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World Powers Reach Nuclear Deal with Iran; Nor'easter Possible for NYC and Boston; Iran Deal Could Change Years of Deadlock; Inmates Becoming Tech Entrepreneurs; Game Change: How Obama Beat Romney; "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" May Hit 4th Biggest Open; Hollywood History for Sale

Aired November 24, 2013 - 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: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. These are the stories that are topping the news this hour.

The world is reacting to the historic nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. We'll tell you what key leaders are saying about the pact and why critics are calling it a colossal mistake.

And here in the U.S., members of Congress are also weighing in. We'll hear their reaction in a live report from Capitol Hill.

And millions of Americans are bracing for a major winter storm that could become a nor'easter at the height of the Thanksgiving Day travel rush.

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WHITFIELD: Let's begin with that breakthrough deal to curb Iran's nuclear program. World leaders representing seven nations negotiated into the early morning hours in Switzerland after days of talks. The deal put serious restrictions on Iran's nuclear enrichment to prevent the country from working toward a nuclear weapon.

In exchange, it eases some of the crippling sanctions on Iran. This preliminary deal holds up for about six months. The Obama administration is marking it as a big step but criticism is pouring in with many concerned that Iran won't follow through.

Secretary of State John Kerry addressed that on "STATE OF THE UNION" today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Let me be clear. We do that with eyes absolutely wide open. We have no illusions. You don't do this on the basis of somebody's statements to you. You do it on the basis of actions that can be verified.

We are convinced that over the next few months we will really be able to put to the test what Iran's intentions are.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: The deal is a breakthrough after decades of gridlock between Iran and other leaders.

It was an exciting moment in Switzerland when it was announced early this morning. Matthew Chance joins me now live from Geneva with more on this.

So Matthew, what are the key points in the plan?

And why are so many there so optimistic?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Because I think it was the best option, the best deal that could be reached in the circumstances. A lot of people have been criticizing this deal, the Israelis, for instance, wanted Iran to dismantle its entire nuclear program.

Diplomats have made quite clear that they don't believe that was ever going to be possible. And so what they went for was the best option they could. It is a deal which is fraught with compromise. The issue of enrichment hasn't been set out as a right for Iran. But it's certainly been denied as a right, either.

The deal says that Iran can continue its uranium enrichment to the level of 5 percent, which is the level needed to create fuel for electricity generation in nuclear reactors.

The enriched uranium, the sort of medium level enriched uranium that it already has to 20 percent, that will either have to put out of use or diluted. So that's a big concession on the part of the Iranians as well.

They are going to halt all work on a nuclear reactors being built at a place called Arak, which would have produced plutonium, which would have been a second route potentially to a nuclear bomb. And so they've made some concessions.

In return, they're getting some relief, worth about $7 billion on some of the international sanctions that have been crippling its economy. And so there's been concessions, it seems, on both sides, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Matthew, you were one of the first to talk with Secretary Kerry after the deal.

Why is he so confident about this?

CHANCE: Yes, no, I just grabbed him before he went into give a press conference. He walked past our camera position; I leant over and briefly spoke to him. Take a listen quickly to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Are you happy with the deal, Mr. Secretary?

KERREY: We think we have a good, strong arrangement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well, there you have it. He said you've got a good, strong agreement; it's what he reiterated later on in his news conference and what he has been saying earlier today as well.

And the point of it is, that, yes, there are concessions that have been made on both sides, but it is also going to mean a lot of very strong, intrusive verification on the part of international nuclear inspectors. They are going to be given essentially unprecedented access to Iran's nuclear facilities to make sure that country is doing what it says it is doing.

And that is why there is so much optimism that this is going to be a potentially good deal.

WHITFIELD: Matthew Chance in Geneva, thank you so much.

So, while the U.S. and the European Union welcome the news that a deal with Tehran had been reached, Israel was one of the first to criticize it. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argues that allowing Iran to continue its enrichment of uranium is a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: What was concluded in Geneva last night is not a historic agreement. It's a historic mistake. It has not made the world a safer place like the agreement with North Korea in 2005. This agreement has made the world a much more dangerous place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Many in Congress agree with Netanyahu's sentiment, that a deal with Iran would be a mistake. This is a big concern for the Obama administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Going forward we will continue to work closely with Congress. However, now is not the time to move forward on new sanctions because doing so would derail this promising first step, alienate us from our allies and risk unraveling the coalition that enabled our sanctions to be enforced in the first place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Tory Dunnan now, joins us now live from D.C.

