[ slurping ] [ male announcer ] give em' what they love. subway! giant subs, sandwich and cookie platters. and big-time value. subway catering. order today! good morning. dramatic rescue. divers off the coast of i ta dramatic rescue off the coast italy. at least 17 others are unaccounted for. we'll hear from two american passengers on board the ship in an exclusive interview. speaking out. former penn state football coach joe paterno opens up for the first time about his role in the child sex abuse scandal that ended his storied career from shock to sadness. he explains his reaction to the allegations that have rocked the entire sports community. oh, no, tebow, after

captivating the nation, tim tebow and the denver broncos were pounded by the new england patriots. might this be the end of tebow mania? we'll find out. today's sunday, january 15, we'll find out. today's sunday, january 15, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. i spent a good part of yesterday. watching football. the last to minutes were off the charts, one of the best two plays. >> the first to minutes for denver were a long nightmare. >> basically. >> big football weekend. we'll talk about that coming up. we to want talk about the big story taking place in italy. that cruise ship disaster. rescuers have located a third survivor on board. there are reports that he's the ship's percer found in one of

the restaurants. we know at least three people are dead, 17 others are unaccounted for. divers will try to enter the ship today in search of other survivors. the ship's captain has been detained. he faces several charges, including manslaughter. two americans on board the ship will be joining us in a few minutes. we'll hear about their harrowing ordeal. then we'll switch gears and talk politics. less than a week to go before south carolina's gop candidates are pulling out all the stops as mitt romney's rivals try to stop him from going 3 for 3. we'll bring you the latest on that. big night in hollywood. golden globes honoring the best in of it. ricky gervais is back as the host. he'll definitely have a lot of people talking tomorrow about what he said tonight. we'll have a preview of what you can expect tonight on stage and on the red carpet a bit later in the show. and then speaking of hollywood, it's been 20 years since dolly parton graced the silver screen. the country music legend sat down with us recently to talk

about her new movie request queen latifah called "joyful noise." we're excited about that. we want to begin with the latest in the rescue effort under way off the coast italy. divers continue to search the area for survivors where the luxury cruise liner overturned. michelle kosinski joins us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. the press here is calling this the italian titanic. at least three people have lost their lives. the good news is, the number of those unaccounted for just dropped significantly today to 17. while people were being rescued, they were worried passengers were still trapped on board and they were right. this happened friday night. the last rescue, an hour and a half ago. this man just rescued, spent more than 36 hours trapped inside that ship. this video shows just the

leading edge of the swell of panic that engulfed the concordia friday night. >> we're not safe. >> reporter: on board, once survivors were able to climb into life boats, the ship tilted sharply and sinking, fast. it started just after 10 p.m. only hours after the nearly 1,000-foot cruise ship left its port. many guests were at dinner, heard a loud rumble. the ship had struck a rock. lights out, dishes crashing, sending more than 4,000 passengers and crew scrambling for an escape. >> the rescue was awful. i mean, it was very, very disorganized. >> reporter: they describe what they had only seen in movies. like "titanic," falling nearly vertically up hallways. some said it took more than an hour for life boats to be lowered. by then, the ship was on its side. >> it was very difficult for the life boats to get down because

the ship was very -- at an angle. so the life boat can't go down the side of the boat like this. and so one of the boats was full of a few hundred people, caught on the railing and the life boat tipped size ways, fell and swung and everybody was scream gloog it took us five tries on different boats to get on. my husband and i finally got on. and we feel so fortunate. we feel so fortunate we made it on a boat because others didn't. >> reporter: forcing many entire families to choose to jump into the cold, dark sea, hundreds of yards from shore. >> i was very worried when i was swimming, i keep looking at the boat coming. i wanted to make sure to get further away so if it comes, it doesn't trap us. i have them on my back and kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, swim, swim. >> kathy! >> reporter: others were rescued by helicopters, small boats. it's owned by the american company carnival, which in a statement offered heartfelt

