Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Tracy Morgan's Emotional Comeback; Odom's Former Coach Speaks; Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett on "Truth". Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 19, 2015 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:30] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things to know for your Monday.

At number one, new polling this morning shows that voters believe Hillary Clinton won the first Democratic debate by nearly two to one over Bernie Sanders. But the CNN/ORC poll shows only a narrow overall bump in her numbers.

The Donald Trump-Jeb Bush feud is on the front burner again. Trump says 9/11 would never have happened if he were president. Jeb Bush, though, says he has great concerns about Trump being commander in chief.

One of the most brazen attacks by Palestinians against Israelis in recent weeks. A gunman opening fire at a bus station killing an Israeli soldier and wounding at least 11 others. That attacker was shot and killed.

Authorities could be closing in on the notorious Mexican drug kingpin El Chapo. He's said to be hurt after eluding authorities last week. A pilot suspected of helping him has been arrested.

The New York Mets, on the strength of Noah Syndergaard's dominant pitching and Daniel Murphy's timely hit, defeating the Chicago Cubs 4- 1 to open a two game to none lead in the national championship series.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.

Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Tracy Morgan making a triumphant return to "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. This comes after a very tough year for the "30 Rock" star, recovering after a near death limo crash.

In today's "Human Factor," CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has more on Morgan's resiliency which dates back long before the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On "30 Rock," Tracy Morgan made us laugh. [08:35:01] TRACY MORGAN, COMEDIAN: I am a Jedi.

GUPTA: By played an over the top version of himself. The roll earned him an Emmy nomination and scores of fans.

Morgan first rose to fame in the '90s on "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Brian Fellow (ph).

MORGAN: That bird is a liar.

GUPTA: The laughter masking personal pain. A troubled upbringing, his father's death to AIDS, his best friend's murder, life threatening battle with diabetes.

MORGAN: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

GUPTA: But on June 7, 2014, everything changed.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Tracy Morgan was involved in a very serious auto accident.

GUPTA: The crash left him in a coma for weeks. Morgan's recovery meant he had to miss "SNL's" 40th anniversary special.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish my friend Tracy Morgan was here tonight.

GUPTA: A few months later, he was ready to talk on the "Today" show.

MORGAN: I love comedy and I wonder how I'm going to be funny again.

GUPTA: In the first images of Morgan after the accident, a familiar, upbeat smile. His doctor even telling "The Daily Beast" he was, quote, "nothing short of a miracle." And in returning to "SNL," nothing short of an emotional homecoming.

MORGAN: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Wow. It was great to see him back.

PEREIRA: It was incredible. Really powerful. And I loved that he was joking about his own recovery right at the outset. It was so good.

CAMEROTA: Yes, in typical "SNL" fashion, he turned it into some material for him.

PEREIRA: Yes. A sight for sore eyes.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And the more he does, the better he'll get.

PEREIRA: Yes.

CUOMO: So, we'll be watching that.

Also, another story we're watching for you. He pushed Lamar Odom to be the best he could be, and now his mentor and former coach, Jim Harrick, is speaking out to NEW DAY. What was running through his mind when he learned that his prodigy, Lamar Odom, one of the best in basketball, had suffered this injury? You'll want to see it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:56] PEREIRA: Two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom is said to be improving after being in a coma for days. He was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel last week. There are reports that he's now able to speak and making some slow but steady progress. Joining us now is Lamar Odom's mentor and former college coach, Jim Harrick. He joins us from Los Angeles this morning.

Coach, thanks so much for joining us.

I - I - first of all, I can imagine that this news must have hit you really hard when you found out the state your friend and mentee was in?

JIM HARRICK, LAMAR ODOM'S FORMER COACH: Well, they're like sons to you, Michaela, and it really was difficult because he's very - we're very close, and you never want to lose a loved one like that. We've been on pins and needles for some days now. But like you said, we've got a little bit of progress and a little bit - the word I've used before is hopeful. We're a little bit hope - more hopeful now.

PEREIRA: That's good. And those are the kinds of words you want to be hearing at this stage in the game. I know you've been in touch with Khloe. Can you give us the latest? We've heard some reports - "The L.A. Times" is saying that he's up, texting, even speaking. Other sites say that he is communicating with hand gestures. What are you hearing?

