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Outburst During Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Hearing; Film Critic Talks "The Interview"; Controversy over Michelle Obama's Target Comment; Hundreds of Nigerian Women, Children Missing after Deadly Raid; Putin: "Russia Needs to Avoid Being Chained Bear."

Aired December 18, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

You know, security in Boston, tight. Tensions high as the only surviving marathon bombing suspect appeared in court today. It was the first time Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been seen outside of prison since his arraignment more than a year ago. The judge asked him a couple of questions, commented on the need for a larger courtroom. A fairly routine hearing, except for this. Except for an outburst of support for the accused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELENA TEYER, TSARNAEV SUPPORTER: Dzhokhar, you have a lot of supporters. We pray for you. We here for you, Dzhokhar. We know you're innocent. Be strong, son. That's what I said. Because I have son 20 years old and my daughter 25 years old. So I'm here for justice. And so far, I don't see the justice. So far people who shoot an innocent and unarmed people keep doing what they've been doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK, so who is that woman? CNN national correspondent Deborah Feyerick was in the courthouse and has more.

Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not look back during this outburst. His hands were cuffed from behind. From my angle, I could see that he clearly heard what this woman was saying. She shouted in Russian that he had supporters and he should stay strong.

This is a woman whose son-in-law was implicated in a triple murder in the area. He shot dead by FBI agents allegedly while swearing out a confession to his role in those murders.

The hearing lasted about 25 minutes. Tsarnaev looked different than the last time I saw him 17 months ago during his arraignment when he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Today, he had a short beard. He played with it at times during this hearing. The judge asked him a number of questions, including whether he was

happy with his legal representation. Tsarnaev said, "Yes, very much." The judge asked him whether he wanted to speak in private. Tsarnaev said, "No, sir."

There were victims of the marathon bombing inside the courtroom. One woman I spoke to said she was not there to listen or to see him. She said it was more important for him to see her. But Tsarnaev never turned around or looked back.

The trial right now is scheduled to begin January 5th with jury selection -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: All right. Deborah Feyerick, in Boston. Thank you.

Now to "The Interview," the film that has come to an abrupt end. How did the movie get started in the first place? Seth Rogen answered that very question on "The Colbert Report."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH ROGEN, ACTOR: We wanted to make a movie that had the kind of one foot in reality and something that we as filmmakers like and think is interesting as audience members as well.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE COLBERT REPORT: Is it appropriate to make jokes about real things in the world?

(LAUGHTER)

ROGEN: I personally think it is appropriate to make jokes about real things.

COLBERT: Really? Did you think about changing his name at all like calling him, like, Phil Jong-Un?

(LAUGHTER)

ROGEN: We actually did. Yes, we did, and then we thought, "Whose feelings are we trying to spare by doing that? Kim Jong-Un?"

COLBERT: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right. So laughter on "The Colbert Report."

As you heard, there's serious backlash for pulling the film from the United States. Reportedly "The Interview" will not be released on DVD or on demand. Some are tweeting which Sony should do next. Let me read this for you. Mitt Romney says, "Sony Pictures don't cave. Fight. Release 'The Interview' free online globally and asked viewers for a $5 contribution to fight Ebola." There's an idea

Scott Mendelson, who is a film critic and box office analyst, has in fact seen the movie.

Scott was the first person that I've been able to talk to.

How was it and does it warrant Sony pulling it?

SCOTT MENDELSON, FILM CRITIC & BOX OFFICE ANALYST, FORBES: Those are two very separate questions. First of all, thank you for having me. Yes, I have seen the film. It was shown to a handful of critics a few weeks ago in L.A. and other screenings that may or may not have occurred I wasn't aware of. I've seen the film. It is OK, frankly. It is funny in spots. It has some jokes that are very successful. Most of the jokes that actually deal with the explicit real world premise are funny. I think the film is too much being Seth Rogen and James Franco ripping each other in unrelated sentences. It is over- the-top material. Randall Park plays the dictator in a supporting performance and it's a wonderful comic turn.

I would presume to say it would be a performance if the film hadn't been pulled from circulation.

Now, getting to your second question, was Sony right --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: No, I'm just saying, uh-huh. I'm with you. The answer to my second question is, does it warrant all this?

