>> rose: welcome to the program. we begin this evening with a conversation with bryan cranston, now starring in a new film called "trumbo." >> it's up to the citizenry to be able to stay vigilant and protect these first amendment rights that were fought over and blood shed to establish that as the foundation of our government. and the checks and balances were specifically initiated in the branches of government to prevent any one brafn of government from being too powerful, an it works. and at this point, they pushed that aside and took it upon themselves to be all powerful, and that's a dangerous position. >> rose: we continue with comedienne sarah silverman. >> i had a lot of resources including myself. i had a not a lot of but a

couple of very generous friends who have suffered from addiction and who really took me through it and were very detailed. and i worked on the script and, you know, like actors do. and then i pretended it, like it was real. >> rose: we conclude this evening with nina tassler, talking about programming primetime television. >> what's also hanging now is people have the opportunity to watch when, where, how they want to watch. but what we realize, you look at a show like "supergirl," like "criminal minds," or "the good wife," it is a very loyal fan base. they're going to follow that show wherever it is because they have to stay connected. they have to be a part of the conversation. they have to be a part of these characters' lives. so i think television is still about ownership. it's about people developing

relationships with characters and making long-term commitments. >> rose: cranston, silverman and tassler, when we continue. >> rose: funding for "charlie rose" has been provided by: american express. >> rose: additional funding provided by: >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information servic worldwide. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: dalton trumbo was the highest paid screen writer in the '40s and black listed for about a decade after being

accused of having communist ties. he wrote roman holiday and the brave one. cranston takes to be the film as the screen writer in "trumbo." he sac speech and savage wit the real man portrays. here's the trailer for "trumbo." >> i love our country and it's a good government, but anything could be better. >> you talk like a radical but live like a rich guy. >> a perfect combination, the radical may fight the purity of jeers but the rich guy wins with the cunning of satan. >> your next deal is going to make you the highest paid writer in hollywood. >> where do i sign? are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party? >> any questions can be answered yes or no only by a more ron or a slave. >> in studios will ever employ a member of the communist party.

>> american feels hollywood is a haven for overpaid traitors. >> who is he? i've got nothing to say to you. >> we do what everyone says we can't, we write! >> are you out of your mind? congress has no right to investigate what we think or how we make movies. i'll write you a movie. >> and you don't want your name on it. >> no, you don't want your name on it. >> i am perpetually... the black list is alive and wells and serving the black market. >> we should all be prepared to go to prison. >> i don't think you're willing to lose all of it just to do the right thing. >> you don't end something like this by giving them what they have no right to ask for. >> something. who is it? there is a good story in there about one man who tried to take on the whole world. >> if we get one big movie, we can get all the big movies, then this whole rotten thing could

collapse. >> if there is some other writeers name on it, don't believe it. >> fire dalton trumbo. i don't think you and me are going to be pals. >> do you have to say everything like it's going to be chiseled into a rock? >> whisper a movie written in secret, maybe you haven't even heard of it. >> maybe you have. >> rose: great to have you back at the table. >> good to be here, charlie, thank you. >> rose: who was dalton trumbo? tell me beyond what we just saw in this trailer about why he is a name, you know, that somehow stands for principle resistance to efforts to shut him down. >> well, he was, as you mentioned at the top, the

highest paid screen writer in hollywoodl in 1947. he was a nonconformist, oppressive, prolific, brilliant, a wordsmith. he loved holding court. he enjoyed it. he was flamboyant. he smoked constantly. always through a cigarette holder. he loved life. he was also the person you want on your side to fight for injustice. he would write letters to the schoolboard, to the power company if the bills were too high, and he would constantly do what he did best which was to write and express himself. he was irrasable and irritable and kind and generous. >> rose: arrogant and cocky? he was all those things. brilliant and fun loving.

