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CNN Live Today
Commander's View; Reactions to Star Wars
Aired May 19, 2005 - 10:30 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on the half hour already, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.
There was no agreement today on North Korea's nuclear program. North and South Korean officials wrapped up two days of talks. The issue could be revisited in a month when the two sides sit down again. The U.S. has been urging the north to return to six-nation nuclear talks.
And the nation's top domestic threat is not from Al Qaeda from A; Qaeda affiliates, but from environmental and animal rights extremists. That from an FBI official who testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Law-enforcement officials acknowledge no deaths have been blamed on the activists, but the attacks have increased in number and size.
And the government is expected to decide today what to do about Luis Posada Carriles. The elderly Cuban exile is being held right now at a federal prison in Louisiana. He was arrested Tuesday in Miami. Posada had been hiding and was planning to seek asylum in the U.S. The Castro foe is wanted in Venezuela in connection with a 1976 Cuban airliner bombing.
And CNN's Larry King is scheduled to take the stand today in the Michael Jackson trial. Larry is expected to testify about comments made to him by attorney Larry Feldman, who has represented the family of Jackson's accuser. Defense attorneys say King will testify that Feldman had doubts about the family's credibility.
In our CNN Security Watch, the Senate Intelligence Committee is meeting this hour to talk about the renewal of the Patriot Act. It was due to expire later this year. The committee chairman wants to expand the powers born in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to allow the FBI to subpoena records without court approval. Critics say the law already grants government too broad of law-enforcement powers.
And the House has approved a bill that would scale back the nation's color-coded terror-alert system. That's the three-year-old system that assigns colors to different threat levels, orange for high risk, yellow for elevated, and so forth. The wide-ranging bill calls for more specific guidance, and the hiring of an additional 2,000 border patrol agents.
Now the bipartisan 9/11 commission is planning to issue a report card on how the government has responded to its recommendations. The commissioners actually plan to hold several sessions over the summer to gauge progress and assess what work still needs to be done. A commission spokesman says that overall, the panel is pleased with the government's action, but concedes that there are still unfinished recommendations.
And this reminder, of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
It has been another day of surging violence in Iraq. Gunmen today killed an oil ministry official outside his home in Baghdad. It's the latest assassination to fuel fears that the country could be headed toward civil war. It follows the brazen killing of an aide to Shiite Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani. Since the new government came to power, more than 400 people have been killed. Police have been a frequent target, and were again today in Baqubah. A roadside bomb near a police convoy killed two police officers and wounded a third, along with a civilian.
So let's get the view from a top military leader in Iraq. Lieutenant Commander John R. Vines is the commander of the Army's 18th Airborne Corps and it's 85,000 soldiers. He joins me live from Baghdad right now.
General, it's always a pleasure to have somebody join from us the command out there in Baghdad, and typically military officials put somebody out when the news is good. Would you take a look at what happened today, an oil minister killed, 400 people dead just in the last what, three weeks from car bombing attacks. How would you characterize the situation in Iraq right now?
LET. GEN. JOHN R. VINES, U.S. ARMY: I would characterize it as terrorist attacking the government and its citizens attempting to intimidate the government and discredit it, because they're terrified of a government that is selected by its own people.
LIN: But what does it tell you about the state of the Iraqi security forces, since U.S. troops coming home is contingent upon the Iraqi security force's success and securing their own country?
VINES: Enormous progress has been made. Much remains to be done. But what it appears is we're dealing with a fairly small and narrow group of terrorists, who are using people who are recruited from other countries, brought in to murder other Iraqi citizens, coalition forces, and government officials. And so the numbers of these insurgents appear to be relatively small, but they are lethal, there's no question.
LIN: No question about it. And even General Abizaid came out yesterday and expressed his own disappointment in the Iraqi security forces.
You take a look at the American resources that are going in to back up this group, nearly $6 billion in American resources going into these recruits; 68,000 graduated from the academy so far in the training. What is it going to take to get the security force up to speed?
VINES: Well, I wouldn't characterize it as disappointing. There's enormous progress that's been made. There's much that remains to be done. But keep in mind, there was no government here less than a year ago. There was no ministry of defense. There was no ministry of interior. And so this was not a sovereign country. So consequently, since that time they've held an election. They've selected their own transitional government. They're writing a constitution. And so at the same time we're building security forces. And that is something that can't be generated overnight.
LIN: No, not overnight.
