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Piers Morgan Live
Interview with Lisa Kudrow; Matthew Perry Talks Addiction
Aired July 26, 2013 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MATTHEW PERRY, GUEST HOST: Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to PIERS MORGAN LIVE.
I'm sure you're able to tell right away that I'm not Piers Morgan.
The way you can tell that for sure is that I don't have a British accent and I don't have a name that sounds very pointy.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: About a month ago, I got a call from Jeff Zucker asking me to guest host PIERS MORGAN LIVE.
And I had two questions for him. The first question was, how do -- how the hell did you get my number, Jeff? And the second question, of course, was, who's Piers Morgan?
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: Seriously.
Once I got the answer, though, to those two questions, though, I thought this could be really fun. You now, this could be exciting. This is brand new. It reminded me of a night that I won my first Emmy. The magical night that were -- I'm sorry?
Oh, I haven't won a damn thing.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: That's right. I forgot.
You know what, maybe I'll win an Emmy for my performance here today. What's that?
Not a chance.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: Who is talking into my ear? Because glass is half empty kind of voice kind of voice in my ear.
(LAUGHTER) PERRY: I want you to know that I'm not accustomed to reporting the news, but should any breaking news stories come, I'll do my utmost to report them to you.
I'm sorry -- oh, this just in. Oh, yes, the royal baby is still a boy. It's still a boy, which is also the title of my forthcoming autobiography.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: So instead of PIERS MORGAN LIVE tonight, it will be Matthew Perry with, you know, an hour delay.
We're going to have a lot of fun tonight. We're going to be educated on some topics. And my hope is that we all learn a little bit about ourselves.
Later, my good friend, Lauren Graham, will be here. You know her from "Gilmore Girls" and "Parenthood." And she's got a "New York Times" best-seller.
We'll also be speaking with some experts about alcoholism and addiction and my favorite topic these days, drug court.
But first up -- she is beautiful, she's intelligent, she's hilarious, and if memory serves, she owes me $47.
LISA KUDROW, ACTRESS: Oops.
PERRY: Do you remember that?
KUDROW: Oops.
PERRY: Steak sandwiches?
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: You want to -- let's talk about it later.
KUDROW: All right.
PERRY: She's the executive producer of "Web Therapy" and "Who Do You Think You Are?"
Please, welcome one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. You may remember her as being the second funniest cast member on "Friends." Emmy winner, Lisa Kudrow.
Lisa, thank you for being here.
(LAUGHTER)
KUDROW: Thank you for giving me second.
PERRY: Yes, it was tough, because first, it's so easy and you have to watch the episodes. KUDROW: Right, right, to figure out.
PERRY: But congratulations.
KUDROW: Thank you.
PERRY: You are next to the best.
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: Here's something that's cool. The producers asked us to pick our favorite scene that we were in together. And independent of one another, we picked the same scene.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: So let's get started then we'll show that scene from the "Friendship" show, ladies and gentlemen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "FRIENDS")
PERRY: There is nothing left for us to do but kiss.
KUDROW: Here it comes. Our first kiss.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: OK, OK, OK. You win. I can't have sex with you.
KUDROW: And why not?
PERRY: Because I'm in love with Monica.
KUDROW: You're what?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: So, that's interesting to watch.
KUDROW: My God.
PERRY: That was hilarious. I forgot how much fun we were having.
KUDROW: I know. That was the first, because you were the only guy I hadn't kissed on the show.
PERRY: Really?
You'd kissed everyone else?
KUDROW: Everyone who ever walked on the set, I think --
PERRY: Yes, yes.
KUDROW: That was part of the joke. PERRY: It was -- yes. I didn't remember that. And Phoebe was kind of easy? Is that --
KUDROW: Yes, really, because --
PERRY: Easy Phoebe.
KUDROW: Every time we'd read a script, you -- or one of the guys, but mostly you -- would just say be easier, be looser, be --
PERRY: Yes. Well, the -- I guess we can now ask who was the best kisser?
And don't say me just because I'm sitting here, but don't say not me because I'm sitting here.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: Say it's me.
KUDROW: It's you.
PERRY: It's me. Great.
KUDROW: And then --
PERRY: People are always asking me, do I watch the show? And I -- I don't really watch the show. It's odd.
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: I don't watch it.
Do you watch?
KUDROW: No, no, not much.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: Not much. It's hard. If I see that it's on, I have to check my mood. I don't know if you're the same way. If I'm -- if I'm in a bad mood, I'm not going to like seeing myself at all.
PERRY: Right. And --
KUDROW: I --
PERRY: -- but if you're in a good mood, you'll like it.
KUDROW: I'm in a good mood, I'm like, oh, not bad.
PERRY: Let me tell you this --
KUDROW: But I think --
PERRY: No, yes. KUDROW: -- all of you guys are hilarious every time. Like, God, they're talented. My God, they're so funny.
PERRY: Well --
KUDROW: Why did I suck so much?
PERRY: Yes, that's the neurosis. And that's why we're all not plumbers.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: That's why we're actors and neurotic and needy.
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: Huh.
KUDROW: Well, a good try.
