the hospital. that's the good news. 20 other people suffered minor injuries during that incident. the winner of this match, hulk hogan. tonight a jury awarded the pro wrestler $115 million in his sex tape case against gawker. in twowng 12 gawker published a two minute video -- 2012, gawker published a to -- two minute video of him having sex. it's now part of american history. alan gross' release became the

between the united states and cuba. here's part two of our one on one with gross. >> reporter: at 10:00 at night i heard knocking on the door. there were four guys on the other side saying open the door. for alan gross, reality came crashing down with that knock on the door. >> they said collect your stuff, you are coming with us. his wife was awaiting his arrival back in maryland but that call did not come. >> i called the airline, i must have had a desperate tone, they confirmed he was not on the flight. >> they accused me of being a cia agent.

>> reporter: why was it laughable. >> i am the most open guy in the world. they asked me a question and i had an interpreter. >> reporter: you spoke spanish? >> i did not. without speaking spanish? >> yes. >> reporter: his arrest lead to a 15 year prison sentence. what was he doing in cuba and who was he working for. an analysis of funding for the project leads us to the usaid office. they are the office that oversees funding for civilian aid.

a prime contractor. >> gross sued both parties. you brought up that you had raised concerns. >> i was becoming more and more uneasy with each successive trip. i began to realize that things were not as they appeared to be. it's illegal to distribute anything in cuba that is paid for in full or in part by the united states government. >> reporter: you did not know that. >> absolutely not. >> reporter: his confinement continued. he wanted to see his mother who was fighting cancer. his wife was worried about his emotional state. gross and his supporters were

him released for a few days. >> i signed an oath to return. there were people that were willing to change places with me. the government of cuba did not respond. i have a lot of forgiveness in my heart but that will not be forgiven. >> reporter: the best phone call was the last one placed by his wife. in cryptic words she signaled that he was coming home. >> i said that this is our last phone call. it was a way of signaling that he was coming home. >> reporter: now he wants to return to cuba. you want to go back?

i was a catalyst, since i have been released i am an intentional catalyst. by allowing me to return that sends out a message that there is a new clapter four all of us -- chapter for all of us. >> gross' suit was settled. the details are confidential.

injuries are not things that yeah, that's right. deal diva coming through. you see all my bogos, my weekly ad. just wait till you see my savings. and brace yourself. the digital coupons are coming next. look at her, so proud of her momma. you saved quite a bit today go ahead. say it. cha-ching! thank you the weekly ad, bogos and coupons. three easy ways to save at the same place you love to shop. publix. where shopping

the weekend is already here. do we get a half a weekend forecast. >> this is on me, free of charge. lets tell you what is going onoutside. the music has ended but the stage stays alive. the ultra music cam looking

humidity has returned. a south breeze, 76 degrees earlier. we will see lows around 70 tonight. showers to the south, coming up. as we go into the night, thunderstorms are expected to develop on the west coast. the storms to the west are the ones that are going to back up. it's warm and humid but also storms at times. possibility of early activity and then later in the day a possibility of heavy downpours. then the cold front comes through sunday night and cools us off quite a bit for monday. so humid weather to clear skies, then temperatures in the

to get out of the 60s on monday. cool air for the rest of the country. a warm night. showers moving in late tonight especially through the keys and coming out of florida bay. tomorrow warm and humid. storms possible at any time during the day. the best for heavy activity is later in the day. for boaters, choppy conditions

mid jim has sports. march madness resumes at noon. rodriguez was emotional, he will be going up against his basketball look alike. are they rolely evil twins. >> if we did not look similar to each other, would we get the same comparisons?

to be a tough opponent to face. >> he's a smarter guy so he needs tricks to get the job done. >> i think that they are brothers. valentine might be player of the year. middle tennessee state plays with no fear. he's tearing it down. middle tennessee wins 92 -- 81. >> then the hawk eyes toss up this air ball. iowa wins and temple goes home. >> thomas walker and his team win by 14. who has them in their bracket.

