♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ good morning. i'm jane pauley and this is "sunday morning." president trump's first week back in the white house was certainly an eventful one. more than 100 executive orders, tariff proposals, presidential pardons, changes in civil service, and more. plenty of activity. plenty of controversy as well. our robert costa helps us keep track of it all. >> okay. that's a big one. >> reporter: president trump wasted no time bending

washington to his will as historians remind us, the presidency is always a showcase for power. >> to quote faulkner, the past is never really past in american politics. >> as historians like to sail, the past doesn't repeat it sufficient, but it does rhyme. >> we are going to win like never before. >> reporter: turbulent week in washington with echoes of history coming up on "sunday morning." while los angeles grapples with the impact of those devastating wildfires, its most famous industry, the movie business, rolls on. and this week, as lee cowan will tell us, the entertainment world's attention is focused on a famous film festival some 700 miles away. >> let's go. >> ready for nominees? >> it's officially underway for who will tang home an oscar at this year's academy awards. one path has been through the wasatch mountains of utah.

>> carmen action. >> reporter: for more than four decades robert redford's sundance institute has been given independent filmmakers a leg up. >> my definition of an independent film is a movie that almost doesn't get made. >> reporter: the stars at sundance later on "sunday morning." when it comes to hurling insults at larry david on "curb your enthusiasm," susie essman is famously loud and proud. this morning essman's assignment finds her very much closer to home back in the place where it all began. >> this is arthur avenue. >> i was born a block down. >> if you ask me, and you should, there is no place like the bronx. >> i honestly believe you could make it here, you could make it anywhere. >> reporter: it's big, beautiful, complicated. so move over, manhattan. let's show some love to my hometown. >> this is just amazing.

look at these homes. >> i'm susie essman and this is the bronx ahead on "sunday morning." with president trump planning radical changes to the federal work force, mo rocca goes back to the time of mark twain to explore the roots of civil service. seth doane visits with the renowned english fashion designer paul smith, truly a cut above. tracy smith talks with tony winning actress and singer idina menzel on her return to broadway. rita braver catches up with dav pilkey, the author, illustrator behind the best-selling "dog man" series. now the subject of a movie starring pete davidson. plus, ben tracy finding signs of hope in paradise. the california town ravaged by wildfires some seven years ago. a story from steve hartman and more this sunday morning for the 26th of january, 2025.

we'll return in a minute. ♪

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we begin this sunday morning with the week that was in washington. as president trump began his second term with a flurry of activity. robert costa gets us up to speed. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president-elect of the united states. >> reporter: president donald trump descended on washington last week weathering a cold front that pushed his inauguration indoors. >> i stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do. in america, the impossible is what we do best. >> reporter: but the winter winds were no match for the flurry of executive orders, pardons, and pens he let fly. trump swept away biden administration policies with each jagged stroke. >> so many people in washington this week say it seems like

history is unfolding before us. >> absolutely. the thing that is interesting about studying history is when people are living through historic moments, they know it. >> reporter: lindsay chervinsky is a presidential historian and executive director of the george washington presidential library in mount vernon, virginia. >> there is no doubt that seeing a president come back after being defeated in an election, that's only happened one other time. and came back after being indicted on dozens of felony charges and was involved in an insurrection to overthrow the previous election, these are not things we have seen before. so there is no tout we are living in an historic moment. >> this is january 6th, and these are the hostages. approximately 1,500 for a pardon. >> reporter: on his first day, trump pardoned some 1,500 january 6th departments and broke the record for signing executive orders, issuing even more in the days that followed. they range from renaming the

gulf of mexico to ending diversity efforts in the federal work force to exiting the paris climate accords and world health organization and reinstating anti-abortion policies from his first term. he has also tried to upend the constitutional right to citizenship for all children born on american soil. but a federal judge already put that change on hold. >> we are in a system that has separation of powers. there are supposed to be checks and balances. it is essential that congress and the court to their job to check the president as the president checks them. that is how the system was designed to work, and i think that should give americans comfort that they occasionally want to do that role. >> reporter: executive orders have often been pivotal and controversial. think of lincoln's emancipation proclamation, fdr's funding of the manhattan project.

