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The Amanpour Hour

Interview With Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha; Interview With "Anora" Actress, Mikey Madison; Interview With Sofreh Owner And Chef Nasim Alikhani; Interview With "Eureka Day" Actress Jessica Hecht; Interview With "Eureka Day" Bill Irwin; Spending July 4th With The Trumps; 50 Years Since "Jaws" Hit The Beaches. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 30, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[10:59:48]

PETE SEAT, FORMER WH SPOKESMAN, PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm going to broaden it out to all apps, not just social media apps, but I'm tired of companies saying, oh, well, if you want discounts and coupons, you have to download our app. If you want to see your x-rays and your medical records, download the portal. No, I don't want your app.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: Listen, you just inspired me. I don't want to send any more text messages --

PETE: Yes.

PHILLIP: -- to get a coupon, just. Give me the coupon. Ok.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Give me the coupon.

PHILLIP: All right, everybody. Thank you very much. Thanks for watching "TABLE FOR FIVE". You can catch me every weeknight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern with our "NEWSNIGHT" roundtable and anytime on your favorite social media apps that Van Jones hates, at Instagram and TikTok.

But in the meantime, CNN's coverage continues right now.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome to THE AMANPOUR HOUR. Here's where we're headed this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: As summer winds down, we look back at the most widely acclaimed voices that defined the year.

Pulitzer Prize winner Mosab Abu Toha talks to me about war poems on the anguish in Gaza.

MOSAB ABU TOHA, PALESTINIAN POET: I think for any writer or journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize is a satisfaction. But this satisfaction is lacking because the stories that I wrote about in the past year and a half have been happening and happening again.

AMANPOUR: Then -- Breakout star and Oscar winner Mikey Madison on letting go of impostor

syndrome.

MIKEY MADISON, ACTRESS: Like, why did he choose me? I kind of feel like all my dreams are coming true a little bit, which is like, I don't know, maybe there's woods somewhere.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

MADISON: Knock on it.

AMANPOUR: Knock on it.

Plus, with Iran in the spotlight, one of the most acclaimed chefs of the year, Iranian-born Nasim Alikhani, talks about her contemporary spin on the delicious Persian cuisine I grew up on.

NASIM ALIKHANI, CHEF AND OWNER, SOFREH: When you cook, you need an audience. You cannot just cook for the heck of it. You need an audience. And that audience, how they receive the food completes the circle.

AMANPOUR: And vaccine conspiracies in "Eureka Day", its stars Jessica Hecht and Bill Irwin on the play that took the Tony Award for best revival.

And from my archives, my only ever encounter with The Donald, as his wife called him back then, when he was a New York businessman.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This boat was not owned by a person of this country. and I'd like to see America taking a lot of the great jewels of the world, to be perfectly honest, and bringing them over here.

And finally, the 50th anniversary this year of one of American cinema's greatest, ""Jaws"".

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. And as the sun sets on yet another summer season, just before turning the page to fall, we want to focus on some of the most remarkable and recognized people who rose above the noise in their respective fields, making the year really shine from film to theater to cooking.

First, one of the year's defining writers, the celebrated Palestinian author and poet Mosab Abu Toha. He took home the Pulitzer Prize for commentary this past May for his series of "New Yorker" essays that documented the suffering of the people of Gaza.

Mosab himself lived in the enclave for most of his life. He and his immediate family were able to escape, first to Egypt and then to the United States. That was back in 2023. But so many, many more remain.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, the war against them in Gaza has taken tens of thousands of civilian lives, and an Israeli siege saw starvation set in.

Abu Toha has lost more than 50 family members now. Here's our conversation from earlier this year as the world watched the suffering in Gaza just grow and grow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Mosab Abu Toha, welcome back to the program.

Firstly, congratulations and I wonder if you feel a sense of satisfaction or at least doing your job to raise the plight of your family and friends and others in Gaza, because it's so difficult to get word out.

TOHA: Yes. I mean, thank you so much, Christiane, for having me again. I think for any writer or journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize is a satisfaction, but this satisfaction is lacking because they -- the stories that I wrote about in the past year and a half have been happening and happening again every day.

Every day is the same stories that I wrote about, the destruction of Gaza, the blowing up of houses after forcing people to leave them continues until today. The destruction of the refugee camp continues until today. The starvation about, which I wrote just today morning, continues until today what -- in different ways.

