Transcript Edit – Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang.
10:00:16:15
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Welcome to North Korea, the world’s most isolated and repressive state. A country that's always been on the outside, ever since its birth at the end of the Second World War, when Korea was torn in two. The Soviet Union helped to establish a communist state in the north: and installed Kim Il-Sung as leader. Kim's failed attempt to conquer the south during the Korean War led to a 4km-wide buffer zone being built between the two nations, the most heavily militarised border on the planet. Today North Korea remains an anomaly, cut off both politically and geographically from the modern world. But one man is on a mission to change all that…with a basketball. For the first time this is what happened when Dennis Rodman went to North Korea and staged the most controversial sporting event the world has never seen.
TITLES
10:01:43:19
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
To get this story moving, let's rewind to September 2013 and a rather unusual news conference.
RORY (OS):
We’re here today for Dennis Rodman to make a historic announcement following his recent visit to North Korea.
PADDY POWER (0S):
The Ministry of Sports of the DPR Korea invites Mr Dennis Rodman and his colleagues to return to DPR Korea to organise a basketball tournament, including the best players from DPRK and a team of 12 former NBA players to be held in January 2014.
10:02:10:10
NARRATOR (V/O):
Dennis Rodman, North Korea and Paddy Power? Now there's a combination you don't see every day. So just what had brought an ex-NBA star, the world's most vilified country and an Irish gambling company together?
10:02:24:08
NARRATOR (V/O):
Well, it all started a couple of years ago, when Denis's agent received an unexpected phone call.
DARREN (V/O):
I would say about August of 2012 I was contacted by an executive at Vice Media and said would Dennis consider being part of a er, documentary for HBO to go over as their figurehead? Erm. It was more of an informal basketball diplomacy type of trip with some Harlem Globetrotters. And er, they sent me an email picture of Kim Jong-un in, I guess it was maybe college.
DENNIS:
shooting some baskets, wearing a 91 Rodman Bulls jersey.
NARRATOR (V/O):
Actually,the guy in the picture was Kim Jong-un's brother, but let's keep going, shall we?
DENNIS:
‘We want you to go to North Korea and do a documentary and play in a game with the Harlem Globetrotters.’ And I thought it was a joke. I said, ‘Well, whatever,’ you know, I’ve played with the Harlem Globetrotters, you know, a couple of times. Next thing you know, the word got out that, you know, I'm going to North Korea. Then all of a sudden all the negativity started to come out about North Korea, How you know, the country's bad, how they kidnap people, it's crazy, you know, you never come back. Just all these different type of wild, wild,animated stories. So, I said, 'It don't really matter to me. I've been worse.' (LAUGHS) 'I've looked death in the face too many times in my life, so it doesn't really matter to me.'
10:03:44:00
NARRATOR (V/O):
In case you didn’t know, from humble beginnings, Dennis Rodman became one of the greatest basketball players the world has ever seen. Well, this is where we’d like to show some incredible footage of Dennis’s playing career but unfortunately, the NBA, which owns all of the footage, has flat-out refused to take part in this documentary, so we can’t. What we can show you is some of Dennis’s barmy behaviour off the court, which is what really caught the world’s attention. His hair, piercings, tattoos and kooky dress sense made him a press sensation.
10:04:13:09
NARRATOR (V/O):
After hanging up his Nikes, Dennis continued to be the most flamboyant, in-your-face American celebrity around. So you wouldn’t have thought that he’d be welcomed in a country that believes in order, conformity and little freedom of expression.
DENNIS:
So we went to the game. The game is packed. It’s full. I’m sitting on the bench and all of a sudden, he walks in, this short, this little short guy. You know, like, wait a minute. Who is that? I said, ‘That must be the president of the country.’ And he walks in, him and his wife, and all of his...his leaders and stuff like that. So, anyway, I walked down there. And that’s basically how it all happened. Once the game was over, we got invited, the team got invited to his house, well, not his house, his palace or whatever you wanna call it, for dinner. Before I left, me and him were sitting there talking and…I said, you know, ‘I’ll be back again.’ And he said, ‘I would love for you to come back.’
NARRATOR (V/O)
And four months later Dennis did return, jumping on an army helicopter, to the man they call the Marshal’s east coast holiday home. Along for the ride, his personal assistant, Vo.
10:05:21:03
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE:
Everything is just so like just five star, six star, seven star. It was just a great day every day. We had so much…There was so much entertainment so much fun, just so much relaxation, because everything was just so, so perfect.
10:05:35:23
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE:
When we really actually talked, talked, talked, I mean, we really, really got really close with each other, as far as like as a friendship, bond-wise.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
While they were kicking back, Marshal opened up about Dennis’s previous trip.
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE:
He didn’t get the Harlem Globetrotters. He didn’t get the fact that that’s what they do for a living. He didn’t like the show. He told me right off the bat. He said, ‘well, he didn’t want that. He hated that. He just laughed. I said, ‘Yeah, I figured you hated that one.’ He wanted to see a basketball game. So I think that’s where the idea of us coming together, saying, you know, ‘Let’s put on a basketball game…a real game.’ And his interpreter said, you know, ‘You know his birthday is January 8th , right?’ So automatically I clicked in quick. I said, ‘We’re gonna have a game here in January. Why not do it on his birthday?’ On his birthday. So I said, ‘Shit, you know, that’d be perfect.’