HARRICK: Well, I don't know that he's up and texting. That - I'm in contact with Khloe almost every day and - and he spoke a few words. She reached down and said, hey, I - you know I love you. And he said, yes, I know, and then went back to sleep. And then yesterday he took his breathing tube out himself and he - he needs - if he needs a mask, he'll wear it, but he's breathing on his own, and that's another progress. And he did speak to her and said, good morning, and then he went back to sleep. But slowly he's making - everything the last two days have been progress and we're just very hopeful.

PEREIRA: That's - that's huge. Yes, there have been so many people praying for his recovery, that's for sure. I - we've seen publicly, and we know that even privately, there have been a lot of sentiments in that regard.

So you're in touch with Khloe. You know her. Sir, I know that you're aware there's a whole lot of speculation about their relationship. Given her last name, it certainly adds a certain air of tabloidness to the whole thing. There's even speculation about why she's even there. What light can you shed on this relationship for us? HARRICK: Well, you know, I did not know Khloe. I went to the wedding

and, you know, met her there. And then I went on a road trip with the Lakers one time. Lamar took me on the road. And we went out and had dinner. Khloe and I and Lamar and my assistant coach, Jerry Delagorio (ph), and I just come to fall in love with her. She's just a sweet, loving, lovely young girl, and they had a great relationship. I think she's a rock. And I think she's the best thing that ever happened to Lamar Odom. And I hope he wakes up and realizes it. I want to go over there and smack him and let him know that, you know, that's a great relationship and we need to - we need to get on the right path again. And he's a great young guy. Michaela, you know, he lost his mother when he was 12 and his father wasn't around and, you know, you don't know what things -

PEREIRA: Yes. He's had his share of demons. Yes.

HARRICK: Yes, you don't know what those kind of thing do to you. But now's a - now's a point and there's a - you know, there - I've always said, in life, there's turning points in your life, in your career and everything. And this is a turning point for Lamar. And I think between Khloe, myself and his support system, we can - we can get him right on track.

PEREIRA: That would be great.

HARRICK: I've heard, and like you said, the prayers from everybody, he'll - I think he might be one of the most popular guys to ever play in the NBA.

PEREIRA: I think I agree with you. I want to ask you, though, did you have concerns about a guy - you talk about the tremendous - the tremendous loss this young man experienced between losing his grandmother and losing his own infant son, all the tragedy in his life and the fragility of it.

Did you have concerns about him getting involved in a reality show, further putting him into the scrutiny, aside from, you know, just the scrutiny you'd have as a Laker? But it's sort of - he never could escape the cameras. Were you concerned about that?

[08:45:10] HARRICK: Well, you know, when he called me and said he was getting married, I was concerned about that because I know it was just a short relationship. But, you know, he's a young man. He's not a boy. He's a man.

PEREIRA: 35 years old.

HARRICK: He's in his 30s. He's accountable for his actions and responsible. I really felt he knew what he was doing. I think he could handle it, between he and Khloe. I know most of the things, probably, are his fault, but I think he could have handled that maybe a little bit better. You know, he always called me and said, you know, it's crazy, the craziness of it all. I really don't know what that means. But --

PEREIRA: Coach Harrick, we appreciate you joining us today, and I'm really glad to hear the hope in your voice and to see that smile on your face, too. I know how much this young man means to you and he's very lucky to have somebody like you by his side in his recovery, which we hope will be continuing to progress.

Thanks for joining us on NEW DAY today.

HARRICK: Thank you very much for having me.

PEREIRA: Our pleasure.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela. There's a new movie about the scandal that rocked CBS News. The movie's stars, Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett, will be here next to talk about Dan Rather and what "Truth" means to them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: It was a scandal that rocked a powerhouse of broadcasting and forever scarred a journalism giant.

[08:49:58] The 2004 "60 Minutes II" story called the National Guard service of George W. Bush into question. But the report ended up being based on forged documents. The scandal surrounding CBS News anchor Dan Rather is now the focus of a new film, "Truth."

I got a chance to sit down with the stars, Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett, to discuss the film.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: So I understand that the writer and the director was asked how he got two venerable Oscar winners to do his film -- his first- time directing and he said he was incredibly lucky, clearly.

CATE BLANCHETT, ACTOR, "TRUTH": Certainly wasn't the pay, was it?

ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR, "TRUTH": Certainly wasn't.

BLANCHETT: No. But it's the material. And I don't know about you, but I knew about the "60 Minutes" piece that Mary had produced, which Dan Rather fronted, but I didn't know about the personal and professional detritus (ph) behind the scenes. So it was a complete revelation for me.

