Closer this fall with the release of several films that first saw life in the theater of the bunch
However, only one picked up enough speed to make it to the holiday season
Barbara Howard talked with Marlee Matlin the co-star of the critically acclaimed box-office hit children of a lesser god
Until you let me be and I the way you are
You can never come inside my silence and know me in children of a lesser god
Marlee Matlin more than holds her own as a young deaf woman who falls in love with William Hurt in real life
Maitland is romantically involved with her and she is also unable to speak or to hear but that in no way stops her from
expressing thoughts on any subject
Even those elusive feelings about suddenly becoming a public person at first
I thought before the film opened out before the film opened up at well
I'd be very much in the center in the spotlight
And I thought it would feel good to get all the attention
But then I realized that when all the attention began especially in Chicago where I'm from
That so many people were were trying strangers and people I didn't know people who thought they knew me would hug me and come
Up to me and kiss me and want you know cry over me that it began to feel a bit
claustrophobic and
But I guess I'm okay, and I'm dealing with it
And I'm learning how to deal with it through the support of my family and my friends and William that you and William Hurt are such close
Friends did that make it harder or easier to work together?
At the outset it was it was a bit exciting for me, and I thought well will it be too hard because we're good friends
Because we have different ideas and that we have lots of things to share but on the set
I found that we did have ideas that we could work together with we could share and we threw around a lot of things
It was a very natural process and
We worked it through and it seemed to work out well in the end firmly convinced another role will come along as perfect as the feisty
Spirited Sarah in children of a lesser God
Matlin goes on about her own feisty spirited business which includes interpreting the works of a visiting Israeli poet
For the hearing impaired in the audience of New York's culturally oriented 92nd Street
Why you seem so at peace with the fact that you're a non hearing person in a hearing world?
Have you come to terms with it? Are you just a good actress?
Well, it's something that I've accepted and learned to accept and I imagine it's because I'm a good actress, too
I've learned to accept the fact that growing up with a hearing family, and I went to a public school
I dealt with the hearing world for a long a number of years and now I can say to myself that it's one world and not
Two different worlds one world of different people all of us being human beings and that's what I see and that's what I know
Just give me a yes
Yes good
Thanks
Are you as happy with yourself and where you are in life right now is your eyes reflect? I am I really have
Sometimes it's difficult to get the feeling of warmth off the television screen from someone not not in that case
Oh, no, her face is so alive even without any words. It is a great film. Mm-hmm. We'll be right back
Tomorrow on entertainment tonight new hearts Bob Newhart and when we return it's Oprah Winfrey big screen and small
Celebrating a birthday today nine and a half weeks Kim Basinger is 33 rock and rolls Greg Allman 39
crazy like a fox is John Rubinstein 40
Flautus James Galway is 47 comedian actor and Geraldine's alter ego flip Wilson is 53
Peter the greats Maximilian shell 56
Sammy Sammy Davis jr. Is 61 and character actor John Quaylen is 87
We don't mean to be intimidating Bill Cosby
But not landing and Falconcrest may soon be adding some 300 million viewers
Negotiations are still going on in the
World
Good evening, good evening
Good evening Jongthis. Okay
So yes, mark
Another popular television stable adding viewers though not yet in China
is the Oprah Winfrey show. Scott Osborne is here with a report on
Winfrey, a woman who likes to talk and to act. Scott?
Mary, no doubt Oprah's show would play in China. They just have to reorient
themselves
as in fact millions of American viewers have. Her talk show is the hit of the
current TV season
and it isn't even in prime time. And this holiday season her second movie
will be in the theaters.
And I said I did all I know how.
In Native Son, Oprah Winfrey translates novelist Richard Wright's powerful prose
into a film about the effects of poverty
and racism. I did everything I know how.
And if I left anything undone it's because I didn't know, because I didn't see.
This is a movie in large part about fear, about alienation, about anger.
Were you comfortable with the movie's message? Yeah I'm comfortable with the
message of the movie. I think
the essence of it is that we, society,
serves to create our own killers, our own
menaces to the public if we don't take responsibility for not only ourselves
but for everybody else.
Native Son is Oprah Winfrey's first film since The Color Purple
which won her an Oscar nomination. Nothing will ever
in my mind compare to The Color Purple. I am though, I am ready to play
a role with a woman who
understands her sexuality. I keep playing all these old women with gray hair and
stockings rolled up on their legs you know.