and his internment of japanese americans in 1942. recall eisenhower's tee employment of troops to desegregate southern schools. >> i signed an executive order providing for the establishment of a peace corps. >> reporter: and kennedy's creation of the pa peace corps. there has been a back and forth to with obama, trump and biden reversing each other's policies. what does it say to you to see a president use executive orders instead of going to capitol hill and trying to get congress to enact their agenda? >> when a president needs to use executive orders to get most of their agenda done, it means either that the agenda is not particularly popular, or it is a reflection of the ills in our current political system. congress doesn't do much. they don't pass that much legislation. they are kind of a broken institution. so what we see is that a president is trying to go around that and until congress tells them not to, they are going to continue doing it. there always been periods of

fighting. >>. >> reporter: and american politics is messy. >> it is messy i are you called it virns. >> that's an accurate description r benjamin benjamin's answer when asked whether america was a monarchy or republic. franklin said, a republic if you can keep it. we have been through all of this in the past and here we are today carrying on. >> so far. one of the things that's great about history it reminds us that we can be in really bad periods but come out of it. what i think about our current moment perhaps is different, is that we have forgotten that nothing is absolute and nothing is permanent. the founding generation they had skin in the game because they had fought in the war or they had been in congress when this government was founded, and so no matter how terrible it was, they never wanted to throw it out completely because they had tried to build this thing from scratch. i think a lot of americans today take for granted we will always be here.

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as names go, paul smith may not initially conjure thoughts of individuality, creativity, or color. but as seth doane discovered, there is nothing ordinary about the fashion designer who goes by the name paul smith. >> hello. >> reporter: there is a salesman at london's flagship paul smith store. >> lovely to see you. >> i have the same shoes. >> reporter: who sets his own hours. and pretty much does what he wants. >> that's a nice one, isn't it? hello. >> reporter: how often do you go into the shops and work? >> oh, i am a saturday boy. >> reporter: he is not just the saturday boy. that's his name on the label. sir paul smith is one of britain's most successful independent designer with 130 stores in 60 countries. do people recognize you? >> yeah, sometimes. sometimes it's a bit embarrassing when i'm pinning

somebody's trousers up and they start talking about paul smith. i have to slope off. nice guy. >> reporter: he has been working the shop floor more than 50 years, starting with a tiny windowless retail space in nottingham, england. it was not the career he'd envisioned. >> i was out of school at 15, wanted to be a rider. i don't have many skills. i wanted to be a racing cyclist. my dad said that's not a real job. >> reporter: so smith found a way to incorporate cycling into this specialty, whether motifs in his collections, designing bikes and gear, or just riding to work. you wanted to be a professional cyclist? >> yes. >> reporter: that was the dream? >> yes. but finished very abruptly at 18. after a bad crash. >> reporter: what happened? >> i ended up being in fashion.

>> reporter: it worked out for you. >> yes, it borked out. i fell into fashion. >> reporter: he has become known for sartorial simplicity. his kleting designs often give a creative twist to the classics. it was his wife pauline who taught him to sew. how do you go from learning how to sew and make a suit to opening your first store? >> very difficult i suppose. but the joy then not absolutely not now is that you weren't in a hurry. >> reporter: you are in a hurry now? >> no. the world is in a hurry. >> reporter: smith used savings to open that first shop in 1970. within six years he was hosting a fashion show in paris. at a friend's apartment. >> pauline and i sewed the trousers and the models were just people we knew. the music was on a cassette.

remember the cassette? in you can do things in a humble way. it is possible. in a way, it's more charming. right now i am in the neighborhood to start doing things like that again. >> reporter: 78-year-old designer's approach is a contrast to the flashy, ego-driven world of fashion. and it carries through to his art-filled london headquarters. >> this is my executive minimal office. welcome. and as you can see, i tied deed up for you. >> reporter: he does not know exactly how this started. >> one perp from japan just sent us fish. >> reporter: people around the world -- >> baby jesus. >> reporter: have been sending him things for years. >> angel lost a wing, everybody. >> reporter: he keeps pretty much all of it and starts each work day around 6:00 a.m., showing his appreciation. >> they send me something, it's got an address, i write a little

postcard to say thank you. these are matchboxes. >> reporter: it's all part of his creative process. >> this a gorgeous one. this is, obviously, famous for stripes. >> reporter: ideas come from anywhere. his signature stripes happened by chance. >> i did a stripe in, i think it was in 1990s, with many, many colors in it. it was just really popular. it will just be under a cuff. sometimes it's a sock. as a fashion designer, you have to have things that are very seasonal. you also know that the bulk of the world wears classical clothes. it's all about having a balance. >> reporter: he focused on staples, tailored shirts and suits. he doesn't shy away from a bold print when inspiration strikes. this is your, what you are seeing while you are on vacation? >> yeah. coming back with photographs and then the team painting from the photograph and then that turning

into a fabric. >> reporter: and things that arrive in the mail can end up in stores. >> one time we got 400 cellphones. i think it just said, i know paul smith likes things. we made wall out of them in one of the shops. >> reporter: here are your dominoes. there is a wall of 26,000 dominoes in london. >> shops around the world because i am passionate about individuality. >> reporter: his shop in los angeles is bright pink. >> l.a. is big. most people don't walk. so i just thought you have to build something, a sore thumb. you have to build something that really goes -- >> reporter: what's the thinking behind this? this costs money to do to spend time -- >> because in this homogenized world where everything is the same, same, same, everybody looks at a screen, i want people to get goosebumps. they walk somewhere and think, wow, that's interesting. oh, my gosh, oh, i never thought about that. >> reporter: he sees value in