so he's a complex, deeply facetted character. >> rose: you're suggesting somebody bigger than life. >> yeah. he was. he was a big, big man. when he walked into a room, he wanted to -- >> rose: suck the air out of it. >> not suck the air out of it, but he wanted to stir the air. he wanted to stir the pot a lot. he wanted to be involved and informed and stimulate others into conversation and things. >> rose: and you want people to leave this film with what big idea? >> well -- >> rose: having a very good theatrical experience? >> well, enjoying the film. >> rose: right. and then? >> i think it would be great if people left and even argued a point, saying i think it was a very genuine scare at the time of insurgence of communism and

ideology, and other people would say it was just a person's thought. how can you persecute someone for their thoughts? so if we can stimulate that conversation, that's really a victory for not just us in the movie business and this particular film, but i think for -- in society. >> rose: yeah. this was the time when i feel there was an overreach of a branch of government that became the judge, jury and executioner of suspending first amendment rights and sentencing dalton trumbo and nine other men to prison, committed no crime, contempt of congress, they weren't pleased -- >> rose: this was as we've seen before the time of joe mccarthy and edward r. murrow where people of conviction had to step forth knowing they faced

an onslaught against them. trumbo was one, muro was another. >> and not just news gathering entities, educators were targeted in a variety of different colleges. thousands of people were targeted and put on the black or grey list, depending, and there was a lot of innuendo and suspicion. >> rose: any reason to believe we could fall back into that kind of -- >> i don't see why not. i think it's up to the citizenry to be able to stay vigilant and protect these first amendment rights that were fought over and blood shed to establish that as the foundation of our government. and the checks and balances were specifically initiated in the branches of government to prevent any one branch of government from being too powerful, and it works. and at this point, they pushed that aside and took it upon

themselves to be all powerful, and that's a dangerous position. >> rose: now, what can you make of the debate -- which is a very different debate -- that exists today between privacy and security? the debate between knowing an invasion of your lives sometimes argued on security grounds. >> right. i think anyone who doesn't believe that the world and certainly our country changed drastically from 9/11 is a fool. so, yes, that is the major concern that the main responsibility for any government is to protect their citizens, absolutely. no question. what i'm feeling and what i'm saying is that the first amendment needs to be a paramount discussion in developing policy of the

government. so if we're talking about extensive wiretapping without, you know, checks and balances, i think it's wrong. i think those are in place for those reasons. i think it works. >> rose: there are so many great actors here, but this shows you being served a subpoena to appear before the house on american activities. >> i have a very unusual mother. congratulations, mother. how long were you in show business? >> till i was 15, but it was more forced labor.

>> mr. dalton trumbo? yes. see you in washington. enjoy your picnic. let's go, boys. >> rose: we saw in the trailer trailer. >> in real life kirk douglas did a very heroic thing, much like the parallels of spartacus where a man stands up for what is right and, by doing so, others will stand with him. and it's a noble thing. and kirk, who risked a lot because he put his own money and reputation at risk. >> rose: and a lot of lives were financially destroyed by --

>> he could have been ostracized easily if it didn't work, but at one point he just felt that it wasn't right, it wasn't fair, and he wouldn't be who he thought he was as a man -- i'm talking about kirk douglas -- if he allowed a different name, a phony name to be on spartacus, of all things. how can you allow, you know, a hidden name to be on that movie? >> rose: for those principles. for those principles. and he said, no dalton trumbo's name is going to be on it. it was the first time in 13 years dalton trumbo saw his real name on a screen. >> rose: look at. this here it is. >> when i think of all the movies i've done, so many of the characters that i've played, it's like a part of me. when i think of spartacus, you know, this great fighter for freedom, i think after it's over and he's talking to varinia, he's saying i'm free but i know

nothing. i don't know how to read. i want to know everything. i want to know why a star falls and a bird doesn't. why the moon changes shape. where does the wind come from? you know, when spartacus was asking those questions, i thought, those are the questions i would ask. >> rose: there he is talking about the principles. >> he's a great guy. you saw the movie. he had some very wonderful comments to make about a movie, but he said he had one criticism. >> rose: what's that? he said, i don't understand why the filmmaker did not select me to play kirk douglas (laughter) >> rose: that's a good point. l.b.j. >> mm-hmm. >> rose: what have you learned from this deep dive into lindenn baynes johnson? >> the civil rights of $65, the

voting rights act of '64, it was landmark which changed the way we lived and forced us to look in the mirror and say look what we have been doing to a cross section of american citizens, look at how we have been treating them! how dare us! the unmitigated disgust of how we were treating other human beings, and it was not a pretty picture to look at, and there was a lot of resistance to it, and he did it not because he thought it would leave a legacy of greatness. i truly believe he thought it was the right thing to do. he had an experience when he was a young man fresh out of college and got a job at an elementary school with these kids who didn't have shoes, didn't eat very much, but they were so eager to learn. they were attentive and desperate to break out. and he loved these children.

