1-13-11 - At the Sirius Studios with Melissa Leo and Johnny Weir

In case you missed it...

BLOOD FROM A STONE, OBAMA'S SPEECH AND PALIN'S USE "BLOOD LIBEL"
Rosie started today's broadcast, from the Sirius studios in NYC, discussing how she was finalizing her votes for the Academy Awards!  How exciting!  She then discussed a play she went to see last night entitled Blood From a Stone, starring her really good friend Natasha Lyonne.  Blood From a Stone is "an electric and darkly comic portrayal of a troubled working-class family in New Britain, CT."  [source: http://www.thenewgroup.org] Rosie said Natasha is really wonderful in it and the play is very powerful.  She discussed the play and the intense dysfunction going on in the family.  She said it's very well written and a really great show but exhausting to watch.  Rosie said it's unrelenting but you never lose focus.  Rosie said it opened to good reviews and recommended her listeners go see it!

Rosie was at the opening last night so she didn't get to see President Obama's speech at the memorial service for the victims of the Arizona shooting.  She asked her staff what they thought of it.  Janette, who Rosie called "one step away from a curmudgeon" said it reminded her of the time after JFK was shot and all her programming was disrupted and she missed her favorite show Star Trek!  She was quite annoyed she missed Modern Family (which was on late in my area so I got to see it and man it was funny!).  Bobby, on the other hand, was very moved  by the President's words and brought to tears at several points.  He said with all the finger-pointing that was being done since the shootings, he really listened to the President telling us that we shouldn't be doing that.  Rosie commented on what an amazing speaker President Obama is.  She said she's missed his speeches and said she finds him to be a calming voice.  Janette completely disagreed.  She said the situation is very tragic but thinks there's a point where it becomes exploitative.  Janette doesn't appreciate when people make it worse by asking how the country can come back from this.  She said no one was asking that after the shooting at Ft. Hood.  Rosie said this crisis was different only because it was a political assassination and because it started a national conversation about our hate speech and violence in our culture.    They then played an audio clip of Obama's speech last night. 

Deirdre didn't like the speech only because she feels if Obama's going to attend this memorial service for this shooting, the same attention should be placed in all tragedies like these.  She listed Obama not speaking at the Ft. Hood memorial as an example of why it bothered her.  Actually Obama spoke to a crowd of almost 15,000 following the shooting at Ft. Hood.     And here's a link to a video of his speech.  Sorry, I love this President and can't help myself....  Deirdre said she just wants the same attention placed on all tragedies like these and feels this particular tragedy has gotten more. 

Then they discussed Sarah Palin's response and the criticism she's been receiving for using cross-hairs and gun metaphors.  They discussed her use of the term blood libel and whether or not Palin knew the definition of the word.  Pete read the historical definition of blood libel for the listening audience and Rosie read the Wikipedia definition.  Rosie had never heard the term before but Pete said he's heard the term in history class when they learned about the Spanish Inquisition.  They wondered if Palin even knew the true meaning of the term and why she didn't ask what it meant before she blindly read what her speech writer had given her to read.  But mostly, Rosie said Palin's relevance on this topic surprises her.  Rosie couldn't understand why everyone was so interested in her opinion in the first place! 

Rosie took some calls on the topic.  One caller said we cannot make excuses for Palin like she didn't know the true meaning of the word.  She said someone on her staff knew the true meaning and if those are the people really pulling the strings then that's something to worry about.  Rosie took another call from a listener who thought it was okay that Obama spoke at the memorial service but thought the cheering and applause from the audience felt off.  She thought the venue and the cheering made it sound more like a political rally or a pep rally. 

Rosie and Bobby discussed Daniel Hernandez, Gabriel Gifford's Intern who is credited for saving her life.  Janette doesn't think she would be able to help in a situation as he did.  Rosie said in the time of crisis she's unbelievably great and it's later that she gets hysterical!  Rosie said she loves that Daniel was such a hero and the fact that he's gay.  She thinks the mainstream media needs to shine a light on the fact that he's gay because there's so much animosity and discrimination against gays in the country today.  Bobby agreed and said "We (meaning homosexuals) don't just do musicals."  Bobby told listeners to watch the career of Hernandez because he sees something great in him.



