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CNN Saturday Morning News

Unemployed Americans Facing Benefits Cuts; Blackhawks Winning Streak Broken; Chuck Hagel Nearby Suicide Attack in Afghanistan; Bill Clinton Urges Supreme Court to Overturn DOMA; Transgender MMA Fighter's License Under Review; Interview with Producer Chuck Lorre; New "Oz" Film Profiled

Aired March 09, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN's World Headquarters in Atlanta this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

She's a successful mixed martial arts fighter who set her sights on the UFC. One problem -- her opponents and the organization say they didn't know she was born a man. Fighter Fallon Fox explains why she doesn't think she did anything wrong.

He's one of the most successful TV producers in the business, but he's also one half of a Hollywood war. Chuck Lorre joins us live on fame, a new book, and his next big thing.

Speaking of Hollywood, a gutsy gamble by one prequel that it never had the rights to. A look at whether "Oz" will be a smart hit or giant bomb.

Good morning, everyone, I'm Brianna Keilar in for Randi Kaye. We're so glad you're with us this morning. First up, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today deadly attack in the afghan capital shows the challenges ahead as the U.S. prepares to pull out combat troops by the end of next year. Nine people died when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Afghan defense ministry. Hagel was at a base about a mile from the blast. He was not hurt. And just moments ago, we got this reaction from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I wasn't sure what it was. I was in a briefing. But we're in a war zone. I've been in a war. You know, so shouldn't be surprised when a bomb goes off or there's an explosion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Hagel was in Afghanistan on his first official trip overseas as defense secretary. A short time ago, he met with U.S. troops in Jalalabad. He thanked them and awarded the purple heart to two soldiers.

Turning now to Washington where millions of unemployed Americans are already feeling the pinch from those forced spending cuts. They're seeing their benefit checks get smaller, and that's making it harder on the family budget. Emily Schmidt is live in Washington with more. Emily, how big of an impact are we talking about here?

EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a pretty big impact for people who don't get any other income. We're talking about almost 10 percent of weekly job benefit gone. It shortens the lifeline for millions who have been looking for work for months and don't have a paycheck to show for it.

We're talking about the federal unemployment payments. They start when the state benefits which can last up to 26 weeks run out. Those long- term unemployment benefits can provide an average of $300 a week for the next 47 weeks. It's certainly a safety net that Congress has authorized since the economy took a downturn in 2008. Now with the forced spending cuts that went into effect March 1, people are going to start seeing the smaller unemployment checks in the next few weeks.

The national employment law project actually warns that the budget cut will have a ripple effect, also impacting funding for state agencies and potentially making it harder for people to get help finding jobs or to have their claims processed when they are looking for every dollar. Brianna?

KEILAR: Are there concerns about the economy in general, just the bigger economy and the impact this will have?

SCHMIDT: You know, as you know, it depends on who you ask about this. We talked to a couple of economists. One said, look, anything that makes it more difficult for people to who have been unemployed for a long time to get back in the job market, that's not going help the economy at all. However, we talked with another economist who says these mandatory budget cuts are part of the solution to finding how you cure these long-term budget problems. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS EDWARDS, ECONOMIST AT THE CATO INSTITUTE: And I think to solve the deficit problem, everyone's going to have to get their ox aboard to an extent. These extended unemployment benefits are a subsidy. We need to cut all subsidies in the federal government, frankly, if we're going to get this deficit down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHMIDT: It is a big philosophical debate, but here's the reality -- in the meantime, up to 3.8 million people without jobs are going to be facing larger money worries because they have these smaller unemployment checks coming their way. Brianna?

KEILAR: Emily Schmidt, thanks for that.

