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Wilson Ramos Safe at Home; Penn State Loses First Game without Paterno; Film Critiques Ovum Market

Aired November 12, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, where the news unfolds live this Saturday, November 12th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Major League Baseball player Wilson Ramos is safe and sound after being held by kidnappers for two days in the mountains of Venezuela. He expressed his thanks to those who rescued him after a fierce gunfight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILSON RAMOS, WASHINGTON NATIONALS CATCHER (through translator): I am very happy for the rescue operation they carried out, very thankful to the government and the national army. I didn't expect them. Where they were holding me captive was a very remote place, basically a jungle. And see, I was praying to God to bring me home safely to my family. And look at these guys, they risked their lives to save mine and I am very thankful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The country's justice minister has issued an arrest warrant for Colombian man believed to be behind that alleged kidnapping.

So on his way to tonight's Republican presidential debate, Herman Cain made a stop in his hometown of Atlanta today. He avoided any references to the sexual harassment allegations against him and tried to get back into campaign mode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a political class in Washington, D.C., and then you have "we, the people" out here. They believe that they know better what we need than we do, but the American people are saying we're tired of them being the political class, and they treat the American people like the underclass, not when Herman Cain is president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The candidate also took a jab at President Barack Obama. Cain says the president has an arrogant disregard for the American people and that is what has inspired him to run.

Tonight's debate will be in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The focus will be on foreign policy and national security. Experts say this could give Jon Huntsman a chance to show off his hands-on foreign policy experience.

President Obama, meantime, is in Hawaii right now. He's hosting an economic summit with leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region. The summit begins a nine-day trip for the president that also includes stops in Indonesia and Australia.

And security is tight, extra tight at Penn State right now. The last home football game of the season is winding down. They're in the fourth quarter, and emotions are running high. One week ago today, former football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on multiple child sex abuse charges.

Then Thursday, Penn State fired legendary coach Joe Paterno, saying that he should have done more in reporting what he knew. Paterno's firing then sparked a night of riots. And those riots have security out in force at today's game.

Let's get right to CNN's Athena Jones, she's outside Penn State's Beaver Stadium where more than 100,000 fans are watching this last home game of the season.

So, Athena, the game is almost over, how have things unfolded today?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the game is almost over, as you mentioned, and it looks like Nebraska is still ahead. We'll see how -- what happens in the last few minutes of the game.

But, you know, we arrived here earlier this morning. And at the beginning it really looked like your typical college football tailgating party, lots of people, fans alumni, friends and family, students, of course, as well, out wearing their Penn State gear and their Penn State colors, cooking and drinking and talking and throwing around footballs.

We talked to a lot of the fans. There were a lot of mixed feelings down there. There were people feel that the university acted too quickly in firing Joe Paterno, people who wanted to give him a chance to speak. We know that he has now released a statement, but he's not going to be able to speak on the advice of his lawyers for some time.

And there are also people who say that we've been focusing too much on Joe Paterno and not on these alleged child victims of this child abuse. So let's listen to what one fan had to say about that this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BARRICK, NEWVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, RESIDENT: I think everybody is focusing on Joe and not so much what happened. They're just worried about his image and everything that he should've done. But really it's not about him. It's about the kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so in that vein, along with the sea of blue we saw down there on the parking lot earlier, we also saw people wearing these dark blue shirts that said "Stop Child Abuse." And at the beginning of the game, there was a moment of silence for child abuse victims.

So it has been kind of a balancing act here. You've seen a lot of school pride. There was a sign at one point that said "Penn State pride is bigger than football." At the same time, earlier today before the game, you had someone who had hired one of those small planes that was looping around the stadium, flying around the stadium, trailing one of those banners.

And the banner said, Joe is so dirty, he needs a shower. And so a lot of mixed feelings here, a lot of anger at the media and at the school. But we'll see how it turns out when all is said and done after the game -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So that really does underscore, you know, kind of the shift in the mood that typically takes place at Penn State, especially a home game, and how this has certainly impacted things.

After the game, what are students planning, if anything, whether it be on campus. Clearly you mentioned there was a prayer to start the game. But then after this home game, then what?

JONES: Well, it's unclear. That's a big question that we're all waiting to see what happens. I mean, as I said earlier, it looks as though they're not ahead right now. And so we don't know how it's going to turn out in these last few minutes and what it will look like afterwards. Will people continue to celebrate? I mean, they have scored, so it's not going to be a wrap no matter what.

