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Will Russia Back Down?; The Oscars: What You Need To Know

Aired March 03, 2014 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. We return to our top story this morning, the crisis unfolding in Ukraine. Secretary of State John Kerry is arriving in Kiev on Tuesday, this as a U.S. official says Russian forces now have complete operational control of the Crimean Peninsula. So how will the U.S. respond now? It's a huge question lingering over this whole crisis.

We're joined to discuss this more by Angela Stent, the author of "The Limits of Partnership: U.S./Russian Relations In The 21st Century" and also she is the director of the Center for Russian Studies at Georgetown University. It's great to see you. Thanks so much for taking the time.

ANGELA STENT, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR RUSSIAN STUDIES AT GEORGETOWN: Good to be on your show.

BOLDUAN: I do want to get to what you think the U.S.'s next move should be, but first a step back to look -- I want to lean on your area of expertise. What do you think Russia's intentions are here, more importantly how far do you think Vladimir Putin is likely to take this or prepared to take this?

STENT: Well, the immediate intention is to secure Russia's equities, its naval base, the Black Sea fleet in Crimea. Representative Kaptur said before that the lease expires in 2017. Actually, a new agreement was signed in 2010 with the former Ukrainian president and that lease now goes to 2042, but Russia wants to make sure that the new Ukrainian government, whatever its composition is, doesn't renege on that.

So the immediate thing is to make sure that the Black Sea fleet stays there. But more broadly, what Putin wants to do is to ensure that Ukraine doesn't decisively move west, sign a major agreement with the European Union. And by essentially beginning to dismember part of Ukraine, that is occupying Crimea and presumably not leaving, it's going to make it much more difficult for this new and very fragile Ukrainian government to take any decisive steps.

BOLDUAN: With that in mind, how far do you think Vladimir Putin is prepared to take this?

STENT: Well, I think at a minimum Russia will remain in Crimea. Its occupation forces will remain there and its base will remain there. The big question and again, your guests have been talking about this, is would this then spread to other regions of Ukraine in the east, some of which have expressed a desire for much closer ties with Russia to somehow be affiliated with it.

This is what I think all of this diplomacy now with Secretary Kerry going there, with Chancellor Merkel having spoken to Mr. Putin, the immediate aim is to try and contain this and make sure that this conflict doesn't spread to any other part of Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: What do you make of Chancellor Merkel's kind of readout of the conversation that she had with Vladimir Putin? In describing the conversation, it was - someone who is briefed on the phone call said that she said he wasn't dealing in this reality, that he was he was out of this world or working in another world. What does that tell you in relation to this crisis?

STENT: Well, I think it may tell you that he really believes, President Putin, that somehow Crimea is in danger from what the Russians call fascists or terrorists who are in Kiev. I mean, this is the line that the Russian media, official media have been saying all the time. So he may well believe that. This means maybe he isn't as well briefed on the real situation as he could be.

But what it also means is it's going to be very difficult to deal with him on this issue, and it's clearly more important for him that Crimea remain occupied than, say, that he host the rest of the G-8 leaders in Sochi in June.

BOLDUAN: And that's one of the consequences that's being put on the table right now. I want to get your take on how effective that would be. Some of the things that are being discussed, cancelling the G-8 attendance as you mentioned, suspending Russia's membership in the G-8 as well as kind of array of economic sanctions? Do you think that is enough to change Vladimir Putin's trajectory right now?

STENT: Well, I think the G-8 question 10 years ago that was extremely important to Russia as a validation of the fact that it was a great power again. It obviously means less to Russia and to President Putin now than it did before. Really targeted economic sanctions that we sort of heard Secretary Kerry talk about, which would affect Russian leaders and their assets in the United States.

Those might be more effective, but in the past we've never been able to impose those kinds of sanctions. So I find it very difficult to imagine that there's any move that the U.S. could take now that would persuade Russia to withdraw all of the troops that it's just sent to Crimea now, that is to say to end its occupation of Crimea.

BOLDUAN: Some say this is a very confusing crisis that we're faced with, but you lay out very clearly that it seems there are no good answers to this very difficult question that we're facing. I think that your book, the limits of a partnership, the U.S./Russian relations in 21st Century, I don't think it could be more appropriate than at this very moment.

Angela Stent, thank you for your time this morning and thanks for giving us your expertise. Appreciate it -- Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on NEW DAY, one of the biggest names in Hollywood this weekend has nothing to do with biz although he has been caught in some choice short films. It would be Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. We caught up with him and we'll tell you what he was doing there.

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MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A big night for that lady right there, looking a vision in that beautiful beige dress. Cate Blanchett winning best actress for her part in "Blue Jasmine." Back here live at the Montage in Beverly Hills, where last night we saw Hollywood celebrate the best of the best during the 86th Academy Awards.

Joining me my friends to break it all down, Joseph Kapsch, the executive editor of thewrap.com and Pete Hammond, editor at deadline.com. Neither of them have had a lick of sleep, but this is when we shine, Gentlemen, is it not? Is it not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PEREIRA: The Super Bowl of Hollywood. How are you doing this morning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great.