condolences. this is a terrible tragedy and we are deeply saddened. rescue cruise continue searching. for good reason. last night more than 24 hours after this started, a south korean couple on their honeymoon were found alive, on board. investigators arrested the captain, pending their look into why on a route this ship travels every week and suddenly struck rock, lost power, a 160-foot gash in its hull. officials believe there were 125 americans on board and that none were hurt. the captain who's under investigation for abandoning ship and manslaughter has just been quoted as saying that his navigational charts showed that the water was deep enough to be where he was. but did not show the rock that he hit. lester? >> michelle kosinski, thank you. blake miller and steve garcia were on board the cruise line as

it sank. they join us from rome. we appreciate you being here. steve, let me start with you. i understand the sound of the ship striking ground was unmistakable. you went for the life boats. was that your instinct or were you getting any instruction at that point? >> we were getting instruction but we were getting conflicting instructions. we had originally been in one the bars and were planning on, you know, going to see a few more and then the ship started to list. that's when we went back to our cabin. waiting there is when we heard the horrible scraping sound. we decided to run out for the life boats. fortunately, we had read where the life boats were because we weren't told -- some of the crew was telling us to go up. we saw some people running down. we figured that's where we needed to be. >> yeah, my understanding it was early enough in the cruise that they had not gone through the evacuation drills. blake, as you left the ship -- we see it as it lies now, totally on its side. did that happen right away or

was it slowly starting to list as you were getting off? >> well, it actually listed to one side, to the left, while we were in our cabin with the balance con. once we got down to the life boat, it righted itself and we thought it was going to be fine, then it started listing to the other side that it eventually sank on. and it really -- i honestly did not have a true understanding of -- of how bad it was until we were on the life boat and looked back and saw that -- the first row of windows under water. and people screaming that couldn't get on a life boat, still on the boat. so that's when we realized how much it was really tilting. >> and i understand it's a very emotional and difficult experience you've been through. steve, i know that you met some issues once you got on the island in terms of a bit of confusion. no one was taking names, no one was really accounting for folks. how bad were things?

>> it was horrible. the only thing that worked for us was the passengers. you know, it's amazing that none of us spoke the same language but we knew how to take care of each other, but the crew couldn't figure that out. we had shop keepers that opened up for us, a school opened, a church. >> we had nuns in the school giving us sheets for those of us that didn't have jackets. and then there was the church as well. but the people were beyond compare, really what i would expect from my own hometown of austin, texas. it was very comforting to have them there. >> we understand 125 americans on board. has anyone from the embassy dealt with the americans? are you being taken care in terms of your passports and other belongings you left on board? >> yes. yes, we actually just found out, there were actually 129 americans. i spoke to the embassy this morning finally and they had been trying to find us,

apparently, and costa had no information. they called hotels. they had no information of where we were pip just happened to see a lady with a clipboard in the lobby this morning and i saw my name. i said, is my name on there for a reason? she said, iwe're looking for yo. i said, i'm checked into the hotel. maybe you should cross-reference. being in the hotel business myself, that's something you do. lack of duty of care to the customers. yes, the embassy has definitely reached out to us and they're open until 4:00 rome time and we're going over to get our passport after this interview. >> we appreciate you time you spent with us this morning. blake miller, steve garcia, we appreciate it. now here's jenna. >> we'll switch gears and talk politics. the final push in south carolina with the primary there now just six days away, the latest polls show mitt romney as the clear front-runner. can other candidates close the gap? david gregory moderator of "meet the press" joins us today. >> how are you? >> i'm good. it's a tight race between

gingrich and romney. does this surprise you? how much because gingrich has backed off criticizing mitt romney and his time as ceo? >> we'll be cautious about the numbers we're seeing out of south carolina right now. i think we'll get a better picture as we get into the week with our own polling. look, if you are santorum, if you are gingrich, the fight you have been leading against romney is two-fold. certainly for gingrich, it's attacking the business record, which has been controversial. but more generally it's attacking him on a conservative credentials. this is a conservative state. more socially conservative than new hampshire. certainly on par with iowa in that sense. that's going to be the pitch to these voters there to say, look, this is kind of the final stand for social conservatives to try to stop romney. >> you mentioned rick santorum. he's only polling at 7% there in south carolina. he did pick up a big vote, the evangelical vote. is it too little, too late for him to have their support? >> well, that's a real question. whether he's got -- he's got their support but does he really have the votes? as long as he's in, as long as