making that extra effort while injecting a bit of humor and humility along the way. >> i didn't quite make it. you make people look more important, more sexy, more famous, whatever, but it's not heart surgery. it's just fashion. and i love it. and it's important. but don't get too big a head. some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. okay, let's get going. can everybody see that? like you know to check your desktop first, before sharing your screen. ahh..that is not. uhh, oh no. no no no. i don't know how that got in there. no. that, uhh. yeah, checking first is smart. okay, uhh. everybody get out. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. you're in good hands with allstate. (vo) oof, stuck paying for that old phone?

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for you this sunday from the story new york borough of the bronx. as seen through the eyes of special contributor and bronx native susie essman. >> reporter: before i was an actress, before i was a comedian, before i was busting larry david's chops on "curb your enthusiasm" -- >> get the [ bleep ] out of my house, okay? >> reporter: i was a kid from the bronx. ♪ a monumental, magical, and at times maligned slice of the big apple. >> to left field! >> reporter: the home of the yankees, has more people than dallas it's also the most diverse place in america. marvel creator stan lee grew up here. and al pacino. ralph lauren. tracy morgan. justice sonia sotomayor. of course, j.lo.

it's the only part of gotham that's not on an island. see? and it's where hip-hop began. ♪ >> reporter: what makes it so special? i went on a fact-finding mission starting with the author who spent 15 years walking. yes, walking across its 71 neighborhoods. and who are we here with? >> my name is ian frazier. i'm known adds sandy to my friends. >> reporter: we are not friends. sandy wrote about his journey in the book paradise, california. you are a writer. you wrote about places all over the world. why the bronx? >> i considered it a blessed place where all kinds of different things happened. the feeling in the bronx is kind of underdogs that won't be underdogs. won't accept it. >> reporter: as for the name, it

forest flowed from the oldest forest in the city. >> jonas bronck owned a farm backed up upon this river. and so the river was called bronx river. and then that became bronx land. >> reporter: which eventually became the bronx. once a country retreat for the rich, the bronx was built by the subways only to be nearly destroyed by highways. the cross bronx expressway is beautiful this time of year. >> america decided we were going to be a country of the automobile, and those highways damaged communities in the bronx. >> reporter: by the 1970s, urban delay and neglect fueled fires that reduced block after block to rubble. >> there were 3,000 some fires. they closed fire stations at the time that these fires were burning because it was a way of saving money. >> reporter: that was then. >> this is just amazing. look at these homes. this is now.

we are in a beautiful residential community of homeowners called charlotte gardens. vanessa gibson is the bronx borough president. >> this area was a site of light, of devastation. it was organizations who are still around today that really started to develop the community and building homes for people so they could live and have stability. >> reporter: tell me why the bronx matters in this country. >> it is a borough of resilience and strength. it has often been counted out and left behind and isolate and ignored, and even from the rubbles of dirt we have sought promise and potential. >> reporter: that promise and potential runs deep for bronx native neil degrasse tyson. so, neil, so you are dealing with the cosmos. how does the bronx fit in to the universe? >> in the bronx it's got it all. and the fact that it has it all

makes for a highly enriched experience. >> reporter: the renowned astrophysicist remembers gazing up at the cosmos as a child from the top of his apartment building. >> i would leave the rest of the world behind. just me, my telescope, the sun, moon and stars. i credit the new york city light polluted skies for me being an astrophysicist. it hit me at just the right age. age 9. i never looked back. i have always kept looking up. >> reporter: looking up is easy when strolling through the bronx' little italy section with chazz palminteri. this is arthur avenue. >> right there. i was born a block down. >> reporter: where are we going now? >> we are going to geno's pastry shop. they made my wedding cake. >> reporter: an actor and writer, palminteri's one-man play "a bronx tale" was turned into a movie directed by robert de niro.

you travel all over the world? >> yes. >> reporter: and you tell people where you are from and you say i am from the bronx? >> right. it's always like, whoa, like -- >> reporter: they think it's dangerous. >> yeah. i say, no, i love it. people kept thinking i was a wise guy. >> reporter:es in not a wise guy. >> the bronx a gave me my soul and character. >> reporter: he may be the prince of little itty, but fat joe wears a weightier title. we are here with fat joe. you are the bronx. >> i am. i am the frankfurt man, the cab driver, i am everything in the bronx. ♪ >> reporter: rapper, entrepreneur and owner of a chain of sneaker stores, including this one in the south bronx, fat joe will never shake the love for his hometown. you have that bronx hustle. how would you describe what that means to the rest of the country? >> it's relentless. it's working day and night.