So lawmakers made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows today. Does it seem that they are divided along party lines?

TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's sort of a mix here. But, Fred, one of the key factors driving both Republicans and Democrats is support for Israel, which, of course, we know is not happy at all with this deal. And there's really a lot of skepticism and concern and, frankly, a lack of trust in Congress, when it comes to Iran. In fact, New York Congressman Eliot Engel is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He says he's uneasy about this deal.

REP. ELIOT ENGEL (D), N.Y.: It's disappointing to me that Iran is still going to be allowed to enrich while they're talking. I would have thought that that should be a prerequisite to any kind of talks, without asking them to dismantle any of their centrifuges.

So that's disappointing. But the agreement is here and we have it make it work and I think we need to be very, very careful with the Iranians. I don't trust them. I don't think we should trust them, but I think that we have to make it work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUNNAN: So you heard it right there. Also New York Republican Peter King issued a statement that says, in part, "President Obama's agreement with Iran is a serious strategic mistake. This agreement is a victory for Iran and a defeat for the United States and our allies in the Middle East, specifically Israel and Saudi Arabia."

So definitely some strong fears there. And Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. is going to go into this with eyes wide open. And Fred, of course, he pointed out that there are going to be no illusions, that this is really not based on trust but verifications. We are just going to have to see if that's really enough to keep Congress from acting.

WHITFIELD: Tory, how will the Obama administration go about trying to convince lawmakers to move forward on this?

DUNNAN: Fred, it is not going to be easy because the biggest hurdle for the Obama administration is going to be convincing those lawmakers to really hold off on passing any more sanctions on Iran. As part of that deal, the president says that the U.S. and its partners have promised not to impose new sanctions for the next six months.

Of course, that's if Iran keeps its part of the bargain. So it is really just going to have to be a sales job for the president, Fred, as well as for Secretary of State John Kerry.

WHITFIELD: Tory Dunnan, thank you so much in Washington.

The New York Police say the owner of a convenience store and his son cheated a man out of nearly $1 million in lottery winnings. The unlucky winner gave his scratch-off ticket to the clerk, who told him that he had won $1,000 dollars and paid that amount in cash. It turns out the ticket was really worth a million bucks. The suspects' attorney says it was an honest mistake because of a broken lottery machine.

Let's talk movies coming up. "The Hunger Games" sequel did more than just catch fire at the theaters this weekend. Early estimates show the second film in "The Hunger Games" series raked in more than 160 million bucks in the U.S. That would make "Catching Fire" the 4th highest opening weekend ever. It is also on track to become the biggest November opening of all time. And that's just on the domestic side. Internationally, it made an estimated worldwide weekend total of $307 million.

All right, in this country a major storm is dumping ice and snow on much of the Southwest right now. And it is marching east, threatening to become a Thanksgiving week nor'easter. We'll tell you which cities just might be in the crosshairs.

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WHITFIELD: Right now a major winter-like storm is hammering parts of the Southwest. It's dumping snow and ice on the roads just as Thanksgiving holiday travel kicks into high gear. Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico are getting hit the hardest. At least five deaths are blamed on the storm. One of the victims was a 4-year-old girl who died after the car she was riding in slid off an icy highway in New Mexico.

So all of this dangerous weather is marching east and threatening to become a major nor'easter and make an absolute mess out of the holidays' travel rush.

CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis is tracking the storm for us from the CNN Weather Center.

Oh, boy, it looks bad and it could get worse?

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and it's still evolving, and that is the frustrating part of this, is that we're not sure of the direct impact. We know that whole northeastern corridor is going to be affected.

Right now, we do see the weather system that has been lingering across the Southeast. And yes, much of the Metroplex region around the Dallas-Ft. Worth area could see an icy mix. May not be right now, but it's going to be off and on, I think, through the evening as those critical temperatures come down, not just there, into the Panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Now let's talk about what happens for your traveling over the next several days.