>> in college baseball, the sixth ranked hurricanes win. the second home run was a walkoff grand slaim at the bottom of the ninth. -- grand slam at the bottom of the ninth. >> whalen, known for this, maybe the dumbest play of the season, he gets buried with no chance what so ever. but it was not fault the play was called. finally the panthers will host actor kef impartial spacey. they have even taken turns -- kevin spacey.

wearing a spacey jersey.

he may even drop the >> stephen colbert! captioning sponsored by cbs ( band playing "late show" theme ) ( cheers and applause

>> stephen: hey! welcome to "the late show," everybody. thank you so much. everybody up there, down there, everybody out there, out there, out there. >> stephen! stephen! stephen. >> stephen: trying to wake them up! wake up! >> stephen! stephen! stephen! >> stephen: whooo! ( cheers and applause ) welc--( laughs ) show time! hey, jon, how are you? >> jon: right here, right here. >> stephen: good to see you, my friend! how you doing? >> jon: good, good, solid. >> stephen: how are your hamstrings? how are your hamstrings, jon? >> jon: yeah, they're nice. >> stephen: hamstrings feeling okay? >> jon: yeah, they're nice and stretched. >> stephen: i've got to stretch mine out before i do anything rough tonight. welcome, welcome to "the late show," everybody. i'm stephen colbert. you know, life is good, isn't it? life is good. ( cheers and applause ) more life is better. it's not all bad news out there. some of it is absolutely

warmer. spring training right now, down in florida. i just saw this heartwarming story of a baseball bat flying at a child's head. ( laughter ) did you guys see this today? danny ortiz of the pittsburg pirates is up to bat, down in florida for spring training, takes a chop at it, the bat flies out of his hands-- apparently they had not gotten to the part of spring training where they are trained to hold onto the bat-- and it goes straight for the skull of an eight-year-old boy in the stands. and check out how his father protected him with his forearm. look at that! ( applause ) that dad-- that dad-- there's your season m.v.p., and the season hasn't even started. the dad's name is sean cunningham, and his eight-year- old son is landon. and that photo is all over social media today, and believe it or not, some jerks out there have criticized the boy for not

photo. which is totally unfair. it's not the boy's fault that baseball is so boring. ( laughter ) i'm not sure the phone is on. ( cheers and applause ) he's just looking-- and here's the thing-- i am feeling a little inadequate as a father right now. and i think a lot of fathers are. and not just because of what the dad did, but check out his forearm. ( laughter ) it's like seeing the bat next to the tree it was carved from. i can't compete with that. look at this-- hold on. here, let's trade, let's trade. look, okay. ( cheers and applause ) you take this. okay. okay. here we go. this is-- i want to show you my forearm, okay? okay, here's my forearm. okay? here's my forearm, ready? here's a regulation-sized bat. my forearm. now you see it.

) now you see it, now you don't. ( applause ) can we please go back to celebrating dad bod? ( laughter ) it's really-- it's really depressing. anyway, we've got a great show for you tonight. i will be talking to oscar- winning actress, the lovely dame helen mirren is here, ladies and gentlemen. ( cheers and applause ) then i'll be talking to the director of "star trek" and "star wars", sir j.j. abrams will be sitting down with us tonight. ( cheers and applause ) sir j.j., why not. and, we will have music from dma's! ( band playing ) and, oh, hey! that right there, over there in left field, that's jon batiste and stay human, everybody. say hi, everybody. ( cheers and applause

they are about to gun the "late show" camaro and jump it over jazz canyon, but before they do, one more thing: a new study says binge-watching tv can cause depression. which explains the new phrase, "netflix and weep into a pint of ice cream." >> tonight, stephen welcomes helen mirren. j.j. abrams. and a musical performance by dma's. featuring jon batiste and stay

and now it's time for "the late show with stephen colbert!" ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: here you go! mmm! mmm! ( cheers and applause ) i'll tell you one of the things, one of the reasons that story of the kid almost getting hit in the head with the bat really resonates for me, is that, when i was a kid, i really liked to throw the bat after i hit the ball. possibly-- i'm not sure where i learned it, but possibly because i had seven brothers, and i was the youngest, and i learned how to bat from them, and they were always showing off in the backyard. so if they hit the ball in our backyard, they would hit and just kind of let it fly, like a

