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Wealthy Catholic: Pope Pushing "Vinegar"; New Orleans Ready to Ring in 2014; Beyonce Video Under Fire Over NASA Audio; Buzzfeed's "Most Important" 2013 Political Pics; Zappo's Reinvents Corporate Culture; Samsung Selling 110-Inch UHT TV

Aired December 31, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: He goes on to say, "you get more with honey than with vinegar." My mom said the same thing and you're hearing that from other wealthy Catholics. This people's pope, as he is known, is pedalling vinegar to the wealthy. Is this really kind of push back coming from conservatives? After all, the pope has had a remarkable year.

ERIC MARRAPODI, CNN BELIEF BLOG CO-EDITOR: It's hard to find a pope in recent memory that had a bigger coming out of the gate than Pope Francis did in terms of his popularity. Universally beloved is what you hear most often from Catholics from across the political spectrum, from across the theological spectrum. People really seem to be attracted to his draw to push the church more towards the poor including those wealthy benefactors.

Remember, they want to give their money away if they're donating to the Catholic Church and giving to the poor is something they're perhaps most interested in when they do that. So when the pope refocuses that energy and refocuses that, they seem to be agreeing with him and continue to donate.

At least from the many, many people I spoke to about this today, who said, no, they haven't seen wealthy donors grumbling about this and they haven't seen, most importantly for them, a drop off in those donations just yet.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. Hopefully they will not. Eric Meratodi, thanks very much. Happy New Year.

MARRAPODI: You got it. Happy New Year.

SAVIDGE: Speaking of which, all eyes on Times Square where almost a million people are expected to ring in the New Year. Of course, CNN will bring you live coverage. That'll start at 9:00 Eastern and CNN will also be live in the big easy, New Orleans, as they celebrate 2014. Brooke Baldwin has the top task of hosting the assignment there. Here she is with a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Brooke Baldwin. I'm on Franklin Street. Tough gig, I know, being sent, again, to New Orleans for New Year's Eve. We're in the spotted cat. These two gentlemen have agreed to talk a little bit about the soul of the city and how music is so much a part of that. Why do you think that is?

ASHLIN PARKER: It's just the nature of the city, the history of the city. You know, that's just how we get down, down here. You're going to see.

BALDWIN: I'm going to see a little later. I have a feeling I'm not quite sure when I'm going to bed tonight. How long have you been playing music? Why come down from New York where you're from to New Orleans?

PARKER: I've been playing music my whole life pretty much, for about 20-some odd years, came down to New Orleans because the soul of music just draws you down there. It's something different than anything you ever heard anywhere else. It's just like everybody's brought up with it and it's such a part of the culture. You can't deny it. The music is the culture.

BALDWIN: There is no denying it at all. You guys sounded amazing earlier. We'll play a little of the music for you in a bit. In terms of New Year's Eve, do you do the resolution thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BALDWIN: Yes? I saw the look on your face. You're not a believer in resolutions.

PARKER: I've never actually got through one of them, you know. I always promise and I never do it.

BALDWIN: OK, so not so much for him.

PARKER: Giving up.

BALDWIN: Just keep playing.

PARKER: Keep practicing, yes.

BALDWIN: What do you think for 2014?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to quit not drinking.

BALDWIN: I believe that is a double negative, my friend. Ergo, drinking will be happening, it sounds like. What else about New Orleans? For people who have never been down here. I just got off a plane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be crazy, definitely craziness, lots of pandemonium all around.

BALDWIN: Describe -- the pandemonium I find in New Orleans, and I've been here the last couple days soaking it in, as a good reporter would. I feel like there's a special kind of pandemonium in New Orleans that's unique to the city.

PARKER: Well, you know, this is like this every night. This is not special for New Year's. It's like this every day, Monday night, Tuesday night, weird nights. It doesn't stop. It's always an excuse to party.

BALDWIN: Can I get you to just play a little bit for me?

PARKER: Sure.

