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CNN Larry King Live

Interviews With Leonardo DiCaprio, Brooke Shields, Motley Crue

Aired December 06, 2004 - 21:00   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.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, Leonardo DiCaprio, a rare one on one with a brilliant young actor who's playing an American legend on screen and becoming one himself.

And then Brooke Shields from "Pretty Baby" and those controversial Calvin Klein ads to raising a baby of her own and what she went through to become a mom.

Plus, big news that rock fans never thought they would hear. A legendary band is back together for the first time in five years and they'll tell us about it first, right here as they go on stage to launch a reunion tour.

It's all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: We finally welcome to LARRY KING LIVE tonight, Leonardo DiCaprio. He's coming to us from Los Angeles. We're in New York.

He's the star of "The Aviator." A film that opens in select theaters on December 17 and then will open wide on Christmas Day, directed by Martin Scorsese.

I saw it yesterday and I'll tell you, Leonardo, as I told you off the air, it's a terrific movie. You ought to be very proud of this work. One you wanted to do for a long time, right?

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: Absolutely. And it's a pleasure to finally talk to you, after all this time, Larry. A big fan of you as well.

KING: All right, thanks.

DICAPRIO: Yes. The genesis of this movie started about eight years ago. I picked up a book on Howard Hughes and that endless search for actor to find complex, interesting characters. I found this man, Howard Hughes, who I only really knew about as the older man, locked away in the hotel room. The political Howard Hughes, the billionaire, but I didn't truly understand the time period in which he lived with the golden age of Hollywood and the golden ages of aviation. He was really a pioneer in those departments and had all of the successes in the world, but eventually was taken down to his own person mental hell by his obsessive compulsive disorder. So, it was really one of those books where I picked up immediately and said to myself, this is ready to go as a character and as a film.

KING: Is it harder to play someone who lived?

DICAPRIO: I don't think so. I mean, I always subliminally have been attracted to real men in history or real historic figures, because there's just a certain air of authenticity about it. But when you have all of that material to work with and if you have a question about your character, his intentions or something that happened in his childhood that as a result of a scene you are doing to be able to look at, you know, 50 different books that give sometimes conflicting answers, because he was such a mysterious figure, people are always trying to figure him out and gave different examples of what he actually did. But when you actually have all that material to work, it can only help you in the movie making process.

KING: What do you think happened to him, Leonardo?

What -- because there was a time Howard Hughes was famous for being accessible.

DICAPRIO: Well, the truth is that he had obsessive compulsive disorder and he was a germophobe. And OCD at the time was not, there was no doctor around that could really prescribe him medication for him, even if he was to meet with a doctor. I don't think he would have. But he had OCD and it was one of those things that throughout progressively throughout his life, became more and more apparent and more and more intense. And the real interesting thing about his life is here you have this technological genius, this man obsessed, this man that has -- had did so much in the golden era of Hollywood, and aviation and commercial travel and was America's first legitimate billionaire, and watching that breakdown, that technological genius, then going to the minutia of how his lunch would be delivered. Or how a can soup was to be opened. And how he locked himself away after this -- that tragic X-11 -- XF-11 crash. And really it's some of the most frightening examples of mental illness I've ever seen, these intense memos and the detail he put into them.

KING: By the way, crash scene is maybe the best airplane crash scene I've ever seen.

DICAPRIO: I agree.

KING: What -- I know you are an executive producer of the film, but what did it take to shoot that?

DICAPRIO: Well, I think that's a question for Mr. Scorsese. I know he planned it out months and months in advance and the same (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- of the same gentleman that did all of the technical stuff for "The Titanic" worked on this movie. And the way Marty works is, he really planned it out like a great piece of opera. He took a piece of opera music and planned out each shot beforehand. And really wanted to give the most accurate depiction of what that -- what that crash was like, which was a phenomenal crash that Howard Hughes walked away from. He flew his experimental plane right into Beverly Hills and survived. It was one of the most phenomenal sequences I've ever seen in a movie in a long time. KING: Well, it is magnificently directed. When you work for someone like Scorsese and it's kind of your project too, you're an exec producer, are you working for him or is he working for you?

DICAPRIO: I think that, when you work with somebody of that caliber there's just an immediate respect for him and his process. Being a producer on this movie, I didn't work with him any different than I did on the film I did before, "Gangs of New York."

You come in as an actor, you do your job to the best of your ability and at the end of the day he calls the shots. You're working with somebody who's a historian of film, a master of his craft. And to be in those hands every day, whatever question you have, he can give you 20 different examples of how a scene was done like that in the past. He's literally like a database of film. He's seen every film ever made up until 1980, I believe. I mean, for lack of a better word, a genius.

KING: Yes, he is. He's a film freak.

DICAPRIO: He sure is.

KING: Are you? You grew up in film.

DICAPRIO: Yes. Well, I grew up in Los Angeles. I never quite felt that I was attached to the business. I always thought it was this elite club that you had to find membership to. And then I realized at a young age that all you had to do was really get an agent and start going out on auditions. And that's how it all started for me.

KING: Was your break "Gilbert Grape"?

DICAPRIO: "This Boy's Life."

KING: Yes.

DICAPRIO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I did with Robert De Niro.

KING: How old were you in that?

DICAPRIO: Sixteen.

KING: That was a terrific movie.

DICAPRIO: Thank you. Thank you.

KING: And then "Gilbert Grape" though is where you got your nomination, right?

DICAPRIO: Yes. Yes. I believe I was about 18 years old.

KING: Do you expect -- do actors like -- you know the work you've done, "The Aviator," you're obviously very proud of it, do you expect to be considered -- I mean, the film has already been selected by the National Board of Review as one of the top 10 films of the year.

Do you expect to be personally considered in the Oscar/Golden Globe sweeps?

DICAPRIO: Anyone would. Anyone would love that opportunity, to be recognized by their peers and whatnot. I mean, for me just to be able to be part of a film for eight years that I've been wanting -- a character that I've been wanted to play and all of the worries and things you think about before beforehand of whether a sequence is going to work or whether the sympathy of the character is going to be with the audience, whether they're going to be interested in time period and to see people's responses to the film at this point has been the greatest gift in the world. I mean, it truly went beyond my expectations of whatever I thought the movie could be. It's a great piece of art, you know.

KING: Who came up with the idea to include all of that terrific music?

DICAPRIO: Well, that's, once again, Mr. Scorsese. I added a little -- I added a couple songs in there myself, some Django Reinhardt, who I'm a huge fan of, has a great Django Reinhardt sequence and luckily enough we got to slip it in there.

KING: Our guest is Leonardo DiCaprio. We'll be back with another segment with Leonardo. He stars in "The Aviator." It opens in select theaters on the 17th and then wide, as they say in filmdom on Christmas Day. Right back with Leonardo DiCaprio after these words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICAPRIO: I'm going down, I'm not going to make it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of "The Aviator." There is a downside to the career you chose, the downside to fame is tabloids and rumors and all that. How do you deal with that?

DICAPRIO: Bah humbug. You know what? It's one of those situation where I'm such a lucky, fortunate person to be doing what I do, to hear myself complain about any of that stuff, I can't even hear it come out of my mouth sometimes. I mean, who wants to sit here and listen to somebody in my position complain about it? I'm extremely fortunate. The paparazzi, we all know the stories there. People that harass people in the business constantly but at the end of the day, there's much worse positions to be in in life in my opinion.

KING: Do you feel like your relationship with Gisele or whoever is fair game? Do you think the press is entitled to know about that?

DICAPRIO: It's something that piques people's interest. I look at those magazines on occasion myself, I laugh at them. They are funny. I think it's all in the grand circle of people wanting to say that we're all of the same, look at that person messing up, look at that funny photo, ha, ha, ha. You know, to me, it's like I said, there are so many worse problems in the world to me and it's something that by me sitting here, talking about it or complaining, ain't going to make a difference in the world.

KING: It ain't. Before we move on to other things, are things OK with you and her?

DICAPRIO: Everything is gravy in my life. I'm all good.

KING: Can't beat that. What are you doing next?

DICAPRIO: I'm doing a film called "The Departed" with Scorsese again.

KING: Again?

DICAPRIO: Yes. Based on a film, Chinese Film called "Infernal Affairs." It's a cop drama and with the undertone of a sort of gangster underworld. So I'm excited. That's next year.

KING: How do you deal with selection? For example, have you turned down anything you regretted?