10:06:30:21
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Dennis did need one thing, though: money. Putting on such a big event halfway around the world is going to require a lot of it. But luckily for Dennis in a moment of pure serendipity, he was about to cross paths with the perfect sponsor. One of the biggest gambling companies in Ireland and the UK, Paddy Power is well known for its headline-grabbing marketing strategies, and it was one of its cheekiest PR stunts yet that led to it first meeting with Dennis.
KEN TO AUDIENCE:
It started in a very, very unprecedented circumstance. It was the first papal resignation in the past 600 years. We sent our people out to Rome. We were taking bets on who the next Pope would be.
10:07:06:05
KEN TO AUDIENCE:
The two biggest stories on that particular day were Paddy Power taking bets on who the next Pope would be and Dennis Rodman on his first trip out to North Korea. And we thought there could be an interesting synergy here if we bring the two of them together. And quite literally, twenty four hours later, Dennis was on a plane to Rome to help out Rory and Paddy in Vatican City.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
In Rome Dennis told Paddy Power about his agreement with Kim Jong-un to put on a basketball game in North Korea, and Paddy Power jumped at the chance to get involved.
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE:
Paddy Power came out of the blue and said, ‘We’ll do it.’ You know they’re one of those type of companies where they just…they love entertainment, they love excitement, they love intriguing things, that’s gonna actually, you know, put them on the map.
PADDY POWER (V/O):
The game’s planned for January 8 with the players staying at…
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
That brings us to the news conference when the game was revealed to the world. Dennis is painting the trip as a way to bridge the gap between North Korea and the United States. Now that might sound like a pipe dream, but it’s exactly what happened in the 1970s when a team of US ping-pong players travelled to China. The visit eased tensions between the two nations, and two years later Richard Nixon paid his own visit to the communist state. 40 years on, could Dennis pave the way for the current US government to visit North Korea? It’d be a long-shot, given the countries’ rocky relationship. Need a quick refresh? Well, as recently as 1994, the United States and North Korea were on the brink of war, after falling out over, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But President Bill Clinton, ever the charmer, sent his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, on a diplomatic mission, and Kim Il-Sung agreed to put North Korea’s nuclear plans on hold. That all changed in the early years of the 21st century when new leader Kim Jong-Il put North Korea’s nuclear programme back in motion after President George Bush took a somewhat different approach to his predecessor by publicly naming North Korea…alongside Iran and Iraq, in an…
BUSH TO AUDIENCE:
Axis of evil.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
That brings us to the current administration and President Obama’s tactic of strategic patience, which basically means refusing to speak to the third generation and new leader, Kim Jong-un, until North Korea agrees to disarm. Of course, that means Dennis’s willingness to converse with North Korea flies in the face of the USA’s current foreign policy. No wonder the White House is keen to distance itself from his efforts.
JAY CARNEY TO AUDIENCE:
Mr Rodman is on a private trip and our views about North Korea and its failure to meet its obligations have not changed, and our views about Kenneth Bae have not changed.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Ah, yes, Kenneth Bae, an evangelical Christian who was arrested in 2012 while leading a tour group through North Korea. He was later charged with planning to overthrow the government and sentenced to 15 years hard labour. It’s yet another cause of friction, and Dennis finds himself under pressure, as a personal friend of Kim Jong-un’s, to help push for Bae’s release. And then, if that wasn’t enough for Dennis to contend with, just one day befpre he’s due to fly out, this happens.
JOHN SNOW TO AUDIENCE:
‘Despicable human scum, worse than a dog. That’s how North Korean state media described the once powerful uncle.
CNN NEWSREADER TO AUDIENCE:
An uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been executed for trying to overthrow the government.
ETCHINGHAM TO AUDIENCE:
Reports from North Korea tonight say the second most powerful man in the country has been executed. Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of the country’s leader, had already been stripped of all his powers. Today a military tribunal ordered his execution after he was found guilty of treason.
10:10:36:23
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
When the shocking news about Jang Song-thaek breaks, Dennis is enjoying his last night of revelry in his hometown of Miami. The story has turned an even greater spotlight on his trip. Does Dennis really know what he’s getting himself into?
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE:
I’m doing a really really good basketball game in the world and no one’s ever done this. You know, they got their Jay Zs, their Beyonces, stuff like that. None of these people in the world that’s way more famous than I am are doing what I’m doing.
10:11:27:03
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
And so the following day it’s a defiant Dennis who sets out for North Korea. Dennis arrives in Beijing, his last stop en route to North Korea, where he meets up with the rest of his entourage. There’s his assistant, Vo, Rory from Paddy Power, and another more unlikely travel buddy, a science boffin, Professor Joe, who got involved through a suitable bizarre route.