and in the town, in this little texas town, there was a lot of prejudice against them simply because they're brown or their economic status or their illegal status or whatever the case was, and he just felt that was fundamentally wrong and, at some point, i would like to see that changed and if i can do it, so much the better. he had the advantage of being in the house of representatives 12 years and the senate 12 years, rising to senate majority leader before he became vice president and president, so he knew all the important players and he also knew their wives and kids names. >> rose: and their weak points, too. he knew where they were vulnerable. >> yes. >> rose: he knew what argument would either to reward or punish, would get them to stay world as he sees it. >> yes, that's true. what's interesting, i went from playing dalton trumbo to playing -- from l.b.j. to dalton trumbo back to l.b.j. to shoot the film, and there is a lot of

similarities between these two men. if you drew a diagram, the comparisons are remarkable. >> larger than life. than life characters. they're both storytellers and had hearty laughs. they loved to indulge. they didn't take care of their bodies. they were hyperfocused on their profession and they were extremely good at it, both of them, both very prolific, both ambitious as hell. both had a lot of down sides. i think there was a tremendous -- >> rose: insecurities. insecurities, an emptiness, a desire to be respected and loved, and exceedingly talented. >> rose: what part of you misses walter? >> i don't miss walter. >> rose: at all. no. >> rose: even though it changed your life completely?

>> it changed my life completely. i miss the people. >> rose: do you miss that guy? i don't miss walter because "breaking bad" had a beautiful beginning middle and end. it's like if you had a great meal, the appetizer, salad, meal, dessert and coffee and someone brought you more dessert and it's kind of, like, no, it kind of ruins it. it was good where it was and leave it at that and walk away proud. >> rose: thank you for comic. thank youicthank you, charlie. >> rose: "trumbo" opens friday november 6. stay with us. sarah silverman is here, a standup comedienne and actor more than 20 years. she takes on her first major dramatic role in the new film "i smile back." she plays a woman struggling with depression, alcoholism and drug addiction.

her performance is called fierce and underring, acting of the highest caliber. here's the trailer for "i smile back." >> how much do you love me? oh, good! oh, good, good, good! promise you will never leave me. >> you turned around and gave the kid a huge smile. whatever it took, he knew he would marry that girl. >> nobody tells you it's terrifying to love something so much. >> oh, my gosh! why didn't you call me? you were in the hospital. i mean the 30 years before

that. >> why did you stop taking your medicine? >> they're making me fat. at's bull (bleep). it's true. you would rather be insane? rise and shine, beautiful. >> you have to decide what it is you want. i just want you to be happy like you used to be. don't you want to be happy? what do you want? >> i'd love to smile like that again. >> rose: what are they saying about you? tour deforce, monster performer. >> i guess i'm pretty great. >> rose: welcome to the table. thank youum i can't believe i'm here! i can't believe this is it! >> rose: was this a challenge

for you? >> yes. >> rose: because? i think mostly because -- i don't have easy access to my emotions. they're very tightly packed and compartmentalized in the deep recesses and sideways. so i needed them all on the surface of my skin to do this. >> rose: you needed to be able to access them. >> yeah. and then also she -- she feels everything so much but she's covering it kind of expertly but it all has to be there. you know, i thought it would be fun, and we could have laughs and stuff in between shots, but what i didn't understand is i'm not -- i don't think i'm experienced enough in this to be