A violent storm off the Massachusetts coast knocks three homes off of their foundations and into the Atlantic Ocean. At least nine others are in jeopardy. This is happening on Plum Island. It's a popular vacation spot that has long been threatened by coastal erosion. Michael Rosenfield of WBZ is there. Michael, what are authorities doing to prevent more damage? MICHAEL ROSENFIELD, WBZ CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, sadly, it's too late for many of these homeowners. But there is a local declaration of emergency in place right now. What that does is it gives some of these homeowners the ability to shore up their foundations, make the repairs they need to do now instead of having to wait for the necessary state permits. They're cutting through some of the red tape.

Meantime, three homes will be demolished later today including this one right behind me that collapsed early this morning at around 1:30, 2:00 a.m. right here on the beach on Plum Island. In all, 12 homes at this point have lost their occupancy status, meaning people can't live in those homes for now. That's because either the foundations are just too weak or perhaps they've lost the back balcony or back deck and only have one entrance and exit into the home at this point and they need two.

Right now, the National Guard is out here, as well, patrolling, making sure people stay away from the spots where they're not supposed to venture out to. There are restrictions in place right now on the beach and in the neighborhood. It is just too unsafe. There is wood, there is debris. There are wires pretty much everywhere. We've seen furniture, a refrigerator floated out to sea this morning. We saw a kitchen floor drop down from one of the houses here on the beach, so a big mess out here on Plum Island.

It's just been one storm after another so far this season. And these homeowners keep losing the sand, the dunes here. It's their protection, the barrier against the wild wind and the waves. And at this point, some of these homes have lost 40 to 60 feet of dune so far this season alone. Brianna?

KEILAR: Michael Rosenfield of affiliate WBZ, thanks for that.

Overseas now, the conclave to choose the next Pope will start on Tuesday. The Vatican says all 115 cardinals who will vote on Benedict XVIth's successor have arrived. They will go into the Sistine Chapel and stay until two-thirds of them can agree on the next leader of the Catholic Church. We'll know that's happened when white smoke billows out of this special chimney. It has just been installed on top of that chapel.

An asteroid about the size of a football field is cruising by earth. Don't worry too much about it. It's not going to hit us. That's the good news. This newly discovered space rock will miss the earth by a mere 600,000 miles, quite a lot. It was set to come closest to earth about three hours ago. We will keep you posted on any other developments.

If you have a clear view of the western sky, you may be able to see a different object, a comet. You won't even need a telescope for this. The comet called Panstars could be visible with the naked eye just after sunset starting Tuesday. If you look for it, you'll see a bright point of light with a tail pointing straight up at the horizon. Panstars It's named after the telescope that discovered it two years ago, the panoramic survey telescope and response system. Music, film, and technology all come together this weekend for the South by Southwest festival while thousands of people and celebrities line up to maximize their exposure and showcase their brands. It's a technology extreme come true. Our Laurie Segall joins us live with the latest on this. So good morning to you, Laurie, and tell us what is hot.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, you know, it's always at South by Southwest what's the hot new app, what's going to be big this year. This year it's different. A lot of people are talking about big ideas like tech and how it can affect education. We sat down with Bill gates the other day. He had a lot to say about that. People are talking about space travel and how technology can completely disrupt that.

Another thing that a lot of people are talking about is this whole maker movement, The idea that we can take 3D printing and put it in the home and maybe print our own buttons if we lose them from our jackets. We actually visited a maker fair where a lot of this technology was on display. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: Tell me what we're doing here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what we're doing is we're looking at our 1-2-3 creature iPad app. It lets you scratch out a creature, text him, sculpt him. We're providing the tools to create that 3D model that you fabricate and make real.

SEGALL: These are things that you created on the app and you print out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

SEGALL: This all came from an app.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You saw how easy it is to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a 3D printed record. Basically what I've done is I wrote a program that lets you take any piece of digital music, and you convert it state into a 3D model of a record and print it and play it on a turntable.

SEGALL: This plays actual music?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Do you want to hear it?

SEGALL: I definitely want to hear it. It's good.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: It was interesting to hear music that was 3D printed. And there's also a company called Tech Shop opening spaces around the country, and they allow anyone to come in, give them industrial tools, and say, "build whatever you want." We saw someone who built a guitar, and you could play music off of that. It's a huge movement empowering people to build and using technology to enable them to do that, Brianna.

