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American Morning
90-Second Pop, Culture Watch
Aired January 12, 2004 - 07:52 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: You know the drill, everybody. We call it "90-Second Pop." It's a look at the world of pop culture from the fast lane with our quit-witted panel, or at least we hope they are today. Our humorist, Andy Borowitz, joins us this morning.
You've got a new book out. It's called "Governor Arnold: a photo diary of his first 100 days of office." Oh, my goodness. That's quite a picture on the cover there. We'll talk about that just ahead.
Christy Lemire is also with us. She's an Associated Press entertainment writer. And B.J. Sigesmund is a staff editor for "US Weekly," just back from a little vacation.
We missed you while you were gone. Thanks for coming back.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, B.J., let's begin with you. The People's Choice Awards. What kind of an impact do they really have kind of in big picture? Are they really a precursor of the Oscars? And did anything surprise you yesterday?
SIGESMUND: Well, the People's Choice Awards, they were big 30 years ago when they started, but now we have so many award shows that the People's Choice Awards don't really mean anything. In fact, Mel Gibson got one last night. He hasn't had a movie come out in two years.
O'BRIEN: You know, I saw that, and I said, 'What movie was he in?'
SIGESMUND: No, it was the Critics' Choice Awards this Saturday night that actually were meaningful that created front runners in some important races. As you know, "Lord of the Rings" has the lock on best picture and best director at this time, but the acting races are open. And this weekend, Charlize Theron got best actress for Critics' Choice...
O'BRIEN: She's supposed to be amazing in "Monster."
SIGESMUND: She is. In that movie, I think, she's going to go all the way to the Oscar podium. And then also, Sean Penn for "Mystic River," he got best actor. So, these are the two candidates to beat at this point.
CHRISTY LEMIRE, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I would love to see Charlize win this. But it's so dark and the movie is so small and just like relentlessly bleak. I mean, could she win, do you think, really?
SIGESMUND: I think she could win, because, like Hillary Swank or Adrian Brody...
O'BRIEN: Huge transformation, good...
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: Yes, yes, and these are small, you know, not huge commercial successes. I don't think "Boys Don't Cry" even made $30 million. But they're great performances, and that's what the Oscars are all about.
ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Do you mean to tell me Mel Gibson did not get a Critics' Choice Award, even though he had no films out this year? It's like an oversight.
O'BRIEN: Clearly...
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: Hate to break it to you.
O'BRIEN: Let's, Christy, talk about the box office, because I was amazed to come in this morning and see controversy over the weekend box office numbers.
LEMIRE: Right.
O'BRIEN: Who would have thought?
LEMIRE: Over a few dollars here, because "Big Fish" finally seems to have knocked off "Lord of the Rings" as the top movie.
O'BRIEN: The Tim Burton movie.
LEMIRE: Yes, this is about this guy who tells this huge tale. And Ewan McGregor is in it. It's a beautiful -- it's a very strange movie. Like, if Felini (ph) had directed "Forest Gump," this would be the result. It's a very weird little movie.
And I guess everyone in America has now seen "Lord of the Rings," and so they are choosing something else to see, finally. It's very close at No. 1, but probably "Big Fish" will beat "Lord of the Rings" by a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
BOROWITZ: But some of the studies were actually accusing Columbia of inflating the box office figures for figures for "Big Fish," which is a very serious charge. Then you are saying that a studio executive is lying, which I think...
O'BRIEN: Shocking.
BOROWITZ: Yes, it's so shocking. LEMIRE: We don't want to know that.
O'BRIEN: But I was sort of surprised that there wasn't just sort of some sort of system that actually just calculated it, as opposed to...
SIGESMUND: Well, no, the studios release the figures themselves on Sunday, and then they're all tabulated and confirmed on Monday. So, we'll know by the end of the day who is messing up.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: If Halliburton had made "Big Fish," it would have made $30 billion.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the WB's new show, which they say -- they call them bigger than life celebrities in the show called "The Surreal World," now in its second season. Here they are: Tammy Faye Messner, she used to be Tammy Faye Baker, porn star Ron Jeremy, Eric Estrada from "Chips" -- actually, I love him -- Vanilla Ice whose name is really...
BOROWITZ: Rob Van Winkle (ph).
O'BRIEN: ... Rob Van Winkle (ph), sorry.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Traci Bingham, she was in "Baywatch," and...
