tavis: good evening from los angeles. tonight, part two of our conversation with acclaimed actress kathleen turner. we will talk about the films that propelled her to stardom and her thoughts on the issues of the day. she is starring in a show about molly ivins. we are glad that you join us for part two of our conversations with kathleen turner. >> every community has martin luther king boulevard. it is not just a boulevard. it is a place where walmart gathers with your community to make everyday better. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- tavis: back now with part two of our conversation with kathleen turner. before we get to her life and career, let's take a look at some of her memorable roles from her career. beginning with her memorable role in a hollywood classic. >> this is a community barr. i might have to come here with my husband some time. would you mind leaving best? >> i do not know who you think we're going to fool. we have been pretty friendly. >> now leave me alone. >> what is the matter, princess?

lost your prince? >> there are a lot of things i could say to you. you are just not worth the effort. >> i hate you. >> i beg your pardon. >> take a long walk on the short pierre. >> have a nice day. >> you do not know how hard it is being a man looking like you do. >> i am not bad, i am just drawn that way. go to hong kong tonight. >> what are you talking about? >> let's beat it while we still can. scram, split, make a run for it. we can get new faces in a few days. we can get out of this crazy

world and start fresh. >> hong kong? >> brazil, south africa, what matters is us. would you please do the courtesy of looking at me when i am talking to you? this is exactly what i'm talking about. if you have any kind of matters you would -- >> we spent a lot of time talking about "body heat." it looks just as good, does it not? >> i think it stands up. tavis: we have to start with "romancing the stone." >> sometimes when i am kind of blue i might slip that film in and watch a few minutes of it. it cheers me up. tavis: you took the words out of my mouth. i like that movie because it makes me smile.

there are some things ipop in on any given day when i want to just smiled. atched "romancing the stone" more times than i could count. it is such a beautiful movie. you played that role so wonderful. >> that was a struggle to get that role. tavis: a struggle, you played it brilliantly? >> she was sexy. then she could prove that she could be funny. how do we know that she could play this? for heaven's sakes, gentlemen, it is called acting. no makeup and really sloppy, silly clothes and bump into all

the furniture. they believe that i could do that believing that i could start as this little insecure think and grow. tavis: since you went there, i am just curious. i am sure there is a long list. give b two or three other things. we talked about virginia woolf. i know that is at the top of your list. "romancing the stone" i know what i liked of your stuff. what is on your list that you like. >> i have only done one film that i did not love. that was the one and only time i took a job for money. it taught me a lesson. tavis: are here this all the time. i cannot count the number of people i talk to that have set

to make that the thing that they most regret is the time that they did something just for the money. >> in the one that i love "serial mom." i laughed so hard every day. "accidental tourist." they did a great job of doing the screen play. tyler was very pleased with us. i enjoyed the hell out of that working with anjelica huston and jack nicholson. tavis: that relationship seems to work. >> we worked very well together. we are very different kinds of

actors. bill always likes to be much more methody and submerged into the character. i am talking on the phone are having fun with somebody and then based sayroll and i am in character. he would say, how do you do that? he would be suffering and i am having fun. i just do not believe in suffering, not if you can avoid it. tavis: how do you go about choosing the kinds of roles on the stage that you want to play and how has the way you choose changed in your career? >> as i am reading a script, and some point, if i am not acting head in my head and i am not saying how i would say this and do that and how this needs

changing, it is not going to happen. if i do not get caught up in it right away and see how i would do this, i am not going to do it. there are certain definite values involved. i will not do any thing that has what i call kid jep, puts a child in jeopardy to at further the storyline. i think it is cheap and i will not do that. there is a certain amount of the exploitation of women that i will not do. those.eem to do tavis: let me explore that. is that because of something inside of you? >> of the essence of david gunn

as someone that does not take any action -- of any effect, is somebody that does not take any action to -- of a victim, is somebody that does not take any action to save themselves. the notion of having a man, law and save you are find offensive. tavis: i get that. that is very clear. i get it. you got pregnant when you were filming. >> i was very pregnant when i was doing "who framed roger rabbit." all that they needed was my voice. i walked into the studio. nobody would know that just cut out was actually about to -- jessica was actually about to pop. tavis: do you like doing the

voice-over stuffed? >> i do. i can do books and stuff like this, too. i was nominated for a grammy because our produce the complete recordings of shakespeare's on it. it took a lot of wonderful actors together to do that. when i do these kinds of things, i go over the books of things that our record. 30% goes to the charity of choice. tavis: you live and you travel around the world in this wonderful career. you filmed around the world. there are two specific places of what to ask you about. one is china. >> i still have not been to china. my father grew crops in china. my mother went to china in 1947

with the united nations relief association. they met and married in china and lived there until 1949 s when all foreigners were expelled by mao. everything in our home, all of the antiques and the furniture and the rugs and everything comes from my father's family and several generations in china. my mother has banned back. she has been back twice. she went to the house where she and my father and his two aunts lived before the war. now there are 11 families living in that house. she heard this man saying, mrs. turner, mrs. turner.

it was the man who had spent their houseboy while they lived there. he had recognized her. that shook her. he had managed to stay at the house. tavis: what are you waiting on? >> opportunity i guess. i do not know what i am waiting on. not to work for a while. tavis: there are worse problems to have in this business. >> i have not had any breaks for a long time now. tavis: another place i want to ask you about is cuba. i read your castro story. i have a castro story. i think yours is cooler. >> i was four in 1959. that makes me 58, thank you.