PERRY: That's fun.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: So I was doing a "Hollywood Reporter" interview a couple of weeks ago, or like a month ago. And it was one of those, "Hey, I hope I get nominated for an Emmy" interviews. I did not -- it did not work.
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: But I still had to do the interview.
PERRY: And, I found myself sort of reminiscing about how much fun the show was and, you know, the hours that we worked and how much, you know, you could see how much we laughed and everything. And I tell myself, saying if I can -- if I had a time machine, I would like to go back to 2004 and not have stopped.
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: You know?
KUDROW: Yes, no.
PERRY: So I found that -- so just assuming for a second that time machines are just around.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: Would you get in a time machine and -- and -- and have stopped?
Would you want to change that or?
KUDROW: Yes. I mean, if -- PERRY: You do want to --
KUDROW: -- if they were up to us.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: You know, like individually --
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: -- then, yes.
PERRY: You would have kept going or you would have stopped?
KUDROW: Oh, I would keep going.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: I mean I figure, you know, there will probably -- there would have come a time anyway --
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: -- when someone would have said, we've had enough.
PERRY: Right.
KUDROW: But why not have fun until they do?
PERRY: Yes, I guess the ideology was that like we would decide if that would be better.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: But I disagree.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: And looking back, no, don't make us decide. Let's keep going. This is the greatest job in the world.
(LAUGHTER)
KUDROW: It was. No, I mean, you know, we had a lot of fun.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: It was just really fun. But I think we were extremely appreciative at the time, by the way.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: It's not like, you know, we did not appreciate how fun it was and how good the writing was, what -- we were all very proud and appreciative.
PERRY: We definitely --
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: -- you -- we were a part of something special.
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: -- and we were very grateful the whole time. But I -- I think just in that -- in that meeting where we all said, let's stop, I -- I probably would have said, hey, let's not stop, you know?
(LAUGHTER)
KUDROW: Yes, me, too.
PERRY: All right, so I want to talk to you about "Web Therapy" for a second, which is hilarious.
KUDROW: Oh, thanks.
PERRY: Hilarious.
KUDROW: Wow!
PERRY: Really, really funny.
KUDROW: Matthew thinks it's hilarious.
PERRY: Oh, yes. And it's not this ear piece guy. I actually think that --
KUDROW: I know. You actually checked him, like really?
PERRY: I'm not used to -- yes --
KUDROW: Hilarious?
PERRY: -- was it hilarious I was supposed to say--
KUDROW: Do I go that far?
PERRY: -- or hysterical?
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: And I think this is interesting. I don't know -- I find you to be, quite honestly, one of the most intelligent actors I've ever worked with.
KUDROW: Thanks. Really?
PERRY: And -- yes, I do.
KUDROW: Wow!
PERRY: And I notice, though, that you always play characters -- you tend to gravitate toward characters that aren't so intelligent --
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: -- sometimes.
Now, are you trying to play against yourself or do you need me to explain this question to you over again?
(LAUGHTER)
KUDROW: I think -- no, because I think one of my biggest fears is that I am an idiot and always missing the point.
PERRY: Oh, yes, but that's not the case.
KUDROW: Oh, you know, one of my fears.
But I think it's funny that people wouldn't -- there are people who aren't aware of how they come off, that they think they're really, you know, pulling it off.
PERRY: Right.
KUDROW: So that's funny to me.
PERRY: Right. Yes. That and you're hilarious doing it.
KUDROW: Thank you.
PERRY: But in life and, you know, I've -- you're -- you -- you're very smart, so you're playing a -- you're playing against type, whereas I just keep playing myself --
KUDROW: Well, yes, luckily --
PERRY: -- on very short running TV shows.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: All right.
KUDROW: I know, but I love your shows.
PERRY: You do?
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: Thank you.
KUDROW: But you're really likable and funny and kind of that's all you need, do you know what I mean?
You're really --
PERRY: All you need to what?
KUDROW: What?
PERRY: All you need to what?
KUDROW: All you need to succeed --
PERRY: It is?
KUDROW: -- to be appealing, to --
PERRY: OK.
KUDROW: -- have people want to watch you, because you're extremely funny.
I mean, I think the hardest I ever laughed was with you.
PERRY: Oh, yes?
KUDROW: On the show. Yes, yes, yes.
PERRY: We laughed a lot.
KUDROW: For sure.
PERRY: And we're going to maybe show a little bit of that laughing in a second.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: But the show us hilarious.
KUDROW: Thank you.
PERRY: And I want to take a look at a couple of scenes from that. So let's do that.
KUDROW: Thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE CARELL, ACTOR: I have a memory of our future.
KUDROW: Really? Aren't you leaving? I thought you were going back?
CARELL: I love you so much.
KUDROW: That's soon.
CARELL: I'm sorry, that sounds strange.
KUDROW: Well I don't think it's strange. It's not like I haven't experienced someone falling in love with me before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: That is Steve Carell, hilarious.
You know who I did not see in that clip package?
KUDROW: Who?
PERRY: Me.
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: You know, did you notice that?
KUDROW: Maybe you haven't done it yet.
I did. I've noticed it -- every time we shoot.
PERRY: That I'm not there?
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: See, I know, I'm very busy. I'm very busy because I'm guest-hosting PIERS MORGAN.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: But that's over in like 35 minutes.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: And then I've got nothing.
