tv Larry King Live CNN May 8, 2010 9:00pm-10:00pm EDT
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>> and as you've seen in our documentary, the youngest victims are considered the most vulnerable in the aftermath of this disaster. many organizations have created programs to help provide for the thousands of children left to fend for themself. to find out more about how you can help make a difference in the lives of these children, go to cnn.com/impact. i'm soledad o'brien. thanks for watching. >> larry: tonight, "family guy" creator seth macfarlane. >> i want you to meet your family. >> you're my family? >> larry: his twisted, dysfunctional, even perverse take on mom, dad and the kids made him hollywood's $100 million man. the highest paid writer in television and only in his 30s. he's an equal opportunity offender. >> those americans. >> larry: christians, gays,
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sarah palin, you name it, nothing, no one off limits. >> i met larry king. >> name dropper. >> larry: cruel or cool? wicked or wonderful? seth macfarlane next. >> you know, today started as a really nice outing but as usual you had to ruin it. >> larry: on "larry king live." that is funny stuff. by the way, we have a group, a gang of nice-looking people here in the studio from the pacific ridge school in carlsbad, california. all high school students here as fans of our special guest seth macfarlane, there they are. he's the emmy-winner and voiced many of the characters he created. just to open things up,
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the 150th episode of "family guy" debuts may 2nd on fox. here is a sneak peek. >> stewy, come on, you don't know how to use that thing. >> really? what if i hold it sideways like a black guy? >> i don't want any trouble. >> there's not going to be any trouble if you eat my poo. >> that is not happening. >> then i'll be forced to shoot you. >> go ahead, there aren't any bullets in that gun. >> then i'll shoot you. >> i will. >> then what are you waiting for, go on. >> i will. i'll blow your [ bleep ] head off. >> larry: you know, you are sick? >> yes, yes. i have a lot of problems. >> larry: how did all this start for you? you were a cartoonist? >> yeah. i was -- you know, i had been drawing cartoons since i was about 2 years old. my parents have woody woodpeckers and fred flintstones from way, way, way back and my first job was doing a cartoon, a weekly strip for our local, small town paper when i was
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about 9 years old and they paid me five bucks a week to do one cartoon a week. >> larry: first a cartoonist? >> yeah, yeah. i didn't fall into writing until much later. i had -- i was pretty hellbent on getting into the cartoon business specifically as an artist from the get-go. >> larry: and why television? "the simpson's" affected you? >> yeah. well, it wasn't always television. when disney had their resurgence in the late '80s, early '90s -- >> larry: we are showing drawings of when you were 10 years old. >> walter kruton. >> walter kruton. like all 10-year-olds i was really into walter cronkite. you know, i wanted to work for disney for a long time. you know, when they had their resurgence with "the little mermaid" and "beauty and the beast." in the late '80s, early 90s, i
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thought this is what i want to do. and then "the simpsons" came along and kind of rewrote the landscape of animation. >> larry: you hardly fit disney. >> yeah, probably good -- it is good that didn't happen. >> larry: that clip we showed is unusual episode, basically one setting. a locked bank vault, two characters. you voice both of them. is that hard to do? >> it's gotten easy. believe it or not. there are things that are hard about the series. that's strangely an easy thing. and when we do our table reads, when we read the script aloud for the first time i have to sort of jump back and forth. this guy, to this guy and then back to this guy. it's become almost second nature because i know the characters so well at this point. initially it was a bit of a challenge but it's now it's second nature. >> larry: what was your first hit? first hit show was -- >> well, it was "family guy." i wrote for a show called "johnny bravo" on cartoon network that aired for a few
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years -- actually it's sort of a cult nit its own right. it was created by a friend of mine. but, yeah, "family guy" was, you know, my first. some would say only hit. >> larry: well, cleveland's pretty good but that's an offshoot of -- cleveland. >> yeah. >> larry: you took "the simpsons" and went raw, right? >> yeah. i mean, you try to take what's good about your predecessors and take it to the next level. i think there's, you know, originality is important and at the same time when "all in the family" came out, there were a lot of great shows that followed that were taken a cue from that show. oh, look how well they did this. this is new. let's do more versions of this. >> larry: do you think to yourself, i'm gutsy? >> not -- not really. i guess maybe that makes me a little desensitized but -- >> larry: there's no limit on you, is there? >> there is. we have long extended conversations about what we
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should or should not do. >> larry: give me a topic you turn down. >> if something is a recent tragedy of some kind. >> larry: death. >> we won't touch it. yeah, yeah. if there's a recent plane crash, we obviously won't make a joke about it. >> larry: wait a month? >> yeah. you beat me to the joke, larry. >> larry: okay. get this. "family guy" debuts after the 1999 super bowl and includes a scene of peter griffin watching philadelphia. that tragic movie about a gay. >> yeah. >> larry: he thinks it's a comedy and laughs when tom hanks' character announces he has aids. >> yep. >> larry: from what mind came -- >> there's a certain type of new englander that i grew up with. i knew a lot of these guys who -- their hearts were in the right place but they weren't the most critical, the most in-depth thinkers out there and, you know, peter griffin embodies that type of guy.