This is the Gulf Coast going into Monday, cold and rainy; could be windy as well. You see this little area right across Tennessee? Yes, maybe it could be Knoxville. It could also be Nashville might pick up some snowfall.

Then by Tuesday, then by Wednesday, probably what you really don't want to hear is that that snow on the back side of this system could be heavy and significant and impact the area across the lower Great Lakes, eastern Great Lakes. And not to forget the mid-Atlantic, but it depends on where that low is going to head.

For the most part, right now, we're thinking that Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, it's going to be a cold, rainy, wet, miserable day. Interior sections, meaning to the west of those cities, a snow event. Well, how much snow might we expect?

Some areas from Cleveland to Cincinnati to Morgantown to Louisville might see 4 to 8 inches possible. The eastern Great Lakes, the most significant. If you are headed into, out of LaGuardia, JFK, Washington Dulles and into Boston, you need to pack some patience because it is going to be frightful for Wednesday.

And Fred, we're going to stay on top of it and keep you updated.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, well, I'm sure people appreciate the heads-up, but they're not happy about the news that you're giving us. All right, thanks so much, Karen.

So what can the Northeast expect from this storm exactly? Nick Valencia knows the answer to that. He's in Dallas, Texas, a town that's right in the middle of that storm.

And you know what's heading east. So what's been happening? How is it impacting the folks there in Dallas?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, Dallas, just like much of Texas, under a winter storm warning. We've seen a mixture of light rain and sleet. But it doesn't appear to be that -- the moisture is really sticking to the ground right now. But that could change in an instant.

I talked to the Department of Public Safety here in Texas. And here in Dallas-Ft. Worth, they say things could get much worse.

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VALENCIA (voice-over): Coast to coast, the country is feeling the impacts of an earlier-than-expected winter weather system.

And in Texas, it's already proving fatal. Icy road conditions causing this major accident along Interstate 40, forcing multiple cars to collide. The Texas Department of Public Safety warns it may only get worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we're bracing for a wintry mix, anything from sleet to freezing rain. If it gets really bad we will encourage folks just to stay home.

VALENCIA (voice-over): This deadly winter storm started out west, strong winds in the San Francisco Bay area downed trees and power lines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard a big crack and the house started banging and things started falling and I thought it was a huge earthquake. VALENCIA (voice-over): And flooding hit Phoenix, Arizona, with almost 2 inches of rain. But now the winter threat is on the move, a dangerous system which has the potential to create chaos for millions of travelers, all the way into the heavily populated Northeast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy. It's super, super crazy. I hope it is going to be gone soon.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Right now the snow impacts are being felt in New Mexico, Texas and part of the Great Plains, with many people coping with treacherous, ice-covered roads and bridges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like the wind is going to pull you over. It just feels like it is going to push you into the next lane.

VALENCIA (voice-over): The winter weather also hit the Gridiron. In Ohio, snow and freezing temperatures played out on Saturday during the Ohio State-Indiana football game in Columbus. Officials had to scrub the snow off the goal line.

Now, in the days ahead more than 40 million Americans are expected to hit the nation's roads. And millions of others to fly the skies. Unfortunately, dangerous wind, sleet, snow and rain could be your travel companions.

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WHITFIELD: Nick Valencia, sorry about that. It's not your television set. We are having an audio problem. But hopefully now you can hear me. We'll try to return to Nick Valencia in the next hour on the weather conditions there in Dallas, heading now to the Northeast.

All right, the nuclear deal with Iran breaks decades of gridlock. But many in the Middle East do not see this as a positive step. How will this impact the relationship between U.S. and its allies? We'll take a closer look.

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WHITFIELD: The diplomatic gridlock between Iran and the West lasted for decades. But today breakthrough nuclear deal could change that. It could open up a much broader relationship and that has some leaders in the Middle East a bit worried.

Karim Sadjadpour joins me now from Washington. He is a senior associate with the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Good to see you.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Likewise, Fred. WHITFIELD: So a little earlier we heard how Israel thinks this deal is really a historic mistake; President Obama says it's a historic step forward. Many lawmakers, U.S. lawmakers here believe the U.S. still needs to push ahead with new sanctions because that is what brought Iran to the negotiate table in the first place.