it's putting family first. we never forget our community. we are always out here. we are always giving back. i honestly believe you could make it here, you could make it anywhere. >> reporter: i heard that before. ♪ >> reporter: so, there it is. the bronx. from the botanical garden and city island to the zoo, it's worth a visit. but don't take my word for it. i leave that to neil degrasse tyson. he is the one with dozens of honorary docket ritz. >> to me the bronx was a microcosm of, at its best, what the world could be. ♪ up on the roof ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ defying gravity ♪ ♪ and you can't pull me down ♪ actor and singer idina menzel helped turn "wicked" into a theatrical smash and won a tony for her efforts. now she is bringing new meaning to the expression going green. she is with our tracy smith on broadway. ♪ this is the moment i stand here on my own ♪ ♪ >> reporter: last fall, when superstar idina menzel wasn't in new york, she hung out in oakland. >> yes! >> reporter: here at bandaloop studios she was learning to dance suspended at the end of a rope. this from a woman who says she isn't much of a dancer on the

ground. so, if you don't consider yourself a dancer, what are you doing? >> i don't know what i'm doing. >> reporter: when you see exactly why she was doing this, it's suddenly all making sense. this is "redwood," a new musical that transports the audience to the heart of the redwood forest and seemingly into the trees themselves. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: it's loosely inspired by a woman named julia butterfly hill who, in the late '90s, spent more than two years living in a thousand-year-old redwood to save it from being cut down. her effort worked. the tree was saved. and now idina and writer/director tina landou are taking their own leap of faith with an idea they have been kicking around more than a decade. were you a little worried that this would never actually come to fruition or that the

experiment would fail? >> yes. i am still worried. but, yes, i was. i didn't know. but it was one of those passion projects for myself and idina where it was like, let's just trust that what is meant to happen will happen. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: "redwood" is about workaholic mom who runs away from it all and finds herself in the redwood forest where her life is changed forever. one of the themes of the show is based on the fact that 300-foot redwoods actually support each other. >> their roots only go five or six feet into the ground. their roots go sideways instead of down. until they reach the roots of other trees, and they intertwine with those. so all of the trees are, end upholding each other up. >> reporter: the musical, which is running now in previews, is all new, but idina menzel is on familiar ground.

you are in the nederlander theatre, which is the same theater you opened "rent." >> yes, 30 years ago, anybody? it's like a homecoming for me. full circle. very emotional for me. ♪ ♪ >> when i did "rent," that was the first professional job i had and it was broadway to i was super lucky. that was a beautiful time in my life. >> reporter: it was beautiful all right. she was 25 years old and her performance in "rent" put her squarely on the map. "rent" is this huge hit musical. you are nominated for a tony. afterward did you have it made? >> no. ♪ ♪ >> i got a record deal that i always wanted to get. i wanted to be signed to a

record label so pad badmintonly and make an album andy did. i only sold like three albums. then i got dropped from the label. by that time my moment of being this tony-nominated actress from the hit musical "rent" dissipated and then i had to kind of keep pounding the pavement again. and it wasn't until "wicked" that things started to really look up again. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: as the original windchilled witch elphaba in broadway's "wicked," menzel won a tony and helped turn the show into a megahit, though it wasn't always easy being green. what did elphaba give you? >> green ears. the rest of my life. ♪ here i stand ♪ >> reporter: of course, she was

an animated precip ses in diz necessary's "frozen" singing the song that millions of kids and parents couldn't get out of their heads. ♪ the cold never bothered me anyway ♪ >> reporter: what's your relationship with "let it go"? >> my relationship with "let it go" is fabulous. i mean, it's one of the best things that ever happened to me. people always say do you get sick of a song like that. maybe they think i'm lying, but i really don't. ♪ let it go, let it go ♪ ♪ can't it back anymore ♪ >> when i was a little girl, if i dreamt i would be singing a song like this, i wouldn't have believed it. i would have because i was cocky when i was little and i actually, you know, believed in myself and thought definitely going to happen for me. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: but the task of writing idina menzel's next big song went to someone who never

had written for a big broadway star, or for anyone. "redwood" is composer kate diaz's first show h but you'd never know it. >> from a songwriter's performance, what's it right to write for the idina menzel? >> amazing. i never had written for anybody else before. so quite a place to start. what an incredible voice to write for. >> reporter: is there a part of you that is like, let's see if she can do this? >> she usually can, so not really. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: and she can do it on demand, as she demonstrated in the new "wicked" film where she brought back her classic riff. ♪ ♪ her new show offers a different way to go green. an immersion in a leafy redwood forest. even the seats in the newly remodeled nederlander theatre are green. for idina menzel, it's almost hard to believe.

