this morning on "today's take," beyonce's epic birthday bash. the queen turns 35 about a who's who list of a-list friends and i'll look at what happens below deck on one of the hottest shows and curtis stone with a 30 all that and more coming up now. >> announcer:rom nbc news, this is "today's take" with al roker, tamron hall, and billy bush live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning, september 6th, 2016. t tamron and i are here as we were yesterday. al enjoying the day off as you should, sir. >> very nice. with the family.

and about ten people and you spend a lot of time cooking but it's fun. my daughter courtney was helping. she whipped up some -- >> not really a labor day for her. she's home with the family. >> she was labor. >> look at what al cooked. >> for breakfast we had cinnamon rolls and bacon and chicken apple sausage and for saturday i sausage and scrambled eggs and did some berries and then for dinner we did grilled corn. courtney made potato salad and chicken. i made butterfly grilled leg of lamb. >> where would you go in first? >> bacon. >> can we put it back up, please. we want to map out. i would go -- that corn? butterfly lamb.

toast sandwich. >> we both had a reaction when he said chicken apple sausage. >> it's a snack. >> i can taste it almost. >> this is the way al loves. >> it's what we do. >> deborah in the beginning -- >> that's how i keep my children. >> who does dishes now? my wife kicked me off the grill. she won't even let me go out. i i do dishes. >> everybody else does the dishes. i do some cleaning as i go. >> you clean as you go? >> yeah. >> that's professional. >> so you and people we said before, you go home most days and you prepare a meal for your family. >> yep. >> that's impressive. >> that's the way he loves. we all love differently. >> i go through sports and activities and we're going to hike and sweat together.

i have a teenage boy. he's a machine. he's a machine. >> he ate how many roker burgers that day? >> he ate two. we were out on our friend's boat. >> on a pontoon boat. >> it's a living room on a float. it's fantastic. it's the best. >> you can't really water ski. >> some of the new ones you can water ski. people are tubing on we missed you yesterday. >> you know who would love being on a party boat like that, beyonce. that's how she should have celebrated. >> with you and nick. >> i can see jay-z driving that boat. yeah. >> they are more yacht people. >> jay-z hasn't lived until he got on a pontoon boat. >> if you are part of the bee hive or know anybody in the bee hive, gather around.

concert in new jersey at metlife stadium. that's now pushed a month to october 7th. it didn't stop last night. bee celebrating the 35th birthday with a soul train party. do you have to cancel the birthday party? >> no. >> at the risk of upsetting the hive it's a question and not an opinion. those that t paid dearly. >> this is jay-z as jimi hendrix. that's beyonce. that's the soul train line at their birthday party. alicia keys was there. her husband. chance, the rapper. puffy was there. look at puffy. >> that's randy watson.

look at the feathers. >> that's usher in the background with jay-z. >> you know what? this is too big. you don't have to talk at this party. just dance and move. >> dance. love it. >> i love that. >> happy birthday, beyonce. >> over the weekend an absolute battle royal breaks out between the oldies and the newbies here. you have baby boomers and generation x piling up on the millennials. a millennial. >> it's trending. >> it's ugly. the older generation gets it started. millennials got a few shots in as well. the oldies come out with pay them cash instead of exposure #how to confuse a millennial. >> oldies kept piling on.

show them a first place trophy. >> newbies come back here. down but not out. come help me get set up on this twitter.com thing so i can post about how bad your generation is. how to confuse -- >> that's a little weak. i think it's weak. we're already on. we're already slamming you. so we don't really need your help. >> we're generation x. >> he's the sensible of the three of us. millennials brought the real heat. how to confuse a millennial, destroy the environment, destroy the economy, destroy the housing market and then call millennials lazy. >> i'll give you two points for that one. >> all right. chase crawford who tweeted, i'm already confused. i didn't know this many old people used twitter.

so the round goes to the newbies. >> they win it. >> they grew up with this. it's really -- it's not that big of a deal. >> 2008 is when twitter really took off. that's the big year. we were all -- >> i just think it's fantastic that everybody got restless over the weekend and we had generational wars. >> mel gibson is not on twitter and he shouldn't be. coming up, can we call it a co the newest project from mel. a standing ovation at the venice film festival. is