DICAPRIO: Never regretted, but there are certain films that I've liked in the past that I thought were great that I got offered but it's one of those things, when you realize you want to do something for the rest your life, I know I want to be an actor for the rest of my life, I want to have longevity in this business. I don't want people to be oversaturated with me constantly. I want to be able to come out and show that I've really worked hard on something and put a lot of thought into it and present it to the world. And I think that creates a situation where maybe you can be in the business for a longer period of time. I truly want to be a part of movies that people are still renting at the future blockbusters 100 years from now.

KING: Why do you like it so much? Why do you like playing other people?

DICAPRIO: It's like a great college course for me, you know? It truly is. You get to learn about the filmmaking process, the different directors. You get to travel to different locations, have different experiences, research different characters in history, time periods in history, meet interesting, compelling people and at the end of the day you go up on set and get to experiment and mess around and you know, try approaching a character from different angles. That is what is most exciting to me.

KING: In this film we get incredible supporting performances from the ladies and from Mr. Baldwin but Alan Alda seems to rise to the occasion. How would you describe working with him?

DICAPRIO: He is the master of making lines of dialogue conversational. What he did in this movie, I remember talking with Scorsese earlier on about who we were going to cast in this role for Senator Brewster and he mentioned Alan Alda's name and I was like, he's such a great guy. I didn't immediately think of him as this white collar gangster, which the character was.

KING: Sure.

DICAPRIO: And he said, no, that's exactly it. I love him. I love him so much, everyone just loves Alan Alda. He's just the greatest guy. And to see him up there playing that character is going to throw people for a loop. And I immediately had a different response but as soon as he showed up on set and just casually started talking about, let's create a monopoly and let's -- you this big corporation, let's go into business together. And that's the real crux of the movie is watching this man Howard Hughes go up against the Senate and be very anti-government control, anti-monopoly, anti-big corporate enterprise. That's why he was a hero to a lot of people, as he took on this corrupt system. He was probably one of the only men in America that could do it at the time.

KING: He had a Ted Turner kind of quality. The scenes with you and Alda, when you are testifying are almost like click, click. It must have been fun -- is fun a good word? Was it fun to do those scenes?

DICAPRIO: It was an intense experience because most of the footage of Howard Hughes when you look back into history and I did a lot of research on the man, some of the only stuff where you get his true character, the sense of who that man really was, his guts, his unwillingness to give up, this fighting attitude is really displayed phenomenally well in the Senate hearings. You see truly one man taking on a Goliath system and I studied that as much as I could and really was some -- you know, the basis of creating Howard Hughes, the character, because as many different reports you hear of the man, a lot of people have a different opinion about who he actually was and that was the biggest help to me in trying to choose the Howard Hughes we wanted to portray and the way Marty shot that was amazing. You are almost like a voyeur sitting there watching these two men and it becomes this insane chess game.

KING: When he testified he was starting to go off the kilter so he had to really build himself up for those. That was like three days of testimony, I think.

DICAPRIO: Yes. It was really one of those points in his life where he had to break himself out of his personal mental hell, his OCD and his being a germophobe and coming out in a public forum like that. It really showed his will truly was and it was the XF-11 crash, after that crash, his body was in so much pain for the rest of his life that he became addicted to certain amounts of medication and it really kicked his OCD into a much bigger level. He had periods and breaks where he was OK for years at a time but then he would have a series of more intense breakdowns as his life went on and this movie portrays the onset of that dysfunction and with all the successes and riches that he encountered throughout his life, he was truly battling with his own mental illness. KING: Leonardo, you've had an extraordinary career so far and it's only the beginning. You are really on your way and it's a terrific film. I salute you and thank you for being with us.

DICAPRIO: Thank you, sir. And I can't wait to meet you in person one of these days. I look forward to it.

KING: Me, too. Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of "The Aviator," a terrific film. It opens in select cities on the 17th and wide on Christmas Day. We'll back with a lady who has taken New York by storm. Brooke Shields. She's starring in "Wonderful Town." And then an announcement that will interest a lot of people will occur at the end of the show about a rock group getting back together. You're going to love this. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICAPRIO: Now, I am supposed to be many things which are not complimentary. I'm supposed to be capricious. I have been called a playboy. I've even been called an eccentric, but I don't believe that I have the repetition of being a liar. Now, Senator Brewster, you can subpoena me, you can arrest me, you can even claim that I folded up and taken a run-out pattern, but well, I've had just about enough of this nonsense. Good afternoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Hasn't been here in 13 years, and we've missed her. Good to have her back. Brooke Shields, a film, TV and stage actress, looking as lovely as ever, currently starring on Broadway in "Wonderful Town." And she has accorded some incredible reviews. Ben Brantley of "The New York Times": "Brooke Shields is a delight. Clive Barnes, a terrific performer, an unerring sense of humor." The Associated Press says "Brooke Shields recalls the great Lucille Ball at her most hilarious."

You just stepped into this, huh?

SHIELDS: I did. I did.

KING: What happened?

SHIELDS: You know, I was asked to replace the woman who originated it, Donna Murphy, who's an unbelievable talent, and she was going to be leaving the show, and they said would I come in? And I went to go see it, and when you are a replacement, you only get two weeks to learn a show. And that's always a bit daunting, and you're sort of -- not necessarily the thing that is optimal as far as being the best that you can be, but I saw it and I saw it with my husband, and I just saw a great deal of room for humor, and thought, you know what, if they want me and they're going to trust me, I'm going to do my best.

KING: Did you have complete faith you could pull it off? SHIELDS: I had complete faith in my commitment. I knew I would be able to do it. I was not sure how it was going to be received. Again, I was stepping -- they were big shoes to fill. And Donna had gotten a nomination, and so you are going in, you're going into a lot, but I wasn't afraid of it. And I was so excited about it. What I knew would happen for me personally just by being that confident on stage and having that much fun, that I knew.

KING: And you had done "Cabaret" and "Grease."

SHIELDS: I had.

KING: So Broadway was not foreign for you.

SHIELDS: No. And it's a comfortable environment, and the thing about Broadway, they always just -- they welcome you really with open arms. Because once you have gone through it, it's sort of like you really go through an experience that's very hard. Eight shows a week is -- "Cabaret" -- eight shows a week is daunting, and it can be terrifying. But it just instills such a sense of confidence and growth.

KING: Did it help having seen someone else do it?

SHIELDS: It helped -- the cadence of it I knew would change a bit as far as my comedy. But I needed to make sure that vocally I would be adept enough. Choreographically it was fine. And I knew comedically, I mean, the scenes were going to be possible for me, and vocally I was just -- I knew I would have to learn a great deal.

KING: Do you prefer this to film?

SHIELDS: I don't know if I would prefer one more than another. I think there is more immediate gratification with this.

KING: What's being a mom like and how has it affected, I mean, baby comes first, right?

SHIELDS: She does come first.

KING: Rowan.

SHIELDS: Rowan.

KING: Rowan's gorgeous.

SHIELDS: Thank you. And your children are as well.

KING: There she is.

SHIELDS: They are all paparazzi pictures. How sweet. She's a doll. What's interesting is it's made my life on stage a bit more forgiving as far as I'm concerned.

KING: Meaning?

SHIELDS: I beat myself up a lot all the time about my performances.

KING: Self-critical?

SHIELDS: Very self-critical. I'm a perfectionist. I'm rarely completely satisfied.

KING: How does this help then?

SHIELDS: You know what? She makes me realize that if I make mistakes, it's OK. That it's also all right to have fun doing a performance. That you don't necessarily have to be in misery to be talented. You know, "Cabaret" was a very dark, dark play to do, and I felt there was validity in that. And this is a fun, happy, very energetic play. And it's just as valid to me. And I think she's taught me how to ...

KING: Was she worth the wait? You had a rough time getting pregnant, right?

SHIELDS: She was worth it. I did, I...

KING: What was the problem?

SHIELDS: I -- it's actually -- it's not really a fertility issue. It's -- but I did have to go through IVF. I had lost my first child, and you know what, they never really know what the problem is. Mine is actually structural, without going into too much detail.

KING: Jut the way your body...

SHIELDS: If the show were a little later...

KING: It's the way you're built.

SHIELDS: It's the way I'm built.

KING: Come back at 1:00 a.m., we'll get into it.

SHIELDS: Yeah, come back at 1:00 a.m., I'll give you the full story.

KING: Can you have more children?

SHIELDS: I can. Yes. My plumbing is all fine.

KING: We'll be right back -- we'll be right back with Brooke Shields. She stars in "Wonderful Town" on Broadway, to rave reviews. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIELDS: Did you see the matchbooks that he ordered? What does that say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Kip Richmans. SHIELDS: That's right! The Kip Richmans! Not Kip and Susan, or Susan and Kip. No, the Kip Richmans. Mom, he is Kip Richman. I'm just the S at the end. We're talking about the rest of my life, mom. I've got to be more than just a S. There's an USAN in there too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Brooke Shields. Now as I remember in "Wonderful Town," she's not supposed to be a glamour puss.

