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'Lucky' Legend; A Look at the Masters
Aired April 06, 2006 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, you all know the face and you know his reputation as a fine actor, award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. He caught up -- he, rather, is caught up in a case of mistaken identity in his new film "Lucky Number Slevin." And we're so lucky you have decided to join us this afternoon.
Mr. Freeman, good to see you, and congratulations on your latest award with your golden Oscar.
MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: Thank you very much, Fredricka. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's talk about this movie. I know that you have said in the past that you get tons of scripts all the time, but you look for the best story to be told. So what is it about this story that appealed to you?
FREEMAN: I think it primarily would be plotting. It reminds me -- as it does many people -- of pictures like "The Usual Suspects" and "Pulp Fiction." In other words, it's not lenially (sic)...
WHITFIELD: Lenient?
FREEMAN: Well, it's not in a linear plotline.
WHITFIELD: OK, linear -- I got you, right. So that means there's a little dark humor in it, too?
FREEMAN: Well, yes, but you're not off the pace. I didn't really get the humor.
WHITFIELD: Really?
FREEMAN: Really. No, I didn't.
WHITFIELD: So what was it about that script you said, OK, I'm willing?
FREEMAN: I think this happens a lot in pictures like this, because the humor is only going to come out in the playing of it. It's like you sit down and read through the script by yourself, and then you read it, an then get with the other actors. And then suddenly, you're listening to rhythms and ironies. I think that's what happened in this one with most of us. This is kind of a glorious story. It's a...
WHITFIELD: You know, which is so different, isn't it, for you? Because aren't we -- haven't we become really familiar with seeing you in a role with compassion, you know, in bringing real humanity to the screen.
FREEMAN: Gravitas.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and now we have to look at you as a crime mob boss.
FREEMAN: Well...
WHITFIELD: That's kind of scary, isn't it?
FREEMAN: ... listen -- yes. But, you know the first movie that sort of kind of catapulted me into the moviegoing public's eye, I played the bad guy.
WHITFIELD: Yes?
FREEMAN: Yes, "Street Smart."
WHITFIELD: Huh.
FREEMAN: With Chris Reeve. I was a bad, bad guy.
WHITFIELD: Well, maybe people forget that because you were a good guy in all the other roles thereafter.
FREEMAN: Almost, yes.
WHITFIELD: So then it was fun for you to be bad again, I guess.
FREEMAN: Yes, great fun.
WHITFIELD: Well, we got a short clip...
FREEMAN: It's like Bob Hoskins once said in an interview, that bad guys offer you more chance to purge.
WHITFIELD: Right, right, take a few more risks, be a little bit more creative.
FREEMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's get a little sample of how creative you are on the screen.
FREEMAN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: I'm the boss.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I thought he was the boss.
FREEMAN: Why? Do we look alike?
You were going to tell me something?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: They picked up the wrong guy.
FREEMAN: Wrong guy for what?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Whatever it was you want to see me about.
FREEMAN: Do you know what I want to see you about?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No.
FREEMAN: Then how do you know I have the wrong guy?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Maybe I want to give you $96,000. In that case, do I still have the wrong guy?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Do you want to give me $96,000?
FREEMAN: No. Do you want to give me $96,000?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No, should I?
FREEMAN: I don't know, should you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: You had a lot of fun with this, didn't you?
FREEMAN: Yes, quite a lot.
WHITFIELD: Now, you know, I imagine you get tons of scripts all the time. This one, you know, you like the story, you got a chance to be a bad guy. How much does it matter who you're going to be playing with? You know, you've got Bruce Willis, you've got Ben Kingsley. Were they already committed to the script before you were? Did you know they would be part of the project?
FREEMAN: Yes, I did, I did, I did. How can I put this? It matters and it doesn't matter.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
FREEMAN: It matters if you know who is going to be and there are people who you admire. You're looking forward greatly to first day on the set with them, being able to work with them. And if you don't know who this cast is, then, you know, very often you find yourself in for wonderful surprises.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, we're always looking forward to these wonderful surprises on screen.
Before I let you go, I want to ask you about Mississippi, your home state. You really have done so much to try to help out the many people affected by Katrina. You, fortunately, your home did fine in Mississippi, but so many others didn't, and you've done so much to help out the people there, from concerts, to live auctions. How important has it been for you to be involved in the recovery efforts?
FREEMAN: Well, think it's important for everybody to get involved, and particularly when we have such major catastrophes as that. We sort of have agencies in place to help, but they're only going to be able to do a little bit. In the case of the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, coast of Mississippi, there is so much bureaucratic disorganization, and red tape and shenanigans from the insurance company, so people can't stand by and wait for that to happen; we have to get in there and start helping ourselves.
WHITFIELD: Frustrating for you and frustrating for so many.
