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American Morning

Interview of Sam Rubin, KTLA Entertainment Editor

Aired March 04, 2002 - 09:25   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Guess who is with us now, Anderson?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me guess...

ZAHN: Sam Rubin.

COOPER: Sam Rubin? All right.

ZAHN: You can take it away now. It wasn't his fault, by the way.

COOPER: All right. Sam, are you there?

SAM RUBIN, KTLA ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Well, you have to make breakfast for all the technical people, and once you do that, then everything works out.

Anderson, you were talking about the success that Mel Gibson enjoyed at the box office. I don't know if this reflects a change in American's feelings since the fall. This was a very realistic blood and guts war movie, but as we think of our sons and daughters or, perhaps film fans themselves, facing potential combat situations, this is the fellow you would want to go to war with.

Mel Gibson plays a commander based on a true story who says he will leave absolutely no one behind. And, as you mentioned, a $20 million take which is stronger, I think, than people thought people it would necessarily do. And the fact of the matter is, slightly older film fans, indicating that this may hold up better than some of the other movies that are number one for one weekend and then drop off the face of the earth. It is also, as it turns out, and it is not always the case with the number one movie in the country, a good movie. This is a film from the people who made "Braveheart" that is similar in sensibility to "Braveheart." So...

COOPER: Well, Sam it is also...

RUBIN: and I think it is well deservingly so.

COOPER: It is also marketed in a very patriotic way, as opposed to "Hart's War," which opened up, I think, about two weeks ago, and was marketed very differently.

RUBIN: In fact, the people who put together "Hart's War" are screaming at MGM. The director, Gregory Hoblit, saying that they basically punted the movie in the marketing, and that is an important distinction. Here, we knew exactly what this Mel Gibson movie was about. Sort of red, white, and blue. The Bruce Willis drama, World War II-based "Hart's War," no one knew exactly what it was about, and I think, also, that Mel Gibson happens to be a star that enjoys greater success than Bruce Willis.

COOPER: All right, Sam Rubin, thanks for working out the technical problems and being able to join us this morning. All right -- Paula.

RUBIN: Thank you, Anderson, okay.

ZAHN: But what about our breakfast, Sam?

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