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Best Interviews of 2012: Javier Bardem; Eddie Redmayne; Dog Trainer Omar von Muller; Artist Duo Gilbert and George; Iranian Filmmaker Marjane Satrapi; East End Photographer David Bailey; Royal Replica Photographer Alison Jackson; Bond Songwriter John Taylor; Bond on Bond: Roger Moore
Aired December 26, 2012 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in London, and over the next half hour, we're going to bring you some of my biggest interviews of the year. From Hollywood heavyweights and iconic artists to music legends, James Bond, and even a dog.
To kick off, the star who played one of the biggest villains of the year as Silver in the new Bond film, "Skyfall." When I caught up with Javier Bardem, he was wearing a very different hat, that of a humanitarian as he talked about his documentary, "Sons of the Clouds."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): The film highlights the plight of tens of thousands of Saharawi people, who've been living as refugees in a disputed region, which Morocco claimed as part of its territory when Spain withdrew from the former colony in 1976.
ANDERSON (on camera): Why this issue?
JAVIER BARDEM, ACTOR: Well, I don't know. I guess as a Spaniard, we have this historical responsibility with the Saharawis because our government, in the Franco times, let them down. They betrayed them.
ANDERSON (voice-over): After four years working on the documentary, late last year, Bardem was granted a chance to speak at the United Nations.
BARDEM: It is our duty as citizens to remind our leaders of the responsibilities when injustice occurs.
ANDERSON (on camera): You didn't look afraid, but you certainly looked intimidated by it.
BARDEM: Oh yes, of course. Of course, of course. It was the most -- the hardest 45 seconds of my life in the sense that you want to be understood, you want to be listened. You believe in every word you're saying.
ANDERSON: For you personally, how does something like this documentary compare to making feature films, films that are put up for Oscars? You've got one yourself, of course. How does it compare?
BARDEM: The goal is different. And the experience is different in the sense that it's not about you anymore, it's about somebody else.
ANDERSON: Who is Javier the humanitarian?
BARDEM: I don't think that there is a Javier humanitarian, I think there's a Javier who really -- as many, all of us, care for things and try to help in the way we can.
ANDERSON: Your greatest pleasure in life?
BARDEM: I don't know. There are many, thank God. Finish an interview?
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Should we leave it there?
(LAUGHTER)
BARDEM: I think it's a good -- it's a good end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Javier Bardem, there. Well, another star who was happy when the interview was over was Eddie Redmayne. Now, he of course is the young British actor who starred opposite Golden Globe winner Michelle Williams in "My Week With Marilyn."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You play a character who had an affair with Marilyn Monroe in the week that she spent here in the UK working with Laurence Olivier on a movie. You know what my next question is going to be, and I know you're say "I'm not going to answer it."
EDDIE REDMAYNE, ACTOR: Yes.
ANDERSON: Your relationship with Michelle Williams, I hear, was slightly similar to that of your character with Marilyn Monroe, am I right in saying that or not?
REDMAYNE: Well, I'm not sure you are. I was -- what was interesting was that there were a lot of life imitating art aspects of that film.
Principally, I went to Eaton. There was a moment when Michelle became a good friend and I -- and there was a moment in which I was showing her around, and Colin was showing Marilyn Monroe around, and there were all these Eaton boys, and they were all coming up and saying, "Oh, what's Michelle like? What's --"
There was -- we shot it in Pinewood, we shot it in -- Michelle was in the same dressing room where Marilyn Monroe was. So, there were lots of those elements kind of infused in the film. But it was all a fairytale, so, yes.
ANDERSON: You've done a lot of costume drama in the part --
(CROSSTALK)
REDMAYNE: Done my fair share of theater.
ANDERSON: You've starred in or been part of productions around Elizabeth I, for example --
REDMAYNE: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- Anne Boleyn and various others. Elizabeth I or Marilyn Monroe, who is the greater woman in your -- to your mind?
REDMANYE: Ooh! There you go! I love that. I've been asked lots of questions about which icon would you spend -- who is the greater woman? I am -- I remain, and I think our country remains, sort of endlessly fascinated with her.