>> it's so rare what you see it dom come to fruition after so many years. they are loading things into the nederlander as we speak. that accomplishment isn't lost on me. it's just, i feel really emotional about it. >> reporter: and now she is hoping to defy gravity again. >> i think green and green high-flying, literally or figuratively, is just something that i must respond to or attract in my life, in my characters. i'm kind of happy with that. ♪ oh in a valley, where the mountains glow ♪ ♪ are the hardest-working folks ♪ ♪ that you ever could know ♪ ♪ now the farmers work the land ♪ ♪ and the land is the home ♪ ♪ the home is the families ♪ ♪ and the families need care ♪ ♪ when care is close ♪ ♪ we all can grow... ♪

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with president trump's return to the white house the role and rights of federal workers is under scrutiny, perhaps like never before. but you may be surprised to learn the debate over who should get government jobs is an old one. our history lesson is from mo rocca. >> to the victor belong the spoils. for decades in the 1800s, that phrase was more than a slogan. it was the official hiring policy of the u.s. government. you win the election, you are entitled to put your own people

in there. >> reporter: if the white house changed parties, everyone cleared out basically? >> that's right. >> reporter: journalist and historian scott greenberger says that under that spoil system the main job require am. for most federal employees was loyalty. it was a system inaugurated by democratic president andrew jackson. >> when he came in he was afraid that sort of entrenched brur kratz would resist his policies and so he cleaned everybody out. >> reporter: were people aghast at this? >> i don't think they were aghast when it began. by the time we get to the 1870s, and the 1880s, it was one of the top issues on the national agenda. >> reporter: this was a period of abundant facial hair and abundant wealth and corruption in american politics. it's a fascinating period with so many parallels to our own time. >> reporter: but, says greenberger, a fight was

underway to replace the spoil system with the hiring of qualified government workers regardless of their political views, whose job security didn't depend on whoever was president. civil service reform, as it was known, may not sound sexy, but it was one of the hottest political issues of "the gilded age." even attracting the attention of america's foremost author. >> they started just down there. >> reporter: in 1876, the same year he published tom sawyer, mark twain participated in his first political rally here in hartford, connecticut, says a local historian jason scappaticii. and this was a very big deal for twain to be here, yes? >> yeah. he voted, but he had never campaigned for anybody. >> reporter: after marching through downtown in support of republican presidential nominee rutherford hayes, the humorist called for an end to the spoil system.

we will not hire a blacksmith who never lifted a sledge, he said. we will not hire a schoolteacher who does not know the alphabet. when you come to our civil service, we fill it great numbers of our minor public offices with ignoramuses. >> his fame was starting to take off. >> reporter: and this speech delivers in hartford, the front page of the "new york times." >> that goes to show how vital he is, how big his name is. as you can see, it's beautiful. >> reporter: mallory howard is the assistant curator at the mark twain house and museum in hartford. what a 'stache. >> he was handsome. >> reporter: she is not surprised that twain would have been mortified by the spoil system. >> i think he felt it was embarrassing putting people in office when or not prepared. i think it doesn't make sense to him. >> reporter: anti-meritocratic? >> exactly. >> reporter: hayes made it to the white house. little progress was made on

civil service reform during his single term. hayes was succeeded by president james garfield, who ran on reform. but only months after being sworn in, the spoils system contacted its most horrifying toll. garfield was assassinated by a disgruntled and delusional office seeker named charles get owe. get owe campaigned for garfield and believed the president owned him. worse still for reformers, garfield's vice president chester alan arthur suddenly elevated to the top job climbed the ranks of dirty machine politics, enjoying the fruits of the spoil system along the way. >> this was a nightmare scenario for the reformers. all of a sudden here he is, he is president of the united states and he expresses support for reform, which shocked everybody. >> reporter: yes, in a surprising about face in 1883, president chester alan arthur

contrite by some accounts over the murder of garfield signed the pendleton civil service reform act. the first-of-its-kind in u.s. history. the law was strengthened over time. >> civil service reform helps taxpayers get what they have been paying for. >> reporter: but it laid the groundwork for a professional bureaucracy responsible for everything from food safety to financial regulation. >> it really paved the way for a more active federal government. >> reporter: of course, the federal government of the late 1800s with about 50,000 employees looked a lot different than today's work force of more than 2 million. >> with you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. >> reporter: and critics, including president donald trump, believe the numbers and the protections afforded those civil service workers have gone too far. hence, president trump's executive order this past week aiming to make it easier to fire some federal workers.

