you don't usually hear youtube and the guggenheim discussed in the same sentence.ome of these videos are really modern art. >> we're seeing fascinating displays of creativity. >> that's why the guggenheim hooked up with us. they're on this search for what they will declare to be the most creative, most innovative videos on the planet. and they got more than 23,000 submissions from 91 countries for this. and what happened was, this team pieced through all of them. looked at all of them, and chose the short list, which is 125 videos. this is a compilation that shows you a couple clips. you can look at all of them, they're now showing on guggenheim kiosks all over the world. they have this jury made up of artists, graphic designers, curators and filmmakers who are going to help decide the top 20 most creative videos in the world, and they'll be announced -- i think guggenheim new york. >> that's fantastic. it's fascinating looking at these clips. >> it's mesmerizing. we have a few to show you, just to highlight here, one is from a group we talked about on this show be

geoffrey canada and david guggenheim. then later in the week, james ellroy, and robert reich would join us with seal. we also will have nancy brinker. tonight, we kick off the week with harold for junior. the former tennessee congressman is now the chairman of the democratic leadership council, dlc, and and he has a new book, "more davids than goliaths." >> everyone should see that. what guggenheim and canada have done, it is inspiring. i hope people see it. >> it is a moving film. one thing i am sure that geoffrey and davis and i i am sure will talk about is that it is anti-union. what do you make of that? >> whether we are finding greater success in one model or the other. i think probably one of the most poignant thing that has been said is it seems our education system that of to benefit adults where it should be squarely and comprehensively how to fix kid'' problems and how to answer the challenges they faced a today, so i love the debates. i am a charter school guy. i am not an anti-union guy. geoffrey, we should sc

a conversation with davis guggenheim. a conversation with davis guggenheim. today, september 26, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt. normally we would be starting over there at home base, but today we are starting outside. come with me. for weeks we have been telling you about an nbc news initiative called education nation and we are getting started today. education nation is essentially the beginning of a conversation about the state, the status of education in this country right now. our goal is to inspire, to enlighten, to listen, possibly provoke as we try to figure out how our children are learning and why, in some cases, they are failing. why some kids are being left behind in our system. whether or not you have a child in school right now or not, this matters to you. the president of the united states recently said it's an economic issue. how our children are learning. the conversation will be taking place at a place we call education nation learning pl

david guggenheim's movie about the u.s. public school system will hit theaters. it follows students and their families on their uphill battle to secure good education in a system that guggenheim labeled broken. >> among 30 developed countries we rank 25th in math. >> reporter: reed, lauded by some for innovative ideas, and criticized, features in the documentary. says it's time the country gets a good look at what is happening. >> if you look at what's happened in america public education over the last years, we've gone from number one in a lot of respects to absolutely at the bottom amongst developed nations. >> reporter: while charter schools are portrayed positively in the new films, teachers unions are not, but this is no attack from the right. guggenheim is the academy award winning director and producer behind al gore's global warming documentary "an inconvenient truth" randy wine garden from the american federation of teachers prizes guggenheim's attempt to get the country talking about education, but is not happy what she always an inaccurate portrayal of

this is at the guggenheim where she had a retrospective in 1989. she was able to develop this even further when the guggenheim commissioned her to do a project there. this was in 1997. and like this project, jenny was able to collaborate very early on with frank when this piece was put together. also very important for this project was jenny to incorporate a number of languages. english, spanish, the bosk language, so that people who would read this would feel some kind of connection. this is a project that jenny did in berlin. this is at the entrance to the members of parliament. it was to address those walking in, but also to use speeches from actual members of past parliaments so that there's a real connection to the people who would be using that place and the artwork itself. and while jenny's work always has a utilitarian aspect, she also wants it to be beautiful. this is at the national gary in berlin. this is a project jenny did for the table arts convention center in pittsburgh. she used three novels by pittsburgh writers who were also writ

