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CNN Live Saturday

Interview with Hollywood Reporter Jeff Sipe

Aired June 01, 2002 - 18:20   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Moving on now to the MTV Movie Awards. They'll be handed out in just a few hours.

That show is, of course, loud and wild and a little bit risque. And, joining me now to talk about this crazy awards show is Jeffrey Sipe. He's from the "Hollywood Reporter." Thanks for being with me today.

JEFFREY SIPE, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Thank you, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: Well, we should say they're being given out tonight, but we're not going to see the show for a while, right?

SIPE: No, not for a few more days. I believe it's June 6 that it's actually going to be aired.

CALLAWAY: I don't know if you'd really want to do that one live, would you? They're pretty out of hand on that show sometimes.

SIPE: I think they need some beeps and some scissors in there someplace.

CALLAWAY: But that's what makes it fun. But, you know, we should say that it does give out some traditional awards like Best Movie. That's a category that's among many that will be given out, am I right?

SIPE: Yeah, sure. You're right. I mean, they give out Best Movie; they give out a Best Female Performance. A Best Male Performance. And, then from there, they kind of go into a lot of things that you don't see in other awards shows.

CALLAWAY: "Lord of the Rings" is one of the best movie nominees, so they have good taste on their nominees. Let's take a look at a little bit of "Lord of the Rings".

SIKE: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GANDALF: Is it secret? It is safe?

FRODO: What are you doing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLAWAY: All right, that's that clip from "Lord of the Rings," one of the nominees for Best Movie. Also, "Black Hawk Down", "The Fast and the Furious," "Legally Blonde," and "Shrek" nominated. And, I guess you can tell a lot by just the nominees in this award. Some of these you wouldn't see get much attention from the Academy Awards, like "Legally Blonde," and "The Fast and the Furious", but kids loved those movies, right?

SIPE: Yeah, well I think that's what you have to keep in mind, which is that this is not the Academy making these nominations and doing the voting. This is voting done by the -- you know, the target audience of MTV, which is essentially people -- men and women from the ages of 18 to 25, and a little bit on both sides of that demographic.

So, you're not looking at what's really the best feature film achievement. I think you're looking at what's a good movie you want to go out and see on a Friday or Saturday night?

CALLAWAY: Hey, that's what it's about. You know? A lot of us go to movies just to get away and have fun and laugh. And, MTV is pretty good about acknowledging those movies that the kids love.

SIPE: That's right.

CALLWAY: Another category that was interesting that caught my attention was the Best Comedic Performance. That's a another award that you don't see given out at the Academy, but certainly, it should be acknowledged. I think this is a clip from "Rush Hour II," right.

SIPE: Yeah, it is interesting that this isn't really an award that's given out in many places, because you would think that comedic performance -- a comedic performance is distinctive enough and different enough from a dramatic performance that -- you know -- it might need to be honored other places other than the MTV awards.

CALLAWAY: Hey, and you know what? You can be an animated character and get awarded here, which is great.

SIPE: That's right. Absolutely.

CALLAWAY: Right, and I happen to believe that it has to be more difficult to comedy than drama, in some cases.

SIPE: Well, I guess -- some people are suited for comedy; some people are suited for drama. What I find particularly funny is that this is like Best Comedic Performance and yet, you're really only voting on people's voices and their delivery in the case of "Shrek" because the animators are the one's who have made the characters.

CALLAWAY: But what a great movie that is. And, all of the characters -- Eddie Murphy, all of them, did wonderful voice performances in that. Can you say that? Would that be a voice performance?

SIPE: Exactly. I don't know what else you call it. It is a voice performance. I don't think Woody -- Eddie -- Murphy was out there galloping around as a donkey. I mean...it's his voice.

CALLAWAY: Now, let's get to some of the wacky categories here. Best Kiss.

SIPE: Best Kiss. There you go. I guess to each his own. I'm not quite sure how you would judge Best Kiss.

CALLAWAY: This one's from "Moulin Rouge". That's a nominee in Best Kiss.

SIPE: Right, right. I understand there -- your favorite is actually from "Bridget Jones' Diary."

CALLAWAY: Yeah, I thought that was a really good kiss. I don't know if we're going to show that one or not. But, that's the one I hope wins. I wonder how they came up with these. I guess, those are some of the things that people tend to remember, right?

SIPE: Well, I think so. If you're 20, 21, 22 years old, you know, the best kiss in the movie is something you'll take with you for a long time to come, so. I think if you're 48, you may look at a kiss a little bit differently than you do when you're 21.

CALLAWAY: Another funny category to me is Best Fight. You remember those scenes as well. I wonder how they decide who's going to -- you know -- how do they come up with a nomination?

SIPE: That's a really good question. I mean, I haven't seen any real description of the criteria they use to come up with these nominees. I mean, the Best Fight probably comes out of a bunch of people sitting around and saying, "Oh, I thought it was the best fight I'd ever seen." And, you know -- to kind of deconstruct it any more than that would probably ruin the whole category.

CALLAWAY: Well, I think what they do is great. I'm glad they're giving out the awards we don't see at the Academy, right? Some of those performances are terrific, especially in "Shrek."

SIPE: It certainly makes for more of a fun evening in terms of the awards presentation. It's a lot more -- a lot livelier and a lot more -- as you said earlier, a lot more raucous than what you see on the Academy Awards.

CALLAWAY: Especially the outfits. Jeff Sipe, thank you so much for being with us today.

SIPE: Thanks for having me.

CALLAWAY: Have a great rest of the weekend.

SIPE: You too.

CALLAWAY: There's much more ahead, everyone. Stay with us.

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