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American Morning
Anger Down Under; Tiananmen Square; Summer Movie Preview
Aired May 30, 2005 - 07:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi in for Bill. Coming up, we're going to talk to Australia's foreign minister about the fallout from the Schapelle Corby drug smuggling trial.
O'BRIEN: That's the Australian woman who insists that she is innocent. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Indonesia. Well, now Australians are furious, and that has put the government in a very tight spot. We're going to find out where this goes next.
Right now, though, let's get a check of the headlines with Carol Costello.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to both of you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
As we just heard from General Richard Myers, Operation Lightning is under way in Iraq. And, of course, that's 40,000 security forces surrounding the city of Baghdad, most of them Iraqi security forces. But it does involve 10,000 U.S. troops. They're surrounding Baghdad in order to root out the insurgency there.
Also in Iraq, Iraqi police on the scene of a twin suicide bombing in Hilla. That is south of Baghdad. Two suicide bombers wearing explosive belts blew themselves up this morning, killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 100 others. Most of the casualties were current or former Iraqi police officers.
Investigators near Columbus, Ohio, say they want to interview the only survivor of a suspected murder/suicide. Police found a rifle and six bodies in two farmhouses on Sunday. They believe the shooter is among the dead. A seventh victim, a 15-year-old girl, is recovering this morning. She's in critical condition. And police hope to speak with her as soon as possible.
European leaders are calling for a period of reflection after French voters rejected the European Union's first proposed constitution. Streets in Paris were packed overnight with people celebrating the no-vote, or non (ph) as they say in France. President Jacques Chirac had strongly urged approval, but many said it would have diminished France's national identity.
Former President Clinton is trying to make sure that aid from last year's tsunami disaster is distributed fairly. Clinton left for Sri Lanka and the Maldives for Banda Aceh this morning. It is the final leg of a four-day trip to the region. Clinton's aides are denying reports that he had suffered from exhaustion while on the trip and say he has a full schedule today.
And the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 may be remembered for who did not win. Dan Wheldon, he's the one drinking the milk in the victory lane on Sunday, the first Englishman to win it in nearly 40 years. But it was racing rookie Danica Patrick who captured hearts and minds. All eyes were on her, the first woman to lead a lap. I think she led, what, two or three times during the race?
VELSHI: Yes, and that's the first time that's happened.
COSTELLO: Isn't that cool? She came in fourth place, despite a wreck and almost running out of gas. Let's listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANICA PATRICK, RACE CAR DRIVER: You've got to do what you've got to do to finish the race. And, I mean, gosh, we were like 16th or something at one point. So I finished fourth. I'm just relieved, and I'm pleased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A lot of people are. Danica Patrick will join us live in two hours in the 9:00 Eastern hour.
O'BRIEN: Don't you feel a little sorry for Dan Wheldon? I mean, he wins, and...
VELSHI: And everybody is talking about Danica.
O'BRIEN: Right.
VELSHI: If I were...
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Not that I have any skill at this, but if I were in the Indy and if I were like Danica, I was getting up close to winning, I'd have to not do it because I'm lactose-intolerant.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Or you could just hand it off to a team member to drink for you.
VELSHI: I don't think you can do that.
COSTELLO: Or just pour it on your head.
VELSHI: Or get that special milk, the Lactaid stuff.
O'BRIEN: Make your request in advance.
VELSHI: It's my excuse for not being an award-winning racer.
O'BRIEN: Is that the reason why?
VELSHI: Yes, that's it.
O'BRIEN: Interesting to note. Carol, thanks.
Well, lawyers for Australian Schapelle Corby are still considering their options after her drug smuggling conviction in Indonesia. An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced the 27-year-old woman to 20 years in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are a liar, for your own people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's innocent! She's innocent!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a bloody liar!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: You see there, as the verdict was read, her family members went crazy. Her trial and her conviction are widely seen in Australia as unfair. Anger is widespread, in fact, that now it threatens Australian/Indonesian relations.
The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, is in Canberra this morning. Nice to see you, sir. Thank you for talking with us. As we mentioned, she got 20 years...
ALEXANDER DOWNER, FOREIGN MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: ... in prison. Do you believe that Schapelle Corby is innocent?
DOWNER: Well, that's not really a matter for me. It's a matter for the court. Indonesia has duly-constituted courts like all countries. And if somebody is arrested at an airport, as she was with four kilograms of marijuana on her, she, not surprisingly, has to face court. And the court has made its decision. She can now appeal that decision. As indicated, she will appeal to the Bali high court and possibly even beyond to the Indonesian Supreme Court.