Morgan Freeman, thanks so much. Nice to meet you via satellite. And we'll all be looking for you on the screen, "The Lucky Number Slevin," and I'm not slurring, it really is "Slevin," the name of young man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
FREEMAN: It really is "Slevin."
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Good to see you.
FREEMAN: OK, Fredricka, bye-bye.
WHITFIELD: All righty.
Well, the news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. You're watching LIVE FROM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: I'm the boss.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I thought he was the boss.
FREEMAN: Why? Do we look alike?
You were going to tell me something?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: They picked up the wrong guy.
FREEMAN: Wrong guy for what?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Whatever it was you want to see me about.
FREEMAN: Do you know what I want to see you about?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No.
FREEMAN: Then how do you know I have the wrong guy?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Maybe I want to give you $96,000. In that case, do I still have the wrong guy?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Do you want to give me $96,000?
FREEMAN: No. Do you want to give me $96,000? UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No, should i?
FREEMAN: I don't know, should you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Lots of crazy weather. Lots of potentially dangerous weather out there. Let's check in again with CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano, who is in Norman, Oklahoma, with the experts at the Storm Prediction Center.
Rob? We think we have rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fredricka. We're outside the Storms Prediction Center, actually which is right next to the weather forecast office of Norman, Oklahoma. Rick Smith here with me. They're -- we're about to launch a supplemental balloon because today is a special situation.
RICK SMITH, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, today is a special day. National Weather Service forecast offices around the country that have warning responsibility and that are doing the local forecasts today launch these weather balloons on significant weather days to get supplemental information that help the forecasters get a better idea of what's going on in the atmosphere.
MARCIANO: OK, Right now, the balloon and the attached instrument is in that garage, basically. We're going to pull it out. What is that instrument going to measure as it goes up into the air?
SMITH: The instrument package that's attached to the bottom of the balloon will be measuring temperature, humidity and wind as it travels up through the atmosphere. It will take off quickly here when we let it go, and it's going to be sending us readings back to the weather service forecast office immediately as that balloon goes up, and we'll be monitoring that. And forecasters at the local forecast offices that are issuing the warnings and also the storm prediction center will there be and be monitoring that information.
MARCIANO: Pretty wide area of severe weather potentially today. You're not the only office that's launching this special balloon.
SMITH: Exactly, no. This is a coordinated effort going on in many forecast offices around the area that are being threatened by this severe weather. This information will be extremely valuable to feed into computer models and to give forecasters that are analyzing the situation a good idea of what we're expecting.
MARCIANO: OK, well, I know don't want to waste your time. This is a scheduled launch. So Erin (ph), let's bring this out. Right now, the balloon at about six feet in diameter. But's that going to grow, isn't?
SMITH: That will grow dramatically as it climbs up through the atmosphere.
MARCIANO: And there it goes. Wow, look at that thing take off. Strong winds today. That thing almost crashed!
SMITH: Very strong winds. It's very tricky to launch balloons these when the wind conditions are extreme. We normally have a longer extension of line at the end of the balloon. But today, we have a device that will let the line out slowly as it travels so that instrument package will be in the right position.
MARCIANO: All right, so that instrument package, attached to that balloon -- that orange thing I assume is the parachute?
SMITH: There's a parachute attached. And what we try to do at the National Weather Service is gather these instrument packages back. Someone might find this package in a field or a backyard somewhere up in northeast Oklahoma or southwest Missouri later. And there's actually a mailing bag inside where you can get the instrument package back to us.
MARCIANO: That's absolutely fascinating. And this is not only done on special days; this is done twice a day over 100 places throughout the country?
SMITH: Over 100 locations around the United States, local, National Weather Service offices do this rain or shine, twice a day, every single day of the year. But we do extra supplemental balloons on special days like this.
MARCIANO: Well, I'm not sure if our camera still has that balloon, but that, like any other balloon, it going to expand as it reaches lower pressure in the atmosphere. How big is it going to get?
SMITH: Well, as it travels through the atmosphere, the air pressure will be lower and not pressing in on it so much, so it will expand. It might be as a house by the time it gets to 100,000 feet, almost 20 miles up before it explodes and comes back down to Earth somewhere.
MARCIANO: About how much does that whole package cost the tax payer?
SMITH: About $100.
MARCIANO: Oh, not too bad.
SMITH: Not too bad.
MARCIANO: But if you find one in your backyard, you want to mail it back the office.
SMITH: You can mail it back. We appreciate it. We're trying to recondition those and reuse those. But for the information it gives local forecasters who are making those warning decisions, it's critical to get that information out there.
MARCIANO: Excellent. We appreciate your time. Rick Smith.