But what happens after the game, we just don't know. I can tell you there certainly is a police presence here, we've seen a number of police officers on foot, police officers driving around, patrolling in vehicles, and even more than half a dozen police officers on horseback earlier today.

And so certainly everyone is aware of what happened on Wednesday night and doesn't want to see a repeat of that. But so far, there's no indication that we are going to see that. We'll just have to wait.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones, thanks so much.

All right. Let's bring Dan Wetzel. He's a national correspondent with Yahoo! Sports. So, Dan, a lot to talk about here. We have Paterno fired. We have got Penn State's president fired. Your recent columns outline how all of this happened, how it unfolded. Is this, in your view, kind of the start-up of new President John Surma possibly soon to clean house?

DAN WETZEL, YAHOO! SPORTS: Well, yes, I definitely think they're cleaning house. I think they had to. I think anybody touched by this scandal in any way, the storm just kind of overwhelmed them. So you're going to have a new president, a new vice president, a new athletic director, obviously Joe Paterno the coach.

And when they bring in -- if they go outside and bring in a new coach, you would have the entire coaching staff would probably be gone or maybe one person would remain.

But this is a school that has had incredible stability over the last half century. And that's going to change. It's going to be a whole new era at Penn State University in football and in the regular administrations.

WHITFIELD: OK. So a change potentially in personnel on a very grand scale. But you do wonder if there's going to be -- would there be a real cultural change that allowed this kind of code of silence in which to take place? It seems as though that has gone along with the program that spans decades. Might removing people who are accustomed to this football or athletic program be the answer of removing that code of silence?

WETZEL: You know, I actually think it will, because the one thing with Paterno was most of his assistants were there for decades. He was a truly larger than life figure in this very small town and at this university. Everybody owed their career to Joe Paterno, you're going to get a whole new personality that's going to come in.

It's a lot of ways -- it was -- if there was a code of silence or an idea where you just circle the wagons, it's because how insular everything was at Penn State. So I think bringing in new people will do a lot. And, look, if there's one positive out of this, it is the awareness of how people are supposed to treat any allegation involving the abuse of a child.

And I don't think there's a single person involved with Penn State University that isn't fully aware now of what's the right thing to do. So if that's the one positive, no one has learned that more than Penn State.

WHITFIELD: So there have been some discussions about possibly sanctions against Penn State, against the football team, some even say that perhaps the football team shouldn't be allowed to play at all for a year. Are those real possibilities that Penn State might be looking at?

WETZEL: I don't think so. I think the NCAA has said they will monitor the situation. But I'm not really sure what they would want to get in on. This incident is so much bigger than any NCCA rule book. I mean, this is straight criminal behavior and just really abhorrent behavior. It's not in the NCAA rule book. I don't know if there are any NCAA violations.

And in terms of the football program, I think if they were going to shut down the program for a year, they would have not played today. I think you could have had a much better case to just say, we need to shut down this season and not risk the idea of all the frivolous images of people tailgating and all the people at the stadium.

But I think Penn State has handled this game very well. I don't expect they're going to shut down the football program.

WHITFIELD: So there have been a lot of folks who would compare the culture of this athletic program or even the culture of the football program as a fraternity in and of itself. And that there was no way that few people knew about these allegations before they bubbled to the surface.

What does your gut tell you?

WETZEL: Well, it's a hard one to say. I think that there are so many suspicious things around it that it would be hard to say that in hindsight a lot of people weren't looking back and saying, boy, I should have seen that red flag, and some of the allegations that weren't acted on.

I think one of the things was that they're trying to defend Paterno with is the idea that he wasn't told of the full extent of the behavior that was going on with Jerry Sandusky and a young boy in a shower.

There's really no act that would be appropriate if you hear of an old man and a young boy taking a shower together. I don't know where any of that could be allowed or seen as possibly proper behavior.

So you've got to figure there was a lot of red flags there over this long stretch of time that a lot people missed. I do think they will stop this. And I think Penn State has handled this as well as they can considering there is really no good way to handle it.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, Dan, I know we're talking Penn State. You're in Vegas, you're there primarily because of a big fight tonight. What's your expectation about how things might unfold tonight?

WETZEL: I think Manny Pacquiao will handle Marquez quite easily and all the focus will be on when will he fight Floyd Mayweather. That's what everybody wants to see. It's funny, more people are talking about the fight that isn't happening, Pacquiao-Mayweather, than the one that is, Pacquiao-Marquez.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. Dan Wetzel, thanks so much. Of Yahoo! Sports, appreciate your time.

