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American Morning
Showbiz Today Reports: `Survivor' Beats Competition, New Films This Weekend
Aired May 04, 2001 - 11:35 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Girl power on "Survivor" -- well, woman power.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, girl power works fine; you say that with "G-R-R-R-R-L," right? Isn't that how you spell it?
KAGAN: In enthusiasm.
LAURIN SYDNEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: : Right on, sister; yes, I'm with you.
KAGAN: Hey Laurin.
SYDNEY: Hey girl, and hey Stephen.
All of America learned last night what I happened to have predicted -- and the staff here will back me up on this -- that a certain 40-year-old wife and mother from Tennessee would be the big winner on "Survivor II."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SURVIVOR")
JEFF PROBST, HOST, "SURVIVOR": In true "Survivor" tradition, it comes down to one final vote. The winner of "Survivor: The Australian Outback"...
(SCREAMS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SYDNEY: There's Tina Wesson -- won more votes than Texas car cutomizer Colby Donaldson, winning the big $1 million prize. She outplayed, outwitted and outlasted her competitors in the Australian outback. She plans to use the money to pay off her house and create a fund to give money to families in need.
Tina fans in Knoxville were glued to their sets last night, cheering on their hometown gal. And her win is inspiring pride in residents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so excited for Tina; she's such a great person, and she really does deserve it. I think that she'll do good things with the money, and you know, having it -- but she just really does deserve it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SYDNEY: Led by "Survivor," the new wave of reality shows conquered network television this season.
Paul Vercammen looks at why reality bites -- the competition,
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF PROBST, HOST, "SURVIVOR: The winner of "Survivor, The Australian Outback"...
(SCREAMS)
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As CBS extinguishes the torch on "Survivor" in the Australian outback, it's clear reality shows lit up the airwaves this television season, coming in all shapes and sizes.
MARK SCHWED, "TV GUIDE": You're going to see them come back, even though they may not be getting the ratings of an "ER." They're getting great ratings, they're getting the perfect audience, and they're cheap to make.
BRILL BUNDY, TV CRITIC, ZAPTOIT.COM: "Survivor," they're biggest out-of-pocket costs are Mark Burnett's salary and the million-dollar prize. And other than that, you can pretty much get sponsors to underwrite the rest.
CBS President Les Moonves, put the highly-sponsored "Survivor" up against "Friends," and NBC's vaunted Thursday-night line-up.
MARK BURNETT, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "SURVIVOR": I feel honored that Leslie feels strong enough about my products to let me be in the vanguard of his attack on NBC.
VERCAMMEN: NBC's Thursday night ratings took hits from "Survivor" and its CBS follow-up, CSI. New reality programs and sequels are now flowing into the pipeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TEMPTATION ISLAND")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "TEMPTATION ISLAND" PARTICIPANT: I've been looking forward to an opportunity to be alone with someone that I connected so well with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: Including more versions of "Temptation Island," "Pop Stars," "The Mole," a reconfigured "Big Brother"...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BIG BROTHER")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Later...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: "Boot Camp".. .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BOOT CAMP")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get him off my hill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: ... and "Survivor III," to name a few. Because reality shows don't need union actors or union writers, they're not only inexpensive to make, but critical insurance in labor disputes.
SCHWED: With or without a strike, you will see more reality shows on the network schedule this fall. With a strike, you're going to see way more.
VERCAMMEN: One reason: reality shows and their country cousins game shows seem to print money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE")
REGIS PHILBIN, HOST, "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE": Duran Duran, final answer?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has earned almost $1 billion in 18 months for ABC. There's a multiple choice of sponsors waiting.
BUNDY: As the Internet economy has recently discovered, you're only as viable as the financing you can get.
VERCAMMEN: Revenue from major sponsors is pouring through the picture tube as the shows attract the advertisers' ultimate hunting trophy: young viewers.
(on camera): In turn, reality shows generate a lot of their own buzz with online chatter. Reality TV just keeps flourishing because the networks get their money for nothing and their clicks for free.
Paul Vercammen, CNN entertainment news, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYDNEY: From reality to fantasy, here come the summer blockbusters; our film critic Peter Travers is up next to give us his wrap on "The Mummy Returns" and more big movies.
Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SYDNEY: The summer movie season is getting underway. And if you're in a movie-going mood this weekend, you can check out several new flicks that are helping kick off the new season. Among them: "The Mummy Returns."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MUMMY RETURNS")
(SCREECHING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SYDNEY: Have a good breakfast.
Let's find out what "Rolling Stone" magazine movie critic Peter Travers thinks about the new offerings on the big screen and about the summer movies that are heading our way.
First of all, "The Mummy."
PETER TRAVERS, CO-HOST, "HE SAID/SHE SAID": "The Mummy Returns" -- you're looking at that, and you could see it's all based on dialogue and character motivation. You can see those monkies jumping on a double-decker bus. This is summer; Hollywood has said that May 4 is now summer, so forget your calendars out there that says you have to wait until the end of June -- no way, because it's time to make the money.
Now, two years ago, the first "Mummy" came out. Huge -- $414 million worldwide. So Brendan Fraser is back, Rachel Weisz is back. They were just in love two years ago; now, in this one, they're married and they have an 8-year old kid. Look what happens as time goes by.
SYDNEY: It's the movies, Peter.
TRAVERS: But the big reason this movie passed the special effects is The Rock -- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson of the World Wrestling Federation. And I'm sure, Laurin, you are locked to that "Smackdow" -- every single week, watching it. If you are out there and you love (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you want to smell what the rock is cooking -- I clocked his part at 4 minutes and 26 seconds. That's it. So, you know, he's going to make a prequel to "The Mummy" next.