SHIELDS: She's not.

KING: Did you have to play down your looks?

SHIELDS: It's not about playing down or not. I spoke to Kathleen Marshall in depth about this. It's an availability that she does not have. Her sister is very -- she's not about being the pretty one, the not pretty one -- I mean there is an appeal to her, there was an appeal to Rosalind Russell, it's about being available, it's about wanting respect in a male world and putting off men really.

KING: Comedy come easy to you?

SHIELDS: It's comfortable for me. I understand it. I never -- I've always used it as self-deprecation. It was sort of my way. You know, it's a good wall. I love it. I appreciate it.

KING: It's well known you had problems with your mother and the like growing up. Did you use comedy?

SHIELDS: I used comedy for everything.

KING: It's very Jewish.

SHIELDS: I know I'm a shiksa but I'm telling you, I got the other side, too. That's what my world was.

KING: You had a rough time?

SHIELDS: I did. Who doesn't in a sense? But I could escape to comedy. So now when do I it, I understand it so much and I understand the need for it. But I understand the choreography of it and it's a sensitive -- if you do something, if you bail on a gag a second too early you have bailed and you've become judgmental of the audience. Or if you comment on it, you are judging them and you are not allowing them to laugh. If you milk it too far, a second over, then it's too self-indulgent and you don't get the laugh. You can sense it.

KING: Do you think you had a lot, so much, so soon?

SHIELDS: I think I keep getting a lot all of the time. I mean, I think...

KING: Your life was in tabloids... SHIELDS: My orthodontist appointments were news.

KING: That's right.

SHIELDS: Slow news week.

KING: They knew you at Princeton, right?

SHIELDS: They did, but they became very protective at Princeton.

KING: A good experience?

SHIELDS: It was a wonderful experience. Four years that were very incubated but I was able to focus on my mind, which is a very liberating place.

KING: How did you deal with all those years when you were associated with...

SHIELDS: There is a list?

KING: Liam Neeson, Michael Bolton, JFK Jr, Dodi Al-Fayed...

SHIELDS: He's just kidding, honey.

KING: I'm going to ask about your husband. What was that like when you are a very upfront person, you are in front of the public, dating people in front of the public and then you get involved with a major tennis player -- what was that like?

SHIELDS: Sometimes it's just easier. You get to share the burden of it. It's all really ridiculous. It's sort of like Leo, who I don't know, but I like pretending I know him by calling him Leo, says there are other things important in the world and that matter, that the sort of the ridiculous nature of the obsession with celebrity.

KING: Why are we obsessed with it, funny one?

SHIELDS: I'm not sure about the humor in it. I think it's...

KING: He says he laughs. Leonardo said he laughs a lot.

SHIELDS: I think I find it ridiculous. I think it's funny but also is sad to me that that is interesting. Because I think people, to augment their own self-worth they think often you turn to a tabloid so that you can feel better about yourself. Because if people that you put on a pedestal are eating with their mouth open or doing something, I think that then it sort of levels us all. It sort of levels the playing ground. It's silly. It really is quite silly.

I find that I have a different approach to it being a mother. I understand it as an invasive part of my life, much more so now and yet I'm caught between being proud about how stunning she is as a human being inside and out and sort of wanting to show her off to the world and you know by the other side, sort of I want to protect her more and find it invasive.

KING: It's mixed emotions.

SHIELDS: It is.

KING: Tell me about Mr. Husband and why this works.

SHIELDS: Because he is very confident in who he is. He's very solid, he's very smart. His sense of...

KING: He's not a high profile person.

SHIELDS: He's not. Unfortunately I've made him a little bit more of a high profile...

KING: Does he like that or not?

SHIELDS: I think he's able to find the true humor in it. With me he's able to make me feel like none of it really -- none of it is more important than our daughter is and we are. He has his own career and yet it's close enough to my industry.

KING: He does...

SHIELDS: He's a writer, he's a comedy writer. He's currently writing entourage. but he's written sitcoms before and "Spin City" and he had two of his own shows so he's very familiar with the world without being such an integral part of it. He can help me laugh at it.

KING: How did you meet?

SHIELDS: He was writing actually in Washington. He was writing a Christmas special that I was hosting, because I was on NBC at the time. I was hosting the show.

KING: Liked him right away?

SHIELDS: Right away. I did. I appreciated -- he's so -- he's very down to earth. He just makes you feel comfortable. He's allowed me to see myself the way other people have seen me.

KING: You can be intimidating though. He was not intimidated?

SHIELDS: He was not intimidated by me. Because I'm -- I think he focuses on my more dorky side and lets that -- he's not afraid of all my -- all that comes with my life. My life doesn't seem too big for him to navigate.

KING: Your self confidence has grown then?

SHIELDS: Tremendously. It's grown with him, because of him, because of my daughter and because I'm able to now be the type of actress that I've always believed I had the ability to be but didn't feel like I was getting the opportunity. So I think in just -- in the past, even just few years, I'm much more aware of who I am. KING: Will this change "This Wonderful Town?" You leave at the end of January. Will this change do you think the kind of offers you get? Put you in another league?

SHIELDS: I think it does. I didn't do it for those reasons so I'm proud to say that. Didn't have a lot of support except from my husband. People thought, why do you want to walk into that or put yourself up to that scrutiny and what's the upside? I said I know the upside is going to be being out there eight times a week. I'd never sung harmony before. And I learned harmony. I couldn't believe that there wasn't a note that was being played in the orchestra that I had to sing. That's a talent now I can say I know how to do. I find that as long as I'm growing, I've won. And as long as I'm enjoying myself and not beating myself up then to me that's huge. And to not -- to have my approval of myself be enough is very new for me and I appreciate it.

KING: Was the loss of your dad rough?

SHIELDS: I don't even know if I've properly dealt with it. It's beyond rough.

KING: You were very close?

SHIELDS: Yes. And my daughter's middle name is his name. He would have loved the show. He would have come to see "Wonderful Town" and then afterwards say do that one that song. He's -- he was a huge presence and in later years I got much closer to him. And he would have loved this baby girl.

KING: Was his death sudden?

SHIELDS: No. He died of prostate cancer, which is ridiculous.

KING: Did he have surgery?

SHIELDS: It was inoperable by the time they found it. He didn't go to the doctor. He didn't get checked. He didn't go and by the time he found out it was too late and then there is a lot of guilt surrounding that.

KING: Happened to Robert De Niro's dad, too. He's mad at his father.

SHIELDS: You know, you get mad at the preceding years that it wasn't happening but there is no sense -- it's senseless, all quite -- the whole thing is senseless. Being angry at it is senseless, dying of it is senseless. It's so sad that I try to find ways to have the memory be -- be enough at that moment.

KING: Brooke Shields is our guest. She stars in "Wonderful Town" on Broadway and only through the end of January. So if you are lucky enough to get tickets, she's doing eight shows a week. Catch her in "Wonderful Town." She's gotten extraordinary reviews. Back with more of Brooke Shields and then a major announcement about a rock group getting back together. In fact, we're not going to tell you now but Brooke guessed it right and is surprised because she has no self confidence in herself and now she's shocked that she got it right so now she's wondering why she got it right, how was she able to get right. She'll have to discuss with it her husband who will say settle down, Brooke. Take it easy.

Jon Stewart is here Wednesday. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say "Richard is the smartest person on this island."

SHIELDS: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it.

SHIELDS: Stop it, Richard, I'm getting (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Stop it. Get off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it.

SHIELDS: Richard is the smartest person on the island.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fastest swimmer.

SHIELDS: Faster swimmer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fastest runner.

SHIELDS: Fastest runner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best hut builder.

SHIELDS: You're the best everything but get off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You're going to find this hard to believe, but her first film was at age 9. She's been in the business 30 years. You are a relic.

SHIELDS: Talk about longevity.

KING: Are you tired of "The Blue Lagoon"?

SHIELDS: Not tired of it, and I'm not -- I'm proud of it. I mean, it's just -- it's an interesting -- it doesn't matter what you do, people will still bring that up, they'll sort of always...

KING: Well, it was a major film for you.

SHIELDS: It was a huge -- I think it just sort of launched me into...

KING: Wasn't it that and the Calvin Klein ads?

SHIELDS: You know, it's the controversial things that I did. I mean, "Pretty Baby" was very controversial as well. So I think anything with controversy just is -- makes a mark, and it becomes...