So, it's really a matter for the courts. And whatever we may think privately, all of us have to learn to respect the decisions of courts.
O'BRIEN: It might be a matter for the courts. But, of course, as you can see in some of these pictures, and as you well know Australians are utterly outraged by this conviction. The prime minister says he will not intervene. Why not?
DOWNER: Well, you can't. You just can't. I mean, any attempt to try to intervene in the judicial process by a politician is likely to be entirely counterproductive. All it will do is create a very strong feeling of resentment. I mean, as people in America would object if foreigners tried to intervene in their court proceedings. Or if we had politicians from other countries intervening in our court proceedings.
I mean, the courts have got to be able to do their job. The courts here, the evidence as presented by the prosecution and by the defense, and they've got to make their own judgments about it.
We can provide some help, as we do for Australians who get into difficulties like this, financial assistance. We've offered the assistance of two very senior lawyers to help her, who are prepared to do the job for free. But over and above that, there's really literally nothing more we can do.
O'BRIEN: There are some options, and you mentioned one of them, which was an appeal. You also could potentially offer some kind of prisoner exchange or even appeal to the Indonesian president for a pardon. How likely are those two last options?
DOWNER: Well, nobody will be appealing for a pardon, of course, before all of the appeals processes are concluded in the courts. Obviously, because a pardon is only going to be given in any circumstances once there has been a conviction confirmed by appeals courts. But as for the prisoner transfer agreement, we've been having discussions with the Indonesians about a prisoner transfer agreement, and, well, we haven't negotiated it yet. We've only just begun the process. That will take some time to negotiate it.
O'BRIEN: Alexander Downer is the Australian foreign minister joining us this morning. Thank you for your time, sir.
VELSHI: It's time now for another check on the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty is off today, but Toure has got the "Question of the Day."
Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
Listen, scientists at the National Institute of Health are working on memory-enhancing drugs that will make your neurotransmitters fire faster, which will help you remember more things more clearly. Oh, joy! The drugs will supposedly help banish senior moments and boost SAT scores.
But can't you just see future Memorial Days, when we're all laid back in our cookouts and swallow a pill and have a good trip down memory lane, giving new meaning to this national day of memories? It sounds great, but I think most people's more pressing need is a memory-repressing drug to help push away those more painful memories, from getting dumped, to the annoying (INAUDIBLE), to getting yelled at by your boss.
And what if such a drug existed now? The "Question of the Day": What one memory would you like to have erased? E-mail us now at@cnn.com.
O'BRIEN: Good question. I'll have to think about that one.
VELSHI: Wasn't that the premise for that eternal spotless sunshine...
TOURE: Yes, yes.
VELSHI: ... clean mind?
TOURE: "Eternal Bliss of the Spotless Mind."
VELSHI: Yes. I skipped the movie because of the name.
TOURE: Oh, it was a great movie, though.
VELSHI: Maybe that's the memory that I'd like to erase.
TOURE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Eternal sunshine, right?
VELSHI: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
TOURE: Yes, yes.
O'BRIEN: Well, I'm sure we'll get lots of suggestions this morning. It will be interesting to hear what people have to say. Toure, thank you very much.
TOURE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Much more AMERICAN MORNING to come on this Memorial Day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready to begin?
O'BRIEN: It's Memorial Day, and the summer movie season has begun, from "Batman" to boxing, to everything in between, we've got you covered. Which flicks should you see? Our summer movie preview.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It should be fun, huh?
O'BRIEN: Later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All week long we are looking back at the history-making events of the last 25 years, brought to you by CNN.
In the spring of 1989, the world focused on a ground-breaking summit about to take place between the Soviet Union and China in Beijing. But something more momentous happened in Tiananmen Square.
Bill Hemmer has the story from the people who were there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: The protests in the spring of 1989 represented a kind of coming to the surface of deep currents of discontent that were bubbling in Chinese society. And when the former community party chief, Zhao Ziyang, who had been purged by hardliners in 1987, died in the middle of April, that was the catalyst. That was the moment when the students in Beijing took to the streets.
ALEX MIRAN, CNN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Just somehow, inexplicably, it continued to grow until right before the summit, you suddenly had 200,000, 300,000 students in the square, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): The Chinese government saw the escalating demonstrations as a threat. After four weeks of protests and a march by more than a million supporters, Chinese authorities responded with a show of force, sending out the army to advance toward the demonstrators.