opponent. and so as a kid i used to always hit the ball and let the ball fly-- let the bat fly. it would just go off look a helicopter of death towards the stands. and my coach would always say, "don't do that! don't throw the bat!" and then one day i was playing sandlot baseball at my school in james island, south carolina, and i got up to bat-- ( cheers and applause ) seriously, james island, south carolina, fans? all right, there are some good people out there from james island. and they know it's all just sand out there if you dig down more than an inch because it's just an old beach with trees on it. and i got a nice hit, i got a nice hit, and i let the bat go and it starts flying away and i almost take the first base and then i remember, "oh, yeah, coach says, don't throw the bat." and i turned around in time to see the bat, still in air, still just whipping around, and make

age, like fourth grade, right there, sweet spot, right to sweet spot. and to my dying day, i will never forget the image of the kid just going bop, like a starfish and falling over backwards like a duck at an amusement park shooting gallery. and i didn't know what to do until, of course, the crowd started yelling, "run! take your base!" and by the time i got on to second, and by the time i got back to home, i think they had dragged him off by his ankles. i'm sure he was fine. so i'd like to say i'm sorry to whoever that was, if you ever recovered. ( laughter ) hey, i'd like to do a quick check-in with the audience right now. i do this every so often. it's a quick poll about presidential candidates. is anybody here feeling the bern? ( cheers and applause ) thank you, thank you, that's fine. thank you.

thank you very much. well, brace yourself. i've got some shocking news because yesterday during a rally in michigan, senator sanders dropped a bombshell about burning down. >> i've done marijuana twice in my life when i was very young-- ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: whooo! whooo! whooo! wha! why are we cheering? because he smoked pot? he only smoked twice! i don't think this admission is on brand for bernie. senator, you do know who your supporters are? i will tell you this much, they have smoked marijuana twice... since i started this sentence. ( laughter ) i for one-- ( cheers and applause ) i for one am shocked by bernie's admission. remember when he dropped this

as i went walking that ribbon of highway i saw above me that endless skyway i saw below me >> stephen: he recorded a reggae cover of a socialist anthem and expects us to believe he only smoked pot twice? was one of those times for ten years, senator? the only reason i can think of that the senator from the people's republic of vermont has only sparked up twice is that maybe bernie thought it clashed with his political beliefs. ( as bernie ) "if we pass the dutchie upon the left hand side, the bottom 10% of people to the right are getting 80% less dutchie than the elite 1% on dee left hand side. i promise in my administration there will be equal redistribution of dee dutchie." ( cheers and applause ) is what i imagine he would say. ( laughter

of course, these days, you can get medical marijuana if you suffer from things like anxiety, nausea, and depression. and you know who could use a prescription? every voter in america, because this campaign season has been brutal. as the candidates fight and then the candidates fall, everybody just thirsts for their blood. it's terrible. it's like "the hunger games." no, it's worse than that. it's "the hungry for power games." ( cheers and applause ) welcome! ha, ha, ha, yas! welcome to "the hungry for power games!" tributes, assemble! no, oh, so few remain. you can barely count them on one of trump's teensy little doll hands. ( laughter ) and last week, yet another

neurosurgeon and ambien-american ben carson announced he was leaving the race. >> now that i am leaving the campaign trail-- >> no! >> you know, there are a lot of people who love me. they just won't vote for me. >> stephen: oh, well, oh, well. you know the old saying, "love means never having to say you're sorry you voted for ben carson." but his fall was not unexpected. no, he failed to win a single state on super tuesday-- or on average wednesday-- and carson told supporters he sees "no path forward." doctor, with your eyes closed, you can't see anything forward. ( cheers and applause ) oh, oh! my champagne is going flat! where's my voiceless eunuch!?