So can I come on and --
KUDROW: Yes. That means yes.
PERRY: OK.
KUDROW: I mean I -- I thought that was definitely going to happen.
PERRY: OK.
KUDROW: I mean the first second I ever heard you say, "I think that's funny," I was like, OK, I've got to ask him to do it.
PERRY: Oh, great.
KUDROW: If he likes it, it has to do it. That would be great. Oh, my God.
PERRY: All right, Lisa, when we come back, I want to play a little game that I hope becomes a regular thing in my one time guest hosting thing here. It's called how well do you know your own project?
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: So I'm going to ask you questions about your own project.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: It's also looks like it's going to -- like HWDYKYOP. So let's play Howdy Yip, when we come back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's terrible.
KUDROW: No, it's not. We do it every year and we never founded them, we never founded them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you didn't, I did. Oh, oh, no, no uh- uh.
KUDROW: Oh, and I brought operation but I lost the -- it's making a noise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chandler is doing his sex face.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for now, don't make any faces.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go on this journey because I watched my father be in a lot of pain and not know who he is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the world, (INAUDIBLE), because it gives you a little bit of a chill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it's my family. It's outrageous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe this is a thousand years ago. This is incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PERRY: So, that's a very interesting show that you have, as well. And we're going to talk about that in a minute.
First of all, I wanted to tell you one of the highlights of the last few seasons of "Friends" was playing with Julian up there. You know, I would play with them all the time.
And I just wanted to check in. How do you have time to do all of this?
You're doing a lot of the things. KUDROW: Well, yes, but the things are all, sort of nine-to-five- ish. Even "Web Therapy," I have to say, we only shoot like when you do it, you'll see.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: We only need you for half a day.
PERRY: OK.
KUDROW: Right. So, in one weekend -- and we only shoot it in the week, on the weekend, because that's when we can get our crew, who's busy doing real shows.
PERRY: How much will I get for that?
Is that the same that we were making --
KUDROW: Nine hundred dollars.
PERRY: -- what we were making before?
KUDROW: Well, $900 --
PERRY: Oh, that's right.
KUDROW: -- of what we were making before.
PERRY: That's less.
KUDROW: That's less.
PERRY: Yes. OK.
KUDROW: It's a little less.
PERRY: And so, how is Michelle? How is Julian? How -- how is everything going over there?
KUDROW: Good.
PERRY: Yes?
KUDROW: They're both fantastic.
PERRY: Good.
KUDROW: They're really good.
PERRY: Your other show, let's talk about "Who Do You Think You Are?" for a second. This season, you've got great guests.
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: You've got Zooey Deschanel and Cindy --
KUDROW: Oh, yes.
PERRY: -- Cindy Crawford and Christina Applegate.
So, is the rule this year just attractive, just attractive people --
KUDROW: That's right.
PERRY: -- get to be on?
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: If you're unattractive, we don't care who you think you are.
KUDROW: That's right.
PERRY: Is that what -- is that what it's going to say on that --
KUDROW: That's exactly --
PERRY: -- thing?
KUDROW: -- that's exactly what the tag line is here.
PERRY: Yes.
So that was just a rule, just attractive women all over the place?
(LAUGHTER)
KUDROW: No. Chris O'Donnell and Jim Parsons, too.
PERRY: Oh, well, they're unattractive. Yes. Is that what you mean?
KUDROW: No.
Anyway, and Chris O'Donnell, and Jim Parsons have fantastic stories, too, by the way.
PERRY: Well, that's what --
KUDROW: So --
PERRY: -- I wanted to ask you.
KUDROW: -- yes.
PERRY: What is -- what are some of the --
KUDROW: Some of the stories?
PERRY: -- interesting secrets that you've -- that you found out? KUDROW: We have -- like I am not allowed to give too much away. But in this season, we find documents for people that are written in their ancestors' own hand, right, from like over 100 years ago --
PERRY: Wow!
KUDROW: -- or more. We have documents like oh, it's Trisha Yearwood. I'm giving it away a little bit.
One of her ancestors, we have an account from a companion. This is in the 16-somethings, years, 1600s.
PERRY: Right.
KUDROW: Of how that person was feeling, you know --
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: -- an account of that that you can have those records. It's like, yes, he was feeling pretty bad because -- that you -- that a person gets to see their own ancestors' like thoughts --
PERRY: Do you fake them? Do you fake them?
KUDROW: No. Absolutely not.
PERRY: Because that sounds like you could easily fake them.
This was written by your great grandmother.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: In the Elizabethan area, where they only had pink paper.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: No, you don't fake them.
KUDROW: We do not.
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: We absolutely do not. We have real academics doing our research. They would never do that.
PERRY: OK.
Do you like producing? Do you like being behind the scenes or in front?
KUDROW: I like it for "Who Do You Think You Are?"
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: A lot, just because I like getting to learn about history, because I get like a full download from our researchers, you know --
PERRY: Yes.
KUDROW: -- about historical events and stuff. But I just -- I learned so much doing that show, too. Like Zooey Deschanel. I mean, I thought I knew what I needed to know about Quakers, her family.
PERRY: Right.
