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Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite Big Winner On Sunday Night; World Health Organization Sends Experts To China; Fmr. Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-SOUTH BEND, IN) Gets The Most Delegates In Iowa; Number of Coronavirus Cases Climbs on Cruise Ship; Korean Film Takes Best Picture at Oscars. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 10, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM: And hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I am Natalie Allen.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN NEWSROOM: And I am Michael Holmes.

Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, a night full of surprises, as Parasite makes history at the academy awards.

ALLEN: Also ahead here, help is on the way. A team of experts from the World Health Organization heads to the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak. We have a live reporter.

M. HOLMES: And days overdue, the final results of the Iowa caucuses are in as the 2020 Democratic contenders prepared to face off in New Hampshire.

And we begin with the Oscars. For the first time in the history of the academy awards, a non-English language film taking home the top prize of best picture.

ALLEN: It was the wow moment, sure enough. The film and its director, Bong Joon-ho, were also honored for best director, best international feature film and best screenplay. Talk about sweet. The wind is sure to create a lot of incitement in the picture's home country, South Korea. So we want to start right there.

Let's turn to CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us from Pyeongchang. And so many times when we come to you, Paul, it's about North Korea or something dangerous, but now, this is celebration time for South Korea. That's nice.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Natalie. I mean, this will go down extremely well here in South Korea. Bong Joon-ho, the director, is very well known here. He is very well respected, and Koreans love his films. But now, they know that the rest of the world loves his films as well, so four Oscars for this particular film. There were six nominations in all, but, of course, it is that best picture, the best film, which is completely key to the success of this film. The fact that it's the first time that it is foreign language, a non-English language film that has taken this accolade.

And we did hear from Bong Joon-ho, the director, as he accepted the award, and he thanked Martin Scorsese. He gave respect to Martin Scorsese, another director, saying that he had inspired him when he was young. He also thanked Quentin Tarantino.

Now, it's interesting, because when we did catch up with him with CNN on the red carpet, just a week ago, at the BAFTAs. He was asked, who do you want to meet with? And he said, Martin Scorsese, and giggled, showing that this is all new to him, that he was loving the fact that he was at these wonderful awards. But it was a new sensation. And now, he is standing up there in front of all of his peers, in front of the world, and thanking those who he believes actually inspired him.

Now, this film, Parasite, it's a remarkable film. It has grossed $160 million worldwide. That really puts it in the realm of the Hollywood blockbusters, and yet it is a Korean film. It's a film about the class war around the world. It's based in South Korea but it's a poor family who inserts itself into a rich family's household, into their lives with devastating effects. I'm not going to give any more of the plot away from that, because if you have not seen it, you should see it. And it is remarkable that this has made history tonight.

ALLEN: Yes. And it was also kind of really cool as they stood on stage, having to have a translator for the audience there at the Oscars. I don't know when I have seen that.

So, now, the world knows Bong Joon-ho. He is adorable from his many times at the microphone, but how well-known is he in South Korea?

HANCOCKS: He's very well known here in South Korea. He is a household name. He has done many films. This is by no means his first hit. He has had a number of hits here in South Korea and has been done this for some time.

And now I spoke to a director who's also a friend of Bong Joon-ho and asked him about this. And he said, this was before the Oscars, obviously, but it was after he won the Palme d'Or. It was after the BAFTAs, the SAG Awards, winning many accolades around the world. And he said he felt like he was in a dream.

And he also said that it was like the Korean people as a whole felt this was like a dream. They know him and they know that he is a wonderful director and his films to do well. But now, the rest of the world knows it as well.

So for many Koreans who know about this, I was just at lunch here with some Koreans when we heard the news. I told them the news, and there was applause.

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They were absolutely delighted that Bong Joon-ho has had this international recognition, Nat.

ALLEN: Yes, absolutely. And an ensemble cast. You could tell they were all just shocked and absolutely thrilled when they took the stage.