perry's in, and gingrich, the difficulty is that vote could be split up. it could be 60% are of the electorate in the primary f you look at four years ago, but if that gets split up among several candidates, romney stands to benefit. just like john mccain facing huckabee four years ago and fred thompson, that vote got split up and mccain was able to win with 33% of the vote. that could be romney's playbook this time. >> if mitt romney comes into south carolina, takes the state, he'll be 3 for 3. are we looking at the next gop nominee? >> in all practical purposes, yes. i don't think anyone can pose a serious threat to him if he does that. he can follow it up with florida, michigan, into super tuesday where money and organization matter. i think he really can close the door. if he can win, if he can overcome concerns about him among conservatives, south carolina is the place since 1980 that really chooses the men nominee. >> that puts the pressure on newt gingrich, speaking of, what's coming up on "meet the press"? >> we'll talk to gingrich. is he leading the charge in so

many different ways against romney. we'll have an opportunity to talk to him live this morning from charleston to see how he thinks romney can be stopped. >> david gregory, thank you. >> thanks. we to want head over to the news desk for the rest of the morning's top stories and cnbc' mandy is back with us. good morning. >> good morning. a man sits in jail today accused of fatally stabbing at least four homeless minimum in the anaheim area in the past month. the suspect's family says he served with the marines in iraq and is mentally troubled. residents say one of the victims was a vietnam veteran. more than a month since a toddler in maybe main disappeared from her father's home in waterville. investigators still have no signs of 20-month-old ayla reynolds who vanished on december 16th after her father says he put her to bed. police suspect foul play in the little girl's disappearance. a russian spacecraft is expected to come crashing down within hours. it had been designed to travel to a moon of mars but got stuck innette's orbit. the u.s. is outside the risk area and scientists estimate the

risk of the probe crashing into any populated areas is minimal. what a way for the san francisco 49ers to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the catch. joe man man to dwight clark. alex smith to vernon davis now. smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to davis with 9 seconds left for a wild 36-32 win over the new orleans saints. tim tebow's broncos didn't fare as well against the new england patriots. we'll have more on that match-up in a few minutes on "weekend today." and there she is, the newest miss america, a 23-year-old college student from wisconsin. laura kepler won last night after singing opera and declaring miss america represents everyone. miss oklahoma, betty thomas, came in second, and miss new york finished third. that is the news. now back to lester, jenna and janice. over to you guys. >> mandy, thank you very much. >> janice with our first check

of the weather. >> it's cold. get bundled up. pacific northwest, more rain pouring in across that rain with snow from seattle into the cascades. in and around the seattle area you may see 1 to 3 inches of snow and more than a foot in the cascades. there are more storms coming up this week. in the meantime, all that warm air in the middle of the country that you saw this week, temperatures were some 20 degrees above average over the central and southern plains, that will go by the wayside as cooler air pours in but above normal in the east where we're cold this morning. it's 19 degrees in boston. temperatures are right around 20 in new york city. we're expecting readings only in the 20s all day long, so winter is here. . at plenty cold to start your morning around the bay area. 30s for inland valleys. livermore up towards nevada and napa, not much wind. more of that as we head towards the afternoon as the cold system which is dropping snow near seattle and portland dips to the bay area. it will be breezy but dry. highs only in the mid-50s today.

in fact, trending cooler next couple of days. we'll have frost and maybe some freeze warnings next couple of mornings, and the rain kicks in as you pass the middle part of the week. city. now here's jenna. >> all right, janice. thanks. up next on "today," we're talking football. the game between the broncos tim tebow and new england patriots tom brady. a much anticipated balgs. how did it turn out?t after thi. florida's natural orange juices taste so uniquely fresh and delicious? is it the rich florida soil? or the perfect blend of sunshine, rain, and temperature? maybe it's the fact that florida's natural oranges are never imported. they're raised right here in florida, and passed with care from our hands to yours. 100% pure. 100% florida. florida's natural.