BOROWITZ: Yes, I believe I saw her from time to time.
O'BRIEN: ... Treshell Canatella (ph), who I didn't know who she was, but I guess she was...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: She was from the "Real World," wasn't she?
SIGESMUND: She was the promiscuous chick on the "Real World: Las Vegas".
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SIGESMUND: That's her claim.
O'BRIEN: What's...
BOROWITZ: Well, these -- you know, these are not really larger than life celebrities. These are people who could not score an infomercial. That's more accurate. So, it's basically take all of these has-beens -- people who would have in the old days been on "The Love Boat" -- and instead put them in a house and see how they interact, and hopefully.. SIGESMUND: But the best thing about this show (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is they are total d-listers, who think they are a-listers.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Well, except Ron Jeremy is in the house, and he has made 1,700 porn films. However, this will be the first show he does that I think he has to explain to his children. Yes, daddy needed money, and he had to work with Vanilla Ice.
LEMIRE: You know, he's (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He's like the sympathetic figure in the house.
O'BRIEN: Really?
LEMIRE: Vanilla Ice...
BOROWITZ: That's a damning comment.
LEMIRE: It is. Now, Vanilla Ice has, like, this meltdown while they go grocery shopping.
O'BRIEN: So do I sometimes.
LEMIRE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I understand.
LEMIRE: And Traci Bingham is, like, I can't take a bath in the bathtub. It's pink. I can't take a bath in there.
SIGESMUND: She's absolutely (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Tammy Faye comes off very well actually.
BOROWITZ: She always does.
O'BRIEN: Is it entertaining or is it pathetic?
LEMIRE: I think it was pathetic.
SIGESMUND: It's more pathetic than entertaining, I thought.
LEMIRE: I cannot watch any more of this stuff. I cannot take it.
O'BRIEN: So, pathetic, maybe it even is entertainment. "Surreal Life"...
BOROWITZ: "Surreal Life."
O'BRIEN: ... enters its second season.
SIGESMUND: It's on again tonight if you happened to miss it last night.
LEMIRE: Yes. (CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Let me write that down. On tonight. All right, you guys, as always, thanks so much. Andy and Christy and B.J. Nice to have you back from vacation.
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 January 12, 2004 - 07:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You know the drill, everybody. We call it "90-Second Pop." It's a look at the world of pop culture from the fast lane with our quit-witted panel, or at least we hope they are today. Our humorist, Andy Borowitz, joins us this morning.
You've got a new book out. It's called "Governor Arnold: a photo diary of his first 100 days of office." Oh, my goodness. That's quite a picture on the cover there. We'll talk about that just ahead.
Christy Lemire is also with us. She's an Associated Press entertainment writer. And B.J. Sigesmund is a staff editor for "US Weekly," just back from a little vacation.
We missed you while you were gone. Thanks for coming back.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, B.J., let's begin with you. The People's Choice Awards. What kind of an impact do they really have kind of in big picture? Are they really a precursor of the Oscars? And did anything surprise you yesterday?
SIGESMUND: Well, the People's Choice Awards, they were big 30 years ago when they started, but now we have so many award shows that the People's Choice Awards don't really mean anything. In fact, Mel Gibson got one last night. He hasn't had a movie come out in two years.
O'BRIEN: You know, I saw that, and I said, 'What movie was he in?'
SIGESMUND: No, it was the Critics' Choice Awards this Saturday night that actually were meaningful that created front runners in some important races. As you know, "Lord of the Rings" has the lock on best picture and best director at this time, but the acting races are open. And this weekend, Charlize Theron got best actress for Critics' Choice...
O'BRIEN: She's supposed to be amazing in "Monster."
SIGESMUND: She is. In that movie, I think, she's going to go all the way to the Oscar podium. And then also, Sean Penn for "Mystic River," he got best actor. So, these are the two candidates to beat at this point.
CHRISTY LEMIRE, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I would love to see Charlize win this. But it's so dark and the movie is so small and just like relentlessly bleak. I mean, could she win, do you think, really?
SIGESMUND: I think she could win, because, like Hillary Swank or Adrian Brody...
O'BRIEN: Huge transformation, good...
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: Yes, yes, and these are small, you know, not huge commercial successes. I don't think "Boys Don't Cry" even made $30 million. But they're great performances, and that's what the Oscars are all about.
ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Do you mean to tell me Mel Gibson did not get a Critics' Choice Award, even though he had no films out this year? It's like an oversight.
O'BRIEN: Clearly...
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: Hate to break it to you.
O'BRIEN: Let's, Christy, talk about the box office, because I was amazed to come in this morning and see controversy over the weekend box office numbers.
LEMIRE: Right.
O'BRIEN: Who would have thought?
LEMIRE: Over a few dollars here, because "Big Fish" finally seems to have knocked off "Lord of the Rings" as the top movie.
O'BRIEN: The Tim Burton movie.
LEMIRE: Yes, this is about this guy who tells this huge tale. And Ewan McGregor is in it. It's a beautiful -- it's a very strange movie. Like, if Felini (ph) had directed "Forest Gump," this would be the result. It's a very weird little movie.
And I guess everyone in America has now seen "Lord of the Rings," and so they are choosing something else to see, finally. It's very close at No. 1, but probably "Big Fish" will beat "Lord of the Rings" by a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
BOROWITZ: But some of the studies were actually accusing Columbia of inflating the box office figures for figures for "Big Fish," which is a very serious charge. Then you are saying that a studio executive is lying, which I think...
O'BRIEN: Shocking.
BOROWITZ: Yes, it's so shocking. LEMIRE: We don't want to know that.
O'BRIEN: But I was sort of surprised that there wasn't just sort of some sort of system that actually just calculated it, as opposed to...
SIGESMUND: Well, no, the studios release the figures themselves on Sunday, and then they're all tabulated and confirmed on Monday. So, we'll know by the end of the day who is messing up.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: If Halliburton had made "Big Fish," it would have made $30 billion.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the WB's new show, which they say -- they call them bigger than life celebrities in the show called "The Surreal World," now in its second season. Here they are: Tammy Faye Messner, she used to be Tammy Faye Baker, porn star Ron Jeremy, Eric Estrada from "Chips" -- actually, I love him -- Vanilla Ice whose name is really...
BOROWITZ: Rob Van Winkle (ph).
O'BRIEN: ... Rob Van Winkle (ph), sorry.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Traci Bingham, she was in "Baywatch," and...
BOROWITZ: Yes, I believe I saw her from time to time.
O'BRIEN: ... Treshell Canatella (ph), who I didn't know who she was, but I guess she was...
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: She was from the "Real World," wasn't she?
SIGESMUND: She was the promiscuous chick on the "Real World: Las Vegas".
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SIGESMUND: That's her claim.
O'BRIEN: What's...
BOROWITZ: Well, these -- you know, these are not really larger than life celebrities. These are people who could not score an infomercial. That's more accurate. So, it's basically take all of these has-beens -- people who would have in the old days been on "The Love Boat" -- and instead put them in a house and see how they interact, and hopefully.. SIGESMUND: But the best thing about this show (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is they are total d-listers, who think they are a-listers.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: Well, except Ron Jeremy is in the house, and he has made 1,700 porn films. However, this will be the first show he does that I think he has to explain to his children. Yes, daddy needed money, and he had to work with Vanilla Ice.
LEMIRE: You know, he's (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He's like the sympathetic figure in the house.
O'BRIEN: Really?
LEMIRE: Vanilla Ice...
BOROWITZ: That's a damning comment.
LEMIRE: It is. Now, Vanilla Ice has, like, this meltdown while they go grocery shopping.
O'BRIEN: So do I sometimes.
LEMIRE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I understand.
LEMIRE: And Traci Bingham is, like, I can't take a bath in the bathtub. It's pink. I can't take a bath in there.
SIGESMUND: She's absolutely (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Tammy Faye comes off very well actually.
BOROWITZ: She always does.
O'BRIEN: Is it entertaining or is it pathetic?
LEMIRE: I think it was pathetic.
SIGESMUND: It's more pathetic than entertaining, I thought.
LEMIRE: I cannot watch any more of this stuff. I cannot take it.
O'BRIEN: So, pathetic, maybe it even is entertainment. "Surreal Life"...
BOROWITZ: "Surreal Life."
O'BRIEN: ... enters its second season.
SIGESMUND: It's on again tonight if you happened to miss it last night.
LEMIRE: Yes. (CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Let me write that down. On tonight. All right, you guys, as always, thanks so much. Andy and Christy and B.J. Nice to have you back from vacation.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