able to access it and put it away and access it. tom hanks says like a big laugh riot and they call action and he's captain phillips. i'm not there yet. i don't have my 10,000 hours in of dramatic acting to have that kind of access. so it was kind of all on my lap between scenes and made it difficult for me because it just -- it was attached to me like a flu. >> rose: what's your history with depression? >> it came over me like as fast as a cloud covering the sun when i was 13, getting off a bus from an eighth grade camping trip that was where i cried the whole time. i remember, when one of my teachers asked why i was upset, i couldn't tell her the truth, which was that i was home sick and i was a bed wetter and had

pampers hidden in my sleeping bag at night for, you know, in eighth grade. so i just said i was worried about my mom being alone. but, anyway, i got off the bus and my mom was taking pictures of me and i already felt so much kind of humiliation from the whole trip, and she was, like, paparazziing me, and i just -- i was begging her to stop and, you know, i love her, she wanted to remember the moment, she didn't know what my experience had been. i begged her to stopped, and it's very odd to be ignored by someone who's taking pictures of you, but it was in that moment and came over me that fast and it stayed for three years, but it was, i guess, clinical depression. >> rose: and, so, did you go do something about it immediately or -- >> well, i was really a social girl, i was the class clown, i

had my best friends, we hung out every day and, suddenly, it was like everything -- my perspective on everything changed, like, three degrees, which, like, changes everything. so i didn't see any point in hanging out with friends. it felt like a burden to hang out with friends. i was so jealous watching them from afar just existing in life, you know. i was to envious of that because it was like they didn't even care we were all going to die or that we're totally alone bind bd our eyes, all of us. none of that bothered anybody. >> rose: how much of yourself did you see in laney. >> we're very alike but the bones of depression we share so

i was able to use myself as a resource to a degree. >> rose: tell me about her. laney, this character -- well, i'm doing everything actors do, i'm calling laney her and talking about her in a third person, and later i will probablier talk about how a generous actor janey was but it all turned out to be true. >> rose: that's exactly what happened. >> anyyea, laney is a suburban housewife and mother, you know, married to a wonderful -- >> rose: who questions whether she's any good at it at all, whether she's a good mother. she asks the question. >> she has a perfect life, two wonderful kids, a great husband, but she is a drug addict, she suffers from depression, she's probably a drug addict because she's self medicating self-depression. >> rose: and she feels

abandonment? >> charlie, we are all trying to survive or childhoods, right? >> rose: yes, some say. it's why all comics come from such a dark place. i'm touching on all your upcoming questions. i know. >> rose: because of you and what it became, was it in some way an escape from pain? >> totally. >> rose: totally? well, maybe not totally. (laughter) not totally because part of it, i know i am funny. >> rose: yes, you are. and i know that because i've had to dissect it over the years doing press. but it's been really a gift because it's made me realize so many things about myself and my life. my dad taught me swears when i was a toddler and i learned if i yelled out swears in the middle of boys market i would get wild approval from adults despite themselves, and it was a drug and i loved -- >> rose: you felt loved.

i felt loved and it was just incredible reward by being able to present an element of surprise to people. so that was a positive thing. i just think comics usually come from -- i was a bed wetter, a hairy jew. >> i grew up in new hampshire and there are not many jews in new hampshire and we weren't really raised with any religion, we were just jewish in that it oozed out of our pores, right. but i didn't feel so different till maybe around third grade, kids started blame meg for my people killing jesus. i remember even, like, then thinking it's not like we killed baby jesus. (laughter) he had quite a run. (laughter) he was 33. 33 is young. if someone dies now at 33, it's terrible. but, i mean, back then in the

old and oldie timey times, 33 was, like, elderly. dying at 33 was, like, he had a full life, you know... and, by the way, you're welcome. if we had not killed him, he wouldn't even be famous. >> rose: but you always had the ability to joke about taboo stuff. >> yeah, that's interesting to me. because, well, for, one, because it's, like, surprising the adults with swears and, two, because i love the notion, one of my heroes, mr. fred rogers, he would say, if it's mentionable, it's manageable. and that's what i think about these things that are tattoo. i'm very much a product of my parents and i grew up with them really not having boundaries in lots of good and bad ways and, you know -- >> rose: no boundaries.

boundaryless. her jewelry box was filled with not jewelry. i think she had, like, one feather earring, but it was all buttons, you know -- question authority, we have met the enemy and they are us, why doesn't the military have a bake sale and the schools get fund bid the government -- funded by the government and all that stuff. >> rose: who influenced you at that time when you started in comedy? joan rivers? >> well, yeah, i grew up loving joan rivers. we're not incredibly alike, but we are alike in that i think she is a taboo buster totally, and she never stopped being a comedienne. she never stopped being vital. she died at 8 i 81 before her p.

