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American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired December 29, 2003 - 07:43   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for "90-Second Pop," our lightening-fast look at the world of pop culture. Our panel will tackle three hot topics today, spending a minute and a half on each one.
With us this morning -- I feel like a game show host -- humorist Andy Borowitz.

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Thelma Adams is a film critic from "US Weekly."

Good morning. Nice to see you.

THELMA ADAMS, FILM CRITIC, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

O'BRIEN: And Christy LeMire, she is an entertainment writer for the Associated Press.

CHRISTY LEMIRE, ENTERTAINMENT WRITIER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Hi.

O'BRIEN: Hello, hello, hello. Let's get right into it.

OK, we all watched Michael Jackson last night. Give me, Andy, your first impression. And given he's a little odd, OK. So, don't tell me he's weird, because he's weird.

BOROWITZ: OK. OK, that won't be breaking news. I don't know. First of all, I was just glad to see this story finally getting the attention it deserves, because it's been so under-covered. But, you know, I just -- and I know he's getting a lot of advice from people like Liz Taylor probably and Germaine, but if I could just throw in something. If somebody asks you: Is it OK for a 45-year-old man to sleep with children? "Of course" is a really bad answer. I just would stay away from "of course." I mean, it just -- it never plays well.

O'BRIEN: What did you guys...

BOROWITZ: I don't think it gets a lot of sympathy.

O'BRIEN: What did you...

ADAMS: I thought it was totally slippery. I thought totally -- you know, who is this guy? And he keeps talking about his childhood and the fact that he didn't have a childhood.

O'BRIEN: He worked that a lot, I thought.

ADAMS: And, you know, I grew up with him. We all had childhoods.

O'BRIEN: Right.

ADAMS: Get therapy.

LEMIRE: Right, get over it.

ADAMS: Don't get a kid in your bed.

LEMIRE: I liked how at the end he goes, oh, my albums aren't selling as well in America, because it's this conspiracy and I can't talk about it.

O'BRIEN: No, he said, well, I can't talk about it.

LEMIRE: Right.

ADAMS: It's a conspiracy, that's all I can say.

O'BRIEN: Well, that's all I can say.

LEMIRE: You know, he hasn't made a good album since "Thriller." That's why no one is buying his album, I don't think.

O'BRIEN: Is he No. 1 overseas? I mean, he's...

LEMIRE: He is worldwide, but just not here.

BOROWITZ: In Micronesia he's enormous, yes.

ADAMS: Unfortunately, Micronesia is not enormous, so it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BOROWITZ: It's a problem.

O'BRIEN: Well, do you think doing the interview helped his case or hurt his case?

BOROWITZ: From my own point of view, I think it hurt, because I had actually planned a holiday trip to Neverland, and I've canceled it. It just creeped me...

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BOROWITZ: Yes, it creeped me out. No, I don't know. I think going in, it's what you said, everybody knows this guy is extremely creepy. His resemblance...

O'BRIEN: I didn't say creepy. I said a little weird.

BOROWITZ: I'm sorry. I misquoted you. You know, his resemblance to Joan Crawford is now becoming sort of unsettling. And I just think that if you felt going in that there was something weird about him, this would not dispel it in any way.

O'BRIEN: He had clearly a lot of maybe botox?

BOROWITZ: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Because you saw in the interviews, he couldn't move his face at all.

BOROWITZ: Never...

(CROSSTALK)

ADAMS: Well, what about Ed Bradley? I mean, it's a get for Ed Bradley, and yet he didn't ask the good follow-up question. It just seemed like what, you know...

O'BRIEN: What do you think that was about? Because, of course, at the same time, CBS is going to run the special that wasn't going to run -- they canceled the first time around.

BOROWITZ: Well, I hate to actually make a serious point, but this is the same network that wouldn't air the Reagan thing. OK, and so you've got a guy here who is now actually accused -- you know, charged with nine counts of child abuse, and we're seeing a Michael Jackson tribute special this Friday, so...

