Showbiz Today

The Man Behind the Grinch's Green Mask; 'Unbreakable' Could Prove Unbeatable at Box Office; Actress Michelle Yeoh's Gift for Action

Aired November 23, 2000 - 4:30 p.m. ET

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

LAURIN SYDNEY, CO-HOST: Hi there everybody and very happy Thanksgiving. I'm Laurin Sydney in New York.

On this Turkey Day, watch your drumsticks. The Grinch might steal them right off your plate. He's on the prowl this holiday. He's a mean, green man bearing some resemblance to Jim Carrey.

To kick off our holiday special, Jim Moret profiles the man behind the green mask.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MASK")

JIM CARREY, ACTOR: You love me, you really love me!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MORET, CO-HOST (voice-over): Whether he's the shy bank clerk turned zany antihero in "The Mask," the lovable simpleton in "Dumb and Dumber," or the complex, real-life comedian in "Man on the Moon," Jim Carrey commands attention and takes personal comfort in becoming someone else.

CARREY: It's actually very therapeutic. You know, if you like put a beard on and you went around and said all the things you really wanted to say, you know, and all that, it's just -- it's freedom from your problems and you think like another character, you make decisions based on how they would think and not how you would think. And it's great.

MORET: His latest incarnation comes as the Dr. Seuss character...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS")

CARREY: The Grinch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORET: You may not recognize the actor, but his over-the-top performance is unmistakably Jim Carrey. RON HOWARD, DIRECTOR, "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS": One of the things that Jim said early on is, let's create a great Grinch. This is not about being a vehicle for being an actor, this is a fantasy world and it's an amazing, famous character.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS")

CARREY: Action! Brilliant! You reject your own nose because it represents the glitter of commercialism. Why didn't I think of that. Cut, print, check the gate, moving on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORET (on camera): You've never had a problem with inhibition, let's face it.

(LAUGHTER)

But did you feel...

CARREY: That's exactly wrong, though. I have had a problem with inhibition, that's why I go so far the other way.

MORET: Really?

CARREY: Yes, basically, people like me are shy people who overcompensate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS")

CARREY: Almost lost my cool there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARREY: The voice was basically, you know, probably a thousand different voices I've heard over the years. But mostly it came from the effect of having the teeth in, and the combination of that and feeling how the Grinch feels about life and whatever, and his frustration with the whole mess, that he just kind of makes you grit your teeth. You know, it's a natural thing. When I go like this until they turn to powder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS")

CARREY: Even if I wanted to go, my schedule wouldn't allow it: 1:00, wallow in self-pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORET: You're a dad, how much of you -- what, was it the dad in you that wanted to make this?

CARREY: Absolutely -- and the child, you know. I wanted to hang on, like I said, to things that were important to me as I child. And absolutely, the idea of doing it for my daughter and doing it for every kid. MORET (voice-over): Carrey says children run Hollywood. If so, he could be the biggest kid of them all.

Jim Moret, CNN Entertainment News, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYDNEY: At the box office this holiday, "Unbreakable" could prove unbeatable. Bruce Willis stars in this mysterious thriller, his latest project with the director of "The Sixth Sense."

Michael Okwu reports that this one puts Willis in another life- or-death situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "UNBREAKABLE")

BRUCE WILLIS, ACTOR: Why are you looking at me like that?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Your train derailed but you didn't break one bone. You don't have a scratch on you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The words that come to mind are subtle, subdued, understated. Watching Bruce Willis play an ordinary man who discovers he possessing extraordinary powers in "Unbreakable" is to witness his newfound restraint.

WILLIS: I wanted to set aside how I've acted in other films. So I guess -- not that I ever thought about being restrained in any of those scenes, it just kind of worked out that.

OKWU: Which is just how writer/director M. Night Shyamalan wanted him. Shyamalan, who also directed "The Sixth Sense," says Willis is a regular guy, an everyman, which could be the reason audiences buy it when he transforms from the heavy in a film like "The Siege" to the punchline in "The whole Nine Yards."

(on camera): You know, Night says this, and a lot of other journalists and producers and directors who you've worked with in the past say the same thing, that Bruce Willis is sort of the everyman.

WILLIS: That is probably one of the highest compliments you could be paid. It's, I think, stolen from Freud or possibly Jung, I'm not sure. Got to read those books. But, yes, I mean, it's about -- this film's about a lot of things. It works on a lot of levels. But it's also about ordinary people and just regular people and walking through their lives and walking through the pain of the things that happen to all of us day to day.