Do you agree with that?

SADJADPOUR: Fred, I would say that President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have somewhat different priorities here.

For President Obama, he has two huge priorities before he leaves office. One is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and another is to avert another military conflagration in the Middle East. He doesn't want to go to war against Iran.

So this deal helps check those two boxes for him. We're unlikely going to see a nuclear armed Iran in the next 3.5 years and it's very unlikely that we'll need to go to war.

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he's in Iran's, much closer to Iran's neighborhood. He's in Iran's vicinity. Iran rejects Israel's existence. So it's natural that he is deeply concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions. And I think where foreign policy meets domestic politics is the fact that Israel has remarkable influence within the U.S. Congress. So it is difficult but certainly not impossible for Obama to sell a deal which -- in which there is tremendous opposition from with Congress -- from within Congress.

WHITFIELD: Then from the U.S. perspective, we understand that a senior administration official is confirming a report that the U.S. had been working on this, having private discussions with Iranian officials for many days, weeks, maybe even months before this deal was sealed.

Does that sound reasonable to you?

And do you feel as though that couldn't have -- we couldn't have a deal had it not been for that kind of negotiating?

SADJADPOUR: The Obama administration, especially since the new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office in August, has definitely been conducting what they call back-door diplomacy with Iran talks behind the scenes.

And I think certainly that was a factor in building confidence to lead to this type of agreement. But I think we have to have realistic expectations of what this deal is. This is an interim deal on the nuclear program. This isn't broader rapprochement between the two countries. There's still going to be huge points of contention, whether that's Hezbollah or differences on Syria, et cetera.

But I think if you are the President of the United States it makes sense to try to build confidence with Iran.

WHITFIELD: Karim Sadjadpour, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it, from Washington.

SADJADPOUR: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Tech startups emerging from prison? It's happening and you will hear how that is happening, only here on CNN.

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WHITFIELD: A dangerous winter-like storm is moving across the U.S. right now, dumping snow and ice on roads just as the Thanksgiving holiday travel kicks into high gear. At least five deaths are blamed on the wintry weather. The storm could collide with another weather system tight before Thanksgiving, creating a powerful nor'easter in Boston and New York.

The independent investigator looking into the bullying scandal in the Miami Dolphins says he's done with his first round of interviews. Ted Wells says he has met with every coach and player on the team as well as management. Player Jonathan Martin has accused teammate Richie Incognito of bullying and using racial slurs against him.

The investigation is expected to last several more weeks.

And police fear a frightening and deadly game might be spreading across the U.S. The so-called knockout game is when teens try to randomly knock strangers out with a single punch. One man in New Jersey died after he was attacked two months ago. Several teens are charged in connection with that killing.

And a 28-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly taking part in an attack last week in Brooklyn. Police have charged him with aggravated assault as a hate crime.

Now could that new app on your phone have been written by someone doing life in prison? CNN's Laurie Segall introduces us to entrepreneurs behind bars.

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LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Is San Quentin State Prison. Behind bars: murderers, thieves. And here's one that might surprise you: aspiring entrepreneurs.

JORGE HEREDIA (PH), CEO, FUNKY ONION: My name is Jorge Heredia (ph), and I am the founder and CEO of Funky Onion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think just happening with great ideas.

SEGALL (voice-over): Welcome to The Last Mile.

CHRIS REDLITZ, CO-FOUNDER, THE LAST MILE: So, same question. SEGALL (voice-over): That's Chris. Along with his wife, Bev, he had the idea to start a program to do what many tech entrepreneurs do, solve a problem.

BEVERLY PARENTI, CO-FOUNDER, THE LAST MILE: In California, we spend more for prisons than for higher education.

SEGALL (voice-over): More than 60 percent of California prisoners released end up back behind bars within three years. One reason: they can't just find work.

So, like many others in the Bay Area, these inmates are becoming tech entrepreneurs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm insanely passionate about technology.

SEGALL (voice-over): They study social media, technology and entrepreneurship.