KEILAR: And we hear there is wearable tech. What is this about?

SEGALL: Sure. We're seeing that technology, it's expanding beyond your smartphone. You know, now there are wristbands that connect to your smartphone and let you measure your blood pressure. We're about to speak with a woman who has a headband that uses your smartphone to look at brain waves. It's about being a healthier person, and using technology to help you do that. We're seeing a lot of that this year.

KEILAR: Very cool, Laurie Siegel for us at South by Southwest, thanks for that.

It is the dance craze that's out of this world which makes it right up NASA's alley. We'll bring you the latest take on that dance crazy craziness that's taken the Internet by storm.

You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: NASA is proving that the Mohawk guy, he is pretty cool, but he isn't the hippest thing they've got going on. Remember him from the Mars rover landings? Now astronauts are getting in on the Harlem Shake, but they're doing it from the safety of the earth as Virginia -- at Virginia's wallops fly facility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I just don't get sick of the Harlem Shake. When I think I'm sick of it, there's another one that I just think is great. That will take it through me for it for another couple of days.

Let's get to the "Bleacher Report." All good things must end. Joe Carter, the best start in NHL history over for the Chicago Blackhawks.

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Like you said, all good things must come to an end. The Chicago Blackhawks came in last night not losing in regulation in 24 games. It was a special start, the best start we've seen in NHL history until they stated into the mile high city. Maybe it was the altitude, travel, the schedule, whatever it was, Chicago looked slow. They played sluggish, the Colorado Avalanche. On the other hand who have struggled this season scored four goals in the second period to take the 5-1 lead. It was too much of a deficit for the Blackhawks to overcome. They lost 6-2, which mean the streak is over.

The Miami Heat on the other hand, they also have a streak going, and clearly the pressure to win not getting to LeBron James. While trying to save a ball from going out of bounds, he grabs the microphone and does his best Brianna Keilar. That's nice. The '76ers hung around for three quarters, but then the Miami Heat got hot, pulled away, winning by nine points, which means Miami is the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot. The 17 game win streak ties the Clippers' for the longest this season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, MIAMI HEAT: We're a better ball club. We know what we're striving for. We want to continue to get better each and every day, each and every practice, film session, in the game. We're also building toward the world championship. So we won't get complacent knowing what are goal is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I want to know, does this iguana have a press credential? Look at the size of that thing. We caught this bad boy lurking his way up the fairway trying to catch a glimpse of Tiger Woods yesterday because the man was simply on fire. He is in total control of his golf game. The magic he found in the first round he carried over into the second round. So far he's knocked in 17 birdies in two days. That's the best of his career. He starts today with a two-shot lead over Graeme McDowell. His old rival, Phil Mickelson, is just three shots back, tied for third, which means Tiger and Phil will be battling. It's must-see TV today.

And the Brooklyn Nets, Darin Williams made more three pointers in the half than any other NBA player in the history of the league. Williams made nine three pointers in the first half. He sunk 11 in all, just one shy of tying the game record. Our friends at "Bleacher Report" have an awesome video melt of every three-pointer.

Back to that Harlem shake, we've seen a lot of sports teams do it. Now NASA has done it. I'm thinking you should speak to your political friends in Washington. Maybe get them to do it.

KEILAR: Like on the house floor or something? I so wish that would happen. I don't think it will.

CARTER: We need to class it up a bit.

KEILAR: Right? Get them dancing together. Maybe they'll get along. Joe Carter, thank you for that.