VINES: So there are people that are pretty impatient about it, but some things take time, and that's just a fact.
LIN: Some things take time, but the situation clearly has gotten worse since the new government has been put into place. So are you saying it's almost a positive sign that the insurgency has...
VINES: No, I wouldn't...
LIN: Go ahead.
VINES: No, I wouldn't characterize it that way. Keep in mind that in November we were fighting in Falluja and Mosul against entrenched forces. so I wouldn't characterize it that way at all.
LIN: All right, well, the people of Iraq are characterizing it in a new Baghdad University poll that confidence level was 85 percent right after the election. It's dropped to less than half now, at 45 percent. You can't secure the country if -- the insurgency essentially wins if people in that country don't believe that democracy can keep them safe. So what can do you in the immediate future to assure Iraqis that American forces, number one, will be able to withdraw, and withdraw soon and that they can trust their own forces to protect them?
VINES: Well, that's a fair question, but keep in mind, the polls are snapshots, and perhaps there were unreasonable expectations in January, and perhaps it looks worse than it really on the most recent poll. I don't think it was ever quite as good as they perhaps thought in January. Perhaps they expected a magic turnaround. Perhaps there were some in the United States that thought this election meant that the war was over, over here. That was not true then, and it doesn't -- it's not as bad as perhaps some people think now. So confidence of the people in their government is a key part of that. There is no question about that. Their forces are doing a great job in some cases, and in some cases, they're not. We're continuing to work with them, and so as I said, there's been enormous progress that has been made.
LIN: All right, what do you think is the greatest -- if you could cite one example, general, what is the greatest sign of progress in Iraq thus far today?
VINES: Well, again, keep in mind, the insurgents felt like they could take control of the entire city, for example, in Fallujah. There was an election, that despite their best efforts to disrupt on 30 January, they were not able to do that, Iraqis stood in line and voted in numbers that, quite honestly, should embarrass some Western democracies. I think that's a pretty outstanding example of some progress right there.
LIN: Lieutenant General John Vines, let's hope that that election pays dividends very soon. Thank you very much.
VINES: Thank you.
LIN: In the meantime, President Bush says Iraq struggles as a young democracy not only teaches lessons, it underlines needs. Last night at a gathering to promote worldwide democracy, Mr. Bush announced a new corps of federal workers that would deploy to foreign governments in crisis. He says they'd be able to create essential programs in a matter of days, not months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the lessons we learned from our experience in Iraq, is that while our military personnel can be rapidly deployed anywhere in the world, the same is not true of U.S. government civilians. Many fine civilian workers from almost every department of our government volunteered to serve in Iraq. When they got there, they did an amazing job under extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances, and America appreciates their service and sacrifice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Mr. Bush also called for $124 million in funding to respond to emerging crises abroad.
Well, the wait is over. The New "Star Wars" movie has debuted. But is it the perfect ending? Mr. Moviefone is going to join me straight ahead.
And don't forget about the China shop. This bull heads straight to school. We're going coast to coast when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: All right, let's take another look at the stories making news coast to coast. Philadelphia police say what you are about to see is a prelude to murder. Surveillance cameras capture this man following a woman from a bus stop and shooting her in the back of the head. The 48-year-old mother of two was on her way to work. Philly police are pleading for any information.
And a new charge has been added against a Nevada woman who claimed to have found a severed finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili. Anna Ayala now faces a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
On a related note, "The San Francisco Chronicle" reports the owner of that finger had given it to a coworker to settle a $50 bet.
Brace yourself for impact. Wow! Despite that jarring wallop, the Ramsey County deputy is, believe it or not, just fine. He was treated and released with only a sore back. That is one lucky deputy. One official from the sheriff's department near Minneapolis says the deputy was only -- it was only a glancing blow, that's what he thought, until he saw the tape. Might be a head injury involved.
And in Vero Beach, Florida, a high school prank lands four seniors on the horns of a dilemma. The teens cut through a fence to free this bull from the school's agriculture program and let the bull loose inside the school building. The beast caused little damage, but a lot of mess. The our seniors are suspended and have a list of jobs to do before graduation. No bull about that.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LIN: Well, it's the final movie in the "Star Wars" series. Will the fans be satisfied? The reviews are actually trickling in, but the most important will be from none other than Mr. Moviefone. His review of the "Star Wars" film, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where the fun begins.