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"today's take." is mel gibson out of the penalty box after a ten-year stint? his new film "hack saw ridge" debuted in venice over the weekend. critics loved it. interesting. we go back to 2006. he was arrested for drunk driving on the pacific coast highway which launched him into an anti-semitic tirade to the and but now it seems that maybe he's out. ten-minute standing ovation for mel. does talent always -- >> the question is though can you separate the art from the director? nate parker is going through this with "birth of a nation" and it's controversy. it may not be that people are ready to let him out of the penalty box. >> we don't know if he did or didn't. with mel we know. >> he was acquitted and it's

has drawn criticism. the way he handled it after the fact. >> gabrielle union wrote -- she's a victim of rape. >> whether it's woody allen, the list goes on and on, can you separate the artistry from the artist? that may be what people are saying with mel gibson. i don't know. what do you think? >> look, i think we don't know what's in his heart. only he does. >> we heard it on the tape. that's to say people can't change? i think people can. people can ask for forgiveness and try to make themselves better. people will make that decision. >> it's an important film. the film is about a young medic who will not fight and pick up arms but he saves a bunch of his -- serves his country. but mel it seems also the bigger

anti-semitic tirade was so bad. i think also it's speculated -- i don't know if it's confirmed, that mel suffered from bipolar and mental illness. was he in his right mind when he was doing this? i don't know. i think that's -- because we take into account in so many other areas where people have offended. >> did he ever say that was the reason that he went on the tirade? did he cite hint did he -- i'll be honest with you, i remember following the story. i remember hearing the tape, the reaction. people shutting down on him. i don't know. paula deen. she came on the show and she begged for forgiveness. i remember that. her career suffered greatly. not as long but -- i think it also boils down to and maybe all

it's how you go back out publicly and ask your fans and those to forgive you. paula deen tried it. she goes on cruises. did michael do that? >> i think he's so broken and gone. i asked jerry about it a couple times. i said is it okay? is the landscape okay? is it right for him to come back yet. he said i think so. i don't think he wants to. >> the movie is getting reviews. i read a critic who said he's hearing concerning reports that it's very good. >> he's concerned oh no. >> i have to say the film is good. it is mel gibson. someone better than good is great. serena williams making history. she won her match at the u.s. open last night.

it gives her 308 match win in grand slam events surpassing roger federer. i saw a billboard in new york, we were trying to grab a picture. it said greatest female athlete and then it crossed out female and says greatest athlete. it gave me a goosebump moment there. >> she's definitely in the conversation. >> what's going on with hermine? is it going to leave at some point? >> eventually. by thursday it will be gone. in the talking about this -- >> it's confused. >> we've been talking about this for 20 days. there's no steering currents. we've had showers in new york city. breezy. 65-mile-per-hour winds. you can see that it hooks a little u-turn and thursday it is still there. we have minor coastal flooding at high tides from norfolk to

high tides and we've got newton. hurricane newton. >> that's my mom and dad's last name. >> 90-mile-per-hour winds moving north-northwest at 17. here's the interesting thing. it's going to bring moisture up into the southwest bringing a flooding threat. it may actually hold together as a tropical system. it would be only the fourth time a tropical system has been within 50 miles of last one was tropical storm lester in 1992. we've got flash flood watches for arizona, new mexico, on into texas for three to five inches of rain in some areas. >> take a left and go to southern california. >> it's not going to happen. >> chr >> good tuesday morning, everyone. herm enjust to the south of us, pinwheeling in moisture, a lot of drizzle around this morning.

20-30 miles-per-hour. scattered showers throughout the day. and rip currents a concern at the shoreline. 7-on-7 forecast, scattered showers around on wednesday, and gusts to 20-30 miles-per-hour. and then we start to break out of the pattern to the end of the week, and temperatures close to 90. latest weather. >> i'm hungry. curtis stone is here. you can smell the food. i'm hav a >> that's curtis. >> you have that reaction with curtis. smells like that. fantastic. labor day is behind us. are you ready to fall forward? we'll get you ready for the new season with some festive food and decor hacks after these messages. sara, could you come in here. yep, coming. oh wow, what kind of underwear are those? they're breathable underwear from fruit of the loom. [gasp] what are those? guys... they're breathable underwear from fruit of the loom.

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pumpkins. start off with a piece of toilet paper. on a dinner napkin. tuck it right in. super simple. >> where do i display this in my home? >> you can probably put if in the bathroom maybe or guest room. you can use it afterwards. a cute way to hide it. >> this is where you put your spare rolls. >> now it makes sense. i did not know where i was going to put the toilet paper puki put it in your bathroom. you put the roll under and people can't find it. >> it's done and done. >> okay. i love fresh pine cones. >> gather them in your backyard. spray paint them. use rose gold which is on trend. a little pop and glitter. put them in a big bowl. use a nice hurricane and candle.

safe. >> that's good. >> for your party. you're not a veggie person. you always have to have a veggie plate at the party. hollow out the squash. put dip in there. go for it. >> and this is adorable. >> this is my favorite. these are kissing balls. >> they're what? >> called kissing balls. >> it's like a wedding tradition. you can use them all year long. us you start off with a plain styrofoam ball. wrap string around it. stick the flowers in. >> do you put them over somebody's head? >> if you do a buffet party you can hang them over the table. originally like mistletoe, that was the original hanging kissing ball. >> okay. that's cute. >> can i use real flowers? >> i think you need silk flowers

strong. you can do this all year long. >> you can hang it over your front door. >> yes. >> cute. >> all right. learn something new every day on this show. kissing balls. never heard of that. coming up, billy goes below deck to get a peek at one of tv's hottest shows. it's not smooth sailing for the rich and famous high sea kissing balls.