WETZEL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. All eyes and ears on Rome right now. It looks like Silvio Berlusconi has resigned as Italy's prime minister. A live report from Rome coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is expected to step down. Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is in Rome.

Matthew, what more can you tell us about this? There were to be meetings involving Berlusconi. What do we know about whether he will or at what point he might resign?

Matthew? We're going to try to reconnect our communication with Matthew Chance there coming out of Rome and bring that to you as soon as we can.

Meantime, other international headlines, Syria has been kicked out of the Arab League, an alliance spokesman said Syria was suspended for failing to stop its violent crackdown against dissidents. I talked to our Ben Wedeman in Cairo just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has not been booted, it has been suspended and that suspension will take effect on November 16th for not implementing this plan that actually Syria agreed to on the 2nd of November.

But what we've seen over the last 10 days is a mounting death toll of civilians as well as members of the armed forces. In the last 10 days, more than 200 people were killed. And this is really what's behind the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Syria's suspension from the Arab League is effective Wednesday. And emergency officials in Turkey raised the earthquake death toll today to 38. Rescuers have saved 26 people so far. The quake hit eastern Turkey on Wednesday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Bank of America learned firsthand that consumers have had enough of bank fees. Their plan to charge debit card users was met with a mountain of resistance. And our Ali Velshi spoke with the woman who made sure the big banks got the message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: As you certainly know by now, Bank of America will not be charging customers a $5 a month debit card fee. What you might not know is the woman behind the influential campaign against the fee, Molly Katchpole, is a 22-year- old recent college graduate who you have maybe seen on TV before.

Molly, it's good to see you. Thank you for being with us.

MOLLY KATCHPOLE, STARTED ONLINE PETITION AGAINST BANK OF AMERICA: Thank you so much for having me.

VELSHI: You closed your accounts at Bank of America because of the fee, but a lot of people did that. But that is not where you stopped, you started an online petition that went viral. You got more than 300,000 signatures, I don't know what the final figure was. Are you -- do you believe you're the reason Bank of America agreed to repeal this wildly unpopular fee? KATCHPOLE: No, I don't believe I'm the only reason. You know, there were people closing their bank accounts, Bank of America lost thousands of customers. There were protests and actions across the country, they were getting bad press. And then, I think, you know, the 300,000-signature petition had some impact certainly.

VELSHI: Yes. Nobody ever before this changed their bank. Nobody ever closed -- I mean, I really think the number of people who ever did anything like that was very, very small. Were you doing it because you didn't want to pay the $5 fee or were you doing it in protest?

KATCHPOLE: I was doing it both. You know, I really obviously am against paying the $5 fee and I believe that there were thousands of other people who were also against it, and I figured that if I made a change.org petition and thousands of people signed on, then there would be a chance of them repealing the fee.

VELSHI: Tell me the mechanics of this. I work in TV, I tweet, I use social media, I don't think I've ever done anything remotely as effective as you, who has none of that background. What are the mechanics of that? What went through your mind? You closed your account and you said, I want to see if other people are mad about this and what they'll do? What can you even do?

KATCHPOLE: Well, change.org is a platform for petitions online and I've signed petitions there before, so I knew that it had the potential to be really effective. So I created the petition, I wrote it up, and I sent it out on Twitter a little bit and also on Facebook. And it just went viral.

I mean, you know, over 300,000 people signed it. So it was kind of -- I think a combination of the fact that people are so upset right now with banks to begin with, you know, and just the fact that they really liked the petition.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. coming up, next in "Gaming and Gadgets," a behind the scenes look at how one of the world's leading visual effects companies added digital magic to the movie "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Something very different for this week's "Gaming and Gadgets." We're going global today. All the way from Weta Digital in New Zealand. Weta Digital is a visual effects company responsible for the effects in movies like "X-Men: First Class," "Lord of the Rings," and "Avatar." It's all ringing a bell for you now, right?

"Avatar," of course, took home an Academy Award for best visual effects. Joining us right now from across the Pacific Ocean, our technology analyst, syndicated writer Marc Saltzman taking us behind the scenes. How in the world did you get this cool opportunity? Very (INAUDIBLE).

MARC SALZTMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Well, you know, I'm a tech guy. And, you know, art and science come together in movies like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." So I'm one of the few journalists invited to go behind the scenes, see how this film was created in anticipation of the DVD release on December 13th.