MENDELSON: Yes and no. I mean, let's be honest. When the film was initially green lit when Rogen and Franco and company and Sony decided to make the film, there wasn't a way they could in all honesty predict it would cause this kind of catastrophe. The cyber hacking of Sony. The terrorist threats against the theaters showing the film and now the end result being that Sony's private e-mails and private communications are out there for the world to see and now they've been forced to pull the film from theatrical circulation. There really isn't -- there were a few exceptions here and there. There isn't a huge history in America of popular filmmakers being punished for "speaking truth to power" especially truth to international power. I'm sure you can find a couple exceptions here and there. I think when Rogen and Franco and what not went into the project, they thought the worst that was going to happen was it would inspire some Internet think pieces and maybe the North Korean government would wag its finger a little bit and the movie would or would not make its money back.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you -- let me stop you. So since you've seen it and we've since learned from this cyber terrorism job of Sony Pictures that -- I don't know if it's the end of the movie but the scene in which Kim Jong-Un is killed, they asked that to be toned down. When you watched it, what happened? I would say spoiler alert, but I guess nobody is going to see the movie in the near future. What happens?

MENDELSON: That's something I did not discuss in my review. I did not know how the film was going to end going into it. It is a graphic death scene. I don't think anymore graphic than any conventional action picture. Allegedly, there was an original version that was gorier. I haven't watched it because I don't really care. The film is what the film is. I think it's frankly a little odd for Sony executives to have been concerned about allowing that character to die very violently, but not too violently. I would imagine there are consequences to that scenario. The consequences are going to be there whether the death scene is very graphic or very, very graphic.

BALDWIN: It sounds to me, from what I've read, part of it, too, is you think about the Asian audience, it's a huge audience for anyone especially Sony which is an iconic brand in Japan, the issue of prisoners in North Korea. There is a lot of that in addition to the fear of perhaps public danger.

Scott Mendelson, film critic and box office analyst for Forbes, I appreciate hearing about the movie finally. We've been talking so much about it and hearing about it directly from someone who has seen it. Thank you so much. MENDELSON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: You've got it.

Coming up next, the president and first lady getting personal and revealing experiences involving their own racial profiling. Hear what happens to Michelle Obama inside of a Target store and why her remarks are getting a bit of a backlash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The president and first lady are opening up about the impact of stereotypes in the current issue of "People" magazine. In an interview, they share personal antidotes about their family life but revealed some of the experiences and bias they have endured, like the president saying he has been mistaken as the help. In one part of the interview, he says, "It's one thing for me to be mistaken for a waiter at a gala and another thing for my son to be mistaken for a robber and to be handcuffed or worse if he happens to be walking down the street and is dressed the way teenagers dress." That was the president.

Also talked to the first lady about this and Michelle Obama described what happened to her during a visit to a Target store. She tells "People," "The only person who came up to me in the store was a woman who asked me to help her take something off the shelf, because she didn't see me as the first lady but as someone that could help her. Those kinds of things happen in life so it isn't anything new."

Those comments from the first family have sparked a lot of reaction.

Let's talk about that with contributor to the "New York Times," op-ed columnist, Charles Blow.

Good to see you, sir.

So you wrote this piece, "The Obama's Racist Plight." You open it with this notion back to Michelle Obama antidote about being in the Target store. The woman wanted help and looked at her and she was a tall woman and needed height to grab something off the shelf or maybe it was a bias that was coming out. We don't know. Your point being is it was how Michelle Obama felt. It's her feelings in these situations.

CHARLES BLOW, CONTRIBUTOR, NEW YORK TIMES & CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. We always want to talk about these things as if there is an answer to the question. Rather than seeing the importance of actually having conversations about the question even when you cannot find the answers. No one knows why somebody asks you for help in a store. I get asked for help all the time. Something about the little old ladies, they always want crackers at the top.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BLOW: I'm 6'2", so I'm always doing that.

BALDWIN: But do you take that as a --

(CROSSTALK)

BLOW: But in addition to that, in department stores, I am always asked whether or not -- do you have this in blue or something? The first few times, you think this is just a weird little, funny little mistake we're making. Both people laugh it off. But after decades of it happening, your brain starts to do what your brain does, which is try to make connections and figure out what is happening and why is this happening to me all the time. And certain things, certain patterns develop. It's never men for me. It's never being black for me.

BALDWIN: Really?

