the water.
TRAVIS: (INAUDIBLE) A bunch of bloody tuna, some jellyfish, some barracudas. We had all kinds of interesting creatures.
RYAN: And those sharks, let me tell you, they are scary as you could ever imagine. I thought that I would be OK. I was trying to be macho about the whole thing. But when I got down there, I saw those sharks as far as the eye could see, and I had to step off that boat into the middle of them. I just went white; I was terrified.
KAGAN: So, Blanchard, on the first day you were bit, is that right?
RYAN: I was. Can you believe, bit by a barracuda. I kind of thought after that I was -- yes, not a shark.
TRAVIS: No, no, no, not a shark.
RYAN: Yes, that would have been worse.
I kind of felt, though, that I was disaster-proof after that, because what were the odds I was going to get bit twice in the same shoot, so.
KAGAN: And just to show you're in the spirit of things, you said to the director, well, did you get the shot?
RYAN: Yes, that was my first question.
TRAVIS: Exactly.
RYAN: When I was underwater, I was bleeding a lot , because I was under pressure. But once I got to the surface and found out it was really not a very big cut, you know, I figure if I'm going to get bitten by a barracuda, I want it to be captured on film. But Chris was more concerned with my health than getting the shot.
KAGAN: So refreshing to hear that.
RYAN: Yes, it is. It is.
KAGAN: So no shark cage, but you did have the chainmail suits underneath you scuba, underneath your wetsuits?
TRAVIS: Yes, we wore chainmail sleeves underneath our wet suits, which is sort of like the equivalent of your tightest-fitting clothes with chicken wire underneath; it was not comfortable.
RYAN: Yes, it wasn't.
KAGAN: And from the press release, I think I read it prevents any dismemberment, but not severe bruising were a shark deciding to take a bite out of you.
RYAN: Comforting, isn't it?
TRAVIS: Yes, exactly.
RYAN: Yes.
KAGAN: And past the danger here, the bigger theme and the idea of this film is talking about really what we take for granted in this day and age, in our overprocessed lives?
RYAN: I think so, so much, and that was what attracted me to this, the concept of the script in the first place, and this couple, they love each other, but they're just so caught up in all the wrong things, in their work, and making money and planning for the future, and they've just lost track of each other and become so disconnected, and they go away to try to connect with each other, and then they're faced with these unbelievable obstacles. So it's a real... TRAVIS: And forced to deal with each other under those circumstances.
KAGAN: Yes, well, we're so glad it came out well. Shot for just a few hundred thousand dollars. Congratulations. It's called "Open Water," and it opens tomorrow. May your next role be a little bit tamer and safer.
TRAVIS: Thanks very much, Daryn.
RYAN: Thank you.
KAGAN: Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, not the last we'll be hearing of them. Thank you so much.
TRAVIS: Thank you.
RYAN: Thanks.
KAGAN: Well, from "Open Water" to pop star Usher, you can keep an eye on entertainment 24/7 by pointing your Internet browser to CNN.com/entertainment. We are back after this.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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 5, 2004 - 10:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at the stories now in the news. Federal law enforcement officials tell CNN that an FBI sting led to this overnight raid of a mosque in downtown Albany, New York. Two men are being held, the founder of the mosque and its imam. Sources say the suspects agreed to launder money in a sting involving a would-be terrorist and a shoulder-fired missile.
Anti-terror officials in Pakistan are trying to unravel of meaning of information found on the computers of two al Qaeda fugitives arrested there last month. Detailed computer files prompted the extraordinary security now in place around financial hubs in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey. Pakistani officials found pictures of London's Heathrow Airport.
And a U.S. helicopter has been shot down by insurgents, as violence escalates in Najaf, Iraq. U.S. forces have been battling alongside Iraqi security in fierce fighting with militant loyals to radical cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr. A coalition spokesman says that no one was killed in the chopper crash.
In the southern city of Basra, two Shiite insurgents were killed in a gun battle with British troops.