Although, I was so ignorant to Marilyn Monroe when I started this film that one of the great experiences about making it was really seeing her work and seeing her genius. I hadn't realized how extraordinarily talented she was as well as being breathtakingly beautiful.
So, it's a hard call. I would probably go for Elizabeth, if I'm being honest. But if it was to actually spend a week with, maybe Marilyn.
(LAUGHTER)
REDMAYNE: But I don't know. You got me there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, I'm not sure that I got all the answers there. A true gentleman is our Mr. Redmayne. But it didn't stop me putting one of Hollywood's most prolific actors in the hot seat. Here's Mr. John Goodman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (on camera): Your role as Dan Connor, of course, in "Roseanne" is what a lot of the international viewers are going to know you for. Turned you into a global star.
ROSEANNE BARR AS ROSEANNE CONNER, "ROSEANNE": Nuh-uh. I married you because you needed a date for your wedding.
ANDERSON: Do you miss it? Because it looks -- it looked great fun.
GOODMAN: Yes, I do. I do miss that time. Because it was like a -- like going to a family every day. A highly dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.
ANDERSON: Your career path actually began, of course, as a footballer. But then injury scuttled that dream, and you turned to acting.
GOODMAN: An injury and no talent.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Good for you!
GOODMAN: The injury of being born with no talent.
ANDERSON: Was that a blessing in disguise, though, do you think?
GOODMAN: No, absolutely. It -- provided me with an avenue where there were more women involved.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: At an early age, that's important.
ANDERSON: Throughout your career, you have, of course, made millions of people laugh. What makes you laugh, John?
GOODMAN: The shock, surprise. There's a -- I'm a sucker for the easy laugh, a cheap laugh, anything usually gets me going, unless people are trying too hard.
ANDERSON: What inspires you?
GOODMAN: Less and less these days.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: And my daughter. My wife.
ANDERSON: The funniest project you've ever worked on.
GOODMAN: "Big Lebowski."
ANDERSON: Worst project you've ever worked on.
GOODMAN: No.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: I'm not telling.
ANDERSON: Most favorable interview you've ever had?
GOODMAN: This one!
ANDERSON (simultaneously): This one!
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: They say never work with children or animals. What or who would you rather work with, children, animals, or give me the name of somebody.
GOODMAN: Oh, golly. I don't have any favorites, but I like working with children and animals. Except for one -- there was a dog on "Roseanne," we thought we were going to have a dog one time, and the trainer for the animal was just off camera, and we'd be having our dialogue, and all of a sudden, "Up!"
This guy would scream at the dog, and we'd -- it made us very nervous. And you don't want to get Roseanne real nervous, so the dog went. Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: But one dog that has been allowed to stay among the A-listers is Uggie. His trainer joined us on this show amid an online campaign to have the pint-sized star of "The Artist" recognized at the Academy Awards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Time to meet Hollywood's new best friend, he's in our New York studio with his owner and trainer, Omar von Muller.
And before we start, I know that Uggie, Omar, is partial to a kiss and a cuddle from a woman, so from the CTW team here and all the girls on the team, can you just give him a little kiss and let him know that we're pushing for him in these --
OMAR VON MULLER, UGGIE'S OWNER/TRAINER: Oh, yes.
ANDERSON: -- in these awards?
VON MULLER: Give some kisses. That's my buddy right here.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Sweet. Omar, does he deserve an Oscar, do you think?
VON MULLER: Yes. I think animals should be recognized in the Academy. I don't know exactly if this is going to be Oscars like humans, but they should get some type of award. It takes a lot of work to get them where they are.
ANDERSON: How is he coping with all of this attention?
VON MULLER: He loves it. He loves it. He loves people, he loves attention, he loves the flashes, the cameras, and the more attention he gets, the more he likes it.
ANDERSON: We've got a Jack Russel at home, so this is a joy and a delight for me and my dad, who I'm sure is watching. How many other Hollywood studios, Omar, have been knocking on his kennel door at this point?