JOE TO AUDIENCE:
It was a charity auction and I, you know, put down a bid on the chance to meet Dennis after his first trip to Korea. Because I was gonna be spending the summer in Korea teaching human genetics, and I just wanted to meet him and talk to him because I thought what he’s trying to do with sports is similar to what I was trying to do with science. And, you know, I think science, music, culture, sports are all things that are innocuous where you can build relationships between people. And I told him, you know, if there’s anything I could do to help, all he had to do was ask.
10:12:20:21
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
And so this rather curious band of characters sets off on the final leg of its journey, a three-hour hop over the iron curtain into North Korea.
10:12:54:15
KOREAN TRANSLATOR TO DENNIS THEN DENNIS TO KOREAN TRANSLATOR:
Really nice to meet you. How you doing?
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN 2:
There he is. Back home again.
MICHAEL TO KOREAN MAN 3:
Good to see you.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Once again, Dennis has arrived on North Korean soil, and after settling in his hotel, he’s taken straight to an 18-course welcome dinner with the North Korea Sports Minister. He’s told that Kim Jong-un is too busy to attend, which is no surprise seeing as he’s just purged his uncle. In the Marshal’s absence plans are made for the next few days.
TRANSLATOR TO AUDIENCE:
And for the good health of our dear respected Marshal, Kim Jong-un, the leader of our party and people, and for the good health of Mr Dennis Rodman and all the party members here…I would like to propose a toast.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
It’s a relaxed first evening…but tomorrow it’s down to business. The next morning Dennis is up early and ready for action. The January game is just a few weeks away, and Dennis is in a race to get everything ready in time. His first stop is the stadium where the historic match-up will take place. Waiting for Dennis is a select group of North Korea’s best basketball players. It’s now down to Dennis the pick the very best for the final North Korean team that will face off against the Americans on January 8th.
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN THEN KOREAN MAN TO DENNIS:
- These are two teams?
- Yes.
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN:
Let’s play a game so I can see them.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
So how good are the North Korean players?
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
So how good are the North Korean players? Well better than you might think. Of course, due to the country’s isolation, they won’t be making waves on the international scene any time soon.
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN:
Can them fuckers shoot, though.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
But in quasi-communist states like North Korea, athletes and national sports teams are important cogs in the state propaganda machine, lauded by the leader to prove what a good job he’s doing and to show how powerful a nation he’s created.
DENNIS TO ALL:
There you go. Nice.
KOREAN MAN TO DENNIS:
Look at him, right?
DENNIS TO KOREAN PLAYER:
You. You.
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN:
They’re moving now. Now they’re moving. Now they’re moving. Now they’re moving.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE
Basketball just happens to be Kim Jong-un’s favourite sport too, so a lot of time and money has been put into developing young talent.
RORY TO AUDIENCE:
I tell you, these NBA folk have got their work cut out, I think. Some of them are gonna be a little bit podgy and a little bit slow and these guys look very nimble and quick. It’s gonna be interesting. It’s gonna be interesting.
JOE TO RORY THEN RORY TO JOE:
But the NBA guys are taller. Yeah.
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN:
Let’s line them up.
DENNIS TO ALL:
So, basically, what I’m doing. I’m picking 12 of the best players here to play against the NBA All-Stars.
DENNIS TO KOREAN MAN:
Make sure they’re not disappointed because I didn’t pick them.
DENNIS TO ALL:
Just because they’re, you know…It’s gonna be an awesome feeling, man, ‘cause you guys never played in front of professional athletes, and these guys are very good that I’m bringing over, they’re very good.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Over the next few days Dennis is kept busy whipping the North Korean team into shape, sharing all the know-how he built up over a decade at the top of the game.
10:16:30:02
DENNIS:
Thank you, thank you. All right, guys. All right, guys. Thank you.
10:16:47:15
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
It’s just a few days until Christmas and it’s time for Dennis and his entourage to head home to spend some quality time with their friends and families. As a nation, North Korea doesn’t follow any sort of religion, and they certainly don’t celebrate Christmas. But was Dennis disappointed that his friend Kim Jong-un, hadn’t gotten into the spirit and stopped by for a visit.
DENNIS TO ALL:
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE:
I’m not just coming over here to meet their leader, the Marshal. I came over here to meet the basketball team, to prepare a great game for the leader for his birthday. And people will need to understand that it was just not important for me to meet him every time I come over, because he has another greater job to do for his country.
SONG:
Silent night. Holy night. All is calm. All is bright. Round yon virgin Mother and child. Holy infant.
REPORTER TO DENNIS:
Are you disappointed that you didn’t meet Kim Jong-un?
SONG:
Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night. Holy night. All is calm. All is bright. Round yon virgin Mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace…
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Over the Christmas break, the amount of negative press surrounding the game mounts and mounts, Dennis the focal point of the media’s anger. And Dennis learns that as a result not everybody will be joining him on the return journey to Pyongyang in a fortnight’s time.
CNN NEWSREADER TO AUDIENCE:
Dramatic statement that Kim Jong-un intends to be ruthless.
JAMES MATES TO AUDIENCE:
Fears of a new instability in North Korea.
PAULA HANCOCKS TO AUDIENCE:
Kim Jong-un is basically telling the elite in Pyongyang, ‘If you’re disloyal to me, you will be executed.’