this is andro, my mute man-boy. andro, make happy bubble more now. ( cheers and applause ) good! more! more! yes, good. ( laughter ) shhh! shhhh! shhh! no need to thank me. no need to thank me. back in the pit. back in the pit, andro. ( cheers and applause ) mmm, mmm. ah, yes. mmm, yes. now that has all the sparkle that ben carson lacked. now, where was i? where was i? yes, yes, yes, yes! oh, yes! when the brave doctor announced his campaign, he immediately set the tone with a rousing battle cry:

i don't want to be a politician. >> stephen: wish granted! poof! ( cheers and applause ) mmm! some in capitol city were surprised he didn't put up more of a fight, given this inspiring story of a childhood knife fight. >> i had a large camping knife, and i tried to stab him in the abdomen, and fortunately he had on a large metal belt buckle on under his clothing, and the knife blade struck with such force that it broke, and he fled in terror. ( laughter ) >> stephen: sadly, voters just don't trust someone who is bad at murder. so, let us bid farewell to the fallen. ( cheers and applause

( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: good night, sweet prince, good night-- that is, assuming you were ever awake in the first place. we'll be right back with helen mirren. ( band playing ) mom, who is that? hello! who? these dresses are fantastic. they're old navy. thanks. old navy?! all dresses are on sale up to 40% off. oh i have to go, to old navy right now. [engines revving] you can't have a hero, if you don't have a villain. the world needs villains [tires screeching]

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( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. my first guest tonight is an oscar-winning actress, whose new film is "eye in the sky." >> so the plan is to put a hellfire through the roof of that house. i need legal clearance, right now. >> a missile from the repo? >> yes. >> so this is no longer a capture situation? >> no, we have two suicide vests with explosives inside that house, so can you clear me to a higher c.d.e.? harold, this is a very time- sensitive target. do i have authority to strike? >> the rules of engagement you're operating under only allow for a low collateral damage estimate. >> yes, yes, and my weapons only invoke a low c.d.e. it's the explosives inside that house that bring it to a potentially high c.d.e. >> and since you know the explosives are in there, it is incumbent upon you to take them

i can see a potential legal objection. >> we have got two suicide bombers and three very high- value individuals inside that house. >> and you want them off your list, i understand that, but the rules of engagement you're operating under envisaged a capture, not a kill scenario. >> stephen: please welcome dame helen mirren. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) ( applause ) ( cheers and applause ) >> if i didn't do it then, i'd

i have been dreaming of doing that for about, you know, 15 years. so-- i just grabbed my chance. i'm sorry. i'm so sorry. >> stephen: i suddenly can't remember any questions. that is one of the nicest greetings any guest has ever given me. >> your lips are very soft. >> stephen: wow. you know what you're doing. ( laughter ) you know what you're doing. you really know what you're doing. thank you so much for being here! ( laughter ) can you imagine the number of people who are jealous of me right now? >> including me when i watch it. i'll be going, "oooh! why didn't i do more?" ( laughter ) >> stephen: oh! well, i'll tell you what, the night is young, dame helen. ( laughter ) you are absolutely a fantastic actress, a captivating woman, and on a level i never imagined before. ( laughter ) and-- and you're a dame. >> i am. >> stephen: okay, i have

never kissed me. ( laughter ) >> not even ian mckellan? >> stephen: not even ian mckellan. that would have been lovely. that would have been lovely, oh my god, sure. a helen mirren-ian mckellan sandwich? ah! does it come with anything cool, being a dame? >> it comes with a very nice, very glittery big star that you can wear at certain functions. you know, on the invitation it says-- i think, what's it say, not honors, something will be worn-- which means you can wear your thing. >> stephen: so like if it's a very special event it says you can wear the thing. >> yes, you can wear the thing, exactly. >> stephen: that's very nice. we don't have that over here. there's nothing special we get to wear over here. >> you should. because so many americans do such incredible things. >> stephen: they do. >> for their country, for their community, for all kinds of reasons and there really should be some form of recognition. >> stephen: but then we would need a monarchy and we're at least nine months away from that. ( cheers and applause )

