As all the VJ Bootcamp graduates know, there was a much circulated, much watched and even more beloved Blooper Reel at CNN. There were probably several, but the one I'm writing about is recognized as THE classic reel. It includes such favorites as The Executive Producer scratching his ass in the newsroom and The Anchor pointing him out on air, The Janitor repeatedly pushing his trash can into the bump shot, and The Sports Guy raving about a baseball game in which a player got "three homos".
But much like the mafia in its prime, the existence of said tape was often denied.
Well, through a hush-hush dead drop in a dark parking lot, I have laid my grubby little hands on it.
Let me tell you--it does not disappoint. And soon all of you will be able to point and laugh at these clips of unsung CNN history.
I just need to get the tape transfered to DVD, and figure out how to upload and post video. This may take some time, as I am not the brightest individual. Both my SAT scores and ability to watch back to back reruns of "The Golden Girls" are proof of the vast, Grand Canyon chasm between me and any MENSA member.
In the meantime, if you have a favorite blooper, or if there was a blooper that you were part of, e-mail me the back story, and I will post it along with the link.
And the best part about of all this is that Bob Saget will not be hosting or providing "funny" sound effects.
4 comments:
This falls under embarrassing...back in 1997 while working at CNN en Espanol, we were covering the resolution of a hostage crisis in Peru. Tupac Amaru rebels had taken over the capital city.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BApac_Amaru_Revolutionary_Movement)
While interviewing the rebel group's spokesperson, video ran of the rebels and the subsequent government resucue mission. The spokesperson kept facing down and right. This seemed to anger the anchor, so she said, "Sir, can you not see what is going on here?" To which the group's spokesman said, "No, no I can't. I'm blind." Ouch.
On several occasions, I have tried to explain to non-cnners how darn funny that blooper reel is. I have come to realize, that until you see it..you simply cannot relate.
My favorite moment is that of a young VJ named Jeremy Church (my secret crush)when he was giving scripts to the anchors, and not realizing that they were on the air. He does this quick, goofy duck/dash to get out of the shot. If I remember correctly, Lou Waters was on the air with either Natalie or Bobbie (both were horrific, so it doesn't matter)and they just sort of laughed it off. I thought that blooper was a classic moment in VJ history, allowing our awkwardness to be recorded for all time.
I hope my personal VJ mistake is on that reel. An anchor--I can't remember who--was doing an interview with a military advisor about the situation in Kosovo. When the topic of the lead British military commander came up, the VO that rolled was not of the man in question, Sir Michael Jackson. Oh no, instead it was the kiddie-fiddling gloved one getting out of a Humvee. Guess this VJ failed to screen the video before air.
Oh, the legendary blooper reels! Too many to recount... but I personally remember flying up to playback from CNNI numerous times with my partners in crime to get our hands on the aircheck and dub multiple copies before it was "recycled". Those tapes, especially with the control room PL track, had a habit of doing that immediately after catastrophic on-air abortions, or Chernobyl-esque meltdowns by the TD.
The all-time classic in my 5 year tour there at the NewsPlant, was a mix-up in the anchors. It was *supposed* to be her read, but he read it. And so, The George Hamilton of the network launches into a piece about how when he was younger he used to play with dolls. By now, it dawns on him what he's reading... because the control room , the floor, the newsroom, and his perky blonde co-anchorette are dying laughing. And there's no graceful way to extricate himself from it... except to finish reading the script.
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