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Audiences Show Up for "The Interview"; A Decade After a Devastating Tsunami; Highlights and Lowlights of 2014 Sports

Aired December 26, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Carol Costello today. Thanks so much for joining me.

Some were called by patriotic duty, others curiosity, and some people came because going to the movies is just what you do on Christmas Day. Audiences across the country showed up to see "The Interview" yesterday, reportedly bringing in almost $1 million for Sony. No small feat when the movie is playing in just 331 theaters. And it was the number one download for both YouTube and Google Play.

So let's talk about it a little bit more here with CNN's Rosa Flores.

You were out at the theater pretty much all day yesterday in lower Manhattan. A lot of people really curious about this one.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, definitely so. And a lot of people are telling me that this was probably the best thing that ever happened to this movie because a lot of people were not even planning to watch this film, if it were not for their patriotic duty is what they called it because they wanted to support free speech. So what did moviegoers have to say? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I certainly enjoyed it. It's not the greatest comedy ever made, but it was funny. Funnier in some places than in others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you go in expecting the usual with people like Seth Rogen and James Franco, it wouldn't really be that controversial. But if you're from somewhere like North Korea where you don't have that expression that we have here, you know, I can kind of see where they would interpret that as really not good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: As for the box office number, a whopping $1 million is what "Variety" is reporting this morning. And, Randi, when it comes to rentals, here's the big thing. So, we don't think that we'll know what those numbers are unless the company wants to release them. And I think that if they're really good, they'll probably want to release them and brag about it. But if they're not so good, maybe they won't want to release those numbers. But it's up to them to see if they want to release rental numbers.

KAYE: Yes. Did you get a chance to see it or you were too busy reporting?

FLORES: I did. I did. Well, I -- after I finished reporting, I -

KAYE: They finally let you off, yes.

FLORES: Yes.

KAYE: And what did you think?

FLORES: Well, I think - I think I'll keep my observations to myself.

KAYE: OK. That's allowed. All right, Rosa, I got it. Thank you very much.

FLORES: You're welcome.

KAYE: For American audiences, "The Interview" may be just another body comedy. But for potential crowds in North Korea, it seems like these that could stir some controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you think of all that your country has been through, the wars, the floods, do you think that your people should be rewarded for their resilience and strength?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, Dave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then why don't you feed them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And while many moviegoers said attending an "Interview" screening was a way of fulfilling their constitutional duty, it might be the theater owners who are the patriotic heavyweights. In a CNN op- ed, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley writes this, quote, "when history looks back on the whole Sony versus North Korea tempest of recent weeks, the true heroes of the saga will be America's independent cinema owners."

To discuss we're joined by Douglas Brinkley, who wrote that op-ed, and Paul Brown, who owns a theater in South Carolina showing "The Interview."

Good morning to both of you.

So, Douglas, when I was told that you were coming on the show today to talk about this, I was sort of shaking my head because we usually have you on in your role as the presidential historian. What was it about "The Interview" that stirred you enough to even write an op-ed about it today?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, HISTORIAN, RICE UNIVERSITY: Well, I realized it's actually going to be part of history what's gone on here. I mean it's the biggest hacking by a U.S. corporation ever. It really, you know, dominated President Obama's recent press conference, so somebody who does presidential historian with you on CNN, I thought I needed to see the film.

But beyond that, I live in Austin, Texas, and where it's a big film mecca now and so I went to the Alamo Draft House to check out the movie on Christmas Day and was pleasantly surprised by the mayhem and good tidings surrounding the screening. And also I found the film funny.

KAYE: And I understand there were some American flags handed out, so it was a bit of a patriotic theme, wasn't it?

BRINKLEY: Oh, big time. I mean, look, a guy named Tim League (ph), who owns these theaters in Austin, handed out flags for everybody. He leapt on to the stage dressed in a star studded like Evel Knievel suit and then put a video of Lee Greenwood on and the whole audience sang about being "Proud to be an American" and "Living in the USA."

