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American Morning

90-Second Pop, Culture Watch

Aired February 16, 2004 - 07:42   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 now for an all-new episode of "90-Second Pop." Today, A-Rod comes to the Bronx, celebrities jump the shark, and love rules at the movies.
Here to discuss it this morning, humorist Andy Borowitz joins us.

Hey, Andy. Good morning.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Toure, contributing editor for "Rolling Stone" magazine.

TOURE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": Can you see that?

O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, they've got to drop the banner.

TOURE: See that thing? Yes, baby! Yes, baby!

O'BRIEN: Wearing his heart on his sleeve. No, his sleeve on his heart.

And also this morning, B.J. Sigesmund, a staff editor for "US Weekly."

Well, let's get right into talking about A-Rod. Now, you all know I don't know anything about baseball. And Hemmer actually should be brought in as the guest host for this part of the segment. But we're talking about a guy who makes $252 million over 10 years. He's the highest paid person in baseball.

TOURE: Well, actually in sports.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

TOURE: And the best player in sports.

O'BRIEN: Right.

TOURE: And he's joining the best team in sports. It's like Christmas, isn't it, all over again? I'm so happy!

O'BRIEN: Yes, if you're a Yankee fan, I guess.

BOROWITZ: I see lots of TV sets in Boston just flocking off.

O'BRIEN: And, of course, they are hugely disappointed, because they were hoping that he would...

BOROWITZ: Right.

TOURE: They had a chance to get him.

O'BRIEN: ... back in December.

BOROWITZ: For Manny Ramirez.

TOURE: I mean, when it's such a big deal there's an amazing little subtext, like the Rangers have to pay his mortgage until they sell his house. Right? The Yankees have to give him a suite in the hotels on the road when they travel, and the Red Sox fans get to jump out of windows all over the place.

BOROWITZ: The thing I was thinking about is, you know, it's $250 million. You still have to put eight other players -- I mean, they're going to have to, like, outsource second base to India.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": I was thinking about it as everyone keeps comparing him to Derek Jeter, his long-time best friend, maybe. We're not sure if they are so close anymore. But personality-wise, he's not...

O'BRIEN: They're both handsome.

SIGESMUND: Well...

O'BRIEN: There you go.

TOURE: Well, you may have the crossover vote.

SIGESMUND: He's not quite the personality of Derek Jeter. First of all, he's married already, which is a huge difference.

O'BRIEN: That hasn't stopped many a baseball player. I just want to throw that out there generically. I know he's...

SIGESMUND: I'm not sure he's going to become -- he's going to cross over and become this huge sensation outside of the sports arena.

TOURE: But he's a lot better talker than Jeter is. He's a little more quiet than him. And just physically, he's very -- just the way he moves is very exciting to watch.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: But doesn't this kind of ruin the game, because -- well, I mean, isn't the theory that...

TOURE: No, no, no.

O'BRIEN: OK, if you're not a Yankees fan.

TOURE: No, no, no!

O'BRIEN: Stop. If you're not a Yankees fan, doesn't this kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the competition on the field?

BOROWITZ: Well, you know, the Yankees have the highest payroll, and they're still capable of losing games, because they lost to the Florida Marlins. So, there's still hope, unless you're from Cleveland, my hometown, then there is no hope.

O'BRIEN: That's just sad.

TOURE: But historically, baseball is always better when the Yankees are one of the dominant teams. If they win all the time, then Cleveland and everyone is sad, but to have the Yankees stand up as a pillar and one of the best teams, it's always go for baseball.

BOROWITZ: So, this is good for everyone.

(CROSSTALK)

TOURE: It's good for everyone, Yankees, even in Boston.

O'BRIEN: You're trying to sell that, and it's not working at all.

TOURE: Take your medicine, Boston.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. Let's talk about reality TV, because it's been probably two whole weeks and we haven't discussed it. Really, it looks like there are some problems. The Osbournes, Sharon Osbourne's talk show is gone.

SIGESMUND: Right, it's over, yes.

O'BRIEN: It was a terrible show. Sorry, Sharon, but it was horrible. What's her face?

SIGESMUND: Anna Nicole Smith.

O'BRIEN: Anna Nicole Smith is gone.

SIGESMUND: Yes, her show is also over.

O'BRIEN: The ratings weren't that bad.

SIGESMUND: The ratings weren't that bad. They said that they are cutting out -- they are not going to do the third season of the "Anna Nicole Show" because of creative problems.

BOROWITZ: Now, what does that mean?

SIGESMUND: I'm not sure what that is, but creative...

BOROWITZ: What was creative? When they say creative, did they want it to be a detective show? I mean, what does that mean?

SIGESMUND: I think it's open to interpretation exactly what the problem was there. But I have to say that it's not over for Anna Nicole Smith just yet. O'BRIEN: No?