KUDROW: She comes from a long line of Quakers.
PERRY: Sure. Yes.
KUDROW: But I didn't realize that they were so progressive. Women had an equal say, you know, in all of their meetings and in policy and stuff like that. And, I mean, that's at a time when they didn't have the right to vote, you know, weren't allowed to divorce in the whole rest of the country.
PERRY: Right.
KUDROW: So very progressive. And then their position on abolition was way ahead of everybody else.
PERRY: Well, it's -- it's really interesting.
So I want to play a game with you.
KUDROW: Oh, good.
PERRY: It's a -- it's called HWDYKYOP?, as I said before.
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: Which is just a -- it's -- those are just the words, the first letters for How Well Do You Know Your Own Project?
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: And if you win -- I'm going to just ask you a couple of questions.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: If you win and you get them all right --
KUDROW: Yes?
PERRY: -- I'm going to sign a copy of one of your DVDs for you and give it back to you.
KUDROW: Hey.
PERRY: Isn't that great?
KUDROW: Well, that would be worth a lot, actually. PERRY: OK. Here we go.
How well do you know yourself, HWDYKYOP? Lisa Kudrow.
KUDROW: Yes?
PERRY: In your second season of "Who Do You Think You Are?," which celebrity garnered the most viewers for you? What was the most successful one that got the most viewers?
KUDROW: I know that answer.
PERRY: Do you?
KUDROW: I mean I knew that answer.
PERRY: Well, then say it. Use your -- use your brain and your mouth to say it.
KUDROW: They're not working together.
It was -- damn.
PERRY: You don't have the answer.
KUDROW: I don't.
PERRY: It's --
KUDROW: I thought I --
PERRY: -- Vanessa Williams.
KUDROW: Vanessa Williams.
PERRY: Vanessa Williams.
KUDROW: OK.
PERRY: Your most successful, OK?
KUDROW: Right.
PERRY: So that's a 0 for 1.
KUDROW: That's right.
PERRY: Do you think Meryl Streep is more proud of her performance in "Web Therapy" or "Sophie's Choice"?
KUDROW: Oh, "Web Therapy."
PERRY: "Web Therapy."
KUDROW: Because it's comedy. Comedy is harder.
PERRY: Yes, it is harder. And plus, that movie, I didn't see that movie, but is that whole movie just her going -- that one?
KUDROW: No.
PERRY: It's -- so there's other stuff in that?
KUDROW: There's a lot of other difficult stuff in it.
PERRY: Eenie, meenie, miney, mo --
KUDROW: And she did it with a Polish accent.
PERRY: Oh, OK.
All right, question three -- it's a visual question.
KUDROW: Oh, OK.
PERRY: Which I think is fun. We're going to show you a scene from "Cheers" that you were on.
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: OK?
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: So let's watch you on "Cheers."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KUDROW: Improvising a little. We'll get on our ladders and we'll just say what our characters are thinking, and remember, George and Emily are two innocent kids playing with love. They're consumed by the fire of their passion. Don't you think?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: OK. Well, there's a lot to say about that. That was -- that was fantastic.
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: Do you know -- it was.
Even then, you were perfect.
KUDROW: Pitch perfect. Yes.
PERRY: Pitch perfect.
Do you know the name of the -- of the title of that episode, what that episode was called?
KUDROW: Oh, wow! I don't know. It had something to do with our town and Emily and that episode -- oh, Boyd. Something -- one Boyd for Two Girls or Two Girls for One Boyd. What?
PERRY: I don't know the --
KUDROW: Oh.
PERRY: Oh, that's right.
KUDROW: That's right?
PERRY: That's right. That's right, Two Girls for One Boyd.
KUDROW: I'm never right. I'm never right. No.
PERRY: That's right.
So you got two answers out of three correctly, so you win. And what you win is -- thank you very much -- the lovely "Friends" DVD, all 10 seasons.
KUDROW: God. That's great.
PERRY: And I'm going to sign it --
KUDROW: You sign it.
PERRY: -- for you.
KUDROW: That's very valuable.
PERRY: To Lisa --
KUDROW: Yes.
PERRY: -- keep reaching for the stars.
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: Matthew Perry. And then, you know, track down the other four and you've got a whole thing.
KUDROW: Hey.
PERRY: Yes.
OK, "Web Therapy" airs Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m. on Showtime and "Who Do You Think You Are?" airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TLC.
When we come back, we'll be talking about another big part of my life, alcoholism, addiction and recovery. And we'll have a few experts joining me to talk about that. And trust me, that segment is going to be hilarious.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PERRY: I'm Matthew Perry, guest hosting for Piers Morgan. Now, we're going to switch gears a little bit.
There are a lot of misconceptions about alcoholism and addiction. And my next guest is an expert.
He's Dr. David Sack, CEO of Promises Treatment Centers and Elements Behavioral Health.
Welcome, Dr. Sack.
Thanks for joining us.
DR. DAVID SACK, CEO, PROMISES TREATMENT CENTERS: Oh, thank you for having me.
PERRY: So, I wanted to ask you a couple of questions just in the simplest form. A lot of people think that addiction is a choice. A lot of people think it's a matter of will. That has not been my experience. I don't find it to have anything to do with strength.