So it's pretty wild. You know, I mean, it's not just about -- this movie magic is unbelievable. We've seen what they've done in "Avatar." And if you haven't seen "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," wow, visiting Weta is a blast, because that's just scratching the surface of what they're able to do here.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. OK. I did see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." And, of course, everyone I know wondered like, oh my goodness, how do they do that? And how did they have these apes communicate? And they had them in such great volume. So explain what the process may have been.

SALTZMAN: Sure. Well, first of all, I want to mention that there was not one real ape in this movie.

WHITFIELD: You're kidding.

SALTZMAN: This is unbelievable. I thought they had -- yes, if you've seen it, you know, there are some very emotional scenes. Not one, all digitally recreated. So first of all, it's amazing. The process is obviously a very long and laborious one. But it starts with reference material.

They study apes, they study their movement, their behaviors, their actions. And then they get their artist and animators to work, often simultaneously, but in different departments. And then it comes together. They start with creating models with internal elements like bones and tissue.

Then they layer on top of that texture. They've got skin and hair and then they add lighting. And then, of course, animation. So they have to move realistically and that's part of the reference material. But very much a part of this movie was the motion capture or performance capture, which we'll talk about more in a moment.

But Andy Serkis, who was Gollum in "Lord of the Rings," you know, "my precious," he was Caesar...

WHITFIELD: "Precious."

SALTZMAN: Yes. His performance as Caesar is unbelievable. So while we attribute a lot of the success to the science behind "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," at the end of the day there's pretty much a human element as well.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, so they're in that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," there was that scene on the Golden Gate Bridge, and you had hundreds -- well, seemingly hundreds of apes together in one spot. How did they do that? Did they explain?

SALTZMAN: Yes, so they did. We spent much of yesterday learning about that. So even though they did go to San Francisco to study the Golden Gate Bridge and its surrounding areas, and they did use some high definition photography for the background, none of that was really filmed on the bridge.

And you wouldn't believe it if you saw -- I'm sure we're looking at footage here. So this was one of the climactic scenes of the film where the apes rise up and start tearing down the bridge towards the police.

And this was all done inside of a computer. It was the most ambitious model ever created by Weta. There's more than 3.5 million parts to this model. They did some work in Vancouver with green screen and they did some work here on the set in New Zealand, the motion capture set here at Weta, where the performance was captured on a stage.

But really all of this was done in the computer, and they had to render all of those primates at one time above the bridge, below the bridge, and it's just unbelievable when you see the final result.

But if you are going to pick up the Blu-ray or DVD, definitely watch that featurette that shows you how they made it. It's jaw- dropping.

WHITFIELD: Extraordinary. I forgot how cool that one scene was too until seeing it again. Tell me about the motion capture too, because apparently you had a chance to wear it?

SALTZMAN: I did. So we -- a few journalists, we got a chance to go in this motion capture outfit. You might be seeing some photos of it. So, you know, it was a blast because -- if you're not familiar with motion capture, this is where you're outfitted with a special suit that has these reflective sensors on it.

And then cameras capture your movement on a platform. And that data is imported into a computer and then mapped on to a character in the game. So it's actors and maybe stunt men that -- stunt women that do this.

So we had a chance to recreate two scenes from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," I don't have that video ready for you, but a couple of photos of me getting dressed up in the gear. And it's just so cool how it comes together. So that's how they capture that very fluid and natural motion.

And again, Andy Serkis, his performance as Caesar, that was going above and beyond mo-cap. That's called "performance capture," where he had a camera facing -- like pointing towards his face with dots on his face, and that's where all that emotion in the ape was really Andy Serkis.

So it's important to note that as much as I'm a tech guy and I love all the work done on computers, his performance unbelievable. WHITFIELD: Wow. That was -- that is an incredible experience that you had. I feel like we've lived vicariously through you. Marc Saltzman, thanks so much from bringing that to us. Enjoy your travels there in New Zealand.

So for more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for the "Gaming and Gadgets" tab.

One Hollywood's most popular stars is portraying one of America's most legendary and controversial figures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: He was who this bulldog figure. And yet there were all these salacious rumors about his personal life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover. Hear what our movie reviewer thinks of his performance, and the film overall later on in the NEWSROOM.

But first, a new documentary film infuriating doctors who specialize in fertility. We're talking ethics and religion, a woman's body, and the buying and selling of human eggs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's happening on college campuses across the United States, female students being recruited to donate their eggs for cash. The documentary "Eggsploitation" has reproductive specialists up in arms. The film's director and a doctor who has a big problem with it joining us right after a look at these top stories.

