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American Morning
Wright Stuff
Aired December 17, 2003 - 08:47 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They're flying high in North Carolina, a week-long celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight culminates this morning with the big event and attempts to recreate the historic 12-second trip at 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time, exactly the time that the Wright Flyer took off a century ago. Today's master of ceremonies is not only a talented actor, but also an accomplished pilot himself.
John Travolta joins us this morning from Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina.
Nice to see you, John. Good morning.
JOHN TRAVOLTA, ACTOR: Nice to see you. Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Give me a sense of why you wanted to be part of this big celebration? Notwithstanding the history, of course, you have an obvious passion for flying. Tell us a little bit about that.
TRAVOLTA: Sure. Well, I've had it most of my life. This passion for flying, it's hard to kill. But, more than that, today, it's about the next 100 years, I think. You know, we're at a crossroads in aerospace industry and aviation where we need to move on from where we've progressed, and we've progressed, you know, to new arenas that we never thought we would achieve in this 100 years. But now it's important for the next generation to inspire those young people to get interested in the industry and take us to other places.
O'BRIEN: As we mentioned, part of the big event will be this recreation of the first flight 100 years ago. And I understand there's this sort of wood and muslin replica. You're a pilot. Any interest in getting in on that and flying across for a few seconds? It does sound a little dangerous, frankly.
TRAVOLTA: Actually, it was actually proposed to me to do that, one of the flights, one of a few flights they're making. And I just didn't have the schedule to do it.
But, yes, that would be fun. I fly ultralights as well. I mean, I'm a 707 and 747 pilot. But I do have in my repertoire ultralights, which are very similar to the Wright Brothers. Although the Wright Brothers Flyer was much more difficult to fly than anything we have today.
O'BRIEN: Yes, of course, and certainly back then. I've flown an ultralight here and there myself. It's a lot of fun actually.
TRAVOLTA: They are fun.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
Some big names are going to be joining you this morning, astronauts Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin and also John Glenn. Heroes of yours. What's it going to be like to be out there with some legends?
TRAVOLTA: Well, I've had the good fortune of knowing these men throughout the years, and it's always a pleasure and an honor to be in their same space. And today, we have the president of the United States will be with us as part of the ceremony, and I think it's an important day for the nation, and the world.
O'BRIEN: We've mentioned, of course, that you're an aviator, an avid aviator, but also pretty successful actor, as well. We only have a few seconds left. Give me a sense of what you're working on now.
TRAVOLTA: Next year, I'll keep you busy in the theaters. I have a few movies coming out, "The Punisher," and "Ladder 49," and "Babylon (ph)," and then the sequel to "Get Shorty," called "Be Cool."
O'BRIEN: With Uma Thurman, right? You're a busy, busy guy. Thanks for making time for us this morning. We certainly appreciate it. Have a good time at the ceremonies today as you act as master of ceremonies in that celebration.
TRAVOLTA: Look out for my fly-by today. I'm flying the 707 over the site.
O'BRIEN: Oh great. I thought you were going to say fly-by over our studios here in Manhattan. We were going to say ooh, all right, we'll look out for that, too. Thanks, John, for joining us. We appreciate it.
TRAVOLTA: You're welcome. Bye-bye.
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 December 17, 2003 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They're flying high in North Carolina, a week-long celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight culminates this morning with the big event and attempts to recreate the historic 12-second trip at 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time, exactly the time that the Wright Flyer took off a century ago. Today's master of ceremonies is not only a talented actor, but also an accomplished pilot himself.
John Travolta joins us this morning from Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina.
Nice to see you, John. Good morning.
JOHN TRAVOLTA, ACTOR: Nice to see you. Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Give me a sense of why you wanted to be part of this big celebration? Notwithstanding the history, of course, you have an obvious passion for flying. Tell us a little bit about that.
TRAVOLTA: Sure. Well, I've had it most of my life. This passion for flying, it's hard to kill. But, more than that, today, it's about the next 100 years, I think. You know, we're at a crossroads in aerospace industry and aviation where we need to move on from where we've progressed, and we've progressed, you know, to new arenas that we never thought we would achieve in this 100 years. But now it's important for the next generation to inspire those young people to get interested in the industry and take us to other places.
O'BRIEN: As we mentioned, part of the big event will be this recreation of the first flight 100 years ago. And I understand there's this sort of wood and muslin replica. You're a pilot. Any interest in getting in on that and flying across for a few seconds? It does sound a little dangerous, frankly.
TRAVOLTA: Actually, it was actually proposed to me to do that, one of the flights, one of a few flights they're making. And I just didn't have the schedule to do it.
But, yes, that would be fun. I fly ultralights as well. I mean, I'm a 707 and 747 pilot. But I do have in my repertoire ultralights, which are very similar to the Wright Brothers. Although the Wright Brothers Flyer was much more difficult to fly than anything we have today.
O'BRIEN: Yes, of course, and certainly back then. I've flown an ultralight here and there myself. It's a lot of fun actually.
TRAVOLTA: They are fun.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
Some big names are going to be joining you this morning, astronauts Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin and also John Glenn. Heroes of yours. What's it going to be like to be out there with some legends?
TRAVOLTA: Well, I've had the good fortune of knowing these men throughout the years, and it's always a pleasure and an honor to be in their same space. And today, we have the president of the United States will be with us as part of the ceremony, and I think it's an important day for the nation, and the world.
O'BRIEN: We've mentioned, of course, that you're an aviator, an avid aviator, but also pretty successful actor, as well. We only have a few seconds left. Give me a sense of what you're working on now.
TRAVOLTA: Next year, I'll keep you busy in the theaters. I have a few movies coming out, "The Punisher," and "Ladder 49," and "Babylon (ph)," and then the sequel to "Get Shorty," called "Be Cool."
O'BRIEN: With Uma Thurman, right? You're a busy, busy guy. Thanks for making time for us this morning. We certainly appreciate it. Have a good time at the ceremonies today as you act as master of ceremonies in that celebration.
TRAVOLTA: Look out for my fly-by today. I'm flying the 707 over the site.
O'BRIEN: Oh great. I thought you were going to say fly-by over our studios here in Manhattan. We were going to say ooh, all right, we'll look out for that, too. Thanks, John, for joining us. We appreciate it.
TRAVOLTA: You're welcome. Bye-bye.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