All right, really cool, Paula Hancocks for us in South Korea. Thanks, Paula.

All right, we get back to other news now. We turn to China, where officials are trying to contain the Wuhan coronavirus, are about to get some more help.

M. HOLMES: That's right. The World Health Organization says a team of experts has been sent to the country to investigate the outbreak. Now, this coming as the number of deaths and infections continues to climb. The global death toll from the virus has now passed 900, all but two of those cases coming from mainland China.

ALLEN: The disease has now killed 871 people in Hubei Province alone. That's the epicenter of the outbreak. Meantime, the number of infections worldwide now exceeds 40,000, again, with the vast majority in China.

Meantime, in Wuhan, another person who spoke about virus appears to have disappeared. Steven Jiang is our reporter live in Beijing for us.

Steven, you've been covering this since the start. We, of course, know, about the doctor who first recognized the virus who ended up dying. And now, we have something else that's curious. What can you tell us?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right, Natalie. The disappearing citizen journalist reminded a lot of people of the doctor you mentioned, Dr. Li Wenliang, who, of course, passed away on Friday, after he contracted this very virus he was trying to warn others about back in December.

Now, this citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, he shared something in common with the doctor. They were both 34 years old from the northeastern part of this country. But Mr. Chen had been roaming around in Wuhan for some two weeks before he disappeared last Thursday. Now, his friends and family are telling us he was taken away by local police and placed under forced quarantine ostensibly for his own health.

But friends are saying they are now worried about his safety because the authorities obviously view him as a troublemaker. During his time in Wuhan, Mr. Chen took his camera to the hospitals, to the streets of Wuhan in the epicenter and he really captured a grim picture sometimes in stark contrast to what the state media was trying to present to the audience here.

Mr. Chen filmed the desperation of people trying to seek medical help but to no avail. He filmed the helplessness of many who said they have lost loved ones, seeing loved ones dying in front of their eyes, and also he filmed the overwhelming situation there, both in the hospitals there and even in the morgue. Natalie?

ALLEN: Yes. And, Steven, what does his disappearance mean to the people of China who have really been speaking against Beijing after the death of the doctor and calling for openness and free speech since this? What do you think this will do for the citizens who've had enough of this?

JIANG: That's really interesting. Because, obviously, this citizen journalist, Mr. Chen's social media account had long been closed here in China, but he managed to host his videos on YouTube and attracting millions of views and with huge attention, including from within China. People imagine the scale of this so-called firewall to actually try and to find out what he found out on the ground in Wuhan.

Now, the silencing of him, of course, reminded a lot of them the silencing of the doctor. And this also, of course, happening at a time when the authorities here are trying to ramp up their propaganda, trying to increasingly shape news coverage and online conversations about this outbreak. They are now, it seems to be, not only trying to control the flow of people as they try to contain the virus, but also increasingly the flow of information. Natalie?

ALLEN: And that can't help to save lives, really. It's just very a shame. All right. Steven Jiang for us, thank you so much.

Now, Michael?

M. HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Natalie.

Dr. Carlos Del Rio is a professor of Global Health and Medicine at Emory University. He joins us now live from Colorado. You have talked to us before on this, and let's continue the conversation.

It was interesting and a bit concerning that within a month or so, coronavirus overtook the death toll of SARS, which made its death toll in eight months. I mean, what do you make of the spread and importantly, the mortality of this virus so far?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, PROFESSOR, MEDICINE AND GLOBAL HEALTH, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Good evening, Michael. Well, there are two issues. Number one, this virus is a lot more transmissible, more contagious than SARS or MERS is.

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So the transmission resembles more influenza, and the mortality resembles more influenza, so I like to think of this virus more as an influence-like virus. This is a very severe -- this virus is spreading very rapidly into a lot of people.