Penn State just wrapped up its first football game without legendary coach Joe Paterno. It is also the first game since a former assistant coach was arrested on child sex abuse coaches. The Nittany Lions lost to Nebraska 17-14.

Major League Baseball player Wilson Ramos is safe at home after a two-day kidnapping ordeal in Venezuela. On Wednesday, kidnappers snatched the Washington Nationals catcher. Ramos gave thanks to those who risked their lives to get him released safely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILSON RAMOS, WASHINGTON NATIONALS CATCHER (through translator): I am very happy for the rescue operation they carried out, very thankful to the government and the national army. I didn't expect them. Where they were holding me captive was a very remote place, basically a jungle. And, see, I was praying to God to bring me home safely to my family. And look at these guys, they risked their lives to save mine and I'm very thankful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The country's justice minister says an arrest warrant has been issued for the alleged mastermind.

The National Cathedral in Washington has just reopened to visitors. It was closed after being damaged by August's earthquake which measured 5.8 magnitude. Repairs to the cathedral are still under way. The quake damaged other landmarks like the Washington Monument.

President Barack Obama is in Hawaii right now. He's hosting an economic summit with leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region. The summit begins a nine-day trip for the president that also includes stops in Indonesia and Australia.

The Occupy Portland campers have an eviction notice. The Oregon city has already given them until 12:01 a.m. to clear out of the two downtown parks they took over. The mayor says he's concerned by the number of assaults. And there have already been several arrests since the protests started. Some campers say they don't plan to leave.

For couples who are childless because of fertility problems, medical advances are really miracles. One option for infertile women is to try and conceive using an egg donated from another woman. An award-winning documentary that focuses on egg donation has angered some medical professionals.

Here now is CNN's Julie Peterson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIE PETERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jennifer Lahl heads the Center for Bioethics and Culture in California. For over a decade, the former nurse has spoken out about problems she sees with ethics in medicine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yet she assumes all these risks in order to help someone else.

PETERSON: Lahl directed "Eggsploitation," a documentary that lambasts the U.S. egg donation business. Among the film's claims, that female donors are being exploited for financial gain.

JENNIFER LAHL, DIRECTOR, "EGGSPLOITATION": My daughters were, you know, University of California Berkeley, they come home with a student paper saying $100,000 for your eggs, help make some of these dreams come true. And I'm like, whoa.

PETERSON: Of the 142,000 assisted reproductive cycles in 2009, about 15,000 or 10 percent involved donated eggs. When a woman donates her eggs, she takes strong fertility medications to drive up the number of eggs she produces, then she has an out-patient procedure to remove the eggs.

These are then transferred to the woman looking to get pregnant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very small artery in my right ovary had been punctured.

PETERSON: Lahl's film claims egg donors face major health risks in the stimulation of their ovaries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to receive emergency blood transfusions, they had to keep me on respiratory support.

PETERSON: She wants a moratorium on egg donation, and financial incentives removed.

LAHL: We need to take the money out of it. It's illegal in Canada to sell your eggs, it's illegal in France to sell your eggs.

PETERSON: One unlikely audience member, Carrie Bloedhorn, a married mother of eight-year-old twins. She sold her eggs six different times.

CARRIE BLOEDHORN, EGG DONOR: I had the qualifications or I guess physical characteristics that people looked for.

PETERSON: A half dozen rounds of fertility treatment netted her $60,000.

(on camera): What did you husband say about this at this time?

BLOEDHORN: My husband was -- has always been very supportive.

PETERSON (voice-over): All a great experience, Bloedhorn said, because she helped other people.

BLOEDHORN: My health is intact, my fertility is intact.

PETERSON: As Lahl screens "Eggsploitation" across the country, reproductive medical professionals like Daniel Shapiro are livid.

DR. DANIEL SHAPIRO, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY ASSOCIATES: One huge flaw in this movie is they did not have a single productive endocrinologist, a doctor who performs fertility procedures.

PETERSON: Shapiro runs one of the largest frozen egg banks in the world, which donors just $6,000, far less than "Eggsploitation's" $100,000 example. Shapiro says he takes excellent care of his donors.

SHAPIRO: But if you're egg-banking, the pressure is off because the donor is taken care of separately, we assure her health first.

PETERSON: Shapiro says his egg bank's protocol uses the drug Lupron to finish a donor's cycle.

SHAPIRO: Everybody followed that protocol, I think, hyper- stimulation, which is the biggest risk to these donors, would go away completely.