SIGESMUND: A lot of people have seen she's got this new body, courtesy of Trim Spa (ph) supposedly, and she's doing a special on E! on I think the 22nd, Anna Nicole bares all, where she talks about how she lost all of this weight...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: She's on a roll.

SIGESMUND: I'll be there.

TOURE: I'm yawning. I mean, "The Osbournes," too, it seems they're a little bit over. The show is not doing so well. Kelly's music career -- it's OK to fall off. It's hard to get on and be that level of celebrity. It's -- everybody falls off.

O'BRIEN: You're like Mr. charitable today.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: I think it that's A-Rod -- he's riding that A-Rod rave, I think. I think that's what it is.

O'BRIEN: All right, before I let you go, let's talk about the weekend box office, because "50 First Dates" did very well, which I think everybody was kind of predicting. But it did even better than "The Wedding Singer"...

BOROWITZ: Right.

O'BRIEN: ... did many years ago with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler.

BOROWITZ: It's kind of a whole new twist on the Adam Sandler formula, because this is the first Adam Sandler movie where he isn't playing the brain-damaged character. So, this was a new thing. But it's like these are kind of the dog days of winter still movie-wise. So, it's hard to really judge. I mean, we're seeing movies like, you know, dirty dancing (UNINTELLIGIBLE), things like that.

O'BRIEN: Hey, I worked in (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's not such a bad place.

BOROWITZ: Sorry.

SIGESMUND: But they did a smart thing with this movie, which was to release it on Valentine's Day.

BOROWITZ: Right.

SIGESMUND: What couple didn't at least consider going to see it on Saturday?

O'BRIEN: We didn't go. TOURE: But you considered it. You thought about it, in the hopper.

BOROWITZ: They were very appealing. You know, Adam Sandler is really good. They are really an appealing couple.

O'BRIEN: Is "Barber Shop 2" worth seeing? Have you seen it?

TOURE: What? The coon show? Heck, no, I'm not going to see that! Are you kidding? A bunch of Negros acting like fools? No, I don't pay for that. I can see that in Brooklyn every day.

BOROWITZ: You just used about three words I could never use today. I thought I should just say that.

O'BRIEN: I'm biracial, and I couldn't use them either.

BOROWITZ: I know. That's why Toure is on the panel.

O'BRIEN: I think that's just going to be our final word this morning. As always, you guys, thanks.

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 February 16, 2004 - 07:42   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 now for an all-new episode of "90-Second Pop." Today, A-Rod comes to the Bronx, celebrities jump the shark, and love rules at the movies.
Here to discuss it this morning, humorist Andy Borowitz joins us.

Hey, Andy. Good morning.

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Toure, contributing editor for "Rolling Stone" magazine.

TOURE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": Can you see that?

O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, they've got to drop the banner.

TOURE: See that thing? Yes, baby! Yes, baby!

O'BRIEN: Wearing his heart on his sleeve. No, his sleeve on his heart.

And also this morning, B.J. Sigesmund, a staff editor for "US Weekly."

Well, let's get right into talking about A-Rod. Now, you all know I don't know anything about baseball. And Hemmer actually should be brought in as the guest host for this part of the segment. But we're talking about a guy who makes $252 million over 10 years. He's the highest paid person in baseball.

TOURE: Well, actually in sports.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

TOURE: And the best player in sports.

O'BRIEN: Right.

TOURE: And he's joining the best team in sports. It's like Christmas, isn't it, all over again? I'm so happy!

O'BRIEN: Yes, if you're a Yankee fan, I guess.

BOROWITZ: I see lots of TV sets in Boston just flocking off.

O'BRIEN: And, of course, they are hugely disappointed, because they were hoping that he would...

BOROWITZ: Right.

TOURE: They had a chance to get him.

O'BRIEN: ... back in December.

BOROWITZ: For Manny Ramirez.

TOURE: I mean, when it's such a big deal there's an amazing little subtext, like the Rangers have to pay his mortgage until they sell his house. Right? The Yankees have to give him a suite in the hotels on the road when they travel, and the Red Sox fans get to jump out of windows all over the place.

BOROWITZ: The thing I was thinking about is, you know, it's $250 million. You still have to put eight other players -- I mean, they're going to have to, like, outsource second base to India.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": I was thinking about it as everyone keeps comparing him to Derek Jeter, his long-time best friend, maybe. We're not sure if they are so close anymore. But personality-wise, he's not...

O'BRIEN: They're both handsome.

SIGESMUND: Well...

O'BRIEN: There you go.

TOURE: Well, you may have the crossover vote.

SIGESMUND: He's not quite the personality of Derek Jeter. First of all, he's married already, which is a huge difference.