CHINOY: I kept saying to myself, I kept saying to colleagues, one way or another, this is going to end badly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Martial law has been imposed on certain areas of Beijing.
BERNARD SHAW, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: They marched into our control room, and demanded that we cease our live transmissions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government has ordered us to shut down our facility. We are shutting down our facility.
SHAW: That's the story to the moment. For all of the hard working men and women of CNN, good-bye from Beijing.
HEMMER: CNN continued to cover the story by smuggling tapes out of the country, as the standoff continued for another two weeks, until it came finally to an abrupt and violent conclusion.
CHINOY: You could see crowds of people sort of forming up and then falling back as the army opened fire, and then reforming and then falling back. As dawn broke, the People's Liberation Army was in full control of the square. The student movement had been crushed.
SHAW: To this day, the world does not know how many people were slaughtered at Tiananmen Square. I doubt that we ever will know.
HEMMER: The day after the violent crackdown, one image broadcast by CNN embodied the spirit of the failed resistance.
CHINOY: That image of one man standing up against the tank has become one of the great symbols of defiance, of oppression. Still, the power of his gesture endures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All this week we have special coverage of CNN's 25th anniversary. Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, the O.J. Simpson trial. Then Wednesday, June 1, a special evening of prime time begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Still ahead this morning, "90-Second Pop." Memorial Day kicks off the summer movie season. Which flicks should you see? Our summer preview is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. It's time now for a Monday edition of "90- Second Pop." Our pop panelists today, Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly."
Nice to see you, Jess.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": You too.
HEMMER: Christopher John Farley from "TIME" magazine.
Good morning, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: And B.J. Sigesmund, back with us from "Us Weekly."
B.J., good morning to you as well.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Jess, first off here. "Cinderella Man"...
SHAW: Yes.
HEMMER: ... a hard luck tale about a boxer, what, during the Depression, directed by Ron Howard. You think this is promising. Why?
SHAW: Absolutely. This is, like, start your Oscar ballots now.
HEMMER: Really?
SHAW: It's rare that a summer movie becomes an Oscar favorite. And this is definitely destined for it. You know, it's a comeback story. A boxer, you know, he ends up working on the docks. He's got to go back to fighting, because he has to make some money.
Now, the important thing to note is it's Russell Crowe, Ron Howard, same producer and writer as "A Beautiful Mind." That team equals Oscar.
HEMMER: And you've got Zellweger on this, too, right?
SHAW: Absolutely.
SIGESMUND: Rene Zellweger. Don't forget also this is sort of counter-programming. The summer is geared toward kids and teenagers. This is sort of the "Seabiscuit" strategy. It's a move for adults that comes out in the summer, and it's something fro adults to see as opposed to all of the, you know, action adventures out there.
HEMMER: That's a good point.
Chris, next stop here. Tom Cruise and Steve Spielberg are back together. The film is "War of the Worlds." We've heard about it. Do you like it?
FARLEY: Well, you know, we've seen them work together before in "Minority Report." That was a critically-acclaimed film. It made a lot of money. And we've seen Spielberg direct science fiction before. People are really waiting for that. But what we haven't seen before is Spielberg have extraterrestrials that are here to conquer us. I mean, "Close Encounters," they were nice. " E.T.," you know, I'll be right here, you know, friendly extraterrestrials. Here, E.T. wants to kick our butts.
HEMMER: And a lot of...
FARLEY: I want to see that.
HEMMER: And a lot of anticipation for it, too.
B.J., one of your top picks is Tom Cruise's girlfriend, Katie Holmes.
SIGESMUND: She's my pick.
HEMMER: Did I say that?
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: Tom Cruise's girlfriend, Katie Holmes, is in "Batman."
SHAW: Fact checkers.
HEMMER: Easy now. What do you think?
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: Is it promising?
SIGESMUND: "Batman," this is promising, because this is the fifth "Batman," of course, that's come out. But it has nothing to do with the first four, nothing to do with the Michael Keaton, George Clooney or Val Kilmer Batmans. This is the early story of Batman. You get to see how he became who he became. You see his parents die in front of him as a young man. And all of the things that...
HEMMER: So it's darker than we've seen.
SIGESMUND: It's much darker than the original, than the first ones in this series.
HEMMER: Jess, Tom Cruise's old wife, Nicole Kidman.
SHAW: It's all about Tom Cruise this segment.