Four more workers at the Los Alamos National Nuclear Laboratory are now on paid leave. So far, 23 workers have been suspended in the wake of a security and safety scandal involving two missing computer disks containing classified information.
And coming up next hour, new details from doctors at Children's Hospital in New York, where conjoined twins were successfully separated last night. The 2-year-old Filipino boys had been conjoined at the head.
Keeping you informed, CNN is the most trusted name in news.
The military hearing for Lynndie England is now in its third day, with prosecutors challenging defense claims that she was merely following orders in the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken has been covering the proceedings and joins us from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And of course, Lynndie England is defending herself against charges that have grown out of the alleged abuse at the prison in Iraq. This morning, the testimony has come from some of the investigators who were called in after the allegations came out. One of them said, and I'm quoting now, that he was of the opinion that the abusive treatment, quote, "seemed to go on all the time."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): Lynndie England was described by members of her former unit as an unreliable, undisciplined soldier at Abu Ghraib Prison, who failed to show up for work because of her sexual activities.
But the testimony also focused on more substantive charges, graphic charges of brutality. England and everyone in the courtroom listened to a speakerphone, as Specialist Matthew Wisdom, a guard at Abu Ghraib, told of the night in November of last year when he witnessed what he called the actual abuse, the beatings.
In one case, he described how he entered the cell block and encountered inmates forced into simulated oral sex. He also said he heard the voice of Lynndie England exclaiming, the prisoners were starting to get aroused. Wisdom said one of the other guards, who is also being charged, derisively shouted, "Look at what these animals do when we leave them alone for 10 seconds."
It was a day of telephone testimony, with defense lawyers, for their part, trying to make the case that the prisoner treatment was often directed by military intelligence officers.
One of the guards did acknowledge that the intelligence wing could sometimes get authorization to decide on conditions for inmates.
LT. COL. GREG WOODS, MILITARY ATTY.: The defense will be permitted the opportunity to call any witnesses they would like to call at the end of the government's case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And as England listened to the government's case again today, the question about the military intelligence influence came up, and the investigator said that he had been told that M.I.s had called and had ordered them to do some of this treatment, but he said nobody could say who told them to do it -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Bob Franken at Fort Bragg. Bob, thank you for that.
U.S.-Iraqi relations suffered a blow in Memphis, Tennessee when a group of visiting Iraqi leaders were shunned and insulted, and then they were mugged.
We get the details from report Eric Diamond of our Memphis affiliate WMC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ERIC DIAMOND, WMC REPORTER (voice-over): Shelby County Mayor A.C. Wharton extends an 11-hour olive branch to a State Department- sponsored delegation of Iraqi civic leaders. Their hosts say the group's three-day stay in Memphis was anything but a lesson in Southern hospitality.
SUZANNE LANDERS, DELEGATION HOST: And so we spent a good portion of the day trying to console hurt feelings.
DIAMOND: Feelings hurt after, initially, both city and county mayors were unable to meet with the delegates, then on Monday city council chairman Joe Brown barred the group from entering city hall, calling it a security risk.
JOE BROWN, MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL: You know, I still feel the same. It has to be protocol procedures taking place.
DIAMOND: For that, Wharton offered the delegates an apology, telling them in America, people should be judged on character, not color.
MYR. A.C. WHARTON, SHELBY CO., TENN.: And I know that sometimes I have been prejudged on the color of my skin.
DIAMOND: The delegates' thoughts?
RWAD FARARY, DELEGATION PARTNERS: I don't want to talk about it, to tell you the truth. I mean, I would say there was kind of misunderstanding, if I want to be some nice, and that's all. And everything is clear now.
DIMONT (on camera): Are you surprised at all?
FARARY: A little bit.
DIMONT (voice-over): And while the mayor's apology may have softened the blow, what was supposed to be a civil rights tour, some say, turned into one slap in the face after another.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that was reporter Aaron Diamond of our Memphis affiliate WMC.
Frightening accusations just ahead. A claim that a child had been groped, the surprising verdict in the closely watched case of a Tigger and a 13-year-old girl.