Now speaking of sports, mixed martial art is one of the most intense and brutal sports around. You'll know this if you've seen it. So is it OK for a fighter born a man but competing as a woman to take on another woman? We will speak to the MMA's first openly transgender fighter next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We've been telling you all morning about a sports story that's making headlines. Take a look at this mixed martial arts knockout that's behind it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fox is back up on their feet. The reversals by both fighters these girls are getting right into it. Fox --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh! Oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it. Fallon Fox -- holy cow!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow, a beautiful knee, beautiful tie clinch right to the chin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That was featherweight Fallon Fox kneeing Erica Newsome in the head to advance in Florida's championship fighting alliance's women's tournament last Saturday. It took Fallon just 39 seconds to win the match. Nicknamed the "Queen of Swords," the 37-year-old fighter is on a roll, three and zero in amateur fights, two and zero professionally, and did I mention she was born a man. Fallon kept her history private until breaking the news to "Sports Illustrated's" Loretta Hunt this week, explaining how back in 2006 she went through hormonal therapy and gender reassignment surgery. Earlier I spoke with Fox and Hunt about the controversy, including critics who say Fox should have been open about her past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALLON FOX, TRANSGENDER MMA FIGHTER: The medical community stands behind me in that. And there's no unfair competitive advantages, which is the argument some who oppose my competition have said.

KEILAR: When did you -- give us an idea of when you started with the mixed martial arts. Was this before or after your gender reassignment surgery?

FOX: I started training in 2008, which is about two years after my gender reassignment surgery. My first MMA match was about a year and a half ago.

KEILAR: So you've only ever trained and you've only ever been involved in the sport as a woman. Are you surprised by some of the reaction that you're getting some both some of the negative and the positive?

FOX: It doesn't surprise me that much. I think that some people have a tendency not to pay attention to science in general, which is the way we find out about the world around us. It's just a thing that happens to human beings. I think for the most part the reaction has been positive. It's just some people, some of our -- some of society doesn't get it yet. And so what we're trying to do now is to inform people and let them know about transgender athletes.

KEILAR: Loretta, you broke the story. It's sort of something because this is an issue that has come up in other sports, right? Talk about the MMA and whether fighters are required to notify if they are transgender and how that compares to other sports.

LORETTA HUNT, WRITER, SPORTSILLUSTRATED.COM: Right. In terms of mixed martial arts, this is our first known case of a transgender athlete essentially coming out and revealing her medical history. In terms of Fallon having to notify her opponent, at this point the state commissions, and they all have their different set of rules per jurisdiction, are essentially racing to accommodate and bring in some kind of transgender policy, specifically Florida and California, where her licenses are either active or pending.

Fallon at this point would not have to tell her opponent she is transgender. And in terms of what rules are in place in the coming months, I suspect she will have to let the commissions know, and they will test her appropriately.

KEILAR: What do you think ultimately may happen here?

HUNT: I think it's going to take a couple months. Fallon is in a tournament. She's moved to the semifinals with her win on March 2. So she is active now in Florida. Her license is under review due to a discrepancy she had put on her application. I'm told that her license is still active. It's not frozen in any way. However, the Florida boxing commission starting next week is going to investigate and look at some type of transgender policy to bring in. I think it's going to go through a process, it's going to take a couple of months. Once that policy is in place, I believe Fallon will be allowed to fight.

KEILAR: Fallon, this is something that's very personal for you to talk about. Why did you decide at this point that you wanted to share this with the world knowing full well that you would get a lot of attention? You were obviously prepared for that.

FOX: Right. I didn't plan on coming out. There was a reporter that kind was digging. Apparently he was told rumors that I was transgender or transsexual, but the terminology I like to use. So I pretty much had no choice because he was digging around, asking people about me. So if it wasn't for that, I would have preferred to keep my personal medical history to myself, because that's what -- it's a matter of my personal medical history. And I don't think that anybody should have to reveal their personal medical history if they don't feel that they want to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Florida's boxing commission is now reviewing Fallon's fighting license. Fox can't fight in the state until they make a decision on her future.