HEMMER: Six degrees of separation (INAUDIBLE). She's staring in "Bewitched."
SHAW: Yes.
HEMMER: What do you expect?
SHAW: Oh, I think this is going to be so fun. I love this concept. Will Farrell plays a kind of loser actor, and he gets hired to play Darren in the movie version of "Bewitched." But he's like, I don't want to be upstaged by any big, famous actress. So, they hire this woman, Isabel, played by Nicole Kidman, who happens to be a witch in real life. And I have to say, I touched Nicole Kidman a couple of days ago. I interviewed her. And the little secret for people to practice on Memorial Day, she said the secret to the nose twitch is all in the lips.
SIGESMUND: Wow! I have to say...
FARLEY: So, can you do it for us right now, the nose twitch?
SHAW: I'm clearly not a witch.
SIGESMUND: I'm a little worried about this movie, because I was so disappointed by "The Stepford Wives." It was like Nicole Kidman again back in a big, bright colorful comedy. I'm going to reserve judgment on this one until I see it.
HEMMER: All right, you reserve judgment on that.
Chris, another film. I'm looking forward to this one. Johnny Depp is doing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," remake from years ago, Willie Wonka
FARLEY: The Gene Wilder version. You know, the one thing they have to watch out for is a lot of times these days children's films get overwhelmed with special effects. I have a 3-year-old. You could entertain him with just a sock. That's all you need to watch for an hour. So, I hope they don't get overwhelmed by the special effects. I hope they focus on the heart, because the original was all about heart. It was all about music. It was all about Gene Wilder. They really have to capture that.
HEMMER: And I think Johnny Depp is perfect for the role, too.
SHAW: And he doesn't have to sing. No songs. HEMMER: All right, B.J., "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." This is Brad Pitt.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: Angelina Jolie. They say the joint is jumping with steam. What do you expect?
SIGESMUND: Yes. I expect a lot of chemistry. You know, we've been talking about Brad and Angelina for so long now. We will finally get to see the movie that may have, again, the love affair of the year.
HEMMER: This is a married couple.
SIGESMUND: They play a married couple. Oh, yes, the plot. They play a married couple who are both secretly assassins. They don't know what the other does for a living. And then, in the course of the film they are hired to kill -- each of them is hired to kill the other one. So it goes from there.
HEMMER: And it goes from there.
SHAW: And who cares if it's bad?
HEMMER: And we'll see how it goes. What's overlooked? Or what do you think could be the surprise of the summer, Jess?
SHAW: One myself favorite movies is "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," which is, adults might not know really about it, but it's based on a book, you know, the same title that is hugely and this is a major publishing phenomena. It's about four friends. They share a pair of jeans that are magical. They look good on everyone. And these friends are, you know, scattered to the four corners of the earth for the summer and stay in touch.
HEMMER: Oh, that's clever.
Chris, what about you? Surprise?
FARLEY: "Howl's Moving Castle." Its by a filmmaking great, Hayao Miyazaki. He's terrific. He's kind of like Walt Disney crossed with Turasawa (ph). I think if you want to see a good kid's film, this is the film to check out. And it's also great for adults.
HEMMER: Got it. B.J.?
SIGESMUND: And my choice for a small but cool movie is "Happy Endings." It's coming out in the middle of July. It's by -- it's directed by Don Roos, who did "The Opposite of Sex" a few years ago, and saw something else in Lisa Kudrow besides her Phoebe character from "Friends." Remember how great she was in "The Opposite of Sex.?" Well, she's back in this film along with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Ritter, John Ritter's son. It was a huge hit at the film festivals. And I think people are really going to like it. It's a little left of center. HEMMER: Let's leave it there. Thanks. A lot to think about and a lot to see. Thanks, Chris, Jess and B.J.
O'BRIEN: The day's top stories are just ahead this morning. Plus, what are John McCain's ambitions for 2008? Some candid comments from the Republican senator. We're back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. JEFFREY MAYS, U.S. MILITARY: Well, the only message I have for the veterans, I'm proud to follow in your footsteps. I just only hope that I can fulfill some of the things that you have done. If I can walk in your shoes and feel your shoes, I'll be a proud American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, we're "Paging Dr. Gupta." He's got new information on the reported link between Viagra and blindness. Should patients be worried? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Baghdad, Iraqi troops pour into the city for Operation Lightning, their largest offensive yet, trying to stop a wave of violence.
Just south of Baghdad, the week begins with more killing, 27 dead, at least 118 wounded in twin suicide bombings.
