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John Jurgensen is Interviewed about Trump at Opening Night at Kennedy Center; Scientists Warn about Ocean Current Collapse; Scott Z. Burns is Interviewed about A.I. Help with Sequel. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 11, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A crucial Atlantic current will soon collapse, and how its collapse would redraw the globe's climate map.

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BOLDUAN: So, President Trump is set to attend his first show at the Kennedy Center tonight since taking over the famous performing arts center. It is opening night there for "Les Mis." But the president could be facing protests at tonight's show. Sources tell CNN at least ten performers, including some major cast members of "Les Mis," are expected to not perform, to boycott. They're protesting Trump's aggressive takeover of the Kennedy Center, replacing several board members and making himself chairman, taking over programing there.

[09:35:06]

And you'll probably remember it's not the first time that he's taken action against cultural institutions in D.C. and beyond. In May, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had fired the director of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, calling her a "highly partisan person." He also fired a number of board members of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, who were appointed by President Biden.

For some new reporting now on what's happening at the Kennedy Center with this takeover, "Wall Street Journal" reporter John Jurgensen joins us right now.

John, you have some great new reporting coming out today with you and your colleagues. From your reporting, what is opening night potentially going to look like at the Kennedy Center?

JOHN JURGENSEN, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, this is the first time that Trump will be entering the Kennedy Center publicly under the new leadership that he installed there. And so it's really kind of, I think, signaling possibly a triumphant moment for him and the administration put in there. Also, a possible moment of real protest and (INAUDIBLE) from the existing employees who may not be speaking out directly, but the patrons who support them may have something to say or something to display when he enters tonight. It's really going to be an interesting test. BOLDUAN: It will be very interesting to see, yes, what -- what is said

and how he reacts, I think, is -- is also going to be really interesting.

Some of what you've uncovered is that -- and -- and I'll read from your reporting, is that ticket sales for next fiscal year have plummeted since Trump's moves. This is according to internal sales data seen by "The Journal." For the first two weeks of sales for the coming season, theater subscription revenue, which includes the plays and musicals that perform on its biggest stages, is down 82 percent, you had found, over -- from the same period last year. Other programing categories, including ballet and classical music, are also down by double digits.

What are you hearing about this and what is Trump's Kennedy Center saying about this?

JURGENSEN: Yes, so this is really the first snapshot that we're getting about the performance and the kind of verdict through ticket sales that's being rendered upon the new leadership and the programing changes they're supposed to institute.

And so, yes, those numbers are very stark. And they sort of forecast what might be happening for the next season. But really sort of the true test of this -- this new administration and what they're trying to do there will really be felt in the coming months and possibly years too because, you know, institutions like this really rely on kind of flywheel of revenue. You know, they really need ticket buyers to turn into subscription buyers. And then those subscription buyers ideally turn into big donors.

And if so -- if that life cycle, that that sort of chain of revenue gets broken or breaks down, it really has an impact on the bottom line for these institutions that rely a lot on -- on public, you know, on ticket sales especially.

So, what we're going to be seeing possibly is, you know, what -- what the new administration essentially has to sustain that life cycle or -- or boost it (INAUDIBLE) kind of prove and to achieve what they're trying to do. And so just like any kind of commercial organization, you know, the revenue and the -- the -- the money coming in are going to speak to what the people think about what's happening in the inside.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Basically, I mean, I would say, you know, forever the Kennedy Center was not a political issue.

JURGENSEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: The president definitely has made -- made it one. I mean an emblem kind of the, quote/unquote, woke influence that he said he's trying to fight.

What are you hearing from other cultural institutions and performing arts centers, kind of maybe beyond the D.C. sphere, what the impact of this takeover is having on them? I mean do they -- do they see this as a cautionary tale?

JURGENSEN: Very much so. And, you know, because of the Kennedy Center's unique position in terms of, you know, being a memorial to (INAUDIBLE) federal position it has, it's very -- it's a very unique litmus test for this kind of takeover or this kind of exertion of power. But it's certainly being seen, you know, with a lot of alarm from people across other organizations. And as you mentioned in the -- in the lead in, you know, (INAUDIBLE) has felt this. The National Endowment for the Arts is feeling this. You know, even you can look at Harvard as an extension of this. You know, this is -- I guess it's what it's -- you can call it soft power because it's not troops in the streets of L.A., but it is exertion in the form of leadership and funding, although it doesn't necessarily feel so soft or light to the people within these organizations who are trying to keep them afloat, but also defend what they see as their mission, as its always been, our core mission.

You know, it's interesting though, too, though. It's like, you know, maybe these -- maybe these agendas aren't even all that far apart. You know, we're talking about Trump going to see "Les Mis" tonight.

[09:40:02]

You know, one of his favorite musicals. You know, that program has been on the Kennedy Center schedule since last year. That was part of their Broadway programing from before. So, that was part of the previous administration that put this show into effect, this very emblematic Trump show. So, in a way, you know, that's about as mainstream as you can get. You know, this program that also included shows like "Riverdance."