PEREIRA: Let's talk about "Gravity." I don't mean to rub it in, but I think you all got that wrong. You got that wrong.

PETE HAMMOND, EDITOR, DEADLINE.COM: I did, too. I thought "Gravity" might sneak in. It won seven Academy awards. Only "Cabaret" which won eight and lost best picture in 1972 has one more without winning best picture. This is really a big deal, but "Gravity" was loved for its technical expertise.

PEREIRA: And the director was recognized, Alfonso Cuaron, winning the best director.

JOSEPH KAPSCH, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THEWRAP.COM: And the night was going -- the way the night was going, it was sort of feeling like the coronation of "Gravity."

PEREIRA: It kind of look like the writing was on the wall.

KAPSCH: Yes.

PEREIRA: But it wasn't. It was "12 Years Of Snow."

HAMMOND: But that's what we've seen in award shows time after time this season. "12 Years A Slave" goes along, loses, loses, loses and then it wins best picture. It's really a weird year.

PEREIRA: And the folks from "Gravity" can feel good about their evening, as you said seven awards to go home with. That's great.

KAPSCH: And "Gravity" was a movie that other people in the film industry that make movies really respected. HAMMOND: They do, but science fiction of which it falls into that, has never won best picture prize at the Oscars. There seems to be a little bit of snobbery towards that genre. In the end, they want to do something more important. They are happy to give it a ton of Oscars for its technical --

PEREIRA: Well, on the other end of it, one that didn't get a ton of Oscars, that was a shutout was "American Hustle." Did that surprise either of you? Did it surprise you?

KAPSCH: It didn't surprise me. I mean, everyone when you would hear people talk about "American Hustle," they loved the performances of the actors, but it didn't feel like the plot of the movie really was going to be -- to go on to be a best picture.

PEREIRA: A case of a little Academy snobbery there, do you think?

HAMMOND: It maybe, but you know, it wasn't the only shutout, in "Nebraska" went 0 for 6. "Wolf of Wall Street," went 0 for -- lost more. They both had 11 nominations with no win.

PEREIRA: Can we further shine the light on our Lupita? What a night for her? And again, her birthday weekend.

HAMMOND: She toll the show. I mean, there were moments -- we wrote on the web site like five ways Lupita stole the Oscars.

PEREIRA: It's how she looked.

KAPSCH: It's how she looked. It was when she stepped on the carpet. I mean, Twitter went crazy and then it was the dance that she was dancing along -- yes, and I think that the world is her oyster right now.

PEREIRA: There's something about that first-time winner, you know, I think that folks at home can really recognize themselves in somebody that's getting that first time.

KAPSCH: Absolutely.

HAMMOND: I think she said that in her speech, too, she said this is for you who are out there that want to see that you can do it. She's from Kenya. You know, a first time movie and she's got the number one movie of the weekend, too, "Nonstop", the Liam Neeson movie. She's in that movie too.

PEREIRA: Things are looking up for her. I mean, the world is her oyster now really --

KAPSCH: And what was the quote, it was "no matter where you're from, your dreams matter."

PEREIRA: And she's talked about this embarrassment of riches. I mean, it's a beautiful -- let's talk about other speeches that are a lot of folks are making a lot of right now. "Dallas Buyers Club," tremendous performances from both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, very different speeches they gave. Jared paying homage to what the story, the film was about.

KAPSCH: Yes and here's the thing. I absolutely wanted Matthew McConaughey to win, I thought his performance was outstanding, but I was disappointed in his speech. Just because when you sort of look think back to when sort of Tom Hanks won "Philadelphia" and then think about that movie in the context and then think of Matthew's speech and then think of Jared. You wanted to kind of feel a little more. I don't know. To have no reference to sort of people living with HIV or this plight, it felt kind of missing.

HAMMOND: You know what I think the problem is, he's made so many speeches this season --

PEREIRA: We forget that, don't we?

KAPSCH: That's true.

HAMMOND: I've seen a million of them. He runs out of material and I think he gets a little for kempt there. But I liked him at the end when he finally went to "all right, all right, all right."

PEREIRA: That's Matthew. OK, and of course, we can't leave without talking about Ellen. I laughed my butt off, and so did the folks inside the Doby Theater. Overall a successful show for her.

HAMMOND: Yes. That is a very difficult audience. They are tense. As the night goes on, it just fills up with losers.

PEREIRA: We say that generously.

HAMMOND: She goes out in that audience and serves up pizza and gets people to put money in. She was fun and that's what the Oscars should be.

PEREIRA: And not too stuffy.

HAMMOND: Yes, I thought she did a great job.

PEREIRA: It was the most interactive show.

KAPSCH: What I thought was is she is like the Oscar host of our time meaning like she engages. She uses Twitter. She knows -- she was doing exactly what makes her daytime show successful.