KAYE: Wow.

BRINKLEY: And then free Budweiser was given to people. So it was a huge patriot free expression party here in Austin, Texas, on Christmas Day.

KAYE: It certainly looks that way.

Paul, what about you? I mean do you think, as Douglas says, that you're a hero in this North Korea-Sony saga?

PAUL BROWN, OWNER OF THEATER SHOWING "THE INTERVIEW": I don't look at it that way. We had a great day yesterday. Thousands of people. It was our biggest day ever in the history of the theater. We've been in business since 1997. A lot of thank yous, a lot of line-ups and a lot of organized mayhem and a lot of beer sold. And the crowd loved it. The crowd loved the movie. And, you know, it was just great to watch each show sold and packed out. It was great to watch the audience react to it. And, you know, we're an art house movie theater and usually we don't show a movie with this sort of broad comedy type, but my art house audience loved it. They thought it was great. They thought that Seth was fantastic and it was just a great day all around.

KAYE: That's great.

Douglas, let me ask you about the cynics here in this case because they might say that "The Interview" apparent success is more of a win for the studio, really, rather than the Constitution. What do you say to those folks?

BRINKLEY: Well, look, the reason I called the independent movie houses heroes is when the chips were down, when everybody was quaking, a lot of these independent art houses stood up and said we'll run it. And absolutely "The Interview," which was just kind of a mainstream kid, teenage boy movie is now become kind of an art house flick. It's got a DNA to it that's going to last. Its historic showing.

But I think that the -- this was a very important event to get that out there. Imagine if it was Christmas Day and "The Interview" was still sequestered, it would have been a real black eye to freedom of expression in America.

KAYE: Paul, yesterday we have been told that the FBI was going to be contacting theaters. Did you ever hear from them? Did you have any concerns there?

BROWN: Yes. They contacted us, and I didn't really have any concerns. We had - we had certain precautions in place. We had no backpacks, no knapsacks. The police, the local county and the sheriffs and the city police were by all the time just to help us out, you know, patriotic duty, the whole thing, and everyone was really, really great. Everyone was really - no one -- none of our other movies had any effect by it. Everyone was in a really good mood. Of course it was Christmas and, you know, people were looking at it as a very significant -- we were tearing tickets at one point and one lady says, please don't tear mine, I want to keep it. So it was --

KAYE: Oh, wow.

BROWN: It was really -- these are the cheap little tickets. It was really great. It was fun.

KAYE: So, Douglas, I mean, you wrote that you were certainly wondering what Pyongyang would say about the scene and about the release of this film. How do you think that -- the fact that it has now been released, I mean and the scene that we saw certainly at your theater yesterday, what do you -- how do you think that would play in Pyongyang?

BRINKLEY: Oh my gosh, the cultural divide is so great. I mean this really is a moment of American popular culture kind of going around the world that this is what we do in America. I mean here's a movie theater that I was at serving fried pickles and barbecue wings and tubs of buttered popcorn and people kind of whooping it up over this sort of comedy. I don't know how in - that would -- they could even get their minds around this film in North Korea.

But, of course, the message of assassinating a world leader, even if it's in a comedy, is a bit jarring. And I imagine, in a totalitarian society like North Korea, they have no way of even understanding this kind of humor.

KAYE: Certainly not. Paul Brown, Douglas Brinkley, thank you both very much. Appreciate it.

BROWN: Thank you.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

KAYE: And of course we want to let you know, you can read Doug's op-ed at cnn.com/opinion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A decade has passed since a tsunami devastated coastlines along the Indian Ocean. Deadly waves as tall as 100 feet swallowing entire towns. The sheer power behind the water remains haunting. The damage was unspeakable and surreal. Today, most of the scars are faded. Before and after pictures offer a sign of hope. Debris-littered streets now thriving with businesses and buildings now stand where there was only carnage before. In all, more than 226,000 lives were lost across fourteen countries.