O'BRIEN: Well, clearly, we could focus our entire 90 seconds on this guy, because there is a lot of fertile ground here to cover. But we're going to move on and talk about movies this weekend. "Lord of the Rings," obviously No. 1 at the box office.

ADAMS: Huge.

O'BRIEN: So, let's talk about some of the other ones. "Cheaper by the Dozen," Steve Martin's movie...

ADAMS: "Cheaper by the Dozen."

O'BRIEN: I guess because it's such family fare.

ADAMS: Huge -- yes, but it was a huge hit. It's been a great year for Steve Martin...

O'BRIEN: He's fantastic.

ADAMS: ... which is fabulous. I thought Bonnie Hunt was actually better. But -- there is Bonnie Hunt. But the trick of this is it's the casting. It's Steve Martin. It's Bonnie Hunt. Then it's Ashton Kutcher. It's Hillary Duff and then a bunch of little kids. So, you can bring the whole family because there are cute guys for teenage girls...

LEMIRE: And Tom Welling from...

ADAMS: And Tom Welling, you know...

O'BRIEN: ... "Smallville." He's gorgeous too, yes.

ADAMS: So, it's really canny casting, because you have really good comic leads...

(CROSSTALK)

ADAM: Oh, my God, they're over 30. And then you have something for everybody else. And it was a huge success and, in fact, better than most people thought and better than the script.

O'BRIEN: Is it a good movie, too? Because I thought -- I mean, I love Steve Martin.

(CROSSTALK)

ADAMS: It's kind of middle. It's a lot of slap stick. And you know how little kids love slap stick?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

ADAMS: So...

O'BRIEN: Yes, I do know. The falling down on the floor trick works for them all the time.

ADAMS: And those (UNINTELLIGIBLE) jokes always work.

O'BRIEN: Let's take a moment to talk about New Years. Are you guys going to do anything? Who...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: I'm staying home.

ADAMS: Fireplace and champagne.

LEMIRE: That's nice. That's romantic.

BOROWITZ: I'm just going to be looking at that Jackson special again probably.

LEMIRE: There is so much to watch on TV that if you're going to stay home. It is mind boggling. And most of it has to do with reality TV people who we have not seen enough of all year long.

O'BRIEN: Like what?

LEMIRE: Clearly, Clay Aiken is going to be on MTV, along with Hillary Duff...

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) special.

LEMIRE: ... who is going to sing on MTV.

BOROWITZ: Fire up your TiVo.

LEMIRE: Yes. And you have Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson who have not made fools of themselves enough. They're going to go on Dick Clark...

BOROWITZ: Now, that I think is a huge mistake, because you're asking Jessica Simpson to count backwards from 10 which I think is a huge error.

O'BRIEN: Well, there is always -- Dick Clark does his New Year's show.

LEMIRE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: And she's anchoring it from the West Coast.

ADAMS: And that's grasping for some continuity for his career. It's retirement (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'BRIEN: And Paris Hilton you can see?

LEMIRE: Yes, that one is going to be on Fox with Ryan Seacrest traipsing along Las Vegas, which I think I downloaded that last night and I've already watched it. I'm not quite sure. But also you have the "Matlock" marathon on the Hallmark Channel.

O'BRIEN: All me.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: You have the Mr. Rogers documentary.

O'BRIEN: I love "Matlock," so...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: Yes, a lot of choices this year.

ADAMS: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) kid, Mr. Rogers...

O'BRIEN: I'm in bed by 9:00. I know that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) big loser. But, you know, I'm well rested for the New Year.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: And Trista and Ryan in the Rose Bowl parade.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Oh, please.

LEMIRE: Enough of them.

BOROWITZ: They're still together? LEMIRE: They are, at least for New Year's Day. Then they'll break up the next day.

O'BRIEN: Oh, we have so much to chat about this morning. All right, you guys, as always, thank you so much. Appreciate it, and happy New Year as well.

LEMIRE: You too.

BOROWITZ: You too.