>> rose: i love the idea of reinventing yourself, wanting to be relevant and engaged. >> i don't think it's conscious, leak, what am i going to do next? it's about letting yourself be changed by new information. >> rose: all right. let me take a look at this. this is a scene from "i smile back" where you're speaking with a therapist in rehab. here it is. >> so where would you like to start? >> really? . what's more interesting for you? the daddy issues or the drugs? >> well, i'd like to start with the daddy issues because it's a very organic segue into the drugs. >> mine's boring. my dad left when i was 9. that's the whole story. he kissed me good night and that's the last time i saw him.

so the drugs? >> yeah, we'll get to that. can you tell me why you haven't spoken to him? >> he didn't call me. dwhientd you call him? because i didn't know where he lived. >> oh. >> rose: what did you do to make sure your emotions were accessible? what you talked about at the beginning of this conversation? i mean, was that -- >> i don't know. >> rose: you just acted? well, i had a lot of resources, including myself. i had -- you know, i don't struggle with addiction, but i'm a comedienne and i'm surrounded by it and i had a lot of very generous -- not a lot of but a couple very generous friends who really -- who have suffered from addiction and who really took me through it and were very

detailed, and i worked on the script and, you know, like actors do, and then i pretended it like it was real. >> rose: are you? a good place now, having done this film, having stretched yourself? >> yeah. yeah. you know, it's funny, because there was a screening of it, and my friends got to see it, and one of my friends said, now i get why every time i talked to you while you were shooting, you kept saying, i don't know if i'm cut out for this, i don't know if this is for me. and i remember this was my bit of a mantra because i kept thinking, i don't know if this is for me, you know. i know i can do it, but i don't know if it's for me. >> rose: meaning what? acting. >> rose: acting? yeah, it hurts. >> rose: it hurts? yeah! >> rose: because you're

dealing -- >> i think because i'm not a seasoned -- this isn't something i can compartmentalize easily, so, yeah, i do really enjoy it and i think it's a little like what i imagine what i've heard childbirth is like where it's terribly painful but god or nature or whatever makes you forget so you will have more children and breed. isn't that a thing? >> rose: i guess so. because i am curious to do it again, and i don't think i would ever even -- i would never do anything this bleak again, i don't think it's possible. >> rose: this was as bleak as you want to go? >> i think it's as bleak as anything can go. i think as a movie this has hit rock bottom and needs to go to rehab. we'll be right back. >> rose: no, we'll be right here. >> that's a kevin neilened move. >> rose: i know. what did you learn on "saturday

night live"? >> i learned so much. i was so young. i was 22. it's such a boot camp. i have no idea what lauren mike alsmichaels saw in me. i didn't think i knew who i was or i was particularly hilarious aat 22. >> rose: did he tell you what he expected of you? >> no, it's like you're thrown in a pool and learned to swim. it was amazing. i was there one season and i was let go, but i believe everything happened for a reason. "saturday night live" is like new york city. if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. after that, everything's easy. >> rose: is writing easy for you or hard? >> it's like -- i don't mean to keep having analogies, but the hardest part is putting your sneakers on, and i find that with writing. >> rose: putting your sneakers

on is the hardest part, sitting in front of a type writer. >> type writers don't exist anymore, charlie, but -- (laughter) >> rose: how long's it been? a couple of years. >> rose: really? what are the type writer companies doing? >> rose: i don't know, i think they're out of business. >> awww. >> rose: this is a clip where you explain to your son why you went to rehab. that's going to be good. here it is. >> i was having some problems in my mind and they were making me do things i shouldn't have done it. done. >> and why did you do them? it was complicated, but i saw a doctor who's really, really smart, and he helped me sort through my problems, and i'm better.

