frontrunner is. >> who you think it is. >> from herman cain to mit romney and now i'm impressed with newt. he is smart and has a grasp of the issues. >> we are out of time. >> greta is next. see you tomorrow night. >> tonight we are live in the all important state of iowa. we are going to tell you why in just a minute. but first we know this as many. you outrage. ten executives of freddie mac and fannie mae, the two companies you helped out to the tune of $159 billion, now want and expect $13 million in personal bonuses. you are not the only ones furious about this. even congress is furious. just hours ago lawmakers on both sides. the isle did the top execs. >> what year did you have a bonus of over $1 million. >> i'm not sure what year it is. >> so money is not that important but you made $9.3 million the last two years while the president $800,000.

do you think that's okay? >> the american taxpayer, 14 million of them are without jobs and struggling. it's hard for them to understand how executives get $6 million in pay for a failing entity. >> surely you can understand the frustration of taxpayers who are paying bonuses while the bus is driving through the gates of hell, and then you want us to pay bonuses while the people change the tires. >> he's slamming the multimillion-dollar bonuses say the situation needs to be dealt with. so what's going to happen? will the $13 million in bonuses be paid or not? he joins us. good evening, sir. >> good evening, greta. >> why can't you just say no? do you have the authority on capitol hill just to say no or does mr. demarco as a regulator to permit the bonuses to go forward? >> i think congress, and here's the problem with the bonuses.

fannie mae has lost money in 16 of the last 17-quarters. you can't be rewarding that kind of nonperformance. that's what has people outraged. but to your point about whether or not congress can do anything about it, they can but it takes some time to get things through the congress. my question is where is the president in all of this? why can't the president, these people work for him, he sets the pay, and they set the pay, he should come in and suspend the bonuses right now. but there is legislation working its way through the congress. the house, as you said, has already acted. there was a vote yesterday in the committee, financial services committee, 52-4 in favor of suspending the bonuses. the senate has a couple amendments filed we are hoping to get action on it soon. it has congress worked up and i think it has the american people worked up and with good reason. >> where is the president. has he said anything?

and has the president said anything at all? because this certainly has been on everybody's radar screen for at least two weeks. >> the president is very disengaged. as you know, he's traveling abroad right now and on this particular issue he just hasn't been heard on. he's been completely out-of-pocket and that's really unfortunate because this is an issue where his leadership i think could show some responsiveness to the american people who are demanding that the issue be corrected, that it be addressed. and so right now what we are -- you know, we are waiting for him to say something on this, to weigh in on this. that hasn't happened yet. but i hope that it will. because he's in a position to do something about this and do something about this quickly. it's going to take a little longer for congress to be able to do something with this issue. but frankly, it's something that needs to be -- it needs to be handled. and the president is in a position to do it and i hope that he will. frankly, if you think about it, these executives are making 14 times what the president makes. you mentioned the president makes $400,000 a year.

and the fannie mae executive this last year with bonuses will make $5.6 million in an agency that has lost money in 16 of the last 17 quarters. >> besides the fact of rewarding failure, you sent a letter to demark coand a letter came back and one thing he says in the letter, we reduce senior executive pay by an average of 40%. what he doesn't say, though, is what tremendous amount of pay was being made to even before this. i mean, a 40% reduction brings these salaries down to about $900,000, not counting the bonuses. so it's a little bit sort of playing with the numbers, playing with the games, and it's really hard for me to understand why things have to be a little bit slower going through congress because it is something that republicans and democrats agree on. it's appalling. >> i agree. and last summer there was a $1.7 million signing bonus paid

to a new executive at those agencies. look, these are , in effect, government agencies. they are in conservatorship. the american taxpayer has already bailed them out to the tune of $150 billion. you ought to be able to attract good personnel to public service, people who want to make a difference for their country, without having to pay these types of bonuses and it is an outrage, it's completely in defense i believe, it's completely in excuse i believe, particularly in what is happening in the overall economy today with the high unemployment rate and the kind of budget constraints we are dealing with on a fiscal level. this makes no sense. but there is action, there is movement on capitol hill. we are moving forward with action both in the house and the senate to address this. but the president could step up today and end this. he could suspend these bonuses and send a loud and clear message to these two agencies that this type of activity and these types of payments are just completely inconsistent with the