But I was hoping that you could lay out for us, just in layman's terms, talk about addiction and alcoholism and what's going on there.
SACK: Sure. Well, you know, half of the people in the United States over the age of 12 drink. So, alcohol is a very common phenomenon.
But when you look at who has a problem with alcohol, it's only about 4 percent or one out of 25 people.
We now know that there are important differences between people who have problems with a drug or alcohol and people who don't, so that genetic factors probably account for half of all of that risk -- meaning that who your parents are, how you were raised, those things contribute dramatically to whether or not someone is going to have an alcohol problem.
You know, to -- it is a choice to go for treatment or to not go for treatment, but the issue of how you respond to a drug or alcohol depends on your makeup. And that makeup is largely genetically determined.
PERRY: OK, yes. And so let's -- let's talk about that.
It's my understanding that, it's a two-faceted disease. It's an obsession of the brain and an allergy of the body. I will let you jump in any time if I say something --
SACK: OK.
PERRY: -- incorrect. That it is a disease, that the American Medical Association in 1956 deemed it so.
So what's going on just with the body and the mind of an alcoholic? SACK: Sure. Well, the original concept of this allergy of the body really was the idea that people who become alcoholic respond to alcohol differently. Scientists sort of caught up with AA in the big book and we know that there are two different ways that they respond differently.
One is, is that they're actually less sensitive to the toxic effects of alcohol, so they get more of a buzz, more of a high.
PERRY: Yes.
SACK: They're enjoying themselves more.
And the other is they develop craving that -- that people like me, who don't become alcoholics, we have a drink and we get sleepy, get a little relaxed, we go to bed.
But people who are prone to alcoholism actually start to crave the drug after they're exposed. And we can actually show that these differences are driven by differences on how they absorb and metabolize alcohol and are different across countries and cultures.
PERRY: Yes, I -- I often noted that, uh, to me, I always had this theory -- and it's just my theory that, if a normal drinker has a martini, they feel a little dizzy and they feel a little goofy. If I have a martini, for the first time in my whole life, the world makes sense.
SACK: Uh-huh.
PERRY: The -- I feel comfortable where I'm standing. And I've always had this theory that if alcohol felt to me like it did to you or to a normal man, they'd be drunk all the time, too.
SACK: Well, I think that's right. You can only become addicted to a drug that gets you high in some way, normalizes you, get -- makes you euphoric, gives you a buzz. And those things are very different.
We know that the people who are more likely to become alcoholics actually metabolize alcohol a little bit more slowly, so they have more of it around. Whereas people like me, we metabolize it quickly and we get the toxic efforts of alcohol. So we start to feel nauseated --
PERRY: Right.
SACK: -- dizzy, headachy. And so we don't have much reason to keep drinking.
PERRY: Now, we lost a very talented actor last week. Corey Monteith passed away, presumably, from drug use.
And, what could have been done to save -- save this guy?
What could -- what could have been done? SACK: Well, you know, Corey had been in treatment before. He was in treatment recently. According to news reports, it was an overdose of heroin combined with alcohol.
You know, that is probably the most dangerous combination, you know. And when you look at the treatment for heroin, there are medicines that can specifically block the effect of heroin so that if somebody goes out and uses, they won't overdose.
And one of those medicines is called Vivitrol and Naltrexone. And, really, one of the problems that we have right now is that it's vastly underused, that clients don't want an injection, families don't think it's going to be necessary.
PERRY: Yes, I noticed that for me, I never -- the fact that I never tried heroin is a only reason I'm able to sit here, I'm positive. If I had -- if I had tried that, I would not be around.
And there seems to be a lot of -- a lot of drugs are going down, but prescription medication -- prescription pills and heroin is on the rise. It seems to me there's a little bit of a heroin epidemic going on.
When I was in high school, there was pot in our lockers, and now, there's heroin.
SACK: Well, the real epidemic is in prescription opiates, which belong to the same general category as heroin. And, you know, really and truly, the increase in overdose deaths is directly related to doctors prescribing and overprescribing pain medications to people with drug and alcohol problems who then go on to become addicted.
You know, the -- the reality is that drugs go in cycles. You know, we have an epidemic of amphetamines, then we have an epidemic of cocaine, then we have an epidemic of opiates.
But in this particular case, the availability of prescription opiates is what's driving this epidemic. Half the people who start report that they got the drugs for free from a friend or a relative.
PERRY: Yes. Yes, I know that no person could have made me stop. You know, no person could -- and as Dudley Morris said in "Arthur," it would have to be a very big person that could make me stop.
Dr. Sack, stay with me.
Coming up next, we're going to talk about an effective way to keep addicts out of jail and save lives.
And guess what? It's bipartisanship, and so am I.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seventy-five percent of people who complete drug court never see another pair of handcuffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never see another pair of handcuffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will never see another pair of handcuffs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: I'm Matthew Perry, in for Piers Morgan.
Welcome back.
It's drug court time.
Back with me now are: Dr. David Sack, CEO of Promises Treatment Centers.
And joining us, Alby Zweig, who went through the drug court system back in the '90s. And West Huddleston, the CEO of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.