>> rose: so tell me about how you see the next few years of your life. >> i never guess. >> rose: you don't know. well, my therapist once told me something great, it's going to blow your mind. >> rose: i hope so. we're looking through a pinhole. have you ever been able to predict anything that happened in your life? >> no. so what makes you think you can now? what if, what if, what if... >> rose: i don't want you to predict. give me a sense of where you want to go, once you've got the movie behind you and the monstrous performance reviews and some people say the performance is even better than the movie, you're not necessarily thrilled about that, but they do. the one thing that stands out is your performance in this film. >> okay.

>> rose: so, therefore, we've established you can do this enormously serious dramatic acting. >> yeah. >> rose: this was not established before. this was a departure for you. you can go on television and do standup like that. >> yeah. >> rose: so are you going to do more movies? you going to go back to standup tomorrow? >> i will always go back to standup. >> rose: because you need it. yeah, that's who i am. i was born this way. >> rose: that's true, too, isn't it? >> yes. so that's my everything. that's who i am. but i like doing all sorts of things. i've always done odd jobs. i like making videos on my couch. >> rose: you make videos on your couch? >> yeah. >> rose: like of whatever you see? >> like i did the great schlepp. i did sell the vatican, feed the world, which i think this pope would do. he could sell three pieces of art and feed the world. >> rose: yeah, he could. and you could select the art for him and say, look, sell these three pieces and see what you

could do. >> i think he would do it. i love this guy. >> rose: thank you for coming. thanks for having me. >> rose: back in a moment. >> rose: nina tassler is here, president and chairman of cbs entertainment. she will step down from those positions in december after 18 years at the network. cbs president and c.e.o. less moonves said working with tassler has been one of the proudest partnerships of my professional life. cbs has been one of the most watched network for 12 of the last 13 years. in her 12 years as president of cbs entertainment the network produced how i met your mother, the big bang theory, the good wife and the "late show" with stephen colbert. here's a look at some of those shows. >> why don't you just go to a party. >> you would have to go to every one in california. >> sounds like you on cinco de mayo. >> people are still talking about that party

(laughter) >> leonard, i will never be able to enjoy anything from their country again which is a shame because swedish meet balls are my favorite tooth pick-delivered meameatballs. # *e >> anger issues? i am the calmest, sweetest man on the face of the earth. there are times and there are people who sometimes don't listen to reason. >> do i need to worry about you? yeah. snrmplet ♪ there is superstition ♪ writing on the wall ♪ very superstitious

>> you said recently this weekend that you don't know if you are emotionally prepared to run for president. >> look, i don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they'd want to be president and, two, they can look at folks out there and say, i promise you you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy and my passion to do this, and i would be lying if i said that i knew i was there.

>> rose: so that last one was "supergirl." >> yes. >> rose: that one show, give us the history. >> sure. supergirl comes from warner brothers. she's a part of the d.c. universe. we heard a pitch, and the writers -- >> rose: who. greg berlanti and alley adler. greg executes on these big d.c. brands. you've got the flash, all of these. and greg is a terrific writer, show runner, so on. they brought the pitch in, which means, you know, you get a call from a studio and -- smith warner brothers -- and everybody has come in and prepared for weeks in advance and they're there to tell you a story, introduce you to the character, the pilot story, what other characters are in the show, and

we listen. >> rose: we is you and -- myself and the drama department at the time and we began to hear the story of the character in supergirl and what we heard was a story of coming of age, someone whoa would realize her capacity. i fell in love. this kind of character is not on television. if you rook at other female heroins on cbs she's like a younger version of those characters. >> rose: you like it so far. what do you do next? >> what i do, at that moment, they get to a particular scene in the story, and i welled up. it was emotional, i started to cry, because it was about a mother -- one scene was about a mother telling her daughter how much she believed in her and how much her dream was for her to realize her potential.