mission of those agencies, and frankly, with the whole notion of public service. >> the other thing is what demarco says, the reason he needs to pay the bonuses, and it's being paid to ten people, is to retain talent at freddie mac and fannie mae but it's interesting when we. [all talking at once] about ten people so if you only paid bonus toss the ten you are going to tell everyone else, discourage them and they will want to hit the road anyway. i find that most unconvincing to me. your thought on whether it is needed to, quote, retain talent, not mentioning the fact this has been a failing operation? >> that's the excuse they are hiding behind and that was the argument they made in response to our letter. but i just find that really hard to believe. i mean, you get people coming into government, coming off of -- coming out of good jobs in wall street and places like that who want to be involved in public service. you can attract people to these types of positions. frankly, i think it would be a great challenge for somebody who

has been successful in the private sector says i want to solve this problem. it is a mess and i want to fix it. i don't think you have to pay these types of salaries. and certainly again, the salaries of $900,000. but the bonuses, based upon the performance of those two agencies over the last couple of years, you cannot defend it. you cannot justify it. there is no rational basis for doing this. >> it is outrageous. >> it is. >> senator thun, thank you. >> thanks, greta. >> and tonight we aren't alone in iowa. this is where most of the candidates are this week going out and talk to the voters. the race in iowa is hot and tonight there's big news for speaker newt gingrich. he has just moved to the front of the pack in the latest fox news nationwide poll. gingrich is at 23% with governor mitt romney inches behind at 22% and third place, 15% goes to mr. herman cain. as we know, that's tonight. tomorrow could always be a big

surprise. the republican national committee chairman ron joins us. good evening. what do you think about the latest nationwide fox poll? >> i think that it is obviously i think good news for the republican party in the sense that i think it just shows that there's a lot of horsepower on our side of the isle. i think it shows a lot of interest and a lot of discussion right now on the republican side. i think primaries are good for our party. i think that they create better candidates, and i think that we will have a great candidate coming out of the primary. and somebody that we know that we can rally behind as a party and get behind to help save this country from a president who is intent on keeping us in the ditch and pursuing policies that haven't worked. >> well, right now it seems, and quite understandably, that the politicians and republicans who are running, the 8 who want it, or however many the number is, who want the nomination, they

are taking slaps pretty much at each other. they have not yet laid a glove on the president. what do you see is going to be the biggest vulnerability for the president as he seeks re-election? >> greta, i don't know if i necessarily agree with the premise. i think we have laid a lot of gloves on this president. i think that americans, by and large, over 70% in poll of a poll of a poll believe they believe this country is moving in the wrong direction, number one, that this president has failed this country when it comes to the economy. we just passed $15 trillion of debt. we have people unemployed through the roof. debt and deficits are out of control. so i think that when you look at those factors, obviously the president is going to have a hard case to make to the american people that he actually delivered. i mean, this is a president, greta, and i think this is fundamental to the entire debate, that this is a president who campaigned across america as the great uniter. he went from coast-to-coast, he

was going to bring everything together, he was going to be a different kind of president, everyone was going to work together. it's all about america and not about parties, and now he's going back across the country as the great divider. everyone hating on everybody, republicans versus democrats, rich versus poor. you know, it's the divided states of america with this president, and i just happen to think that people are going to reject it. we want someone real and authentic in the white house and i think we are going to give them that in november. >> ron, tell me, there's a new new york times poll that says 69% say that republican policies favor the rich. you brought the issue of class warfare. whether or not you think the president is doing that to the republican party or not or to congress or not, is if you have 69% of the population in a poll thinking that about the republican party, how do you reach out to those voters and convince them that they should vote for the republicans? >> well, first of all, i think we have to do a better job of communicating in the sense of,

look, we want everyone in america to have a good paying job. we want everyone to be able to provide for their kids and have a decent life and enjoy their retirement. but we also want a government that fits within the scheme of what america is all about, a government that lives within its means and a government that doesn't constantly take and take and take and take from its people. look, i think that we are in a cross-roads right now in america, and here it is. do we want to be a cradle to grave society or do we want to be an america that we know is based on individual and economic freedom? that's the choice that we need to make in america. as a party we need to do a good job of explaining that to people that, look, we don't want more and more and more of your money, but what we want is a government that lives within its means. we want you all to make more. and we don't think that we need to take more from you in order to run this government and run the greatest country on the face of the earth. >> well we will see what happens. number 69 seems like it's a little bit of a hurdle for the