So, you know, the -- it's very much in the eye of the beholder about what programing telegraphs in terms of what it should be to the base or to ticket holders who support Trump or support the previous administrations. But it's -- it's very nuanced in the way -- the way it plays out. But, you know, the battleground really will be fought in terms of ticket sales, which is, you know, the true test of how these things play out.

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely.

Great reporting, John, and perspective kind of on -- on this as we are going to see what happens on opening night tonight.

Thanks so much for coming in. Really appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It won't end well for Jean Valjean. That's my prediction.

BOLDUAN: Wait, you just don't know.

BERMAN: I don't want to give it away. Spoiler alert. BERMAN: You don't know.

BERMAN: Spoiler alert. I think whatever happens, things aren't looking up for him.

A chilling new warning from the world's leading climate scientists. They say a collapse of a major system of ocean currents, the very forces that regulate our weather and climate, could trigger a cascade of catastrophic changes from deep freeze in Europe to intensifying storms and widespread disruptions across the globe.

CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir is with us now.

None of that sounds good, Bill.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: None of it is good, John. It -- it defies everything we know about living on this planet. But it also harkens back to a movie you might remember, "The Day After Tomorrow." This was -- the plot point was that this circulating current, known as AMOC, collapses. This brings warm water up from the Caribbean, up along the Atlantic Coast, and then around by the United Kingdom and down, and keeps temperatures stable in most of this side of the world. Well, in the movie, that breaks down and New York City freezes.

But scientists said, what if -- what would really happen if this were to break down and we were to have global warming of two degrees Celsius, right? Right now we're about 1.2. So, we're headed towards that. Would that warming overcome the cooling of the breakdown of that current? And they found it won't in Europe. It'll keep warming here in the United States at dangerous levels. But in Europe it could get even colder. London, for example, could see winter lows below zero. Oslo, Norway, 55 degrees below zero. The summers would still be intensely hot, but the winters would be crushingly cold.

And this flips the script a bit. We're preparing for a warmer world. These scientists said, we should think about regions that will be affected here as well. And adaptation is everything.

BERMAN: Is there a when (ph) attached to this?

WEIR: There are no wins (ph) in a world that's so connected. So, if there's crop failures in some part of the world because of this, people will suffer everywhere. Some regions will get milder and may have different growing seasons going forward.

BERMAN: What kind of timing are we talking about here?

WEIR: This is -- this is in the lifetime of our children, you know, by -- and our early lives of our -- of our grandchildren.

BERMAN: Any way to prevent it?

WEIR: Yes, stop burning fossil fuels. That's the only remedy here. The hotter the planet gets from fossil fuel pollution, the more the oceans warm up and these systems break down, the worse it gets. And all the science says even a 10th of a degree could save entire ecosystems, entire populations. But, of course, the leadership, especially in a place like Washington, is going the opposite direction.

BERMAN: Some very dire warnings from these scientists.

Bill Weir, great to see you.

WEIR: Good to see you, John.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

WEIR: You bet.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: So what happens if when A.I. takes the director's chair? A new podcast explores the future of Hollywood storytelling.

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[09:48:06]

BOLDUAN: Some headlines we're watching right now.

Law enforcement may have spotted the man accused of killing his three -- his own three daughters, all under the age of ten years old. Police followed a tip about an ill-prepared hiker in Washington state and spotted a man they think is Travis Decker. Decker has not been seen since May 30th. Court documents show he made web searches about crossing the border into Canada. The bodies of his three daughters, all under the age of ten, again, were found days after a custody exchange. We're going to stay on top of this one.

Also breaking this morning, President Trump is saying on social media that the trade deal with China is complete. In his post on Truth Social the president said, "our deal with China is done subject to final approval with President Xi and me." This follows days of talks in London to ease the tensions between the two countries. Specifics on the deal have yet to be disclosed. What final approval means has yet to be determined, but both presidents will have to, obviously, approve the plan before it can be implemented. Not -- much more to come on this.

And 27 states are suing to block 23andMe from selling its customers biological data without their consent. The California-based genetic testing company filed for bankruptcy in March. The sale would include more than 15 million DNA profiles that the company has collected from people looking to find out more about their ancestry, their family health history and health traits. The company argues selling that genetic information is allowed under its privacy policies and applicable laws.

This morning, a major cyberattack is leaving some store shelves and freezers empty at Whole Foods stores across the country. One worker said every department in their store has been impacted after their supplier was hit with the attack. The Amazon-owned company would not say how many of its locations have been affected, but they have also said that they are working to restock the shelves quickly.

John.

[09:50:07]

BERMAN: All right, so what could go wrong? That is what screenwriter Scott Z. Burns is exploring in his new Audible original podcast as he asks A.I. basically to write a sequel to his film "Contagion." Now, throughout the series, which premieres today, Burns explores the implications of A.I. in entertainment, including creative rights, job displacement, and the future of storytelling.

Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT Z. BURNS (voice over): Almost ten years after we made that movie, "Contagion" became a lockdown hit. Hollywood wanted a sequel. But I had no idea what that could possibly be.

LEXTER (voice over): Imagine this. A few years from "Contagion," the world still reeling. A CDC veteran and a once cocky blogger discovered this new threat. The challenge isn't just stopping the disease, but also tackling the environmental and political chaos it incites. How's that for a start?

BURNS (voice over): It's a very, very good start.

After years of talking about a potential sequel to "Contagion," is it possible that an A.I. named Lexter has just given us an original idea?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, and with us now is Scott Z. Burns.

Scott, great to see you.

SCOTT Z. BURNS, SCREENWRITER, "CONTAGION": Good to see you.

BERMAN: First of all, along with, I think, every other American, I was a big fan of "Contagion," which I saw for the first time during the pandemic. Thank you for scaring the crap out of me.

So, I just want to unpack the concept here a little bit, just to make sure I fully understand what happened here. You are thinking, hey, maybe a sequel to "Contagion." So, you went to A.I. and asked what?

BURNS: Well, actually, first I went to Steven Soderbergh and I said, is this something that, you know, you think we should be doing? And he said, well, let's ask the A.I. And what we initially found was the A.I. would present us with lists. And so it said what you would expect, which is, you know, maybe people are sick of this. They've just lived through it. Do they really want to see it in a movie theater? And then there was the other possibility, which is, maybe they really do want to see it in a movie theater because they just live through it. And as we went through that process, we just started asking the A.I. everything.

BERMAN: How good was A.I. at this?

BURNS: That's -- well, I think that everybody has to make their own conclusions when it comes to that. But, you know, my point of view was that the A.I. is very, very good at helping with sort of fundamental things like search. But having said that, it also is very good at flattering you because it wants you to engage. It wants you to stay in the conversation because the more you do that, the more you use the product. And it is, after all, just a product.

BERMAN: Oh, so -- and this you would appreciate this as a screenwriter, you think A.I. has got a motivation here. You found a motivation for this character in a way.

And this character, we should note, is, and we mentioned in that clip, Lexter, this --

BURNS: Right.

BERMAN: This A.I. thing. Tell me about Lexter.

BURNS: So, Lexter was something that we created because initially we found ourselves hitting the same wall with the A.I. It would make a list. And the list didn't really help you that much. It was sort of obvious and pretty anodyne in terms of the content it put forward as to what might make a good story. So, the way that you get around that is you start sort of building into the prompt.

So, Lexter was really interesting because we started with Lexter by saying, you're a critic, and we want you to tell us if you think this is a good idea. And, you know, if you listen to the podcast, you'll hear what Lexter says.

BERMAN: All right, we don't want to give -- give that away. I mean, do -- I -- do you like -- did you, in your screenwriting career, do you like collaborating with humans?

BURNS: Much more than A.I.s, yes.

BERMAN: OK, well, that's so interesting, right? I mean, I would think that as a screenwriter engaged in this project, you'd be rooting against it the whole time. Don't you want it not to be good so that you will be needed?

BURNS: Well, it depends again how you use it. If you're using it to help you write scenes, it tends not to be amazing at that. Unless you really roll up your sleeves and get in there. And then basically you're turning it into some version of you because you're the one writing the prompt. So, that becomes kind of the -- the real trick to this.

BERMAN: Was there something -- or what was, without giving away too much, what was one of the most surprising things about this process?

BURNS: Well, the most surprising thing was what Lexter gave us, because it gave us an idea that, you know, we even went back and tried to have someone account for how it could have given us an idea that was not something that was even where I was looking. And so, it remains a mystery to me to this day if it was an hallucination, which is what people who work in that field would call a mistake.

BERMAN: An original idea, we think.

BURNS: An original idea.

BERMAN: Well, I guess I put that in quotation marks, so who knows for sure.

And what do you want listeners to take away from this, other than pure enjoyment and to listen to all eight episodes?

[09:55:05]

BURNS: I think -- more than anything it's that. But this was my adventure in trying to see, first of all, you know, where would a pandemic appear and how do we respond to a pandemic now that we're even less prepared than we were for Covid because we've, you know, disassociated ourselves from W.H.O., and we've slashed, you know, other programs that do surveillance. And so, from a storytelling standpoint, all politics aside, we are a more vulnerable community and world now than we ever were.

BERMAN: I have to say, as soon as I started reading about this project, it just started almost -- my head hurt. It makes my head hurt even to think about the implications of what you're looking into, not just for the technology, but also for medicine and treatment.

Scott Burns, great to see you.

BURNS: Good to see you.

BERMAN: Thank you very much. Good luck with this.

BURNS: Thank you. Thanks.

BERMAN: And the Audible original podcast "What Could Go Wrong?," it is available now to listeners on Audible.

BOLDUAN: So fascinating.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Really. Thank you for coming in. Really appreciate it.

And thank you all so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" up next.

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