But the mortality, if you think of the number of people infected, I think there's about 40,000 recorded cases, but there might might be two or three times of that in reality, so let's say just 120,000 cases. 800 deaths, maybe the deaths are underreported, so maybe double that. But still maybe 2 percent of the deaths and --2 percent of the patients are dying. So the mortality is a lot lower than we've seen in prior coronaviruses. And so --

M. HOLMES: A very relevant point.

I wanted to ask you too about a medical reporter that I know you are aware of. It found more than 40 percent of patients diagnosed at one hospital in Wuhan, in China, were presumed to have been infected in that hospital, and only patients that were sick were tested. So it could have been even more transmission than that. What did we learn about that, about preventing the transmission in the future?

DEL RIO: Well, we've seen this with other coronaviruses, with SARS and with MERS. We've seen what we physicians call nosocomial transmission, which is transmission in hospitals, not only to other patients, but to healthcare workers. And we've also seen this, for example, Ebola transmission to other healthcare workers.

So what we learn is that with all of these (ph) infections, we have to take special precautions in hospitals. We have to make sure we isolate potential cases, we do the appropriate and we have decisions on health. We have healthcare personnel who use what we call personal protective equipment used appropriately to prevent us from getting infected.

So one of the things that hospitals are doing right now is refreshing the training on how to put on and put off what we call don on and don off the personal protective equipment so we can actually be prepared in case of (INAUDIBLE) like this.

M. HOLMES: Yes. One other thing that -- and we touched on last time we spoke, and I think it's perhaps even more important now. The risk if this gets to a more secretive country, one without the resources to deal with it or the honesty to acknowledge a problem in the first place. I mean, There have been reports, we don't know if they are true, but in the South Korean media of cases in North Korea. A major parade was canceled this weekend. What are the risks if it does happen in a country like that, which probably would just want to hide it?

DEL RIO: Well, North Korean, I'm not too concerned, because there's not a lot of communication to the outside world, so it will stay there. But I think it is a concern, quite frankly, as, for example, cases in Africa. There's a huge growth in the past decade (INAUDIBLE). Many airlines have cut flights but a few (ph) airlines continues flying. So there're (INAUDIBLE) at Bali International Airport screening passengers that are coming from China.

But my biggest concern is that if this virus gets to a place China, like India or Africa, for example, because they are going to spread (INAUDIBLE) a lot more serious than we've currently seen.

M. HOLMES: Yes, a very, very good point. Dr. Carlos Del Rio, thank you so much, I apreciate your expertise on this. Thank you.

DEL RIO: Thank you, Michael, and have a good evening. ALLEN: Coming up here, it was touch and go at London's Heathrow airport as high winds made mess of air travel across Northern Europe and wait until we show you some of the landings.

M. HOLMES: We will be right back.

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ALLEN: All right. Well, it took a while but after days of waiting and confusion, the Iowa Democratic Party says U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has won the most delegates in the Iowa caucuses.

M. HOLMES: It feels like it was a year ago, doesn't it?

ALLEN: I know.

M. HOLMES: Yes. The updated numbers show the former South Bend, Indiana mayor with a very slim lead over Bernie Sanders, who won the popular vote and that's annoying his supporters. The Sanders campaign, in fact, says it's going to ask for a partial re-canvass of the results on Monday.

Now, after the Democratic debacle in Iowa, and it was that, voters in New Hampshire are going to go to the polls on Tuesday. It's not a caucus, it is the first in the nation primary.

ALLEN: Democratic hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden are looking to make up ground after coming in third and fourth respectively in Iowa.

For more, Jeff Zeleny is on the campaign trail.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: And with a little more than one day left before the New Hampshire primary voting begins, Bernie Sanders is feeling confident, and this is one of the reasons why.

Our latest poll shows that he is seven percentage points up over his nearest rival, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. But Elizabeth Warren, one of his key competitors for so many months here in New Hampshire, is even trailing farther than that. Joe Biden, of course, also making his way, Amy Klobuchar is below him.