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 May 30, 2005 - 07:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi in for Bill. Coming up, we're going to talk to Australia's foreign minister about the fallout from the Schapelle Corby drug smuggling trial.
O'BRIEN: That's the Australian woman who insists that she is innocent. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Indonesia. Well, now Australians are furious, and that has put the government in a very tight spot. We're going to find out where this goes next.
Right now, though, let's get a check of the headlines with Carol Costello.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to both of you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
As we just heard from General Richard Myers, Operation Lightning is under way in Iraq. And, of course, that's 40,000 security forces surrounding the city of Baghdad, most of them Iraqi security forces. But it does involve 10,000 U.S. troops. They're surrounding Baghdad in order to root out the insurgency there.
Also in Iraq, Iraqi police on the scene of a twin suicide bombing in Hilla. That is south of Baghdad. Two suicide bombers wearing explosive belts blew themselves up this morning, killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 100 others. Most of the casualties were current or former Iraqi police officers.
Investigators near Columbus, Ohio, say they want to interview the only survivor of a suspected murder/suicide. Police found a rifle and six bodies in two farmhouses on Sunday. They believe the shooter is among the dead. A seventh victim, a 15-year-old girl, is recovering this morning. She's in critical condition. And police hope to speak with her as soon as possible.
European leaders are calling for a period of reflection after French voters rejected the European Union's first proposed constitution. Streets in Paris were packed overnight with people celebrating the no-vote, or non (ph) as they say in France. President Jacques Chirac had strongly urged approval, but many said it would have diminished France's national identity.
Former President Clinton is trying to make sure that aid from last year's tsunami disaster is distributed fairly. Clinton left for Sri Lanka and the Maldives for Banda Aceh this morning. It is the final leg of a four-day trip to the region. Clinton's aides are denying reports that he had suffered from exhaustion while on the trip and say he has a full schedule today.
And the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 may be remembered for who did not win. Dan Wheldon, he's the one drinking the milk in the victory lane on Sunday, the first Englishman to win it in nearly 40 years. But it was racing rookie Danica Patrick who captured hearts and minds. All eyes were on her, the first woman to lead a lap. I think she led, what, two or three times during the race?
VELSHI: Yes, and that's the first time that's happened.
COSTELLO: Isn't that cool? She came in fourth place, despite a wreck and almost running out of gas. Let's listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANICA PATRICK, RACE CAR DRIVER: You've got to do what you've got to do to finish the race. And, I mean, gosh, we were like 16th or something at one point. So I finished fourth. I'm just relieved, and I'm pleased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A lot of people are. Danica Patrick will join us live in two hours in the 9:00 Eastern hour.
O'BRIEN: Don't you feel a little sorry for Dan Wheldon? I mean, he wins, and...
VELSHI: And everybody is talking about Danica.
O'BRIEN: Right.
VELSHI: If I were...
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Not that I have any skill at this, but if I were in the Indy and if I were like Danica, I was getting up close to winning, I'd have to not do it because I'm lactose-intolerant.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Or you could just hand it off to a team member to drink for you.
VELSHI: I don't think you can do that.
COSTELLO: Or just pour it on your head.
VELSHI: Or get that special milk, the Lactaid stuff.
O'BRIEN: Make your request in advance.
VELSHI: It's my excuse for not being an award-winning racer.
O'BRIEN: Is that the reason why?
VELSHI: Yes, that's it.
O'BRIEN: Interesting to note. Carol, thanks.
Well, lawyers for Australian Schapelle Corby are still considering their options after her drug smuggling conviction in Indonesia. An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced the 27-year-old woman to 20 years in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are a liar, for your own people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's innocent! She's innocent!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a bloody liar!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: You see there, as the verdict was read, her family members went crazy. Her trial and her conviction are widely seen in Australia as unfair. Anger is widespread, in fact, that now it threatens Australian/Indonesian relations.
The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, is in Canberra this morning. Nice to see you, sir. Thank you for talking with us. As we mentioned, she got 20 years...
ALEXANDER DOWNER, FOREIGN MINISTER, AUSTRALIA: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: ... in prison. Do you believe that Schapelle Corby is innocent?
DOWNER: Well, that's not really a matter for me. It's a matter for the court. Indonesia has duly-constituted courts like all countries. And if somebody is arrested at an airport, as she was with four kilograms of marijuana on her, she, not surprisingly, has to face court. And the court has made its decision. She can now appeal that decision. As indicated, she will appeal to the Bali high court and possibly even beyond to the Indonesian Supreme Court.