SMITH: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Busy day here in Norman, Oklahoma, really the nerve center of severe weather. It's been a busy season already. Special balloon launch today in Norman. Fredricka, back to you. We're going to go back inside throughout the afternoon as things start to pop.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching -- thanks so much -- and checking back with you, Rob.
The fierce winds, the dark sky and those funnel clouds coming straight at you. Storm chasers bring us these very images all the time. But it's not often that we see them on school surveillance cameras. This is what it looked like inside and outside the Carruthersville (ph) High School in Missouri on Sunday night. The tornado that struck the town ripped the roof right off the school and demolished a number of other buildings. About half the town is still without power.
The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it right to you on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well he is arguably the world's best known athlete. And today Tiger Woods set out to win the world's most prestigious golf tournament for the fifth time.
Our Larry Smith has more on Tiger, as well as a pretty frightening incident off the course involving a different golfer in Augusta.
Larry join us now. Hi, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.
What a scary moment this was. Tom Lehman right now not doing his very best work last time I checked, a few moments ago. A three over par as he is trying to finish his first round. But the former British Open champ is just happy to be here after reportedly being shot at late Tuesday night.
Now, here is what happened. Lehman was on his way to the airport, driving to the airport here in Augusta, to pick up his son when he said he heard a loud explosion and later found bullet holes in the side of his car. They did pick up a man on a separate incident, another shooting incident, and he is now in custody here. Local authorities taking care of that. Lehman did take part in the par three event on Wednesday and again is on the course here today.
Speaking of Tiger Woods, he is the defending champion and four- time champion here at the Masters. The man to beat again, though. We forgive him if his thoughts are elsewhere. Tiger's dad Earl Woods is struggling in his battle with prostate cancer. Tiger has said he will drop everything and fly home to be with his first golf coach and his very best friend if he needs to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, 2005 MASTERS CHAMPION: I'm very proud of my dad, very proud of my dad. He's a tremendous fighter, he's got an unbelievable will. And, you know, hopefully he's passed a little bit of that on to me. And I think that's kind of how I play. And how I go out -- about my -- I guess my competitiveness on the golf course is how it comes across, is a will. I got a lot of that from my dad.
PHIL MICKELSON, 2004 MASTERS CHAMPION: There's a lot of guys out here on tour that are going through personal problems, too. And it's almost a reprieve to have those four or five hours to yourself to go play golf knowing you have to redirect your thoughts to playing each shot. And it affects you more off the course, I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Well, Tiger Woods, even par through nine holes right now. He is one over par on the back nine. But keep in mind, last year he shot a two over par 74 in the first round, still went on to win that fourth green jacket.
Very quickly, big story today, Ben Crenshaw, 54 years old, shot a one under par 71. If he can hold up and get a win, he would be the oldest man ever to win the Masters, besting Jack Nicklaus' mark by eight years. Let's go back to you.
WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, and a beautiful day. It's always a beautiful day in Augusta, though, isn't it?
SMITH: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right, Larry Smith. Especially when you have Masters tickets or pass like you do. All right, thanks a lot, Larry.
SMITH: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, there's something batty going on at an Arizona jail. Still to come on CNN's LIVE FROM, no caped crusader here, just jail guards on the prowl, but for what? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, spending time behind bars, enough to drive you pretty batty, right? Well, tell that to Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the guards at the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona. Details now from Greg Mocker of affiliate KPHO in Phoenix.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG MOCKER, KPHO REPORTER (voice-over): That's a sergeant armed with a pink bed sheet on left of your screen. He's on the run. A bat is in pursuit. Not soothed at all by another swing of the sheriff's signature color. SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I'm supposed to be the toughest guy in the universe, but I don't like bats flying over me, I'll tell you now.
MOCKER: Sheriff Arpaio tells me he likes vampire movies, but he's plagued by real-life troubles -- bats, in the new Lower Buckeye Jail, pigeons at the tents. He says inmates train them to carry drugs. And a huge turkey vulture recently forced an emergency landing of his prisoner transport plane. I asked, does the bat battle indicate a bigger breach at the brand-new state of the art county lockup?
ARPAIO: That $100 million top security jail and, yes, we've got bats sneaking in.
MOCKER (on camera): Where's the holes?
ARPAIO: Well, the holes could be in air ducts. Maybe they were there as the construction was progressing.
MOCKER (voice-over): So far two bats have been apprehended.
ARPAIO: I am concerned somewhat, no joking. Is there rabies? You don't know what bats carry, so we have to protect the health of our inmates.
MOCKER: They're still working on a way to combat the problem.
In Phoenix, Greg Mocker, CBS 5 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Bats and a lot of pink. They got problems out there.
Well, he said/she said. What will the grand jury say? It's taking up the case of the Congresswoman and the Capitol cop. We'll have the latest ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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