An Interview with Daniel after the shooting

SCREENERS, DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER, HOARDERS AND GOING 2 THE MOVIES SOLO
Rosie discussed many of the movies she's been watching for the Academy Awards.  She loved Get Low starring Robert Duvall and Greenberg starring Ben Stiller.  She said there's something inspiring and fulfilling to be able to watch all these creative movies.  She said it fuels your creativity and she begins to fall  in love with the creative process again.  She also enjoyed Made in Dagenham "a dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination." [source: IMDB] 

Rosie said friends hate to see movies with her because she critiques the film from all angles from the lighting to the cinematography as they watch it.  When Rosie was a kid they went to see Gone With the Wind one summer as a family because it was so hot outside and they didn't have air conditioning.  She was sitting next to her father and crying at the fire scene.  Her father, in frustration and to make her stop crying, explained to her that it was just a movie and that there were actors and cameras all around the set creating the scene.  Ever since then, Rosie's been trying to figure out how a movie was shot from behind the scenes. 

Rosie said her children now want to become bounty hunters when they grow up because of the show Dog The Bounty Hunter.    Rosie wants to have Dog on the show but she wants to have him come to New York for the interview because her kids really want to meet him!  Deirdre was working on getting it set up and said it took her 15 minutes to get his people to understand she wasn't joking and that Rosie really wanted him on the show!  Deirdre said she'd keep working on it and let her know what they work out. 

Rosie also mentioned the latest episode of Hoarders with the guy who had 3,000 rats living in his home.  Rosie said it was this episode that made her like Dr. Robin Zasio, the show's resident therapist, again.  Rosie said she was a bit disheartened by Dr. Zasio after the last episode and hopes to speak to her about it when she's on the show next week.   

Rosie said she went out to dinner with friends and then went to the theater by herself.  She said people at the theater kept asking her who she was there with.  She was there by herself and people couldn't believe it!   She asked the staff if they would go to the movies or to dinner by themselves.  Janette loves to go to dinner alone but admitted she isn't famous and doesn't know how she would feel if she were recognized.  Janette and Rosie used to travel alone a lot during their standup days and said they used to go out and eat alone all the time.  Bobby doesn't like to do those things alone.  He said he lives alone so when he goes out he likes to go out with friends.  Deirdre's never gone to eat by herself until recently over break and really liked it!  Pete likes to go to the movies alone.  Janette used to have to eat lunch by herself because she didn't have any friends in high school and was so embarrassed she would go to the school bookstore and stand there and read the books during lunch hour so she didn't have to sit alone.  My two cents: I saw the Facebook movie alone in the theater and I loved it.  I called several friends and no one could go but I wanted to see it so badly so I went by myself!  I had a great time and there's definitely something empowering about it.  Rosie took a call from a listener who goes out to eat by herself a lot and loves it!  She then took another call from a  listener who has never gone out to eat alone and couldn't imagine doing so.  She said she feels nervous when she's alone just waiting for her husband to arrive, knowing he will be there shortly.  She said she's too worried what others will think. 

LOOKING FOR A LISTENER, ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS AND SUNDANCE
Rosie said they're looking for the listener that called in from Canada who has been waiting for 7 years for a Gastric Bypass surgery.  She wants to find the woman because a doctor in the United States has offered to provide the surgery for her free of charge!

Janette told Rosie that all the Astrological signs are shifting!  Rosie's an Aries but Janette said because the  Earth wobbles on its axis, "the wobble has caused the intersection point between the celestial equator and the ecliptic to move west along the ecliptic by 36 degrees, or almost exactly one-tenth of the way around" causing a shift in some astrological signs. [source: http://www.livescience.com]   Technically, because of the shift, Rosie is now a Pieces!  No one in the studio really believes in Astrology accept for Janette.  And she has a very good reason.  Janette believes in Astrology because her father's death was accurately foretold by Susan Miller, an Astrologer.  Janette said Susan Miller is the reason why she was able to be by her father's side when he died.  She said after they decided to no longer continue treatment for her father Janette's friend mentioned it to Susan Miller.  Susan told her friend that he wasn't going to die yet, he was going to die on the eclipse.  Janette didn't take it seriously and then the Wednesday the eclipse started her sister called her and told her to come because her father was dying.  On Saturday, the final day of the eclipse, her father died, two months after the doctors said he would.  Janette's been a believer ever since.

Rosie said she's been to a psychic twice in her life.  One of the times she was in LA and it was before she had plans to move to New York.  The psychic told her she was going to move to New York and get involved in comedy and that she was going to be very rich.  Rosie said looking back, the psychic was very accurate!  Rosie had her chart done recently when she found out what time she was born.  She said she found out a couple interesting points but it's only when the predictions are very specific that she gets excited.  Pete then read Rosie's reading for the month of January according to Susan Miller's website.  It stated her career and her home - where, how, or with whom she lives; or a focus on other property she may own; or a family matter - will all be on her mind this month. Of the two, however, her career will get top billing.  Rosie said that may be true because she's got a lot of meetings set up with the OWN people this month! 