BALDWIN: I love my job. I'm Brooke Baldwin in New Orleans. New Year's Eve.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: What else would you play from New Orleans? Thanks very much, Brooke. Be sure to watch tonight, by the way, 9:00 Eastern is when we kick things off, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin with live coverage. More than three hours of festivities from Times Square. It will be live and you will not want to miss a moment of it because it is guaranteed to have some unscripted events. It all starts 9:00 Eastern here on CNN tonight.

Coming up next, queen of pop, Beyonce uses a sample from NASA's failed Challenger mission and the families of the astronauts who died on that day are not happy. Well, now Beyonce is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: What's in a song? If you ask mega-star, Beyonce, that question about her latest single released, which is called "XO," you'll hear the words love and tribute. But ask the people over NASA and some families who lost loved ones in the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and you'll hear something completely different. In fact, Beyonce's new single is ruffling more than a few feathers. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Controllers, you're looking very carefully at the situation, obviously a major malfunction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: "XO" is a love song from the Grammy winning artist's self- titled album. The first 6 seconds includes NASA audio from the moments immediate after the shuttle Challenger exploded. The sound clip has been called disappointing by the widow of Challenger's commander and NASA released a statement expressing its displeasure. It says in part, "The Challenger accident is an important part of our history, a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized," end quote.

Beyonce was quick to respond to that criticism. She released a statement of her own explaining that the song writers included the audio as a tribute to the memory of Challenger's crew. She says in part, "My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song "XO" was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen. So love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you," unquote. Well, we are talking about Beyonce, one of the biggest musical stars out there. And should she had known better, or is she just being picked on because of her celebrity? Joining us live is entertainment journalist and pop culture expert, Jawn Murray. He's also the editor of alwaysalist.com.

Jawn, this is not the first time that artists have sampled audio from NASA missions. There have been samples from shuttle Discovery's first mission and Apollo 11. There's even an iTunes ringtone for Apollo 13. But I guess, the real question here is did Beyonce go too far with this particular selection given the Challenger disaster?

JAWN MURRAY, CNN ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST AND POP CULTURE EXPERT: Well, Martin, you can't be the biggest pop star in the world and not get some criticism for some of the decisions that you choose to make with your art. In the case of Beyonce, who has worked with NASA in the past, back in 2011, she actually recorded a wake-up greeting for astronauts were on a spaceship at the time. She's from Houston, where NASA is headquartered.

But Beyonce would have never done this if she thought it was going to offend. I believe her statement really captures the essence of what she feels and the mind set that went into this song. It's a song about cherishing time with loved ones before it's too late, be ever you lose them, and before you could lose them in an instance.

While the song writers may have chose to use this particular clip to emphasize this, you know, it always ruffles feathers, very much in the same way when "Glee" chooses to re-enact a school shooting right after Newtown or when "Law & Order" takes things out of the headlines and does it on their show as well.

SAVIDGE: Right. In this particular -- I mean, you hear that phrase. You hear that NASA line. It instantly brings back an event. As a member of the family, it's probably more painful. Are entertainers, particularly those with high profiles like Beyonce, held to a higher standard of accountability with their art here?

MURRAY: Absolutely. I mean, if this was some independent artist out of Utah, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now. I also think if Beyonce used a song like this and had it on a song like maybe "Bootylicious" or one of her other songs in a little more pop friendly and of less substance oriented the we have reasons to criticize it here. While I think her intent was go good and I always would like to look at the intent of things and not the actuality of it, I think her intent was good even though she's upset some.

SAVIDGE: Jawn Murray, that's why we have you on the program. Your insight is always appreciated. Thank you very much.

MURRAY: Happy New Year, Martin.

SAVIDGE: And to you. Thanks.

Coming up, Buzz Feed picks its most important political pictures of the year, everything from first family selfies to Vladimir Putin expressions. We'll talk about that list.

Plus, as Leonardo Dicaprio responds to critics who say that his new movie glorifies the obnoxious lifestyle of a conman. Next, you'll meet the man he portrayed, the real life wolf of Wall Street.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Now to some pretty funny, yet bizarre photos of world leaders and politicians in 2013. Ellie Hall joins me to go through some of buzzfeed.com's 22 most important political photos of 2013. She is a reporter at Buzzfeed. She's going to, as I say, take us through some of these and what was really going on, the first one, pretty surprising.