Ten years later, a time of reflection in Indonesia. Thousands commemorating the somber anniversary in prayer for the victims. And in this small village in Thailand, a remembrance wall now stands. Visitors placing flowers today. On the 5,000 strong community, 1,400 died here.

But today we're remembering a remarkable story of survival from a man in Thailand who stayed above that rushing water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DWAYNE MEADOWS, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: As I was in my bungalow, in my room, kind of poking through my backpack and looking for my stuff, that the first signs of the tsunamis were taking place, but I was completely unaware of what was going on at the time.

The folks on the beach who were out there had noticed that this kind of white line that they had seen on the horizon was starting to grow and build into this wave and people really realized that this not really tall looking wave was actually very dangerous and powerful, and the people started to scream and turn around and run away from the beach.

I realized that it was a tsunami. The water was way away from the shoreline where it should be. And I also realized there was no way for me to go all the way down the steps and out to the front and then start running backwards. It was going to be on me in a matter of seconds. And I remember just thinking, I really need to hold my breath for as long as I can because this is going to get kind of big and kind of scary.

And then it started to come under the building. And I could feel the building kind of collapsing. And I remember the water coming in at the same time and kind of just diving and sliding into the water and hoping I would get away from the building and the roof kind of collapsing on me, spinning and twisting and my body going every which direction.

It was completely black and I had no idea what was up and down. I was clawing for what I thought was a surface but I really had no idea. And like I was running out of air and I wasn't getting any closer to the surface and eventually I just sort of accepted that this was the end.

Lo and behold, I actually did sort of pop up to the surface and was able to take some breaths, but quickly realized I was in this really, really fast-moving whitewater that was going like a whitewater river.

Now the debris was starting to pile up and you could see in some cases whole bungalows still floating, beds and big propane tanks and refrigerators, you name it, in the water. When I got to shore, I remember there were - in the beginning there were three or four women and they were all looking for boyfriends or husbands that had gotten separated from them.

It was horrible, just horrible, looking at especially the children who didn't know what was going on, who were kind of shell-shocked because it was just - just horrible to look around at all the damage and destruction and injuries and everyone that was looking for children and spouses and friends. And it changes the way that you think about what's important in your life, what's worth making a big deal about, what's worth getting worried about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: What an incredible story of survival from 10 years ago. The big question today, is the world better prepared? For a look at the advancements made over the last 10 years, we bring in CNN's Jennifer Gray in Atlanta this morning.

Jennifer, good morning.

So it's not just overseas. The tragedy inspired better communication here in the U.S. as well.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's exactly right. You know, I think that this was a huge wake-up call worldwide because when you have an earthquake like this, it creates a tsunami, it not only displaces the water right around that earthquake, it displaces the water all around the globe. And you can see it in red.

And so what it did was it woke up everyone. So we need some more warning systems. We need a better plan in place so we can get the word out if there is a tsunami. In 2004, we only had about seven stations. Now we have 60. And we also have those tsunami centers staffed 24 hours a day, where 10 years ago they were only staffed until about 5:00 p.m., 8:00 to 5:00, and we know that tsunamis can happen any hour of the day, 365 days a year.

So what these buoy systems look like, under the water you have this device that sits on the ocean floor. And when there's an earthquake, it basically measures the weight of the water on top of it, it measure it every 15 seconds, and if there's any fluctuation in that water, signaling a tsunami, it will send a signal up to the buoy on the ocean surface and then that will send a signal to a satellite and then into these tsunami warning centers. And so a lot of these earthquakes are basically strike slip, but when you have a type of earthquake that's actually a mega thrust, where it thrusts upward and actually displaces all of that water up, and so that's when you get that tsunami to form and it's basically like a rock dropping in the ocean, and the waves just come up. It can travel at about 500 miles per hour at times. This wall of water, and as it heads onshore, of course, that's when we see the tsunami and the devastation from it.

