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American Morning
Whoopi TV
Aired September 16, 2003 - 09:43 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: She is a comedian by trade, but Whoopi Goldberg's impressive resume includes an entertainment grand slam, an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy. Now she's back in primetime, a new show called "Whoopi," of all things. Appropriately titled, we should say. A former singer, that's her role. She's a diva now apparently, turned hotel owner, desperately trying to keep her staff in check.
Here is a quick sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTRESS: All this is your fault. You couldn't leave well enough alone.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Oh, it's a package, we must blow it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Tuesday nights, 8:00 on NBC, you can see "Whoopi." We can kill that sound now.
Good morning, Whoopi. How are you?
GOLDBERG: I'm good.
HEMMER: Hey, 14.7 viewers last week in your debut. How does that make you feel?
GOLDBERG: If I really understood what it meant, I'd probably feel terrific.
HEMMER: What do you mean by that?
GOLDBERG: The numbers aspect of this is kind of still very new to me. So you'll say, isn't that amazing? I go, yes -- I don't know.
HEMMER: But it's your debut, and you did far better than what had been forecasted.
GOLDBERG: Well...
HEMMER: So pat yourself on the back.
GOLDBERG: All right, Bill.
HEMMER: You know what they say, though? They say this week is the tough one, week two.
GOLDBERG: It's all tough. It's all tough.
HEMMER: Tell me about that.
GOLDBERG: Just because, you know, everyone sort of says, well, it's not going to probably work, and then it works, and they go, well, it can't work for long, and then you kind of start going, well, OK, maybe it won't work for long, but it's pretty good as it is right now.
HEMMER: Are you happy with it? Do you like the way it's coming along in, with the writing, the staff?
GOLDBERG: Yes, I do. It's a lot of work.
HEMMER: Yes? More than you thought?
GOLDBERG: Oh, yes. Because I'm getting old, Bill. I'm like, oh, I can't do a lot of this stuff.
HEMMER: Your cast includes a white hip-hop artist. Can we classify it that? Is that fair?
GOLDBERG: No. I would just call her a young woman who believes she's black, who turns out actually to be white.
HEMMER: OK, that fits the definition, too. You have a Persian handyman -- don't call him Arab.
GOLDBERG: Right.
HEMMER: You've got a brother, who plays the role of your brother on the show anyway, a conservative black Republican, and then there's you, Mavis Gray.
GOLDBERG: Yes.
HEMMER: What was your intention in putting this cast together like this?
GOLDBERG: Well, I just -- I thought that if I had the sort of flavor of New York, because you see all these shows supposed to be happening in New York, you never see any black people in them. "Friends" been on 5,000 years, finally got a black friend like six months ago.
HEMMER: They went out and found one.
GOLDBERG: Yes, "Seinfeld," there was no black people in sight, nowhere, not even going through the hallway cleaning up, nothing, and I thought, well, I'm going to change that. I'm just going to show that in fact New York is a diverse city.
HEMMER: Yes, and -- but you also in the writing and production for this show, it's topical humor, it's political, it's social commentary in many ways. What does that say about you trying to put some sort of message out there on this program? That's your bag, right?
GOLDBERG: We never want to call it a message, Bill. You scare people when you say, I got a message for you. Just say, here is some stuff I've been thinking about, what do you think? Because no one is going to like it all the time. No one is going to get it all the time. And realistically, I want the opportunity for people to hear the discussion. Whether they agree or not is not important, but just that the dialogue happens. And I think this show will sometimes be able to stimulate that. We're also a sitcom.
HEMMER: Yes. Do you think Mavis Gray reflects you as a person?
GOLDBERG: Oh, no, no, no.
HEMMER: Come on.
GOLDBERG: Well, the thing we have in common, Bill, is that she's black. I, of course, am black. She's, you know, 47 or 48. I'm 47, 48. Menopausal, me, she. Thank you. And...
HEMMER: Courtesy laugh from across the studio.
GOLDBERG: Yes, really, because he knows about menopause.
But the thing is, I weigh more than most of the women on television put together, you know. They all weigh six ounces, and I want everybody to know that there are those of us who live in double digits.