Up next, Bill Clinton doing something you'd never expect a former president to do -- why he's publicly coming out against one of the very laws that he signed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Randi Kaye. And here are five stories that we're watching this morning. The Taliban says it was sending a message to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. He was in Kabul today when a suicide bomber attacked the Afghan ministry of defense. Nine people were killed. Hagel, who was not injured, is on his first official overseas trip as defense secretary.

And at number two, look at this crazy image from Ohio. This is a dump truck hanging off a bridge in Cleveland after it rolled over. Details on the accident still coming in to us, but, thankfully, no injuries have been reported.

The embalmed body of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez will remain in a glass casket on public display forever. That's right, forever. World leaders from Iran, Cuba, and dozens of other nations attended a state funeral for Mr. Chavez yesterday. Following the funeral, Mr. Chavez's protege vice president Nicolas Maduro was sworn in as interim president until a new election.

No trial date has been set for Osama bin Laden's son-in-law who has pleaded not guilty to terror charges. Prosecutors say he conspired to kill American as part of bin Laden's terror network and has spent most of his time since the September 11 attacks in Iran. U.S. officials arrested him February 28 in Jordan.

Delta Airlines is pushing back against a new rule that lets passengers carry small pocket knives on airplanes. CEO Richard Anderson says lifting the knife ban which was put in place after 9/11 isn't worth the risk, and the president of a second flight attendants union now also says the change, quote, "makes no sense." Federal authorities say the new rule brings the U.S. in line with international standards. It will take effect on April 25.

An op-ed piece in the "Washington Post" Friday still getting a lot of buzz this morning. In it former president Bill Clinton urges the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, legislation that he signed himself into law in 1996. It defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.

Mr. Clinton writes, "The justices must decide whether it is consistent with the principles of a nation that honors freedom, equality, and justice above all and is, therefore, constitutional. As the president who signed the act into law, I have come to believe that DOMA is contrary to those principles and, in fact, incompatible with our constitution."

Joining me now to talk about this, CNN contributor Maria Cardona and Amy Holmes, the anchor of "Real News" on "The Blaze." Amy, you first. Did Clinton's op-ed surprise you at all?

AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, "REAL NEWS" ON "THE BLAZE": It didn't surprise me that President Clinton is a supporter of gay marriage. In fact, back in 1996, a lot of observers thought that his defense of, you know, quote, "traditional marriage" was entirely political, particularly given his own flexible interpretation of the institution in his own personal life. I think what is surprising and important is that a former president of the United States published this op-ed. I think it has real political import. Whether or not it will sway the Supreme Court is another matter.

KEILAR: Maria, as you know, the Obama administration has filed a brief pushing for prop 8 to be overturned so it's not maybe that unusual that a president might take a stand on a policy. But have we ever seen a sitting president do something like this? Basically asking the Supreme Court to strike down a law that that president signed?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, no. I think if you look at the history of President Clinton, he is not one to basically break those kinds of traditions. He has been a very active and activist former president, one to make sure that he chimes in on public debate. The work that he has done on the Clinton Global Initiative has been incredibly impactful and groundbreaking on global issues such as education and poverty and health care.

The role that he played in President Obama's reelection I think is also historic and one that you haven't seen a former president take on. So I do think this is par for the course for someone like President Clinton, and I do think that he is also worried about his legacy. He doesn't want a law like DOMA on the books being implemented because I think he truly believes that it is unconstitutional.

And I think what he said smartly in his op-ed is he's not making a case that because he thinks it now should be overturned that the Supreme Court should overturn. It but if they focus on the merits of the case at hand, they will need to find it unconstitutional because, frankly, it is.

KEILAR: So they will hear that right now for the court, they're scheduled to hear these arguments on DOMA and Prop 8 later this month. Amy, you said it remains to be seen if Bill Clinton's opinion should matter in the case. Should it matter, do you think?

HOLMES: There are two issues. There's DOMA which he signed into law. And you know, his views of it, I think, are politically persuasive. When it comes to Prop 8, that's a different question. That has to do with California voters who voted to sort of defend traditional marriage and the California Supreme Court that said that that was inconsistent with California's state constitution. So the Supreme Court will be deciding that.