AMANPOUR: The stories you tell of the humanitarian need and suffering are so visceral that it's really, really -- it's really hard to read.

For instance, your latest piece that you refer to, you talk about family members who are forced to eat rancid flour.

[11:04:52]

AMANPOUR: One of your family members said, you know, basically they had put -- you had seen this -- I'm going to read what you said. "I could see some plates in a bowl nearby. They have nothing in them," your Uncle Jaleel said. "We let ourselves imagine that there is salad and some chicken and pickles as we chew the rice."

You know, and another one you say, your wife's mother, your mother-in- law, in order to cook, they're drilling outside to get the asphalt because we ran out of wood and paper, your Auntie Maan (ph) says. The asphalt contains petroleum.

I mean, these are visceral and really telling anecdotes about the desperation and the lack. What are your family -- what else is your family saying to you?

TOHA: Well, you know, Christiane, there are adults in Gaza and there are children who are 50 percent of the population. What they are telling me is that these kids, some kids are one-year-old, some kids are five years old, adults are saving food. They are denying themselves some food that they have, even though it's rancid, to keep for the kids. They are asking. I have the cousin of my wife, her name is Sama (ph). She's six years old, and she was crying. And my mother-in-law who lives in the same tent with them, she tells her, please just be patient. Be patient. We are going to eat after sunset.

They are unfortunately forcing these kids to fast 15 or 16 hours. And they would rely on drinking water that is not easy to get, right? So, these -- they are forcing, unfortunately, kids to fast for about 15 hours.

And I have another friend of mine who is living in a tent since October, 2023. He has a daughter who is eight months old, and she doesn't have diapers, which is something that we don't talk a lot about. He started to put rags of cloth instead of the diapers because they can't get diapers in Gaza.

So, these people are starving and there is no medicine again. There is no medicine. I have a neighbor of mine, (INAUDIBLE). And this is the story that I'm going to tell is not part of the piece because there is no -- there are lots of stories that I can write.

He told me that his wife was injured in a (INAUDIBLE) wreck a week before the ceasefire in January. And she had metal rod -- she has -- she still has metal rods inside and outside her legs. There is no -- there are no painkillers, there are no antibiotics.

And he tells me that there is no healthy food for her even to heal, even she's getting antibiotics and painkiller. There is no healthy food for her bones and her flesh to heal.

So, this is a level of anguish that no one can imagine in this world, because this is -- this has been going on for 20 months.

AMANPOUR: Can I ask you, because you left, I mean, you'd left after a couple of months of the war. And you are in the United States. What -- first of all, what is it like being outside? But more to the point as well, many Palestinians are refusing to move because they're afraid, this is the whole point. They don't want to leave Gaza because they think they're never going to be allowed back.

What are you hearing from your family and friends on that issue?

TOHA: First of all, Christiane, being here in the United States, the country that is funding this genocide, the country that has been vetoing draft resolutions that are seeking to accomplish a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, it is very difficult for me to be here in this country.

And another point is that people, when I talk to them, my friends, my students, when I talk to them on the phone, they expect that I can help them from here.

They tell me, Mohamed Sal (ph), about whom I wrote in the piece. I was talking to him on the phone just to fact-check some of the information that he shared with me. And before I ended the call, he told me, Mosab, I said, yes, Mohammed, what do you want? He was one of the people who were shot on June 1st near the aid site in Rafah. He was shot in the foot and there was a video of him in the hospital, and that's how I knew he was shot.

So, I talked to him three days ago before the piece was published. And he told me after that, he told, Mosab, I said, yes, Mohammed, what do you want? He said, my five kids, two of them were born after October 7th. He told me, my wife -- my five kids are in the tent and they don't have any food.

He's being treated in a hospital in Deir al Balah. Their -- his kids and wife are in Gaza City. He told me, Mosab, my kids do not have food. And he paused, expecting me to say to him. Oh, yes. OK. I'm going to send a ship or a boat, you know, to feed your family. I mean, I couldn't say anything.

People think that because we are here, because -- people think that we -- because we are here in the United States or in Europe, we are able to help them. This is heartbreaking for me, you know, not only to listen to their stories, but also to -- when they tell me these stories that -- hoping that I can help them.

[11:09:48]

TOBA: But I wish I could help them. This world should help these people.