KEN TO AUDIENCE:
That made us reassess exactly what we were doing, and that led us to a position that we were no longer comfortable being associated with the event.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Paddy Power has pulled out, which at first glance would seem to be a massive blow for Dennis. Without them, his project would never have gotten off the ground, and it would have been fun to watch a self-promoting gambling company hanging out in a country where both advertising and gambling are illegal. But when Dennis arrives back in Beijing. He doesn’t seem too concerned. Now Paddy Power are not around this is solely the Dennis Rodman show. No wonder he seems upbeat as he meets his fellow American basketball players who’ve signed up for the match.
CLIFF TO ALL:
Cliff Robinson. I played 18 years in the NBA. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me.
DOUG TO ALL:
Doug Christie…played in the NBA for 14 years. From Los Angeles via Seattle, Washington.
KENNY TO ALL:
Kenny Andersen. Played 14 years in the NBA. Coach high school ball now in Florida.
CHARLES TO ALL:
The number one dunker in the world.
GUY TO ALL
My name is Guy Dupree. I’m from Paris, France, live in Fort Myers, Florida. I’m 26 years old, play in the Euro league.
VIN TO ALL:
Vin Baker. Played 13 years in the NBA. Um, currently, um…finishing, halfway through my master’s programme at, at Union Seminary in New York.
ANDRE TO ALL:
Name Andre Pool, also known as, er Silk, you know, to the street ball world.
ANTOINE:
My name’s Antoine Scott from North Carolina. Er I graduated from Wake Forest.
NARRATOR:
One key member of the squad is the former New York Knicks power forward, Charles Smith, since leaving the NBA he’s carved out a career staging exhibition games around the world.
CHARLES:
We’re the first US team to step on North Korea’s soil and have a game against their national team. That’s a fact. We, from this point on. We are going to…everybody in this room is going to be bonded for the rest of our lives in a historical, epic event.
DENNIS:
You know, anyway, guys, you know, it’s amazing guys. Thank you guys for doing this you know. Like I said, it’s not for me. It’s for like…This is basically a game pretty much, for the world. And the one thing, I’m very fortunate, I’m very fortunate in the fact that I actually have an opportunity to be in that country and the Marshal actually likes me. And I’m not trying to be a politician. I’m not trying to be this…you know, this world leader, ty to, you know, rescue people. This is all about sports. This is all about sports. This ain’t nothing else besides that. And when the media asks you guys anything, because it’s coming…When we got to the airport you’re gonna see it. It’s gonna be a fucking motherfucker. So when somebody asks you questions just keep it bland as hell. You know we’re just going to play a game. Play a game. It’s all about sports. Keep it natural and cool.
10:22:33:05
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
So Dennis’s pals are here, and for his fourth time he’s on a flight to Pyongyang. On the surface it seems like everything is back on track, apart from one very significant thing. Despite Dennis appearing to be in good spirits, the Christmas break was a really stressful time. He’s got a hammering in the press and he was hounded wherever he went, which led to a number of painful family issues. To cope with the added stress Dennis has started drinking…a lot. He’s battled alcoholism for much of his adult life, and with the game just a couple of days away, it’s not the best of times to be falling off the wagon.
10:23:31:13
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Dennis is on his way to the stadium to run a joint training session with both the American and North Korean basketball teams. It's a momentous occasion, as it's the first time that the two sides have met and the session is their only chance to size each other up before tomorrow's big game. But even though it's only 10am,
Dennis has already started drinking.
DENNIS TO ALL:
That's badass vodka. Shit.
10:24:17:03
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
But the show must go on
DENNIS TO ALL:
Watch this. Oh, yeah! Are you ready? Are you ready? I got plenty of that bullshit. Come on
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
For all his enthusiasm Dennis isn't in the ideal condition to lead the drills.
DENNIS TO ALL:
Come on, guys, come on. Damn. Come on, guys. Yeah!
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Charles Smith, who runs basketball courses all over the world, is quick to step in and take charge.
CHARLES TO KOREAN PLAYERS:
Good, good. Good job. Now you're gonna come across and you have to read the defence, OK? Before you catch the ball, tell him to read the defence.
10:25:03:18
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
It's sad to see Dennis playing such a minor role. After all, he picked this North Korean team just a few weeks ago.
DENNIS TO ALL:
Is that simple shit or is that simple shit? Simple.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
They're a talented bunch, and it's possible that Charles and the other US players are underestimating them, something Dennis might have been able to tell them, but right now he's a bit too drunk to be much use to anybody.
10:25:24:07
CHARLES TO ALL:
So Thank you!
DENNIS TO ALL:
You gotta do one thing.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
The US players head back to the hotel for a spot of relaxation, but some worrying news awaits them. A number of players had been left messages by their sponsors back in the United States, who are threatening to drop them if they take part in the game. Understandably, the camp becomes unsettled, and suddenly there’s talk of pulling out, just the day before the game. Again, Charles Smith takes charge and crisis talks are held behind closed doors.