So, welcome, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
PERRY: So, let's start things off, West, just in its simplest terms, tell us what -- what is drug court.
WEST HUDDLESTON, CEO, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DRUG COURT PROFESSIONALS: Yes, drug court is a life-saving courtroom that's staffed by criminal justice professionals who are specially trained to actually treat addiction and mental illness.
And it's unlike any courtroom you've ever seen in that the judge, the prosecutor, the defense attorney, probation, treatment professionals, everyone gets together and they actually work as a team to actually try to help drug-addicted offenders get their lives back and get clean and sober.
PERRY: So this is for primarily -- it's for first time, non- violent drug offenders, correct?
HUDDLESTON: Yes, well --
PERRY: And I could say that slower --
(LAUGHTER)
PERRY: -- but that's who it -- that's who it's for, primarily, right?
HUDDLESTON: Actually, it's -- it's for who are really pretty seriously engaged in the criminal justice system. They -- they may have been on probation many times or in and out of jail.
The key is that they're seriously addicted to drugs and nothing else is working. And so this team, this drug court team actually fashions a sentence or fashions a plea agreement that connects them to treatment services that truly helps get -- get them their life back.
PERRY: Great. And what is the success rate of drug court?
HUDDLESTON: Well, 75 percent of our graduates never see another pair of handcuffs. We just heard that in -- in the PSA.
But really, that doesn't tell the entire story. Actually, we cut crime in half compared to jail and prison. So, we literally can cut crime up to 50 percent in a community by using this drug court model versus sending somebody to prison who's addicted. And that saves taxpayers an absolute ton of money, because, you know, offenders are not being re-addicted, they're not victimizing --
PERRY: Yes.
HUDDLESTON: -- society and it saves a ton of money.
PERRY: So we have a thing that saves lives and it saves money.
HUDDLESTON: Yes.
PERRY: There's not too many of those around.
HUDDLESTON: Right.
PERRY: We have a success story here that I want to tell you about today.
We have Alby Zweig, who went through the drug court system, as I said, back in the '90s.
And, so you were a hope to die, on the streets heroin addict.
ALBY ZWEIG, FORMER HEROIN ADDICT: Correct.
PERRY: And last week, at the drug convention in Washington, you stood up next to your wife and your little baby --
ZWEIG: Right.
PERRY: So, how did that happen? How did you get from there to now here, sitting here on CNN?
ZWEIG: Well, it's a long story. But basically, you know, I had a -- a really, um, vicious heroin and cocaine addiction. I was distraught. I was addicted. I was charged with a felony. I was facing four to 12 years. I didn't know what to do.
There was a part of me that had given up all hope, because I had tried to quit so many times. I had been through rehabs. I had been through methadone maintenance. I'd been through the withdrawals.
I was desperate, but I ended up going and speaking to my parents one last time and I remember my mom saw right through what I was doing. And she said, you know, if you die, we're the ones who suffer, right? We're the ones who are left to pick up the pieces here. And so that was sort of a -- that was a huge moment for me. And I said I would try one more time. And I was lucky because I was put into a drug court. And the stability and the structure of drug court changed something. And I started to have pieces of my life that I had lost come back to me.
I had the opportunity to go to law school. That led to a job in the same public defender's office that had represented me in my case.
And this February, I was appointed as a magistrate in the same court that had really helped to save my life 20 years before.
People who manage to take care of their addictions enjoy unimaginable success.
PERRY: And stories like that that fuel my engine, because I want stories like that to get as much ink and as much press as the tragedies that we -- that we read about, as well, because there is a lot of hope. There is a tremendous amount of hope. And people change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PERRY: And I think I -- I want -- I want that message out there just as much as the negative things that are out there.
(CROSSTALK)
PERRY: So let me ask one of you.
If you -- what advice do you have for families that are -- and loved ones that have, you know, that their -- their father is drinking too much, that somebody in their family or a loved one is clearly in need of treatment.
What do you think those guys should do?
HUDDLESTON: I would say seek treatment. Seek a professional as quickly as possible. Treatment works and people do recover. Millions of people recover every year from this disease.
PERRY: Yes, so -- so get them into treatment.
(CROSSTALK)
SACK: It's a myth that it -- that someone has to choose the day they're going to go to treatment, that somehow they're going to wake up that morning and they're going to say, this is a good day to get sober. And what we've learned from the drug courts, from physician programs and from pilots' programs is that when there's a consequence, it motivates people to get treated.
Families can't wait for the right moment, they have to fight to try to get their relative to agree to go. And they have to push for that if they want to be successful. PERRY: Yes, it's really difficult, because in my case there were -- as I said, there was no person that could make me go. I had gigantic consequences if I continued drinking. There was -- but there was no person. It happened for me when I did -- when I went, oh, my goodness, I'm going to die from this tomorrow if I don't get in.
So -- but there is a little window that opens for people, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
PERRY: And you've just got to time it exactly right.
HUDDLESTON: Yes. And for drug court, that moment is a pair of handcuffs. When people come into the criminal justice system, they're not volunteering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HUDDLESTON: They're literally coming in in handcuffs. Thank God, there is -- there are judges that actually care about what happens to them and will monitor that case all the way through treatment.