So, it's really a matter for the courts. And whatever we may think privately, all of us have to learn to respect the decisions of courts.
O'BRIEN: It might be a matter for the courts. But, of course, as you can see in some of these pictures, and as you well know Australians are utterly outraged by this conviction. The prime minister says he will not intervene. Why not?
DOWNER: Well, you can't. You just can't. I mean, any attempt to try to intervene in the judicial process by a politician is likely to be entirely counterproductive. All it will do is create a very strong feeling of resentment. I mean, as people in America would object if foreigners tried to intervene in their court proceedings. Or if we had politicians from other countries intervening in our court proceedings.
I mean, the courts have got to be able to do their job. The courts here, the evidence as presented by the prosecution and by the defense, and they've got to make their own judgments about it.
We can provide some help, as we do for Australians who get into difficulties like this, financial assistance. We've offered the assistance of two very senior lawyers to help her, who are prepared to do the job for free. But over and above that, there's really literally nothing more we can do.
O'BRIEN: There are some options, and you mentioned one of them, which was an appeal. You also could potentially offer some kind of prisoner exchange or even appeal to the Indonesian president for a pardon. How likely are those two last options?
DOWNER: Well, nobody will be appealing for a pardon, of course, before all of the appeals processes are concluded in the courts. Obviously, because a pardon is only going to be given in any circumstances once there has been a conviction confirmed by appeals courts. But as for the prisoner transfer agreement, we've been having discussions with the Indonesians about a prisoner transfer agreement, and, well, we haven't negotiated it yet. We've only just begun the process. That will take some time to negotiate it.
O'BRIEN: Alexander Downer is the Australian foreign minister joining us this morning. Thank you for your time, sir.
VELSHI: It's time now for another check on the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty is off today, but Toure has got the "Question of the Day."
Good morning.
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
Listen, scientists at the National Institute of Health are working on memory-enhancing drugs that will make your neurotransmitters fire faster, which will help you remember more things more clearly. Oh, joy! The drugs will supposedly help banish senior moments and boost SAT scores.
But can't you just see future Memorial Days, when we're all laid back in our cookouts and swallow a pill and have a good trip down memory lane, giving new meaning to this national day of memories? It sounds great, but I think most people's more pressing need is a memory-repressing drug to help push away those more painful memories, from getting dumped, to the annoying (INAUDIBLE), to getting yelled at by your boss.
And what if such a drug existed now? The "Question of the Day": What one memory would you like to have erased? E-mail us now at@cnn.com.
O'BRIEN: Good question. I'll have to think about that one.
VELSHI: Wasn't that the premise for that eternal spotless sunshine...
TOURE: Yes, yes.
VELSHI: ... clean mind?
TOURE: "Eternal Bliss of the Spotless Mind."
VELSHI: Yes. I skipped the movie because of the name.
TOURE: Oh, it was a great movie, though.
VELSHI: Maybe that's the memory that I'd like to erase.
TOURE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Eternal sunshine, right?
VELSHI: "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
TOURE: Yes, yes.
O'BRIEN: Well, I'm sure we'll get lots of suggestions this morning. It will be interesting to hear what people have to say. Toure, thank you very much.
TOURE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Much more AMERICAN MORNING to come on this Memorial Day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready to begin?
O'BRIEN: It's Memorial Day, and the summer movie season has begun, from "Batman" to boxing, to everything in between, we've got you covered. Which flicks should you see? Our summer movie preview.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It should be fun, huh?
O'BRIEN: Later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All week long we are looking back at the history-making events of the last 25 years, brought to you by CNN.
In the spring of 1989, the world focused on a ground-breaking summit about to take place between the Soviet Union and China in Beijing. But something more momentous happened in Tiananmen Square.
Bill Hemmer has the story from the people who were there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: The protests in the spring of 1989 represented a kind of coming to the surface of deep currents of discontent that were bubbling in Chinese society. And when the former community party chief, Zhao Ziyang, who had been purged by hardliners in 1987, died in the middle of April, that was the catalyst. That was the moment when the students in Beijing took to the streets.
ALEX MIRAN, CNN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Just somehow, inexplicably, it continued to grow until right before the summit, you suddenly had 200,000, 300,000 students in the square, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): The Chinese government saw the escalating demonstrations as a threat. After four weeks of protests and a march by more than a million supporters, Chinese authorities responded with a show of force, sending out the army to advance toward the demonstrators.