Can I just add one small -- one small point. I have a request to the journalists who are not allowed to go to Gaza. I hope that they will try to go on a boat or a ship to try to go to Gaza.

AMANPOUR: Thank you. I appreciate it.

We are incredibly angered, frankly. It's unacceptable that we're not allowed in. I appreciate it.

Thank you very much, Mosab Abu Toha.

TOHA: Thank you, Christiane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Coming up later on the show, the Tony winning play that takes on vaccine skepticism. My Conversation with the stars of "Eureka Day".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA HECHT, ACTRESS: We had no thought we would collide with such a dangerous moment in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And straight ahead, looking back at one of the best film performances of the year, my conversation with Mikey Madison about "Anora", which won her an Oscar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MADISON: I mean, it's kind of a dream come true for an actor to play such a complicated, interesting person and also someone who is so far away from who I am and my universe.

And so for me to be able to experience so many different things, but through the safety net of this character, it's like -- it's like a dream for a shy girl like me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:11:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

My next conversation is with the incredible Mikey Madison, whose starring turn in the film, "Anora" won her an Oscar for best actress. She was just 25 years old.

Dubbed by some as a dark Cinderella story, Anora follows a Brooklyn sex worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I get married to an American, I wouldn't have to go back to Russia.

MADISON: Ok, so we should marry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you Anora take this handsome gentleman --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was with him two weeks ago. He wasn't married.

MADISON: So you need to tell them, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ivan, open the door please.

MADISON: Should I call 911?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you marry some prostitute?

MADISON: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that her?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And it swept through award season all the way from Cannes to the Academy Awards. While the plot is certainly no fairy tale for "Anora" herself, for Mikey Madison it was.

Here's what she told me about playing "Ani". (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Mikey Madison, welcome to our program.

MADISON: Oh, thank you for having me.

AMANPOUR: So, tell me, you've just won I think the Breakthrough Performer of the Year at the Critics Circle, and of course, congrats on the Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

How was taking on this role of "Anora" and you're like, you went as Ani in the film?

MADISON: Yes. I mean it's kind of a dream come true for an actress to play such a complicated, interesting person and also someone who is so far away from who I am in my universe.

And so for me to be able to experience so many different things through the safety net of this character, it's like -- it's like a dream for a shy girl like me.

And so, I loved it. I loved all the research, all the physical preparation, all the -- emotional preparation I did. Yes.

AMANPOUR: So we're going to play a clip.

MADISON: No, I know.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a kid who wants someone who speaks Russian.

MADISON: You know, Jimmy, the girls and I have been talking. And if your cousin doesn't start showing us some respect, we're not going to tip out anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I'll talk to him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you talking about? The DJ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

MADISON: I shared my playlist with him, and he was very rude and dismissive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're killing me. Let's go. Come on.

MADISON: No, no. I'm eating my food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So, from the get-go, you are your own person and you're very clear about your boundaries. The character speaks some Russian, certainly understands Russian, as you said, a sex worker. So, what was the prep for that?

MADISON: Well, just in terms of the language, that was not a language I spoke before filming or had ever attempted to speak.

So, I took, you know, months of Russian language sessions. I worked with an incredible dialect coach who also worked on our film.

I wanted to know the nuances of how each word sounds. How it feels to say it. What my -- what the other actors are saying to me.

AMANPOUR: So how did you prepare for the intimate scenes and the raunchy scenes?

MADISON: Well, you know, I did a lot of research into sex work because I think I went into my preparation of the film really not knowing much about that community or what that profession is like.

And it completely opened up my eyes and I was able to -- we had consultants that were brought into the film. They're consulting us on their profession, on what they've done.

And so these women who have similar lived experience to my character, I was able to just talk like woman to woman and pick their brains. And they offered so much insight and nuance into what that kind of work is like.

And so I think that that just opened up my mind. And that's how I was able to film -- film all of those scenes.

I mean, I was very comfortable. I mean, Sean Baker is just -- he's a wonderful, lovely person. And Sammy Quan and that whole production, you know, their priority is safety, comfortability.

[11:19:47]

MADISON: Like, they want everyone to have a wonderful time making their films, and that sentiment was really echoed. It was such a positive experience for me.

AMANPOUR: I want to play another clip, and it's essentially fast forward from there, from the first one. And you end up marrying Vanya, Ivan.

MADISON: Yes.