PETERSON (on camera): As it has for you.

SHAPIRO: As it has for us. We haven't had hyper-stimulation in over three years.

PETERSON (voice-over): And he even goes so far as to claim the film has an underlying motive.

SHAPIRO: This is the imposition of a religious opinion on many who are irreligious or who adhere to other religious beliefs. They're trying to get their religious agenda put forward on the backs of infertile patients by assailing egg donation, by assailing fertility treatment.

This is a multi-pronged effort to undo Roe v. Wade.

LAHL: It's not a secret agenda. As a religious person, as a pro-life woman, I have very strong allies on the pro-choice, non- religious, irreligious, secular, progressive side. And we are happy to stand there arm in arm and look people in the eye and say, we agree here, we are playing with fire here and we want this to stop.

PETERSON: Carrie Bloedhorn is unfazed by the film and she disagrees with many of its charges.

(on camera): Why are you here tonight?

BLOEDHORN: I've seen so much positive and I've seen so many people helped that I want to make sure that there's a positive message.

PETERSON: The weighty emotional debate won't be solved any time soon.

Julie Peterson, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. So let's keep the conversation going. The ethics of egg donation by way of this documentary, "Eggsploitation." Sitting with me right here is Dr. Andrew Toledo. He's the -- Reproductive Biology Associates, with that company,. here in Atlanta, a firm that hosts one of the largest egg banks in the world. And then in San Francisco, Jennifer Lahl, you just saw her in Julie Peterson's report, the director of the documentary "Eggsploitation."

Dr. Toledo, let me begin with you. Thanks to both of you for joining us on this one. It is a very fiery topic. So at issue here, according to the documentary, is religion, science, the economic incentive. Is that at the core of what this argument or debate is all about?

DR. ANDREW TOLEDO, CEO, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY ASSOCIATES: Well, I think all of those are viable. But I think really what's at the core -- and I want to give Ms. Lahl some credit here, I think she brings up some good points in the film. The problem with the film is it's very one-sided. It looks at some of the bad outcomes that have occurred in a very small number of cases and doesn't really point out how the majority of young women who have come to us for this procedure have done, how the doctors in good centers like ours really take care of the patients and make sure that they are patients. WHITFIELD: So in your view, not enough time is spent on the fact that the science here or the medical establishment behind the science does let the donors know everything that's involved so there are no real surprises and that their lives are not necessarily put in jeopardy as a result?

TOLEDO: Well, I think -- in watching the film, the documentary, what struck me in this, Fredricka, is that I think that the donors probably came from agencies. And if they come to a center like ours, where a doctor is going to take care of this person as a patient, she's a patient in this process.

If it's explained to her, which we make very -- you know, very -- we do that very, very explicitly, we go through all the risks, all the things that are pointed out in the film, we make sure that they are taken care of as a patient, I think that that wasn't portrayed in this documentary.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring Jennifer Lahl in this. Jennifer, explain to us first then, what is the objective of this documentary?

LAHL: Well, I have been writing and speaking in this whole area of assisted reproductive technology for about a decade. I've spoken to, you know, countless young women who didn't have wonderful experiences and did have serious significant short- and long-term consequences to their health and their own fertility.

What's interesting is the women in the film all were seen at prestigious fertility centers in the United States. So I do take issue that they perhaps went to an agency versus a reputable clinic. These were all otherwise healthy young women who had no health history whatsoever. They were screened, they went through the screening process and they were, again, seen and treating at leading fertility centers in the country.

This isn't a religious film, as you said earlier. My background is in nursing, I worked for 25 years. I'm a strong patient advocate. I'm very concerned with informed consent. When people say things like, this rarely happens, we don't track. We don't follow up. We don't monitor egg donors.

I know dozens of young women who have had negative consequences, and they don't appear in the medical literature. So it's impossible to say...

WHITFIELD: So then what you're...

LAHL: ... it happens...

WHITFIELD: I'm just wondering then what your response to Dr. Toledo, what he just said was he thought that this documentary was one-sided, it wasn't a full picture view of what the egg donor program is all about.

LAHL: And that was an intentional decision in making the film. If you go on fertility Web sites, you only hear one side. You see happy couples holding healthy, beautiful, cute babies, you don't see the young women who have lost their fertility. You don't see the women who have lost their ovary because they've had a torsioned ovary. You don't see the women who have gone on and developed reproductive cancers.

This is a new technology, it has only with us for three decades. There was a study that came out two weeks ago that...