I don't think that Bill Clinton's views on Prop 8 are necessarily -- should necessarily be appropriate since that's a matter having to do with Californians. When you look at DOMA as national policy, certainly the former president's views are important and interesting.

KEILAR: So we're talking, and I want to get this to the two of you real quick if you could answer that. You know, you'd said that maybe it was politically motivated, Amy, I think you said this, that he signed this in the first place. Well, let's play sort of the role of the skeptic here. Could the timing here have anything to do with a Hillary Clinton run in three years? Maria, go.

CARDONA: No, not at all. What are you talking about?

(LAUGHTER) KEILAR: Amy, what do you think?

CARDONA: No, I think this is what Bill Clinton believes, period.

KEILAR: OK. You think that's what he believes period. Why do you think, Amy?

HOLMES: I agree with Maria. It's also because we have a Supreme Court case coming up in a week and a half. And President Clinton wants to weigh in on that debate. Whether or not it would help a Hillary Clinton run in 2016, you know, that remains to be seen. There are a lot of folks who feel passionately on both sides of the issue. I think Bill Clinton is actually maybe doing this for principled reasons. As much as I wouldn't want to believe that, I think that might be the case, for his legacy. OK.

CARDONA: Wow.

KEILAR: We're already talking -- I like that you're agreeing. I find this intriguing.

While we're talking 2016, let's talk about a pretty important powwow in Florida. The RNC have invited five big Republican names to speak, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. So ladies, what do you think about this? You know, could this be a little bit of a preview of the 2016 GOP presidential field?

HOLMES: I'm sure all of those gentlemen hope so. And that they would love for their names in contention for the Republican nomination in 2016. I think what's interesting about the lineup is that four of the five are politicians from blue states, states that president Obama won. And in the matter of Ted Cruz, he's a successful, you know, just won -- becoming United States senator from Texas with a growing Hispanic population. So I think with this lineup is intended to sort of be the face of the new GOP moving into the future.

KEILAR: That's interesting. Maria, what do you think?

CARDONA: Well, I hope that they actually -- if this is the face of the new GOP, they need to include some women in there. I mean, I hope that this isn't it in terms of the folks and the people that will actually put their names into consideration that the party will consider. I think they need to focus on Nikki Haley, I think they should have Kelly Ayotte in there.

But in terms of this lineup, you know, you have Jeb Bush who has been talked about, 2016 contender. His rollout for his book was rocky at best. You have Marco Rubio who I think has been very -- a very good leader on immigration, but his debut on the national spotlight I think kind of left people thirsty, wanting a bit more from him perhaps.

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: Then you have Chris Christie who, frankly, you know, conservatives have a real problem with him, though I think that he has a lot to teach the rest of the GOP in terms of how to win elections. So I think you still have a lot of questionable leadership qualities from all of these contenders. But, you know, to their end, it is still early. So we'll see.

KEILAR: It is early. Maybe that's what the women are doing, they're playing it smart and not giving in too soon. We'll see.

CARDONA: I like that.

KEILAR: Amy Holmes and Maria Cardona, thanks for being with me.

CARDONA: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you.

KEILAR: He's the man behind TV's biggest hits, like "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory," which I rather enjoy. Up next, mega-TV hit maker Chuck Lorre joining me live from South by Southwest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Thousands of people are packed into Austin, Texas, this weekend for the first leg of this year's South by Southwest festival. This is a huge party with a purpose, connecting the world of movies, music, and technology. This year's gathering is likely to be the largest date. Nine full days of concerts, meet-ups, pitches, powwows, and of course lots of parties. Did we mention that?

TV is also going play a big role this year with some of the biggest names in the biz participating including my next guest. I'd like to welcome to the show Chuck Lorre, one of TV's top comedy writer/producers. He's created some of TV's most popular shows like my personal favorite "The Big Bang Theory," as well as "Two and a Half Men" and "Mike and Molly." And he's also the author of a new book, "What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter."