A lot of times you could get warnings within five minutes now, where ten years ago it would take 30 minutes. But sometimes tsunamis can strike in less than five minutes. So you need to know what to do. In fact, when you see the water retreating, if you're on the shore, that's when you know that a tsunami is possibly coming, if you see any fluctuation in the water. And also, if you hear a big roar from the ocean, that's also a sign that a tsunami is near. So you need to know what to do, have a plan in place, in case this happens. But technology is advancing. We're getting better at all of this, and in years to come, we will be even better. But such a scary, scary thing. Randi?

KAYE: Yeah, certainly. And I think a lot of people, you know, unless they know when they see that water receding, they think oh, we're safe. We're okay. And that's when it comes.

GRAY: Yep. And that's what happened. A lot of people actually walked out when they saw the water retreating, saying, what is this? When actually it was a warning sign that there was a tsunami coming.

KAYE: Great point to make. Jennifer Gray, thank you very much.

Checking some top stories now. Former President George H.W. Bush is in great spirits, but will remain in the hospital for now, according to his spokesperson. Bush was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after complaining of shortness of breath. His wife Barbara and other family members visited him in the hospital on Christmas Day. His Chief of Staff says that he is expected to go home soon.

An Oregon woman is offering few details on her four-month-long nightmare. Stacey Addison says that she was detained in East Timor because she unknowingly shared a taxi with a stranger carrying methamphetamine. She's now out of jail and a guest of a former leader of the small Southeast Asian nation. The details on her release are not known.

A money truck burst open in Hong Kong and folks went wild, grabbing cash right off the street there. More than 15 million Hong Kong dollars spilled onto the road, that's about 2 million U.S. dollars. Dozens of people started scooping up the cash., you see it there. At least 29 of them returned the money, but two people were arrested for allegedly taking the money and hiding it in their homes. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: I got it wrong on a number of levels, from the process that I led to the decision that I reached.

ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: Effective immediately, I am banning Mr. Sterling for life from any association with the Clippers organization or the NBA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The year's winners and losers in sports were not just measured by championship rings or basement finishes, but by off-field behavior and how it was all handled.

So let's talk about the highlights and the low lights, of course, with "USA Today"'s Christine Brennan and Mike Pesca, host of the Slate podcast, "The Gist." Good morning to both of you. So you both have a teenager on your list of winners. Mike, I'm going

to start with you here. What's so great about Mo'net Davis?

MIKE PESCA, HOST OF SLATE PODCAST: "THE GIST": I think Mo'ne Davis was that transcendent figure, that even if you didn't follow sports, you would say, who is this 13-year-old girl mowing down boys in the Little League World Series? She was one of the few females put on the cover of "Sports Illustrated." And she was the kind of story that you didn't have to know what a fastball was - well, I think everyone knows what a fastball is -- You didn't have to know too much about what a circle curve was to know wow, I can't believe she's doing it. Now, I don't know that she's a huge argument for anything having to do with Title IX and gender, maybe she is. It was just this kind of great feel good pure story because I think everyone else we're going to talk about now is either a millionaire or billionaire or fired a billionaire.

KAYE: That is true. We'll get to those. But Christine, I mean, you felt, as well, that Mo'ne is quite an inspiration.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, SPORTS COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: I did, Randi. And I agree with Mike on this. And I'll add to it by saying this, that it seems like for generations there's been this put down for girls and women in sports and it is the term, "you throw like a girl," and I hope we can all agree in this country and around the world to retire that term because, of course, we're teaching generations of girls and women to throw the ball properly thanks to Title IX. And so first of all, that term is awful. But Mo'ne Davis did the impossible. She took that statement of ridicule, that statement of negativity, and turned it into a compliment. "You throw like a girl" is now a compliment. And for a society that has -- is moving slowly on this issue, I think it's a huge step forward and I think we will look back on the history of Title IX, so many other advances, the women's World Cup soccer in '99, Randi, and I think we will put Mo'ne Davis in 2014 on that list.

KAYE: Let me stick with you here, Christine, because your other winners are from the NBA. Tell us why you chose them.

