another one year projectThis year we follow the words of Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is live in Chicago and is deeply saddened by the catastrophic loss in Haiti. CNN’s Anderson Cooper was one of the first journalists on the scene, he joins us now.

Anderson Cooper says that each day is its own kind of horror- there is desperation fear, frustration, and aftershocks- after which you hear people screaming and screaming. People can’t go back to their houses, so are crammed into public spaces like parks. Even seasoned journalists like Anderson Cooper have never seen anything like this. The hospitals and clinics are utterly overwhelmed- people are dying stupid unnecessary deaths which should not be happening. You can die of a broken leg with an open wound because there are no antibiotics which cost pennies. The cemetries are utterly overwhelmed, there is nowhere to put all the bodies. They are opening old crypts and shoving in bodies. The dead are just going to disappear, there are no photographs, no records. No one will know where there relatives are or where they can grieve.

Oprah says she heard a mass grave was dug for 7000 people; Anderson says he hadn’t seen that. He is trying to keep everything very factual, to only report what he or another CNN correspondent has actually seen as their is so much hysteria with so many rumors spreading. Oprah recounts some of the footage on the 360 show. He believes some people may still be trapped alive, and that every minute counts. There is essentially no government to rely on in Haiti- the international rescue workers are a remarkable sight. The heroes here are the Haitian people, everyone is banding together to dig through the rubble with their barehands. Oprah reiterates that this is unbelievable suffering for an already troubled people. The best thing to do is to step up and give to the Red Cross. Thanks to Anderson Cooper.

Last night Stedman and Oprah went to a movie theatre for the first time since Dances With Wolves. Wowee Kazowee, was Avatar the best thing. In four weeks Avatar is the highest grossing movie, after Titanic. Director James Cameron is the man behind the film, he is a visionary genius. Every second of this 3 hour film came from his own imagination. He had a team of 3000 people and 10000 computers. For four years they worked around the clock on this movie.

They say I see you in Na’vi. Oprah says this is a Sidney Poitier moment- when she was ten she saw him receive an Academy Award and Oprah thought if he can do that what can she do. She felt that way this morning. Oprah asks if he is spiritual and Cameron says he probably is. The environmental message and the sense that we are all connected is the basis for the film. Oprah says that all the energy and good karma of the film will come back to him- with lots of money- to do so much good in the world. This is the message Oprah sees over and over in her life; we all want to be seen, to be really seen, to be understood.

This movie connects with so many people, especially women – on opening night 78% of the audience were male; now it is split 50-50. The idea for the film came from his love of nature, which he has had since he was a child. As a scuba diver he became aware of nature’s imagination. The story communcicates with people, especially women. There’s a fine line between cliché and archetype. The writing came out in a gush. A botanist designed and labelled every plant, and a linguist made a language so that there is a common accent and a common language. Cameron only knows the lines in the movie, can’t say wowie kazowie in Na’vi.

Normally he can’t watch his movies, but with this one he can still marvel at the effects, the flying scenes, as he didn’t create them. Normally Oprah watches movies at Harpo studio, last night they actually went to a movie theatre. After doing this film, Cameron has a different view of trees. They both talk of mourning trees when they fall down. As the film makes money they will make a sequel. Oprah shows images of herself as an Avatar. She asks if he’s difficult to work with- he invites her to act in the next one and find out. He says he is intense and has energy- he only and works for 16-18 hours a day. He took a half day off with the swine flu. He did not nail cell phones to the wall, he says you have to use a screw gun otherwise it is too messy. His idea of fun is hanging out with the kids and playing lego, doing science projects, just hanging out with the family. Or going to the desert and playing on dirt bikes or going scuba diving. They are on cloud nine about the response to the film, it is a worldwide success. It may knock Titanic off the top spot. Oprah wishes him continued success and tells everyone to go see the movie.

Lady Gaga is the hottest thing in music. In 15 months: 8 million records sold, 6 Grammy nominations and the first artist in history to have 4 number 1 hits on her debut album. Here she is, Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga comes onstage with her troupe of dancers. The crowd stand and clap/ dance. The performance over, the crowd applaud. Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, she had a strict Catholic upbringing, with a privileged NY background- Paris Hilton was her classmate. She likes being called Gaga. She can’t believe her life right now, she can’t believe all her fans, how lucky she is. She has always been a really creative visual person which not everyone knows. She wanted to paint herself blue but now Avatar came out. The name comes from Radio Gaga the Queen song. The first time she performed onstage, her father thought she was nuts. The shock art visual art performances have meaning, the VMA performance was about Diana and the media and Gaga’s relationship with Diana. Looking at her outfits she explains that they are all considered, they all have meaning; the Kermit dress speaks of how she doesn’t wear fur, meeting the Queen she wore a latex dress homage to the Queen.

She wakes up in the morning and spends the whole day planning creatively. Its all about being provocative, but being true to her vision. She spends the day arguing with the House of Gaga about what she wants to do. She says she should be able to bleed out on daytime TV if she wants. She says her work is about being true to herself and commenting on the crazy media-saturated world in which we live.
We see a backstage view of her life, her vision. All of the songs have an outfit to go with them. She show us the infamous disco bra she made herself. She says she dresses the same onstage and off. She is bossy and spends hours on the phone getting her dream show perfect. They do a prayer before the show which ends with “Joanne” her aunt who died whom she believes is on the stage with her every night.

Oprah says it looks like the most fun in the world but she was just talking to Gaga who was saying that her life is isolated, her friends are her fans. She is removed from the celebrity world. Gaga wants to say that there is Ghandi and there is Oprah, and Oprah is an amazing woman, and we really love her. We must remember that there is nothing more inportant than what is happening than Haiti. Gaga grew up in NY during 9/11 and always felt that people didn’t understand what young people were going through. All proceeds from the Monster Ball ticket sales on the 24th January and all merchandise sold on that day goes to help Haiti. Oprah’s job is to continue to talk about this in the coming weeks so we don’t forget the suffering.

Gaga is a secret foodie. Fried chicken this morning helped her find her soul, so she had a renewed soul to be on Oprah. Gaga wants people to free themselves, celebrate who they are and celebrate what they dislike about themselves. Be good to your parents, be good to yourself. she loves her fans and wants to look in their beautiful eyes. It’s about what makes you feel good. She has made some heartbeat headphones and everyone is going home with a pair of Lady Gaga headphones. Thanks everyone

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

Every day since the earthquake in Haiti brings it’s own kind of horror

The heroes here are the people of Haiti

There is a fine line between cliché and archetype

Be provocative but true to your vision

Be good to your parents, be good to yourself, celebrate yourself

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:

Be good to your parents, be good to yourself, celebrate yourself, go see Avatar