VON MULLER: Actually, we've been getting tons of calls. We've been getting a lot of calls, a lot of -- for a lot of different things. He's -- he's almost ten years old, so he's pretty much getting ready to be retired.
ANDERSON: What can you get him to do for us tonight? I know he's -- there's no skateboard in the house.
VON MULLER: It's kind of hard to make him skateboard up here, but OK. Uggie, come here. Up, up! Up, up! Ready? Ready? I'm going to give him a kiss.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Sweet! Well, indeed, our Big Interviews came in all shapes and sizes this year. Do stay with us. We've got the artistic bunch up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right, you're back with us. I'm Becky Anderson, and we are bringing you the very best of my Big Interviews this year. Among them, four artists I describe as controversial, but also iconic. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Talk to me about this artwork, the genesis of what we see here.
GEORGE, ARTIST, GILBERT & GEORGE: The London pictures are based on a huge collection of newspapers, posters, which we still, one by one, every day, passing the news agent shops, very difficult to do. And then, after more than six years, we decided we were ready to create pictures with them.
ANDERSON: What's your favorite or most bizarre headline?
GEORGE: Very difficult to choose a favorite. "Gun found up man's bum." Fits in the picture, the gun. That's quite extraordinary, isn't it? Quite amazing.
ANDERSON (voice-over): For more than four decades, Gilbert and George have amused and at times outraged the masses with their art, in which they are the main exhibit.
ANDERSON (on camera): What makes this a successful union?
GEORGE: We do not have opinions about matters which we cannot affect. Even on a practical level, we don't shop, we don't go to ballet or to the opera or to the cinema. We keep our brains completely weird and normal all the time.
GILBERT, ARTIST, GILBERT & GEORGE: There's freedoms -- to be free from -- religion.
GEORGE: Ban religion and decriminalize sex.
ANDERSON: Gilbert and George on a Saturday night.
GILBERT: Ah, very simple. Every day, every time the same routine. The (speaking foreign language). We always have the same food, and we take a mini cab back.
GEORGE: We don't believe in reading menus, and every night when we're alone, we eat the same thing for maybe two or three or four months, and then we will change our minds and have something else. And again, it frees up the brain. Why should we think about what to have for dinner. It's just unnecessary.
ANDERSON: What makes you laugh?
GILBERT: George is a bigger entertainer than what I am.
ANDERSON: If George makes Gilbert laugh, does Gilbert make George cry?
(LAUGHTER)
GEORGE: Not yet, not yet.
ANDERSON: What's your best relationship advice?
GEORGE: We try not to have negative -- maybe rucksacks is the one, small item.
ANDERSON: Rucksacks?
GILBERT: Rucksacks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARJANE SATRAPI, WRITER/DIRECTOR: Oscar, I think, is the worst experience of one's person, really. First of all, they stress you out for one week. They give you this DVD, what you should say, what you should do, how many seconds you should talk, you should not thank your grandmother and your cousin and everyone, you can only thank your wife and your children. It's a whole thing.
And then, you arrive at the Oscars and there was suddenly all the photographers, they were on us, and I was like, "Wow, my God!"
But then, I thought that actually they were not completely on me. It was a little bit on the side. And it was John Travolta next to me, so I didn't even get one photo at the Oscars because of John Travolta. He just destroyed my Oscar day.
And then, I had these high-heeled shoes in I was uncomfortable in, I had this dress I was uncomfortable in, the food was not good. It was -- I mean, at the end, if you win, maybe you forget about this week of suffering. But if you don't win, then you only remembering the suffering.
ANDERSON: In what ways are you distinctly Iranian?
SATRAPI: In my way to receive people in my house.
ANDERSON: In what ways are you distinctly French?
SATRAPI: In the way that I am all the time complaining and I'm never happy.
ANDERSON: I know that there a lot of leaders that you don't think much of. Which ones do you admire?
SATRAPI: Leaders? None of them.
ANDERSON: The veil. It is a symbol of freedom or oppression for you?