>> we are getting rid of all of the cancer. >> reporter: scott greenberger says maybe the time has come for another debate about the role of the civil service. >> yes, you should be able to fire people who aren't doing their jobs and the protections shouldn't be such that someone incompetent is allowed to stay in a job. at the same time, if you eliminate the protections, you go back to the system we had in the 19th century where only political loyalists are serving in these positions. >> reporter: a system undone by an unlikely hero who most people don't remember was president. >> chester arthur regularly wins the most obscure presidency. >> reporter: one that mark twain himself put on pedestal. >> it's funny we hardly remember the guy today. but when he died people, including mark twain, said, wow, that guy was the greatest president we had ever had.

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steve hartman has the portrait of a most unlikely brotherhood. >> number 22, buffalo bills rookie running back sensation ray davis, took to the field last month and made a beeline for this man, patrick dowley. a man so near and dear to ray that for this game on his cleats he wore a picture taken the day it all began. it do you remember the first time you met ray? >> i do. he pointed and said, are you patrick? yes, i am. man, you don't know how long i have been waiting to meet you. >> reporter: in 2007, i was 8 years old and in san francisco's tenderloin district when he saw a flyer for "the bbig brothers, sisters program. >> were you homeless? >> at times. >> reporter: his parents were in and out of his life and he was craving stability. so he signed up for a big brother. >> i needed love, man. i needed consistency, somebody

who was going to be there and teach me right from wrong. >> reporter: that person was patrick? >> yeah. that will forever be my big brother. >> reporter: they spent countless sundays together. from the early pop warner football games through patrick's wedding, ray became like part of the family. and although he has always been grateful, until this game ray hadn't been in a position to show his gratitude quite like this. >> this is it. this is the moment. and that's something i wanted to give back to him. >> reporter: the team honored patrick during the pregame. later, ray even scored a touchdown for his big. >> davis to the end zone! >> reporter: the cherry on top of all of those sundays. >> to all the people out there that ever considered doing it, it's not that difficult. don't overthink what it takes to make a difference in a kid's life. >> reporter: and he says don't underestimate the effect you can have.

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the sundance film festival nearly 20 years ago. as lee cowan tells us, that's just one of the many independent films and filmmakers sundance has launched into the cinematic stratosphere. >> reporter: park city, utah. it's a snow globe kind of place. it sparkles and glitters like a fairy tale. especially at this time of year. when the silver screens of sundance come to the silver mining town, and young filmmakers start thinking of the moment -- >> the oscar goes to sian heder. >> reporter: they might see glitter of their own. >> i thank sundance for starting this journey. >> reporter: sian heder's film "coda" appeared at sundance in 2021. it went on to win three oscars the following year, including best picture.

now, it doesn't always happen that way, of course. but the sundance film festival has a pretty good track record of catapulting independent filmmakers into a career. its alumni, steve soderbergh, quentin tarantino, christopher nolan, lulu wang. they were all introduced not only to audiences, but the powerful film distribution companies right here. high in the wasatch mountains of utah. >> i think that was the big breakthrough with sundance is that finally these new voices, these exciting new filmmakers had a place where they could show what they had done and potentially sell them. >> reporter: eight-time oscar nominee glenn close heard about sundance from its famous founder robert redford on the set "the natural." his idea then just in its infancy was in some ways just as pure as baseball itself.

>> i said, wait a minute, there are other stories out there. there are other voices to be heard not being given a chance. what if we created something, an opportunity for those people to get their films made and have them distributed? >> reporter: the smaller stories? >> yeah, theoff beat stories, the more controversial. >> reporter: he wanted his nonprofit, sundance institute, to be held as far away from profit-focused hollywood as possible. so, he set it up here amid the pines and aspens of utah's provo canyon on land that he bought -- >> i'll jump first. >> reporter: after the success of "butch cassidy and the sundance kid." >> i can't swim! [ laughter ] >> you are surrounded by nature in a way that if you are from a city, it's up deniable. >> reporter: almost spiritual is? >> it's a spiritual thing.

that was very important for bob. >> i didn't think it would last past two, three years. >> let's roll sound. >> reporter: his institute has lasted 44 years and counting. >> pick up the speed. >> reporter: it's become for film what michelin stars are to fine dining. you don't choose sundance. sundance chooses you. >> wet get 3,000 scripts. we select 12. that's a tiny number. but there are a lot of people globally who want to tell stories and we believe in the power of storytelling. >> reporter: tell me about the oscar. michelle satter, she is the institute's founding senior director. >> i am still surprised. a film is not complete until it reaches an audience and engages with an audience. >> reporter: she has been by redford's side since 1981. how do you know when you found a unique story or unique talent?

