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American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired October 02, 2003 - 07:53   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for "90-Second Pop," a rapid-fire look at the world of pop culture. Our experts give us 90 seconds each on three hot topics.
With us this morning, B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly," Belinda Luscome of "TIME" magazine, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) media editor, and Andy Borowitz, humorist and columnist with "The New Yorker."

Andy, let's start with you. We've been talking all morning about Rush Limbaugh and the comments that he made about Donovan McNabb. Your thoughts on this.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Well, you know, a few years ago, Al Franken wrote that book, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot." And in Rush Limbaugh's defense, he has lost a lot of weight. But I think that it was really -- you know, they hired him for controversy. He gave them controversy, and now he's gone. But we'll see. I mean, they're replacing him. We'll see if Trent Lott does any better. I don't know.

COLLINS: Okay, we'll have to wait on that decision.

BOROWITZ: Yes.

COLLINS: All right, Andy, thanks so much.

We want to go into some television stuff now. "Joan of Arcadia," Belinda, tell us about this. Why is this show so great?

BELINDA LUSCOMBE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I think it's God, personally. Either that or Joan Montanya (ph) has a lot of fans we didn't know about. But, I think it's God. I think that God is central to American life, but apparently you just can't see him on TV. You certainly can't see him as a hunk on TV, which is what (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on that show.

(CROSSTALK)

B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": God is what works on Friday nights, I have to say.

COLLINS: So it's not programming.

SIGESMUND: Well, you know, "Joan of Arcadia" is doing very, very well. But the median age for watching the show is 53 years old, which shows you exactly who is on -- who is at home watching TV on Friday nights. And that's the reason that "Miss Match," Alicia Silverstone's show, which is kind of a cute show, but has done terribly on that night. It's the worst debut of the year.

LUSCOMBE: The bride wearing...

SIGESMUND: This is a show that I think...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: And God is going to be in this other show called "True Calling." So, God is now in as many shows as Kelly Ripa, which is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: Wow!

(CROSSTALK)

LUSCOMBE: I think it's going to be a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with this.

BOROWITZ: Yes, get him on speed dial, you know.

COLLINS: Do you think the Alicia Silverstone show will have to move then or...

SIGESMUND: I think it deserves a decent chance to succeed or fail on a better night for it. I think putting it on Friday night is a terrible time slot for it. It won't have a chance there, because Alicia Silverstone's audience is not at home Friday nights.

COLLINS: OK, what about Jack Black, "School of Rock?" I mean, this thing -- do you just have to appreciate his humor here?

LUSCOMBE: It's a completely preposterous movie (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because its premise is that children need less discipline. So, OK, let's go with that. Secondly, because they have a rock band in a classroom. No one is going to hear that. On the other hand, it's predictable and preposterous, but very funny. You can't help but like it.

COLLINS: Really?

BOROWITZ: Also, in real life, children and rock musicians are natural adversaries, because they're just trying to download their music for free, right? That doesn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: They love each other, right?

BOROWITZ: Yes.

COLLINS: B.J., what do you think of this thing?

SIGESMUND: This is the movie that's going to take Jack Black to the next level in our culture. He has a huge fan base...

COLLINS: Why? SIGESMUND: Because of "High Fidelity," where he made his big debut, and "Shallow Hal" was kind of a lame choice for him. He didn't really fit into that movie. But this is the movie that's such a wonderful showcase for him, and it's getting great reviews and it has great buzz. And I expect great things from it this weekend.

COLLINS: All right, we'll be keeping our eye on that for sure. Thanks to the three of you for being with us this morning. We appreciate it. B.J. Sigesmund, "US Weekly," Belinda Luscombe, "TIME" magazine, and Andy Borowitz, thanks guys.

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 October 2, 2003 - 07:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for "90-Second Pop," a rapid-fire look at the world of pop culture. Our experts give us 90 seconds each on three hot topics.
With us this morning, B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly," Belinda Luscome of "TIME" magazine, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) media editor, and Andy Borowitz, humorist and columnist with "The New Yorker."

Andy, let's start with you. We've been talking all morning about Rush Limbaugh and the comments that he made about Donovan McNabb. Your thoughts on this.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Well, you know, a few years ago, Al Franken wrote that book, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot." And in Rush Limbaugh's defense, he has lost a lot of weight. But I think that it was really -- you know, they hired him for controversy. He gave them controversy, and now he's gone. But we'll see. I mean, they're replacing him. We'll see if Trent Lott does any better. I don't know.

COLLINS: Okay, we'll have to wait on that decision.

BOROWITZ: Yes.

COLLINS: All right, Andy, thanks so much.

We want to go into some television stuff now. "Joan of Arcadia," Belinda, tell us about this. Why is this show so great?

BELINDA LUSCOMBE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I think it's God, personally. Either that or Joan Montanya (ph) has a lot of fans we didn't know about. But, I think it's God. I think that God is central to American life, but apparently you just can't see him on TV. You certainly can't see him as a hunk on TV, which is what (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on that show.

(CROSSTALK)

B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": God is what works on Friday nights, I have to say.

COLLINS: So it's not programming.

SIGESMUND: Well, you know, "Joan of Arcadia" is doing very, very well. But the median age for watching the show is 53 years old, which shows you exactly who is on -- who is at home watching TV on Friday nights. And that's the reason that "Miss Match," Alicia Silverstone's show, which is kind of a cute show, but has done terribly on that night. It's the worst debut of the year.

LUSCOMBE: The bride wearing...

SIGESMUND: This is a show that I think...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: And God is going to be in this other show called "True Calling." So, God is now in as many shows as Kelly Ripa, which is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: Wow!

(CROSSTALK)

LUSCOMBE: I think it's going to be a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with this.

BOROWITZ: Yes, get him on speed dial, you know.

COLLINS: Do you think the Alicia Silverstone show will have to move then or...

SIGESMUND: I think it deserves a decent chance to succeed or fail on a better night for it. I think putting it on Friday night is a terrible time slot for it. It won't have a chance there, because Alicia Silverstone's audience is not at home Friday nights.

COLLINS: OK, what about Jack Black, "School of Rock?" I mean, this thing -- do you just have to appreciate his humor here?

LUSCOMBE: It's a completely preposterous movie (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because its premise is that children need less discipline. So, OK, let's go with that. Secondly, because they have a rock band in a classroom. No one is going to hear that. On the other hand, it's predictable and preposterous, but very funny. You can't help but like it.

COLLINS: Really?

BOROWITZ: Also, in real life, children and rock musicians are natural adversaries, because they're just trying to download their music for free, right? That doesn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: They love each other, right?

BOROWITZ: Yes.

COLLINS: B.J., what do you think of this thing?

SIGESMUND: This is the movie that's going to take Jack Black to the next level in our culture. He has a huge fan base...

COLLINS: Why? SIGESMUND: Because of "High Fidelity," where he made his big debut, and "Shallow Hal" was kind of a lame choice for him. He didn't really fit into that movie. But this is the movie that's such a wonderful showcase for him, and it's getting great reviews and it has great buzz. And I expect great things from it this weekend.

COLLINS: All right, we'll be keeping our eye on that for sure. Thanks to the three of you for being with us this morning. We appreciate it. B.J. Sigesmund, "US Weekly," Belinda Luscombe, "TIME" magazine, and Andy Borowitz, thanks guys.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.