Let's take a look. What we're going to see here is President Obama, leader of the free world, doing a flamingo impression on the golf course. What was happening here?

ELLIE HALL, REPORTER, "BUZZFEED": Well, the photographer who took the photo in Martha's Vineyard in August said that the president was trying to sort of make a golf ball go into the hole using his body language, as we've all done.

SAVIDGE: Right. I get it. I see, yes. That body language, right. Sticking with the president, he is kissing the first lady as his daughters take selfies. This is a priceless family moment, but of course, we are talking the first family, right?

HALL: Right. And that's what's beautiful about this photo, I think. It makes it really interesting. Obviously, they're trying to have a family moment, a special kiss on the inauguration day. Then one of the sisters steps in and photo bombs it. You can see Malia is sticking her tongue out at Sasha's iPhone. I thought it was just a wonderful photo to kind of show the first family as a family.

SAVIDGE: It is very humanizing. Let's face it, they get no privacy. Let's talk about, you know, who can forget President Obama and his umbrella attendant.

HALL: What a great photo. That was during a press conference with the Turkish prime minister. For some reason, they couldn't move it inside even though it was raining so two Marines had to hold umbrellas. I think the expression the president is making in that photo is absolutely wonderful.

SAVIDGE: It is. It's just this kind of, you know, peek behind the political curtain, moving on to another world leader, especially a man who doesn't necessarily get any short supply of attention. That's Russian President Vladimir Putin's face when he's facing topless protesters who suddenly appear. What a classic moment.

HALL: It's even better if you look down a little bit. He's making a thumbs up. His face -- no, it's true. This is during a state visit to Germany. A bunch of topless protesters appeared. That photo was taken at the perfect split second where you can see what's exactly going through his mind. SAVIDGE: Apparently doesn't have to worry about the opinions back home, another awkward photo op with Putin and President Obama. Take a look at this one here. What is going on? It does not look comfortable.

HALL: Yes, whatever is going on, it's really awkward. That's what makes the photo wonderful. This was at the G-8 Summit. The reason for the tension was ongoing problems in Syria. They both just look so miserable. They'd rather be anywhere but on that stage with photographers present.

SAVIDGE: Exactly, anywhere but here. OK, we have to put in some Beyonce. Here it is because especially the look on Senator Chuck Schumer's face is priceless. Look at that.

HALL: No, it's wonderful. It's kind of hard to tell if he's impressed by her singing or how beautiful she is in person. That's what makings the photo memorable.

SAVIDGE: Yes, I think it's probably both. And finally, one that had us scratching our heads a bit. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi sitting on the floor watching television, what's she watching so intently?

HALL: She was watching the final race in the America's Cup, actually. She left a press conference early so that she could watch the final leg. As soon as it was over, she went on to the floor of Congress and congratulated the winning United States team. She's apparently a huge sailing fan.

SAVIDGE: Understandably so. Well, we appreciate it. Ellie Hall, who is from buzzfeed.com. Thanks very much, really wonderful to share those moments.

HALL: No, thank you so much for having me.

SAVIDGE: Happy New Year.

HALL: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Actor Leonardo Dicaprio is responding to critics who say that his new movie "Wolf of Wall Street" glorifies the lifestyle of a conman. In an interview with "Variety," Dicaprio says he and the film makers don't condone the wild and self-obsessed behavior of rich guys who con folks out of their money, but wanted to show the dark side of greed.