CHARLES TO CALLER: OK.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
When the players re-emerge, it’s revealed that Smith had organised an exclusive interview with the news network CNN. The players hope it'll give them a chance to tell their side of the story and calm the situation with their sponsors back home. Smith gets busy working through
a list of CNN's questions to make sure the players all sing from the same hymn sheet.
CHARLES TO ALL:
…professional basketball alumni. And the letter, gotta mention the Olympics, ‘cause that was part of the assurance.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Dennis, on the other hand, who’s been relaxing with a few more drinks in his room, has only just found out what’s going on.
DENNIS TO ALL:
Come on!
CHARLES TO ALL:
Because it’s been a capacity crowd everywhere we go. That’s the answer.
DENNIS TO ALL:
What is this?
VIN TO DENNIS:
We’re just going over the questions. Going over all the questions.
CHARLES TO DENNIS;
Dennis, we’re just going over all the questions today.
10:27:08:08
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Dennis doesn't stick around to go through the questions. Instead he waits outside, frustrated and maybe just a little bit jealous of Charles Smith's growing influence.
VO TO DENNIS:
All the players can say their piece.
CHARLES TO ALL:
…to everything and then in the…
CHARLES:
He threw a glass. And then outside of…
PLAYER:
He’s doing it again.
CHARLES:
Outside of the, er…
NARRATOR (V/O):
He might be in a strop, but Dennis is still the face of the trip, and Charles knows they need to keep him on side.
CHARLES:
When we finish, we all get with him, say thank you.
PLAYER:
Yeah.
10:27:40:17
FILM CREW MEMBER TO PLAYERS THEN CHARLES TO DOUG:
- We’re live.
- Doug, go on.
DENNIS TO CHARLES:
Are you going to do this?
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
We received a letter from the DPRK Olympic Committee, on an invitation to do this game. This isn't about Dennis... We're here specifically to put smiles on people's faces, everlasting memories in the minds of individuals, and hopefully with the good work that we do, we give to charity while we're here. So, please, don't continue to put politics into that. This is not what we're here for.
PRESENTER TO CHARLES:
This is not what we’re here for. I get it, Charles. I get it.
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
Can I answer that?
PRESENTER TO CHARLES:
I get why you’re there.
PRESENTER TO US PLAYERS:
The problem is it’s more complicated than basketball. It just is, it’s more complicated than basketball, fellas, I’m sorry.
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
You know, you say it’s more complicated than basketball. Basketball is not complicated to us, and that's what we do.
PRESENTER TO US PLAYERS;
The game has been presented as a birthday present to the ruler. I’m not here to fight with you guys. I respect what you’re doing. I’m just concerned for the family of this man who is held there, and I am concerned, as many Americans are, about giving a birthday present to a man who is seen as a despot, who just had his uncle executed.
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
Dennis, you understand the issue. It’s not about hating on American basketball players.
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
Yeah, but you can… you can…We’re not…Again, we’re not here to deal with the politics.
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
The date of the game is the date of the game.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
The interview is nearly over, and Charles has skilfully navigated every question on CNN's list. But at the last moment, the interviewer lobs a potentially dangerous unscripted question into the mix.
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
Dennis, let me end on this. You do have a relationship with this man. Are you going to take an opportunity, if you get it, to speak up for the family of Kenneth Bae? Will you take the opportunity?
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
Watch this. If you understand what Kenneth Bae did. Do you understand what he did…?
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
What did he do? You tell me. You tell me. What did he do?
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
In…No, no, no, you tell me! You tell me!
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
Why is he held captive?
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
They haven't released any charges.
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
They haven’t released any reason.
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
Listen…
DENNIS TO CHARLES THEN TO PRESENTER:
Let me do this. I would love to speak on this.
PRESENTER TO DENNIS THEN DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
Go ahead. You know, you got…
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
OK, you got ten guys here…ten guys here, that left their families, left their damn families, to help this country in a sports venture. Got ten guys, all these guys here. Does anyone understand that?
PRESENTER TO DENNIS THEN DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
We do, and we appreciate that.
Christmas…
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
And we wish them well with the cultural exchange.
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
I’m just saying no I don’t give a…what the…I don’t give rat’s ass what the hell you think! I’m saying to you look at these guys here! Look at ‘em!
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
Yeah, but, Dennis, don’t put it on them. Don’t use them as an excuse for the behaviour that you’re putting on yourself.
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
They came here!
PRESENTER TO DENNIS:
You just basically were saying that Kenneth Bae did something wrong. We don’t even know what the charges are. Don’t use these guys as a shield for you, Dennis.
CHARLES TO PRESENTER THEN DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
- Listen, listen. Listen, listen.
- Ain’t no shield!
DENNIS TO PRESENTER THEN TO CHARLES:
I got a guy…Let me do this!
DENNIS TO PRESENTER:
Really, really, I wanna tell you one thing. People around the world, around the world, I'm gonna do one thing. You're a guy behind a mike right now. We're the guys here doing one thing. We have to go back to America and take the abuse. Do you have to take the abuse we're gonna take? Do you, sir? Let me know! Are you gonna take the abuse we're gonna get? But, guess what, though, one day... one day... this door is gonna open because these ten guys here, all of us, I mean, everybody here, if we could just open the door a little bit…
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
The key is, you can bait Dennis or any of us into a political conversation, and it can get emotional.
PRESENTER TO CHARLES THEN CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
But that’s not…Charles, it’s not my intention. It really isn’t. It really isn’t.
Let me finish. Let me finish.
PRESENTER TO CHARLES THEN CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
Please.
We’re not here to talk politics.
CHARLES TO PRESENTER:
So outside of that, any questions that come back through that is baiting to get us into politics and that’s not what wer’e here for. Every man sitting here understands that.
PRESENTER TO CHARLES:
Charles, I understand it as well.
PRESENTER TO ALL:
I wish you good luck with the cultural exchange, but you know the issue that are at play. Good luck with the game.
PRESENTER TO ALL:
I hope it has the results that you want it to and I wish you a safe trip home. Thank you for joining us this morning.
MAN TO MAN 2 THEN DENNIS TO ALL:
- The guys can get up, right?
- All right, that’s it.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
By getting lured into a discussion about Kenneth Bae, Dennis may have sabotaged Charles’ attempt to paint the trip as a cultural sporting exchange. Worried about the effect the outburst might have on their public image back home, the players hold yet more crisis talks.
CHARLES TO ALL:
But that’s not…We gotta really toe the line.
10:32:46:05
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
A couple of hours later, with the game still hanging in the balance, Doug and Charles manage to get access to the hotel’s closely guarded internet service, and they find the interview online. What would they think now that the dust had settled?
DOUG TO CHARLES;
It has a different context when you see it, Charles.
CHARLES TO DOUG THEN DOUG TO CHARLES:
It does. It wasn’t bad.
It wasn’t.
CHARLES TO DOUG:
Other than the Kenneth Bae thing his emotion at the very beginning and what he said after that was spot-on.
DOUG TO CHARLES:
It was, ‘cause it came across
CHARLES TO DOUG:
That he’s feeling hurt about what’s going on.
DOUG TO CHARLES:
Right. Yeah, but sitting up there…it didn’t…
DOUG TO CHARLES:
Man, I wish Vin and them would have came, ‘cause they was feeling what we were feeling, to see it.
CHARLES TO CAMERAMEN:
Thanks, guys.
CHARLES TO DOUG:
After this, I hope they’re not ostracising us as much as they were prior to that.
DOUG TO CHARLES:
Right yeah. It’s a possibility. You know that.
CHARLES TO DOUG:
But that was…overall I’d give it a B.
DOUG TO CHARLES THEN CHARLES TO DOUG:
-Yeah, which is…
– give it a ‘B’.
DOUG TO CHARLES THEN CHARLES TO DOUG:
I was like an F.
D minus. F?
CHARLES TO DOUG THEN DOUG TO
CHARLES:
- We're in trouble.
- I was like, 'Oh, shit!'
DOUG TO ALL:
It doesn't look like how it felt sitting there.
PLAYER TO DOUG AND CHARLES THEN CHARLES TO ALL:
|
- OK. It wasn't that bad? - No, they showed the whole entire thing. |
CHARLES
TO ALL:
But the thing with Dennis, we were all sitting there.
CLIFF TO CHARLES THEN CHARLES TO ALL:
- Yeah.
- So we got caught up in him.
CHARLES
TO ALL:
But when you look at
the thing and how they pan it and shot it,
CHARLES
TO ALL:
the
only thing he did is go back and forth with Bae,
CHARLES
TO ALL:
but
his other stuff, it was actually very good.
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE:
Word spreads to the other players. They get together for more discussion : and at the eleventh hour they finally decide to stay and prepare for match day. The game is on.
10:35:11:05
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE;
As the players make their way to the court, there's a buzz of activity in the corridors, and there's only one explanation. The Marshal, Kim Jong-un, has arrived. Standing in the tunnel and listening to the roar of the crowd, the scale of the event only just starts to hit home. For the first time ever, an American team will play For the first time ever, an American team will play an away fixture in North Korea with Kim Jong-un watching on. National pride is at stake and even though the event will only be broadcast in North Korea, the result will be eagerly anticipated around the world, so it's a game neither side will want to lose.
10:36:41:09
ANNOUNCER TO ALL:
Now the players of our team from DPR Korea and NBA stars team from USA will enter the stadium.
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:
It's game time.
TRANSLATOR TO ALL:
Before the game, Mr
Dennis Rodman would like to say a few words.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
With the players out on court : and 20,000 North Koreans waiting patiently, : it's time for Dennis's big moment.
DENNIS TO ALL:
I would like to really thank...my peers here from the US, having the guts to believe in me, to be here with The Marshal for his birthday. A lot of people have expressed different views about me and your leader here, the Marshal. And I take that as a compliment, a compliment as far as the world. Yes, he's a great leader. He provides for his people here in this country. And thank God the people here love the Marshal. For the people of North Korea, I wanna say one thing. This is history breaking ground for everyone that's involved. My peers here, the national team here. All I wanna say is this to my friend and his wife and his family, his family...
DENNIS SINGS:
Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Marshal. Happy birthday to you.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Dennis's serenading of
the Marshal is very unexpected, even by his
standards,
|
and shows how naive he is to the wider political situation. |
It's very unlikely to go down well back home, but for now that'll have to wait. There's a basketball game to be played. And in another unexpected move, Dennis has decided to split the game into two halves. In the first half, it's the main event, the United States against North Korea.
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: In the second half, Dennis is mixing up
the teams
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: |
|
so both North Koreans and Americans will play side by side, |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: a nice touch
that will hopefully underline
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: the real importance of the
trip, bringing the people of two nations,
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: divided in so many ways, closer together. |
|
|
10:40:40:17
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: The US players start by
trying |
|
to
use their height advantage. |
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: But their handling lets them down. |
|
NARRATOR TO
AUDIENCE: The North Koreans' response is to use their own advantage: speed. |
|
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: They move the ball fast,
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: staying out of reach and shooting from outside the three-point arc. |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: The Americans register their first points,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: the
cool head and hands of Doug Christie |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: |
|
and
a bank shot from Vin Baker.
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: They're back in the game, which is |
|
more physical than they'd expected.
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: North Korea
continue to dominate,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
playing a pass-and-move style of basketball |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: which catches the Americans flat-footed,
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: and defending too deep to prevent a succession of three-point shots. |
|
|
10:41:50:18
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: The hosts up the tempo again,
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: their decision making and hand speed |
|
too much for an ageing team,
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: including an out-of-condition Dennis.
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: At the end of the first period, with the Americans trailing by ten points, |
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
Dennis bows out
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE:
to
enjoy watching the rest of the game with his
friend, Kim Jong-un.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
The second quarter brings more of the same.
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: The US team does
rally, |
|
but
fatigue starts to play its part
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: and, for all their effort, nothing quite comes off.
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
At the end of the second quarter, the score is USA 39, North Korea 45,
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: a win for the DPRK |
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: and an indication that
just maybe |
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
the professionals have underestimated their opponents.
|
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE: We trained 'em. We taught 'em to beat us. |
|
DOUG
TO AUDIENCE: The
competition was good. They played extremely hard.
DOUG
TO AUDIENCE: Physical, very physical, which is really good. |
|
DOUG
TO AUDIENCE: Yeah, no doubt. |
10:44:03:10
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: As
Dennis planned, the teams change up for the
second half, |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: and
it just happens that with the two
nationalities mixed together,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: the
crowd sees some of the best action of the
night,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: |
|
with Dennis and Kim Jong-un
watching on. |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: It's still a
strange sight,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: the
leader of the world's most controlled state
|
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: and
America's most out-of-control celebrity
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: laughing and joking like a couple of old college buddies. |
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: As the game reaches a
close, |
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: it's hard to say what
long-term effect it may or may not have,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: but the interaction between the North Korean and US players |
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
feels like an unerringly positive thing,
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
with
millions of North Koreans watching their kin
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the old enemy on their TV screens.
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE:
After
the game, the Marshal meets his players.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
As we know, he's a big basketball fan, after all.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
In the dressing room,
there's a sense of euphoria and relief
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: that the game actually took place
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
But for Charles, it's all too much
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:
I just needed a moment to myself,
CHARLES
TO AUDIENCE:
to kind of reflect and get the emotion out,
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:
because
it's been pent up through the whole trip.
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:
It was hard getting the guys together.
MAN TO ALL:
Yeah, congratulations
ANTOINE TO CAMERAMAN:
And
zoom in on it.
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:
It's always difficult working with Dennis,
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:
but it usually works out well.
DENNIS TO ALL:
I just sung Happy Birthday to the fucker
|
CHARLES
TO AUDIENCE: In less than 24 hours,
CHARLES
TO AUDIENCE: we were actually thinking of not playing this game. |
|
CHARLES
TO AUDIENCE: We were actually thinking of not playing the game. |
|
JERRY
TO AUDIENCE: We made history today. |
|
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: The high emotions are felt in
the North Korean camp too. |
|
TRANSLATOR TO AUDIENCE: It was a great, great, great pleasure and a happiness and honour for him. |
|
MOTHER TO AUDIENCE: to have the respected
Marshal here today and to watch my son play...
MOTHER TO AUDIENCE: ..I know there are many players in the world...
|
|
MOTHER TO AUDIENCE: ..but I think these must be the happiest in the world.
|
|
NARRATOR TO
AUDIENCE: With
their achievement starting to sink in,
|
|
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: the
players begin to celebrate. |
|
CHARLES
TO PLAYERS: Bring
it in, guys. Bring it in. Come on.
CHARLES
TO PLAYERS: I'm feeling... I'm feeling some love.
|
|
CHARLES
TO PLAYERS: Bring
it in. Bring it in. Come on, bring it in. |
|
CHARLES
TO PLAYERS: I'm feeling some love. We
did it. |
|
PLAYERS
CHANT: We did it! We did it! We
did it! |
|
FLOYD
TO VIN THEN PLAYERS CHANT: - Vin, come on, man. - We did it! We did it!
|
|
PLAYERS CHANT: We did it! We did it! |
|
PLAYERS CHANT: We did it! We did
it!
|
|
PLAYERS
CHANT: We did it! We did it! |
10:48:43:00
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
The next day the US players, with a few sore heads, head out for some specially organised R&R time with the North Korean team.