EWAN MCGREGOR, ACTOR: That's the path between us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Calling all Jedi Storm Troopers, Yoda, and assorted princesses. The force is with us. "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" made its long anticipated debut at midnight last night. Now, some waited in line for weeks to say that they saw it first. The film is the sixth and final installment in the science fiction series. The movie answers some lingering questions, including how Jedi Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader.
Diehard fans like these in Plano, Texas, not only dress like their favorite characters, but are able to quote lines from previous movies. In Hollywood, costumed Storm Troopers and other assorted fans paraded from the Mann Chinese Theater to the ArcLight Theater to watch the movie.
With me now from Los Angeles is our own Mr. Moviefone, Russ Leatherman. Russ, you didn't have to stand in line to see the movie, did you?
RUSS LEATHERMAN, MR. MOVIEFONE: Diehard fans or super nerds? You make the call.
LIN: I would assume that you're both.
LEATHERMAN: You know what, I'm a little bit of both. I've never been a huge fan of the series. I've always appreciated the movies, but I tell you, the fans of the series are going to be ecstatic. I've talked to people, I've seen the movie, talked to people coming out of the theater, and they think that it's the best "Star Wars" movie yet. And it certainly is the best of the last three.
I can't tell you anything about this movie you probably don't already know. It's a little darker. It's a little more menacing than the last two. I wouldn't take 4, 5-year-old kids to see it, because it is a PG-13 rated movie. But I think you can take your 9 and 10- year-old. The movie really does the whole saga full circle until a terrific way, and I think that everybody's going to be happy walking out.
This thing will break box office records this weekend, and may end up being the biggest movie of the summer. I haven't seen hype for a movie like this ever, so it's really crazy.
LIN: A lot to at stake for George Lucas. I mean, even his own people at Industrial Light and Magic came back to him and said listen, it's still not crystal clear about Anakin Skywalker's fall. So you got to go back. And they actually did ten days of reshooting. You say it's paying off.
LEATHERMAN: Yes, it's definitely paying off. And like I said, everybody who comes out of this movie is going to be very satisfied, having seen it. Now I will say I am a little concerned, because we were talking to George Lucas about it and I was telling him how I thought it was fantastic the way he's ended the saga, and it has come full circle. And he says, well, it's not -- maybe not over quite yet. It's like, huh? He said, well, we have the Wookie Wars and we've got the Saturday morning cartoon. And, I'm thinking no, George, please! It's got to be over. You know, don't become the Cher of movies.
LIN: Yes, it's supposed to be a couple of TV series are going to come out.
LEATHERMAN: Yes, which I think is overkill. I think that it would be nice if the thing just ended here, because it is ending on a high note. It's been around for about 30 years. And we all have really fond memories of it. I'd hate to see the -- or think about him going back to the well again and again. But apparently, we're going to be dealing with "Star Wars" for a long, long time.
LIN: Well, I'm happy the DVD is coming out all of the "Star Wars" in order, OK, so I can follow it.
LEATHERMAN: Yes, me, too.
LIN: You know?
LEATHERMAN: Yes, we could -- you and I can sit around for, like, 26 hours and watch the whole thing.
LIN: All right. We'll make the time. Thanks, Russ. You have a great weekend, coming.
LEATHERMAN: You're welcome. Bye-bye.
LIN: All right, it's now 53 past the hour, just seven minutes to the top of the hour. And the same out in the West Coast, just three hours behind.
In Santa Maria, California, where CNN's Larry King is expected on the stand today in the Michael Jackson trial. Stay with us, because we're going to be right back. Also, with a quick check of your morning forecast.
Also this. Hanging ten in Tahiti. The details when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: A performance of a lifetime, accented by two perfect rides, leads Kelly Slater to his sixth Surfer's World Championship Tour victory in Tahiti. Slater is the first person in the tour's history to score perfect heat scores, with a total of 20 out of 20 points. Slater told a reporter for the age it was the most magical day of his career.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Well, you heard what Mr. Moviefone had to say a few minutes ago, but what about the real fans? Not that he's not one, but I'm talking about the people who lined up to see "Star Wars" overnight. You're going to hear what they have to say about the final film.
And if sci-fi is not your bag, you may be more interested in seeing "Crash." It is -- well, it's filled with in-your-face racial and ethical stereotypes that has its multicultural cast crossing color lines. Now, if that doesn't grab you -- I'm going to speaking with the movie's leading actor, Don Cheadle, in the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 19, 2005 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on the half hour already, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.