BLOW: Never. And so --

BALDWIN: I was asked the other day, at Bath & Beyond -- I don't know where mattresses are, I think they're that way.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You know? That doesn't happen to me very often.

BLOW: But it happens to me all the time.

BALDWIN: Really?

BLOW: All the time.

BALDWIN: Let me read what the president said. "There's no black male my age who is a professional who hasn't come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn't hand them their car keys." So perhaps to your point, right, that that is something that he's experienced, that you've experienced. How do you feel about the first family, though, opening it up in the wake of so much talk we've all had on race in the wake of Ferguson and New York and beyond their role to express their own personal antidotes. You're optimistic.

BLOW: I think we're all in search of the truth. (CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You're optimistic.

(CROSSTALK)

BLOW: Even when I see polls --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: 40 percent of Americans believe race relations are good, which is the lowest that poll has been since '95. You say?

BLOW: I am optimistic about that. I believe things that we -- we confuse silence with something being solved. And that is not the case. Just because people are not discussing things, does not mean they are solved. When you bring them out, it's messy. It's uncomfortable.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: It doesn't feel good to your point.

BLOW: And so we say, my god, things are really bad now because we have to talk about this awful thing that I don't want to talk about. But I see that and say, this is actually a step forward. When you have to come out and talk about these things and when everybody talks about it, including the president and first lady of the United States, are talking about it. It's really helpful. I'm not saying that what happened in that Target with the first lady was a racist thing. You never know what a person's motives are.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You can't crawl into their heart and head.

BLOW: Exactly. No way to know that. What I'm saying is you felt like that was somehow formed by race. It's important for you to get that out.

(CROSSTALK)

BLOW: You can say what you said, which is I've had things happen to me, and I didn't think that, and it helps me to come to an understanding this may be a universal thing and I may be able to take this off the table.

BALDWIN: Your final line, which I love, if I may, how does all of this make you feel? A little uncomfortable? Good.

(LAUGHTER)

Charles Blow, always a pleasure.

BLOW: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Come back any time. Thank you.

BLOW: I will.

BALDWIN: Coming up, Russian President Vladimir Putin with a three- hour long news conference. He said Russia needs to, quote, "avoid become a chained bear." And he did not stop there. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A young singer songwriter with Tourette syndrome is helping others live their dreams through music in this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jamie Grace grew up dreaming of becoming a singer/songwriter.

(SINGING)

GUPTA: But before she could begin pursuing her career in music, she got some news that put her dreams on hold. At the age of 12, Jamie was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.

JAMIE GRACE, MUSICIAN: I wanted to be a singer. I had no idea what Tourette syndrome was. All I found were clips from movies of these actors yelling and cursing.

And I remember sitting there at 11 years old and crying my eyes out. And I spent the next years just being absolutely miserable.

(MUSIC)

GUPTA: Instead of letting her condition silence her, she turned to YouTube. Just two years after her diagnosis, Jamie began posting videos of herself singing.

(SINGING)

GUPTA: She got the attention of record labels and an online audience.

GRACE: I didn't blow up like Justin Bieber did. But I had a really cool response.

GUPTA: Now she's using her stage and her story to inspire others.

(SINGING)

GUPTA: Jamie started her own foundation. I'm A Fighter. It's a place where people dealing with illnesses and challenges can share stories and find support.

GRACE: It's daily stories of fighters, a little kid with cancer or a hard working father.

It's been really cool to be able to build that community.

(SINGING)

GRACE: I really hope that my songs connect with people. I really want them to be encouragement.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Hundreds of Nigerian women and children have been reported missing after local officials say they were kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram. Officials say the attack happened during a deadly raid in a village north of where hundreds of girls were kidnapped back in April.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is in London with more.

Nima, what do we know?

NINA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, it's so difficult to get information out of this region. Slowly we are learning that this was part of a series of attacks. The first on the 4th of December was in a village where 276 girls were abducted from in April of this year. 53 men were killed in that village attempting to protect their homes and their communities. Then a little further down, came this attack about 20 kilometers away this weekend. That's where the 185 women and girls were abducted. 32 men were killed, including the head of the local mosque who was also trying to protect their families and their communities.