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 29, 2003 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time for "90-Second Pop," our lightening-fast look at the world of pop culture. Our panel will tackle three hot topics today, spending a minute and a half on each one.
With us this morning -- I feel like a game show host -- humorist Andy Borowitz.

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Thelma Adams is a film critic from "US Weekly."

Good morning. Nice to see you.

THELMA ADAMS, FILM CRITIC, "US WEEKLY": Good morning.

O'BRIEN: And Christy LeMire, she is an entertainment writer for the Associated Press.

CHRISTY LEMIRE, ENTERTAINMENT WRITIER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Hi.

O'BRIEN: Hello, hello, hello. Let's get right into it.

OK, we all watched Michael Jackson last night. Give me, Andy, your first impression. And given he's a little odd, OK. So, don't tell me he's weird, because he's weird.

BOROWITZ: OK. OK, that won't be breaking news. I don't know. First of all, I was just glad to see this story finally getting the attention it deserves, because it's been so under-covered. But, you know, I just -- and I know he's getting a lot of advice from people like Liz Taylor probably and Germaine, but if I could just throw in something. If somebody asks you: Is it OK for a 45-year-old man to sleep with children? "Of course" is a really bad answer. I just would stay away from "of course." I mean, it just -- it never plays well.

O'BRIEN: What did you guys...

BOROWITZ: I don't think it gets a lot of sympathy.

O'BRIEN: What did you...

ADAMS: I thought it was totally slippery. I thought totally -- you know, who is this guy? And he keeps talking about his childhood and the fact that he didn't have a childhood.

O'BRIEN: He worked that a lot, I thought.

ADAMS: And, you know, I grew up with him. We all had childhoods.

O'BRIEN: Right.

ADAMS: Get therapy.

LEMIRE: Right, get over it.

ADAMS: Don't get a kid in your bed.

LEMIRE: I liked how at the end he goes, oh, my albums aren't selling as well in America, because it's this conspiracy and I can't talk about it.

O'BRIEN: No, he said, well, I can't talk about it.

LEMIRE: Right.

ADAMS: It's a conspiracy, that's all I can say.

O'BRIEN: Well, that's all I can say.

LEMIRE: You know, he hasn't made a good album since "Thriller." That's why no one is buying his album, I don't think.

O'BRIEN: Is he No. 1 overseas? I mean, he's...

LEMIRE: He is worldwide, but just not here.

BOROWITZ: In Micronesia he's enormous, yes.

ADAMS: Unfortunately, Micronesia is not enormous, so it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BOROWITZ: It's a problem.

O'BRIEN: Well, do you think doing the interview helped his case or hurt his case?

BOROWITZ: From my own point of view, I think it hurt, because I had actually planned a holiday trip to Neverland, and I've canceled it. It just creeped me...

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BOROWITZ: Yes, it creeped me out. No, I don't know. I think going in, it's what you said, everybody knows this guy is extremely creepy. His resemblance...

O'BRIEN: I didn't say creepy. I said a little weird.

BOROWITZ: I'm sorry. I misquoted you. You know, his resemblance to Joan Crawford is now becoming sort of unsettling. And I just think that if you felt going in that there was something weird about him, this would not dispel it in any way.

O'BRIEN: He had clearly a lot of maybe botox?

BOROWITZ: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Because you saw in the interviews, he couldn't move his face at all.

BOROWITZ: Never...

(CROSSTALK)

ADAMS: Well, what about Ed Bradley? I mean, it's a get for Ed Bradley, and yet he didn't ask the good follow-up question. It just seemed like what, you know...

O'BRIEN: What do you think that was about? Because, of course, at the same time, CBS is going to run the special that wasn't going to run -- they canceled the first time around.

BOROWITZ: Well, I hate to actually make a serious point, but this is the same network that wouldn't air the Reagan thing. OK, and so you've got a guy here who is now actually accused -- you know, charged with nine counts of child abuse, and we're seeing a Michael Jackson tribute special this Friday, so...