And in drug court, what we do, kind of the magic is we bring the participant back in front of the judge to get checkups every week or every two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HUDDLESTON: The judge is able to, you know, to really monitor and -- and adjust the treatment plan as needed.
(CROSSTALK)
ZWEIG: It makes a huge -- that's a huge point, is that we know when the -- when the offender comes back, we have drug test results. Wee have a probation officer there who can tell us how the offender has been doing.
So, if the individual isn't doing what they were supposed to be doing, we can sanction and we can punish quickly, and that quick sanction is what really helps to modify a person's behavior.
PERRY: And when we go to Washington and we walk through the halls of the White House, everybody loves this idea. It's bipartisan. Republicans love it. Democrats love it.
But I did want to at least give voice to -- not everyone loves it. There must be -- there must be people that are not for drug court.
For those people, who are they? Who's not on the drug court side and what is their argument?
HUDDLESTON: Well, there really are one of two camps. One camp says that, really, all drugs should be legal. There -- you know, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine should be legal. And their criticism is that drug court is a criminal justice response and, they just believe it's bad policy.
On the other hand, we have prosecutors, some prosecutors and some law enforcement officials who, as you and Dr. Sack so eloquently discussed right before this segment, just believe that addicts are bad people, that they're weak and they should be punished --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HUDDLESTON: -- and incarcerated. And they're really turning a blind eye to the research that this is a disease and that it's treatable.
So, those are really the two camps that are against us.
My biggest concern about drug court is that we're not reaching enough people. We're reaching, you know, about 140,000 people on any given day in America. And there's 100 -- there's 1.2 million people that need us.
PERRY: One-point-two million. Right.
How many people have we saved?
HUDDLESTON: Well, in the past 24 years, we've saved a million people.
PERRY: You've saved a million people's lives.
HUDDLESTON: Millions of people have gone through drug court.
PERRY: That is fantastic.
For more information on drug courts, go to allrise.org.
Coming up, the star of "Parenthood" and "Gilmore Girls," Lauren Graham.
Thanks, guys.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were flirting with the guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chatty and flirty. I have a personality --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's different. This is not a bar.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, don't say that to me. I know it's not a bar. You don't have to tell me it's not a bar --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sarah, you're my little sister. OK? This guy is a dog.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By myself, for myself, I don't need your help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: That was Lauren Graham yelling in the first season of "Parenthood." You also know her from "Gilmore Girls."
But let's take a look at some of her earlier work, shall we?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are over 200 adjectives to describe taste in the lean cuisine dictionary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think men and women should share household chores, don't you? You got my name from Uncle Al.
Switch from AT&T. Please, I'm getting married.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: You know what's funny about that is that your gigantic head in that clip is only matched by how large you're -- like you -- you look like a giant right now because of the -- in the studio. There's nothing going on in the studio that's not your head.
How are you?
(LAUGHTER)
LAUREN GRAHAM, ACTRESS: I asked them to pull back. I can see it. I'm fine. I thought it was frightening. I'm sorry if I'm frightening the royal baby and whoever else.
PERRY: Yes, no, you look beautiful. You look beautiful.
GRAHAM: Thank you.
PERRY: It just the size of the wall.
GRAHAM: I'm just a giant.
PERRY: No, no, no.
GRAHAM: Yes, right.
PERRY: Now, listen.
GRAHAM: You look wonder and feel you're doing a very good job at your new job that lasts for one night.
PERRY: Thank you. Yes, it's over in about six minutes.
GRAHAM: Oh, all right. Well, let's talk about it.
PERRY: Let's hope it goes well. Let's hope it goes well.
GRAHAM: Yes.
PERRY: So, you now are a New York best-selling author, "New York Times" best selling author, is that right?
GRAHAM: That is right. That happened.
PERRY: Yes, you're pretty much going to be impossible to talk to from now on, right? You know.
GRAHAM: It was an incredible thrill. I mean -- I honestly -- we've both been actors long enough that you need something new, a new incredible thrill. And it was really a nice compliment and surprising. So it was very -- that was a good day.
PERRY: So I'm going to ask you a question now because I knew you back -- I met you back in I think, 2002, you were doing "Gilmore Girls".
GRAHAM: Yes.
PERRY: And they were strict on the script with you on that show and now you're doing "Parenthood" where I hear it's looser. Do you like that better?
GRAHAM: You know, every job is it's own animal, I guess, and you just sort of have to learn the world and the world of "Gilmore Girls" was musical and precise, and the world of "Parenthood" is more about a family and they want it to sound messy and overlap and they shot it in a way that we can do that. It's still written beautifully. It's a totally different way of working.
I kind of like them both. I think when you're doing one, you crave the other. Like, you know, I've really enjoyed the freedom on "Parenthood" to really kind of imp vise. It's really fun.
PERRY: Yes, well, it comes great. I mean , it's a great show. It's hilarious. You're wonderful in it. It's an ensemble, though, which you're not used to. You're usually the lead.
Is that why you wrote the book to prove you're better than everybody? Is that why you did it?
(LAUGHTER)
GRAHAM: I look at it more as I had time, given that is a wonderful ensemble to stretch wings in another way and I'm very grateful to have had that time. But, you know, I think we're similar when it's hard to -- I don't like to not have something that I'm not doing and I like to work and I like to be busy and this is something that I can do, you know, without waiting for someone to call action or cut.