But this one might disappoint you just a little bit. It certainly disappointed me, because I love this genre. I love "Raiders of the Lost Ark." I loved what Spielberg did to it. This is just one special effect after another. I mean, if Spielberg -- I think he was the gut who said "action kills suspense." You have to stop once in a while, take a breath, let us who know the people are. This movie just doesn't do it.
SYDNEY: I'm crossing my fingers that "Pearl Harbor" will do it -- another big movie coming this summer. I know you haven't seen it yet, but what have you heard? What's the buzz?
TRAVERS: Well, there's nothing but buzz now, you know, because we're all so eager to see our popcorn movie, and certainly "Pearl Harbor" has the most buzz. It also cost more money than anything else; it's $140 million to make this movie, re-creating this attack.
But what does Disney, who's putting this movie out, really want to do? They want to be the new "Titanic." So it's not just for guys; it's not just going to be bombs exploding, it's going to be a love story. So we have Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett as fighter pilots in love with the same nurse, Kate Beckinsale. Are you weeping yet? Are you feeling this?
SYDNEY: That sounds good to me, though...
(CROSSTALK)
TRAVERS: They're going to get you; they're going to get you.
SYDNEY: Right; can it be the next "Titanic"?
TRAVERS: I think nothing can make as much as that one; but if we're going to look at what's the biggest movie of the summer, and probably the year at the box office, it's going to be "Pearl Harbor."
SYDNEY: And what about "Jurassic Park III" -- looking forward to that one, too.
TRAVERS: Yes; can you remember anything about the "Jurassic Park II"?
SYDNEY: No, but I don't have to.
TRAVERS: You don't care; you just want to see the...
(CROSSTALK)
TRAVERS: Well, now we have a dinosaur in this one that can actually rip a plane, as its taking off, out of the sky; and that's why people want to go, and there's nothing wrong with that -- let's see what the special effects wizards of Hollywood can do with special effects.
SYDNEY: So I guess there's always heart in those movies; it's not just special effects.
TRAVERS: Well, there's a little heart; but Steven Spielberg, he has drifted away from this one. He said, I'm not going to direct this one, I'm going to leave it to Joe Johnston, who did a little movie called "Jumanji," OK.
Steven Spielberg this summer has a movie called "AI", which means "Artificial Intelligence," and it has Haley Joel Osment, the little "Sixth Sense" guy...
SYDNEY: Who just melts your heart.
TRAVERS: And he is, but he's a robot boy, and he's adopted by human parents and he wants to be a real boy. Does it sound like "Pinocchio" to you?
SYDNEY: It sounds good to me, Peter.
TRAVERS: It sounds good to me, too, so I'm eager to see that one.
SYDNEY: OK, we started with monkeys, let's end with apes -- "Planet of the Apes."
TRAVERS: "Planet of the Apes," I really want to see. Loved the first movie that was made in the late-'60s. And now the remake is done by Tim Burton, a director who's really interesting. Mark Wahlberg is in the Charlton Heston part, so I assume he won't be carrying a rifle, he'll just be taking those apes on man-to-man. I really want to see that one; that sounds to me like what summer should be about.
SYDNEY: Looking at summer movies on the whole, do you think this is going to be a boffo box office summer?
TRAVERS: Yes, except for "Pearl Harbor," which I think will make maybe $300 million, which is a lot of money to make. It won't be that there will be a lot of "Titanics," but there will be a lot of mini- "Titanic"s. There's going to be, I think, a dozen movies that actually make big money. So Hollywood can be happy, that is, if we can avert all these writers and potential actors strikes.
SYDNEY: Knock on wood.
What do you think that the big surprise is going to be?
TRAVERS: I think the surprise is always going to come out of nowhere, you know. And it might be -- we can't even discounter her, she's our golden girl -- she's Julia Roberts, she's the new Oscar winner. She has the only romantic comedy that is out this summer, and it's called "America's Sweethearts." And she's playing the unattractive loser sister of Catherine Zeta-Jones. So if you can believe that -- if you can suspend disbelief enough to do that...
SYDNEY: I can believe anything.
TRAVERS: ... that could be the movie to watch out for.
SYDNEY: And which movie should not come out that's going to come out? Is there one they should just shelve right now?
TRAVERS: I -- whenever I see the sequels -- when you tell me there's going to be an "American Pie II" and a "Rush Hour II" and, you know, the 10th version of "Friday the 13th," which is called "Jason 10," I say, no. I say, these kinds of movies don't need the reviews, they need a stake in the heart. Please don't come out -- but no one's going to listen to me; they'll come out.
SYDNEY: Just so you know, we all listen to you, Peter.
TRAVERS: Oh, that's nice to know. SYDNEY: Thank you so much, and I know that Daryn and Stephen also listen to you, so let's throw it back to them.
KAGAN: Laurin, I'm glad to hear that there is a romantic comedy coming out this summer. Last summer there was none -- do they think that girls don't go to the movies during the summer, or something?
SYDNEY: Yes, Daryn would like to know, since you're having little technical problems -- do they think that girls don't go to the movies during the summer?
TRAVERS: They do, they know it, because of "Titanic." So that's the reason why "Pearl Harbor," which just should have been a boom, boom, boom movie is now a movie that is going to be advertised and hyped on its romance. We're going to wonder which one of those guys Kate Beckinsale's nurse is going to choose, and that's why.
SYDNEY: OK; you heard it here, Daryn.
KAGAN: Good. Show us a little love during the summer months.
SYDNEY: Right.
KAGAN: Thank you.
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