republican party to convince people that the republican party isn't just a party of the rich. >> greta, listen, we could -- you could confiscate every single dollar in this country of every person that makes over $100,000. you can actually take every penny from every person that makes over $100,000, and guess what? if you did that and you took it all, you would run the government for less than 60 days in this country. the problem is not that the government takes too little. the problem is that our government is so far out of control that we can't afford it. >> thank you. >> you bet. thank you, greta. >> tomorrow night a big political night speaker, newt gingrich and representative michele bachman will both be here to go on the record. don't miss it, 10:00 p.m. eastern. we hit a new high, $15 trillion. that is what the national debt hit tonight. as the debt clock ticks up, the clock is also ticking toward the supercommittee's deadline.

they have one more week to agree on $1.2 trillion in cuts. but one lawmaker is urging the committee to go big and exceed that goal. the congressman joins us. good evening, sir. >> good evening. >> well, you really want to go big. that's a far cry from 1.2. they can't agree on 1.2, at least as far as we know. how do you expect them to reach $4 trillion? >> i mean two things. number one, there are about 150 of us in the house and senate, republicans and democrats in the house and they say let's be ambitious. let's put a real dent in the deficit. that's significant. number two, bipartisan, we said let's put everything on the table. what we understand is if we are going to succeed in making a real debt in the deficit, $4 trillion as opposed to 1 point, 2 we have to have concessions and democrats have to acknowledge we have to give up on some of the spending. we've got to do it together. in fact, all of us that signed

that letter believe it would be easier to get that done because there would be shared sacrifice for a big outcome, a real dent in the deficit of about $4 trillion. >> so what's -- how do you accomplish it? it is pretty amazing. you have 100 people who signed it, the house signed it and 60 democrats and 40 republicans. it's a great idea but a lot of great ideas are sort of hard to execute, maybe even impossible in washington. everybody wants to get that debt down. but if we can't even figure it out for 1.2, how do we make that leap practically to 4? >> here's what i think is really significant about this. i was on a stage with the republican senators and republican members of the house. they are good people. and they were looking at democrats saying, hey, we are all on the same page wanting to accomplish something that needs to be done to get our fiscal house in order. and everyone was saying we want to support the supercommittee.

we want them to be successful. and we are trying to put some wind at their back. the way this is working, in a lot of ways very strange and bizarre. that is all the members of the congress, those 12, are on the outside looking in. they have immense pressure on them and there's a lot of pushing and shoving. what we try to do is send them a signal that we, republicans and democrats, the 150 or so who signed this letter, have their back and we want them to reach for a big goal, an ambitious goal. whether that creates some momentum, we hope it will, but we don't know. >> all right. are you as annoyed at this as i am? in the event they can't reach a decision, there's a trigger, a huge cut in defense and entitlements. it will make a lot of republicans and democrats angry but the trigger doesn't go into effect until january, 2013. that's 14 months from now, past

the election. i think that's totally political and rotten and members of congress and the president looking for cover because they can't do their job on this debt. do you agree with me or not? >> unfortunately i do. i think that's a pretty blunt statement. but the challenge that we have in this country right now is that or institutions are not working. congress has to make decisions, fundamental decisions about taxes and about spending. and if we can't make the decision, and we saw the damage that can be done when we had this debt ceiling debacle in august where i think we did do real damage and we can do the blame game if we want, but the bottom line is it really did hurt the economy, it hurt people's confidence in the institution that's entrusted with making some of these decisions. so in fact, if we fail and we go into this, and it could be bogus, as you say, sequestration, it's going to rattle the markets, it's going to rattle people's already

fragile confidence in the institution. and those on the stage today, the 150 or so of us that want to go big, see us as having a real responsible to make a decision. >> congressman, thank you very much, sir. >> thank you. >> and straight ahead, two u.s. supreme court justices facing increasing pressure tonight. there are calls for them to step aside and to keep their hands off a very controversial case. so what is the fuss all about? i'll tell you one thing, it's very important. we will tell you about it next. also gabby giffords's incredible road to recovery. what are her biggest struggles and biggest triumphs? her husband, mark kelly, goes on the record. and academy award winner ron howard is here. he gives us a preview of his groundbreaking movie and tells us about his new film making [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis... of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora. oh, no i'm an only child. and nick, you shouldn't even be here, you can do everything from the golf course. good? good. [ male announcer ] on at&t, blackberry® torch moves at the speed of 4g. ♪ ♪

in her eyes... the world is never too big. in his...the weather should never keep you inside. ♪ because they see no limits, there's eukanuba nutrition designed to help their body go as far as their mind wants to. eukanuba. extraordinary nutrition for extraordinary beings. see the difference in 28 days or your money back. what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

>> the future of america's healthcare law is at is a stake and tonight a big question about conflicts of interest in the supreme court. there are mounting calls for two justices to recuse themselves from deciding whether the new healthcare law is constitutional or not constitutional.

leading the charge is against justin elena kagan. he said he's deeply disturbed about her earlier role when she was solicitor general and getting the healthcare law passed. and also asked to disqualify himself is justice clarence thomas. his wife worked for a group opposing the healthcare law. ted williams and bernie grim joins us. justice kagan and justice come mass, should either disqualify themselves? >> agoan, no, and thomas, yes. when your wife puts bread on the table and you are about to decide a case, whether you are going to continue to eat or not, you have to get off the case. >> ted? >> yeah, i believe that there's a possibility that both should recuse themselves. anytime a supreme court justice

may not be able to be partial when it comes to a case, then that person should recuse. and what do i mean by that? when we look at it here, just the smell, should we say, of the financial interest in which thomas's wife has in trying to overthat you know we define as obama care, that in and of itself means that he should recuse himself. as it pertains to justice kagan, when she came up before the senate for a confirmation hearing, she used a word that she was not substantially involved in the process of obama care. well, there have been quite a few e-mails of that come out that showed she's had some involvement in -- or that could be definitively more than just substantial, greta. >> all right. now, in terms of -- i'll tell you what i think. i think both should disqualify themselves. i know it's a very close case and we never like when a supreme

court justice disqualifies himself or herself from a case but it would be sort of an even trade, someone point bid president bush and someone appointed by president obama. obviously the financial interest justice's thomas has is a financial interest to him as well. for the lawyers it is if it appears to be impropriety. maybe the appearance of a connection that is a little bit too close for both justices and we don't need the nation chattering about this and feeling cheated forever. let me say something about the e-mails. there's a march 21, 2010 e-mails from then solicitor kagan to harvard university that said i hear they have the votes, larry, simply amazing. she's a solicitor general, she's in the position of doing everything she can for her boss to advance his position. i don't think that she's -- i think for the appearance quality to sort of put the matter to

rest, it's an even trade, they both should step away on this one. bernie? >> greta, you make a good point. i mean the math works with your analysis. if one person gets knocked off and there's a 4-4 tie then the lower court decision stands. if one -- two people get knocked off then we are down to better and we are in better shape and at least a close call can be had one way or another on this. >> but the other thing too, bernie, the other thing is do we really want a decision by the supreme court on such an important issue poisoned by endless chatter of people feeling cheated saying that these two justices, depending on which side you are on on the debate, about but that these two justices should not be deciding the case? it would be an endless discussion and criticism. this is a safer position and the american people can feel better about the process. a lot of people will be unhappy no matter what happens. ted. >> in 30 years i will be tv law school and i will say let me tell you what happened back in

2011 when they did this and these two justices wouldn't recuse themselves. >> all you have to look at is bush versus gore. it left a division in this country. and the obama care, the healthcare thing, both the right and left have their various interests in this. the bottom line is i think for the sake of clarity, that both of these justices, kagan and thomas, and really specifically thomas, in light of the fact that we can show a financial interest by his wife, that there should be some recusement. >> it seems to make more sense to play is safe, just to calm the waters. there will be a lot of unhappiness when the decision comes down by one segment of the population. bernie, i give you the last word. >> and this is a landmark. if there's what you call a landmark decision, believe me, this is it. this is totally ruins years and years and years of legislation put together and now it's going

to be wiped off the map perhaps. >> depends. if it's unconstitutional, it should go, if it's constitutional, it should stay. but it will try to minimize the dissension and unhappiness afterwards. thank you both. >> thank you. >> coming up, congressman gabby giffords is talking about going back to work. we will learn a lot more about her miraculous recovery and her husband, mark kelly, is here to tell us more. that's next. and vice president biden pace regis a visit. but there's a bigger surprise. the going away present from the vice president wasn't for him. vice president wasn't for him. what w to be more environmentally aware,

we are now printing on the back sides of used paper and we switched to fedex cause a lot of their packaging contains recycled materials. tell them what else fedex does. well we're now using more electric trucks and lower emission planes. we even offer a reusable envelope. now, can't we at least print on the back sides of used paper? what's the executive compensation list...? [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain.

>> mark kelly said his wife, gabby giffords, is doing great just ten months after the congresswoman was shot in the head. she's making an incredible recovery, even talking to her constituents. and now congresswoman giffords has written a book with her husband. mark kelly joined us to talk about it. >> nice to see you. >> great to be here. >> i have to tell you it's a great book. i enjoyed reading it. it's like you and i spoke before because i actually no gabby, and the thing that's always so can't straighting to me, and you see it right here, that smile.

and it's funny, it's like when i saw the pictures in the book i wanted to make sure she still had that smile. >> she does. a lot of people got to see that last night. it's as big as of. >> it is amazing. and i get a sense in the book how fragile life is. one minute everything is fine and normal, and the next second it isn't. >> yeah. there's something to be said for having plans, but in an instant, like in gabby's case and those six other people from southern arizona that were killed, including christina green, things drastically change in a moment. >> and there's one point in the book, i actually marked it, where you say to your wife the last time you talked to her before the shooting, you said i'm proud of you, enjoy the new term. and never knowing that everything was going to get turned upside down. >> yeah, very quickly. it's a big shock to wake up on that saturday and to be up just a couple hours and get the call

saying your wife has been shot. it's a day i will certainly never forget. >> who called you? >> gabby's chief of staff. >> what were you doing. >> just having a little discussion with my 16-year-old daughter, i think it was something about a boyfriend or a boy issue and then he called and simply said, mark, it's pea, gabby has been shot. and, you know, that sent us, you know, obviously -- initially i didn't even -- a few minutes later i didn't even think that the phone call happened so i had back and look at my cellphone to see if i actually did get that call. >> so many of us know her who live and work in washington and she was on the record a number of times and i remember where i was, i remember sitting down and watching it on the tv and thinking not gabby, not gabby. >> yeah. she loved coming on your show. in arizona, you know, a lot of her constituents watch fox and she watches it and she loves coming here.

>> behind the scenes we would hang around and have girl talk in the makeup room. the minute she walked in, a big smile and then she's on the set talking about things. >> i think the last time she was on with michele bachman. >> yeah, one-on-one side and one on the other and i don't think the camera even reflected it at all. but the book is also intriguing, so many sort of pecularities. >> and as soon as we got to houston, bush wanted to see >> but about a month later, he came to visit her at a friend's house. she was really tired and leaning over and half asleep. she couldn't see really well at the time. but as he got within 5 feet, she perked up, sat up straight and said wow.

>> there is an awful lot about your wife. and the viewers know the congressmen, they are very public. but your life is fascinating. i loved about being the commander of the endeavour and even the mischief you caused. >> i wouldn't call it mischief. but there are some interesting times. >> you were told you were speeding out, driving a car -- what was that? >> everybody does that. >> not everybody's an astronaut. not everyone is going to be heading endeavour. >> the kennedy space center before a launch, the couple of days before where you are going to travel 17,500 miles per hour. i took a little heat from my boss because of it. >> on the last trip, you know, i suspect you were -- reading the book that it was a little bit trying to decide whether to go. obviously, your decision. but i was glad you went. i think a lot of americans are glad you went. your wife is seriously injured, but i think a lot of us are

really glad you went. >> me too. i hoped that gabby would be more integral in that decision. but at the time, you know, it was really hard to engage her at that level. but i'm one of the reasons i am really glad i went, i would have never heard the end of it from her, if i didn't. >> how is she? what's the report? >> she's doing great. she improves every week. she's really hopeful. i'm really hopeful that she will be able to return to work one day. we don't know what that is. possibly, you know, we could see that happening in months. you know, it's a decision she's going to have to make when she's ready to make it. >> from what i can piece together, her mind is very quick and strong. it's the speech that's not -- struggling to keep up with the mind -- with the thought, thinking. >> the biggest disability she has and hashe works on every day along with the ability to walk easier, it is her speech. it's coming along all the time.