-- judy guggenheim. [applause] >> thank you, mitch. every time i stand out and talk about san francisco general, i feel humble and proud. i feel humble because what goes on is in a public arena, the most remarkable consensus of all kinds of groups all across the city working to make this hospital something that not only can we be proud of, but that is recognized all around the country as the very best of the best. our programs go nationwide. our research goes nationwide. every time i bring somebody here who has never been to the hospital before, they all go away just filled with energy and enthusiasm, thinking that this is the best place they have ever seen. that is why i feel humble. it is also why i feel proud. it is a remarkable thing to be able to stand up and say what goes on here because of the work of every single person involved here, and now, because of the work of 84.5% of the people in the city, is just unheard of. i know we are going to have a fabulous new hospital. i know webcor is going to

academy award-winning director davis guggenheim joins us. >>> first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. as you saurk it's a couple of backyards. he's the backyard again at this point. the president. going to be in des moines doing an intimate affair. yesterday, a little fascinating discussion about christianity in the president's personal beliefs there. thanks to a question from somebody in a backyard in new mexico. we'll be right back. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expen

and you can see these videos at the guggenheim kiosks around the world. a lot of prestige that goes along with it. what we've done yesterday and today -- >> the guggenheim name behind it. >> we talked about this, a lot of videos are modern art. expression. people put a lot of work into these. that's why we're going to start with an example of one that took eight months to create. eight months from a swedish band. i can't pronounce the name of it. no one can. it's going to be on your screen, though. there you go. right after youtube.com, that's it. >> will it stay there for eight months? >> look at all those legos. so we can practice? look at all those legos. it took about 1500 hours to make the lego animations. that's just part of the video. then they go into other celebrations of kid games and retro stuff but really amazing work. >> it is amazing. >> yeah. >> now it looks like a birthday cake. >> it does. i think that's what they're going for. in a similar vein, the u.s. group okay, go. they keep doing funky videos. we've seen them before. this is one th

you know, and this is probably my biggest disappointment in terms of guggenheim's film.'s outdated. if you look at what's happened in the united states in the last two years -- and nbc is part of it by doing this education nation program -- we have been in district after district doing the problem-solving things we have to do. our union and our teachers have stepped up. they need to be supported in this. it's a really tough job. and teachers feel really demoralized right now because it can't just be them. parents, kids, community, all of us have to step up. >> and randi, while i'm talking, i want to get to a letter you got from a teacher. just read me a salient point here, this teacher -- >> this is a letter i got from a teacher last night after i saw her in the park, and she was crying about the film, saying, "it dunce portray us." she's a teacher who came into teaching after 9/11, took a 50% pay cut and said i get to school almost an hour before it opens and i leave two hours after school each day and i spend four or five hours at home each night, i pay, i take out of

he is at the center of a wonderful new project from davis guggenheim called "waiting for superman." the film is a look at the state of public education in this country. >> one of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me superman did not exist. i was a comic book readers. i read comic books. i love them. even in the death of the ghetto, you just thought -- in the depths of again, you just thought he would show up and he saves all the good people. maybe i was in the fourth grade. my mom said, superman is not real. what do you mean he is not? no, he is not real. she thought i was crying because i thought santa claus was not real. i cried because no one was coming with enough power to save us. kids look at the world and the make certain predictions based on the evidence they are receiving from their peers, from their parents, and from their teachers. from their perspective, the world as a heartless, coldblooded place because, from their side, they have received the short end of the stick and they do not know why. >> is good to see you again. tavis: let me ask you about thi

and the last number. >>> and davis guggenheim joins us.e, it gets me again. excuse me. those kids, you want to reach out and hug every one of them. where did you find them? >> and also, when i watch the movie, i want them to win every time. it's not hard to find families all across the country that just want a great school for their kid. and these kids, you go to homes like in east l.a., or in the bronx here. and you wonder, what am i going to find? because you think, well, maybe those families are different than us. they're the same as us. these parents are just like us. they want a great school for their kid. >> and part of what inspired you to get into this, is reflecting on the fact that you live in these neighborhoods. yet you send your kids to private schools. >> yeah. originally, when they asked me to make this movie, i was like, no. i don't think it can be done. and i was driving to school in the minivan. and out of the corner of my eye, was counting the public schools i was passing. in my neighborhood, the kids aren't getting a gr

oscar winner davis guggenheim. >> experts will say the movie is pro this or anti that, but parents who the movie say, "i just want a greet school for my kid." >> reporter: he told cur cure he hopes the film promotes action. >> it features jeffrey canada who shows it's possible to create jet stream great schools even in poor neighborhoods. this week the department of education announced grants to replicate his success in 20 more cities. >> it's not an issue that we should put our heads in the sand. we could actually fix this. >> reporter: but critics of the movie say it unfairly targets public schools, their teachers and unions. >> i thought it was a little slanted because i think that there are a lot of great public schools with great teachers and great administrators and great families. >> reporter: still... >> does anyone in your group think the status quo is working? >> no, not at all. >> reporter: they also agree on what's at stake. >> you know, i want to be a teacher. >> reporter: a child's future. >> i want to be a nurse. i want to be a doctor. >> reporter: michelle miller, cbs n