AMANPOUR: And not something that his parents are thrilled about, and they try to get you to split up.

Here is a scene on the tarmac where you are in no uncertain terms, your character, Ani, is telling them where to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are getting on this plane, and you are getting divorced. MADISON: Yes, we're going to get a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) divorce, but first I'm getting a lawyer, then I'm going to sue Ivan and you, and I'm going to walk away with (EXPLETIVE DELETED) half, because I didn't sign a prenup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: I mean, you're taking control of your life right there.

MADISON: Well, you know, I've always seen Ani as someone who is very sure of herself, her place in the world. It's just other people who question it.

And she's, you know, really mistreated just because of what she does for a living. But she is a fighter. And that's one of the things I love about this character is that she has this amazing fighting spirit, and she will fight tooth and nail physically and emotionally to fight for what she believes is hers or the life that she's been welcomed into.

AMANPOUR: You know, interestingly though, you talk about -- it was hard to summon the tears that were required in that final scene, because it was emotional, it was sad. And your whole film had been projecting toughness, your whole character throughout the film.

The breakthrough came from something deeply personal. An old voicemail from your father.

MADISON: Well, it was -- you know, he sent years ago. He's my dad. My sweet dad sent me a voicemail during a time where I -- you know, I needed some hopefulness.

And I just -- he said the things that I needed to hear, you know. He just talked about seeing a lot of hope in my future. That's basically what it said.

And we played it and we all listened to it. And I think just the intimacy of listening to that voicemail really, it just grounded all of us, brought us to kind of more of like a raw, uncomfortable place. Like we were all kind of on edge.

And so, then we shot the scene, and there was just some different energy to it.

AMANPOUR: Sean Baker apparently created this around you, this character.

MADISON: Yes, yes.

AMANPOUR: I mean, it's pretty -- that's not bad for any actor, much less a young one.

MADISON: Yes, I had never had that experience before. I'd never had a director want to write something for me. And so, it was very exciting. I had to really quickly like let go of -- try as much as possible to let go of my imposter syndrome of like, why did he choose me? I kind of feel like all my dreams are coming true a little bit which is like, I don't know, maybe there's wood somewhere and I'll --

AMANPOUR: Yes.

MADISON: -- knock on it.

AMANPOUR: Knock on it. But what a great place to be, thinking your dreams are coming true. It's great. Congratulations.

MADISON: Thanks.

AMANPOUR: Mikey Madison, thank you very much.

MADISON: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Quite a story.

And after a break, the Iranian chef whose food has taken New York by storm. James Beard award nominee Nasim Alikhani tells me how salt and fat can create magic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALIKHANI: Iran has been always a land that other people came to it and brought their culture and their cuisine like we got spices from India. We got -- we got so much from everybody, and thousands of years of history and culture is woven in our food.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:23:33]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

Now a taste of home. Given the spotlight on war against Iran recently, we wanted to save us some of its culinary delights beloved the world over.

From Isfahan to New York, Iranian star chef Nasim Alikhani was a nominee for a prestigious James Beard Award this year. Just one of the many accolades she's received since opening her restaurant Sofreh back in 2018.

Speaking from her Brooklyn restaurant, here's what she told me about bringing Iranian food to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Let's just start with your journey. You were born in Iran. And then, you know, you came to America. You had wanted to be a judge. What's brought you to America and to food? ALIKHANI: Hi, Christiane. Thank you so much for having me here. It's such an honor to talk to you.

I -- life is a mystery. And I honestly don't know how to explain, like, 30 or 40 years of journey, but I know that one thing is, yes, I want to be a judge, I want to be a lot of things.

I also studied international affairs. I wanted to become ambassador of something to the U.N., I don't even know what.

But I always loved cooking and I always found quietness in the action of cooking and I found amazing joy in sharing my creations, whatever that was. A simple (INAUDIBLE) or, you know, lavish meal, it didn't matter, or just feed a bunch of kids and my kid's friends at a play date.

[11:29:54]

ALIKHANI: But it's just -- it brought amazing joy, quietness, connection. It just make me whole, this action.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

ALIKHANI: This -- and it's a complete action because when you cook, you need an audience. You cannot just cook for the heck of it. You need an audience, and that audience, how they receive the food, completes the circle. And --

ALIKHANI: And Nasim, Iranian food is absolutely fantastic, as I know, and I've been, full disclosure, to your restaurant when it opened in 2018, and it is fantastic.