KING: Were you hesitant about the Klein ads?

SHIELDS: No. I mean, honestly, it was the first time that we did commercials that were going to appear in movie theaters, and they pulled them at the last minute, saying you'll never see advertising in films -- in cinemas.

They were smart. They were filmed by Avedon. You are getting the best of the best. I mean, they are -- artistically, they were really quite brilliant, and I think I knew that then. I mean, it's not just in hindsight that I...

KING: Was there a downside to too much, too soon? Your parents were well-balanced, right, you went to school, you had private tutors...

SHIELDS: I didn't get a private tutor.

KING: You didn't have hangups? Right? I mean, they didn't give you a lot of hangups.

SHIELDS: No, not that I know of. Maybe (UNINTELLIGIBLE) later. At this point, no, I don't know of them.

I went to regular schools. I stayed in the city. I stayed in Manhattan, I was born and raised in Manhattan. And didn't go out to California and sort of go that route.

KING: You are smart, you went to Princeton. You weren't show biz.

SHIELDS: You know, I think that there was always a balance that was trying to be created, and it was perpetuated by my family, and I felt comfortable in living in two separate worlds, as long as I knew I had the other one. Meaning the school, I went -- knowing school was mine and -- but I think -- I'm glad that it happened that way. A, I don't have a choice, but also the sense of longevity that I have now makes me understand that I've got some really good years ahead of me for work.

KING: Is this the happiest you have ever been?

SHIELDS: The happiest I've ever been, absolutely. And the more -- and I'm excited about the future. I'm not worried about the future.

KING: What are you going to do you next?

SHIELDS: I am going to take a couple of months off, because anybody that's been on Broadway knows, just my body needs a break. Definitely spend more time with my husband. I'll probably be going to London to do a play on the West End for a few weeks.

KING: Really? A new play?

SHIELDS: I think -- maybe, maybe not. I haven't decided. There are sort of two options available, and it's going to -- whatever works out best with the schedule. I may even -- I'm not sure yet. But anyway.

KING: We only have a minute left. You were stalked. Was that a terrible time in your life?

SHIELDS: It's terrible even having to think about the fact that someone...

KING: Is he gone now, is he...?

SHIELDS: He's under -- he's being monitored. He's...

KING: Because you are defenseless in that kind of situation?

SHIELDS: You know what? Only if you make yourself that. I mean, I'll never allow myself to become the hunted. And you take certain precautions not to be. And you just -- you can't, because then they win, then you have given your life up, and that's not worth it.

KING: You are some lady. You're a great talent.

SHIELDS: Thank you.

KING: It's great knowing you.

SHIELDS: Nice to know you. Thank you.

KING: Brooke Shields, TV, film, stage star, currently starring on Broadway in "Wonderful Town." That's only through the end of January. So make plans to see her, as again, with incredibly startling reviews.

And when we come back, she guessed it, see if you can. A major rock group, they've been apart a while. That is the stage setting. Coming back tonight right here. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: OK. Going to take you backstage now at the Palladium in Los Angeles. They're about to go on stage. First time together in a number of years.

There is the crowd outside. All the crowd knows is they're going to see a major group. And there they are, folks. Motley Crue is back tonight!

There is Tommy Lee, the drummer and author of "The New York Times" best seller "Tommyland." Vince Neil, the vocalist. Mick Mars, the guitarist. And Nikki Sixx, the bassist.

We'll start with Tommy Lee. All right, Tommy, how did this happen?

TOMMY LEE, MOTLEY CRUE: Um, I have no idea actually. No, I'm just kidding. No. All of the promoters were calling us and that saying all of the fans wanted this so we got together, and we pulled it together in true Motley Crue fashion. Like the fans want it so let's do it.

NIKKI SIXX, MOTLEY CRUE: Give it up for the fans. We made some new music, new video and we're going to go out on tour.

KING: But, Vince, you had a bad breakup, what's going to change now?

VINCE NEIL, MOTLEY CRUE: Well, we still hate each other but we're tolerating it. No, good thing is, that me and Tommy found a common bond in Peter Grigio (ph).

KING: Do you expect things to be a lot better now, Vince?

NEIL: You know what, it was never bad in the first place.

KING: No?

NEIL: It was -- it was kind of like the who squeezed the toothpaste from the bottom or from the top. And Tommy was always the one who squeezed it from the top.

KING: Hey, Nick (sic). Were you bothered by the fact, Nick (sic), that Tommy got so famous?

LEE: Was that Mick or Nik?

(CROSSTALK)

LEE: Mick Mars.

MICK MARS, MOTLEY CRUE: What was the question? I can't hear.

KING: Were you bothered by the fact that Tommy got so famous?

MARS: This is a really -- Larry -- Larry, you know what, this is a really stupid question.

KING: Why?

LEE: He's not good.

MARS: Were you bothered by the fact that Tommy got so famous. I was so depressed, I was befuddled, didn't know what to do.

LEE: Come on Larry, you can do better than that.

KING: It bothered me, Tommy. SIXX: By the way, Mick Mars, has video coming -- a porno coming at you next month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's "Called the Horse."

SIXX: It's "Called the Horse." We call him the horse.

KING: Nikki, you divide your money equally, but Tommy did get very well known, and he burst through. He's got a best-selling book. Does that -- did that hinder the group at all, Nikki?

SIXX: No way, man. It's awesome, much love for everybody and everybody in this band is so talented. These guys all do their thing, but when we are together, it's totally dysfunctional and rock 'n' roll. You know it's dysfunctional, don't you?

KING: Tommy, do you have all new material?

LEE: We have a couple new songs. hand we're going to go on tour starting January 17..

NEIL: February.

LEE: I'm sorry, February.

SIXX: Tommy is going on tour -- Motley Crue is 17th of January.

LEE: We're all going to get it together at some point.

SIXX: Told you we are dysfunction dysfunctional.

KING: How long have you guys known each other?

SIXX: Wow man.

NEIL: Me and Tommy actually went to high school together.

LEE: yes.

NEIL: So, we -- it was like 8th and 9th grade, something like that.

LEE: We've known each other forever. Too long. Let's not date ourselves.

SIXX: Or more they didn't go to high school together.

LEE: Yes, we just hung out and partied.

NEIL: Hung out together.

KING: You're coming back together. Are you nervous tonight? You are about to go on stage, first time together, in like five years. This is a historic evening. Is there a bit of edge here? Is a little bit of nerves?

LEE: Oh hell, no.

SIXX: No way. This what we do, we go out and shred.

LEE: We got go out and kick ass. Oops, can we say that?

KING: Yes, you can say that.

SIXX: We can say ass?

LEE: OK, we're going to go kick some ass, Larry. For you. This one is for you.

KING: Well they're going to -- They're going to call you on stage in about 30 seconds, and we're going to carry part of number. By the way, we can carry this, right?

GROUP: Yes. Yes, sir.

SIXX: We've got -- we got no naked girls at the top of the show.

NEIL: Not yet.

SIXX: That's a little later.

KING: Nikki's not depressed, is he. You are not down you are, Nik, you're up?

LEE: Hey, Larry, you've got to come out and see one of these shows.

KING: You start in January, how long are you going to be in L.A.?

SIXX: No, no, February. You and Tommy are going on tour in January.

KING: That's right, we head it up.

SIXX: Got a little rap group.

LEE: I'll call you, Larry.

KING: OK. All right, I understand you are going to be ready to go on stage. You guys...

(CROSSTALK)

KING: ... it go now?

LEE: We're ready to go kick some ass.

KING: OK, go get them.

SIXX: Call us out there, bro. Here we go. All right here we go.

LEE: It's LARRY KING LIVE. Word up.

KING: We're going to follow you -- cameras will follow you out. Ladies and gentlemen, here they come at the Palladium at Los Angeles. They're back together, their first live get together in five years! The Motley Crue are back!

Our cameras are backstage as the Crue gets ready to go on stage, the crowd obviously anticipatory. Somewhat reminiscent of the John Kerry rally, anyway, the last rally I covered. They are ready to go. They're hugging each other. The Crue is excited. Cameras right there following them. This is another CNN first. We've been doing this show almost 20 years and this is the first time in the history of LARRY KING LIVE that we have reunited a major rock group. All of the crowd knows is that a major rock group is coming out on stage. I imagine now the buzz has reached them that it is Motley Crue. And Brooke Shields did identify them correctly. I think they are going out now. Here they come!

(MOTLEY CRUE PREFORMING "DR. FEELGOOD")

KING: Another LARRY KING LIVE first. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Running a little late. Here's Aaron Brown and NEWSNIGHT, Aaron.

