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CNN Saturday Morning News
Hollywood Prepares for the Oscars
Aired March 23, 2002 - 07:50 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You have an inherent bias against geekdom.
Now Daryn Kagan, however, does not.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: She loves geeks.
O'BRIEN: She's going to give us a little Kodak moment out there.
Daryn, I guess -- suffice to day you're a little early for the rope line...
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... you might say.
KAGAN: Good morning, by the way.
PHILLIPS: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Is anybody waiting in line there to, you know, to be near the celebrities, or has security made that impossible anyway?
KAGAN: Let's just say that not too many celebrities were waking up at 2:00 in the morning California time like I was to come talk to you guys.
PHILLIPS: Except for you.
O'BRIEN: Well, actually, they're probably on the other side of the day, if you know what I mean. They're still out, right?
KAGAN: Yes.
Good morning from Hollywood, you guys. It is a little bit early out here in Hollywood. But you know what, it's hard to believe 36 hours from now this place is going to buzzing; the Oscars will be well underway.
I'm standing on a bridge that they have constructed over Hollywood Boulevard, which Kyra knows is one of the busiest streets in all of Los Angeles. Usually the whole place has been shut down.
Let's take a look at the red carpet, which is covered right now with a lot of plastic. I was here yesterday morning when they were rolling this down. The white plastic put over it because, also Kyra could tell you, it gets a little damp and dewy here in Southern California in the morning. Of course, they want to protect the red carpet and keep it fresh and wonderful for when all the stars walk down there, once again, about 36 hours from right now.
Now, of course it's not just much of America that will be watching the Oscars tomorrow, but people all around the world will be watching this show. And with good reason, because it is an international event, and stars from all around the world -- in particular, a lot of interest from Down Under.
Two big stars, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman. Let's take a look at what they have to offer and what they're up for tomorrow night.
Here's Jodi Ross.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSSELL CROWE, ACTOR: I think I might do some poetry for you. There was a young man from Australia who painted his ass like a dahlia...
JODI ROSS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While Australia might not be proud of this amateur poetry, it is proud of Russell Crowe's acting.
Old friends Crowe and Nicole Kidman are leading this year's Aussie assault on Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, Moulin Rouge")
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: How dare you! It cannot wait until tomorrow!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSS: Now the two chums from Down Under are on top, and have a date with Oscar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "A Beautiful Mind")
CROWE: I mean, everything's going well. The job is fine, I have enough money. It all seems to add up, but...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSS: Crowe, who earned his third straight Best Actor nomination for "A Beautiful Mind," was one of many Aussies honored at this year's Golden Globe Awards.
CROWE: I don't mean to be that, you know, ridiculously patriotic or anything, but it gives me great pleasure to see Nicole Kidman acknowledged; it gives me great pleasure to see Rachel Griffiths acknowledges, you know, Baz Luhrmann. ROSS: Luhrmann's Australian-made film, "Moulin Rouge," earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for its star, Kidman.
KIDMAN: It was such a risk in, you know, making it in the studios in Sydney, Australia and then coming here and then being nominated in America and in England. I mean, it's a phenomenal success.
ROSS: The studios Kidman is referring to are the Fox Studios. Australia has become home to a growing number of big-budget productions.
Jane Smith is chief executive of the New South Wales Film and Television Office.
JANE SMITH, NEW SOUTH WALES FILM AND TELEVISION OFFICE: We've worked with "Matrix" two and three, for example, which are here shooting at the moment. We were involved working with the original "Matrix." We did some work with "Mission Impossible 2."
So you've got some financial incentives, you've got a lot of (ph) Australian dollar, diversity of locations.
ROSS: Luhrmann has his own theories on the Aussie appeal.
BAZ LUHRMANN, DIRECTOR: We've been very, very committed building a studio, you know, the dramatic education. You know, its culture is very, very seriously focused on Australia, and I guess we're seeing some of the results of that.
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: They seem to have a monopoly on it down there, which is great. And it's, yes, it's interesting. It's good to see.
CROWE: It may be a long way away, but we've got all the modern technology. And we try and keep up with you.
ROSS: And doing a good job of it, with over a dozen nominations for the Land Down Under.
Jodi Ross, CNN entertainment news, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: I can tell you that Nicole Kidman is already here in town. In fact, two nights ago she was honored at the Australian consulate here in Los Angeles.
Word is Russell Crowe arrives today for the big night.
Back to you in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: Oh, Daryn, will you chase him down, please?
KAGAN: He does it for you, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Oh boy, yes, there's just something about him. He's got that edge, you know.
KAGAN: It's that bad boy thing.
PHILLIPS: There you go, exactly. I can just...
KAGAN: When you come back next hour we're going to talk predictions and see who's likely to win, who should win.
And can I ask you guys a favor?
PHILLIPS: Sure.
O'BRIEN: What?
KAGAN: Can you ask Jaqui Jeras to do a little Oscar forecast for me?
O'BRIEN: Oscar forecast.
KAGAN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Southern California this time of year should be sunny and nice, right?
KAGAN: Yes, not like I could do anything about it; the dress is picked, and I'm going with it even if there's a snowstorm.
O'BRIEN: I think we need a little more -- just for equal time -- a little more Nicole time, all right. Can we do that, please? Is that possible?
All right, thank you.
KAGAN: Tune in tomorrow. We'll see you in the next hour, though.
O'BRIEN: All right, we will. Thank you Daryn.
PHILLIPS: Thanks Daryn. Very good.
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