we need to give the good teachers tools to support them. >> guggenheim said they never expected filmxperience to surpass support for "an inconvenient truth" but said the ground swell around this project has been greate greater. he says he's a huge supporter of public schools but he's so troubled by the state of schools he chose private school for his children. shannon bream, fox news. >> uma: thank you. republicans roll out a plan for what they'd do if they gain control of congress. but it's getting negative press from both sides of the aisle. we tell you why next. >> our pledge to america is that the republicans stand ready to get it done and beginning today. >> when it's time for a photo op at a small business, republicans are there. when it's time to actually help small businesses grow, we find them vote to outsource jobs overseas. ♪ [ male announcer ] at ge capital, we're out there every day with clients like jetblue -- financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i

it's called waiting for superman directed by david guggenheim, who is no stranger to controversy. the same guy who directed "an inconvenient truth." >> you think most of the kids here are getting a crappy education? >> i don't think they are. i know they are. >> reporter: documentary filmmaker davis guggenheim has a message for america. >> if we don't fix public schools for everybody, we're in trouble. >> reporter: the 46-year-old director knows how to get his message across. his late film earned $50 million at the box office, won an oscar and sparked an international debate over global warming. if lightning strikes twice, his new film "waiting for superman" would do the same for public education. cnn caught up with guggenheim at the sundance film festival where his movie was the first acquired by a major movie studio. >> the system we built works really well for the adults like the unions and the bureaucracy and even the parents. but it's not working for the kids. >> reporter: the film follows the lives of five children as they wait for their number to be called in a lottery, a b

our founding director was deeply interested in abstraction and was engaged in dialogue with the guggenheimbout bringing the jackson pollack showed to the west coast. the original price for the painting, $750. are directors thought that was too much of a stretch before the board of trustees, so she convinced them to reduce the price to firefighter dollars. it was just -- to $500. it was what was needed to persuade the board. it is a very subjective history of art. it has been very much shaped by the individuals involved with the museum over the years. in 1935, would start with the gallery with works that came in through albert bender, one of our founding trusties. when we opened our doors in 1935, 181 of the 186 pieces in our permanent collection had been gifted. >> what are the names that pop out as the museum evolved? >> we have another gallery that looks at the theories that the museum has since the late 1980's. we focus on a particular aspect of that program that developed under one of art curators. he arrived in 1989 and was especially interested in artists. >> are some of the highligh

davis guggenheim, thanks so much. "waiting for superman" started two days ago. >> opened here in new york on friday and the rest of the country in following weeks. >>> davis guggenheim will be part of tonight's live televised town hall about this "waiting for superman" documentary. joe scarborough and mika brzezinski are hosting the event tonight at 8:00 eastern here on msnbc. 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. comes in a liquid gel. ♪ when it's planes in the sky ♪ ♪ for a chain of supply, that's logistics ♪ ♪ when the parts for the line ♪ ♪ come precisely on time ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a continuous link, that is always in sync ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ there will be no more stress ♪ ♪ cause you've called ups, that's logistics ♪ it was a real shock. i remember being at the hospital thinking, "i should have done more to take care of myself." you should've. that's why i'm exercising more now. eating healthier. and i also trust my heart to lipitor. [ male

face of education reform figures in a documentary called waiting for superman produced by david guggenheimy award director of al gore's global warming documentary, "an inconvenient truth", takes a devastating look inside america's public school system. >> it's about 60,000 people have gone to the school and 40,000 didn't graduate. this is the damage that the school has done in this neighborhood. a child that doesn't finish high school will earn less than about eight times more likely to go to prison. for these kids the only chance for getting a great school depends whether their number is picked in a lottery. >> so they don't get it, is there another chance. >> no. >> paul: wall street journal columnist, and jason join me with me. bill, you and i have been making the arguments over education reform for years. what is this significant? >> it's significant because it comes from a liberal. the gentleman in the trailer is locke high school, failed 40,000 of 60,000 students, the way erin brockovich would talk about a factory that's polluting the drinking water of the local community and shows h