i personalized it and i was touched and i bought it in the room and i said, i have to do this, we would like to do it, we knew it would be competitive. and our business is competitive. >> this is a fellow's market for this kind of character and they had something special. the network will be competing for this. >> correct. >> rose: anybody other than networks? >> i'm sure the whole market is competitive. you've got cable is a competitor, streaming outlets are competitive. we're all competitors. but, you know, there is still no business like show business, which is the big broadcast business. >> rose: in terms of reaching -- >> reaching a broader audience, having a much bigger platform. >> rose: then we go to pilot. then we go to pilot. >> rose: you then put it in the network schedule or you decide you want to support this program and when you have app slot you will then go into production? >> well, usually what we do and

we go to our scheduling process, which happens every spring, and we've screened all the pilots, men this year and on average we're shooting between nine and twelve pelots. >> rose: how many will be selected? >> well, i think, statistically, over the past couple of years, we've launched five new sews, so five new shows every season. our needs have been less than other networks because we have been so successful, so we buy less product but we commit and stand behind it over a longer period of time. >> rose: les moonves. yes. >> rose: he says in talking about you, one of the proudest partnerships of my professional life. his reputation is no one is better than be able to -- because he came out of warner brothers -- to have a nose for the right kind of program at the right time. >> right. >> rose: what have you learned from him in this process we have been talking about? >> les and i have a very special

relationship. les hired me 25 years ago. i was an agent for five years before i met leslie. >> rose: he was at warner brothers. >> lorimar. i was hired by leslie to work at lorimar in long-term television. lorimar became worner brothers, bought warner brothers but kept all the people, and we developed a very close relationship, we have very similar backgrounds. we both come from the theater. i admired leslie tremendously. there is a very funny story, when i knew that i was going to have a meeting with leslie, because i lobbied every single person i knew in hollywood, i called every person that knew him, i had a lot of people who had deals at lorimar, had them call leslie -- >> rose: sounds like a competitive place. >> oh, yes! and, so, i knew, when i was sitting outside of his office, i said, you know what?

i'm not going to stop talking till i know i have the job. i went in there and i sat down and i did not stop talking until i could feel a shift in a room, and like i said, we had a lot of friends in common, a lot of business acquaintances in common, but i knew in my gut i had that job and i started working long-term television at warner brothers. >> rose: it's been a hugely successful run for the both of you. >> it's been a great time. >> rose: so why leave? i come from the theater. i was trained in the theater at boston university. i worked off broadway in new york three years, was at the roundabout theater three years. i loved it. it's my first love. i'm a creative person. i never imagined in a million years that i would have had the career that i have, and i owe so much of it to leslie. my father worked at cbs in 1955 here in new york, so it was a very special thing for me to come to work at cbs.

i'm very blessed and lucky. i have been married 3 is years, i have two amazing kids, i'd like to see them. >> rose: where is television today? what's the moment? >> i think the moment right now is about choice. i think the equality of the content that is -- the quality of the content out there is extraordinary. you ask actors, producers, television is the place to be. >> rose: in its broadest sense. >> correct. >> rose: from cbs to hbo to netflix. >> correct. but what you have you have an opportunity to launch something and expose it, especially at cbs, on the broadest -- in the broadest sense of the word. you reach millions and millions and millions of people every week, and what's also happening now is people have the opportunity to watch when they want to watch, where they want to watch, how they want to watch. but what we realize, you look at

a show like supergirl, like criminal minds, like the good wife, it is a very loyal fan base. they are going to follow that show wherever it is because they have to stay connected. they have to be a part of the conversation. they have to be a part of these characters' lives. so i think television is still about ownership. i think it's about people developing relationships with characters and making long-term commitments and the fact there is as much flexibility now to watch when and where, it means people can stay engaged and stay current. >> rose: there is no reason why cbs can't create that kind of content? >> we do it every day. >> rose: if you look at the audience as hbo, is it different from cbs or not? first of all, they can do more things because it's not over the air and, therefore, ytu're paying to watch it. >> correct, correct. >> rose: h this has more freedom in terms of the scripts? >> yes and no.

i mean, i think, unfortunately, people think that -- >> rose: the language is different. >> the language is different but ultimately the quality of the writing is not determined by the language you can or can't use. you can have, you know, good wife, you know, madam secretary, these are incredibly powerful characters, well written scripts and shows, and what you have is -- >> rose: west wing. wet wing, the network. so you can have quality television, engaging television and not worry about the language. >> rose: big bang theory, is that yours? >> yes, it is. it's very interesting about the bang because big bang was -- had app very interesting origin. it was a pilot written by chuck and by bill prady, bill has a background in the sciences.