>> i love that question. >> reporter: probably get it all the time. >> it speaks to me. they don't have a voice that is unique, we're not interested. >> reporter: what does that mean, the voice? >> something about the way they tell the story that does not feel generic like anybody could tell this story, but they bring something from their own experience, from their own, you know, connection to storytelling that uplifts it. >> at 5:30, last day of shooting. >> reporter: last spring, she allowed us into sundance's storied directors and screenwriters lab. this time held in estes park, colorado. >> it's not about ego. it's not about anything other than learning, making mistakes. >> reporter: one of the lab's advisors, four-time oscar nominee actor ed harris. i love the work. it's all about the work. i learn as much as i probably help anybody. >> one in a lifetime.

>> reporter: all the sundance fellows, as they're called, bring projects already in the works. >> do you say where do we go from here? good question. >> reporter: like hanna gray organschi. polishing up her upcoming feature film. >> tough feedback, feedback that's good. to have that at the phase where you can really be deepening and honing the characters and story, it feels lucky. >> action. >> reporter: casey modderno, who was fine-tuning her rom-com. >> the questions i think that you are asked as a filmmaker is about budget, about accessibility, about market response. and so to be asked questions about the feeling of the film and the aesthetics of the film and texture and just go deep in craft, it's super special. >> definitely less stressed this year. >> reporter: and then there is sean wang. >> this is experience, it's

changed my dna as a filmmaker. >> reporter: what got him accepted to sundance was his screenplay for his first feature film "didi." he had been toiling with his crew for six years. >> i was just obsessed with who won this year, would won the jury prize. what's the next filmmaker that is coming out of sundance? >> reporter: turns out he was one of those sundance filmmakers. last year, "didi" not only won two of the sundance film festival's top prizes. it also got him a distribution deal. >> they don't finance your movie. they have no financial stake in your movie. when we sell the movie, they are not like, great, where is our 10%. it's a very giving environment. obviously, they have -- they want your film to succeed. >> reporter: this year the

california wildfires have cast a long shadow over the festival. michelle satter's home where we did our interview is now gone. as are so many others. >> she is tough and resilient as only a woman can be. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: none of those victims were forgotten here this past week. >> we lost our village, but the end of the day we are the village. [ applause ] >> reporter: as for robert redford, the visionary who started it all, well, is now 88. he hasn't been here in person for the last three years shall but his spirit remains. independent film has forever been changed. a legacy that he and others have taken to the box office bank. >> he put his money where his mouth is. i am in awe of that and i salute

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by dermatologists and allergists, helps you feel the heal. see the difference for yourself. reach out to your eczema specialist today. from rita braver, the story of a part man part dog crime-fighting super cop finally ready for his close-up. >> reporter: it's hard to believe, but as author and illustrator dav pilkey told these students in the bronx -- >> i made "dog man" up when i was in the second grachltd he looks a little bit different. >> reporter: and the kids love hearing how someone with learning disabilities -- >> i had adhd and i was dyslexic and i was a class clown. >> reporter: could go on to be so successful.

every book in pilkey's "dog man" series has been the best-selling children's book for the year it came out. that's one of the great things about "dog man." he is part man, but all dog, right? >> oh, yeah. the man part doesn't come out that much. >> you are the only one that can stop them with all your kung fu skills and canine fortitude. >> reporter: a new film out next week reminds us, it all started a police officer and his dog who got into a bad accident. >> i'm sorry to say, mr. cop, your head is no good anymore. >> bummer! >> and your body is no good either, cop doggy. when if we sew the dog's head on to the man's body? dog man! >> reporter: in addition to all of the fun, pilkey tries to lay

a meaning into the "dog man" books, even in their titles. like the scarlett shedder for "the scarlet letter." instead of catch-22, fetch 22. >> yeah. i was looking at charles dickens "a tale of two cities," which is such a wonderful book. it talks about sacrifice, self-sacrifice and the value of that. >> reporter: and you hope that children will be moved to read these classic? >> i hope so, yeah. i hope they don't think that charles dickens stole an idea from dav pilkey. that wouldn't be so good. >> even plays piano for the old folks. >> reporter: pilkey's sense of humor is what made director peter hastings want to make the "dog man" movie. he also directed a tv series based on pilkey's "captain underpants" books. >> i just love his sensibility,

this playful, you know, anarchy of his work. >> i am a huge dav pilkey fan. i grew up reading all the "captain underpants" books. my mom got them for me. >> i need another me! >> reporter: pete davidson gets top billing in the film. >> time to stop the super cop. >> all the young kids in my family read "dog man" and they are obsessed with o"dog man." then we got the offer. >> at last! the final showdown. >> reporter: an offer davidson says to play "dog man's" nemesis. petey the cat. >> how evil can one cat be? >> pretty evil. [ laughter ] >> reporter: it's fun to play a villain? >> it's fun. it's a fun, loud layered character. i don't get a lot of opportunities to stretch like that. >> help has arrived. step one, insert dna into the