We have no information as yet where these girls and these women have been taken. Survivors are being treated in one of the local towns. And the hope is that any information as they start to get better will lead to some sort of trail that can be followed to help find these girls -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: I feel like, Nima, the last couple times we've spoken it seems as though Boko Haram is making promises that they are not keeping. They continue to bluff saying they'll release these young peep and they're not time and time again. Where do at least those girls from April that you mentioned, where does all of that stand?

ELBAGIR: The last time we spoke, the Nigerian government said they reached a cease-fire deal with Boko Haram and they did a 180 and now say the girls have been sold into slavery. Attacks like this, the repetition of the exact same thing happening again and again in the exact same region is just breaking the hearts of the parents of these girls and the ones who still have girls that they are hoping to protect.

BALDWIN: The push and pull for those families.

Nima Elbagir, in London, thank you so much.

Coming up next, we have breaking news in the war against ISIS. Getting word that American air strikes have killed three senior ISIS leaders. One is a deputy to the leader of the entire terrorist group. Those details are ahead.

Plus, Chris Rock says Hollywood is -- his words -- scared over the Sony cyber attack but the industry is livid. Will it impact future movies, future studios? We'll explore that. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Vladimir Putin was everything you would expect at his news conference today. He was asked about everything from the economy to parking tickets. He was defiant when it came to just who he thinks is responsible for frosty relations with the West. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Russia's only made contribution where it is supporting its national interest in the harsher way. We're not attacking anyone. We're not warmongers. We are only defending our interests. And the dissatisfaction of our Western partners are huge because of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We are not warmongers. He doesn't stop there. The United States, he points out, has military bases around the world, higher defense budget than Russia. Not exactly the words of someone trying to repair a relationship.

So who I have next to me is CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.

Good to see you again in person.

We focused on the ruble and on the economy and on oil prices. What does this current financial crisis mean for Putin?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Really bad news. If you look at the people, the United States government, European governments, who imposed sanctions on Putin because of the adventures in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, this ruble collapse with falling oil prices, the mess in their own central bank and missteps, according to financial experts, say that the effects of sanctions have been massively accelerated. In other words, the economy is where it would have been in years if just the sanctions have been allowed to work. It's backfiring big-time on President Putin. And while he may have looked defiant in the press conference, everyone was waiting to see what he would say in this press conference to put Russia's economy back on track, because now people are beginning to talk, you know, more or less openly about his role in bringing Russia to this brink of financial collapse. And it's the worst crisis they've had since 1998 when the ruble collapsed then. And of course, the world is worried as well. A collapse in Russia has effects around Europe and elsewhere, economic effects, too, with trade partners, et cetera.

BALDWIN: So with this collapse and this real, real worry in Russia and the ramifications globally, then you have -- let me play this for everyone. This is a commercial running on Russia TV teeing up this state of the union. This is what they saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The narration, Christiane, the pictures. He's voted 15th year in a row as Russia's man of the year. How do Russians view their leader?

AMANPOUR: To me, it looks like a cold open. It's like any show in the United States would put on.

BALDWIN: Yeah.

AMANPOUR: But it's for a presidential news conference. This is an annual news conference. It goes on for hours and hours and hours and hours. Everybody was very concerned with watching it this year because of the worrying financial problems. Whether it would cause President Putin to take a step back and really seriously engage with the cease-fire that he's approved and signed onto for eastern Ukraine and whether it would change what he's been doing in Crimea. If he had done that, that, in turn, would have allowed some of the sanctions to be released. Instead, they put more onto the Europeans.

BALDWIN: As we talk Russia, looking at you, I have to talk Cuba. Historic day yesterday. The release of Alan Gross and other Cubans from Miami. And Raul Castro with the president here making this whole thing happen with President Obama. You spoke with his daughter today --

AMANPOUR: Just now.

BALDWIN: Just now. What did she say?

AMANPOUR: The first Castro to speak out. We got an exclusive interview with her. She's a sitting member of parliament. I would say she's more on the liberal side of the regime, which is not --

BALDWIN: OK.

AMANPOUR: She said she was thrilled with this. A lot of happiness. She said she was born the very year the embargo was imposed and, for years, the Cubans wanted to have a different relationship.

The tricky bit comes when you ask them, what are you going to do in return?

BALDWIN: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Because obviously everybody is watching to see whether this means political liberalization. And like her father did in his speech yesterday, there was no sense that there was going to be pluralism or more political parties or any political parties, for that matter.