HEMMER: Listen, hold that thought in a second. I'm going to get a break, and we'll come back and continue our discussion. What people don't know about your strong affection for AMERICAN MORNING.
Back in a moment. More of Whoopi Goldberg after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Do you know what you're doing?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Excuse me. I was trained by the Iranian militia to build a missile system, which we do not have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: This show is called "Whoopi," Whoopi Goldberg. A second night, goes later tonight at 8:00 on NBC. You said recently, there is not a lot of offers coming my way. Is that true?
GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean, look. You know, there is this un -- sort of -- spoken thing which happens in Hollywood. As it turns out, I'm in the midst of it now, and there is an age thing. You know, and if you look a certain way, you can probably get away with some stuff, but I look as I've always looked. HEMMER: That explains the second part of your statement. You get into that awkward stage of the late 40s and things slow down. How you dealing with that?
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, it is what it is. I've got a TV show now.
HEMMER: You've had a heck of a run.
GOLDBERG: Listen, I do not complain. Because number one, people keep telling me, you're black, this should never have happened to you. I keep going, you're right, you're right, I realize that. But the bottom line is it did. I have a partner, producing partner, Tommy Lucille (ph) with me. We produce shows for Lifetime, we produce shows for Nickelodeon that we're not acting in. And you know, life says -- and I've been watching you all, so I know all about business -- that you have to know what you're doing, you have to have some idea of how it works so that if somebody goes wrong, you got something to fall back on.
HEMMER: I don't think people realize that you're a closet Jack Cafferty fan.
GOLDBERG: I love Jack Cafferty.
HEMMER: He's on vacation this week.
GOLDBERG: Of course. Of course, because of course I was supposed to come see y'all last week, and Bush bumped me.
HEMMER: The nerve of that.
GOLDBERG: Well, I just think he could have waited another 15 minutes. Wasn't like he said something all that important. Oh, I'm sorry.
HEMMER: Well, listen, great to see you. Thanks for making time for us. We'll talk again. Whoopi's show, again, later tonight on NBC.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
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 September 16, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: She is a comedian by trade, but Whoopi Goldberg's impressive resume includes an entertainment grand slam, an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy. Now she's back in primetime, a new show called "Whoopi," of all things. Appropriately titled, we should say. A former singer, that's her role. She's a diva now apparently, turned hotel owner, desperately trying to keep her staff in check.
Here is a quick sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTRESS: All this is your fault. You couldn't leave well enough alone.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Oh, it's a package, we must blow it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Tuesday nights, 8:00 on NBC, you can see "Whoopi." We can kill that sound now.
Good morning, Whoopi. How are you?
GOLDBERG: I'm good.
HEMMER: Hey, 14.7 viewers last week in your debut. How does that make you feel?
GOLDBERG: If I really understood what it meant, I'd probably feel terrific.
HEMMER: What do you mean by that?
GOLDBERG: The numbers aspect of this is kind of still very new to me. So you'll say, isn't that amazing? I go, yes -- I don't know.
HEMMER: But it's your debut, and you did far better than what had been forecasted.
GOLDBERG: Well...
HEMMER: So pat yourself on the back.
GOLDBERG: All right, Bill.
HEMMER: You know what they say, though? They say this week is the tough one, week two.
GOLDBERG: It's all tough. It's all tough.
HEMMER: Tell me about that.
GOLDBERG: Just because, you know, everyone sort of says, well, it's not going to probably work, and then it works, and they go, well, it can't work for long, and then you kind of start going, well, OK, maybe it won't work for long, but it's pretty good as it is right now.
HEMMER: Are you happy with it? Do you like the way it's coming along in, with the writing, the staff?
GOLDBERG: Yes, I do. It's a lot of work.
HEMMER: Yes? More than you thought?
GOLDBERG: Oh, yes. Because I'm getting old, Bill. I'm like, oh, I can't do a lot of this stuff.
HEMMER: Your cast includes a white hip-hop artist. Can we classify it that? Is that fair?
GOLDBERG: No. I would just call her a young woman who believes she's black, who turns out actually to be white.