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 6, 2004 - 21:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, Leonardo DiCaprio, a rare one on one with a brilliant young actor who's playing an American legend on screen and becoming one himself.

And then Brooke Shields from "Pretty Baby" and those controversial Calvin Klein ads to raising a baby of her own and what she went through to become a mom.

Plus, big news that rock fans never thought they would hear. A legendary band is back together for the first time in five years and they'll tell us about it first, right here as they go on stage to launch a reunion tour.

It's all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: We finally welcome to LARRY KING LIVE tonight, Leonardo DiCaprio. He's coming to us from Los Angeles. We're in New York.

He's the star of "The Aviator." A film that opens in select theaters on December 17 and then will open wide on Christmas Day, directed by Martin Scorsese.

I saw it yesterday and I'll tell you, Leonardo, as I told you off the air, it's a terrific movie. You ought to be very proud of this work. One you wanted to do for a long time, right?

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: Absolutely. And it's a pleasure to finally talk to you, after all this time, Larry. A big fan of you as well.

KING: All right, thanks.

DICAPRIO: Yes. The genesis of this movie started about eight years ago. I picked up a book on Howard Hughes and that endless search for actor to find complex, interesting characters. I found this man, Howard Hughes, who I only really knew about as the older man, locked away in the hotel room. The political Howard Hughes, the billionaire, but I didn't truly understand the time period in which he lived with the golden age of Hollywood and the golden ages of aviation. He was really a pioneer in those departments and had all of the successes in the world, but eventually was taken down to his own person mental hell by his obsessive compulsive disorder. So, it was really one of those books where I picked up immediately and said to myself, this is ready to go as a character and as a film.

KING: Is it harder to play someone who lived?

DICAPRIO: I don't think so. I mean, I always subliminally have been attracted to real men in history or real historic figures, because there's just a certain air of authenticity about it. But when you have all of that material to work with and if you have a question about your character, his intentions or something that happened in his childhood that as a result of a scene you are doing to be able to look at, you know, 50 different books that give sometimes conflicting answers, because he was such a mysterious figure, people are always trying to figure him out and gave different examples of what he actually did. But when you actually have all that material to work, it can only help you in the movie making process.

KING: What do you think happened to him, Leonardo?

What -- because there was a time Howard Hughes was famous for being accessible.

DICAPRIO: Well, the truth is that he had obsessive compulsive disorder and he was a germophobe. And OCD at the time was not, there was no doctor around that could really prescribe him medication for him, even if he was to meet with a doctor. I don't think he would have. But he had OCD and it was one of those things that throughout progressively throughout his life, became more and more apparent and more and more intense. And the real interesting thing about his life is here you have this technological genius, this man obsessed, this man that has -- had did so much in the golden era of Hollywood, and aviation and commercial travel and was America's first legitimate billionaire, and watching that breakdown, that technological genius, then going to the minutia of how his lunch would be delivered. Or how a can soup was to be opened. And how he locked himself away after this -- that tragic X-11 -- XF-11 crash. And really it's some of the most frightening examples of mental illness I've ever seen, these intense memos and the detail he put into them.

KING: By the way, crash scene is maybe the best airplane crash scene I've ever seen.

DICAPRIO: I agree.

KING: What -- I know you are an executive producer of the film, but what did it take to shoot that?

DICAPRIO: Well, I think that's a question for Mr. Scorsese. I know he planned it out months and months in advance and the same (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- of the same gentleman that did all of the technical stuff for "The Titanic" worked on this movie. And the way Marty works is, he really planned it out like a great piece of opera. He took a piece of opera music and planned out each shot beforehand. And really wanted to give the most accurate depiction of what that -- what that crash was like, which was a phenomenal crash that Howard Hughes walked away from. He flew his experimental plane right into Beverly Hills and survived. It was one of the most phenomenal sequences I've ever seen in a movie in a long time. KING: Well, it is magnificently directed. When you work for someone like Scorsese and it's kind of your project too, you're an exec producer, are you working for him or is he working for you?

DICAPRIO: I think that, when you work with somebody of that caliber there's just an immediate respect for him and his process. Being a producer on this movie, I didn't work with him any different than I did on the film I did before, "Gangs of New York."

You come in as an actor, you do your job to the best of your ability and at the end of the day he calls the shots. You're working with somebody who's a historian of film, a master of his craft. And to be in those hands every day, whatever question you have, he can give you 20 different examples of how a scene was done like that in the past. He's literally like a database of film. He's seen every film ever made up until 1980, I believe. I mean, for lack of a better word, a genius.

KING: Yes, he is. He's a film freak.

DICAPRIO: He sure is.

KING: Are you? You grew up in film.

DICAPRIO: Yes. Well, I grew up in Los Angeles. I never quite felt that I was attached to the business. I always thought it was this elite club that you had to find membership to. And then I realized at a young age that all you had to do was really get an agent and start going out on auditions. And that's how it all started for me.

KING: Was your break "Gilbert Grape"?

DICAPRIO: "This Boy's Life."

KING: Yes.

DICAPRIO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I did with Robert De Niro.

KING: How old were you in that?

DICAPRIO: Sixteen.

KING: That was a terrific movie.

DICAPRIO: Thank you. Thank you.

KING: And then "Gilbert Grape" though is where you got your nomination, right?

DICAPRIO: Yes. Yes. I believe I was about 18 years old.

KING: Do you expect -- do actors like -- you know the work you've done, "The Aviator," you're obviously very proud of it, do you expect to be considered -- I mean, the film has already been selected by the National Board of Review as one of the top 10 films of the year.

Do you expect to be personally considered in the Oscar/Golden Globe sweeps?

DICAPRIO: Anyone would. Anyone would love that opportunity, to be recognized by their peers and whatnot. I mean, for me just to be able to be part of a film for eight years that I've been wanting -- a character that I've been wanted to play and all of the worries and things you think about before beforehand of whether a sequence is going to work or whether the sympathy of the character is going to be with the audience, whether they're going to be interested in time period and to see people's responses to the film at this point has been the greatest gift in the world. I mean, it truly went beyond my expectations of whatever I thought the movie could be. It's a great piece of art, you know.

KING: Who came up with the idea to include all of that terrific music?

DICAPRIO: Well, that's, once again, Mr. Scorsese. I added a little -- I added a couple songs in there myself, some Django Reinhardt, who I'm a huge fan of, has a great Django Reinhardt sequence and luckily enough we got to slip it in there.

KING: Our guest is Leonardo DiCaprio. We'll be back with another segment with Leonardo. He stars in "The Aviator." It opens in select theaters on the 17th and then wide, as they say in filmdom on Christmas Day. Right back with Leonardo DiCaprio after these words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICAPRIO: I'm going down, I'm not going to make it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of "The Aviator." There is a downside to the career you chose, the downside to fame is tabloids and rumors and all that. How do you deal with that?

DICAPRIO: Bah humbug. You know what? It's one of those situation where I'm such a lucky, fortunate person to be doing what I do, to hear myself complain about any of that stuff, I can't even hear it come out of my mouth sometimes. I mean, who wants to sit here and listen to somebody in my position complain about it? I'm extremely fortunate. The paparazzi, we all know the stories there. People that harass people in the business constantly but at the end of the day, there's much worse positions to be in in life in my opinion.

KING: Do you feel like your relationship with Gisele or whoever is fair game? Do you think the press is entitled to know about that?

DICAPRIO: It's something that piques people's interest. I look at those magazines on occasion myself, I laugh at them. They are funny. I think it's all in the grand circle of people wanting to say that we're all of the same, look at that person messing up, look at that funny photo, ha, ha, ha. You know, to me, it's like I said, there are so many worse problems in the world to me and it's something that by me sitting here, talking about it or complaining, ain't going to make a difference in the world.

KING: It ain't. Before we move on to other things, are things OK with you and her?

DICAPRIO: Everything is gravy in my life. I'm all good.

KING: Can't beat that. What are you doing next?

DICAPRIO: I'm doing a film called "The Departed" with Scorsese again.

KING: Again?

DICAPRIO: Yes. Based on a film, Chinese Film called "Infernal Affairs." It's a cop drama and with the undertone of a sort of gangster underworld. So I'm excited. That's next year.

KING: How do you deal with selection? For example, have you turned down anything you regretted?