don't you think? >> i would prefer it to be a monarchy. i don't think it would be a monarchy. i think it would be a dictatorship, which is a very different thing. >> stephen: it could be, it could be. we'll see. we'll see. now you know a little thing or two about monarchy because you played a queen of some part, something like seven or eight times, right? >> possibly, yes. i haven't counted. >> stephen: you played elizabeth ii twice. you have played queen charlotte. you played elizabeth i. >> yes, yes. queen margaret. >> stephen: queen margaret, okay. >> cleopatra. >> stephen: cleopatra, oh yeah! did you go all the way through to putting the asp on your breast and all that dying and everything? >> of course! absolutely. we had a real one that escaped into the theater. ( laughs ) >> stephen: no, seriously? >> it's probably still there. >> stephen: you had a real asp on stage? >> we did, yes, absolutely. i mean, obviously, it wasn't a poisonous one. ( laughs ) well, we don't know. >> stephen: don't break the illusion. don't break the illusion. >> but yeah, it came out of the box all like this, you know, and everyone went, "oooh!" and then it escaped one night. and it's probably still in the bowels of the theater somewhere, i don't know. >> stephen: well, did you learn

do you have any sympathy for them? >> i'm not a monarchist. you know, i-- i really appreciate and respect our present queen elizabeth, you know, elizabeth windsor. i think she's done an incredible, you know, long, dedicated, dutiful job for her country, i think it's really amazing what she's done. but i'm-- i'm not a monarchist, particularly. >> stephen: for those who don't understand the monarchy, what do they do? ( laughter ) because i don't really mean to belittle, but i just don't understand necessarily what they do. to americans they're, like, fascinating. we love the royalty, maybe more than you all do. >> i know! what do they do? i mean, they just have to be incredibly nice to people all day long, every day. ( laughter ) and then, of course, people are very nice to them all day long, every day. >> stephen: until they're not. until they're not. >> yes, and i think-- >> stephen: until they get savaged in the press. >> and when they get savaged in the press. and when that first started, i think that must have been a real

weren't used to that. but, you know, you watch the queen at work, and it's just extraordinary, just endlessly shaking hands, smiling at people, encouraging them. "where do you come from?" that's what she always asks, "and where do you come from?" and then really doesn't listen to the answer at all. ( laughter ) >> stephen: that's the easy part of the job. >> i'm from mars and i live-- i live in mars, and, yes, i am an alien. >> stephen: "how delightful." >> "how very interesting. >> stephen: well, your majesty, can you hang out for a second? we have to take a little commercial, but we'd love to come back and-- and if you deign to give us your presence some more, we would be very honored. we'll be back with more helen mirren. ( band playing ( cheers and applause

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( band playing ) ( applause

>> stephen: we're back with helen mirren. now, as someone from england, would you care for a spot of tea while we sit down here? >> oh, my god! i'd love a cup of tea. are we allowed that? >> stephen: but-- but as-- as the queen of all our hearts, i thought perhaps it would be nice if we had a little bit of tea, right now. and how-- >> oh, how gorgeous! look at that! >> stephen: and how do you take it? how do you take it? >> is it bags, or is it tea? >> stephen: no, it says brewed tea. it's english breakfast tea. >> okay, go ahead then. >> stephen: would you like? >> that's lovely. and it's hot! >> stephen: okay, so tell me about the movie. is that too much? >> it's perfect, no, it's perfect, thank you. >> stephen: sorry, i didn't know. do you take cream? >> a little milk here. >> stephen: a little milk, is that right? just say when. so, in the movie, you play a colonel-- >> i do. >> stephen: who is using drones to spy on terrorists. >> not to spy on-- >> stephen: not spy on? >> to attack. >> stephen: okay, but doesn't she have to spy, first? >> yes, yes. >> stephen: what, do you need something? do you need a spoon? >> no, i just want more tea, that's all. >> stephen: more tea? more tea, okay, you told me to stop-- i was pouring and you told me to stop. >> yeah, i know, and then i put the milk in, and then there was too much milk and now i have to put a bit more tea in to make it right. >> stephen: i don't think i'm getting another kiss at the end of this one. i've really blown it. (