we shot a pilot of the big bang and johnny gay leke and the others were in the pi hot, too. but the pilot just didn't work. great chemistry between jim and johnny, but there were elements that didn't work. traditionally, if something doesn't work, you pass on it and move on. but i asked leslie if he would give us another chance. i said, give us a shot. let's recast and reshoot. >> rose: because you believed in it. >> it's a belief but also it's palpable. you can feel when there is chemistry between actors. you felt it between these guys. they were so funny. and chuck lorie is truly the gold standard in our industry. she one of the great comedy writers of our day, and we knew,

i knew when i saw that pilot if we could have another shot and, really, we have to thank chuck for accepting doing another project because not every writer would. and chuck said, yes, i thank you for this shot, i can do better. and we shot another pilot. kaylie jointed the cast aspeny y and the rest is history. >> rose: you picke les? i was buying all the shows and read all the scripts and then i would pass on to les those projects that i was very passionate about and he and i would have conversations about what and why i liked certain things and healthy debates and we would make a decision about

which pilots we would shoot. >> rose: late night, you're in a very good place now. >> yes. >> rose: david decided he wanted to go away. >> yes. >> rose: everybody always wondered who would succeed him and once they said it was stephen, everybody said, of course it is! how brilliant was that? >> right. >> rose: was that easy. i can't really think about anything about our business being easy. it all has its respective challenges. you know, i think a lot of it was, you know, the logistics. i mean, stephen, i think, was born ready for this, i really believe that. he was born ready for this. and what -- the question everybody kept asking is, like, who is the real stephen colbert? >> rose: he's a character. he can do any character. but he's an actor. he was an actor. one of the things i did early on, i went and googled when he did the commencement speech at northwestern. i thought, there is stephen colbert. >> rose: what was it about that speech?

>> he was wonderfully funny, real, poignant, direct, humble and honest and was able to tell those stories about his life at northwestern and i just found him so engaging and so real. >> rose: so based on that commencement speech, you said he's the guy for late night? >> well, i said what that allowed me to see was who that real man was. >> rose: who was behind the character you saw. >> james corden, unbelievable and fresh and real. surrounded by great people. surrounded by a producing partner, ben winston and they have been friends for years. he has a great bench of smart, funny, creative people. >> rose: what's going to happen with the advent of hbo doing their own subscription, with you doing your subscription and netflix doing their

subscription. is there going to be a fallout or does it mean more opportunity for talented actors and writers to show their stuff. >> that's exactly right. the tide will rise to float all boats. that's kind of where we are now. the beauty is there is so much talent out there. there are so many young writers and actors. there is opportunity for everybody. i think right now, especially with cbs having our own streaming service, it gives us such a great way to really reach our viewers, be available for them, to them whenever they need us, and i think it's just about, i think, creating more choices and chances for people to watch cbs's great content. >> rose: what's the name of the book you will write? >> "what i told my daughter" and it's lessons for leaders on raising the next generation of empowered young women.

it's a collection of essays from mothers, all different disciplines. ruth bader ginsburg, nancy pelosi, madeline albright, gloria stefan, former first lady lawilaura bush, all wrote essayn how they raised their daughters and what energy they put in helping their daughters create their own narrative. >> rose: thank you for joining us, see you next time. for more about thisser program and earlier episodes, visit us online at crbt.org and charlierose.com. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ >> announcer: this is "nightly business report," with tyler mathisen and sue herera. blockbuster growth. the economy adds the most jobs in nearly a year. does that make an interest rate increase next month a foregone conclusion? on the hunt. this week's market monitor says now is the time to look for value. he's got three names for your portfolio. and windows of the soul. how a new eye test can help doctors take some of the mystery out of diagnosing concussions. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for this friday november the 6th. and we bid you a good evening, everybody. i'm bill griffeth in for tyler mathisen tonight. good and i'm sharon epperson in for sue herera. so much for the slump. after a few months of disappointing jobs growth