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one of the most hyped game in nfl history ended up being a blowout last night as tom brady and the new england patriots crushed tim tebow's denver broncos, settled for this, 45-10. even in a losing effort the polarizing denver quarterback appears to be winning the fascination of the sporting world. here's nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: despite all the hype and the millions of viewers watching the playoff game just to him, tim tebow finally ran out of miracles. his denver broncos clobbered by veteran quarterback tom brady, and the new england patriots. >> i played like always. >> reporter: still the national obsession over tim tebow is unlikely to fade. >> even with a loss, tebow mania is going to continue not just unabated, it is only going to

ratchet up, accelerate, intensify, because tebow mania is here to stay, i guarantee it. >> reporter: tebow mania has been a huge bonanza for the nfl and the tv networks, drawing record audiences. even though tebow's game stats were not always great. >> does he have a typical throwing motion? no. does he have the accuracy that a lot of the other quarterbacks we see in the nfl have? no. but he has a huge heart. >> reporter: tebow's humanitarian work and his public displays of evangelical faith, pointing to the heavens after a successful play, and bowing on the field in a pose known as tebowing, attracted millions of supporters. >> no matter whether you pray to god, whether you like god, whether you -- no matter who you are or what you do, there's a lot about tim tebow to like. >> reporter: the now famous pose has been copied around the world. but there are also detractors wishing he would soften some of his public religious ardor. controversial "saturday night live" skit portrayed a visit from jesus to the locker room.

>> i love you. okay. >> i love you, too. >> okay, all right. but just take it down a notch, will you, buddy? >> yes, whatever you command. >> not a command, just a request. >> reporter: late night host jimmy fallon sang about him tebowing. ♪ this is jesus christ to tim tebow please leave me alone ♪ ♪ don't you know my day of rest sunday ♪ >> reporter: love him or not, tim tebow has taken pro football and its fans by storm. but for this season, it's done now. for "today," mark potter, nbc news, miami. >> you know, say what you will about him and the way his team's played and all that it's been fun to watch him and the broncos play this season because of who he is and what he's brought. >> a tough end to the season. >> very, very tough. but a surprisingly good season for them. >> yeah. >> yeah. we're going to take a break. we're back but first these messages. ac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy!

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still to come on "today," the sexual abuse scandal at penn state. cost joe paterno his job and his first interview since the scandal broke paterno gives his side of the story. >> plus, and the winner is. stars of tv and film will gather tonight for the golden globes. what can you expect from host ricky gervais? -good morning, dave. -good morning, dave. dave. -hey, dave. -hey, dave. hey. -hey, dave. -mr. dave. -dave. -what's up, dave? -dave. -dave. dave. dave. dave? hi, dave. oh, dave's looking for you. hey, dave. yo, dave! [ male announcer ] in a small business, it's all you. that's why you have us. at staples, we have low prices on everything your small business needs. staples. that was easy.

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good morning. taking a look live from san jose on a very chilly start to this sunday morning. hope you're all rested up from that exciting niners finish. i'm kris sanchez. a forecast that could include a couple of sprinkles. >> mainly on the north coast. showers down at the golden globes tonight. >> oh, not the golden globes. >> another cold start. lots of 30s inland. livermore 32 degrees. 40 san jose. one of the things we'll be watching as we go through the afternoon. it will be the winds picking up. not much wind right now, but we'll finish the day with pretty breezy conditions.

on the satellite radar view showers in southern california and cold air spilling in from the midwest. highs today mid-50s. yesterday mid-60s to lower 70s. nowhere near that today. the seven-day forecast shows as the cold air sinks into the bay area, we'll have some frost and maybe some freezing temperatures over the next couple of mornings and beginning wednesday, more mild and a lot more moisture and there comes the rain for the snow the second half of the week. >> thanks very much. >> san francisco 49ers still riding high this morning from that playoff victory. the 49ers beat the new orleans saints winning their division for the first time since the 1997 season, and now they are just one game away from getting to the super bowl. to call it a nail-biter is an understatement. the saints and 49ers' jim harbaugh and alex smith all fired up before the game, and it was a wild ride to the end. in the fourth quarter with less than two minute, the saint drew brees to jimmy graham who makes the catch and runs 66 yards for the touchdown.