stunning stories of survival from that night, but none more dramatic than a very pregnant betty g guggenheim. >> we just ran. we didn't have any shoes. we had to borrow all this stuff from our neighbor. >> can you imagine her terror? betty grabbed her three children and she didn't look back. tonight she went home for the first time. we're live in san bruno where many people say that being home sden exactly make them feel safe, jean. >> fire investigators are finally getting a closer look at the devastation. for many of them, all that's left is a chimney and a pile of ashes. many say they're grateful that their family survived, but the trauma is far from over. fire victims who lost everything get a chance to sift through the ashes. wearing white safety suits, they search for a memento, something they had in their life before the blast. jose wasn't allowed in today. he can see where his house once stood. he wants to look for his daughter's treasures. >> my daughter's things, like metal. >> right next to a block of destruction, betty magulihan and her husband are packing up keep sakes. >> of al

an eye-opening moment for guggenheim. >> i drive past three public schools on the way to take my kidsate school. it haunts me that we aren't doing enough for every kid. >> something is wrong in the education system. >> reporter: jeffrey canada and billionaire bill gates tell cnn they participated in the film because of their concerns. >> we have a school day that's too short, a school year that's too short and we have lots of teach here's should not be teaching. >> reporter: and to offer solutions for the future. >> today the internet gives you that opportunity to watch the best lectures in the world. they're out there for free. if you take advantage of those resources, you can be broader and deeper than any of the kids were in my generation. >> among 30 developed countries, we rank 25th in math and 21st in science, and almost every category we have fallen behind. >> when i watch these things, you have to have some skepticism. >> reporter: jay fernandez from the hollywood reporter says "super man" has more to do with aspiring change than assigning blame. >> the studio and filmmakers h

figures in a new documentary opening this weekend called waiting for superman produced by david guggenheimal gore's documentary, the film takes a devastating look inside america's public school system. >> there is about 60,000 students have gone here in 40 years, 40,000 did not graduate. >> a child that doesn't finish high school will earn less, and be eight times more likely to go to prison. >> i want to go to school. >> for these kids the only chance of getting into a great school depends on whether their number is picked in a lottery. >> so if they don't get in, is there another chance? >> no. >> bill mcgern and jason riley join me with more. you and i have been making these arguments for something like 30 years. why is this film significant? >> this film is significant because it comes from a liberal. and the way he talks about public schools, you saw that gentleman in the trailer? he's at locke high school talking about this high school failed 40,000 of 60,000 students the way eric brocko very much talked about a faiktry polluting the drinking water of a local community. showing himse

guggenheim gets an "f" on research. >> even doing acceleration classes, she can accelerate math schools tutoring, every day after school. >> carol bouser has a sophomore at woodside and two graduates. >> all my kids have gotten excellent classes, but in the classes that they need to. >> she's also a teacher. she admits public schools aren't perfect, but worries the film is slanted. it paints unions as part of the problem. when many unions are fighting for the kids. >> they actually made it. a contract issue to keep lower class size. in our district. we have lower class size. >> public school teachers working hard to get every student to the head of the class. she's frustrated that part of the story didn't make it on the big screen. >> some teachered unions say they plan to protest bay union premieres, and they give the film an "f" for painting an accurate picture, they dpgive i an "a" for starting the discussion. >>> recently freed sarah shourd shared her most intimate thoughts for the first time. including how she kept on going for more than a year. >> there was only one day in prison

>> the oscar-winning director, davis guggenheim.> also, they spent an entire movie stuck in saturday detention, now, the cast of "the breakfast club" reunites right here on "gma." >> we'll break down what all that dancing was about in the movie. >>> plus, the one and only tom jones will perform live. he has a new cd. and a new chapter in his legendary career. listen to his music a little bit. ♪ did trouble >> little different for him. litt little gospel, a little country. >>> let's go to juju with the news. >> good morning. a lot of smiling in the crowd today. we begin with infighting in the obama administration over the war of afghanistan. a bob woodward book says the national security team was deeply divided. richard holbrooke allegedly said the strategy couldn't work. >>> while amidst all of the talk of division in the white house, the president is losing another member of his economic team, larry summers. he will be the third top economic adviser to leave the white house by year's end. >>> the owners of two iowa egg farms linked