But I always offer Iranian food to guests as well. What is it about it, do you think, that is so welcome and so beloved, really, by many, you know, who have no sort of their tastebuds aren't used to that?

ALIKHANI: Yes. I think -- I think what it is -- because Iran has been always a land that other people came to it, and brought their culture and their cuisine.

Like we've got the spices from India. We got so much from everybody. And thousands of years of history and culture is woven in our food. It's so organic that it's just almost acceptable easily by all palates, even people who have never tasted it. Nothing is foreign because it has a little bit of everything in that region.

Also, Iran itself is so varied from north to south. As you know, we have different cuisine, different climate, different ingredients and we utilize all of it in that one pot of food that we give.

And I also experience every time I cook something, I entertain, people are like, you have to open a restaurant. And my husband is like, please, don't encourage her. Please. And eventually, it happened.

(CROSSTALK) AMANPOUR: So, are you -- I mean, your whole -- you and your whole family, I mean, can you even wrap your head around, you know, the five or so years since you opened it --

ALIKHANI: No.

AMANPOUR: -- you know, guest chef at the White House, at the Met, you know, The James Beard nomination, the book?

ALIKHANI: Yes, yes. And I constantly want to smack myself, just like, is this real or it's just, am I dreaming? Even with the White House when my husband came and told me the news, I was at the service, crazy night.

And he said, there's an e-mail from the White House. I'm like, don't open it, it's a scam. Because I had just never thought like what the White House could do with it, like I'm just a humble cook in a corner of Brooklyn.

And yes. No, I don't -- and -- or James Beard, highest industry standard comes and value -- first of all, credit to them, to start expanding their horizon. They start noticing people like us that we don't come from traditional route, but we pay our dues. We do -- you know, we do what we do and we are good at it. But it's time that they are noticing us.

And I was just -- but again, I'm shocked.

Nasim Alikhani, owner and chef at Sofreh, thank you very much indeed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: No matter the politics, we can all get together around a good meal.

Now, up next, the play that's taken on vaccine skepticism and racked up Tony Awards. My conversation with the stars of "Eureka Day".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL IRWIN, "EUREKA DAY": Our concern in the rehearsal room and leading up to rehearsal was that history might have passed This play by. and that we were maybe working on something was slightly behind the curve, only to find that, as you say, Ms. Amanpour, we're -- we're dealing with a really, really current conversation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:33:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

And now to one of the hit plays of the year, both timely and hilarious, "Eureka Day" centers around an elite California elementary school that's all about inclusion. This was before Trump's anti DEI order and before naming controversial vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. as his Health and Human Services Secretary.

While in real life there's been an outbreak of measles in Texas, in the play, an outbreak of mumps forces a rethink of the school's liberal vaccine policy.

As cases rise, the board is forced to make a decision that won't please everyone. It was a hit show which also hit a nerve. And it triumphed at the Tonys, winning the award for Best Revival.

Earlier this year, I spoke to the play's stars, Jessica Hecht and Bill Irwin, about what makes it so special right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Welcome to the program. Nice to --

HECHT: Thank you.

IRWIN: Thank you.

AMANPOUR: -- nice to see you. And I -- look, let me just start by asking you, Jessica, I've seen the play. Did you ever imagine that it would be in full flourish, this play, as this real-life drama is going on in the halls of power?

HECHT: Absolutely not. We just felt -- we, of course, feel that somebody out there is looking out for us, but we had no thought we would collide with such a dangerous moment in history. Yes.

AMANPOUR: And Irwin, you what is your reaction to how it's -- how it's landing right now?

IRWIN: Our concern in the rehearsal room and leading up to rehearsal was that history might have passed this play by.

And that we were maybe working on something that was slightly behind the curve, only to find that, as you say, Ms. Amanpour, we're dealing with a really, really current conversation.

[11:39:49]

AMANPOUR: And so let -- talk to me a little bit about it. I mean, I gave a little bit of the sort of shape of the play. But, Jessica, you tell me about your character, because it's a very, you know, holier than thou, self-satisfied, you know, DEI kind of, you know, let everybody have the -- you know, have their say, et cetera.

HECHT: Yes. But you know, I think at the heart of what's going on with her, she's somebody who's crafted all of these agendas, which are supposedly for everyone's benefit because she had a terrible moment in her own life that she had no control over.