There was no agreement today on North Korea's nuclear program. North and South Korean officials wrapped up two days of talks. The issue could be revisited in a month when the two sides sit down again. The U.S. has been urging the north to return to six-nation nuclear talks.
And the nation's top domestic threat is not from Al Qaeda from A; Qaeda affiliates, but from environmental and animal rights extremists. That from an FBI official who testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Law-enforcement officials acknowledge no deaths have been blamed on the activists, but the attacks have increased in number and size.
And the government is expected to decide today what to do about Luis Posada Carriles. The elderly Cuban exile is being held right now at a federal prison in Louisiana. He was arrested Tuesday in Miami. Posada had been hiding and was planning to seek asylum in the U.S. The Castro foe is wanted in Venezuela in connection with a 1976 Cuban airliner bombing.
And CNN's Larry King is scheduled to take the stand today in the Michael Jackson trial. Larry is expected to testify about comments made to him by attorney Larry Feldman, who has represented the family of Jackson's accuser. Defense attorneys say King will testify that Feldman had doubts about the family's credibility.
In our CNN Security Watch, the Senate Intelligence Committee is meeting this hour to talk about the renewal of the Patriot Act. It was due to expire later this year. The committee chairman wants to expand the powers born in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to allow the FBI to subpoena records without court approval. Critics say the law already grants government too broad of law-enforcement powers.
And the House has approved a bill that would scale back the nation's color-coded terror-alert system. That's the three-year-old system that assigns colors to different threat levels, orange for high risk, yellow for elevated, and so forth. The wide-ranging bill calls for more specific guidance, and the hiring of an additional 2,000 border patrol agents.
Now the bipartisan 9/11 commission is planning to issue a report card on how the government has responded to its recommendations. The commissioners actually plan to hold several sessions over the summer to gauge progress and assess what work still needs to be done. A commission spokesman says that overall, the panel is pleased with the government's action, but concedes that there are still unfinished recommendations.
And this reminder, of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
It has been another day of surging violence in Iraq. Gunmen today killed an oil ministry official outside his home in Baghdad. It's the latest assassination to fuel fears that the country could be headed toward civil war. It follows the brazen killing of an aide to Shiite Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani. Since the new government came to power, more than 400 people have been killed. Police have been a frequent target, and were again today in Baqubah. A roadside bomb near a police convoy killed two police officers and wounded a third, along with a civilian.
So let's get the view from a top military leader in Iraq. Lieutenant Commander John R. Vines is the commander of the Army's 18th Airborne Corps and it's 85,000 soldiers. He joins me live from Baghdad right now.
General, it's always a pleasure to have somebody join from us the command out there in Baghdad, and typically military officials put somebody out when the news is good. Would you take a look at what happened today, an oil minister killed, 400 people dead just in the last what, three weeks from car bombing attacks. How would you characterize the situation in Iraq right now?
LET. GEN. JOHN R. VINES, U.S. ARMY: I would characterize it as terrorist attacking the government and its citizens attempting to intimidate the government and discredit it, because they're terrified of a government that is selected by its own people.
LIN: But what does it tell you about the state of the Iraqi security forces, since U.S. troops coming home is contingent upon the Iraqi security force's success and securing their own country?
VINES: Enormous progress has been made. Much remains to be done. But what it appears is we're dealing with a fairly small and narrow group of terrorists, who are using people who are recruited from other countries, brought in to murder other Iraqi citizens, coalition forces, and government officials. And so the numbers of these insurgents appear to be relatively small, but they are lethal, there's no question.
LIN: No question about it. And even General Abizaid came out yesterday and expressed his own disappointment in the Iraqi security forces.
You take a look at the American resources that are going in to back up this group, nearly $6 billion in American resources going into these recruits; 68,000 graduated from the academy so far in the training. What is it going to take to get the security force up to speed?
VINES: Well, I wouldn't characterize it as disappointing. There's enormous progress that's been made. There's much that remains to be done. But keep in mind, there was no government here less than a year ago. There was no ministry of defense. There was no ministry of interior. And so this was not a sovereign country. So consequently, since that time they've held an election. They've selected their own transitional government. They're writing a constitution. And so at the same time we're building security forces. And that is something that can't be generated overnight.
LIN: No, not overnight.