DICAPRIO: Never regretted, but there are certain films that I've liked in the past that I thought were great that I got offered but it's one of those things, when you realize you want to do something for the rest your life, I know I want to be an actor for the rest of my life, I want to have longevity in this business. I don't want people to be oversaturated with me constantly. I want to be able to come out and show that I've really worked hard on something and put a lot of thought into it and present it to the world. And I think that creates a situation where maybe you can be in the business for a longer period of time. I truly want to be a part of movies that people are still renting at the future blockbusters 100 years from now.

KING: Why do you like it so much? Why do you like playing other people?

DICAPRIO: It's like a great college course for me, you know? It truly is. You get to learn about the filmmaking process, the different directors. You get to travel to different locations, have different experiences, research different characters in history, time periods in history, meet interesting, compelling people and at the end of the day you go up on set and get to experiment and mess around and you know, try approaching a character from different angles. That is what is most exciting to me.

KING: In this film we get incredible supporting performances from the ladies and from Mr. Baldwin but Alan Alda seems to rise to the occasion. How would you describe working with him?

DICAPRIO: He is the master of making lines of dialogue conversational. What he did in this movie, I remember talking with Scorsese earlier on about who we were going to cast in this role for Senator Brewster and he mentioned Alan Alda's name and I was like, he's such a great guy. I didn't immediately think of him as this white collar gangster, which the character was.

KING: Sure.

DICAPRIO: And he said, no, that's exactly it. I love him. I love him so much, everyone just loves Alan Alda. He's just the greatest guy. And to see him up there playing that character is going to throw people for a loop. And I immediately had a different response but as soon as he showed up on set and just casually started talking about, let's create a monopoly and let's -- you this big corporation, let's go into business together. And that's the real crux of the movie is watching this man Howard Hughes go up against the Senate and be very anti-government control, anti-monopoly, anti-big corporate enterprise. That's why he was a hero to a lot of people, as he took on this corrupt system. He was probably one of the only men in America that could do it at the time.

KING: He had a Ted Turner kind of quality. The scenes with you and Alda, when you are testifying are almost like click, click. It must have been fun -- is fun a good word? Was it fun to do those scenes?

DICAPRIO: It was an intense experience because most of the footage of Howard Hughes when you look back into history and I did a lot of research on the man, some of the only stuff where you get his true character, the sense of who that man really was, his guts, his unwillingness to give up, this fighting attitude is really displayed phenomenally well in the Senate hearings. You see truly one man taking on a Goliath system and I studied that as much as I could and really was some -- you know, the basis of creating Howard Hughes, the character, because as many different reports you hear of the man, a lot of people have a different opinion about who he actually was and that was the biggest help to me in trying to choose the Howard Hughes we wanted to portray and the way Marty shot that was amazing. You are almost like a voyeur sitting there watching these two men and it becomes this insane chess game.

KING: When he testified he was starting to go off the kilter so he had to really build himself up for those. That was like three days of testimony, I think.

DICAPRIO: Yes. It was really one of those points in his life where he had to break himself out of his personal mental hell, his OCD and his being a germophobe and coming out in a public forum like that. It really showed his will truly was and it was the XF-11 crash, after that crash, his body was in so much pain for the rest of his life that he became addicted to certain amounts of medication and it really kicked his OCD into a much bigger level. He had periods and breaks where he was OK for years at a time but then he would have a series of more intense breakdowns as his life went on and this movie portrays the onset of that dysfunction and with all the successes and riches that he encountered throughout his life, he was truly battling with his own mental illness. KING: Leonardo, you've had an extraordinary career so far and it's only the beginning. You are really on your way and it's a terrific film. I salute you and thank you for being with us.

DICAPRIO: Thank you, sir. And I can't wait to meet you in person one of these days. I look forward to it.

KING: Me, too. Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of "The Aviator," a terrific film. It opens in select cities on the 17th and wide on Christmas Day. We'll back with a lady who has taken New York by storm. Brooke Shields. She's starring in "Wonderful Town." And then an announcement that will interest a lot of people will occur at the end of the show about a rock group getting back together. You're going to love this. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICAPRIO: Now, I am supposed to be many things which are not complimentary. I'm supposed to be capricious. I have been called a playboy. I've even been called an eccentric, but I don't believe that I have the repetition of being a liar. Now, Senator Brewster, you can subpoena me, you can arrest me, you can even claim that I folded up and taken a run-out pattern, but well, I've had just about enough of this nonsense. Good afternoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Hasn't been here in 13 years, and we've missed her. Good to have her back. Brooke Shields, a film, TV and stage actress, looking as lovely as ever, currently starring on Broadway in "Wonderful Town." And she has accorded some incredible reviews. Ben Brantley of "The New York Times": "Brooke Shields is a delight. Clive Barnes, a terrific performer, an unerring sense of humor." The Associated Press says "Brooke Shields recalls the great Lucille Ball at her most hilarious."

You just stepped into this, huh?

SHIELDS: I did. I did.

KING: What happened?

SHIELDS: You know, I was asked to replace the woman who originated it, Donna Murphy, who's an unbelievable talent, and she was going to be leaving the show, and they said would I come in? And I went to go see it, and when you are a replacement, you only get two weeks to learn a show. And that's always a bit daunting, and you're sort of -- not necessarily the thing that is optimal as far as being the best that you can be, but I saw it and I saw it with my husband, and I just saw a great deal of room for humor, and thought, you know what, if they want me and they're going to trust me, I'm going to do my best.

KING: Did you have complete faith you could pull it off? SHIELDS: I had complete faith in my commitment. I knew I would be able to do it. I was not sure how it was going to be received. Again, I was stepping -- they were big shoes to fill. And Donna had gotten a nomination, and so you are going in, you're going into a lot, but I wasn't afraid of it. And I was so excited about it. What I knew would happen for me personally just by being that confident on stage and having that much fun, that I knew.

KING: And you had done "Cabaret" and "Grease."

SHIELDS: I had.

KING: So Broadway was not foreign for you.

SHIELDS: No. And it's a comfortable environment, and the thing about Broadway, they always just -- they welcome you really with open arms. Because once you have gone through it, it's sort of like you really go through an experience that's very hard. Eight shows a week is -- "Cabaret" -- eight shows a week is daunting, and it can be terrifying. But it just instills such a sense of confidence and growth.

KING: Did it help having seen someone else do it?

SHIELDS: It helped -- the cadence of it I knew would change a bit as far as my comedy. But I needed to make sure that vocally I would be adept enough. Choreographically it was fine. And I knew comedically, I mean, the scenes were going to be possible for me, and vocally I was just -- I knew I would have to learn a great deal.

KING: Do you prefer this to film?

SHIELDS: I don't know if I would prefer one more than another. I think there is more immediate gratification with this.

KING: What's being a mom like and how has it affected, I mean, baby comes first, right?

SHIELDS: She does come first.

KING: Rowan.

SHIELDS: Rowan.

KING: Rowan's gorgeous.

SHIELDS: Thank you. And your children are as well.

KING: There she is.

SHIELDS: They are all paparazzi pictures. How sweet. She's a doll. What's interesting is it's made my life on stage a bit more forgiving as far as I'm concerned.

KING: Meaning?

SHIELDS: I beat myself up a lot all the time about my performances.

KING: Self-critical?

SHIELDS: Very self-critical. I'm a perfectionist. I'm rarely completely satisfied.

KING: How does this help then?

SHIELDS: You know what? She makes me realize that if I make mistakes, it's OK. That it's also all right to have fun doing a performance. That you don't necessarily have to be in misery to be talented. You know, "Cabaret" was a very dark, dark play to do, and I felt there was validity in that. And this is a fun, happy, very energetic play. And it's just as valid to me. And I think she's taught me how to ...

KING: Was she worth the wait? You had a rough time getting pregnant, right?

SHIELDS: She was worth it. I did, I...

KING: What was the problem?

SHIELDS: I -- it's actually -- it's not really a fertility issue. It's -- but I did have to go through IVF. I had lost my first child, and you know what, they never really know what the problem is. Mine is actually structural, without going into too much detail.

KING: Jut the way your body...

SHIELDS: If the show were a little later...

KING: It's the way you're built.

SHIELDS: It's the way I'm built.

KING: Come back at 1:00 a.m., we'll get into it.

SHIELDS: Yeah, come back at 1:00 a.m., I'll give you the full story.

KING: Can you have more children?

SHIELDS: I can. Yes. My plumbing is all fine.

KING: We'll be right back -- we'll be right back with Brooke Shields. She stars in "Wonderful Town" on Broadway, to rave reviews. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIELDS: Did you see the matchbooks that he ordered? What does that say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Kip Richmans. SHIELDS: That's right! The Kip Richmans! Not Kip and Susan, or Susan and Kip. No, the Kip Richmans. Mom, he is Kip Richman. I'm just the S at the end. We're talking about the rest of my life, mom. I've got to be more than just a S. There's an USAN in there too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Brooke Shields. Now as I remember in "Wonderful Town," she's not supposed to be a glamour puss.