And so, it started as a project completely for myself. I never intended to show it so I'm glad I did. So, I'm glad I did.
PERRY: Stretch my wings.
GRAHAM: Oh, that's the dumbest thing.
PERRY: It's just amazing that -- it works, though, because you really are a best selling author. It actually works.
GRAHAM: Right.
PERRY: Do you want to play a game?
GRAHAM: Yes.
PERRY: You want to play a quick game. OK. This is a game -- I'm playing this now, and I hope it's sort of my staple thing on the show that I'm only going to do once.
GRAHAM: OK.
PERRY: It's called, how well do you know your own project, OK?
GRAHAM: OK.
PERRY: Which I call it like -- HWDYKYOP? Because those are the first so, let's play a quick game HWDYKYOP?
All right. I'm going to ask you a couple of questions about your projects.
What is the first word in your book, "Someday, Someday, Maybe." What's the first word?
GRAHAM: Begin.
PERRY: Very good. Yes, it is.
GRAHAM: Thank you.
PERRY: And that's how far I got. No, I'm joking. I'm completely kidding. No, I read much more than that.
So here's something you may not know. On Kindle, what they do is tell you how many people have highlighted certain sections from the book. Did you know that?
GRAHAM: Yes -- no, it gives me the willies.
PERRY: No, no, no. So, they just -- you know, people who are reading the book, they like this line and highlight it. So, what do you think is the most highlighted line from your book? I will tell you this, as a clue, it got 56 highlights.
GRAHAM: Something about -- I must not continuously seek approval from the people whose approval I'm not even sure I want.
PERRY: Yes. That's it.
GRAHAM: Really?
PERRY: Fantastic. The crowd is going wild here. That's exactly right. That got the most underlines and I think it's a very funny, great line.
GRAHAM: Thank you so much.
PERRY: So here.
GRAHAM: What do you win?
PERRY: Your book. Can you see this? I'm just going to get rid of that. And I'm going to sign it, reach for the stars, Matthew Perry. And then I'll just have this given to you.
GRAHAM: Oh, wow.
PERRY: "Parenthood" returns this fall on NBC, and "Someday, Someday, Maybe" is available now.
We'll be right back.
Lauren, thank you.
GRAHAM: I love you. Goodbye.
PERRY: I love you too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One day, my daughter came to my door and she handed me three kids. She says here, mom, I'll call you later. It's seven years already. It changes your life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything changed. At 60, wow. I have to raise this baby. How am I going to do it?
SILVIE DE TOLEDO, CNN HERO: Does anybody have a crisis they want to talk about?
For most grandparents who are taking in the children, it does wreak havoc because many are living on fixed incomes and they were not prepared to take on one or multiple children.
I've Silvia de Toledo, and I help grandparents who suddenly have to take in their grandchildren. This is my sister and she was pregnant here.
DE TOLEDO: When my sister was 27, she committed suicide and left an 8-year-old.
This is Kevin when he came to live with my parents
My parents were my inspiration. From a family tragedy something wonderful has happened.
I know it may not feel like it but you are going to get passed this.
When a family calls whether it's help with the school, finding a pediatrician, resources, we will find a way to help you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, I had things coming, clothes, food. They're like my therapy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was able to walk me through everything. They helped me get on my feet where I could help myself.
DE TOLEDO: Everybody, I want to introduce you to a new mother.
It's the relatives that are doing this that deserve the recognition.
I have never gotten up once and said I can't do this anymore. I just love what I do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PERRY: Before we go, I want to share something with you. My favorite six words in recovery are: trust God, clean house, and help others.
My way to honor those words is I recently transformed my home into a sober living house, and here is my good friend and the number one interventionist in the country, Earl Hightower, who is now going to open the doors of Perry House.
Earl?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EARL HIGHTOWER: My name is Earl Hightower. Welcome to Perry House. Please come in.
The owner of the house, Matthew Perry, came to me and said, I live in a different house and I would like this house to have meaning and purpose. Let's do some good with this house.
You come here and you learn how to live sober. The experience of living life sober on life's terms, not yours but on life's. And that takes time. There's no short cut.
Morning meditation. Gathering for the day. What's up for your day? This is where that occurs, this living room area.
I'll stack up what we do here and who we do it with. It's not just the services that we provide, but the individuals that communicate that service. I'll stack that up against anybody in the world. We're good at what we do. I'm very proud of that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PERRY: Wow, that's a really nice house. What did I do that for?
I guess it's a good cause, tax deductible. What's that?
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being told I'm speaking to myself in front of millions of people. It's Piers Morgan, that would be thousands of people.
Well, this has been Matthew Perry with, you know, an hour delay. I'd like to thank my guests, Lauren Graham, Judge Alby Zweig, West Huddleston, Dr. David Sack, and, of course, Lisa Kudrow.
So thank you, Piers, for the opportunity. I love you. I love you. I love you so much. I love you, Piers Morgan.
No, I'm not going to blow the kiss. We talked about that. I'm not going to blow the kiss. OK? Let's just end the show.