dna chute. >> reporter: readers of the "dog man" books know -- >> step two, press start button. >> reporter: things change when petey tries to clone himself. >> step three, open door to clone. >> reporter: instead, he creates an adorable kitten. >> what? >> his character has a great arc in the story. >> best arc i have ever been given. >> reporter: really? >> yes. shot in the face, so, it was nice to have a full -- yeah. >> reporter: in addition to directing and writing the film, peter hastings voices dog man. >> dog man. >> reporter: can you do a little dog man for us? >> yeah. like, you know, barking. >> you have to bark with emotion, which is not easy.

>> get down here asap! >> reporter: is it hard to let someone else be in control of these characters that you have worked so hard to create? >> no, no, not at all. actually, i am so honored they wanted to do something with my characters. so i was like, yes, yes, jumping up and down. >> high-five! here you go. thank you very much. >> reporter: but dav pilkey says what really matters to him is seeing how much kids appreciate all of the work he puts into his books. do you ever worry about running out of ideas? >> no, no. i think i worry about running out of time to get all my ideas down on paper. >> go dog man! when the temperature drops... you've got two choices. close your eyes and think warm thoughts. or open your eyes and get out here.

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even as more fires threaten los angeles, many are asking and imagining what recovery could look like for communities destroyed by the flames. for a hint of what the future might hold, we have asked our ben tracy to revisit a recent story from the fire devastated california town they call paradise. >> reporter: on the road to paradise, you can see signs of a comeback. and if you a want to hear what that sounds like, all you have to do is visit the only hardware store in town. the source of supplies -- >> you find everything you need okay? >> reporter: and ideas for people hoping to rebuild their lives. >> if i ever get a house --

>> reporter: mike petersen manages this ace hardware store that somehow survived the deadliest fire in california history. but like most people here, petersen lost his home. >> a year ago, these three homes here weren't there. >> reporter: when we met him a few years ago, his neighborhood was just beginning to recover. >> i think a lot of people had their doubts about how many people would rebuild. it's nice to see the progress for sure. >> reporter: rebuilding this town nestled in the foothills of the sierra nevada was far from certain after paradise was lost to the inferno known as the camp fire. the 2018 blaze killed 85 people and destroyed nearly 20,000 homes and businesses. the old house sat here? petersen didn't just rebuild. he built something meant to survive future fires. do you feel like you are going to worry less about your home? >> yes. and my insurance company loves it.

>> reporter: he and his wife now living in this home that looks like a modern barn. they like the architecture, but their real selling point, it's built not to burn. a choice many in the neighborhoods lost in the los angeles fires may face in the coming years. >> it's noncombustible. it's a product that you a can't really light on fire. >> reporter: vern sneed is the owner of design horizons, a company building what it called the q-cabin, short for kwaunset hut. it takes its name from quonset, rhode island. sneed says today's version costs about the same as a house built with conventional two by fours. >> so none of this can burn. so we would have a noncombustible siding out here. then we have a noncombustible sheathing. then the noncombustible structure. so you would have to get through

all of these noncombustible layers before you've got to the inside. >> reporter: scientists say most homes ignite in wildfires because embers get into window frames or in between roof shingles. with the q-cabin those entry points don't exist. i understand why you won't call this fireproof because you could never guarantee that, but this is about as close as you will get? >> about as close as you can get. >> reporter: of course, getting too close to nature is part of the problem. communities like paradise are known as the wild land urban interface where the great outdoors collides with someone's front door. nearly 50 million u.s. homes are now in these areas, which are prone to wildfires. when you see all of the natural disasters, especially a state like this, is facing and what we know is coming as climate change accelerates, is this the future of home building? >> think noncombustible housing is the future. >> reporter: the camp fire left behind more than burned trees

and empty lots. it also transformed a lot of the people here. >> i think people just let go of their need to control because we all learned that there is no such thing. >> so exciting. >> reporter: gwen nordgren is president of paradise lutheran church. it's rebuilding, too. a fourplex q-cabin will eventually replace the parsonage building that housed their pastor and was lost in the fire. what is it like for people to see something being built out there? >> well, it isn't just something. it's something like this. we are so excited about it because it's all going to be new and beautiful and fire resistant, which is on most people's minds it's really happening. >> reporter: they plan to rent it out to four families to generate income for the church, which lost nearly half its members after the fire. but now people are flooding back. businesses, too. paradise once lost is being

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we leave you this sunday with flamingos in waters off the caribbean island of bonaire.

i'm jane pauley. please join us when our trumpet sounds again next "sunday morning." i'm margaret brennan in