So the question here in the final hours of this campaign, could this dynamic change? The New Hampshire primary has a history of delivering surprises so it certainly could. And there is somewhat of a circular firing squad going on here. We have seen Joe Biden aggressively taking on Pete Buttigieg. We've seen Pete Buttigieg, of course, defending himself all over experience. but we're also hearing from Bernie Sanders. Question for the first time, by name, Pete Buttigieg in how he is raising money.

Throughout the duration of his campaign for the last year or more and certainly throughout the Iowa campaign, Bernie Sanders didn't mention of his rivals by name. He did not criticize Pete Buttigieg. He did that as he is campaigning in New Hampshire, pointing out that he is raising money in his words from billionaires. Of course, nothing illegal about that, but Bernie Sanders raises his money just bit by bit over the internet and online contributions, small dollar donations raising it for the long haul.

So the question here is will voters side with Bernie Sanders, certainly, the most progressive candidate in this race or will the independent voters of New Hampshire so critical here, representing about a third of the voters. Well, they think that Bernie Sanders is simply too liberal.

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Those are some of the closing dynamics here we are watching.

So Senator Sanders is a clear favorite. He won the state by 21 percentage points four years ago. He's from neighboring Vermont, so all signs would indicate a strong night for him. But, again, New Hampshire can deliver surprises and can the humble frontrunners as well. So in the final hours of this campaigning here, we'll see if this circular firing squad hits anyone or if Senator Sanders goes on to win it. If he does, it certainly puts him in a strong position for the remainder of the contest coming up this month.

ALLEN: Well, not to be outdone, U.S. President Trump is also headed to New Hampshire to fire up his supporters.

M. HOLMES: CNN's Kristen Holmes with that side of the story.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: If Monday night's rally in New Hampshire looks anything like this weekend, President Trump will be in full attack mode. On Sunday, he spent the day on Twitter lashing out at Democrats for everything, from impeachment to the Iowa caucus. He also hit those senators who voted against him in impeachment.

I want to read one of these tweets in particular. He says, they are really mad at Senator Joe Munchkin, he means Joe Manchin, in West Virginia. He couldn't understand the transcripts. Romney could but didn't want to. He also lashed at a Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama, saying, he was looking forward to beating him in this election.

It should be noted that these messages are really intended for his base. They are intended to rile up his supporters, which they will do. And back in 2016, President Trump shocked the political establishment winning the New Hampshire primary using this kind of rhetoric.

But as we head into his re-election, it is a bit of a different scenario this time around. His own campaign advisers have acknowledged that in order to win in 2020, President Trump will have to court some of those moderate voters. So as he picks up on the campaign trail, that is one thing that we are watching very closely. How will he marry his tweets and his rhetoric at these rallies with the courting of the moderate voter or will he at all? Will there be any change as he begins really ramping up this campaign season?

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

M. HOLMES: Now to Ireland, where Sinn Fein has won the most seats so far in the first count of votes in the general election. That count is still underway. It might even take weeks before a coalition could be formed.

ALLEN: The current prime minister says he is unwilling to govern with Sinn Fein, the party once associated with the Irish Republican Army. He calls the idea a forced marriage.

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LEO VARADKAR, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: In order to form a government together, we have to have the same -- roughly the same views around the courts and the criminal justice system, around how the economy should be built (ph) and also how to (INAUDIBLE). And that's what makes my party not compatible with Sinn Fein. We are willing to talk to other parties about how we could form a government.

MARY LOU MCDONALD, PRESIDENT, SINN FEIN PARTY: It's a big statement of change. It is a big statement that this is no longer a two-party system. It's a statement that people want at different type governments, and that people have great confidence and I say that with all humility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: So an exit poll suggested an unprecedented three-way tie between the main parties.

Well, the storm named Ciara has slammed Northern Europe with heavy rains and high winds in early Sunday, the weather forced a dramatic event in London. We'll show you.

