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American Morning
Iyanla Vanzant and the American Dream
Aired August 14, 2001 - 11:48 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, time for Showbiz News.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And that means Laurin Sydney. Laurin.
HARRIS: Hi, Laurin.
LAURIN SYDNEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Daryn and good morning, Leon.
We have good news for you today because on the eve of a new report by the NAACP on minority casting comes some positive news from the Screen Actors Guild. The actors union released statistics for the year 2000 Monday showing minority actors earning a record number of TV and movie roles.
Of 53,134 roles cast last year, 22.9 percent went to minorities, up from 21.2 percent the year before. Now, that is the highest percentage since SAG started keeping statistics in 1992. Black actors were cast in 14.8 percent of those roles, Hispanics, 4.9 percent, and Asians 2.6 percent. Women, by the way, didn't fare as well as men. Men were cast in 62 percent of all roles. The NAACP releases its report on minority casting tomorrow in Hollywood.
It's a classic American success story. She broke out of an abusive marriage, got a law degree and went on to become a best- selling author and motivational speaker. Now, with the help of fans Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters, good friends to have, Iyanla Vanzant is helping others with a brand new talk show.
Jodi Ross has this inspirational story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: The name is -- the name is Iyanla.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JODI ROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The name may be new to you, but Iyanla Vanzant is a best-selling author and motivational speaker with a loyal following of millions.
(on camera): Have your fans been wanting you to do a TV show? IYANLA VANZANT, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: I sure hope so.
(LAUGHTER)
VANZANT: I hope they've been waiting, and I hope they're happy when it comes to them.
(LAUGHTER)
VANZANT: Yes, I think -- I don't think "my fans." I think people are ready for a different kind of television, the kind of television that honors the viewer's time, that honors the viewer's interests and that sometimes asks tough questions.
ROSS (voice-over): Tough questions come from tough times, and 47-year-old Iyanla's had her share, from a difficult childhood, to single parenthood at 16 and mother of three by 21. After walking out of her second abusive marriage, Iyanla became a lawyer and turned her life around.
(on camera): Do you think your life experiences have made you sort of an expert on life?
VANZANT: Oh, no. I'm not an expert on life.
(LAUGHTER)
VANZANT: Absolutely not. Oh, you should see me on a bad day. It's quite frightening.
(LAUGHTER)
ROSS: So then what is this ability that you have to help people? Because you do.
VANZANT: Tell the truth. I tell the truth. I've learned to tell the truth, because my life was built on a foundation of lies. So truth, honesty, really just looking at things and calling it the way it is is very important to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, HOST, "THE VIEW": I had this idea for a show...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSS (voice-over): The truth is, it was Iyanla's appearance on "The View" that got her two things: a regular spot on "Oprah" and the attention of Barbara Walters, who now serves as her executive producer.
WALTERS: Who the people are that she can play with.
VANZANT: She said, "If you fumble or you stumble in the prompter, you don't have to stop, you can rehabilitate it. Just say, 'Oh my God, I'm sorry. My mouth is not working, I mispronounced your name -- what is it?'" I would never have thought to say that.
ROSS (voice-over): Iyanla will incorporate her best-known "In the Meantime" books into regular segments on her show, and if the inevitable comparisons to Oprah come, she says, bring them on.
VANZANT: This woman is a billionaire. Compare me, please, because maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
ROSS: A prediction Iyanla is banking on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANZANT: You've got the power
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSS: Jodi Ross, CNN Entertainment News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYDNEY: And now story Leon has been waiting for. Things cruised along nicely at the Hollywood premiere of Nicholas Cage's new movie, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" last night. Cage's onscreen love interest, Penelope Cruz, showed up with her new off-screen love interest, Tom Cruise. The two strolled arm in arm down the red carpet and seemed, as they would say in Miss Cruz's native Spain, "muy simpatico."
Daryn and Leon, I can't say muy simpatico, but I can say Iyanla, which I practiced.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Good for you.
SYDNEY: I tried.
KAGAN: Good to see you.
HARRIS: Thanks, we'll see you in a bit.
SYDNEY: So long.
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