OOOOOOhhhhhh.  And then I read mine!  I'm a Pieces, March 6th.  Here's what it said "This will be a magical and enchanting month, and although it's technically Capricorn's birthday month, I feel this month will be all about you, dear Pisces. So many planets will change into new and better places for you, and in so doing you will feel as though someone opened the window to let in the fresh air. Suddenly life will have a new and very different feel, and although you may feel that recently you've been pounded by life, conditions will change dramatically enough to give you reason for optimism."  Please, oh please make that be true.  Find yours at Susan Miller's website! 

Rosie said she's excited to go to Sundance with OWN in a week.  Rosie will be hosting a documentary series with OWN and the first documentary she'll be presenting is Becoming Chaz.   Rosie said Becoming Chaz is a documentary about Chaz Bono's transformation from female to male and it's beautifully done. 
MELISSA LEO

Rosie then introduced Melissa Leo who called in to talk to Rosie about her recent role in The Fighter.  Rosie told Melissa she's sure she will be nominated for an Oscar for her role in the film.  She said she's unbelievably brilliant in it and Rosie was blown away by her portrayal.  Melissa thanked Rosie tremendously for her praise and discussed researching for the role.  Melissa met the woman she was to actually portray in the film and said having a human being to investigate and learn from was an extraordinary experience for her.  Rosie said she didn't even recognize her in the film and had to google her name afterward to realize that she's seen her in other work!  She complimented Melissa on her extremely accurate Boston accent too.  Melissa talked about her preparation for the film and what it was like to work with Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams.  

Rosie told Melissa that she thinks the Fighter is a fantastic film.  Melissa thanked her and said it's more than just a boxing movie, it's a beautiful portrait of a complicated American family.  Rosie said she thinks they will win an ensemble acting award since the combination of all the performances was so on point.  And she told Melissa, when she goes up to accept her Academy Award, to remember that Rosie O'Donnell told her that would happen!  

Rosie and Melissa talked about the complexities of her character and the underlying love she had for her children in the film.  Rosie said she'd love to meet the woman she portrayed in the film.  They discussed the extraordinary training that goes into being a boxer and how Mark Wahlberg trained for five years to get his body in perfect shape!  

Lastly, Rosie and Melissa discussed Melissa's previous work and her upcoming performances in Treme and Mildred Pierce.  Rosie thanked Melissa for calling in and recommended all her listeners see The Fighter.   

JOHNNY WEIR
Rosie then introduced the talented figure skater Johnny Weir who was coincidentally at the Sirius studios in NYC for another radio program!  He was going to be on to promote his new book entitled Welcome To My World.  Rosie thanked Johnny for stopping in to her program and he told her what an honor it was for him to be asked.  Rosie told her listeners she wrote to Johnny after the 2006 Olympics when he was getting some heat for his performance/attire.  She told him he's part of the next generation of gay youth whose proud and out and she was so proud of who he was in the world.  She told him he's a courageous, honest and an amazing kid.

Johnny said he has pretty thick skin and Rosie praised him for how he responded after being attacked.  Johnny accredited the love of his parents and his own confidence for who he is for why he never let it get to him.

Johnny said he was teased for being gay as a teen and that he knew he was gay since he was 6 years old.  He came out to his mother when he was 18 years old but never felt that it was something he should have to announce.  Instead, he decided to just live.  He was teased and bullied as a kid but he never let it affect him.  He has an internal confidence and just knew he was so much more beautiful than any of the people that were making fun of him.  Rosie wanted to know where Johnny got that self-assurance,  He said there was always a fire inside him.  He would let everything negative someone said to him roll off his back.  He said, "Why cry because crying only makes our mascara run?"

Johnny and Rosie discussed his T.V. show he's doing for Logo Be Good which premieres Tuesday January 25th!  They discussed his love of fashion and Johnny said he just wears what he feels most beautiful in.  Rosie asked if he got a lot of negativity from other skaters during the Olympics.  Johnny said over the years people learned to accept him and he proved himself through his skating. 

Rosie told Johnny he should be very proud of himself and said she'd like to have dinner with his amazing mother.  She wished him luck on his book tour and thanked him for stopping by the studio! 

THE STAFF SINGS
Then, James played the piano and Bobby sang There Are Worse Things I Could Do from the play Grease!  It was fantastic!

Rosie reminded Jennifer from Canada (who called previously and was waiting for the gastric bypass surgery) to call in to the show and announced that Sarah McLachlan would be in the the studio tomorrow!  I hope she sings!!!!

Then they all sang Cabaret together as Rosie closed the show.

and that's what you missed -kw