) the movie is, you know-- she's having-- there's conflict within the chain of command as to whether you can kill someone and have collateral damage-- >> yes. >> stephen: and whether there is a distance between the military action which is lethal, and the drone operator. and as the-- this woman, who is the commander, who is very hawkish, is sort of a surprising figure because we don't think of this in america-- >> well-- >> stephen: we don't think of female military figures as being sort of hawkish and ready to kill. >> well, i'm sorry, anyone who is in the military, by nature is a hawk, aren't they? i mean, that's their job. >> stephen: i suppose so. >> you don't want a dove, do laughs ) >> stephen: i guess not, guess not. >> at least the head of the military. >> stephen: when you were working on the character, is there something different for a-- the idea of a woman being a hawk as opposed to a man? >> i don't think so. i think that, obviously-- it was originally written for a man, incidentally. >> stephen: really? >> and it was changed to a woman. >> stephen: they said, "helen mirren is available, let's--"

) but it wasn't just-- the director said that it just gives it-- it doesn't just become a man-- a bloke's movie about war. it gives it a broader, human sort of perspective, really. but yes, it's about-- it's-- you know, i think it's a kind of a court drama with the audience as the jury. i'm really hoping that it doesn't cause any divorces, because it's the kind of movie that when you come out of, people will have very fierce opinions about the issues, about what's right, what's wrong, what would do you in that position, what you wouldn't do in that position? >> stephen: is the technology in the movie accurate? because they have these little drones-- little beetles, tiny little things. >> it is. >> stephen: smaller than a hummingbird, smaller than a beetle, flying into people's houses and spying on them. >> that's real.

and it's going to go much further beyond that point in the next ten or 15 years. that's what's so extraordinary. i mean, obviously a lot of this is-- i'm sure it's sort of secret in a sense-- >> stephen: not anymore. ( laughter ) >> not anymore. >> stephen: thanks a lot, helen mirren. >> have we done something, oh my god! ( laughs ) >> stephen: can i ask what is that-- that tattoo? >> my tattoo? >> stephen: is that okay to ask what that is? >> yes, what it means, or--? >> stephen: yes, what does it mean? >> it means-- >> stephen: it's sort of two "v"s inverted against each other. >> it is. it kind of means, equal and opposite, so something can be as different from you as you can possibly imagine but have equal value to yourself. that's the sort of overall idea of it. i used to tell people i got it in prison before my sex change. ( laughter ) >> stephen: well, they did a very, very good job, let me just say. >> yes, it was very expensive. no, but, i got my tattoo when only hell's angels and criminals

>> stephen: back in the 1970s? >> yes, yes, in the '70s, exactly right, in the '70s. i got it done here in america. >> stephen: really? >> yes, with a safety pin. >> stephen: when-- when you were-- ( laughter ) with a safety pin? and, like, a bottle of ink or something? >> yes, a bottle of ink. >> stephen: you're fascinating. were you-- i understand you actually were something of a carnival barker when you were younger? there's a different name for it in england. >> well, when i was at school-- i mean, i was at the convent school, so i was a good girl-- >> stephen: you were at a convent school? >> yes, i had to go to a convent school, yes. with nuns. >> stephen: oh, really? did you ever think about taking the orders? >> you know, i did. when i was about 11 or 12. something very-- >> stephen: oh, you would be such trouble on those young boys you were teaching. it would have been so hard on them. >> no, it was all girls, it was an all girls' school. but anyway, it was a sort of saturday job. yes, i worked as a barker in the local-- because i grew up in the sort of the british equivalent of coney island. so it was a sort of seaside resort sort of place with carnivals and rides and stuff like that. so i worked in the carnival for a while. >> stephen: so what would you do? sort of like, "step up!

on her bell as a reptile. gorilla, gorilla! come inside!" >> i did what was known as blagging. i was trying to explain that, darts stall. >> stephen: exactly, like-- like a carnival where you throw the darts that hit balloons and stuff like that. >> so i had to get people to the stall, my stall, as opposed to any other stall. >> stephen: was it like, hit the balloons and win a doll, or something? >> yes. >> stephen: was it a total rip- off? >> yes, completely. >> stephen: so you were a con man! >> yes, yeah, and i blag, i blag-- >> stephen: you were a tattooed con man who spent her time at a convent school. >> i didn't have my tattoo then. that was later. >> stephen: you didn't have your tattoo then? >> but i blagged. i'd go, "excuse me, sir, excuse me, excuse me, yes, you, did you park at the gate? did you? i'm sorry, did you? i don't think you did? could you come here a second? could you just come here a second, i just want to ask you something. did you park in at the gate? did you? >> jon: yes, i did. okay, yeah, okay. >> you did, oh, good! i'm very happy to hear it! come over here. now, we've got a very good stall here. you know, my prizes... ( laughter