CNN takes a look at the real life stockbroker portrayed in the film who says the movie is not far off from what actually happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jordan Belfort. The year I turned 26, I made $49 million, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said we would reach new levels of productivity. We look back and say the numbers that we have been doing four or five months ago were nothing. I make one more guarantee. Six months from now, what you're doing right now is going to be nothing again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the greatest company in the world!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I made my first $600,000 in one trade, I went out and bought a white Ferrari Testarossa. Not a yellow one, not a black one, not a white one. You know why? Because it was the car that Don Johnson drove in "Miami Vice."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A great life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of guys here right now, in a few months, you're going to be making a lot of money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is all this legal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I was greedy. The thousand dollar suits and gold watches and you know, the drinking at lunch, and the cocaine at the end of the day, and it was almost like adult Disneyland for dysfunctional people, basically. Back then, I had 1,000 best friends. Everyone was my best friend because everyone wanted something from me. Everyone could benefit from what I was doing. I was really generous with my money. Yes, sure, didn't have any meaning to me. It was like monopoly money to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's part of everybody here, not me, not Kenny, not a couple partners. It's made up of everybody here. You guys are part of. You built it. Without you, it doesn't run. If we all stick together, next year at this time, we'll be double the size. We already are the most powerful firm, but we'll be a legend on Wall Street. That's our goal, all right?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Up next, you might need a Wall Street salary to afford this television, the new Samsung 110-inch TV. It goes for a cool $150,000. You'll see the picture.

Plus, live pictures out of Dubai, where at any moment, the city will attempt to break the world record for fireworks. We will bring it to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: More good news for homeowners. The Case-Shiller home index was up 13.6 percent in October over last year. That is the largest 12-month gain for home prices since 2006. Experts say home prices will continue to rise in the New Year, but probably nothing like we've seen in 2013.

And if you're planning to sit around tomorrow and stream a movie on Netflix, you might want to make sure it's still there. They're deleting big hits like "Titanic" along with about 80 other old favorites. Meanwhile, the company's CEO is getting a raise. Netflix shares up nearly 300 percent this year. Hastings' salary will go up likewise and his stock options will both jump by about 50 percent to $3 million with an additional $3 million in the stock options.

And the online shoe seller, Zappos, got huge by going against the grain. Now the company is trying something entirely new, which could be the next big thing in business or it could be a huge bust. CNN's Alison Kosik joining me now with more on this. What are they doing, Alison?

ALISON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what are they doing? They're doing this system. It does away with formal job titles like manager. You know, the traditional hierarchy you'd have in a workplace. Instead, it makes people responsible for several different roles that may overlap with their co-workers so Zappos is confirming this. They're full steam ahead on this. Their goal is to increase accountability.

So instead of it being you and all your colleagues answering to your boss, you're all answering to one another. There's a blogging service medium that's done pretty successfully with this. This is going to be interesting because we're going to see if this makes Zappos' customer service better or worse.

The company consistently is ranked as one of the best when it comes to satisfying customers. The opposite result would be, you know, a lord of the flies situation where there's a power grab going on. That's probably unlikely given Zappos' track record -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Probably not. Let's talk about something else. That's big- screen TVs. We understand you've got a whopper.

KOSIK: This is really big. This is actually, in my opinion, the definition of excess. Forget about TVs that cost, what, $4,000. That's nothing. How about a TV for $150,000? This isn't your ordinary TV. This TV has a 110-inch screen. Samsung says it's as big as a king-size bed, outrageous TVs, though, not a first for Samsung.

Earlier this year, Samsung began selling a TV for $40,000. I'm really wondering who's going to buy this. Actually, we're hearing that people are already lining up. Samsung says it's already received ten orders, all from the Mideast. I don't know. Where does that -- I guess if you can afford this, you have a house that could fit it.

SAVIDGE: I think it would look good above the fireplace, especially if you own something like the Builtmore.

KOSIK: If it's a really, really big fireplace.

SAVIDGE: Alison Kosik, happy New Year. Thanks very much.

KOSIK: Happy New Year to you.

SAVIDGE: Top of the hour. I'm Martin Savidge. Hello and welcome to the final hours of 2013. We get ready to welcome '14. Right at this moment, the occasion is a daring attempt out of Dubai. The city is trying to set a Guinness World Record for the largest fireworks display. It's going to be a great show of 77,000-plus fireworks. So let's listen and see how they're doing.