M. HOLMES: Yes, no harm done. But have a look at this, a passenger jet struggling to land at Heathrow because of those cross winds there. Does the old touch and go, it touches down and then the landing gets aborted and the pilot takes off again and does what they call a go- around. And the plane did land safely on the second try. t would've been a bit nerve-wrecking for everyone on board.

ALLEN: White-knuckling.

M. HOLMES: Absolutely, white-knuckle flying out.

Our aviation expert, Richard Quest, says pilots are trained in these touch and goes, but it's very unusual, he said, for such a large passenger jet to do it.

ALLEN: But the pilot did it.

M. HOLMES: Yes, they're good at it. Yes.

ALLEN: Yes, they are. Thank goodness. And while that jet struggled with the strong winds, another got quite boost. A New York to London flight broke the record for subsonic air travel due to the powerful tail winds across the Atlantic.

M. HOLMES: Yes. It landed almost two hours ahead of schedule, pretty pleasing unless you had someone driving up to the airport to meet you, Karen Maginnis.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. Yes. And the wind is just one aspect of what we've seen with this system and, yes, want to be on an aircraft where you know you are crabbing into the landing is very unnerving. It's happened to me one time. And, yes, for such a large aircraft to have to go around again is also unnerving.

But the wind, as I mentioned, is just one aspect.

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There was flooding rain, there was reduced visibility. It impacted almost every aspect of life across United Kingdom and into Ireland. Here's some of the wind gusts. We had a wind gust reported over 200 kilometers per hour.

Now, the winds are still going to be there even going into Monday, lingering into Tuesday. But by then, we're seeing that impact across the mainland of Europe. All of these areas from around Paris, into Frankfurt, all the way into Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, that's where we're going to see some of the stronger winds with the rainfall. So anticipate river flooding here, problems with transportation. They are saying that Ciara is one of the strongest storm systems that has been seen across the United Kingdom since 1993.

All right, for the most part, I just took a look at some of the weather conditions across London into Scotland. It's cold. There is a very cold rain. The wind is fairly brisk. But we are looking at even more precipitation making its way into the lowlands and into Paris, also into Germany and then winding its way further towards the east. So there are amber alerts out for a good portion of the U.K., even going into Monday, but also going into Tuesday as well.

And look at this phenomenal picture of the waves crashing and we think of the wind, as I mentioned, but there was at least knee-deep precipitation in some areas. The flights were delayed, trains were seen being interrupted by trees on railroad tracks. There you see one tree on a roadway there, so plenty of damage. Also going into the forecast for Tuesday from Scotland all the way to Northern Ireland and in the region around Manchester, amber alert for gusty winds and could be near blizzard conditions.

Back to you, guys.

ALLEN: All right

M. HOLMES: Wow, that is.

ALLEN: Rough stuff. M. HOLMES: That is, isn't it? Yes, very severe. Karen Maginnis, Thank you.

ALLEN: All right. Still to come here, crews under quarantine, thousands of passengers remain on lockdown on a ship in Japan as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise on board. We'll go live to Yokohama with the latest.

M. HOLMES: And then later in the program, the winners, the losers, the big surprises at the Oscars, a good night to be Korean. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. The number of cases of coronavirus on that cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, continues to climb as thousands on board are under lockdown. Six new cases confirmed on the Diamond Princess on Sunday, bringing the total number to 70. And once the ship did dock there, where several people were taken off to hospitals for quarantine.

Let's get the very latest now from Matt Rivers, who's on the spot for us in Yokohama. Bring us the latest on those patient passengers and those who aren't patients, are patient.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes, that's one way to put it, Michael. They're being as patient as they can be, given the fact that they are quarantined on this ship until February 19 at the earliest at this point.

We did get some -- a little bit of new information from the Japanese government this morning, with government officials telling CNN that they do plan on, or at least are considering testing every single person on board that ship.