REDLITZ: So what's Guy's talking about in his book --

SEGALL (voice-over): Behind bars, they are learning to build modern day businesses. Like any tech incubator, they pitch their product.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can subscribe to our premium service.

SEGALL (voice-over): Not just to Chris and Bev but to venture capitalists.

REDLITZ: I think Silicon Valley is the ideal place because this is the place where people succeed or fail and start all over again.

FLOYD HALL, INMATE, SAN QUENTIN: If I can conquer eight years of incarceration, I think that I can definitely become an entrepreneur.

SEGALL (voice-over): And there's proof. That's Kenyatta Leal.

KENYATTA LEAL, FORMER INMATE, SAN QUENTIN: I was sentenced 25 to life back in 1994. Motorola just came out with the flip phone.

SEGALL (voice-over): His involvement in The Last Mile landed him a job at Rocket Space, a co-working office for tech startups. We sat down with Kenyatta and two former inmates. All of them have coveted jobs in technology.

SEGALL: Can prisoners make good entrepreneurs?

JAMES HOUSTON, FORMER INMATE, SAN QUENTIN: None of us, when we started getting in trouble because we weren't conforming, we thought outside the box.

SEGALL (voice-over): Prison may be an unlikely place for startups to emerge, but behind bars, the same rules apply.

JAMES CAVITT, FORMER SAN QUENTIN INMATE, ENTREPRNEUR: To go and want to be an entrepreneur, you have to be resilient. That's one thing prison does teach you, is how to be resilient, and really to try to win against all odds.

(END VIDEOTAPE) That was Laurie Segall reporting. Many of the prisoners you saw do not have access to computers. They write out code on paper and have friends on the outside who help them. Congrats to them for an inspiring program.

All right, a deal with Iran over its nuclear program is down on paper. Now the question is, is it a good plan and will it work? I'll ask the former chief weapons inspector for Iraq next.

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WHITFIELD: It is a breakthrough deal that could finally curb Iran's nuclear program after decades of diplomatic gridlock. It will require Iran to dial back its nuclear enrichment program to keep it from working toward a nuclear weapon.

I'm joined now by David Kay, the former chief nuclear weapons inspector for the International Atomic Energy Agency. He's also a member of the State Department's International Security Advisory Board.

Good to see you, David.

DAVID KAY, FORMER CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR IN IRAQ: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So how critical is this deal with Iran in your view? A big step or not?

KAY: Well, no, it's certainly a significant step. I reacted as I think a lot of people did, with surprise, because we have been very close to a deal before. And anticipation -- and actually a great deal of anticipation for the work that must be done ahead to finalize the deal.

This is essentially a deal to begin discussions of a deal.

WHITFIELD: And help people understand why you think this is an important step because it doesn't mean ending or dismantling Iran's centrifuges, right?

Instead, what do you see unfolding?

KAY: What this is a deal to is to -- what the Iranians get, first of all, we have to recognize, they get recognition, explicit recognition of their right to enrich at least up to low levels, 3.5 percent to 5 percent. They get about $7 billion in sanction relief.

In return we get the agreement to enter into discussions on further limitations and we get verification aspect that we haven't had before, daily interviews with their -- and checking of their centrifuge production. They agree not to continue construction immediately on their Arak plutonium reactor, the heavy water reactor.

They limit the amount of centrifuges they have and they agree to blend down the uranium they have that is closest to weapon grade, the 20 percent enriched. So there is a lot of gained right now. But the most important thing gained is an agreement that for six months, there will be intense effort to see if they can reach a final agreement that significantly reduces the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran's hands.

WHITFIELD: So among the critics, many are saying that they just simply can't -- simply can't trust Iran.

What are your greatest worries in this plan?

KAY: My greatest worry is that five or six months will turn out to be 12 months, will turn out to be 18 months, 24 months and so that the deal to enter in discussions becomes the deal you have at the end. And I think that's unsatisfactory.

Look, trust is not the issue. Trust is -- it's verification and more verification and verification along with determined negotiations. And so it is verification and negotiations that one tests whether an agreement is possible.

WHITFIELD: David Kay, thank you so much for your time and input.