I'm ready to play a hoe with a red dress on. That's what I'm ready to do.
I'm ready to let loose, cut loose, let it go, you know. That's what I'm ready to do.
In a sense though on television every day you play the best role of all.
You play yourself. Every day. What is exciting to me about doing the
Oprah Winfrey show is just that.
Thank you so much. This is from me to you.
Going on the show every day is like breathing. It's like getting up brushing your
teeth going on the show. It's all the same. It's like all in the same breath.
It's just a very natural process because people don't treat me like I'm a star at
all
or a celebrity at all. They treat me like I'm one of them.
So people say to me, wait here, I'm going to get a pencil.
Unlike, you know, stars they say excuse me, Mr. Peck may please have your autograph sir.
Miss Ross please would it be alright with you? With me. Wait here.
Rolling. Yet Oprah Winfrey's film role
is the antithesis of her television personality. Action.
It's that much more enjoyable to me when people say I went to that movie and I
forgot it was you
meaning you Oprah Winfrey. I mean that I think I did it, I did it, I did it.
Which do you pursue television or movies?
Both. What I do is I do movies on my vacation so I never rest.
I'm planning a vacation in 1997 I think.
Incidentally after five years of interviewing people for entertainment
tonight maybe 1,500 people altogether I found it's the rare subject who takes
time to write a note saying thanks for all the preparation that led to a good
interview.
Oprah's one of them. She's a pro. I remember her when she was anchoring the news in
Nashville, Tennessee.
Indeed you do. You were there and so was she. So was I a few years earlier.
And you both admit it. That's right. CBS which has gone through a year of cost
cutting measures such as reducing the payroll, firing its pages and eliminating
its company store.
This weekend secured the rights to the college basketball championship series
for record 166 million dollars. The rights which are 72 percent increase
over this year's package
cover a three-year period. CBS sports president Peter Lund defended the high
cost of obtaining the series and predicted
quote we will make a profit end quote. Coming right up
Katie Kelly reviews the new Chuck Norris adventure Firewalker.
And coming up this week tomorrow Bob Newhart
episode 100 and going strong. On Wednesday Jessica Lang a rare interview
with the co-star of Crimes of the Heart.
Thursday Matt Dillon shaking the dice for the big town.
And Friday Dolly Parton decking the halls for a country style TV special.
All this week on entertainment tonight.
From our People Post scripts file Lee Marvin who underwent intestinal surgery
last Monday is expected to spend this week recuperating in a Tucson Arizona
hospital.
Steve Martin will remain seated thank you. The comedian said this weekend he no
longer wants to do stand-up comedy
said Martin and we quote it's too hard I have nothing new
to say end quote. If it's an action adventure movie about a hidden treasure
can Chuck Norris be far behind?
Katie Kelly has seen Firewalker Norris and all and you can be sure she does have
something to say about it.
Katie now listen to this Mary you're not gonna believe this we've got
two guys and a blonde. Wow where do they come up with unique ideas
such as this. Yes we have Max and Leo you might know them as Chuck Norris and Lou
Gossett Jr.
The blonde is Melody Anderson and she hires them to get this
find a hidden treasure. She doesn't know where it's hidden
so they go off to the jungles of Central America. Hey why not?
And while they're there look what happens.
Hold this.
Oh stop. Why do they send these stupid clips?
Because Firewalker is a stupid movie that's why I tell you this movie goes
nowhere and does nothing. Oh it is boring
and it is offensive dressing up like priests
and giving the last rites in Pig Latin. Oh come on
and yes they find the treasure and yes they fight a lot but
who cares. This is supposed to be a comedy adventure.
Chuck Norris has said he is not a comic you wanna know something?
He's right. Meanwhile to repeat myself
this is a stupid movie. I did like the scenery
and just for that I will give it one bow tie out of five
but only because I like tropical banana plants.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say she hated the thing.
Not only. Well don't overstate it John. It was the eighth ranked film of the week wasn't it?
Yeah and gross is it. And it's gross.
New England Innkeeper how to author and ratings getter Bob Newhart celebrates
100 episodes of Newhart. We'll have that for you tomorrow.
Starting tonight some of the PBS stations around the country will broadcast a
documentary it's called Rock and Roll the
Early Days. We say goodbye here's a preview.
Take care.