Mr. Lorre, thank you so much for being here. You're actually making your debut at South by this year. Tell us what will be doing that their later and why you wanted to take part.

CHUCK LORRE, TV PRODUCER: I was real excited -- I've been hearing about South by Southwest for years. This is my first trip here. I was invited to talk about -- I'm not sure what exactly -- the death of my industry. I'm not sure. But I'm going to be talking later today with Neil Gammon, a great author that I'm a big fan of.

KEILAR: You say that tongue-in-cheek. You've obviously this, though, incredible success in television. Do you have any plans to branch out maybe into film?

LORRE: We're talking to Warner Brothers about doing some other things outside of sitcoms. It's still prenatal, hard to talk about yet.

KEILAR: Prenatal, you can't give us the scoop. We'll certainly stay posted for that. I do want to talk about your very popular new book, "What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Biter." This is a compilation of your trademark vanity cards. For our viewers who may not be familiar with split-second vanity cards, like the ones -- this is the book. But if they're not familiar with what these vanity cards are, can you explain what they are and why you began creating the one like -- these ones like we're seeing on the TV now?

LORRE: Somewhere in the history of television lost to historians is -- it became a tradition to give the creator or executive producer of a TV show a second at the end of the show to put up a -- what was called a production card. It became known as a vanity card because it really had no real credence as to who was really producing the show. These shows are produced by Warner Brothers, Universal, Fox. So it's a meaningless second probably given in lieu of cash.

So about 17 years ago I guess on "Dharma and Greg" I started writing essays that aired in the one-second spot they gave me. It wasn't a problem. No one could read them. During the VCR time, it was almost impossible to pause and read what I was writing. Now it's become a little bit more of an issue.

KEILAR: That's why this the one says, "No need to freeze frame this one." People do freeze frame them. I know you post them on line now.

I want to talk a little about the vanity cards. They've been controversial. Actor Charlie Sheen says that some were directed at him during his time at "Two and a Half Men." Sheen appeared on CNN's "Piers Morgan" in January and addressed the tiff between you two that ultimately led to his exit from the show. I want you to hear what he said, and we'll talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you come close to calling him or --

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: No. I think we were in the same hotel lobby one night and missed each other by 10 minutes.

MORGAN: What would you have said?

SHEEN: Hey, man, good luck with everything. Sorry about that. And see you, you know, see you on campus.

MORGAN: Do you have any --

SHEEN: I think that's what I would have done, you know? Yes. The fantasy, the fantasy's walking up and dropping him. That's not who I am. That's not who I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: OK. So it sounds like needless to say that, Mr. Lorre, he may hold a grudge against you. Do you hold a grudge against him? If you were to run into him, what would you say? LORRE: You know, I really don't know how to answer that question. You know, it was a terrible, terrible time. We had a great run for eight- and-a-half years. We made television I'm proud of. I think we made people laugh, which is what we were trying to do. And it ended very poorly. What can I say? You know.

KEILAR: And finally, I'd like to talk about your newest project, sorts of moving on from the past to the future here. The CBS sitcom "Mom." What should we expect?

LORRE: Well, it stars Anna Farris and Allison Janney, an incredible cast. A comedy, I hope. Other people will tell me if it is a comedy I suppose. Anna plays a single mom, a single mom trying to pull her life together while waiting tables in Napa Valley.

KEILAR: Can you give us any more sort of about the flavor of the comedy?

LORRE: She's recently sober, so she's actually in Napa Valley. We thought that's a nice place to put somebody trying to work on their sobriety, in the middle of the bottle. The cork is open in Napa Valley. So she's trying to raise her children and create a relationship with a very difficult with her mother who is played by Allison Janney, a terrific actress. We're blessed with an amazing cast. We'll shoot in the middle of April after we wrap "Big Bang" and "Two and a Half Men" and "Mike and Molly."