And I think, of course, all of these characters that -- all of these characters, all of these people that we're engaging with, that we see only their behavior and their supposed personal agendas, you know, at the core of that, I think, unfortunately, there is often some sort of, for lack of a better word, trauma.

But my character is very, very happy to have any power in -- and that -- and she misuses it, perhaps, but I think she's motivated by -- definitely by something really, really personal and really painful.

So, it's -- I mean, it -- the play hopefully opens your mind to that reality that people are narcissistic in the worst and the best ways, I guess, for lack of a better word to use.

AMANPOUR: The worst and the best ways, that's good narcissism.

Bill Irwin -- best ways, yes, tell me about the fact that this play was in fact written, you know, before COVID, before the height of this, at least, public demonstration of conspiracy theories over the diseases, vaccines, et cetera.

I mean, I think it was written, what, back in 2016 by Jonathan Spector.

IRWIN: Yes.

HECHT: Yes. Yes.

IRWIN: Yes. And it reveals itself to be a very shrewd bit of playwriting irrespective of what's going on, but it also, as we've been talking about, we've hit the curve of history so that since the play was written, the pandemic gripped the world, the social justice reckoning moment when George Floyd was killed, and election results -- things that like I said earlier, were a little -- we were a little fearful we might fall behind the curve of history. It's actually a very current conversation.

And the play was also written, by the way, before the Zoom era, before our lives were all about distance communication. And there's one scene in the play which very, very shrewdly takes that on and it is a delight to play it.

AMANPOUR: OK. I am going to play it actually now. I hope I'm going to get to the -- I'm going to play part of it because it is really, really funny.

Essentially, you're gathered for a virtual town hall. You, Bill Irwin, play head of school, right?

IRWIN: Yes.

AMANPOUR: And you, Jessica, play a teacher on the board of the school, yes? And you're gathered to speak to parents, and as you say, before the Zoom era, which I didn't realize. Here's what we see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRWIN: Now, the Health Department has recommended that you get the mumps vaccine if you haven't already. But just to be clear, you needed to have had it prior to September 14th to be included in the category of people who, well, to not be affected by the quarantine. So --

HECHT: I think it's worth amplifying that point, yes.

IRWIN: I'm sorry, which point?

HECHT: That even if they do get the vaccine --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Honestly, it still makes me laugh. I hope our viewers can understand that essentially, it's the screen and the comments outside the room that are provoking the hilarity. It's just really very funny.

And you guys, who are in the room, are just blathering on, sort of, earnestly.

IRWIN: Yes, yes.

AMANPOUR: And the real action --

HECHT: But we don't feel it's blathering.

AMANPOUR: No, but tell me, because I think the director or the scriptwriter said to you all, don't wait for the laughter to subside. You've got to keep going. Tell me how difficult that was.

IRWIN: It runs against your craft as an actor often, but what we've found is that it gets to the deep comedy of people taking themselves very seriously, and speaking in a way in their assumption is that people are watching them like we used to watch television in the 1950s.

We didn't -- you know, we didn't look to the side, we didn't -- people now are watching while chatting about what the guy's hair looks like. And it is a conversation for our moment and it is a very funny scene. I'm so glad you saw it, Ms. Amanpour.

AMANPOUR: I think that's a great way to end, because what you do is really focus on what's going on in the world, but in a way, in your case, this play is humorous, and it allows us to escape a little bit, while also paying close attention.

[11:44:48]

AMANPOUR: Anyway, Jessica Hecht, Bill Irwin, thank you so much indeed. "Eureka Day" --

HECHT: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: After a break, from my archive, a very flashy summer of 1988 when I joined Mr. and Mrs. Trump on their newly-purchased yacht.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AMANPOUR: And in case guests should forget just where they are, there are plenty of reminders, from the cocktail napkins to the beach towels to the helicopter landing pad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:45:13]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: And now from my archive, a look back at a unique summer holiday full of flash, fame and floating palaces. Long before he descended that golden escalator and prior to touting billion-dollar deals with the Saudis from his seat in the Oval, back in 1988, Trump was climbing the tabloid stairs, claiming even back then that the million-dollar deals he was making, in this case buying a $30 million yacht, were not for his own personal gain, but just part of his patriotic duty.