i was pre-kindergarten there. one day after castro came to power, many of the teachers there were behind and supportive of the revolution. the teacher told all of the children to close their eyes and prayed to god for candy. she said open your eyes. there is no candy. close your eyes and pray to castro for candy. she said, open your eyes and who loves you? god or castro. i ran home and said, mom, castor loves me. he gave the candy. that is the last time i went to school. they did that kind of brainwashing on four-year-old spiris.

tavis: what do you make of the world that we live in today. i asked against the backdrop of china and cuba. what do you make of the politics of the world to date? >> well, what started out as a european union was probably really wonderful and world changing idea. the idea of this kind of cooperation and interdependence between countries. geographically, it was possible. in a way, it is possible in the western hemisphere in north and south america. the idea that individual nations would work on common ground, not on conflict, not against each other, but define how each

benefits from each other i thought was incredibly hopeful and positive possibility. now, what i fear very much happening is the differences are creating almost a sense of hostility. someone has to win and somebody has to lose as opposed to both people benefiting. this, i am afraid, is happening very much in our own country. this way of thinking. somebody has to come out on top at the expense of someone else. i find that a very dangerous and destructive thought. tavis: how concerned are you are in this election year about the issues that matter to you? we talked about some of the issues you are talking about.

some of the ones that are terribly important for you. you are engaged with planned parenthood. women's -- reproductive freedom is important to you. >> i am thoroughly frightened. i see the issue of women's choice as essential for being able to have their lives. they cannot control their own bodies by choosing a if or when to have a child, then they cannot control their working life or anything around them. it is also an issue -- to me, when i read all of the essential religious books, the koran or the bible, the old testament,

all of the religious teachings ultimately ask for belief, ofor tolerance. it is essential to each and every one of these religions. that is the least quality i see being emphasized now. i am very frightened right now. tavis: you mentioned the bible. you mentioned the koran, you mentioned the torah. are you a spiritual person? >> i played a nun. it is a good conflict. she is a very falmouth's none.

-- foul-mouthed nun. i am a believer. as molly says, i am an optimist to the point of idiocy. what i think of organized church puttingink it's man words in god's mouth essentially. i cannot go that road. tavis: i wonder what you think that we have sacrificed too much in the name of going after terrorists or terrorism. have we sacrificed too many civil liberties? how much have we sacrificed?

>> i think so. absolutely i do. was it been franklin who said those who do not deserve, i cannot point to get this right, am i? when you make yourself less free, but you are not safer, you are just less free. i do not think we are more protected or safer by giving up a lot of the rights that we have done. tavis: "molly ivins," the play you are starring in now, she was obviously very serious about civil liberties. i wonder whether or not you think she was ahead of her time. i can imagine a good part of

what molly would have to say today. being considered politically incorrect. could molly ivins get off the ground today? >> i think it would be pretty hard. it was safer than. she paid the price in a lot of ways. she never got the pulitzer prize. she was voted on r the pulitzer prize. a committee withheld it from her. tavis: for what reason? >> i am not sure. the same thing happened to edward. voted for of virginia woolf, but they yanked it from him. she suffered in many ways for

being so outspoken and individualistic. i think it is harder and harder for someone like that to survive today. it is a shame. tavis: the flip side of her or somebody like heard getting traction and getting off the ground without being accused of being politically correct, the flip side of that is those in the media today to learn from molly ivins. >> we do have some really fun exceptions. john stewart or colbert to get away with a lot. tavis: they are not women either. >> one of the things i find very humorous about that is it was found that 70% of young americans feel like they get the

real news from those shows. come on, guys. this is pretty funny. i hope they take it responsibly. i think that they do. that somebody would rather believe colbert over an nbc news anchor is a delicious irony. tavis: a strange question to ask, -- >> you keep saying things like that. are you warning me? tavis: i am trying to preface my stupidity. anybody out there on the scene today that you think is riding in the molly ivins tradition. your brother comes backstage and says thank you for keeping her alive. do you think that somebody is writing in that tradition?

>> i am a new yorker. every the new york times day. bill collins. he has just left the times. i thought that frank rich was doing a very good job. he left. i thought he was doing a good job of keeping things in perspective. much more so than when he was a theater critic. tavis: did he write something about you you did not like? >> it is entirely possible. tavis: i thought i picked up on it. on that note, i am done with that conversation. if you are in l.a. or coming to the l.a. area, we have extended

this because it is doing so well. how are you going to get a ticket unless you know kathleen turner? if you can get in, you should go see it. kathleen turner, i have enjoyed having you on this program. thank you for talking to me. i appreciate it. that is our show for tonight. thanks for watching and keep the faith. >> harden call today. he said that everything should be cleared up by next week. i will get the money. he apologized for the delay. >> they are dragging it out. hoping that they would implicate you. >> they have not been able to. soon, it will be all hours. we have got to stay together, ned. it will not be long. then we can get away from all

of this. all that we have is each other. i would kill myself if i thought this thing would destroy us. i couldn't take it. >> for more information on today'show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: join the next time for a conversation with grammy-winning singer seal. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is the cornerstone that we all know. it is not just a street or a boulevard. it is the place where walmart stands together with your community to make everyday better.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.