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Actor Gene Hackman and Wife Found Dead in New Mexico Home; Zelenskyy Calls Minerals Deal with U.S. a Framework; Passenger Flight Aborts Landing to Avoid Another Plane. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 27, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: We are following breaking news of the death of Hollywood star Gene Hackman. Authorities say the actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in New Mexico, along with their dog. Deputies were responding to a welfare check on Wednesday when they discovered the bodies.

No word yet on the cause of death, but the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office says it is not believed to be foul play. We'll bring you more information when it comes available.

Hackman was 95, starred in many famous films, including "Superman", "Hoosiers", "The Royal Tenenbaums", and "Unforgiven". Hackman won an Oscar for his role as a New York cop in the 1971 movie "The French Connection".

I want to bring in film producer Sandro Monetti, who is editor-in- chief of the Hollywood International Film Magazine. Thank you for your time with this extremely sad news that has been coming into CNN this past hour.

Obviously we don't know more about the circumstances of Hackman's death or his wife, but we do know that he was a beloved actor, a legend of Hollywood. How is this news being received where you are?

SANDRO MONETTI, EDITOR IN CHIEF, HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE: Well, here in Los Angeles, the city is of course preparing for the Oscars on Sunday, where the In Memoriam segment will now sadly feature Gene Hackman. At the Oscar parties, the talk switches from who will win to who we've lost. Gene Hackman made over 100 films, and it's hard to find a weak one in the bunch because he was always a touch of class, played a wide variety of roles, always different, always brilliant.

MACFARLANE: Yes, and just walk us through some of those highlights of his career because his film career actually spans six decades, right? So talk to us about, you know, his greatest hits.

MONETTI: Yes, it went from 1967 to 2004. Everyone's got their personal favorites. I could be here for hours if I listed all of them but just let me toss out a few highlights for you.

"The Poseidon Adventure", "Superman", "No Way Out", "Mississippi Burning". You already mentioned "The French Connection", "Crimson Tide", so many more.

I mean, I think I'm going to spend the day having my own Gene Hackman Film Festival, and it would fill a day because, you know, what was consistent about his performances was he was never showy. He was never one of those over-the-top actors. He was always real.

All actors strive for authenticity, and regardless of the part, you always believed him. And, yes, he was in a string of hits. It wasn't just that he picked good material. He made the material good.

MACFARLANE: Yes, he was known very much as sort of Hollywood's tough guy, and I guess you could say that that came in part from his own tough personal circumstances growing up, you know, his sort of family life early on. What more do we know about the early life that led him to a career of film and how that sort of built him as an actor?

MONETTI: In his acting class, he was voted least likely to succeed. Now, every actor has lots of knockbacks. A lot of them are caused to sort of walk away from the industry, but he instead said, I'm going to prove you wrong.

He had the toughness that came from a few years in the Marines as well.

[04:35:00]

And, you know, whenever anyone doubted him, it just made his determination to succeed grow even more, and he did succeed. Two Oscars, two BAFTAs, a string of other awards. Lots of box office hits. But he didn't rest on his laurels.

He would never be one of those actors who could ever phone it in. He was always professional, and his acting always continued to be great. Even up to his final film, 2004's "Welcome to Mooseport", which is not a comedy anyone remembers. But if you go back and watch it, he was great even in that. He was incapable of giving a bad performance.

And even though these very unusual and very sad circumstances of his death will be part of his story, what a legacy he leaves on film.

MACFARLANE: Absolutely. I mean, I was reading here that he joined the Pasadena Playhouse in 1956, which is when he befriended another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. Of course, the two went on to have a fabulous relationship. Can you tell us about that sort of professional and personal career they shared together?

MONETTI: Yes, they were part of a real sort of generation of talent. And, yes, they were very supportive of each other. And that was a friendship that continued for many, many years as well.

And yes, they -- Dustin Hoffman got more successful before Gene Hackman did. But you know, they both made it to the very top of Hollywood, and that friendship survived as well. And in an industry where it's sometimes said it's hard to count your true friends on the fingers of one hand, you know, they were there for each other right from the start and throughout. You know, it's a lovely thing that sustained.

And, you know, Dustin Hoffman also was doubted. And I think there's a lesson for everybody, really, in those two careers. You know, don't believe the doubters. You know, work hard, and your talent will eventually find a way. It did for them. It could for you.

MACFARLANE: Yes. We know that he retired from acting in 2004, and after that sort of rarely gave an interview again, almost became a recluse, really, as I understand it, at home with his wife, Betsy. What more do we know about his life post-career and the way he lived?

MONETTI: Yes, he started a whole new career writing historical novels, and they were very well received as well. But he didn't even do the talk show circuit to promote them. You know, he retired, and he stayed retired.

There are so many actors who've called it a day and have a comeback six months later. And it's interesting. It's always said that you never retire from Hollywood. Hollywood retires you. But he did go out on his own terms. You know, he was 75 when he made his last film, so it was, you know, a rightful time to step away, perhaps.