SHIELDS: She's not.

KING: Did you have to play down your looks?

SHIELDS: It's not about playing down or not. I spoke to Kathleen Marshall in depth about this. It's an availability that she does not have. Her sister is very -- she's not about being the pretty one, the not pretty one -- I mean there is an appeal to her, there was an appeal to Rosalind Russell, it's about being available, it's about wanting respect in a male world and putting off men really.

KING: Comedy come easy to you?

SHIELDS: It's comfortable for me. I understand it. I never -- I've always used it as self-deprecation. It was sort of my way. You know, it's a good wall. I love it. I appreciate it.

KING: It's well known you had problems with your mother and the like growing up. Did you use comedy?

SHIELDS: I used comedy for everything.

KING: It's very Jewish.

SHIELDS: I know I'm a shiksa but I'm telling you, I got the other side, too. That's what my world was.

KING: You had a rough time?

SHIELDS: I did. Who doesn't in a sense? But I could escape to comedy. So now when do I it, I understand it so much and I understand the need for it. But I understand the choreography of it and it's a sensitive -- if you do something, if you bail on a gag a second too early you have bailed and you've become judgmental of the audience. Or if you comment on it, you are judging them and you are not allowing them to laugh. If you milk it too far, a second over, then it's too self-indulgent and you don't get the laugh. You can sense it.

KING: Do you think you had a lot, so much, so soon?

SHIELDS: I think I keep getting a lot all of the time. I mean, I think...

KING: Your life was in tabloids... SHIELDS: My orthodontist appointments were news.

KING: That's right.

SHIELDS: Slow news week.

KING: They knew you at Princeton, right?

SHIELDS: They did, but they became very protective at Princeton.

KING: A good experience?

SHIELDS: It was a wonderful experience. Four years that were very incubated but I was able to focus on my mind, which is a very liberating place.

KING: How did you deal with all those years when you were associated with...

SHIELDS: There is a list?

KING: Liam Neeson, Michael Bolton, JFK Jr, Dodi Al-Fayed...

SHIELDS: He's just kidding, honey.

KING: I'm going to ask about your husband. What was that like when you are a very upfront person, you are in front of the public, dating people in front of the public and then you get involved with a major tennis player -- what was that like?

SHIELDS: Sometimes it's just easier. You get to share the burden of it. It's all really ridiculous. It's sort of like Leo, who I don't know, but I like pretending I know him by calling him Leo, says there are other things important in the world and that matter, that the sort of the ridiculous nature of the obsession with celebrity.

KING: Why are we obsessed with it, funny one?

SHIELDS: I'm not sure about the humor in it. I think it's...

KING: He says he laughs. Leonardo said he laughs a lot.

SHIELDS: I think I find it ridiculous. I think it's funny but also is sad to me that that is interesting. Because I think people, to augment their own self-worth they think often you turn to a tabloid so that you can feel better about yourself. Because if people that you put on a pedestal are eating with their mouth open or doing something, I think that then it sort of levels us all. It sort of levels the playing ground. It's silly. It really is quite silly.

I find that I have a different approach to it being a mother. I understand it as an invasive part of my life, much more so now and yet I'm caught between being proud about how stunning she is as a human being inside and out and sort of wanting to show her off to the world and you know by the other side, sort of I want to protect her more and find it invasive.

KING: It's mixed emotions.

SHIELDS: It is.

KING: Tell me about Mr. Husband and why this works.

SHIELDS: Because he is very confident in who he is. He's very solid, he's very smart. His sense of...

KING: He's not a high profile person.

SHIELDS: He's not. Unfortunately I've made him a little bit more of a high profile...

KING: Does he like that or not?

SHIELDS: I think he's able to find the true humor in it. With me he's able to make me feel like none of it really -- none of it is more important than our daughter is and we are. He has his own career and yet it's close enough to my industry.

KING: He does...

SHIELDS: He's a writer, he's a comedy writer. He's currently writing entourage. but he's written sitcoms before and "Spin City" and he had two of his own shows so he's very familiar with the world without being such an integral part of it. He can help me laugh at it.

KING: How did you meet?

SHIELDS: He was writing actually in Washington. He was writing a Christmas special that I was hosting, because I was on NBC at the time. I was hosting the show.

KING: Liked him right away?

SHIELDS: Right away. I did. I appreciated -- he's so -- he's very down to earth. He just makes you feel comfortable. He's allowed me to see myself the way other people have seen me.

KING: You can be intimidating though. He was not intimidated?

SHIELDS: He was not intimidated by me. Because I'm -- I think he focuses on my more dorky side and lets that -- he's not afraid of all my -- all that comes with my life. My life doesn't seem too big for him to navigate.

KING: Your self confidence has grown then?

SHIELDS: Tremendously. It's grown with him, because of him, because of my daughter and because I'm able to now be the type of actress that I've always believed I had the ability to be but didn't feel like I was getting the opportunity. So I think in just -- in the past, even just few years, I'm much more aware of who I am. KING: Will this change "This Wonderful Town?" You leave at the end of January. Will this change do you think the kind of offers you get? Put you in another league?

SHIELDS: I think it does. I didn't do it for those reasons so I'm proud to say that. Didn't have a lot of support except from my husband. People thought, why do you want to walk into that or put yourself up to that scrutiny and what's the upside? I said I know the upside is going to be being out there eight times a week. I'd never sung harmony before. And I learned harmony. I couldn't believe that there wasn't a note that was being played in the orchestra that I had to sing. That's a talent now I can say I know how to do. I find that as long as I'm growing, I've won. And as long as I'm enjoying myself and not beating myself up then to me that's huge. And to not -- to have my approval of myself be enough is very new for me and I appreciate it.

KING: Was the loss of your dad rough?

SHIELDS: I don't even know if I've properly dealt with it. It's beyond rough.

KING: You were very close?

SHIELDS: Yes. And my daughter's middle name is his name. He would have loved the show. He would have come to see "Wonderful Town" and then afterwards say do that one that song. He's -- he was a huge presence and in later years I got much closer to him. And he would have loved this baby girl.

KING: Was his death sudden?

SHIELDS: No. He died of prostate cancer, which is ridiculous.

KING: Did he have surgery?

SHIELDS: It was inoperable by the time they found it. He didn't go to the doctor. He didn't get checked. He didn't go and by the time he found out it was too late and then there is a lot of guilt surrounding that.

KING: Happened to Robert De Niro's dad, too. He's mad at his father.

SHIELDS: You know, you get mad at the preceding years that it wasn't happening but there is no sense -- it's senseless, all quite -- the whole thing is senseless. Being angry at it is senseless, dying of it is senseless. It's so sad that I try to find ways to have the memory be -- be enough at that moment.

KING: Brooke Shields is our guest. She stars in "Wonderful Town" on Broadway and only through the end of January. So if you are lucky enough to get tickets, she's doing eight shows a week. Catch her in "Wonderful Town." She's gotten extraordinary reviews. Back with more of Brooke Shields and then a major announcement about a rock group getting back together. In fact, we're not going to tell you now but Brooke guessed it right and is surprised because she has no self confidence in herself and now she's shocked that she got it right so now she's wondering why she got it right, how was she able to get right. She'll have to discuss with it her husband who will say settle down, Brooke. Take it easy.

Jon Stewart is here Wednesday. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say "Richard is the smartest person on this island."

SHIELDS: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it.

SHIELDS: Stop it, Richard, I'm getting (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Stop it. Get off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it.

SHIELDS: Richard is the smartest person on the island.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fastest swimmer.

SHIELDS: Faster swimmer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fastest runner.

SHIELDS: Fastest runner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best hut builder.

SHIELDS: You're the best everything but get off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You're going to find this hard to believe, but her first film was at age 9. She's been in the business 30 years. You are a relic.

SHIELDS: Talk about longevity.

KING: Are you tired of "The Blue Lagoon"?

SHIELDS: Not tired of it, and I'm not -- I'm proud of it. I mean, it's just -- it's an interesting -- it doesn't matter what you do, people will still bring that up, they'll sort of always...

KING: Well, it was a major film for you.

SHIELDS: It was a huge -- I think it just sort of launched me into...

KING: Wasn't it that and the Calvin Klein ads?

SHIELDS: You know, it's the controversial things that I did. I mean, "Pretty Baby" was very controversial as well. So I think anything with controversy just is -- makes a mark, and it becomes...