SATRAPI: For me, it's a symbol of oppression, but I never judge people that wear it, because some people, if they believe, I'm not the one to tell them what to do.
ANDERSON: Is the cup half full or half empty?
SATRAPI: Oh, half full. Always.
ANDERSON: What keeps you awake at night?
SATRAPI: I'm awake at night without nothing. I can never sleep before 4:00.
ANDERSON: Greatest decision that you've ever made?
SATRAPI: To come to France.
ANDERSON: Worst decision?
SATRAPI: To get married the first time I got married.
ANDERSON: What would you like your epitaph to say?
SATRAPI: From life, I wanted eternity. I only could be disappointed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Iconic images of East London, captured by an iconic East Ender. This is David Bailey's snapshot, taken over 50 years, of the stories neighborhood in which he was born and raised.
ANDERSON (on camera): What are your enduring memories?
BAILEY: Of the East End?
ANDERSON: Yes.
BAILEY: Oh. I don't know. There was no expectations, really. I didn't have any expectations. I knew I was an artist, in a way, because all I did as a kid was draw, because I'm really badly dyslexic. People that say, oh, that's a good get out, they don't know the misery I had at school, because I used to get caned because I couldn't spell.
ANDERSON (voice-over): What Bailey lacked in reading skills, he made up for with a keen eye and charisma. Models, movie stars, rock legends, and crime bosses have all sought out his lens, including the infamous Kray brothers, who shared his East End stomping ground.
BAILEY: This is a gambling club that belonged to Reg and Ron.
ANDERSON (on camera): The Krays.
BAILEY: Yes, and that was -- that was firebombed ten minutes after we left. And this is another one. This was the Rio Club. And Checker -- Checker, the -- Reg used to give me as my minder, he used to, when I was down there, he used to give me someone to look after me in case I --
ANDERSON: You knew all these guys, right?
BAILEY: Yes, Checker. I helped him escape from the police. God, I'm going to get in trouble for that one.
(LAUGHTER)
BAILEY: I gave him 350 quid to disappear.
ANDERSON: When was that? 1965?
BAILEY: 68 or something. But he was a good guy, Checker. He was a nice guy. Kind of a gentle giant.
ANDERSON: Yes, yes.
BAILEY: Someone didn't want to be photographed, he'd grab them and say, "All right, Dave, you can take their picture."
(LAUGHTER)
BAILEY: "Checker, it's not quite the picture I'm after."
ANDERSON (voice-over): Today, this is the kind of picture Bailey's capturing in the East End.
BAILEY: This is good. This is -- what it's now become. This kind of colorful, bit of mystery, because you can't see their faces. And walking away is two Essex girls, with the tight skirt and the -- so, this is kind of, for me, the slow change of things.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): An image of the British queen on her knees with her Corgi. Or is it?
ALISON JACKSON, PHOTOGRAPHER & FILMMAKER: I love this picture, actually, because I always think the queen probably really is very fond of her Corgis, she's surrounded by -- I don't know how many, but a lot.
She takes them on her aeroplane and so on and so forth. So just thought it would be really nice to have a picture of her playing at home with her Corgis.
ANDERSON: It's what Alison Jackson calls a mental image only.
JACKSON: Really great, your smile's really great.
ANDERSON: The notorious photographer and filmmaker satirizes celebrities through lookalikes. And the British royals are among her favorite subjects.
ANDERSON (on camera): What is it about the royals that has inspired you to do this sort of work?
JACKSON: Well I think they're just such a fantastic family, the royals, because they're sort of shadowed in mystique and mystery, and we're always dying to know how they actually really live their lives.
ANDERSON: Who's your favorite?
JACKSON: Well, I think the queen, actually. Because I think she's such a sort of figure head. She works hard, she's 85, she's really fit. I just can't believe she keeps on going in the way she does.
ANDERSON (voice-over): And in Jackson's mind, that includes doing the conga at the after party for Kate and Wills' wedding.
ANDERSON (on camera): Where on earth do you find these lookalikes, and how difficult is it to find?