PEREIRA: 2004 isn't a terribly long time ago. Very controversial then, still now. Did that give you any hesitation, or did you say, no, I want to jump in with both feet?

REDFORD: No hesitation. It was a great story. It was a great story and a great script. I just remember something that happened, open and shut. It happened and it went away real fast. It didn't seem to be any playout. It just rose up and went away. That's all I remember. Now, I think, what this script does, what this film does, is open that up to take a hard look at what the real story was. Because I think the real story kind of got shut down.

BLANCHETT: But it's very easy to forget that where Dan Rather and Mary Mapes found themselves was in completely uncharted territory, that invisible commentary versus investigative journalism for journalists who had had a long and celebrated careers and went through a process of due diligence, you know, that all of that world was completely new. We take it for granted now.

PEREIRA: We do take it for granted. It's interesting because when people see this film, because we know that there are people that already have their own opinions about what really went on with this story, right? Do either of you feel differently than you did going into it, now that you've done all your research for the film?

REDFORD: When I entered the project, I called Dan Rather and said, Dan, is there anything you want to tell me? He said, yes, Bob, it was about loyalty. He says my loyalty to Mary, it was an unbroken loyalty. And hers to me, and also our joint loyalty to our bosses. That part got broken. So I think that's what this story is really about. Going through the ups and downs of what they went through, what held them together was loyalty. That made a big impression on me.

BLANCHETT: What makes the film compelling, I think, is it asks similarly controversial and important questions about what is the difference between the area that the legal profession, you know, the terrain that they walk, and the difference between that profession and the profession of journalism, because the journalist's profession, surely, is to ask the questions.

REDFORD: The hope - at least this is, I think, our hope -- is that the film provokes thought and conversation that never happened at that time because it was an open and shut thing. So therefore, now, it's time and a distance between then and now, allows you to have some perspective that you couldn't have had at the time.

PEREIRA: Some of the criticism has surrounded the fact that this account is from Mary Mapes' version of how it played out. You brought in so much powerfully of her own story into this. What do you say to that?

BLANCHETT: I don't see my job as an actor to ask an audience to like someone. You hope to humanize that person and you hope to present, say, someone like Mary (INAUDIBLE) and all. Everyone at "60 Minutes," they always work under the tick-tock of the clock and, you know, in a way that maybe they were guilty of being pressured by time. But what journalist isn't?

REDFORD: She wrote the book from a hurt place. She was hurt. She was hurt because of how her profession was treated and how she was treated within the profession. So she wrote from that point of view. But I think Cate's performance so embodies that journey that she went through, including hurt, but also underneath the hurt is passion, drive, wanting to do the right thing, wanting to be a really good reporter. PEREIRA: I know you both met with each of them to talk about this and

to prepare for your roles. That's a challenge, too, as an actor, when it's in recent memory. When these people are alive and watching the film.

BLANCHETT: There's a sense of responsibility.

PEREIRA: Sure.

BLANCHETT: Because those -- the wound is still raw. It's completely shaped and altered not only their legacies as journalists, but also their day to day lives and perspectives. But yet, it's not a biopic. It's not about them. It's not about Mary Mapes, so you see them in a particular state of crisis. So they're both compelling, vital, intelligent, hilarious people, but it's how do you then shoehorn all of that life force into a very short, intense space of time? And I think that was the -- I found that the challenge.

[08:55:10] REDFORD: Right.

PEREIRA: Well, congratulations. The film is terrific. Thank you so much for sitting down with us.

REDFORD: Thank you. It's nice to be with you.

PEREIRA: The real delight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: "Truth" is in theaters now. Be sure to check it out. We got your "Good Stuff" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: "Good Stuff." Another school attack. This time, thwarted by this guy. 75-year-old Army vet James Vernon. Listen to this. He's teaching his chess class at the local library. This madman busts in with two knives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES VERNON, ARMY VETERAN WHO THWARTED SCHOOL ATTACK: He flung the door open and yelled, I'm coming in here, I'm going to kill somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Vernon talked down this kid, 19-year-old comes in, long enough for the kids to leave the room. He got all the kids out and then Brown attacked him. Not only did Vernon disarm the suspect and hold him until police arrive, even with that banged up hand -- because he was stabbed -- he promises to keep holding his chess class as scheduled. After all, he says, chess requires only one arm.

Dustin - the kid who did it, you know, he was out on bail on kiddy porn charges --

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh.

CUOMO: -- when he attacked the library.

CAMEROTA: Wow. Just incredible story. Good for that man.