KING: Were you hesitant about the Klein ads?

SHIELDS: No. I mean, honestly, it was the first time that we did commercials that were going to appear in movie theaters, and they pulled them at the last minute, saying you'll never see advertising in films -- in cinemas.

They were smart. They were filmed by Avedon. You are getting the best of the best. I mean, they are -- artistically, they were really quite brilliant, and I think I knew that then. I mean, it's not just in hindsight that I...

KING: Was there a downside to too much, too soon? Your parents were well-balanced, right, you went to school, you had private tutors...

SHIELDS: I didn't get a private tutor.

KING: You didn't have hangups? Right? I mean, they didn't give you a lot of hangups.

SHIELDS: No, not that I know of. Maybe (UNINTELLIGIBLE) later. At this point, no, I don't know of them.

I went to regular schools. I stayed in the city. I stayed in Manhattan, I was born and raised in Manhattan. And didn't go out to California and sort of go that route.

KING: You are smart, you went to Princeton. You weren't show biz.

SHIELDS: You know, I think that there was always a balance that was trying to be created, and it was perpetuated by my family, and I felt comfortable in living in two separate worlds, as long as I knew I had the other one. Meaning the school, I went -- knowing school was mine and -- but I think -- I'm glad that it happened that way. A, I don't have a choice, but also the sense of longevity that I have now makes me understand that I've got some really good years ahead of me for work.

KING: Is this the happiest you have ever been?

SHIELDS: The happiest I've ever been, absolutely. And the more -- and I'm excited about the future. I'm not worried about the future.

KING: What are you going to do you next?

SHIELDS: I am going to take a couple of months off, because anybody that's been on Broadway knows, just my body needs a break. Definitely spend more time with my husband. I'll probably be going to London to do a play on the West End for a few weeks.

KING: Really? A new play?

SHIELDS: I think -- maybe, maybe not. I haven't decided. There are sort of two options available, and it's going to -- whatever works out best with the schedule. I may even -- I'm not sure yet. But anyway.

KING: We only have a minute left. You were stalked. Was that a terrible time in your life?

SHIELDS: It's terrible even having to think about the fact that someone...

KING: Is he gone now, is he...?

SHIELDS: He's under -- he's being monitored. He's...

KING: Because you are defenseless in that kind of situation?

SHIELDS: You know what? Only if you make yourself that. I mean, I'll never allow myself to become the hunted. And you take certain precautions not to be. And you just -- you can't, because then they win, then you have given your life up, and that's not worth it.

KING: You are some lady. You're a great talent.

SHIELDS: Thank you.

KING: It's great knowing you.

SHIELDS: Nice to know you. Thank you.

KING: Brooke Shields, TV, film, stage star, currently starring on Broadway in "Wonderful Town." That's only through the end of January. So make plans to see her, as again, with incredibly startling reviews.

And when we come back, she guessed it, see if you can. A major rock group, they've been apart a while. That is the stage setting. Coming back tonight right here. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: OK. Going to take you backstage now at the Palladium in Los Angeles. They're about to go on stage. First time together in a number of years.

There is the crowd outside. All the crowd knows is they're going to see a major group. And there they are, folks. Motley Crue is back tonight!

There is Tommy Lee, the drummer and author of "The New York Times" best seller "Tommyland." Vince Neil, the vocalist. Mick Mars, the guitarist. And Nikki Sixx, the bassist.

We'll start with Tommy Lee. All right, Tommy, how did this happen?

TOMMY LEE, MOTLEY CRUE: Um, I have no idea actually. No, I'm just kidding. No. All of the promoters were calling us and that saying all of the fans wanted this so we got together, and we pulled it together in true Motley Crue fashion. Like the fans want it so let's do it.

NIKKI SIXX, MOTLEY CRUE: Give it up for the fans. We made some new music, new video and we're going to go out on tour.

KING: But, Vince, you had a bad breakup, what's going to change now?

VINCE NEIL, MOTLEY CRUE: Well, we still hate each other but we're tolerating it. No, good thing is, that me and Tommy found a common bond in Peter Grigio (ph).

KING: Do you expect things to be a lot better now, Vince?

NEIL: You know what, it was never bad in the first place.

KING: No?

NEIL: It was -- it was kind of like the who squeezed the toothpaste from the bottom or from the top. And Tommy was always the one who squeezed it from the top.

KING: Hey, Nick (sic). Were you bothered by the fact, Nick (sic), that Tommy got so famous?

LEE: Was that Mick or Nik?

(CROSSTALK)

LEE: Mick Mars.

MICK MARS, MOTLEY CRUE: What was the question? I can't hear.

KING: Were you bothered by the fact that Tommy got so famous?

MARS: This is a really -- Larry -- Larry, you know what, this is a really stupid question.

KING: Why?

LEE: He's not good.

MARS: Were you bothered by the fact that Tommy got so famous. I was so depressed, I was befuddled, didn't know what to do.

LEE: Come on Larry, you can do better than that.

KING: It bothered me, Tommy. SIXX: By the way, Mick Mars, has video coming -- a porno coming at you next month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's "Called the Horse."

SIXX: It's "Called the Horse." We call him the horse.

KING: Nikki, you divide your money equally, but Tommy did get very well known, and he burst through. He's got a best-selling book. Does that -- did that hinder the group at all, Nikki?

SIXX: No way, man. It's awesome, much love for everybody and everybody in this band is so talented. These guys all do their thing, but when we are together, it's totally dysfunctional and rock 'n' roll. You know it's dysfunctional, don't you?

KING: Tommy, do you have all new material?

LEE: We have a couple new songs. hand we're going to go on tour starting January 17..

NEIL: February.

LEE: I'm sorry, February.

SIXX: Tommy is going on tour -- Motley Crue is 17th of January.

LEE: We're all going to get it together at some point.

SIXX: Told you we are dysfunction dysfunctional.

KING: How long have you guys known each other?

SIXX: Wow man.

NEIL: Me and Tommy actually went to high school together.

LEE: yes.

NEIL: So, we -- it was like 8th and 9th grade, something like that.

LEE: We've known each other forever. Too long. Let's not date ourselves.

SIXX: Or more they didn't go to high school together.

LEE: Yes, we just hung out and partied.

NEIL: Hung out together.

KING: You're coming back together. Are you nervous tonight? You are about to go on stage, first time together, in like five years. This is a historic evening. Is there a bit of edge here? Is a little bit of nerves?

LEE: Oh hell, no.

SIXX: No way. This what we do, we go out and shred.

LEE: We got go out and kick ass. Oops, can we say that?

KING: Yes, you can say that.

SIXX: We can say ass?

LEE: OK, we're going to go kick some ass, Larry. For you. This one is for you.

KING: Well they're going to -- They're going to call you on stage in about 30 seconds, and we're going to carry part of number. By the way, we can carry this, right?

GROUP: Yes. Yes, sir.

SIXX: We've got -- we got no naked girls at the top of the show.

NEIL: Not yet.

SIXX: That's a little later.

KING: Nikki's not depressed, is he. You are not down you are, Nik, you're up?

LEE: Hey, Larry, you've got to come out and see one of these shows.

KING: You start in January, how long are you going to be in L.A.?

SIXX: No, no, February. You and Tommy are going on tour in January.

KING: That's right, we head it up.

SIXX: Got a little rap group.

LEE: I'll call you, Larry.

KING: OK. All right, I understand you are going to be ready to go on stage. You guys...

(CROSSTALK)

KING: ... it go now?

LEE: We're ready to go kick some ass.

KING: OK, go get them.

SIXX: Call us out there, bro. Here we go. All right here we go.

LEE: It's LARRY KING LIVE. Word up.

KING: We're going to follow you -- cameras will follow you out. Ladies and gentlemen, here they come at the Palladium at Los Angeles. They're back together, their first live get together in five years! The Motley Crue are back!

Our cameras are backstage as the Crue gets ready to go on stage, the crowd obviously anticipatory. Somewhat reminiscent of the John Kerry rally, anyway, the last rally I covered. They are ready to go. They're hugging each other. The Crue is excited. Cameras right there following them. This is another CNN first. We've been doing this show almost 20 years and this is the first time in the history of LARRY KING LIVE that we have reunited a major rock group. All of the crowd knows is that a major rock group is coming out on stage. I imagine now the buzz has reached them that it is Motley Crue. And Brooke Shields did identify them correctly. I think they are going out now. Here they come!

(MOTLEY CRUE PREFORMING "DR. FEELGOOD")

KING: Another LARRY KING LIVE first. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Running a little late. Here's Aaron Brown and NEWSNIGHT, Aaron.

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