Previously, they were testing those who had come in close contact with people who had already been diagnosed with the virus or people who were exhibiting symptoms. But now it appears that they are going to go through and test every single person path on that ship, which is a lengthy process, given the amount of people on board. There's some 3,700 people, minus those who have already been taken off. But that still leaves thousands of people that need testing.

This comes at the same time as the Japanese government continues to deliver supplies to those on board, including masks. One of the things here in Japan that you're going to see everybody doing on the streets, generally, is wearing these surgical masks they believe will help prevent the spread of this infection. Except, in kind of a cruel twist, a lot of the world's production of masks comes from Wuhan, which is the center of where this outbreak started, including Japan's supply of masks.

And so what the Japanese government has said is they are going to help companies here in Japan ramp up their own position of masks, which will, of course, go to some people on that ship. But the vast majority of which will be, you know, bought by the private market here, you know, just by ordinary people on the mainland.

HOLMES: Yes. That is extraordinary, masks from Wuhan.

You know, we were speaking to a passenger on the program the other day. You know, you're in touch with a lot of passengers. She was saying that they were concerned whether the quarantine deadline date that they'd been given would perhaps restart with every new infection, and that was something that concerned her. What do you know about that date?

RIVERS: We've been asking that question to Japanese officials and to U.S. government officials, and they are saying no, that is not going to be pushed back. Now, that could always change. I mean, this is a very fluid situation, but as of now, this date of February 19 is what these governments are sticking to. They are saying that that is when the quarantine period is going to end, despite the fact that new cases have been reported. They haven't changed that.

But with the caveat there that they always give is that, look, this is changing. You know, if there is a rash of new cases that come out on board this ship, if something happens where they feel like they need to extend that quarantine period, they will. But as of now, the fears that the passenger that you spoke to yesterday and others that we've spoken to, that this -- this period may go forward, they do seem to be unfounded, at least according to the government officials that we're speaking to.

HOLMES: All right. Matt Rivers, appreciate it. There on the spot in Yokohama for us. Thanks so much.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oscar voters have spoken. Just ahead, we have the historic winners, the losers and all the highlights from the Academy Awards.

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ALLEN: All right. Back to our top story. The 2020 Academy Awards. In case you were watching, the Korean black comedy "Parasite" is the big winner of the night, and it made history in the process. It has become the first non-English film to win the top prize of Best Picture. It's the 92nd Academy Awards.

Bong Joon Ho is also taking home the Best Director award for the film. Joaquin Phoenix wins Best Actor for his performance in "Joker." That was expected. Renee Zellweger, also expected, with the Best Actress for the title role in "Judy."

Brad Pitt won for Best Supporting Actor in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." And Laura Dern taking home Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Marriage Story."

For more on the winners, losers and surprises, let's turn to film critic Richard Fitzwilliams.

Richard, "Parasite" rules the night. What did you think of that one?

RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, FILM CRITIC: Well, I think it was a very historic day for the Oscars, and also an extremely significant one for cinema internationally, because Hollywood has always been synonymous with the film industry. I mean, there's no showcase like the Oscars. And always before -- and this is the 12th film that was not in the English language to be nominated for Best Picture -- none of the others have one. And this, against the odds, "1917" by Sam Mendes, a remarkable film, was nonetheless beaten into second place by "Parasite," which is an absolutely chilling example of social injustice, which has been highlighted by Bong Joon Ho, a South Korean director who really showed absolutely extraordinary magnetism in the way he handled this movie.

And it's a dark comedy. It will lead you down into, shall we say, recesses which you did not think you would be going down when you originally begin watching this film.

And the electrifying moment was when Bong Joon Ho won Best Director, and then the film won Best International Feature Film, which is the new name for Best Foreign Film. And subsequently, we were prepared, I think, for what actually happened, which of course, was the defeat of "1917" and "Parasite's" victory.

ALLEN: Yes. And it was really cool when he pointed out a line that he heard years ago, that he bases his movies on, and then he said it was Martin Scorsese who said that line. And of course, he just beat his hero as Best Director.