And I was a junior reporter when the boat was unveiled on Independence Day that summer of 1988.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: July 4th is a day of rest for most working Americans, but for the rich and famous who like to display what they have earned, it's just another day on the job.

Hemmed in by the press, New York billionaire Donald Trump and his wife Ivana are giving a sneak preview of the Trump Princess, a 282-foot luxury yacht they bought for $30 million.

For the real estate magnate, whose name is emblazoned on skyscrapers and casinos, this is something new.

TRUMP: It's a little bit different. It's different than a building. We're getting tired of the building.

AMANPOUR: $10 million worth of redecoration made the difference, complete with disco and movie theater. It sleeps 22. The Ruby Suite is just one of eight double guest suites, all named after precious stones or metals, with 24 carat gold plated bathroom accessories and onyx fittings.

But the Trumps' own quarters are the most opulent.

TRUMP: This is all hand-carved Italian marble, and literally they got the great craftsmen from Italy, from the hills of Italy.

AMANPOUR: 400 to 500 pounds of marble hide the Trump suite bar, which slides open at the flick of a switch. Three elevators shuttle guests between the lounges inside and the six decks outside.

And in case guests should forget just where they are, there are plenty of reminders. From the cocktail napkins to the beach towels to the helicopter landing pad. The Trump Princess has been sailing around with the international jet set for the last six years.

It used to belong to billionaire Saudi Arabian arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, and after that to the sultan of Brunei. But Trump says his princess is more than just a new toy.

He calls it the crown jewel of yachts and says buying it amounted to his patriotic duty.

TRUMP: This boat was not owned by a person of this country. And I'd like to see America taking a lot of the great jewels of the world, to be perfectly honest, and bringing them over here.

AMANPOUR: For his Czech-born wife, who recently became an American citizen, having it all speaks volumes about her adopted country.

IVANA TRUMP, FORMER WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: I think that that dream can come true really.

TRUMP: It tells -- it really tells her you have to have a smart husband.

AMANPOUR: A smart husband. Trump also admits he's an old pro when it comes to blowing his own trumpet.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: 37 years later, I'm still looking for a follow up with the president.

When we come back, a look back at another very American anniversary. The mother of summer blockbusters turns 50 this year. A peek behind the scenes of "Jaws". That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN SHAW, ACTOR, "THE SHARK IS BROKEN": What was Nightmarish was the fact of sharks because I can remember having a nightmare about them swimming around my bed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:53:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: And finally, a major American anniversary, the first-ever summer blockbuster. 50 years ago, "Jaws" was born. It hit the beaches and its now swum back into cinemas.

A Steven Spielberg instant classic, this thriller follows the hunt of a killer shark over a balmy July 4th weekend. It jumpstarted Spielberg's career from little-known director to mega-successful superstar. The film continues to inspire down the generations. In fact, the actor

Ian Shaw, son of Robert Shaw, who played Quint in the original, co- wrote and starred in a Broadway play about how the film was made.

That, too, was a drama. The play is called "The Shark is Broken", and Shaw told me how visiting his father on set as a child, unsurprisingly traumatized him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: What did you know about "Jaws" and when did you know it?

SHAW: Well, I was on the set when I was a little boy. You know, not -- I was -- I must have been five, so I wasn't you know, hugely impressed by anything. It was kind of, you know, not a particularly interesting place to be, except for the fact that I met Bruce, the shark. And that was scary.

AMANPOUR: Was it huge? I mean, just describe what it was like for a five-year-old.

SHAW: Enormous. You know, and you know, subsequently, people have occasionally pointed out that as the years have gone by, the shark doesn't look quite what it would do if it was CGI or something like that.

But to a five-year-old, it was even though it wasn't moving, it was just, you know, they had a blanket over its head, it was scary.

AMANPOUR: And then of course, the shark in the film, in the story, actually eats your father alive. I mean, bites him in two, right? Quint is Robert Shaw's character.

SHAW: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Was that nightmarish?

SHAW: You know, what was nightmarish was the fact of sharks. Because I can remember having a nightmare about them swimming around my bed.

[11:59:50]

SHAW: And calling out for my dad, who I'd seen obviously being eaten in the movie. But it was -- I was able to separate fact from fiction on that level. You know, I knew that he wasn't really eaten, but even so, the movie had instilled in me a terror of sharks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: You and me both, Ian Shaw.

That's all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com, and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London, thank you for watching. And I'll see you again next time.