CHINOY: I kept saying to myself, I kept saying to colleagues, one way or another, this is going to end badly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Martial law has been imposed on certain areas of Beijing.
BERNARD SHAW, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: They marched into our control room, and demanded that we cease our live transmissions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The government has ordered us to shut down our facility. We are shutting down our facility.
SHAW: That's the story to the moment. For all of the hard working men and women of CNN, good-bye from Beijing.
HEMMER: CNN continued to cover the story by smuggling tapes out of the country, as the standoff continued for another two weeks, until it came finally to an abrupt and violent conclusion.
CHINOY: You could see crowds of people sort of forming up and then falling back as the army opened fire, and then reforming and then falling back. As dawn broke, the People's Liberation Army was in full control of the square. The student movement had been crushed.
SHAW: To this day, the world does not know how many people were slaughtered at Tiananmen Square. I doubt that we ever will know.
HEMMER: The day after the violent crackdown, one image broadcast by CNN embodied the spirit of the failed resistance.
CHINOY: That image of one man standing up against the tank has become one of the great symbols of defiance, of oppression. Still, the power of his gesture endures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All this week we have special coverage of CNN's 25th anniversary. Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, the O.J. Simpson trial. Then Wednesday, June 1, a special evening of prime time begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Still ahead this morning, "90-Second Pop." Memorial Day kicks off the summer movie season. Which flicks should you see? Our summer preview is up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. It's time now for a Monday edition of "90- Second Pop." Our pop panelists today, Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly."
Nice to see you, Jess.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": You too.
HEMMER: Christopher John Farley from "TIME" magazine.
Good morning, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: And B.J. Sigesmund, back with us from "Us Weekly."
B.J., good morning to you as well.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Jess, first off here. "Cinderella Man"...
SHAW: Yes.
HEMMER: ... a hard luck tale about a boxer, what, during the Depression, directed by Ron Howard. You think this is promising. Why?
SHAW: Absolutely. This is, like, start your Oscar ballots now.
HEMMER: Really?
SHAW: It's rare that a summer movie becomes an Oscar favorite. And this is definitely destined for it. You know, it's a comeback story. A boxer, you know, he ends up working on the docks. He's got to go back to fighting, because he has to make some money.
Now, the important thing to note is it's Russell Crowe, Ron Howard, same producer and writer as "A Beautiful Mind." That team equals Oscar.
HEMMER: And you've got Zellweger on this, too, right?
SHAW: Absolutely.
SIGESMUND: Rene Zellweger. Don't forget also this is sort of counter-programming. The summer is geared toward kids and teenagers. This is sort of the "Seabiscuit" strategy. It's a move for adults that comes out in the summer, and it's something fro adults to see as opposed to all of the, you know, action adventures out there.
HEMMER: That's a good point.
Chris, next stop here. Tom Cruise and Steve Spielberg are back together. The film is "War of the Worlds." We've heard about it. Do you like it?
FARLEY: Well, you know, we've seen them work together before in "Minority Report." That was a critically-acclaimed film. It made a lot of money. And we've seen Spielberg direct science fiction before. People are really waiting for that. But what we haven't seen before is Spielberg have extraterrestrials that are here to conquer us. I mean, "Close Encounters," they were nice. " E.T.," you know, I'll be right here, you know, friendly extraterrestrials. Here, E.T. wants to kick our butts.
HEMMER: And a lot of...
FARLEY: I want to see that.
HEMMER: And a lot of anticipation for it, too.
B.J., one of your top picks is Tom Cruise's girlfriend, Katie Holmes.
SIGESMUND: She's my pick.
HEMMER: Did I say that?
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: Tom Cruise's girlfriend, Katie Holmes, is in "Batman."
SHAW: Fact checkers.
HEMMER: Easy now. What do you think?
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: Is it promising?
SIGESMUND: "Batman," this is promising, because this is the fifth "Batman," of course, that's come out. But it has nothing to do with the first four, nothing to do with the Michael Keaton, George Clooney or Val Kilmer Batmans. This is the early story of Batman. You get to see how he became who he became. You see his parents die in front of him as a young man. And all of the things that...
HEMMER: So it's darker than we've seen.
SIGESMUND: It's much darker than the original, than the first ones in this series.
HEMMER: Jess, Tom Cruise's old wife, Nicole Kidman.
SHAW: It's all about Tom Cruise this segment.
HEMMER: Six degrees of separation (INAUDIBLE). She's staring in "Bewitched."