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imagine this. a stunning megayacht. five-star food. staff catering to your every need. >> he got a chance to taste the good life. >> trust this. bravo's hit reality service follows a young crew, millennials, working aboard a luxury yacht. it's not the actual boat used on "below deck." found out it's not always smooth sailing. the reality show that hits the high seas. it follows eight crew members working together aboard a luxury mega yacht.

there's boat loads of drama onboard so i suited up to work for the day with the sea captain at the helm. >> good to see you, sir. >> i might have come off a little strong with the captain. might i say one thing, you look very handsome today. very powerful. >> you're sucking up. billy needs to stop sucking up. you have a tremendous resemblance to kenny ro had a very awkward moment with emily who is very sweet. wow. >> we have towels here. we're doing swan fold. you're good at this. he was asking me a question. >> do you have any overserved guests? overserved. too much alcohol or something and they hit on you a little bit. what do you do about that?

i'm sorry. what were we talking about? emily, thank you for your help. that was very memorable. thank you very much. anything else? >> get the stainless out there. makes sure it's stain less. understood. >> what's up? what's up? >> sometimes you have to be they'll walk over us. >> i thought we would bro's. chest out with me. >> i'm senior deck hand. >> i think you made up that title. it's not really a title. you're splitting hairs. there's no such thing as a senior deck hand.

>> how are you doing? >> anything you need. of course. we have guests arriving. >> is there a cocktail we can have. >> a bottle of wine in my bag. >> ben is a good time. >> it's unprofessional to be honest. >> cheers. >> it's for the guests but who cares. we're more important than them. we're doing a charlie brown. i don't know where billy acquired these knife skills. he must have worked in a fine dining restaurant somewhere. what do we serve? cocktails for the ladies? >> that's massive drink. >> one very stiff cocktail. two very stiff cocktails. i think they'll be happy with that. the guests are lovely. ladies, enjoy. anything you need? >> i think maybe some plates and

where's the plate? cheese platter. >> what are these? >> the chef brought something that's been confused for boat fuel before. be careful. if i had to give myself a grade for opening day as deck hand, i would say a. >> billy's performance was adequate. i would give him a solid b. >> a plus. >> posted up on me. what's going on. you may have noticed cocktails we served guests were only filled halfway. it was revealed later when our producers went into the kitchen, look at this. we left the go pro running. there's the senior deck hand. >> those are drinks you actually

you've been on the show three weeks. once a week you have to show your chest. >> in popular demand. >> by who? who is asking? >> your twitter feed. >> not true. >> we thank b & b yacht charters. big shout out to captain brad. he's the real captain. he was working that afternoon. we came onboard and had fun. >> iov them drinking the drinks. >> by the way, you can catch the season premiere "below deck" at 9:00, 8:00 central at bravo. >> you're going to say bravo after you see what curtis stone whips up for us. if you have 20 minutes, we've got the meal for you on a busy school night right after these messages. before taking his team to state for the first time...

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it's that easy to make a difference. ? walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy. this morning on "today food," you give us 20 minutes, we'll give you the world. we're getting it together with curtis stone. his new restaurant opened this summer in l.a. so curtis, congratulations on the new >> what are you making us? >> it's a pesto glazed chicken breast. i thought i would put you to work because i have old fashioned pesto here and then i'll race you. all you have to do is just crunch it up. you have garlic in there. we've got basil leaves of course. adding garlic. keep crushing away. pine nuts. a little chilly flake.

little salt. you put all that into your food processor. parmesan cheese. a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. you pour that in. come on now. work it. bump and grind. bend the knees a little. get into it. >> bump and grind, al. >> you don't want to see that. >> you can take the fast way or the slow way. i'm adding olive oil through the top of my it's a little messy. good thing about cooking that way is it gives you a workout which i like. once you made your pesto -- >> more rustic looking. >> no problem with chunks you have left in there. once you made your pesto and if you want to use store bought, you can. i have salt and pepper. good man. you want to hear it sizzle when you put this into your hot pan.

so we get a nice sear on our chicken breast. it will look like this in a couple minutes. >> could you use a boneless chicken thigh. >> delicious. make sure it's skinless. you're going to add pesto which gives you richness. you go ahead and cover that. it's so simple. you throw it in the oven. just cook chicken breast 375 for about maybe 15 minutes. and then we get to the spaghetti. i have spaghetti. olive oil in here. pine nuts. pasta water is good. dump that in, al. beautiful. so spaghetti goes in. and if you need to loose it up like i said, just a little more of that pasta water. >> reserve some of that.