Let's move to Joaquin Phoenix. He gave a very emotional acceptance speech, very deep about inequality and all areas of life. It was quite beautiful.

FITZWILLIAMS: It was, indeed. And I mean, he feels tremendously strongly about this. He did it at the BAFTAs, as well, where he condemned systemic racism. And there's no question that Phoenix speaks from the heart. His roles -- he more or less inhabits these parts. And it was an amazing performance in an ultra-violent movie. "Joker" certainly shakes you up.

But he is a deeply, deeply sincere individual, and this comes across in his speeches. We expected him to win. There was no question about that, just as Renee Zellweger won playing Judy Garland and pointed out that she herself had never won an Oscar, and this was truly remarkable, playing a role which she found so deeply moving.

[00:40:18]

Also, Brad Pitt and I have to ask who writes Brad Pitt's speeches, because they're always hits? I mean, this is one of Oscar's mysteries at the moment. And Laura Dern, of course, as we expected, Best Supporting Actress.

ALLEN: Right. And you know, it's kind of like a comeback for Renee Zellweger, wasn't it? I mean, she kind of went away from Hollywood, and she came back with a zinger.

FITZWILLIAMS: Well, of course, she'd won before with "Cold Mountain." And when I saw "Judy," I mean, the film got mixed reviews, but there's no question she was able to inhabit Judy Garland's character in her last period, and make it tremendously moving.

And I think that, in a speech that was -- it was quite long, actually, I noticed that this -- in this ceremony you didn't have the orchestra striking up when speeches went over 45 seconds, which is just as well.

ALLEN: Yes.

FITZWILLIAMS: And I think relishing this moment, but also using it in a very, very sincere way to communicate with her audience, which I thought she did beautifully, it really was a remarkable moment. And it was an evening, as well, which showed that the Academy Awards can move along as a swift pace without a host. It was rather fun seeing Steve Martin and Chris Rock, who hosted in the past, just briefly appear and say how relieved they were they didn't have the responsibility. But in fact, this is the way, I think, for the -- for the ceremony to move on quite quickly.

ALLEN: Right.

FITZWILLIAMS: With songs including Elton John's for "Rocketman," of course.

ALLEN: Yes. We were talking about that in the newsroom. You know, after a while, you're like, OK, enough already, but you know, it was a pretty cool ceremony tonight, wouldn't you agree, Michael?

HOLMES: I agree.

ALLEN: So back to "Parasite." Last thing from you. Is this a game changer for Hollywood?

FITZWILLIAMS: It's undoubtedly a game changer for Hollywood and also for the entire worldwide motion picture industry, because what we'll also see, I hope, is the Best Actor and Best Actress categories open up more to those -- there have been 36 nominated over the years, but only three have won: Sophia Loren for "Two Women," Marion Cotillard playing Edith Piaf in "Ma Vie en Rose," and Roberto Benigni for "Life is Beautiful." And that's over 92 years.

It will open us up much more to non-English cinema, and also this is, I think, a gesture towards inclusivity. We've been critical of the Oscars this year for a lack of diversity. Well, you couldn't get anything more inclusive than the ceremony that you've just had.

ALLEN: Absolutely. It's nice to see it's going global.

All right. Richard, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for coming on.

FITZWILLIAMS: Great pleasure.

ALLEN: All right. We've got to go see "Parasite."

HOLMES: I do, too. And our colleague, Kristie Lu Stout, has been tweeting, saying there's -- recommending a bunch of these other movies, "Snowpiercer." I've never heard of it. They're apparently fantastic. I liked his last line, one of his few lines in English: "And I shall drink until morning."

ALLEN: I know. He said that, like, two or three times on stage.

HOLMES: I think everybody -- yes.

ALLEN: He deserves it.

HOLMES: Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes.

ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. WORLD SPORT's next. We'll see you in 15.

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