And then later, fear in "Open Water." You're going to meet the stars of the film and hear how sometimes during shooting, things got a little too realistic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Let's take a look at other stories making news coast to coast. First to California, an accused killer surrenders. You might remember him, though, as a victim.
Back in 1993, William Nessler's mother shot and killed his accused molester in a California courtroom. Well, he's led a troubled life ever since, and now he is accused of beating to death a man in an unrelated case.
Not exactly what you want to hear when you call 911. But police in Anne Arundel County, Maryland are investigating the case of a 911 operator who fell asleep while taking an emergency call. The operator can be heard snoring on the tape, as a caller reports someone breaking into her home. No disciplinary action has been taken so far against the operator, a 10-year veteran of the midnight shift.
To Los Angeles, a TV show exonerated this man of murder. Now he's filing a lawsuit for being wrongfully jailed for several months. The tape scene from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" showed he was at a Dodgers baseball game near the time of the killing.
And in an Orlando courtroom, a lawsuit on one side, a Tigger suit on the other, and in the middle, a beloved character accused of fondling a 13-year-old girl.
Our John Zarrella has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was state's exhibit number seven. Known practically everywhere else in the world as Tigger. The costume of Disney's bouncy feline character was a key piece of evidence in the Orlando trial of Disney worker Michael Chartrand. He was accused of touching a 13-year-old girl, while he was wearing the Tigger costume.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He touched me.
QUESTION: Where did he touch you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right on my breast.
ZARRELLA: Pictures taken of the girl with Tigger didn't show groping, but prosecutors said Chartrand knew where his hands were. Chartrand said he was innocent.
QUESTION: Did you intentionally touch this person?
MICHAEL CHARTRAND, DEFENDANT: No, I did not.
ZARRELLA: The jury agreed with Chartrand, finding him not guilty after deliberating for less than one hour. At one point, his attorney, Jeffrey Kaufman, tried to get the sheriff's department lead investigator to put on Tigger's head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you put it on, and we can tell you what kind of vision you're going to get?
ZARRELLA: The judge stopped that from happening. Kaufman, who has himself worked part-time as a Disney character, used the costume to try convincing the jury that its limited vision and bulky paws make it possible to accidentally touch someone in the wrong way. Kaufman also painted the girl's mother as wanting to get to Disney's deep pockets.
QUESTION: Did you ever discuss suing Disney with the father of the child?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It came up, yes.
ZARRELLA: During the trial, prosecutors portrayed the 36-year- old Chartrand as a man who abused his job and stole a child's innocence. Disney, concerned that the Tigger image would be damaged suggested the costume be altered, before being introduced into evidence. That didn't happen. In fact, to show how difficult it is to move around in the costume, the defense attorney wore it during his closing statement.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Fearing what may lurk beneath, it is not a new plot line, but one thing separates this shark tale from the rest -- no special effects. See what you think, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, there were boats all around us and you refused! And now, look! Look around us. We're stuck in the middle of the ocean! With nobody!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Left behind in "Open Water." It's a new movie that critics describe as "Jaws" meets "The Blair Witch Project." The thriller is based on a true story, shot on a shoestring budget, and the sharks in the movie, they are real. "Open Water" opens tomorrow. It stars Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, and they are with me here today.
Good to see you in one piece.
BLANCHARD RYAN, ACTRESS: Hi, thank you. Good to be in one piece.
KAGAN: Good morning.
Now I want to hear, I want to go back to the beginning of the story for you guys. Every actor in Hollywood wants their big break, abut I want to hear how this was pitched to you -- we have a great idea.
RYAN: Yes. Well, to me it wasn't actually pitched to me. My agent called, Wendy at the Gauge Group (ph) -- God bless her -- and said, you know, they're doing this movie about scuba diving, I think there may be some sharks involved, you know, and a lot of water time, but you would be filming in the Bahamas and the part is excellent.
KAGAN: They stressed the Bahamas, not that you'd be in open water with no shark cage.
RYAN: Exactly. And I really, was attracted to the part, despite all the fearful elements, not because of them.