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and in his mind, everything that he had seen tom hanks in up to that point was hilarious. so he was looking for the comedy. he went to see "philadelphia" looking for the jokes. >> larry: when aids comes out, he cracks? >> yeah, yeah. he loses it. >> larry: that's just the beginning, folks. seth macfarlane's our guest. the creator of "the family guy." producer, writer, animator. he's everything. seth ticks off a lot of people. does he get any threats against him? next. what did we make better ? communities. industry. energy. her. this. lives. how ? by bringing together... information. ... people ... ... machines ... ... systems ... ideas... verizon helps businesses worldwide... including fortune 500 companies... find and achieve... better.
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there they are. how did you come up with them? >> well, stue is -- >> larry: is what? >> he is, believe it or not, the character is based on rex harrison of all people. the character actor. >> larry: my fair lady. >> my fair lady. agony and the ecstasy. he is a guy who just i found him very amusing when i was in high school and college. something very, very interesting about his mannerisms. >> larry: you take a lot of risks, obviously. >> yeah. >> larry: have you run into trouble? have you had threats? >> i have never had a death threat that i know of. a lot of the hate mail gets screened pretty much by fox. they kind of protect us. i have never received anything that's -- >> larry: fox is not known as a nonpolitical place. the news network, certainly. have you ever gotten flack from the murdochs? >> no. and i got to figure -- my
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theory, you know, all the years i have been there i never met rupert murdoch. my theory is the guy is a businessman first and a republican second. and if something with a distinctly liberal slant is doing good for the company he is not going to step in and -- >> larry: money counts? >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: an islamic group revolution muslim is warning "south park" creators they could be killed because of the depiction of the prophet mohammed. seth's show has taken on just about every religious faith, we've got to admit that. he also mocked osama bin laden in an historic piece. watch. >> this is a message to all american infidels. prepare to die in a sea of holy fire. you will be punished for your decadent ways on the first day of radaman. wait. wait a minute. what did i say? radaman. blah blah blah.
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ramadan. what is that? maybe dennis rodman will punish you with his crazy hair. no. what is that? right, right. yeah, no. okay. okay. all right. let's go again. >> larry: do you get any flack on that? >> we didn't get any flack. i think probably the difference there is that bin laden is not a deity. >> larry: making fun of him. >> it struck us as kind of funny this very extreme situation set in the very mundane setting and has to do takes and can't not laugh. >> larry: did you ever get letters from the fcc? >> we have had a few what are called letters of inquiry i'm sure -- i don't know. i don't know if you had any run-ins. >> larry: a few in the past. what did you say and why did you say it? >> with ours, i think it was regarding an episode about the fcc.
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we did an episode in which peter goes up against the fcc and the fcc said can you please send us a copy of this? we were sitting there sweating bullets an they essentially called us back and said, we thought it was pretty funny. >> larry: does fox ever blue pencil you? >> yeah. you mean, do they snip things out of the show? yeah, yeah. >> larry: curse words they snip. >> yeah. our show is -- is big enough on the dvd market that we do two versions these days. we do the bleeped version for air and we do essentially a director's cut of every episode for dvd so all the things we can't get on air are on the dvds. >> larry: you are an industry. >> i guess, yeah. yeah. that's enough to get me an ulcer. >> larry: earlier this year "family guy" took flack for an episode in which he dated a
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group with downs syndrome. >> this rude all evening? you haven't asked me anything about myself. >> oh, um, sorry. so what do you parents do? >> that's better. my dad is an accountant and my mom is the former governor of alaska. >> larry: okay. now, understand. down syndrome -- >> oh, right. that episode. >> larry: a down syndrome girl did that, right? >> yes, yes. >> larry: you found someone? >> the only way that we can do that is that the actress has to have downs syndrome. like the only way the episode is okay and has to be depicted as a dimensional character and said let's just make her just an incredibly domineering bitch. >> larry: sarah palin had a reaction. watch. >> so governor, what do you think? it's pretty nasty, is it not? >> this world is full of cruel,
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coldhearted people who would do such a thing. look. i look at trigg and he is going to face things as special needs children facing much more difficult than we ever will. so why make it suffer on the special needs community? when is enough, enough in when are we willing to say some things aren't really funny? >> i agree with you. look, this guy macfarlane who did this is a hater. makes a lot of money for fox but i think there should be some standards, some time but apparently there aren't. >> larry: pot calling the kettle black. how did you react to that? were you hurt? >> no, no. no way was i emotionally scarred. i was able to sleep well at night. >> larry: do you think you're a hater? >> i don't think so. i don't consider myself a hater. i -- i'm a fairly optimistic person. >> larry: do you think sarah's critic bared any merit? >> i actually do think, you know, as much as i disagree with just about everything that she
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stands for i do think at the end of the day probably to some degree -- i think it was part political, you know, partially politically motivated and part genuine. i mean she is a mom. she probably was ticked off on some level but what those percentages are i couldn't tell you. >> larry: terri schiavo the musical. we'll talk about it next with seth macfarlane. boss: so word's gettin' out that geico can help people save in even more ways - on motorcycle insurance, rv, camper, boat insurance. nice work, everyone.
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you know, they say chuck norris is so tough there's no chin under his beard. theres only another fist. >> that's ridiculous. >> chuck norris. >> i'm sure it will as well as liza minelli's "playboy" shoot. >> oh, god, please put your clothes back on. >> mama, mama, do you love me now, mama? >> ben stiller. help me. >> no, peter. i heard what you said about my movies.
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>> how'd's you hear? >> hello! >> hey, paris. i'm a friend of jesus'. check it out. i have a cool bag and it has a dog in it just like yours. >> i met larry king. >> name dropper! >> larry: should i be honored? anyway. seth mcfarlane's our guest. his show provoked an outcry with a music about the late terri schiavo's. we reached out to them today, and terri's brother bobby had this question for you. how do you justify using the term vegetable to describe any human being when its only intention is to den igrate, dehumanize just like the "n" word? >> my first response would be it's not a human being, it is a cartoon. but you know, i think -- this is -- this was a touchy area because the idea was, keep in mind, this is a play within a play.
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and this is an instance where you see the griffin family in the audience reacting and in a way that is -- they themselves are a little pit off and we have done this a few times on the show in which there's something that's done in extreme -- you know, one could argue questionable taste. but you've got to have somebody there who's reacting to that in a negative way. and that's something that we sort of tried to include with brian and chris sitting in the audience reacting wide eyed at this show. it is kids putting on a play. you know, whether the -- whether that term is denigrating is for the viewer to judge. >> larry: did you have second thoughts about it? >> we didn't because this was something that was exploited by the media long before we even got to it. this is an instance of something
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that was out there forever. i mean, it was -- it was all over the press everywhere. and for an animated show like ours, i mean, that's what we do. not to comment on it in some way is, you know, that's just not how it operates. >> larry: do you always feel you're walking a line? >> yeah. you do. you don't want to be nasty for the sake of being nasty. i mean, if you are actually depicting, you know, for example, terri schiavo as opposed to a deliberately inappropriate kids play, then you have serious discussions, are we doing this -- is this just cruel? is this just mean? there are a lot of those discussions that go on in the writer's room in a day-to-day basis. i think there's a vision of hollywood writers as a hedonistic bunch as a group to make their dough and do something there for shock value. not the case. i mean, my writers most of them are married, they have children.
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there's a lot of discussions that we have within that room. is this funny enough? is it satirical enough that it warrants the edginess of the material. >> larry: must be a lot of jokes in the room. >> there are a few. there are a few. >> larry: seth was almost not here. he has a connection to 9/11, next. there aren't many of us who use a cellphone just to make phone calls. but when at&t or verizon offer you an unlimited plan for $69.99, that's all it's good for -- phone calls. with sprint, for the same price, you get unlimited text, unlimited web and unlimited calling to every mobile phone in america. now that's more like it. [ male announcer ] $69.99 for unlimited text, web and calling
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time now for a look at your headlines. hope for quick picks to the huge oil spill in the gulf of mexico. it suffered a major setback today. a giant still funnel was seen as the best chance to stop thousands of gallons of gushing oil into the gulf of mexico. word came late this afternoon that it wasn't going to work, at least not for now. 5,000 feet down the high-pressured and frigid water caused unexpected technical problems. bp and government officials held a news conference earlier today to explain what went wrong. >> we were placing the dome over
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the leak source, in large volume of hydrates formed inside of the top of the dome requiring us to move the dome to the side of the leak point. the dome is currently sitting on the seabed while we evaluate options to deal with the hide rid issue. >> turn now to the flood-ravaged tennessee. a promise of help from the federal government today. homeland security general janet napolinano toured the region today. $1.5 million in flood damage in nashville alone. napolitano says will do everything to help the victims. and she's asking everyone to reach out to the federal emergency agency. i'm don lemon. "larry king live" continues right now. in this universe, she's still one of the ugly ones. if you saw louis, you'd have to put your penis in a wheelchair. >> did you hear this awesome new song?
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>> no. ♪ [ speaking foreign language ] >> love it. >> hate it. >> love it. >> hate it. >> what? oh no. >> that's it. punch your baby in the face. >> larry: you know my 9 and 11-year-old, love this show. they don't get it all of the time but that's your purpose, right? >> that's deliberate. if we are doing our jobs right, it is the kind of thing where the parents can watch the show and get a laugh knowing exactly what we're talking about and it just goes over the kids' heads. >> larry: don't let them watch the dvds. >> i wouldn't. i wouldn't, no. >> larry: on 9/11 you were scheduled to be on american airlines flight 11 from boston to l.a.. you didn't get on the plane. that plane went into the world trade center. someone tweeted this to king things. does seth feel any kind of
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divine intervention over this narrow escape? what happened? >> i -- you know, i get asked that a lot, actually. it's -- i don't know. no, i'm not a religious person. i do believe in coincidences. i think that's just that's -- they happen. i have missed a lot of flights before. about half of the flights that i was booked on prior to that flight i had missed because -- >> larry: you are that kind of person? >> yeah. i overslept or i was out too late the night before or whatnot so it -- you know, it was -- >> larry: where were you that day? were you at the airport? >> i was in the lounge sleeping and woke up and there was a commotion and i walked in and it was -- >> larry: you had missed that plane? >> yeah. it was on television and i -- i said, my god, that's the flight that i was supposed to be booked on and my first thought was, we should all get out of this airport because they were just here and god knows if they left any -- left anything here at the airport so i -- you know, that -- >> larry: don't you feel, what,
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lucky? >> yes. very -- yes. very, very, very lucky. very, very fortunate. >> larry: did someone get your ticket? >> that i do not know. you know? i have never investigated that. that would be a -- that would be a job for the press, i guess, to dig that one up. i have never looked into that. >> larry: nothing funny that day? >> nothing funny that day. no, no, no. you know what in 9/11 was something that -- that's an interesting example of something that you don't -- you got to pick just the right time to touch it in any kind of humorous way, even if you're making a comment, a satirical comment on the incident and there was a -- it was a long time before we felt it was okay and now it's, you know, now it's something that -- >> larry: mel brooks can do hitler. >> yeah, yeah exactly. >> larry: we'll be back with seth macfarlane, the brilliant
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♪ >> larry: there they are again. seth, brian and stue. we are back with seth here. brian and stue have taken over the control room and we're also welcoming in students from pacific ridge school in carlsbad, california, as we mentioned earlier. they're watching our show in person tonight. and one of them, alex, has a question for seth. alex, go. >> will you do some of the voices of characters from "family guy"? >> larry: okay, yeah. let's see you do it. come on. that's a good question, alex. here we go. name them and do it them. >> the entire cast of "one day at a time." i think that was the question.
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here we go. all right, all right. i'll bark like a seal for you, young man. okay. stue, quagmire. peter griffin, hello. it's me right behind there looking all tubby. and of course brian. not changing a whole lot there. those are the big four. those are the main ones. >> larry: how about cleveland? >> cleveland, you know, i don't -- thank god i don't do the voice of cleveland. i don't have to perform. >> larry: are you brian? >> i am brian, yep. but yeah. cleveland is voiced by a very funny comedian that i went to college with. >> larry: do voices come easily to you? are you a mimic? >> yeah. i used to do impressions a lot as a kid and, you know, i was always kind of fascinated by dialects and whatnot. and there's -- >> larry: is the brian character you? >> in some ways, yes. in some ways. >> larry: some ways or more ways?
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>> yeah, yeah. he's -- >> larry: we have some tweet questions. i'll lay them on you. is baby stue gay or bisexual? >> we haven't really decided. there was a bit of press that came out a while back in which stue was outed as being gay and it was kind of taken out of context. it was in reference to an episode we thought we were going to do and then abandoned. we haven't made that decision yet because we get a lot of comedic mileage out of both sides. >> larry: like old character on "saturday night live"? >> yeah. pat. >> larry: pat. >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: another question on our facebook page. will "family guy" ever come to the big screen? >> eventually, i can say almost with certainty that it will. it's -- you know, we all want to do it. fox wants to do it. it's just a matter of timing. when you -- >> larry: need to have a great story. >> yeah. we actually have a story that we -- >> larry: oh? >> we know what it's going to be.
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the problem is when you're doing an animated show it takes nine months to do each 22-month episode and no hiatus and just around the clock. when do you do the movie? that's the problem "the simpsons" had. they went, what 19, 20 years. we don't have time to do this. it's enough work on a weekly basis. >> larry: why did "the simpsons" work? >> you know, we were talking about jackie gleason during the break. i would say for the same reason they used to ask him in the interviews why do "the honeymooners" work? and he said, because they were funny. i think at the core that's true of "the simpsons." i think it asks a lot of the audience, to be intelligent and to keep up and i think in comedy you always want to have your audience behind you and telling them to keep up. you don't ever want to be chasing them. >> larry: also tweeted, ask seth if he intends to do a show where he brings the characters from all three of his cartoons together.
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>> yes. in our "return of the jedi" episode. our third "star wars" spoof, we bring them all together, and we have a hurricane night in which the same hurricane basically blows through all three shows in the same night. and we have -- which is kind of an old sitcom tradition lae. >> larry: that is not done yet? >> not done yet but will happen and involve all three shows. >> larry: when you sit down, do all the writers sit together and say let's see now? >> yeah, yeah. the process of sitting that show, it's the same process that they wrote "the honeymooners." it's the same process they wrote "the brady bunch." >> larry: you talk about the characters as if they were real? >> yeah. it's kind of a gray area. i mean, you do kind of get protective of these people. maybe not quagmire. we don't care what happens to him. but everyone else. >> larry: like him?
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>> yeah, yeah. >> larry: he's a dote. >> yeah. there is -- there is a sense of -- you want to avoid what we call character assassination. that term is bandied about in the writer's room a lot and that just means is this something that makes peter so reprehensible that you're just never going to forgive him for it? like if he murdered somebody. >> larry: thin line as norman leer had to do with archie bunker. had to be a side of him. >> what was key there and, you know, we take a lot of cues from norman leer is that as reprehensible as archie was in so many ways, every week you had ed it there who clearly loved him and she said it's okay to love him. >> larry: he loved her? >> yeah, yeah. >> larry: what's appropriate? what isn't? who decides?
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>> ow. damn it, peter, stop it. i've got to tell you you're pissing me off worse when i watched the old o.j. simpson trial with my old roommate. >> ow. >> we find him not guilty. >> what? >> well, i am ready for my evening. >> oh my god. peter, what the hell? >> what's that around your neck? i say, it is a little black jesus. ♪ black jesus a list of features? what about the strength of the steel? the integrity of its design... or how it responds... in extreme situations? the deeper you look, the more you see the real differences. and the more you understand what it means to own a mercedes-benz. the c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial. ♪
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>> larry: seth macfarlane, the emmy winning creator of "the family guy" the "clove land show" and "the american dad" remains with us. it's his show tonight and joined by the supporting cast. penn gillette, he is the taller talkative half of penn and teller. they play at the rio in las vegas. they also have a serious called "bs" on showtime. rachel harris, actress and
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comedienne, one of the funniest movies "hangover" and "diary of a wimpy kid" and a correspondent on "the daily show." all right, guys. as we mentioned, the creators of "south park" are being threatened with possible assassination because their show included a representation of the prophet mohammed. here's a clip from that episode. >> you said you wanted [ bleep ]. we got him for you. >> we have no way of knowing if [ bleep ] is really in there. it could be a trick. >> it's no trick, dude. my friend and i went to the store and brought him out here. >> then have him step out of the bear costume. you have until the count of ten. one -- >> don't do it, randy. if [ bleep ] is seen we could get bob. >> idiot. if he isn't seen, we are definitely about to be bombed. >> three. >> all right, all right. stop. we'll do what you say. >> i'm sorry, [ bleep ]. will you please step out of the bear costume? ♪
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>> larry: okay. fair, unfair, funny, what? penn? >> well, i don't think we -- any of us can say anything about anything to do with islam. i don't think you're allowed to say it. i think it's too dangerous and i think when people like matt and trey who are some of the best writers and the most talented people alive today are threatened like that, everybody should be very, very scared. it says nothing about matt and trey. it only speaks to islam. >> larry: rachel? >> wow. well, my opinion is a little bit different. i feel like -- well, first of all, the guy that is are watching the muslim revolution, right? i mean, if they're going to turn on "south park" and they're going to watch it, they should kind of know what they're getting into. it is not -- you know, it is as if -- >> larry: it is what it is? >> exactly.
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i feel like if you're going to watch the show -- >> i believe they believe the very existence of that is an affront to their religion. it's not a question they don't want to see it, or taste, it is morality. isn't that what they're claiming? >> then they should go after every organization or comic that said anything and threatened to kill them. >> i think they plan to. >> right. but i -- >> larry: let's ask mr. macfarlane's thoughts. >> look, it's no secret, i think any combination of any angry, plus deity equals nuts equals danger. you know, the question becomes, at what point is it worth it? at what point is it worth it for them to put themselves at risk? is the joke so hilarious we want to risk our lives? if i was in that situation, i don't know how i would react. >> they have other ways. trey and matt can get laughs doing anything at all. they're the best among us so it's not a question of doing it for the laugh.
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there is a moral element to this. >> but, didn't also comedy central step in and kind of monkey around with that episode, they were unaware of putting it on the air? >> there's no way to tell. i mean, if -- there's no way to know. if it were me and i was in the situation, it was like, well, do i -- again, is this worth getting shot? >> right. >> is it the funniest joke anyone's ever written? >> you think they knew that going in? >> i believe it is in the koran. i believe that information is available that you're not supposed to do that. >> do you think they really thought that this would be something that would be -- that their life would get threatened? >> larry: why would they do something to threaten -- >> i think obviously wouldn't do it. >> i don't know about that. when you do something with a strong -- i mean, i think you cheapen matt and trey's morality, strength and courage when you say, is the joke worth it?
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because the question is, what is morally right? and as strong as the religious side is and believing what's morally right, matt and trey have the strongest moral compass i know and they're very, very good men -- >> let's not get -- >> no they really do. i think it's true. >> larry: let me get a break. we'll have more on sarah palin and the tea party and the vice president's "f" bomb. we'll talk about it all. with seth macfarland, penn gillett and rachel harris ahead.
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tea party movement. are you going to make fun of it yet? i think it does that on its own. >> larry: it is what it is? >> yeah. the tea party movement is -- i always have a problem with people who say, you know what, it is not the republicans, it is not the democrats, it is all politicians. i don't think in this case that is true. i think you have one party that was trying to effect change, particularly this health care bill. 60% of people in this country who wanted a public option. it was ignored. another side that filibustered everything that stands to lose big if obama does anything right or anything productive. and i think in a lot of cases it is just kind of laziness when it comes to knowing the facts. >> larry: what do you think of the tea party? >> there is a lot i disagree
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with them on and i'm not really part of it. i always think a distrust of the government is the healthiest thing americans can have. the country was built, the most american thing you can have is a distrust of leaders. don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters. >> larry: rachel? >> i don't completely share the same opinion with penn. i feel like the tea party group in particular isn't really, i mean they can mask themselves saying it is about taxes and all these other issues but i really find it to be sort of this upper middle class white run organization that's not really about effecting change. it is about the sort of -- i do tend to think it is more/. >> larry: class. >> i do think it is about racism. >> that is the magic word. once you say racism the other side loses automatically.
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i don't think we have very much evidence. don't you have to do racist things besides you saying they are racist. >> they are looking at the number of people. >> the race they are making them racist by definition? >> well, no, i don't think the race they are by nature makes them racists. >> if you want to legitimize them for a moment. some of their gripes are legitimate. the average american has not had a pay raise adjusted for inflation since 1973 while guys like us have gotten richer and richer. >> '73, i was making like $4 an hour. >> the problem is they are misdirecting it. it has been fascinating to me groups like this will direct their anger at the left. and, you know, i think it should be noted -- >> reporter: you don't get mad at the right. >> they are pretty mad at the right. >> you had the billion-dollar
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koch family that funds freedom works that funds the tea party. they benefit by getting these guys riled up by this guy who is trying to effect health reform rather than getting mad at the rich people. >> is it the rich people telling them what to do? >> which one is it? are they an racist organization or a puppet organization? >> when seth and i got together to form the tea party -- >> larry: it is finally out. >> it was supposed to be -- >> i think it is very anti-obama. >> there were groups that were anti-bush. >> yes. >> no one called me racist because i'm the same race. >> bush wasn't the first black president. >> once there is a first black president you are calling me a racist?
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>> no. >> larry: sponsored by lipton. time for a salute tonight's hero. watch. >> my daughter was born prematurely and to see people, hearing something is wrong with their baby and they have to worry about everything else around them. life doesn't stop. i'm dr. shawn daneshmand. i started a group that helps families in the nicu. i wanted to take suffering away from them so they can focus on their baby. it is emotionally draining. the way the economy now is, people are suffering. >> i didn't think this was going to be as hard. she is going to do it. she is going to be okay. >> they need extra money for clothing, diapers, medical expenses, rent. these families in a time of crisis need extra help. that's what we are about. >> are you good? you have to stay strong right now. >> i have a very special role in
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>> larry: dean, sammy and frank, you love them. >> who did sammy? >> that was me. >> that was a good sammy. >> larry: you did all of them? >> i did all three. >> larry: that was a great bit. do you ever use the "n" word on your show? >> no. the cleveland show. they have said the phrase the "n wts word but not using the word. >> larry: do you like "family guy"? >> i do. >> i do. >> i'm sitting right here. >> it is simple rules for dating my teenage daughter. that is one of my favorite episodes. >> larry: we are running out of time. what is the next show about? >> brian and stue, trapped in a vault, no cutaways, no stage plays
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