WHITFIELD: Then why don't you respond to that, then. If at issue here, she's saying, it's people are not informed of the full picture enough that you only hear the most positive results and you hear not enough about potentially the side effects, what negatively could -- how it could impact people.

What is the matter with giving that full picture?

TOLEDO: I don't think there's anything that's wrong with that. I think that disclosure is always the best way to be. And I can only talk about my center. But at my center, we haven't had these kinds of problems, these kinds of issues come up.

Yes, they are known possible complications of the procedures, but they happen in any kind of procedure that's surgical, that's medical. So what we're seeing here is a very, very big laser on a small number of patients, at least in my center and in centers that I know of like mine being focused on and being brought out as the norm. And it's not, it's the exception. And I'm not saying that it's bad to point those out...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

TOLEDO: ... but let's be fair, because if I look at the documentary, I would think that that's what happens to all of my -- or, you know, my patients.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Dr. Toledo, thanks so much. Jennifer Lahl, appreciate your time as well. I know we didn't expect to resolve the debate, just put it further under the microscope and allow some questions and answers to be exchanged. Thanks so much.

Clint Eastwood spent his early years in front of the camera, but for the last decade he has been directing, and this time, taking on the life of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, DIRECTOR: With this power, he sort of wielded a lot of strength. And he could do a lot of things. But I think he was sort of losing touch when -- in the later generations. He was sort of losing touch with the change in the country and not utilizing it to his advantage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Matt Atchity with rottentomatoes.com will be joining us to give us his grade on "J. Edgar."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. That much anticipated Penn State/Nebraska game has now ended. Final score 17-14, Nebraska. All this taking place under that huge cloud of suspicion over Penn State involving a child sex scandal. Mike Galanos is at University Park.

Mike, a big defeat for Penn State and certainly changed the mood even going into the game. The mood wasn't the usual euphoria on that campus.

MIKE GALANOS, HLN CORRESPONDENT: No, it wasn't. You hear the sights and sounds of college football, but there was a different mood, absolutely. And I think the emotions are beginning to pour out. I believe we're going to a press conference, is that right, guys? Interim President Rodney Erickson is speaking. Guys, we want to listen to that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any further questions?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Has there been any discussion about attending a bowl game or turning down a bowl game offer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No discussion of that. But from my standpoint, if our student athletes have earned the right to play in postseason play, they certainly should be allowed to do so.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear the question?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) still actively recruiting for Penn State in the last year or two years?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no knowledge of that.

QUESTION: If you've already answered this, I apologize. Was there any regret on the part of the board to make that announcement as late at night on Wednesday night? Was there much thought given to waiting until Thursday morning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The board makes their own decisions. They felt they had to move decisively, and that's what they did.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry? I have no information on that at this point.

QUESTION: Was any type of crisis management PR firm hired through all of this for you guys?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're working with... GALANOS: Again, we're listening to Rodney Erickson, the interim president talking there. One question we did hear, whether or not Penn State would accept a bowl bid and play in the postseason. He said student athletes want to play, they're playing. I think this was the game with all the emotion, Fredricka, that was it.

Before the game, you mentioned the different mood. Instead of Penn State charging out from under the tunnel, they walked out arm-in- arm. There was the moment of silence. There was a pregame prayer involving both teams, and again, it was victims number one.

And to that point, something positive, it was announced $20,000 raised to help prevent childhood abuse. So, again, that's the kind of message they want to send from State College, $20,000 raised today by fans in the stadium who decided it was time to donate and again put victims first.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mike Galanos, thanks so much there at the Penn State University campus.

All right. Straight ahead, we're taking you to the movies. "J. Edgar" hitting the big screen. We're going to find out what our movie critic of the day says about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's the weekend. You know that by now. But you need some entertainment need some entertainment, right? How about heading to that local movie theater? Movie critic Matt Atchity, with rottentomatoes.com, is joining us live from Los Angeles, go to the movies after this program.

But, first, you want to hear about "J. Edgar" because there is a lot of buzz about this Clint Eastwood film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, among others. Let's take a quick look at that clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICAPRIO "J. EDGAR HOOVER": I heard that very same argument from a Mr. Mitchell Palmer. Do you know what it took to change his mind? A bomb. Now I do not want that to happen to you or your brother, sir. There's no reason we both can't get what we want. We can wage...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Look at that makeup. OK. That alone, to me, very impressive, Matt.