>> jon: yeah, over there. >> stephen: she got you. jon, helen. helen, jon. >> jon: hi. ( applause ) ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: she got me. >> that's blagging. >> stephen: how much different is that from acting? >> it's exactly the same! ( laughter ) you're so right. >> stephen: yeah. >> that was when my career began. i never thought of that. >> stephen: well, helen mirren, thank you so much for being here. it was an absolute pleasure to meet you. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) "eye in the sky" opens this friday. helen mirren, everybody. we'll be right back. to those who don't run from mud...but through it. who know it wasn't a day at the beach... unless someone got buried. to the fullbacks... gearheads...

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( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey! welcome back, everybody. my next guest is good at tv and even better at films. his new good film is "10 cloverfield lane." please welcome our friend j.j. abrams! ( cheers and applause ) ( cheers and applause

j.j.! >> thank you. wow. wow. >> stephen: so nice to see you again. >> great to see you, sir. >> stephen: it's always a pleasure to be with you. you know why i think people like you, other than the fact that you're a damn nice guy? >> what's that, sir? >> stephen: people love hearing stories, and you're like the consummate storyteller. >> that is incredibly kind, and now i'm on the spot. so now i have to-- >> stephen: no, you don't have to-- you don't have to tell a story. >> thank you, thank you. >> stephen: i wouldn't mind knowing and i'm sure people wouldn't mind, do you have a philosophy how you tell stories, though? like, is there somewhere you want to start? do you start with a question? do you start with a mystery? where do you start? >> not really. honestly, every story is a different thing and all you try to do is tell a story that will engage people emotionally. and i think in movies at least, there's a tendency to sometimes go for a visual effects sort of crutch, to sort of rely on spectacle. and i think that-- >> stephen: well, you're very good at that. you're very good at that. a lot of things. >> thank you. >> stephen: not the crutch

the spectacle, certainly. >> thanks. but anyway... ( laughter ) i think-- oh, my god. what i think is happening-- >> stephen: you like the visual effects? >> it's an amazing place. exactly. i think the key is just to try to tell a story that is as emotionally engaging as possible, despite all the spectacle. >> stephen: now, i understand that-- we spoke about this once before, in front of a live audience for a benefit once, you said that your wife told you to stop with the lens flares. ( laughter ) your wife, katie, said, "that's enough with the lens flares." >> well, i mean, katie's told me to stop with a lot of things. ( laughter ) >> stephen: but this time you listened. >> but lens flares, i was like, okay, i'll stop. she was right. there was one scene in "star trek: into darkness" that you literally couldn't see what was going on. and it was a very important emotional scene. and alice eve, the actress, was somewhere behind this crazy lens flare glaring, and katie just looked at me and said, "okay, i think this is it. i think, at this point you have to absolutely stop doing that." >> stephen: it's like putting on jewelry. put on everything you want before you go out, look in the

flare. >> is that what you do? >> stephen: that's what you do. that's what i do. okay, let's talk about the new movie "10 cloverfield lane." >> yes, sir. >> stephen: this thing, i can't wait to see it, and you snuck up on people with this. this is kind of an amazing thing, is that people did not see this coming, and suddenly j.j. abrams is producing a new movie. >> yes, but this was a movie that was directed by dan trachtenberg. i did not direct the movie. dan did an extraordinary job. it was his first film, which you would never know seeing it. it's a really scary, really weird-- it's a creation concoction. and we purposely doesn't announce it. we didn't talk about it for a year, six months, two months before-- >> stephen: but how do you do that? how do you make a film, like, a big film-- you know, john goodman is a star. you know, you're a star producer with a big studio. it's like beyonce dropping an album on a wednesday afternoon. ( laughter ) >> well, that's how beyonce and i roll. ( laughter ) no, we-- ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: very similar. >> very similar. >> stephen: very similar. it's the hips. ( laughs )