KAY: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, the next three years of the Obama presidency. How will it shape up? My face-to-face interview with the authors of "Double Down," Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. They tell me a lot could be read into the race for the White House.

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WHITFIELD: They are probably best known for writing "Game Change," the highly detailed book on the 2008 presidential campaign. That book was later made into an HBO movie that focused on John McCain and the Sarah Palin ticket.

Now the authors, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann have a new book. "Double Down: Game Change 2012." It chronicles last year's presidential election and how President Obama was able to beat challenger Mitt Romney.

I talked face-to-face with Mark and John.

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WHITFIELD: This president might be at a crossroads if it comes down to 2015, whether Joe Biden, his vice president, runs or whether it's Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state.

Will this president be in a real conflict and will he have to take sides?

MARK HALPERIN, AUTHOR: One of the big things we like to write about is relationships in politics between these politicians who don't always get along so great. There is some tensions, even as people can come together. Mitt Romney and Chris Christie, fascinating relationship.

The heart of our book is Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. And as you said, Bill Clinton was kind of on the outs with the president for the first two years of Barack Obama's --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: He even said he wasn't really impressed particularly by his campaigning style.

HALPERIN: That's right. And but what Bill Clinton said about him -- we quote him in the book, saying Barack Obama does the big things, like passing health care, really well. He doesn't do the small thing in politics, reaching out to people, trying to expand the circle, consulting.

So Bill Clinton gets brought in to help Barack Obama last time in the reelection because Barack Obama did something he rarely does, he acknowledged I need help from somebody else. And Bill Clinton, who had been off the stage, hadn't really been part of a general election campaign since his own reelection back in 1996.

He came in; they got a little closer -- rough start. They played a round of golf and afterwards one of President Obama's aides asked him how he liked Bill Clinton.

He says, "I like him, in doses." They do get closer and by the time of the convention, he gives that incredible speech on behalf of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton testifying in a way, appearing in commercials that no one else in the country could do.

That ends. And now we're in a phase where the Clintons and the Obamas, they're no longer the Hatfields and the McCoys. They're no longer feuding. They are basically one political family.

WHITFIELD: "Game Change," a hugely popular as well as the HBO movie as well.

So what was that moment during this pursuit of the second term that you said we have the makings of another great book, another story to tell?

Was there a moment?

JOHN HEILEMANN, AUTHOR: No, there wasn't. We did the first book and very shortly after having done the first one, we decided we were going to do a second one. So we were all in. We had "Double Down" on the 2012 long before there was even really a campaign going on. And Mark and I worked on this book from the summer of 2010 all the way through to the summer of 2013. So that was three years. We did 500 interviews with more than 400 people. And we were -- you know, Barack Obama is one of the great compelling political stories of our time. And so having seen him through the first election, seeing him through his reelection or not, it seemed like a natural thing for us to do. One of the great -- as I said, one of the great political arcs; however it ended, it was going to be a great story.

WHITFIELD: It reads like you have got microphones or cameras in the room.

HEILEMANN: We do.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It is very effective.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: You really are in the room. And when you talk about this trust, that the president was counting on from his people, clearly, there isn't a whole lot of trust, that people would leak, that would give information, everything down to the color or the tenor of the room.

How did that come about?

HALPERIN: Well, all of our interviews are conducted with people who know we're writing -- we're talking to them for the book, which comes out a year after the election. So they are not doing anything that might affect or impact what actually happened in the campaign.

We've both been political reporters for a long time. We got extensive cooperation in a kind of quasi-official way from both the White House and from Governor Romney's campaign and all the other campaigns.

So people are happy to share their stories and want to be part of what they think will be at least one of the definitive or semi-definitive histories of the campaign.

HEILEMANN: HBO has optioned it and we did -- with that experience for us on the last one was incredibly exciting and the movie was great and HBO did a fantastic job doing it. We hope that they will see a movie in this book, too. You know, we have our casting ideas if they decide to make a movie about the Mitt Romneys in there. We both have kind of become attracted to Jon Hamm for that. And of course, Chris Christie, a big figure who could be in the movie. I'm very partial to John Goodman for that part.

WHITFIELD: Hillary Clinton?