with a two-point conversion, it's new orleans 32-29, and then with 14 seconds to go that catch. alex smith throws to vernon davis. that was the game-winner amp tearful one, too, for vernon davis. liked seeing that. 49ers win, 36-32. as you just saw the 49ers tight end vernon davis came up huge in the 49ers victory. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay" we'll hear from both davis and his fans about that amazing catch. tomorrow is dr. martin luther king jr. day, but people around the bay area and lawmakers are honoring the civil rights leader today as well. congresswoman barbara lee will attend two event in oakland. first lee will attend a service at beebe memorial cathedral at 9:45 this morning and then tonight she will attend the tenth annual musical tribute honoring dr. king at paramount theater. that's from 7:00 to 9:00 tonight. he was nicknamed mr mr. elusive, and now an injured elephant seal is all patched up

and back in the pacific ocean. the seal eluded rescue attempts for more than two years, and rescuers from the marine mammal center, with the help of volunteers, were able to remove that strap that was tightly wound around the elephant seal's neck for more than two years. that's cleaned out the wound and then determined that the elephant seal did not have any other medical problems so he was released back into the ocean. coming up at 7:00 on "today in the bay," the real jaws, where this white shark was caught on video, and it's not too far offshore. that story and all the day's news, plus more of the 49ers victory coming up right here at 7:00. the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack for a yoplait light. can you use it in a sentence? mmm. swapping a 300 calorie donut for this 110 calorie strawberry shortcake is a good swapportunity.

that's not a real word. oh haha it's real. [ female announcer ] delicious, creamy, yoplait light. over 30 flavors each around 100 calories. do the swap today. january 15th, 2012. outside on a very cold plaza. you wouldn't know -- other than this one outside on the same very cold plaza i'm jenna wolf along side lester holt. and coming up in this half hour we're talking about joe paterno and he's finally speaking out about the whole sex scandal that actually cost him his job. >> did an interview and talked about his judgment, and what he knew, perhaps before the

accusation came in. so we're going to hear more about that. plus hollywood's a-listers are preparing to walk the red carpet tonight for the golden globe awards. the winners, losers and fashion, all may be upstaged by host ricky gervais who is planning for another years of no-holds-barred jokes. we're going to get a preview. >> and then country music icon dolly parton stopped by to see us this week to chat about her newfound chemistry with queen latifah, of all people, in the movie "joyful noise." after all these years she has so much energy and she's really excited about it. she actually hasn't done a movie in 20 years. >> looks like a cute film. plus we asked, you answered. last week we asked you to submit your favorite photos as part of our news segment called today's life illustrated. we can't wait to show you what you sent. >> a absolutely love that. but first another check of this balmy weather. >> oh, you're so funny.

it's so cold out here. the crowd is not huge, but they're hardy. and the windchill is about 5. we have a birthday girl this morning. what's your name? >> haley. >> and how old are you? >> 10. >> is that your sister? >> yes. >> did she make that sign? >> yes. >> there's haley. you look really cool. let's check the weather and see what's happening across the country. cold weather here in the northeast. in the middle portion of the nation it's quiet and it's mild. temperatures have been running some 20 degrees above average from the northern plains all the way down to texas. even denver today, you'll see a high of 60, with some cold air coming in pretty soon over the pacific northwest and the temperatures will drop. dry and 71 in miami. tomorrow is martin luther king jr. day. a lot of you have the day off. look for sunshine up and down the eastern sea board. warms up in the northeast. and it stays warm through the southern states, too, or mild, we'll say. some rain moves into the ohio and mississippi river valleys tomorrow. sunshine in the southwest. and snow showers in the northwest.

and she's not miss america but she is the birthday girl. what's your name? >> hadley. >> how old are you today? >> 16. >> happy birthday to you. and you might want to bundle up along the bay area. a lot of 30s. 32 napa and livermore and 31 in gilroy. what you'll notice today is high clouds coming in, winds picking up as the cold air spinsous of the pacific northwest and heads into the bay area. even if the sun mixes with the clouds, really looking at highs in the low to mid-50s this afternoon. the wind picking up for this afternoon and setting us up for some frost or freeze-type mornings through tuesday and then the rain comes in as you pass the middle part of the week with more mild temperatures. when we're not around you can always check your weather any time, logon to weather.com. >> all right, janice, thank you very much. joe paterno, the former head coach of penn state's football team is speaking out for the first time since the school sex scandal erupted. we're going to speak to the reporter who interviewed paterno in just a moment.