O'BRIEN: That hasn't stopped many a baseball player. I just want to throw that out there generically. I know he's...

SIGESMUND: I'm not sure he's going to become -- he's going to cross over and become this huge sensation outside of the sports arena.

TOURE: But he's a lot better talker than Jeter is. He's a little more quiet than him. And just physically, he's very -- just the way he moves is very exciting to watch.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: But doesn't this kind of ruin the game, because -- well, I mean, isn't the theory that...

TOURE: No, no, no.

O'BRIEN: OK, if you're not a Yankees fan.

TOURE: No, no, no!

O'BRIEN: Stop. If you're not a Yankees fan, doesn't this kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the competition on the field?

BOROWITZ: Well, you know, the Yankees have the highest payroll, and they're still capable of losing games, because they lost to the Florida Marlins. So, there's still hope, unless you're from Cleveland, my hometown, then there is no hope.

O'BRIEN: That's just sad.

TOURE: But historically, baseball is always better when the Yankees are one of the dominant teams. If they win all the time, then Cleveland and everyone is sad, but to have the Yankees stand up as a pillar and one of the best teams, it's always go for baseball.

BOROWITZ: So, this is good for everyone.

(CROSSTALK)

TOURE: It's good for everyone, Yankees, even in Boston.

O'BRIEN: You're trying to sell that, and it's not working at all.

TOURE: Take your medicine, Boston.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. Let's talk about reality TV, because it's been probably two whole weeks and we haven't discussed it. Really, it looks like there are some problems. The Osbournes, Sharon Osbourne's talk show is gone.

SIGESMUND: Right, it's over, yes.

O'BRIEN: It was a terrible show. Sorry, Sharon, but it was horrible. What's her face?

SIGESMUND: Anna Nicole Smith.

O'BRIEN: Anna Nicole Smith is gone.

SIGESMUND: Yes, her show is also over.

O'BRIEN: The ratings weren't that bad.

SIGESMUND: The ratings weren't that bad. They said that they are cutting out -- they are not going to do the third season of the "Anna Nicole Show" because of creative problems.

BOROWITZ: Now, what does that mean?

SIGESMUND: I'm not sure what that is, but creative...

BOROWITZ: What was creative? When they say creative, did they want it to be a detective show? I mean, what does that mean?

SIGESMUND: I think it's open to interpretation exactly what the problem was there. But I have to say that it's not over for Anna Nicole Smith just yet. O'BRIEN: No?

SIGESMUND: A lot of people have seen she's got this new body, courtesy of Trim Spa (ph) supposedly, and she's doing a special on E! on I think the 22nd, Anna Nicole bares all, where she talks about how she lost all of this weight...

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: She's on a roll.

SIGESMUND: I'll be there.

TOURE: I'm yawning. I mean, "The Osbournes," too, it seems they're a little bit over. The show is not doing so well. Kelly's music career -- it's OK to fall off. It's hard to get on and be that level of celebrity. It's -- everybody falls off.

O'BRIEN: You're like Mr. charitable today.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: I think it that's A-Rod -- he's riding that A-Rod rave, I think. I think that's what it is.

O'BRIEN: All right, before I let you go, let's talk about the weekend box office, because "50 First Dates" did very well, which I think everybody was kind of predicting. But it did even better than "The Wedding Singer"...

BOROWITZ: Right.

O'BRIEN: ... did many years ago with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler.

BOROWITZ: It's kind of a whole new twist on the Adam Sandler formula, because this is the first Adam Sandler movie where he isn't playing the brain-damaged character. So, this was a new thing. But it's like these are kind of the dog days of winter still movie-wise. So, it's hard to really judge. I mean, we're seeing movies like, you know, dirty dancing (UNINTELLIGIBLE), things like that.

O'BRIEN: Hey, I worked in (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's not such a bad place.

BOROWITZ: Sorry.

SIGESMUND: But they did a smart thing with this movie, which was to release it on Valentine's Day.

BOROWITZ: Right.

SIGESMUND: What couple didn't at least consider going to see it on Saturday?

O'BRIEN: We didn't go. TOURE: But you considered it. You thought about it, in the hopper.

BOROWITZ: They were very appealing. You know, Adam Sandler is really good. They are really an appealing couple.

O'BRIEN: Is "Barber Shop 2" worth seeing? Have you seen it?

TOURE: What? The coon show? Heck, no, I'm not going to see that! Are you kidding? A bunch of Negros acting like fools? No, I don't pay for that. I can see that in Brooklyn every day.

BOROWITZ: You just used about three words I could never use today. I thought I should just say that.

O'BRIEN: I'm biracial, and I couldn't use them either.

BOROWITZ: I know. That's why Toure is on the panel.

O'BRIEN: I think that's just going to be our final word this morning. As always, you guys, thanks.

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