HALPERIN: That is a tough one. She has been played by some people and she's such a visible figure. I'm not sure -- we haven't solved that one yet, at least --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Biden?

HALPERIN: Biden? An interesting question. Maybe Beau Bridges. I like Beau Bridges --

WHITFIELD: I can see that.

HEILEMANN: We can get Julianne Moore to come back and play Hillary Clinton. She did Sarah Palin so well, maybe she can do Hillary Clinton.

WHITFIELD: Change the hair color. Why not?

HALPERIN: (INAUDIBLE) I like that he's offered is Will Smith, who said he wants to someday play President Obama. And I think he could -- he could pretty much nail that.

WHITFIELD: Valerie Jarrett? She has to be (INAUDIBLE).

HALPERIN: (INAUDIBLE) deal.

WHITFIELD: Oh, right. I'll just brush up my acting skills.

HEILEMANN: You would be awesome in that part.

WHITFIELD: I could --

HEILEMANN: You really would.

WHITFIELD: I might volunteer, try a little acting.

HEILEMANN: She's fantastic.

HALPERIN: She would be a big character and you could nail it, too.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I'll try my best.

All right. Thanks so much, gentlemen. Good to see you.

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WHITFIELD: I'm going to try and channel Valerie Jarrett, maybe not right now, but I'll rehearse on it. And John and Mark say they really don't expect to help cast the "Double Down" movie. They were just having a little fun there, casting and filming of that movie has yet to take place, unclear when it will happen.

OK. Here is a question for you. How much would you pay for Indiana Jones' whip, Laurel and Hardy's hats or (INAUDIBLE) even the Maltese Falcon? It is Hollywood's history up for sale. And they are not the only famous props on the auction block. See what you could own.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) WHITFIELD: It is the most talked about movie in theaters this weekend and it has made the most money by a long shot. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." Early estimates show the film raked in more than 160 million bucks in the U.S. Our Jake Tapper explains why this movie is so popular.

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"BILBO BAGGINS": There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Hobbits, wizards, vampires and arrow-wielding heroines. It seems the odds are ever in their favor at the box office. "The Hunger Games" franchise launches its second film at target audiences this weekend. Odds are it will be a bull's eye, but these supernatural and fantasy worlds aren't in and of themselves thought to be the recipe for success.

The strategy for winning the Hollywood games is to focus on Y.A. books, as in young adult novels. Step one, take a popular one. Trilogies preferred where teens overcome hardships. Step two, cast the film with naturally smoldering young talent. Step three, watch the money roll in.

BEN FRITZ, STAFF WRITER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": The great thing about a teenager is when she or he loves something, they go all in. "The Hunger Games" fans, they see the movie two, three, four times. They buy the DVD on the first day. They watch it online. They tell friends about it.

TAPPER (voice-over): Need proof beyond "The Hunger Games" template? Well, take a look at "Harry Potter," "Twilight" or nearly everything that Peter Jackson has ever directed. But as with any moneymaking plan, the challenge is in the execution, so to speak.

FRITZ: We're still talking about the movie business where there are more flops than hits and even in this genre there have been plenty of movies that didn't work and then for the sequels, you know, when you've had one success, you can't let people down or they will turn away. They have too many other options.

TAPPER (voice-over): Authors' imaginations after all don't have budget constraints, but making Katniss' future arena for the big screen cost around $140 million. I mean, after all, Hogwarts wasn't built in a day.

These projects are not just an investment of money, but of time as well. From first book to final curtain call, "Harry Potter" took 14 years. Filming "Lord of the Rings" lasted more than a decade. So in some cases, actors are dedicating half their lives to a single storyline, as are fans.

FRITZ: People who are Harry Potter fans, by the end you saw a lot of people who were maybe in college who talked about how they felt like they had grown up with Harry Potter and they were maybe 12 when he was 12 and now they are about 20 when he's 20. TAPPER (voice-over): Diehard or newbie, Team Peeta or Team Gale, fan frenzy never gets old for film executives. All combined, Harry, Bella and Katniss have earned movie studios more than $11 billion in their young lives. And that doesn't include this weekend's bounty.

So rom-coms, horror flicks and indie films, give it your best shot. But for this game, victory favors the young -- Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.