JACKSON: It's very difficult to find the lookalikes, but it's -- I've got a spitting image replica of the royal family now. They are all absolutely excellent. As you can see, the queen is just brilliant, the Kate and Wills lookalikes are fantastic. And even Pepper Middleton has just got to be an exact replica, including her bottom.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, granted, there was a strong British theme in many of the interviews this year, but London did seem to be celebration central, with the queen's Jubilee, the Games, and let's not forget James Bond. Stay with us. We've got some interviews around the iconic spy for you, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. This is a CONNECT THE WORLD special, and we're recapping some of my favorite interviews, Big Interviews, for 2012. And the last two were part of our coverage of the Bond franchise's 50th anniversary.
First up, I spoke to John Taylor from Duran Duran. Remember that band who, up until this year, had penned the only Bond theme to ever top the charts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC - "VIEW TO A KILL," BY DURAN DURAN)
JOHN TAYLOR, DURAN DURAN: I'd gone to a party at Langan's. It was the end of Wimbledon week. And I recognized Cubby Broccoli. I was a big Bond -- I was a Bond fan. And that -- just that confidence of youth, I went over to him and said -- introduced myself and said, "When are you going to have a decent theme song again?"
ANDERSON: Did you really say that?
TAYLOR: He said, "Do you want to do it?" And so we -- so, he invited me to his office in Mayfair the next day, and got me on the phone with John Barry. And it was just one of those amazing deals.
ANDERSON: Favorite Bond girl?
TAYLOR: Pussy Galore. I just like saying "Pussy Galore."
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Who is your favorite Bond actor and why?
TAYLOR: Actor, well, it's Sean Connery. Come on. I mean, because he defined the role, and I think he got the best scripts.
ANDERSON: Why do you think the franchise continues to excite people 50 years on?
TAYLOR: Gosh. Well, he's just one of the great -- he's just one of the great action heroes, isn't he? And he's like Sherlock Holmes. I don't think we ever -- we see a little bit -- certainly guys, we see a little bit of James Bond in all of us. Just a little bit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: There is, though, only one man who is Bond through and through. Sir Roger Moore played the British spy in seven films, more than any other actor. Even so, he's nominated Daniel Craig as the best Bond yet, and recently, he told me why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROGER MOORE, ACTOR: I've said quite often that I am the -- Sean Connery was the killer and I was the lover. But I think now that I've seen Daniel Craig, I think that Daniel Craig is the real killer. I think -- he is -- but he's also vulnerable.
Daniel Craig plays Bond with such steely determination. He is such a damn good athlete and looks magnificent. I could never have done that scene coming out of the water in my trunks.
(LAUGHTER)
MOORE: Couldn't hold my stomach in long enough.
ANDERSON: How difficult was it, Roger, to make the character your own?
MOORE: Well, not very -- not that difficult, because I was going to play it exactly as I play everything else. Me, looking heroic. Which is where the acting comes in.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I've got some quickfire questions for you. I want the first word or phrase that comes into your mind. Let's kick off. Favorite Bond Girl.
MOORE: My wife, Christina.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Favorite Bond gadget.
MOORE: Well, I jokingly say the magnetic watch which unzipped Madeline Smith's dress.
(LAUGHTER)
MOORE: Which actually was a prop man pulling a wire underneath her dress. He kept his eyes shut, he said.
ANDERSON: Have you got a favorite Bond line?
MOORE: "Sit!" to the tiger when it leaps out of the bushes at me in "Octopussy."
ANDERSON: When you do look back on your career as James Bond, if you had one thought or reflection, what would it be?
MOORE: I could have done it better.
(LAUGHTER)
MOORE: But that's the ego of actors. You always think you can do better.
ANDERSON: Well, we don't think you could have done -- you are, tell me --
MOORE: Bond. James Bond.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Indeed he is. Sir Roger Moore rounding out the best of my Big Interviews this year. I'm Becky Anderson in London. Thank you for watching this CONNECT THE WORLD special. I look forward to bringing you more iconic guests in 2013.
END