PEREIRA: The selfie brilliant --

HAMMOND: It's an Oscar classic.

PEREIRA: It was one of the moments. We made a point of saying that was one of the moments. There it is right there. I love that Junior, Lupita's brother got in there, Julia Roberts having the time of her life.

HAMMOND: Of course, poor Liza got shut out.

PEREIRA: OK, can we just talk about Liza. She -- you know, not a tall woman, but she's at the back of that crowd. Liza Minnelli, some saying it wasn't her night. What do you think?

HAMMOND: No. I don't know. I think it's great that she was there, a tribute to her mother and to the "Wizard of Oz." Somebody told me that why wasn't Liza singing the song instead of Pink?

PEREIRA: Hello.

HAMMOND: But I don't think she has the voice quite for that anymore and I also don't think she wants to go on stage with a billion people and try to imitate her mother.

PERIERA: That's a good point. Those are tough shoes to fill. Joseph Kapsch from thewrap.com and Pete Hammond from deadline.com, thanks for hanging with me this weekend. You both need a nap. Off you go. Fantastic.

Coming up next right here on NEW DAY, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, he made a cameo in Hollywood. Here's the question -- did he score an Oscar invite? We're going to tell what you he was up to in la-la land.

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PEREIRA: We are back here live at the Montage, in Beverly Hills. Still dark out as it is a very, very early morning in Los Angeles. But I think some of the stars are still out having a great time celebrating the Governor's Ball and several other parties around town happening.

Nischelle Turner had a chance to be on the red carpet with the A- listers. You got a chance to talk to some of the winners before they were winners, for some of them. Did you sense the anticipation with them at that point?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there was and then afterwards it's that relief. One of those stars that I bet is still partying because he said back stage he is going to party until the break of dawn is Jared Leto. He gave a really thoughtful speech when he won the Oscar and we had a very thoughtful conversation right after he won as well. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: This thing is heavy.

JARED LETO, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR WINNER: It's heavy. It's beautiful. It's a symbol of something magical. You know, when a film connects with people, you know, when a story moves people, and it's nice be a part of something like that.

TURNER: I can't believe you are letting me hold this, but I'm so glad because I think this is the closest I'll ever get to an Oscar.

LETO: You know, I thought the same thing. You never know. I never thought that I would ever get an Oscar. I never ever, ever imagined that I would be on that stage and able to thank my mother and my brother and it was a really wonderful thing to be able to do. TURNER: Now I know you gave a very moving speech tonight. One of the things that did you, you got a little political. You talked about the people that are facing the crises in Ukraine and Venezuela. What was on your heart to make that statement tonight?

LETO: I'm in a band called 30 Seconds to Mars and we tour the world. We have shows coming up in the Ukraine. We had a show in the works in Venezuela. We have a show in Thailand and all those places and many other places we play in the world deal with social issues, social unrest. So it's a part of our lives. And, you know, it means a lot to me to speak and support the people that are there facing really challenging times. Literally, fighting for their lives and, you know, so that's why I took the opportunity to shine a light on that situation.

TURNER: Are you still planning on going to Ukraine?

LETO: Yes. I mean, we have a show there in a week or two. So we are looking at the situation very closely as we are in Thailand. But it's a pretty interesting thing to be in a business where, you know, plans can get diverted because of social unrest. You know, during the middle of the Arab Spring we played in the Middle East and fortunately, we were able to play those shows and I say fortunately because it was a really special thing to connect with the audiences at a special time in the history of those cultures and countries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: You know, we're going to keep following Jared Leto's progress and see if his band actually does go to Ukraine. Now we also could not talk to the belle of the ball last night and yes, I am talking about best actress winner, Cate Blanchett. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: I am here with Oscar winner, the belle of the ball, Cate Blanchett. It's OK to call you the belle of the ball, Honey, you just won the best actress. I love when you have this huge smile on your face, so genuine and wonderful.

CATE BLANCHETT, BEST ACTRESS OSCAR WINNER: Since my last time around the dance floor it's gotten noisier and louder and I'm a little bit sick of the sound of my own voice, but it doesn't rob this moment of being so extraordinary. I mean, so many people here I respected here this evening and you know, whose work I've long admired from afar and you know, to have this in my hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: So humble.

TURNER: Yes, but then she told me I'm hungry, I got to go because I need to eat.

PEREIRA: Her moment with Julia Roberts cracked me up. I won't say it on CNN, but really tremendous, really a great gal and great performance.

TURNER: Yes. I was not going to keep her from getting that burger.

PEREIRA: Kate, Chris, back to you guys. We'll talk about some Oscar fashion coming up. Stick with us on NEW DAY, the L.A. West Coast edition.

BOLDUAN: Love it and love Oscar fashions. There were very few misses I would say last night. People were looking good.

CUOMO: I would have no idea. Coming up on NEW DAY, millions of people are waking up to another brutal winter storm making for a messy commute and much worse, power outages, dangerous conditions. We're going to take you live to one of the hardest hit areas right at the top of the hour.

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