MATT ATCHITY, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: The makeup does look really good. And DiCaprio turns in a great performance here. And the movie is relatively well-directed, but I have to say this isn't one of Clint Eastwood's best films.

I think part of the problem here is the subject matter. We don't really ever know that much about J. Edgar Hoover. It is not like he left memoirs. And so at the end of the film, you feel like he's still kind of a cipher. You haven't learned that much.

They do definitely address the rumors of his cross-dressing. They address the rumors of his homosexuality. He was a life-long bachelor. His number two man, Clyde Tolson, was also a life-long bachelor. In this movie he's played by Armie Hammer, who people might remember as the Winklevoss twins from "The Social Network."

They both put in great performances. And the movie is not bad, but ultimately it leaves you wanting a lot more than you really get.

WHITFIELD: All right. So he's still an enigma. So your grade on this one?

ATCHITY: My grade on this is a "C." If you are a big Clint Eastwood fan, if you want to know a little bit about "J. Edgar," you can go see it, but ultimately you are probably better off reading a history book.

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK. Next movie, "Jack and Jill," Adam Sandler. So this is still pretty popular, you know, an actor playing more than one character?

ATCHITY: Yes. And this is the second wide release with cross- dressing men.

WHITFIELD: OK. Let's take a quick look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SANDLER, ACTOR: No, I don't want to jump rope.

SANDLER, "UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE": Your father likes to pretend his life started in California. We were champs. Everyone loved us in the neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, daddy, please?

SANDLER, "UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE": Bring it over here. G.G. (ph), Rodney, kick it! Get over here! Do it! Do it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. OK. Well, it looks comical. Goofy. Silly. Funny. Is that the intent?

ATCHITY: It is dopey Adam Sandler, about what you would expect. In fact, this is not one of his better efforts. I would say that this movie is nearly unwatchable except for one thing that saves it. Al Pacino comes in as a relatively main character playing himself and he goes crazy in this movie.

And the scenes with Al Pacino are so funny. He's completely self-parody here. He -- you know, he drops lines from famous movies like "Scarface" and "The Godfather." He has by far the funniest lines in the movie, the funniest scenes in the move. And if you're a big Al Pacino fan, you might want to see this. Otherwise I would have to say pretty much avoid it. It is really not a very good movie aside from the bits with the...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Oh my, you are not setting up a very good grade.

ATCHITY: No, no. I have to give it a "D," it'd be a lower grade. But Pacino really actually saves it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really? Pacino helped it go from an "E" to a "D"?

ATCHITY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Atchity, thanks so much. And remember, you can go to rottentomatoes.com to get all of Matt's movie reviews.

All right, a young star widow. A young war widow, that is, and she has become quite the star because she is using her experience to help others. She's one of our "CNN Heroes," and you'll meet her, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Yesterday America celebrated Veterans Day. While most of the focus is on the service men and women, one of our CNN's top 10 "Heroes" helps the widows. Taryn Davis buried her husband four years ago. He was an Army corporal killed in Iraq. Davis says following the service she felt ostracized. People would tell her that because she was young she could marry again.

Well, Davis went on to grief groups but found that, once again, because of her young age, she didn't quite fit in and feel good about it. So she founded The American Widow Project, helping hundreds of widows in her age group. And Taryn joining us right now from Austin, Texas.

Congratulations on becoming a top 10 "CNN Hero."

TARYN DAVIS, THE AMERICAN WIDOW PROJECT: Woo! Thank you. Awesome.

WHITFIELD: I think just that really resonates and I remember so well you gave that same kind of expression of excitement after jumping out of an airplane, and that was kind of the release that you and so many other widows felt by coming together. Did you realize it would resonate and it would be so powerful?

DAVIS: Well, I'll tell you, you know, I feel my husband the most when I'm living life to the fullest. And I think The American Widow Project and what each widow brings to that is just a pure example that where there is love, there is life.

Because the love that I have for Michael, the love that he had for me, and the love that all these widows share with their husbands, really just follows through the organization and puts a smile anybody's face.

WHITFIELD: What have the other widows told you about what it feels like to go through your group, be part of that group, be part of this family?

DAVIS: Well, you know, I never understood the camaraderie. I think to the full extent that my husband had with his fellow service members. I didn't understand that. Men that he had only met six months before, he would be willing to give his life for.

And he did eight months into his deployment. And it was not until I met another widow that I understood why Michael did what he did. Because I think each one of us would give our lives for each other.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. I'm sorry that we've lost that signal out of Austin, Texas. Taryn Davis, fantastic figure there.