But, yes, he kept good to his promise and never went back to it and lived the quiet life away from the spotlight. You know, what that quiet life, you know, involved will certainly be reported and speculated on over the last few days. But certainly today, you know, I prefer to remember, you know, all those incredible films, 100 of them and hardly a week one in the bunch. Certainly not a weak performance.

MACFARLANE: And I don't want to put you on the spot, Sandro, but as we are now sort of reflecting on the legacy of his career, which film do you think most people will remember him for? I mean, we've talked a lot about how versatile he was, how he could do comedy, he could be a villain, you know, he could switch in the moment. That was how talented he was as an actor.

Do you think perhaps maybe "The French Connection" will be the one most people think of? It was the film that made him.

MONETTI: I do believe that the greatest judge of any movie is not awards, it's time. And it's also the time you spend watching a movie. I've probably seen "Superman" 40 times, and so his performance as Lex Luthor in that will have been, to many people, their introduction to him.

And then they'd go and watch him in other great movies like "Unforgiven" and "Mississippi Burning". But for me, it's "Superman", because even though he played the villain, he was a Superman and definitely a super actor.

MACFARLANE: That's a very nice point to end it on. Sandro Monetti, we really appreciate your thoughts, and as you say, we will look ahead to how this year's Oscars shape up, reflecting the life and times of this great actor. Thank you very much.

And we will have more coverage coming up with CNN after the break. Stay with us.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. Ukraine's president says he's hoping to get concrete security guarantees from the U.S. as part of the newly proposed deal granting access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals. Vladimir Zelenskyy is expected to sign that deal with Donald Trump on a visit to Washington on Friday.

A draft of the deal seen by CNN shows it does not provide Kyiv with explicit security guarantees. Mr. Zelenskyy calls it a framework with those guarantees to be decided jointly with the U.S. and Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Of course, this agreement is about economics. But I asked for there to be at least an understanding that we are seeing things the same way, that all of this is part of future security guarantees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: President Trump talked about the deal during his Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. It calls for a post-war reconstruction fund managed by the U.S. and Ukraine, with money coming from the development of Ukrainian minerals and other natural resources.

[04:45:00]

The U.S. President laid out his position on security guarantees. The U.S. President laid out his position on security guarantees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that because it's in, you know, you're talking about Europe is their next door neighbor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: One potential sticking point is the fact that some of Ukraine's valuable mineral deposits are in areas under Russian occupation. CNN's Anna Stewart has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Ukraine mineral deal may be getting closer, but lots of questions remain about Ukraine's minerals. Where are they, and how much are they really worth? First of all, what did President Trump mean by rare earths?

These are 17 elements in the Earth's crust. They are crucial to the production of electronics, clean energy and some weapons systems. But actually, Ukraine doesn't have a significant amount of these rare earths, and we don't really know which specific minerals the Trump administration is most interested in with this deal.

What Ukraine has more meaningful reserves of are the more subjective category of critical minerals. Now each country defines this one a little bit differently, but it often includes things like graphite. This is a form of carbon, and you find it in batteries.

Then we have titanium and zirconium. These ones are critical for defense. And lithium, which is used for rechargeable batteries, so very useful in making electric vehicles.

So the big question is, where in Ukraine are they? Now in green, we can see the rare earths. As we said, not a significant amount.

But then we come to the critical minerals. Let's have a look at graphite. We have this one in blue. These are significant. In total, Ukraine is believed to have 19 million tons of proven reserves.

In red, we have titanium and zirconium. Again, quite large areas. And actually, it's considered to be the largest titanium reserves in Europe.

And this is the fun one. This is lithium. Now, you can hardly see it. This tiny little spot is here. But Ukraine is thought to hold one of Europe's largest deposits. According to the Ukrainian government, it could be 3 percent of global supply, but none of it has been extracted. So actually, it is hard to say definitively how much it could be worth.

Let's talk about some of the problems, because much of what we know about the rare earth deposits here are based on Soviet-era assessments. So it's unclear if it can actually be mined and it would involve a lot of money. Then, of course, we have complications with some areas under Russia control. You can see some of the deposits around there.

President Trump originally put a $500 billion price tag on Ukraine's mineral reserves. The draft deal no longer mentions this number. And frankly, no one knows how much it could be worth.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Moscow and Pyongyang went out of their way to keep the transfer of North Korean troops to Russia under wraps. That's according to a U.S. think tank that analyzed satellite images of the transfers and shared the findings with CNN. The group believes at least two Russian navy ships moved the troops in October and November, most likely at night.

The soldiers landed in a remote military base in Russia's Far East, where it was easier to hide the activity. Western and Ukrainian officials believe some 12,000 North Koreans were sent to help Russia regain its territory captured by Ukraine. They say about 4,000 of them have been killed or injured.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants a stronger, more modern army ready for war. According to state media, he made the remarks Tuesday whilst visiting an elite military academy where he was critical of the school's management and education facilities. South Korean intelligence believes Kim may be preparing to send more troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, where they've reportedly suffered heavy losses.