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WHITFIELD: Wow. That is something else. Hey, well, tomorrow, some of Hollywood's most famous artifacts picked out specifically by Turner Classic Movies will actually hit the auction block. It includes Harrison Ford's whip from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," surely you remember it. And the nautilus diver's helmet from "20,000 Thousand Leagues under the Sea," and this Hollywood treasure.

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"KASPER GUTMAN": Seventeen years!

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WHITFIELD: Does it look familiar? This? We dug it out of that box ourselves. OK. So it's not the real Maltese Falcon, but joining us with the real deal -- but doesn't it look like it? Very impressive. There she is.

You've got some of the other Hollywood treasures right there in your grasp, Catherine Williamson, director of Entertainment Memorabilia at Bonhams Auction House. Good to see you.

CATHERINE WILLIAMSON, DIRECTOR, ENTERTAINMENT MEMORABILIA, BONHAMS: Thank you so much. Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, (INAUDIBLE) a little dark, so maybe this is kind of hard to see.

So this Maltese Falcon, maybe not the real thing right here, but the one you have is going to fetch millions, isn't it?

WILLIAMSON: It is. Yes, you have a replica. (INAUDIBLE). But this is the real one. This is from the 1941 movie. This is the one we see Humphrey Bogart carrying out of his apartment in the final frames of the film. And what -- there were two made for the film. But what makes ours more special is that it has a bent tail feather, the right tail feather is bent. There's documentation it was dropped on the set.

And you can see that bent tail feather in the crook of his hands as he carries the piece out of the apartment. So it doesn't get any better than that.

WHITFIELD: And the stuff that dreams are made of, that's what this is all about. WILLIAMSON: And where does it stack up to all the other pieces of memorabilia that you have right there?

WILLIAMSON: Well, we have a few things here to share with you. And they cover a wide range of classic Hollywood moments. Here I have a hat that Audrey Hepburn wore in "Funny Face," in the modeling sequence in Paris. This is a hat by Givenchy, it's very chic, very gorgeous. It's an iconic moment in the film.

And it's also the moment where the two of them started their relationship. They had a lifelong relationship as designer and muse. And so it's very important to collectors for that reason.

Another great set I have here, I'll just pick up these --

WHITFIELD: I think we have that shot, don't we? We have that shot of Hepburn wearing that hat.

Can we show it?

There we go, waiting, waiting.

WILLIAMSON: That's Laurel and Hardy, there.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's move onto Laurel and Hardy, then. You've got the real deal, the images, that we also have.

There you go.

WILLIAMSON: There they are. And yes, and you saw them on screen. So these are -- this is a pair that they wore later in life and on stage in a stage show. But, nonetheless, great provenance on this property, the classic bowler look for each of them. Laurel's is a little bit smaller and taller and Hardy's is a little bit bigger and wider.

WHITFIELD: How much would these go for, you think?

WILLIAMSON: We have an estimate of $15,000-20,000 on this (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Starting here? Yes. Yes. OK. And you think it will go for much more than that?

WILLIAMSON: Well, that's the great thing about auctions. You never know where the bidding will end. It sort of depends upon who's in the room on a given day.

We've had such a great partnership with Turner. We think we'll have a lot of people. So we expect big things.

WHITFIELD: And then, to your left there is the Indiana Jones whip?

WILLIAMSON: Yes. So this whip is from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." So it's from the third film in the trilogy. And if you'll remember from that film, at the very -- at the -- in the final third of the movie, there's a really intense chase scene between a tank and Indiana Jones on a horse, where he's chasing the tank across this desert. So this piece originates from that segment of the film. And it comes with a lot of great material to document it as well, a lot of provenance from one of the people working on the film. And just great, a great path of documentation for this piece as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, we marvel at these incredible artifacts and they'll be going for thousands if not millions of dollars. Really, all this is for a great cause, too.

Catherine Williamson, thanks so much, the "What Dreams Are Made Of" auction is tomorrow at Bonhams in New York. And some of the proceeds will go to The Film Foundation, a nonprofit established by Martin Scorsese to protect and preserve motion picture history. And of course you can bid online at bonhams.com. And you'll get the real thing, not the replica, like this. Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead.