Prince Harry Interviews Former U.S. President Barack Obama; "The Last Jedi" Blockbuster Opening Weekend.
VANIER: They have had a transatlantic bromance for several years. Now, Prince Harry is showcasing his friendship with former U.S. President Barack Obama by interviewing him for BBC Radio 4.</s>CHURCH: Yes. They recorded the interview back in September in Toronto at the Invictus Games. Before the interview started, there was a little, joking around.</s>BARACK OBAMA, FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Do I have to speak faster because --</s>PRINCE HARRY: No, not at all.</s>OBAMA: OK. Do I need the British accent?</s>PRINCE HARRY: But if you start using long pauses between the answers you'll probably going to get like the face.</s>OBAMA: Let me see the face. Oh, OK. I'm ready. You guys have sound?</s>PRINCE HARRY: You're sounding great.</s>OBAMA: You're all good?</s>PRINCE HARRY: Yes.</s>OBAMA: It's fun. I'll interview you if you want.</s>CHURCH: And there it is. CNN royal commentator Kate Williams joins us now from London. Kate, great to have you with us again. We can see the chemistry. We talked about that last hour. How was Prince Harry able to make this interview happen and what all do we know about their friendship?</s>KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, this is -- Prince Harry is a guest editor of the "Today" program on BBC Radio 4 on the 27th. So this is our key flagship news program. It's where all the big political stories are broken. It really is to set the agenda. And as part of his work a guest editor, he clearly asked, really when he was in the Invictus Games, asked Mr. Obama for an interview and clearly, Obama and Prince Harry are good friends. We've seen lots of photos of them together. They get on. It was obviously a winner. But we've learned in the interview, which we haven't yet heard, we won't yet hear until the 27th and then we'll hear it in full in a podcast. It's going to be a lot about leadership. So, they share these joint ambitions to foster the leaders of the future.</s>CHURCH: And what other things do they end up talking about in he interview? What are they hoping to achieve with this?</s>WILLIAMS: The interview is going to be personal. Mr. Obama has talked about his last days in office, his memories. Also, his hopes for the future, what he hopes to do post presidential. And also the two of them wanting to talk about creating platforms. We don't know what kind of platforms yet. I'm sure we'll find out, but creating platforms for the leaders of the future. Perhaps scholarships, perhaps</s>CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And wow. What a first interview for Prince Harry. Is this just a one-off or can we expect more of this?</s>WILLIAMS: It doesn't seem like Prince Harry was a natural interviewer. Mr. Obama was saying how excited he was. Prince Harry said he was a bit nervous, but obviously, there are lots of exciting things said. It was very detailed. I don't think that we're going to see an awful lot of Prince Harry doing media interviews. But in terms of creating partnerships, creating networks, making -- working with people like the Obama Foundation and really pushing forward his own agenda about leadership, about veterans, about charities, and about conservation. I think now Prince Harry is married, we're going to see him moving to the next stage. And that is the next stage, really, of not just British royalty. Not just English royalty but an international player, and an international humanitarian which with Ms. Markle will be a pretty powerful twosome.</s>CHURCH: Indeed. Kate Williams, many thanks to you joining us from London where it is nearly 9:00 in the morning. Thank you.</s>VANIER: The "Star Wars" franchise is still a powerful force at the box office.</s>CHURCH: Yes, "The Last Jedi" brought in a staggering $450 million globally in its opening weekend.</s>VANIER: Earlier, Chris Brennan, the director of Australia's Star Wars Appreciation Society -- real title -- told us how the Aussie fan base is reacting to the latest episode.</s>CHRIS BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, STAR WARS APPRECIATION SOCIETY OF ASUTRALIA: You've got two camps. You've got the love it and the hate it. And it seems to be a lot of the older fans in the, well, I'm not really sure how I feel about it camp at the moment. So, the younger fans are loving everything about it. They're loving the characterization. They're loving the effects of everything, but the older fans are a little bit slower to warm up to this I think.</s>VANIER: That's really interesting. And I heard that from some of the fans here in the "Newsroom" when I was preparing the interview and preparing to talk to you. And by the way, no spoilers please because obviously a lot of people haven't seen it yet. What about the humor in the film? I understand that could be one of the more contentious sides of it as well.</s>BRENNAN: I think there's a lot of humor in the "Star Wars" films anyway and it's always an underlying bit of humor and some of the bits in the last Jedi feel a little bit forced, if anything. And some of it may be in the wrong place, but the jokes that are there are good jokes. Don't get me wrong, but they just maybe need to be rehearsed a little bit more maybe.</s>VANIER: All right, Chris Brennan there from the Star Wars Appreciation Society in Australia.</s>CHURCH: And they know in Australia, too. All right, before we go, we have been covering the impact of that power outage at the world's busiest airport. Thousands are still stranded but earlier in the day, travelers at Atlanta's airport found ways to amuse themselves.</s>VANIER: One traveler posted this video on Instagram, and this is how one staffer at the airport chose or maybe had to come down the elevator. He probably didn't have much of a choice given how many people were walking up.</s>CHURCH: Right. It looks like he actually works there. He's got all of the tags. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Rosemary Church.</s>VANIER: I'm Cyril Vanier. "Early Start" is next for our viewers here in the</s>U.S. CHURCH: And for the rest of you, the news continues with our Max Foster in London. Have a great day.