when you consider where she was on january 8, basically in a coma, or a month later, where she couldn't speak at all and where she is today, it's an incredible story. >> her facultyies are good. it seems that way. >> seems 100% to me. she understands everything, same sense of humor, same attitude. she's been very positive through all of this. she is getting better all the time. >> would she recognize me? >> sliewltion. >> everything -- >> she will be watching this program, 100%. i have explained to her that i am coming on your show. you know, she would like tock here, too. >> coming up, imagine getting the chance to make your own hollywood movie and a chance to work with legendary filmmaker ron howard. how can that be? ron howard is here to go "on the record." who is the sexiest man alive? actor? singer? talk show host? stay tuned to find out. @?ñ [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands ojobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for oucountry's energy security

and our economy. it's a melt in your mouth kind of experience. [ john ] the wood fires up the grill a little bit hotter so you really get a good sear and it locks in the juices. surf & turf -- you n't go wrong [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf event. choose from three grilled combinations all under $20. like our maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin or our new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. [ adrianna ] i think the guests are going to take a bite and be like "oh, man, this is so awesome." [ john ] i'm grill master john mazany. i'm grill master adrianna hollis. and we sea food differently.

okay... uhh. the bad news, it's probably totaled. the good news is, you don't have to pay your deducble. with vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance, you got $100 off for every year of safe driving, so now your deductible is zero. the other good news ? i held on to your coffee. wow. ♪ nationwide is on your side ( laughing ) it's actually a pretty good day whenou consider. that's great.

>> from america's news headquarters, i'm ainsley earhardt. up on protesters preparing for an international day of action on thursday, marking the movement's second-month anniversary. organizers in new york city say they plan to shut down wall street, up on the subways and take foley square, after police raided lower manhattan park. rallies are also scheduled in spain, germany and belgium. new information about the man suspected of firing shots near the white house. investigators reveal 21-year-old oscar ramiro ortega ornandez thought he was on a personal mission from god. the gunshots were reported on friday. president obamma was not home and the secret service discovered two bullets did hit the white house. but it is not clear did they were the bullets fired on

friday. i'm ainsley earhardt, now back to "on the record" with gret a. for the latest headlines, check out our web site, foxnews.com. 5 year period. >> you may still think of him as opie or ritchie, but ron howard continues to dominate hollywood with two dig studio films in movie theaters right now. he has a new project. he may have a smaller budget but it has big meaning for ron personally. he tells us all about it. >> this new movie "when you find me" what is so intriguing about it, not just the story or plot line, it's how it was created. i know how it is created, at least a little bit, but tell the viewers. >> well, it began as a concept from cannon, a think called project imagination. and really it was a contest, it was a way to reach out to photographers, consumers and inspire them to participate in something. so the idea was for me to sort

of supervise this contest, break this narrative into 8 different categories like setting and theme and character and so forth and have people send in photographs. they would be evaluated. eventually i would select one per category and then we would build a short film around it. when i say we i am also include the writer, but my daughter, brite howard, who was going to direct the film. so it was a fantastic creative experiment and exercise, and then it also ended up being this great opportunity for brice and i to work together. she did a fantastic job with the film. out of this experience not only is the film she made very visual, it really kind of moves outside the box in unexpected ways. but she also found a way to make it a very personal film out of it, as well. i think she did, you know, terrific work and also i think the cannon people are pleasantly

surprised about how well the experiment actually worked. in terms of using folks submitting photographs to inspire a narrative and inspire a real story. >> where can people see it or how can they see it? >> it will show up in a few select theaters. then it will go online for a short period of time and then they will see what the future of the film might hold after that. i think that online window in december is going to be the best thing to look for. >> i'm curious, even the cost of this compared to some of the other things. any estimate of how much this cost? >> well, i never give quotes on budget,s, but it's endy. she had six days of shooting so it was nothing epic about it. it was professional, people were paid and she had a great crew to work with. but to your point, one of the great things that technology is

offering, and to be honest one of the reasons i wanted to get involved is, you know, cannon is really making this possible. i have been around cannon equipment most of my life. but more recently in the last few years it's become more and more pivotal in individual mim makers to go out and make -- film makers to go out and compete with anyone. the software on the post production side is making if -- it's allowing independent film makers to be unbelievable ambitious in a way they couldn't be just a few years ago. >> you have a new movie coming out. a formula one movie? >> i'm getting ready to shoot a movie called rush which i won't start until next year. it will come out probably about a year from now. it take place in 1976. there was a famous, if you are a formula one fame, there was a famous rivalry that year. and a person who wrote "the