SHAW: Yes.
HEMMER: What do you expect?
SHAW: Oh, I think this is going to be so fun. I love this concept. Will Farrell plays a kind of loser actor, and he gets hired to play Darren in the movie version of "Bewitched." But he's like, I don't want to be upstaged by any big, famous actress. So, they hire this woman, Isabel, played by Nicole Kidman, who happens to be a witch in real life. And I have to say, I touched Nicole Kidman a couple of days ago. I interviewed her. And the little secret for people to practice on Memorial Day, she said the secret to the nose twitch is all in the lips.
SIGESMUND: Wow! I have to say...
FARLEY: So, can you do it for us right now, the nose twitch?
SHAW: I'm clearly not a witch.
SIGESMUND: I'm a little worried about this movie, because I was so disappointed by "The Stepford Wives." It was like Nicole Kidman again back in a big, bright colorful comedy. I'm going to reserve judgment on this one until I see it.
HEMMER: All right, you reserve judgment on that.
Chris, another film. I'm looking forward to this one. Johnny Depp is doing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," remake from years ago, Willie Wonka
FARLEY: The Gene Wilder version. You know, the one thing they have to watch out for is a lot of times these days children's films get overwhelmed with special effects. I have a 3-year-old. You could entertain him with just a sock. That's all you need to watch for an hour. So, I hope they don't get overwhelmed by the special effects. I hope they focus on the heart, because the original was all about heart. It was all about music. It was all about Gene Wilder. They really have to capture that.
HEMMER: And I think Johnny Depp is perfect for the role, too.
SHAW: And he doesn't have to sing. No songs. HEMMER: All right, B.J., "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." This is Brad Pitt.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
HEMMER: Angelina Jolie. They say the joint is jumping with steam. What do you expect?
SIGESMUND: Yes. I expect a lot of chemistry. You know, we've been talking about Brad and Angelina for so long now. We will finally get to see the movie that may have, again, the love affair of the year.
HEMMER: This is a married couple.
SIGESMUND: They play a married couple. Oh, yes, the plot. They play a married couple who are both secretly assassins. They don't know what the other does for a living. And then, in the course of the film they are hired to kill -- each of them is hired to kill the other one. So it goes from there.
HEMMER: And it goes from there.
SHAW: And who cares if it's bad?
HEMMER: And we'll see how it goes. What's overlooked? Or what do you think could be the surprise of the summer, Jess?
SHAW: One myself favorite movies is "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," which is, adults might not know really about it, but it's based on a book, you know, the same title that is hugely and this is a major publishing phenomena. It's about four friends. They share a pair of jeans that are magical. They look good on everyone. And these friends are, you know, scattered to the four corners of the earth for the summer and stay in touch.
HEMMER: Oh, that's clever.
Chris, what about you? Surprise?
FARLEY: "Howl's Moving Castle." Its by a filmmaking great, Hayao Miyazaki. He's terrific. He's kind of like Walt Disney crossed with Turasawa (ph). I think if you want to see a good kid's film, this is the film to check out. And it's also great for adults.
HEMMER: Got it. B.J.?
SIGESMUND: And my choice for a small but cool movie is "Happy Endings." It's coming out in the middle of July. It's by -- it's directed by Don Roos, who did "The Opposite of Sex" a few years ago, and saw something else in Lisa Kudrow besides her Phoebe character from "Friends." Remember how great she was in "The Opposite of Sex.?" Well, she's back in this film along with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Ritter, John Ritter's son. It was a huge hit at the film festivals. And I think people are really going to like it. It's a little left of center. HEMMER: Let's leave it there. Thanks. A lot to think about and a lot to see. Thanks, Chris, Jess and B.J.
O'BRIEN: The day's top stories are just ahead this morning. Plus, what are John McCain's ambitions for 2008? Some candid comments from the Republican senator. We're back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAFF SGT. JEFFREY MAYS, U.S. MILITARY: Well, the only message I have for the veterans, I'm proud to follow in your footsteps. I just only hope that I can fulfill some of the things that you have done. If I can walk in your shoes and feel your shoes, I'll be a proud American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, we're "Paging Dr. Gupta." He's got new information on the reported link between Viagra and blindness. Should patients be worried? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Baghdad, Iraqi troops pour into the city for Operation Lightning, their largest offensive yet, trying to stop a wave of violence.
Just south of Baghdad, the week begins with more killing, 27 dead, at least 118 wounded in twin suicide bombings.
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