but first nbc's michelle franzen joins us with the latest. good morning. >> good morning, jenna. the legendary coach and fixture at penn state for more than 60 years opened up for the first time, granting an interview to "the washington post" and expressing regret for not doing more to follow up on those alleged abuse allegations. it was his first interview in the wake of the penn state sex abuse scandal. fired head coach joe paterno told "the washington post" how he reacted when he received a report assistant coach jerry sandusky may have abused a boy. >> and then i called my superiors, and i said, hey, we got a problem i think. would you guys look into it. cause i didn't know, you know. i had never had to deal with something like that. i didn't feel adequate. >> reporter: in 20022002, then-graduate mike mcqueary testified he saw him with a boy in a shower. he went to athletic director tim curley but admits he didn't

follow up, saying quote, i didn't know exactly how to handle it. in behind sight i wish i had done more. paterno is not accused of any legal wrongdoing but has faced criticism for not doing enough to address the allegations of abuse. sandusky was charged with more than 50 counts of child sexual abuse that date more than a decade. he maintains his innocence. paterno called his relationship with the former assistance coach professional, not social. "washington post" columnist sally jenkins says paterno still seems baffled by the charges and won't say if he believes sandusky is guilty. at 85, the legendary coach is now fighting lung cancer. over the weekend, paterno was admitted to the hospital for observation. jenkins says chemotherapy and radiation treatments have made him frail. despite his health problems and the ongoing scandal, paterno tells jenkins, he is not concerned about himself, or his legacy. >> i've had a wonderful

experience here at penn state. i don't want to walk away from this thing bitter. >> jerry sandusky's lawyer released a statement saying sandusky and his wife admire and respect the paternos and called the dismissal of paterno by penn state a knee-jerk reaction. jenna? >> michelle franzen, thanks. sally jenkins is "the washington post" columnist who we just heard about who interviewed joe pat earno, joins us this morning. sally, thanks for being here. >> good morning. >> so i have to say in reading your story, it does paint this picture of a very frail man, of a very sick man. does he -- is he lucid? does he fully understand everything that has happened so far? >> he's pretty lucid. he does wander a bit. he's hard of hearing now. the chemotherapy has made him a little bit foggy at times. and so, you know, we couldn't talk for very long periods. the reason i did it in two interviews was because he actually didn't have the strength to really have a prolonged conversation so we did two different sessions.

>> paterno maintains he went through the proper channels, he believes he went through the proper channels in reporting this scandal. so does he understand the criticism that's been lodged against him? >> he does. he believes he did the right thing, as he understood it at the time. he did fulfill his legal obligations to report the incident to his superiors, tim curley and gary schultz at penn state. what he's criticized for is not following up more aggressively. and when you ask him point-blank, why didn't you follow up on this report that ray boy had been abused in the showers, what he says is, i didn't want to interfere in a process that i was very unsure of. he felt like he didn't want to tilt any investigation, you know, that had to do with jerry sandusky one way or the other. he was afraid of exerting any influence on the case. he also said, this is interesting, and maybe a little surprising, that he really was, i think, so baffled by the subject matter, he presents himself as someone who was very naive about the subject matter.

that he didn't feel adequate, he didn't feel that he understood the accusation well enough. and that is something that people have to sort of judge for themselves. >> sally, why now? why is joe paterno speaking out now? we really haven't heard much from him at length since this all broke in october. >> i think two reasons. i think the first reason is that some of the boil has come out of the water since he was dismissed. there was such a, you know, a heightened level of tension in state college when he was fired. the students rioted. and i think that he felt that at that time it was the wrong time for him to speak, because emotions were just running too high. as he told me, he wanted everybody to settle down. and then i think the illness. i think the he wanted to get his story out. he wants to -- he wants to speak out while he still can, just in case his health fails. i suspect that had something to do with it. so i figure it's a combination of factors. >> i think what i was most taken aback by was the way that joe paterno was fired. as he tells it, an assistant

athletic director showed up at paterno's house and handed him a piece of paper with a phone number on it. when he called it a university official told paterno, in the best interest of the university, you are terminated. that is it. after all the years he served there. how did he handle it? how did he explain the story to you? >> as he explained to me, he and his wife sue were shocked. it happened at 10:00 at night, by phone. it was a very chilly dismissal. they were deeply upset for the first couple of days. he -- i asked him what his reaction was, he said initially, you know, he wanted to raise hell, as he put it. but he said he slept on it for a couple of nights and realized the better thing to do was to take the high road. he had 61 great years. he wanted to be grateful for the length of his career and grateful for his experience at penn state and didn't want to walk away bitter, as you heard. >> sally jenkins, we thank you so much for your time this morning for being with us. >> thank you. up next, hollywood's awards season kicks into high gear tonight with the golden globes.