O'BRIEN: Well, clearly, we could focus our entire 90 seconds on this guy, because there is a lot of fertile ground here to cover. But we're going to move on and talk about movies this weekend. "Lord of the Rings," obviously No. 1 at the box office.

ADAMS: Huge.

O'BRIEN: So, let's talk about some of the other ones. "Cheaper by the Dozen," Steve Martin's movie...

ADAMS: "Cheaper by the Dozen."

O'BRIEN: I guess because it's such family fare.

ADAMS: Huge -- yes, but it was a huge hit. It's been a great year for Steve Martin...

O'BRIEN: He's fantastic.

ADAMS: ... which is fabulous. I thought Bonnie Hunt was actually better. But -- there is Bonnie Hunt. But the trick of this is it's the casting. It's Steve Martin. It's Bonnie Hunt. Then it's Ashton Kutcher. It's Hillary Duff and then a bunch of little kids. So, you can bring the whole family because there are cute guys for teenage girls...

LEMIRE: And Tom Welling from...

ADAMS: And Tom Welling, you know...

O'BRIEN: ... "Smallville." He's gorgeous too, yes.

ADAMS: So, it's really canny casting, because you have really good comic leads...

(CROSSTALK)

ADAM: Oh, my God, they're over 30. And then you have something for everybody else. And it was a huge success and, in fact, better than most people thought and better than the script.

O'BRIEN: Is it a good movie, too? Because I thought -- I mean, I love Steve Martin.

(CROSSTALK)

ADAMS: It's kind of middle. It's a lot of slap stick. And you know how little kids love slap stick?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

ADAMS: So...

O'BRIEN: Yes, I do know. The falling down on the floor trick works for them all the time.

ADAMS: And those (UNINTELLIGIBLE) jokes always work.

O'BRIEN: Let's take a moment to talk about New Years. Are you guys going to do anything? Who...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: I'm staying home.

ADAMS: Fireplace and champagne.

LEMIRE: That's nice. That's romantic.

BOROWITZ: I'm just going to be looking at that Jackson special again probably.

LEMIRE: There is so much to watch on TV that if you're going to stay home. It is mind boggling. And most of it has to do with reality TV people who we have not seen enough of all year long.

O'BRIEN: Like what?

LEMIRE: Clearly, Clay Aiken is going to be on MTV, along with Hillary Duff...

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) special.

LEMIRE: ... who is going to sing on MTV.

BOROWITZ: Fire up your TiVo.

LEMIRE: Yes. And you have Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson who have not made fools of themselves enough. They're going to go on Dick Clark...

BOROWITZ: Now, that I think is a huge mistake, because you're asking Jessica Simpson to count backwards from 10 which I think is a huge error.

O'BRIEN: Well, there is always -- Dick Clark does his New Year's show.

LEMIRE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: And she's anchoring it from the West Coast.

ADAMS: And that's grasping for some continuity for his career. It's retirement (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'BRIEN: And Paris Hilton you can see?

LEMIRE: Yes, that one is going to be on Fox with Ryan Seacrest traipsing along Las Vegas, which I think I downloaded that last night and I've already watched it. I'm not quite sure. But also you have the "Matlock" marathon on the Hallmark Channel.

O'BRIEN: All me.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: You have the Mr. Rogers documentary.

O'BRIEN: I love "Matlock," so...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: Yes, a lot of choices this year.

ADAMS: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) kid, Mr. Rogers...

O'BRIEN: I'm in bed by 9:00. I know that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) big loser. But, you know, I'm well rested for the New Year.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMIRE: And Trista and Ryan in the Rose Bowl parade.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Oh, please.

LEMIRE: Enough of them.

BOROWITZ: They're still together? LEMIRE: They are, at least for New Year's Day. Then they'll break up the next day.

O'BRIEN: Oh, we have so much to chat about this morning. All right, you guys, as always, thank you so much. Appreciate it, and happy New Year as well.

LEMIRE: You too.

BOROWITZ: You too.

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