OKWU (voice-over): At 45, Willis has suffered his share: in the last couple years, a failed marriage to actress Demi Moore; a struggling business, Planet Hollywood, filed for bankruptcy. (on camera): You've been through a lot in the last couple years and yet you -- there's been a lot written about the fact that you are so much more mellow than you used to be, so much more self-assured.

WILLIS: Well, as you get older, I mean, you know, you make choices about how you want to live your life. When you're 18 years old, you think everybody's thinking about you and talking about what you do. When you're 40 years old, you get to a point where you just don't care what anybody's thinking about you and what you're doing. When you're 60, you realize no one was ever thinking about you and what you do. I'm just getting older, I guess, and things just don't shake me up that much anymore.

OKWU (voice-over): Older, restrained or relaxed?

Michael Okwu, CNN Entertainment News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYDNEY: Our holiday star feast continues as we get a bounce from Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow, and then kick things in high gear with "Crouching Tiger" star Michelle Yeoh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SYDNEY: But with this actress, words may not be necessary.

Lauren Hunter reports her gift for action speaks for itself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Michelle Yeoh, martial arts is as much a philosophical mindset as a physical endeavor.

MICHELLE YEOH, ACTRESS: It's about learning to pacify situations. It's about knowing yourself, looking into yourself.

HUNTER: Yeoh's high kicking has become her hallmark. Her latest film is "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." It blends an Eastern martial arts physicality with a Western sensibility. It's the story about the theft of a sacred sword in ancient China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS (through translator): The scabbard is so beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS (through translator): Beautiful but dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YEOH: It's lyrical, it's romantic, it's very dramatic, it's visually very stimulating. And at the end of the day, it gives you hope.

HUNTER: Yeoh's background includes a tour as Miss Malaysia and a series of films throughout Asia, including "Supercop" opposite Jackie Chan. That role made Yeoh the highest-paid female star in Hong Kong. But her stint as a Bond girl in "Tomorrow Never Dies" put her on Western cinema's center stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TOMORROW NEVER DIES")

YEOH: I get to work with a decadent agent of a corrupt Western power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YEOH: The bond movies, it's like you're part of a legacy that's been around for 38 years. And it was a great stepping stone for me to be introduced to a much wider audience, especially out here in America and in Europe.

HUNTER: "Crouching Tiger" was Yeoh's next film. Nine months before shooting started, she began an intensive training regimen, studying both Mandarin Chinese as well as Tai Chi.

YEOH: Three hours in the morning, maybe another two hours in the evening. Unfortunately, I had an accident while I was doing the last night of the first action sequence.

HUNTER: Yeoh seriously injured her knee, flew to the states for surgery and was back on the set in Hong Kong within a month.

YEOH: The cast and the crew were wonderful. You know, I was like the empress dowager, you know, everybody was looking after me so well.

HUNTER: The injury and the film itself served to remind Yeoh of the importance of perspective.

YEOH: Life is too short. You never know what's around the corner, so I'm not willing to sit there and gripe about it. I would like to be one of those, you know, who would go out there and say, let's try. If you don't try, you never know whether you're going to succeed.

HUNTER: Lauren Hunter, CNN Entertainment News, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYDNEY: Soup's on with three celebrity chefs who shared their cooking secrets, and songs of inspiration this Thanksgiving Day from Bebe Winans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA EDEN, ACTRESS: Turkey. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, everything fattening.

JOSH BROLIN, ACTOR: Sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top, a little burnt -- crisp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY: Vince Gill and Dolly Parton are spending Thanksgiving on stage. They are entertaining viewers with a TV special in honor of the Grand Ole Opry.

Sherri Sylvester has a grand ol' time telling about all the holiday TV highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERRI SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Too stuffed on turkey and cranberry sauce to move? The TV networks hope families can muster enough energy to gather around the tube. CBS is offering a heaping helping of country music. "Grand Ole Opry 75th: A Celebration" is a special tribute to the country music institution, with new performances as well as vintage clips.

Hosted by Dolly Parton and Vince Gill, the special features the music of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn and Travis Tritt.

TRAVIS TRITT, MUSICIAN: People ask me all the time, what's the biggest, proudest moment for you as an artist? And I have to say, being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, because that was something that, first of all, I dreamt about when I was just a kid. You know, it's something you really aspire to.

SYLVESTER: Countless hopefuls have aspired to take the stage on "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?"

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?")