HEMMER: OK, that fits the definition, too. You have a Persian handyman -- don't call him Arab.
GOLDBERG: Right.
HEMMER: You've got a brother, who plays the role of your brother on the show anyway, a conservative black Republican, and then there's you, Mavis Gray.
GOLDBERG: Yes.
HEMMER: What was your intention in putting this cast together like this?
GOLDBERG: Well, I just -- I thought that if I had the sort of flavor of New York, because you see all these shows supposed to be happening in New York, you never see any black people in them. "Friends" been on 5,000 years, finally got a black friend like six months ago.
HEMMER: They went out and found one.
GOLDBERG: Yes, "Seinfeld," there was no black people in sight, nowhere, not even going through the hallway cleaning up, nothing, and I thought, well, I'm going to change that. I'm just going to show that in fact New York is a diverse city.
HEMMER: Yes, and -- but you also in the writing and production for this show, it's topical humor, it's political, it's social commentary in many ways. What does that say about you trying to put some sort of message out there on this program? That's your bag, right?
GOLDBERG: We never want to call it a message, Bill. You scare people when you say, I got a message for you. Just say, here is some stuff I've been thinking about, what do you think? Because no one is going to like it all the time. No one is going to get it all the time. And realistically, I want the opportunity for people to hear the discussion. Whether they agree or not is not important, but just that the dialogue happens. And I think this show will sometimes be able to stimulate that. We're also a sitcom.
HEMMER: Yes. Do you think Mavis Gray reflects you as a person?
GOLDBERG: Oh, no, no, no.
HEMMER: Come on.
GOLDBERG: Well, the thing we have in common, Bill, is that she's black. I, of course, am black. She's, you know, 47 or 48. I'm 47, 48. Menopausal, me, she. Thank you. And...
HEMMER: Courtesy laugh from across the studio.
GOLDBERG: Yes, really, because he knows about menopause.
But the thing is, I weigh more than most of the women on television put together, you know. They all weigh six ounces, and I want everybody to know that there are those of us who live in double digits.
HEMMER: Listen, hold that thought in a second. I'm going to get a break, and we'll come back and continue our discussion. What people don't know about your strong affection for AMERICAN MORNING.
Back in a moment. More of Whoopi Goldberg after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Do you know what you're doing?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Excuse me. I was trained by the Iranian militia to build a missile system, which we do not have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: This show is called "Whoopi," Whoopi Goldberg. A second night, goes later tonight at 8:00 on NBC. You said recently, there is not a lot of offers coming my way. Is that true?
GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean, look. You know, there is this un -- sort of -- spoken thing which happens in Hollywood. As it turns out, I'm in the midst of it now, and there is an age thing. You know, and if you look a certain way, you can probably get away with some stuff, but I look as I've always looked. HEMMER: That explains the second part of your statement. You get into that awkward stage of the late 40s and things slow down. How you dealing with that?
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, it is what it is. I've got a TV show now.
HEMMER: You've had a heck of a run.
GOLDBERG: Listen, I do not complain. Because number one, people keep telling me, you're black, this should never have happened to you. I keep going, you're right, you're right, I realize that. But the bottom line is it did. I have a partner, producing partner, Tommy Lucille (ph) with me. We produce shows for Lifetime, we produce shows for Nickelodeon that we're not acting in. And you know, life says -- and I've been watching you all, so I know all about business -- that you have to know what you're doing, you have to have some idea of how it works so that if somebody goes wrong, you got something to fall back on.
HEMMER: I don't think people realize that you're a closet Jack Cafferty fan.
GOLDBERG: I love Jack Cafferty.
HEMMER: He's on vacation this week.
GOLDBERG: Of course. Of course, because of course I was supposed to come see y'all last week, and Bush bumped me.
HEMMER: The nerve of that.
GOLDBERG: Well, I just think he could have waited another 15 minutes. Wasn't like he said something all that important. Oh, I'm sorry.
HEMMER: Well, listen, great to see you. Thanks for making time for us. We'll talk again. Whoopi's show, again, later tonight on NBC.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