DANIEL TRAVIS, ACTOR: And I actually Chris Kentis, our director, myself; I pitched to him that I should be in the film after I heard the premise. It was a fascinating project to me.
KAGAN: You're a little nuts, Dan.
RYAN: Yes, he's crazy.
KAGAN: A little nuts there, Daniel.
RYAN: I was fascinated by it actually.
KAGAN: So explain the premise of the story, two people, two kind of workaholic couples go on a scuba-diving trip.
RYAN: Yes. And they're on their boat, and they go for their dive with everybody else. But because of a series of mishaps on the boat, a miscount, a head count error takes place, and the couple is left behind. When they surface, their boat is nowhere to be found.
KAGAN: Explain how this was shot?
TRAVIS: We shot on digital video. Chris Kentis was in the water, and his wife, our producer, Laura Lau, was actually on the boat with the second camera, and that was the crew. It was just the four of us. We had two actors in the water and two people shooting.
KAGAN: But a bunch of sharks, and a bunch of bloody tuna being thrown in the water.
TRAVIS: (INAUDIBLE) A bunch of bloody tuna, some jellyfish, some barracudas. We had all kinds of interesting creatures.
RYAN: And those sharks, let me tell you, they are scary as you could ever imagine. I thought that I would be OK. I was trying to be macho about the whole thing. But when I got down there, I saw those sharks as far as the eye could see, and I had to step off that boat into the middle of them. I just went white; I was terrified.
KAGAN: So, Blanchard, on the first day you were bit, is that right?
RYAN: I was. Can you believe, bit by a barracuda. I kind of thought after that I was -- yes, not a shark.
TRAVIS: No, no, no, not a shark.
RYAN: Yes, that would have been worse.
I kind of felt, though, that I was disaster-proof after that, because what were the odds I was going to get bit twice in the same shoot, so.
KAGAN: And just to show you're in the spirit of things, you said to the director, well, did you get the shot?
RYAN: Yes, that was my first question.
TRAVIS: Exactly.
RYAN: When I was underwater, I was bleeding a lot , because I was under pressure. But once I got to the surface and found out it was really not a very big cut, you know, I figure if I'm going to get bitten by a barracuda, I want it to be captured on film. But Chris was more concerned with my health than getting the shot.
KAGAN: So refreshing to hear that.
RYAN: Yes, it is. It is.
KAGAN: So no shark cage, but you did have the chainmail suits underneath you scuba, underneath your wetsuits?
TRAVIS: Yes, we wore chainmail sleeves underneath our wet suits, which is sort of like the equivalent of your tightest-fitting clothes with chicken wire underneath; it was not comfortable.
RYAN: Yes, it wasn't.
KAGAN: And from the press release, I think I read it prevents any dismemberment, but not severe bruising were a shark deciding to take a bite out of you.
RYAN: Comforting, isn't it?
TRAVIS: Yes, exactly.
RYAN: Yes.
KAGAN: And past the danger here, the bigger theme and the idea of this film is talking about really what we take for granted in this day and age, in our overprocessed lives?
RYAN: I think so, so much, and that was what attracted me to this, the concept of the script in the first place, and this couple, they love each other, but they're just so caught up in all the wrong things, in their work, and making money and planning for the future, and they've just lost track of each other and become so disconnected, and they go away to try to connect with each other, and then they're faced with these unbelievable obstacles. So it's a real... TRAVIS: And forced to deal with each other under those circumstances.
KAGAN: Yes, well, we're so glad it came out well. Shot for just a few hundred thousand dollars. Congratulations. It's called "Open Water," and it opens tomorrow. May your next role be a little bit tamer and safer.
TRAVIS: Thanks very much, Daryn.
RYAN: Thank you.
KAGAN: Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis, not the last we'll be hearing of them. Thank you so much.
TRAVIS: Thank you.
RYAN: Thanks.
KAGAN: Well, from "Open Water" to pop star Usher, you can keep an eye on entertainment 24/7 by pointing your Internet browser to CNN.com/entertainment. We are back after this.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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