BRENNAN: Well, Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, of course, often -- most people had never even heard of him until he threw the bum out. He threw the owner, Donald Sterling, out. What a debut, that at that moment that he introduced himself to most of the country, he was throwing out an owner and it was for racism and, of course, that was a remarkable moment. And then I also have to pick LeBron James, and here's why. Not many people choose to leave south Florida and move to northern Ohio. I happen to be talking to you right now from northern Ohio, and LeBron James, what a statement that was to come home, a role model coming back to his roots where he's given so much to the community, I think that was a fantastic story in 2014, LeBron coming home to play, once again, in Cleveland.

KAYE: And, Mike, you like Richard Sherman and Landon Donovan.

PESCA: Yeah. So Richard Sherman, I think now, if we follow football, oh sure, one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL, but it was about a year ago, a little less than a year ago, that he and his Seahawks beat the 49erss in the NFC championship game, did this interview or did an interview with Aaron Andrews and everyone said, who is this loud mouth? Who is this guy? Now in the two weeks between the championship game and the Super Bowl is when the most attention is paid to any athlete for doing nothing but talking, and he was great at talking, and we got to know him and he backed it up on the field, so I think he's the kind of guy you can get behind. He seems like a nuance and surprising guy.

And I chose Landon Donovan because most of the people I chose, I didn't just go with the MVPs of sports, I chose people who maybe were transcendent or stood for something. And to me, Landon Donovan was cut from the World Cup team, he's the best player in U.S. soccer history. I think that was a bad decision, I think the results show it was a bad decision, but he comported himself with class, he went back and played for the U.S. in the last international game, and with his team, the L.A. Galaxy in Major League Soccer, he won another championship. Best goal scorer, best assist man, best soccer player U.S. has ever produced went out on a high note.

KAYE: Alright, so those are all the winners. Christine, who is on your naughty list?

BRENNAN: Shock of all shocks, going back to September 8 in that video that rocked the world, Ray Rice, Randi, that's first and foremost. How could we not have Ray Rice on this list? Such an important conversation that he started, unwittingly, about domestic violence. But that punch will be remembered forever and Ray Rice, of course, isn't playing now because of that. So Ray Rice is certainly one of them.

I have to mention Donald Sterling. Of course, he was the bum that Adam Silver threw out. And then I also am going back to February in Sochi. Vladimir Putin. He spent $51 billion on his Olympic games and couldn't even get a men's Olympic hockey medal out it of it. He also, of course, put his country into terrible debt and then invaded Crimea. I mean, Putin and now the economy in Russia is terrible, so Putin for spending all that money, smiles aside, in a time and a place in his nation that needs so many other things. $51 billion, the most ever spent on an Olympic games. So Vladimir Putin is also one of my losers for the year.

KAYE: That's certainly a unique one in the sports department, for sure. Mike, you give thumbs down to a team commissioner and an organization, as well.

PESCA: Yes. Well, I chose some autocrats, too, maybe not as bad as Putin, because let's look at FIFA for a second. Sepp Blatter never invaded Crimea and the ruble hasn't plunged under him, but, man, he runs a corrupt organization and they're pompous and they're greedy and a top investigator for FIFA left because he could not stand by - Garcia, Michael Garcia was a U.S. attorney, could not stand by the report that they issued on whether there was corruption in awarding the games to Qatar and Russia. Answer: of course there was corruption, but FIFA couldn't put that report out there. It's a shameful organization for the world's most popular game.

And Roger Goodell deserves to be on this list. I mean, we played a clip of him going in about the mistakes he made. And we could play a clip of him at a news conference talking about how he hasn't gotten the process right a number of times, not just with Ray Rice, if you look back with the New Orleans Saints. And I think he still doesn't really get it. He thinks what America wants from him, or at least what his wealthy patrons want from him, is more toughness and I think they want a little more fairness, actually.

KAYE: Alright. I love you guys, didn't hold back. Very nice. Mike, Christine, nice to see you both.

PESCA: You're welcome.

BRENNAN: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)