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could make a big noise tonight. it's up for six golden globes, including best comedy or musical. >> it will definitely win best comedy. it will definitely win best actor in a comedy for its star, and i think its director will win best director, as well. >> reporter: and this could be one terrific night for george clooney, who's got a total of four nominations as actor, director, writer and producer. >> grow up. >> you really don't have a clue, do you? >> reporter: his performance in "the descendants" makes him the favorite to win the golden globe for best actor in a drama. and while he also appeared in "the ids of march," a political thriller, it's his behind-the-scenes work as director, cowriter and co-producer that could earn clooney additional globes. >> i am a fan of movies. so my job is to try to make films that last longer than an opening weekend. >> reporter: in the best actress in a drama category, hollywood handicappers think viola davis has the inside track for her

role as a maid in "the help." aside from the awards, there's going to be a lot of attention paid to the host, ricky gervais. last year, his cutting remarks had many hollywood notables in a huff. >> many of you in this room probably know him best from such films as the betty ford clinic and los angeles county jail. please welcome robert downey jr. >> reporter: downey called that mean spirited. but, in an interview with matt lauer on "today," gervais said viewers should expect more of the same. >> i don't think anything i said last year was offensive, so it's going to be as offensive as that. >> he's going to be super outrageous. nobody in that ball room is safe. >> reporter: and super outrageous is always good for ratings, since hollywood's annual televised red carpet rituals get rolling. for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. and you can catch all the glitz, glamour and gervais on the golden globes tonight at

8:00 eastern, 5:00 pacific, right here on nbc. and now, here's jenna. dolly parton is more than a little bit country. but now she's gone gospel in the new movie "joyful noise" where she teams up with queen latifah, an old couple pairing, at least to some on-screen fireworks. take a look. >> if i got to -- >> and dolly parton and her anger management joins us this morning. you have a good arm there. >> i did. >> it was one take, too, you hit the tray every single time? >> actually i was pretty good at hitting the tray. but i banged her a time or two. >> there was definitely no love loss between your character and queen latifah's. i think on paper people would be surprised. dolly parton, queen latifah, chemistry. >> we really did. we always thought we'd work well together i had other people say

we would work well together. when we met we really did gel, and i thought we did real well with the movie. we had a great time doing the show and i think it showed on-screen. >> speaking of the music. you had to write three songs. was that a must for you if you were going to do a movie you wanted to definitely have a -- a big part of the song writing and the song singing? >> yes, i was, especially doing something like this, i completely understood this kind of music, growing up in a goes pell background, my grandpa was a preacher. >> the thing with your grandfather -- >> those are the ones i wrote. >> that is beautiful song. really nice. you haven't done a movie in 20 years. why now? and why this movie? >> well, i couldn't not do it because it was so close to my personality. i got to wear all the hair. my character -- >> the whole nine yards. >> lives in a small town. but that's who i'd be if i was in show business. >> you have joked about plastic surgery and about your fashion

and about all of it, and you make no qualms about it. you are who you are, you're not making excuses for anything and you love that about you. >> well, that's who i am. because i'm not a natural beauty like people like you. >> oh, please. >> so i just kind of make the most of it. plus my personality is a little bit outrageous and over the top. i feel more comfortable. i get up in the morning, i dress for all day, all night. my makeup is basically the same. i just enjoy. you know, i just feel comfortable with the way i dress. >> that's all that matters, right? you worked hard and you worked with a lot of people over the years. a lot of really talented people. is there anyone you haven't worked with yet that you really at some point want to collaborate with? >> well, i would love to do a movie, or something to do with johnny depp be in the movie. >> johnny depp! >> i just love him. maybe do something about music some day. he could either be my son, we could sing. >> that is great. >> i have no idea. there's nothing i could think of

we could do to the. >> sure. that would be my answer to the question if you asked me the same thing. dolly parton, thank you so much. >> thank you. e nogain the movie is joyful ianist'sdn theaters right now. we'll be right back. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars

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and with the speed of verizon 4g lte, you can chat as a group in a googleplus hangout without missing a beat. introducing the first phone built for android 4.0. only at verizon. it was a horrific crime that sent three teenagers to prison for the murder of three little boys. but after nearly two decades behind bars, the west memphis three are now free men, and it took two brave filmmakers who sought the truth to help win their freedom. may 5th, 1993, the bodies of three cub scouts are discovered in a wooded area of west memphis, arkansas. weeks later, three teenagers,

damion echols, jesse miskelly and baldwin are arrested. a year later despite the lack of physical evidence and allegations of coerced confessions, the three are found guilty. echols is sentenced to death while bald win and miskelly are sentenced to life terms. all three maintain their innocence. >> innocent until proven guilty, but in this case the other way around, guilty until proven innocent. >> reporter: in 1996 two filmmakers who had been documenting the case from the start released a shocking documentary "paradise lost," the first of what would later turn into a trilogy. the film starts a global movement to free what becomes known as the west memphis three. then an august 19th, 2011, under a rarely applied controversial law, damion echols, jesse miskelly and jason baldwin are set free after nearly two decades behind bars.

now those two filmmakers who helped win the west memphis three's freedom conclude with a new documentary paradise lost three purgatory. with us are the men behind paradise lost along with jason baldwin. good morning to all three of you. thanks for being here. jason i've got to start off with you for folks who have not followed this story. you are technically still convicted. >> that's right. >> to win your freedom you had to enter a plea and it was called an outford plea, basically says there was enough evidence to convict us, but we didn't do it. >> correct. >> is that right? >> yes. that's the basic premise of the alford plea. you're right, it is very rarely used. what it does is it presents opportunity for what a cell mate in the case where the state won't budge and grant a person freedom who was innocent of a crime based on their innocent, solely on that, we want to say based on guilty plea and conviction to say, hey, this guy according to us is guilty but he says he's innocent, and as on my

end, i'm totally innocent of it. but, they won't release me on that. >> the story is not finished yet. because there's still convicted. they're free, which was a huge thing. >> it was very bittersweet conclusion to this two decade journey. and the alford plea, you know, it's great that these guys are out and can try to clear their names from outside the prison walls. but, it's, i think the state of arkansas was extremely cowardly in not admitting that they just made a mistake. >> the previous films looked at the trial, the appeal. tell me what this third film focuses on. >> the third film we wanted it to be self-sufficient so that if people haven't seen the other two films, they could see the entire saga from the day of the arrest, from the day they got out, but in the film are some shocking allegations, alleged jury misconduct, new forensic evidence, all sorts of things that, you know, any reasonable person would say, there's no way these guys did this crime. >> what a lot of folks don't know is two of you went down originally to shoot a film about

three bad kids. >> basically, we went down thinking these guys are guilty. we're going to be sort of making a film about why three teenagers would kill three 8-year-old boys. and as time went on and as we met the families, especially jason, we had severe doubts that these guys actually did it. >> and i can't finish this interview without asking you, jason, how are you doing? after 18 years, what's life like? >> life is wonderful. people are just shown me so much love and support. you know, even before i was released, outpouring of letters and love saying, hey, we're praying for you. now since i've gotten out one of my favorite things to do is thanking people in person. >> inspiring story, and thank the two of you for bringing it to us, and bringing it to the world's attention. appreciate it. >> good man. >> i'm guessing that's not the first of hugs that have been exchanged between the three of you.

>> with paradise lost three purgatory airs on hbo all month and hbo on demand. jason baldwin, joe, bruce, re.kr bng here. we appreciate it. we'll be back in a moment. you have to dig a little. fidelity's etf market tracker shows you the big picture on how different asset classes are performing, and it lets you go in for a closer look at areas within a class or sector that may be bucking a larger trend. i'm stephen hett of fidelity investments. the etf market tracker is one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. get 200 free trades today and explore your next investing idea. i make sure i've got the right guidance. turbotax has a unique gps feature that guides me to every deduction and credit i deserve, so i get my maximum refund, guaranteed. man: try turbotax now. get free, one-on-one, expert tax advice live, by phone or chat. flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine

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