REGIS PHILBIN, HOST: What is the title of Britney Spears' most recent album?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVESTER: Thursday and Friday, Regis Philbin puts two contestants in the hot seat at once with the first family edition of "Millionaire."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "PROVIDENCE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Dad, what's the ETA on the turkey?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Sixteen-hundred hours.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: So what's our final count?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: With Anchi's (ph) parents, that makes nine.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Rocket makes 10. And if Dr. Simmons' plane's on time, that'll be 11.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVESTER: After a Friday filled with shopping, NBC wants viewers to unwind with a special two-hour "Providence." The Thanksgiving-themed episode features guest star Tippi Hedren as a wealthy matron and JD Souther as a homeless, blues guitarist.

Saturday night, Fox presents "America's Most Wanted: Undercover." This special edition of the popular reality series takes viewers for a ride in pursuit of stolen cars and follows the drug war out to sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: UNDERCOVER")

ANNOUNCER: The war on drugs marks the first time since Prohibition that the U.S. Coast Guard has used gunfire as part of a tactical policy to stop contraband from reaching American shores.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVESTER: Those who prefer an out-to-sea fantasy can check out "Titanic" Sunday on NBC. Just like Thanksgiving leftovers, viewers may enjoy its flavor the second or even third time around.

Sherri Sylvester, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYDNEY: Thanksgiving dates back to the 1600s, making it slightly older than the me -- no, slightly older than the World Wide Web. But this year, the old-fashioned holiday goes together with new-fangled technology.

Dennis Michael explores Thanksgiving-related sites on the Internet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENNIS MICHAEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thanksgiving on the Web? Well, it's tough to think of a more low-tech holiday than this particular celebration of turkey, our national Puritan roots, and professional football, but the Internet has something for everyone and everything.

Puritan.com is no help. They sell vitamins. Pilgrim.com is a telecom. But then there's -- plural -- .net in which the Plymouth Plantation summons up the history of the holiday. Many people cherish "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas. Here's a possible competitor on the Web: Thanksgiving memories from Fresno, California. Well, maybe not.

We decided to away from Thanksgiving turkey recipe sites. After all, if you're looking for a recipe now, it's time to break out the TV dinners.

However, Kind Veggie Burritos.com has some recipes that may not be thankful, but are for and by fans of the Grateful Dead. And finally, this could be the first and maybe only thanksgiving carol: "Be Thankful For What You've Got," recorded in 1974 by William Devaughn.

(BEGIN MUSIC CLIP)

WILLIAM DEVAUGHN, SINGER (singing): Just be thankful for what you've got.

(END MUSIC CLIP)

MICHAEL: So there's obviously room to develop something new for thanksgiving on the Web by next November, and you can be thankful for the opportunity.

I'm Dennis Michael, with the "Tech Guide."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYDNEY: Friday on SHOWBIZ, a sneak peek at more of this holiday season, hottest new movies, and the Backstreet Boys feel no pain over sales of their brand-new album, "Black & Blue."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VONDA SHEPARD, SINGER: I like those little green peas with the onions and the cream sauce, you know. That's my favorite.

SHEDAISY: The green beans, everyone has it. That green bean casserole. From Campbell's. Everyone knows that one. OK, my mouth's watering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY: Right about now, you may be thinking mom is the greatest chef in the whole wide world. But Wolfgang Puck might have a bone to pick with that. The famed chef has a new cookbook out, and so do some other celebrity cooks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLFGANG PUCK: What I really deep down want is that people spend a little time in the kitchen, and especially also with their children, since I have two, young children and I think it's a lot of fun spending time with the kids. And think making pizza together or making pastas together is really fun.

MARILYN LEWIS: The book is not a cookbook even though the title may say that. It is a memoir, and as I said, with 19 very necessary recipes, 100 photos of wonderful nostalgic Hollywood and stars and fashions illustrations from my fashion design life.

ISAAC HAYES: Of course, over the years I've done a lot of cooking, and with memories and influence from my grand mother. You know, there's a lot of soul food in this cook book. But it's also got alternative recipes that are healthy because I went into health foods in 1970. And very fun dishes. And I've got some desserts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY: We have now reached the dessert course of our holiday special. And as a special treat, we have gospel artist BeBe Winans performing for us. He has a new album out called "Love & Freedom." And in honor of the holiday, he is playing us out with a special tune appropriate for Thanksgiving. It's called "Coming Back Home."

BeBe, the stage is yours.

(MUSIC)

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