KEILAR: You have a lot on your plate. Thanks for talking to us about your book and new project. Chuck Lorre, appreciate it.

LORRE: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: She certainly doesn't look very wicked. That's actress Mila Kunis at the European premiere of "Oz the Great and Powerful." We have much more on the dazzling film, including which beloved characters you will not see.

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KEILAR: CNN's Nischelle Turner joining me now from Austin, Texas, where's she's attending the annual South by Southwest festival because she gets all the great assignments. I understand for those who can't make it to Austin this weekend, the other hot destination is the Land of Oz. What can you tell us?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, absolutely. It's funny because Austin could actually be considered the Land of Oz over the next ten days. This is kind of going to be the entertainment industry's Mecca with all things music, film, and technology colliding here at South by Southwest.

But you're right, there is another land of Oz that's opening this weekend. Disney is betting big on "Oz the Great and Powerful," the movie opening this weekend. You know what, I would not call this a remake. They don't like that, maybe more of a reinvention. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no place like home.

TURNER: Classic lines, classic footwear. "The Wizard of Oz" is beloved. According to the library of Congress more people have seen the 1939 musical than any other film. Now 74 years after Dorothy left Oz, Disney is revisiting the yellow brick road with "Oz, the Great and Powerful," billing it as a prequel.

SAM RAIMI, DIRECTOR, "OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL": It sets up a lot of things that happened in the story we are familiar with.

TURNER: The new Oz is not a musical. What it lacks up in show tunes it makes upper for in effects. Disney is betting heavily on the gamble, spending an estimated $200 million just to produce it.

What's at stake for the studio?

PAUL DERGARABEDIAN, PRESIDENT, HOLLYWOOD.COM BOX OFFICE: For them this is a big deal. This is iconic property and they have a lot of money on the line.

TURNER: Major money and creative hurdles. While the Oz books by L. Frank Baum are in the public domain, Warner Brothers owns the rights to the Wizard of Oz film. So several story elements like Dorothy's ruby slippers, are off limits to Disney.

DERGARABEDIAN: The Disney lawyers had to be on set to say, you're getting too close to the ownership of Warner Brothers. So we have to be careful of that.

TURNER: Will Disney's interpretation of the land of Oz alienate fans of the Hollywood classic? Not according to James Franco, who plays Oz.

JAMES FRANCO, ACTOR: We pay respect to a lot of the aspects that people expect and love about the world of Oz, and that's mainly taken from the books. Then there is a fresh take on some of the characters. So you're getting, you know, enough of the old and enough of the new.

TURNER: So while you won't see a tin man or scarecrow in this Oz, the yellow brick road is still in place along with the witches. And Disney hopes the land of Oz can once again turn movie magic into box office gold.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: So yes, I have a guest with me, Chuck Lorre. He didn't want to leave us. He was talking to you, and I said, come sit with me. We are talking about the "Oz, The Great and Powerful" movie opening this weekend. Disney put $200 million into this movie, a huge budget. I bet you wish you could get a budget like that for a movie you do. It's opening maybe, they think, $75 million to $85 million for opening weekend. Is that like a director's dream or producer's dream to open to that much?

LORRE: I don't understand that business at all. They have to make $11 billion to break even. I don't know how that works.

TURNER: You just stick to TV where your budgets are tighter.

LORRE: It's simple. We don't go outdoors. Two guys talking on a couch. That's what we do. We're an indoor cat.

TURNER: We get the best gets here on CNN. Chuck is going hang out more at South by Southwest. Back to you. We're talking about "Oz, The Great and Powerful." I've heard -- I haven't seen it yet, I didn't see the movie, but I know people who have seen it. They say it's one of the most beautifully shot movies that they have ever seen. Although I love James Franco, he's a great actor, I'm partial to Richard Pryor being Oz.

KEILAR: It does look gorgeous. Nischelle Turner, thanks, girl.

We've got much more straight ahead.

TURNER: All right.

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