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CNN Saturday Morning News
Terrorist Attacks Cause a Shift in Entertainment Climate
Aired September 29, 2001 - 11:50 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: More now on the shift in the entertainment climate, Jess Cagle, senior entertainment editor for "TIME" magazine is with us live from L.A. Good morning to you, Jess.
JESS CAGLE, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Hi, Bill, how are you.
HEMMER: I'm doing OK, all things considered back here in New York. You say that challenge in Hollywood is to make sure you ride that fine line, in other words how to be funny is a real challenge. How is that being felt, Jess?
CAGLE: Nobody knows what to say, what to do, how to act right now. I think people in Hollywood feel the way that everybody feels right now. It's very interesting that tonight "Saturday Night Live" is coming back for another season. And, you know, this was the show that brought the most ironic humor, the most biting political to the airwaves in the 1970s. Watching how that show acts tonight will be a real gauge on how everybody is feeling about everything.
HEMMER: You know, Jess, Lorne Michaels, the creator, said earlier in the week this is the toughest season he has ever had to prepare for. I guess one can assume why, given the nature of that show and the nature of the humor that we normally see.
CAGLE: I am sure that they are facing a terrible problem in putting -- I mean, a small problem, relatively speaking, but the "Weekend Update" segment, for example, where they take on topics in the news -- well, the topics in the news are really nothing to joke about.
I think one way that people will get back to normal is they are taking a look at the Web site called the Onion, which is a comedy Web site, and that went sort of back on the Internet this week. And really took, you know, really took everybody to task from the way the media covers things. They took a little -- a few pokes at George Bush Sr., and they discovered a few things that were not too sacred to have some fun with, and they actually did a really phenomenal job. I hope that "Saturday Night Live" can do the same.
HEMMER: Let's look at the list of movies right now, clearly impacted. "Collateral Damage" with Schwarzenegger, "Bad Company" with Will Smith and Anthony Hopkins, and also "Big Trouble." Are these movies shelved for the time being, Jess? CAGLE: These movies are all shelved for the time being. Who knows when they are going to come out. Hollywood immediately took a really close look at content. All of these movies had to do with terrorist threats and things like that, very uncomfortable.
What people in Hollywood are not saying out loud is, we are afraid to greenlight movies because we don't know what kind of terrorism our country is going to suffer in the next year or so. And so, nobody wants to be left with $100 million movie, $100 million investment that they cannot release. And you know, it really speaks to the horrible uncertainty of our times.
HEMMER: Also, another list to show you, television wise: The show called "The Agency," "Alias" and "24" -- "The Agency" had a bit of a bomb plot involved, they have been shelved as well is my understanding. What do you think as we go forward, just the case of feeling things out as we go?
CAGLE: We have to feel things out as we go. Hollywood is going to take a close look at how people respond to "Saturday Night Live," how people respond to the Emmy telecast, which is going to be a very touchy situation on October 7. And, you know, God willing, we can get back to normal, that, you know, more of this kind of thing is not going to further complicate matters.
HEMMER: Jess Cagle, "TIME" magazine, from L.A. Thank you, Jess.
CAGLE: Thank you.
HEMMER: All right, have a good weekend, all things considered.
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