queen" which i directed found a great couple cct around. we a expectin to get fantastic formula one race action out of it, as well. and my partner is now producing the oscars, that happened this last week. we have two films in the theatre now so it's a pretty busy time for us which we are pretty grateful for. >> when you look at a script and you look to pick an actor, right away when someone is a perfect actor for that script do you know it? >> i find the casting process to be the most agonizing. every once in a role, sure, you read a role and think about an actor and it's an absolute consensus. you know in your own mind or heart this man or woman is right for the role. that's all too rare and more often there's this agonizing process because it is vitally important. you can work on your story, you prepare it, you plan it, you do all of that, but, you know, acting is the one way to really

reach an audience, to create that human connection. when something casts perfectly, it makes all the difference in the world. so it's tricky and then to get the chemistry. so the short answer is, no, you don't always know. in fact, it's one of the periods of the filmmaking process where i toss and turn the most is sort of building the cast. >> the way you describe your career and directing and acting is a little bit like in our business, we get to meet all sorts of people, travel all around the world and see things. and use the camera to try to tell a story differently. we are trying to make it straight or something. but it's much the same exploration and exciting part. the good part about my business. >> i've always felt that. and when i was in high school, of course, i had been a child actor and, you know, starting with the andy griffith show and things like that. but even when i was in film school before happy days started, and i thought, well, i don't know if i will be able to make this transition. i would like to be a filmmaker.

if it doesn't work out, what else would i do? and i was wrestling with two other areas. one was being a high school basketball coach because i thought that would be fun, but the other really was journalism. i've long felt that it sort of -- i'm very grateful for the kinds of range of experiences that i get making films, but i've always felt that, you know, a journalist puts in his or her years doing that and it's a -- you know, it's a rich life experience because, you know, everything that you are exposed to, everything you must consider and think about, understand and then try to share with people. you know, i think we are lucky. >> straight ahead, hollywood is full of surprises. a controversial surprise to the host of a tv show. the shocking announcement is next. and also regis is retiring, leaving an open chair. so is vice president biden looking for a new job? you will see what happened in [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition?

♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. new v8 v-fusion smoothie. ♪ we're centurylink... a new kind of broadband company committed to improving lives with honest, personal service, 5-year price lock guarantees and consistently fast speeds. ♪

>> you have seen the top stories but here's the best of the rest. it's the announcement many people wait for all year and tonight it's official. bradley cooper is the sexiest man alive. at least according to "people" magazine. the 36-year-old movie star won the magazine's crowd, beating

out other hunks. he's having a hard time accepting the new title. he keeps expecting someone to tell him he's been punked. and hollywood probably didn't expect in announcement. the it comes as a bit of surprise. he got criticisms after last year's hosting performance. they eye cued him of crossing the line with his comedy. they say he was too many to some celebrities. this year will be his third time hosting the golden globes. maybe the third time is the charm. vice president biden made a stop at "live with "regis and kelly"." he thought he was there to wish him well on his retirement but he wasn't exactly right. >> i want to correct you on one thing. i came for two reasons. >> yes. >> one to wish you good luck and, two, to express my sympathies to joy. >> thank you, mr. vice president. >> she does not need a diamond. what she needs is she needs an excuse to get out of the house. >> oh, my --

>> i understand she place tennis. >> she'll need all these tennis balls to get the hell out of the house. >> oh, my. >> i'm sure regis's wife will appreciate those. there you have it, the best of the rest. coming up, why was president obama so happy on his visit to [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. your core competency is...competency. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] as you wish, business pro. as you wish. go national. go like a pro. now through january earn a free day with every two rentals. find out more at nationalcar.com. that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout.

helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future. ♪

togetif something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. that's because you always get two times the points on travel, from taxis to trains, airfare to hotels, and all kinds of dining... from fast food to fine dining. and that's not all you get. there are expert advisors who answer immediately, whenever you call. and absolutely no foreign transaction fees. does your card do all that? apply today and earn 50,000 ultimate rewards bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. that's $625 toward your next trip when you redeem through ultimate rewards. so, why settle for gold when you can have so much more? chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. call the number on your screen or visit our website to apply.

>> greta: time for last call. jay leno says he knows why president ob rauma was so happy in a recent basketball game. >> president obama was aboard the big aircraft carrier. he said it's nice to be standing on a ship that wasn't sinking. wow. >> that is your last call. we're closing down shop. thank you for being with us tonight. now, it's your time to go to