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American Morning
Florida Teenager Reviews Movies for 'St. Petersburg Times'
Aired April 11, 2002 - 09:42 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.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Our next guest on AMERICAN MORNING is a busy fellow; 14-year-old Billy Norris goes to school, does his homework, does all the things that an ordinary 14-year-old does. But in addition, the Florida teenager reviews movies for "The St. Petersburg Times" and the local CBS television affiliate down there in St. Petersburg. His story caught the attention of producers for both Jay Leno and David Letterman, and suddenly, he was in the middle of a late-night crossfire. It turns Letterman got the scoop.
And on last night's "Late Show with David Letterman," the host asked Billy about some of the worst movies he has ever had to review.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE SHOW" HOST: What about bad movies. Do you have any that come to mind?
BILLY NORRIS, MOVIE REVIEWER: Oh, yes.
LETTERMAN: Like what.
NORRIS: Well, it's not still in theaters, thank gosh. "Kung Pao," it's like a spoof of a spoof. It was really bad. All the characters made this screeching noise.
LETTERMAN: Right.
NORRIS: Yeah. I don't know what was up with that.
Another bad one, the Britney Spears movie, "Crossroads."
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: Now, wait a minute. She needs to stick to the Pepsi commercials.
NORRIS: And what did you say about the Britney Spears movie? Yes, she needs to stick to the Pepsi commercials.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: All right, we're delighted to have the critic with us this morning, Bill Norris. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Nice to see you.
NORRIS: Nice to see you.
CAFFERTY: Now do you like Britney Spears music?
NORRIS: No.
CAFFERTY: You don't like the music neither,
NORRIS: No.
CAFFERTY: How did that go last night? I imagine the Ed Sullivan theater doing the live national television with David Letterman is a little different than that CBS affiliate down there in St. Petersburg?
NORRIS: Yes, it was pretty incredible. It didn't sink in when I was doing -- when they put on the side of the stage.
CAFFERTY: Did you get nervous?
NORRIS: Yes, I was nervous. When I got out there, Dave, put him at ease real quick.
CAFFERTY: You made him laugh at one point.
NORRIS: Yes, I made him laugh when I was talking about the Britney Spears thing.
CAFFERTY: Yes, that's not easy. Sometimes he can be a tough nut to crack.
Is this something you want to do for a living when you get older?
NORRIS: I don't know. It's in my mind. I'm also a musician. So I want to keep that in mind, maybe do a double major or something like that.
CAFFERTY: How did you get started reviewing films?
NORRIS: Well, I started -- there was application. There's this team of kid reporter in "The St. Petersburg Times" called the X-Team, and I saw an application for that, and I sent in an essay, and they accepted me onto the team, and that was a really great job for a year. And after that, they asked me if I wanted to be film critic for the section, an of course I accepted, and I've been doing that for three years now, and it's a great job.
CAFFERTY: Do you go on those junkets out to Hollywood and stuff when they take the critics out there?
NORRIS: No.
CAFFERTY: Not yet. That will come.
What's the bets movie you ever reviewed.
NORRIS: The best movie I ever reviewed is possibly "The Rookie," the one that's out now.
CAFFERTY: That's new right, the baseball film. And you got to meet the star.
NORRIS: Right, Dennis Quaid.
CAFFERTY: Tell me about that. What's that all about.
NORRIS: It's about a high school chemistry teacher who wanted to play baseball when he was younger, and then he blew out his shoulder and has surgery. And he rediscovers his talent, and makes a bet with his high school team that if they win their district championship, he has to try out for a Major League team, and it turns out he -- they win, and he gets onto the Devil Rays and makes his Major League debut. And it's really an incredible story.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
Do the kids think it's cool that you're on TV and stuff?
NORRIS: Yes, definitely.
CAFFERTY: You got, like, some cache with them can.
NORRIS: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Do you like baseball? Do you play any sports beside music, and school and doing reviews.
NORRIS: Used to play baseball, and now I'm being kept busy with this, and my music and school. But I do play baseball.
CAFFERTY: What goes through your head when you go into the movie theater and you sit down, knowing that, conceivably, a critic can say bad things about a film and hurt the amount of money it makes, particularly if you go on with this later and reach a bigger and bigger audience. Does that bother you, that, gee, if I type something nasty here, it could hurt somebody's career?
NORRIS: Well, that hasn't really stopped me in the past.
CAFFERTY: It hasn't? You go for it?
NORRIS: Yes. You know, if a movie is really bad, I'm not afraid to let people know.
CAFFERTY: On a Saturday afternoon, if you weren't going to have to review, what kind of movie would you like to go see? Who's your favorite?
NORRIS: I like comedy. I'm a comedy buff.
CAFFERTY: Do you? Do you like Jim Carrey and that group, that kind of stuff?
NORRIS: Yes. CAFFERTY: Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. You obviously are very much at home on television, and we wish you success. And I thank you for sharing a couple minutes with us.
NORRIS: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
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