U.S. President Donald Trump is refusing to commit publicly to defending Taiwan if China were invaded, is the exchange he had with a reporter on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it also your policy that as long as you're president, China will never take Taiwan by force?

TRUMP: I never comment on that. I don't comment on anything because I don't want to ever put myself in that position. And if I said it, I certainly wouldn't be saying it to you. I'd be saying it to other people, maybe people around this table, very specific people around this table. So I don't want to put myself in that position. But I can tell you what, I have a great relationship with President Xi. I've had a great relationship with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, the U.S. has a longstanding policy to be intentionally ambiguous about whether it would protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack.

Meanwhile, Taiwan said it had no word of warning about China's new live-fire zone south-west of the island. Officials say China had set up the training zone about 74 kilometers or 45 miles from Taiwan's shores without any advance notice. It happened a day after Taiwan detained the Chinese crew of the cargo ship suspected of cutting an undersea cable near the island.

[04:50:02]

An American Airlines flight arriving at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport was forced to abort its landing to avoid another aircraft. This came less than a month after a mid-air collision killed 67 people near the same airport and roughly 90 minutes before a close call in Chicago. CNN's Brian Todd has more on that and the spate of recent air travel incidents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New details on hair- raising incidents like this one. A Southwest Airlines jet has to pull up at the last minute on Tuesday to avoid a private plane crossing the runway at Chicago's Midway International Airport.

Newly released data says the planes came as close as about 2,000 feet from each other before the Southwest plane initiated the go-around. Just about 90 minutes before that, another incident occurred at Washington's Reagan National Airport. An American Airlines jet approaching from the north had to cancel a landing and turn away when it was just 450 feet off the ground after it came within one and a quarter miles of a plane preparing to depart on the same runway.

TOWER: American 2246, just go around. Turn right heading at 250, climb maintain 3000.

TODD (voice-over): One passenger on the flight telling CNN it was terrifying.

All of this after a series of other plane mishaps. Toronto, February 17th, a Delta Airlines jet slides and flips over in a fireball upon landing. Incredibly, all on board survived.

January 29th, an American Airlines regional plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter collide over Reagan National Airport. All 67 people aboard both aircraft killed.

Two days later, a private medevac jet crashes into a northeast Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven people. Passengers we spoke to shaken by these recent incidents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really have much choice in the matter, but I'm not as confident as I was.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, it does make me nervous just because I travel a lot.

TODD (voice-over): On Monday, passengers aboard a Delta plane were forced to evacuate down slides at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport when smoke or haze permeated through the cabin.

In early February, the wing of a Japan Airlines jet struck the tail of a Delta Airlines plane while taxiing at Seattle Tacoma International Airport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, I'm very scared to even get on the plane. I'm being honest with you. There's too many mishaps going on.

TODD (voice-over): Some of this is coincidence, safety experts say, but there is also an underlying crisis.

PETE GOETZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: It's an underscoring of just how stressed the system is. We've got a lot more traffic going on these days. We've got controllers and pilots under stress because of the increased use of runways.

TODD: What's the most immediate problem that needs to be fixed right now?

GOETZ: We need to make sure that our air traffic controllers have the personnel to do their job so that they are not forced to be doing overtime, forced to be staffing more than one position at a time. TODD: Reflecting the overall volume of air traffic and what air

traffic controllers have to keep track of, between January of 2023 and September of 2024, the NTSB investigated 13 runway incursions in the U.S. involving so-called for hire flights, meaning smaller chartered flights. Those incursions ranged in categories from some with no immediate safety consequences to others where a collision was narrowly avoided.

Brian Todd, CNN, at Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about turning Canada into America's 51st state have already been booed at international hockey games. Now they've balled over again into the world of sports as the head coach of Canada's men's national soccer team, American Jesse Marsch, is also condemning the president's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE MARSCH, HEAD COACH, CANADA SOCCER'S MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: Canada is a strong, independent nation that's deep-rooted in decency, really. And it's a place that values high ethics and respect, unlike the polarized, disrespectful, and often now hate-fueled climate that's in the U.S.

If I have one message to our president, it's lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being the 51st state. As an American, I'm ashamed, right, of the arrogance and disregard that we've shown one of our historically oldest, strongest, and most loyal allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Marsch was speaking there at an international soccer event in California. He was born in Wisconsin and played 14 seasons in Major League Soccer and has coached Canada's men's national team since last year. Speaking to CNN, he defended his right to free speech and says he's not concerned about any political blowback from Mr. Trump.

We are following breaking news this hour. The death of Hollywood star Gene Hackman. Authorities say the actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in New Mexico, along with their dog.

Deputies were responding to a welfare check on Wednesday when they discovered the bodies.

[04:55:00]

No word yet on the cause of death, but the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office says it is not believed to be foul play. We'll bring you more information on the investigation when it becomes available.

Hackman, who was 95, starred in many famous films, including "Superman", "Hoosiers", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Unforgiven". Hackman won an Oscar for his role as a New York cop in the 1971 movie "The French Connection". And that'll do it for me here at CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us.

I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. Stay tuned for CNN "THIS MORNING" up after this quick break.