VINES: So there are people that are pretty impatient about it, but some things take time, and that's just a fact.
LIN: Some things take time, but the situation clearly has gotten worse since the new government has been put into place. So are you saying it's almost a positive sign that the insurgency has...
VINES: No, I wouldn't...
LIN: Go ahead.
VINES: No, I wouldn't characterize it that way. Keep in mind that in November we were fighting in Falluja and Mosul against entrenched forces. so I wouldn't characterize it that way at all.
LIN: All right, well, the people of Iraq are characterizing it in a new Baghdad University poll that confidence level was 85 percent right after the election. It's dropped to less than half now, at 45 percent. You can't secure the country if -- the insurgency essentially wins if people in that country don't believe that democracy can keep them safe. So what can do you in the immediate future to assure Iraqis that American forces, number one, will be able to withdraw, and withdraw soon and that they can trust their own forces to protect them?
VINES: Well, that's a fair question, but keep in mind, the polls are snapshots, and perhaps there were unreasonable expectations in January, and perhaps it looks worse than it really on the most recent poll. I don't think it was ever quite as good as they perhaps thought in January. Perhaps they expected a magic turnaround. Perhaps there were some in the United States that thought this election meant that the war was over, over here. That was not true then, and it doesn't -- it's not as bad as perhaps some people think now. So confidence of the people in their government is a key part of that. There is no question about that. Their forces are doing a great job in some cases, and in some cases, they're not. We're continuing to work with them, and so as I said, there's been enormous progress that has been made.
LIN: All right, what do you think is the greatest -- if you could cite one example, general, what is the greatest sign of progress in Iraq thus far today?
VINES: Well, again, keep in mind, the insurgents felt like they could take control of the entire city, for example, in Fallujah. There was an election, that despite their best efforts to disrupt on 30 January, they were not able to do that, Iraqis stood in line and voted in numbers that, quite honestly, should embarrass some Western democracies. I think that's a pretty outstanding example of some progress right there.
LIN: Lieutenant General John Vines, let's hope that that election pays dividends very soon. Thank you very much.
VINES: Thank you.
LIN: In the meantime, President Bush says Iraq struggles as a young democracy not only teaches lessons, it underlines needs. Last night at a gathering to promote worldwide democracy, Mr. Bush announced a new corps of federal workers that would deploy to foreign governments in crisis. He says they'd be able to create essential programs in a matter of days, not months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the lessons we learned from our experience in Iraq, is that while our military personnel can be rapidly deployed anywhere in the world, the same is not true of U.S. government civilians. Many fine civilian workers from almost every department of our government volunteered to serve in Iraq. When they got there, they did an amazing job under extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances, and America appreciates their service and sacrifice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Mr. Bush also called for $124 million in funding to respond to emerging crises abroad.
Well, the wait is over. The New "Star Wars" movie has debuted. But is it the perfect ending? Mr. Moviefone is going to join me straight ahead.
And don't forget about the China shop. This bull heads straight to school. We're going coast to coast when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: All right, let's take another look at the stories making news coast to coast. Philadelphia police say what you are about to see is a prelude to murder. Surveillance cameras capture this man following a woman from a bus stop and shooting her in the back of the head. The 48-year-old mother of two was on her way to work. Philly police are pleading for any information.
And a new charge has been added against a Nevada woman who claimed to have found a severed finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili. Anna Ayala now faces a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
On a related note, "The San Francisco Chronicle" reports the owner of that finger had given it to a coworker to settle a $50 bet.
Brace yourself for impact. Wow! Despite that jarring wallop, the Ramsey County deputy is, believe it or not, just fine. He was treated and released with only a sore back. That is one lucky deputy. One official from the sheriff's department near Minneapolis says the deputy was only -- it was only a glancing blow, that's what he thought, until he saw the tape. Might be a head injury involved.
And in Vero Beach, Florida, a high school prank lands four seniors on the horns of a dilemma. The teens cut through a fence to free this bull from the school's agriculture program and let the bull loose inside the school building. The beast caused little damage, but a lot of mess. The our seniors are suspended and have a list of jobs to do before graduation. No bull about that.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LIN: Well, it's the final movie in the "Star Wars" series. Will the fans be satisfied? The reviews are actually trickling in, but the most important will be from none other than Mr. Moviefone. His review of the "Star Wars" film, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where the fun begins.