parsley. parmesan cheese is nice. and then you just sort of toss that together and you get this beautiful sort of consistency. it's really simple. >> kind of makes its own sauce in a way. >> it really does. if you want to roast cherry tomatoes, that would be nice. a little trick from a chef. you get a roasting fork and twist it like that. and then when you pick it twists and then you bring it over to your plate and you push it down. >> spaghetti mountain. >> you get a spaghetti twist. >> that's how you serve yourself. >> very good. that's it. >> looks terrific. >> thank you so much, my friend. always good to see you. for the recipe, head to

a storm here. let's see what we're cooking up as far as your weather is concerned. it will heat up in the eastern half of the u.s. for today. look for strong storms up in the northern mississippi river valley. we've got a flood threat in the southwest. wet weather in the pacific northwest. tomorrow that heat continues in the east. hot and humid through the gulf coast. we've got tropical rain through the southwest. some sprinkles in the pacific northwest. always good on ice cream. not so good if you're t do something outside and we are looking at strong storms through the upper midwest. >> good tuesday morning, everyone. hermine just to the south of us, still pinwheeling in moisture, a lot of drizzle around this morning. gusty winds not as strong as yesterday. gusts, about 20-30 miles-per-hour. scattered showers throughout the day. and rip currents a concern at the shoreline. 7-on-7 forecast, scattered showers around on wednesday, and

of the pattern to the end of the week, and heat up on friday,

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she's been called a pioneer in film and champion for women in the entertainment industry. ava duvernay, best known for directing the powerful film "selma" nominated for and won for best original song. >> eva also produced a feature "middle of nowhere" at the sundance film festival. >> back with one of the most highly anticipated projects yet of the new drama, "queen sugar." take a look. >> how long have you been gone? you haven't been gone that long.

i've been trying to help. for some reason you've been blocking me at every turn. >> we don't honor our family by setting friends and family outside at fancy tables. we don't honor our father by having strangers serve those grieving. we serve comfort food to those who need comfort and we do it with our own hands. that's how a family does it. >> eva, i saw the screening last week. i told you it's one of the most mov movie. film. tv. i don't care what category. you use the word luxurious. tell us why you put that word on this project. >> it takes a moment to kind of sink into the story. you have to allow yourself to do that. it requires a certain amount of patience to kind of sit there this day and age when everything is plot driven to actually say i'm going to relax into the

as it unfolds. that was really our intention to try to create television that allows to you slow down for a moment. >> when you have the support and you have had such great relationship with oprah and you have the support that you know you need, how is that for you as a director? >> i'm more confident. i have that safety net. i can try things on other networks i can't try. it's a network owned by an artist. an actress and storyteller. to tell and let's present that. >> do you feel like you had expectations? you have family. you have family dealing with loss. and then you have socially conscious issues that you're bringing in there. handling all kinds of things at one time. was there a pressure to that or was there total free raieign? >> it felt like joy. every day i get to do this. that's the way i went into it.

costumes, the music, we all got together with that cast and we just did it from a place of joy. it was fun. >> you talk about the cast, hottest cast on television. >> good looking cast. >> they are gorgeous. >> not tough to look at. you know, they were actors and happen to be stunning. it worked out. >> amazing. >> people go through loss too. >> and it doesn't make them any less attractive. >> that's true. absolutely. >> you also directed an episode of "scandal." i guess powerful and great attract each other. >> that's kind.

now i want to story tell in that format. i directed an episode of "scandal." that was a couple years ago. this is a whole lot of fun. tv. >> we have to have those. >> you know what, how could i forget -- do we have the video of when i was your intern? are you ready to grade me my final grade. >> let's do it. >> that's me. i was directing. i know it doesn't look like that. >> looks like you're one step above getting coffee right now. >> i was intern on the set of "queen sugar" in new orleans. i worked hard. >> a little bossy. a little pushy. >> welcome to our world. >> something to work on.

>> it's sold out. >> we love you. the project is tremendous. queen sugar tonight on own. >> only time you'll see it without commercials. >> i'll be live tweeting this. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. new hampshire college students are packing their backpacks and heading back to school. and thanks to kelly ayotte, along with the textbooks and pencils, many students are carrying more student loan debt. ayotte voted to cut pell grants and to raise student loan interest rates.

for new hampshire students and families, kelly ayotte is a heavy burden we can't afford. nea advocacy fund is responsible

>> what's coming up? >> it's tradition. >> we have soul song united singing for us and bucket list grandma and curtis is here.

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from nbc news, this is "today" with kathy lee gifford and hoda, live from studio 1a in >> hey, everybody, it's boozeday tuesday. e we hope you had a wonderful labor day weekend. and bet you didn't get affected by hermine. >> we thought we were going to get rained in and be inside playing board games and instead it was gorgeous on the east coast, for the most part. >> it really was. that's overnight by jake miller.