EWAN MCGREGOR, ACTOR: That's the path between us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Calling all Jedi Storm Troopers, Yoda, and assorted princesses. The force is with us. "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" made its long anticipated debut at midnight last night. Now, some waited in line for weeks to say that they saw it first. The film is the sixth and final installment in the science fiction series. The movie answers some lingering questions, including how Jedi Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader.
Diehard fans like these in Plano, Texas, not only dress like their favorite characters, but are able to quote lines from previous movies. In Hollywood, costumed Storm Troopers and other assorted fans paraded from the Mann Chinese Theater to the ArcLight Theater to watch the movie.
With me now from Los Angeles is our own Mr. Moviefone, Russ Leatherman. Russ, you didn't have to stand in line to see the movie, did you?
RUSS LEATHERMAN, MR. MOVIEFONE: Diehard fans or super nerds? You make the call.
LIN: I would assume that you're both.
LEATHERMAN: You know what, I'm a little bit of both. I've never been a huge fan of the series. I've always appreciated the movies, but I tell you, the fans of the series are going to be ecstatic. I've talked to people, I've seen the movie, talked to people coming out of the theater, and they think that it's the best "Star Wars" movie yet. And it certainly is the best of the last three.
I can't tell you anything about this movie you probably don't already know. It's a little darker. It's a little more menacing than the last two. I wouldn't take 4, 5-year-old kids to see it, because it is a PG-13 rated movie. But I think you can take your 9 and 10- year-old. The movie really does the whole saga full circle until a terrific way, and I think that everybody's going to be happy walking out.
This thing will break box office records this weekend, and may end up being the biggest movie of the summer. I haven't seen hype for a movie like this ever, so it's really crazy.
LIN: A lot to at stake for George Lucas. I mean, even his own people at Industrial Light and Magic came back to him and said listen, it's still not crystal clear about Anakin Skywalker's fall. So you got to go back. And they actually did ten days of reshooting. You say it's paying off.
LEATHERMAN: Yes, it's definitely paying off. And like I said, everybody who comes out of this movie is going to be very satisfied, having seen it. Now I will say I am a little concerned, because we were talking to George Lucas about it and I was telling him how I thought it was fantastic the way he's ended the saga, and it has come full circle. And he says, well, it's not -- maybe not over quite yet. It's like, huh? He said, well, we have the Wookie Wars and we've got the Saturday morning cartoon. And, I'm thinking no, George, please! It's got to be over. You know, don't become the Cher of movies.
LIN: Yes, it's supposed to be a couple of TV series are going to come out.
LEATHERMAN: Yes, which I think is overkill. I think that it would be nice if the thing just ended here, because it is ending on a high note. It's been around for about 30 years. And we all have really fond memories of it. I'd hate to see the -- or think about him going back to the well again and again. But apparently, we're going to be dealing with "Star Wars" for a long, long time.
LIN: Well, I'm happy the DVD is coming out all of the "Star Wars" in order, OK, so I can follow it.
LEATHERMAN: Yes, me, too.
LIN: You know?
LEATHERMAN: Yes, we could -- you and I can sit around for, like, 26 hours and watch the whole thing.
LIN: All right. We'll make the time. Thanks, Russ. You have a great weekend, coming.
LEATHERMAN: You're welcome. Bye-bye.
LIN: All right, it's now 53 past the hour, just seven minutes to the top of the hour. And the same out in the West Coast, just three hours behind.
In Santa Maria, California, where CNN's Larry King is expected on the stand today in the Michael Jackson trial. Stay with us, because we're going to be right back. Also, with a quick check of your morning forecast.
Also this. Hanging ten in Tahiti. The details when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: A performance of a lifetime, accented by two perfect rides, leads Kelly Slater to his sixth Surfer's World Championship Tour victory in Tahiti. Slater is the first person in the tour's history to score perfect heat scores, with a total of 20 out of 20 points. Slater told a reporter for the age it was the most magical day of his career.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Well, you heard what Mr. Moviefone had to say a few minutes ago, but what about the real fans? Not that he's not one, but I'm talking about the people who lined up to see "Star Wars" overnight. You're going to hear what they have to say about the final film.
And if sci-fi is not your bag, you may be more interested in seeing "Crash." It is -- well, it's filled with in-your-face racial and ethical stereotypes that has its multicultural cast crossing color lines. Now, if that doesn't grab you -- I'm going to speaking with the movie's leading actor, Don Cheadle, in the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