JERRY TO AUDIENCE:
We had a chance to actually interact with the national team, so we went to the water park, got on slides together The guys was pulling me over,
'Come, come.' Even though it was a different language barrier, we communicated with each other.
ANTOINE TO AUDIENCE:
And it was good to be around those guys away from the gym, in a different atmosphere, and it was the same thing. It was all love.
We had a great time with those guys
ANDRE TO AUDIENCE:
It's gonna be a bond. It's gonna probably be, you know, from that day forth, all the way throughout, you know. A lot of the players that were there, you know, of course, remembered all the guys from, you know, from the game and stuff like that, and, you know, we just went there to have a good time, kind of, you know, unwind a little bit. You know, a couple of guys, we got in the sauna we did the old waterslide stuff, got in the pools and stuff. They showed us a lot of love, a lot of respect, and we did the same, you know, with them
10:49:37:00
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE:
The next morning it's time for the American players to say their goodbyes and head back to the United States. Now that the game is over, what were their thoughts on the trip?
CHARLES
TO AUDIENCE:
There
was so much media scrutiny on the players
individually,
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE: which we didn't expect.
|
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE: We knew that there was gonna be some negative
publicity
|
|
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE: surrounding the game |
|
CHARLES TO
AUDIENCE: and
us being in Korea, North Korea,
CHARLES TO
AUDIENCE: but we didn't expect our country to
bash us personally.
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE:That caught us off
guard and that was pretty frustrating, |
|
CHARLES TO AUDIENCE: and
some of the guys had some personal issues with
it,
|
|
CHARLES
TO AUDIENCE: their families and their children, and it was kind of tough. |
10:50:16:07
KENNY TO AUDIENCE:I don't know how much shit I'm gonna get into when I go back home, which I don't, you know, and doesn't matter. I have to just, you know, face the consequences, 'cause I did something of a radical nature, you know,
and that's cool, that's cool with me. I just have to deal with it. But I'm not sad. I'm like,
yo, I did something that, you know people in America didn't agree with fully, and I have to deal with it.
VIN TO AUDIENCE:
I certainly didn't intend for this to be a birthday celebration for anyone... and that's what it turned into being. So it was unfortunate that we were all, you know, in that situation, but we have to move on from it.
CLIFF
TO AUDIENCE:
I didn't even know going over there, that it was a birthday or that it was gonna be looked at as a birthday gift.
10:51:23:04
ANTOINE TO AUDIENCE:
I'm gonna just tell them I had a great time. By far, as a professional, I would say this is probably my best experience basketball-wise, as a pro.
10:51:32:06
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
A few days later, it's Dennis's turn to head home, as the world's press waits to find out : what happened at the ski lodge. But when Dennis appears, he's swept through the airport and onto his connecting flight without saying a word. And on the plane home the truth comes out. Despite being promised that they'd spend some quality time together, the Marshal never showed. It's desperately disappointing news for Dennis, especially after everything he'd gone through to get the game to happen.
10:52:13:21
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE:
So why didn't the Marshal show? It turns out that up at the ski lodge, Dennis went on the mother of all drinking binges and his behaviour got increasingly out of control. With the Marshal's friends and family watching on, the decision was made for Kim to save face and to give Dennis a wide berth.In other words, Dennis blew it. The game was a great showpiece, no doubt, but this was his chance to build on their relationship. Their friendship, as odd as it may seem, had a lot of potential. In the long run, it really could have led to improved relations between the United States of America and North Korea, But Dennis's alcoholism and sheer unpredictability got the better of him and his dream of opening the door to North Korea may have gone up in smoke for good.
10:53:01:05
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE:
|
As soon as Dennis |
|
arrived back in America, he booked himself straight into rehab, in his own words, 'to cool off'. Three weeks later he left the clinic. Now that he'd sobered up and has had time to reflect on the trip, what did he feel about the Marshal's no-show? DENNIS TO AUDIENCE: Well, that was different. That was something, whatever...They didn't want bring him round me 'cause I was too doing my thing. So that's why. But I was doing... I was, you know, drinking. I was so drunk. You know, I'm pretty sure he was like, 'Kim,' you know. He gotta keep his image up. OK, great. I understood that. That was cool. That was cool how he did that. I had to drink to fucking get myself together. You know, it went to that far for me. I had to drink a little bit more than I usually drink because I just didn't wanna hear the bullshit, you know. But like I say, I survived it, life goes on, and guess what, it's a happy day. NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: Dennis
brushes over it, but is he being completely
honest with himself?
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: He cherished his relationship
with Kim
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: and
knew that this was his chance to show the
world what he could do.
10:53:55:24 NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: Whether that relationship is gone for good, (FOR GOOD: FOREVER)
NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: we'll have to wait and see.
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: Dennis
has to take responsibility for his own
actions, NARRATOR
TO AUDIENCE: but if the establishment hadn't
been so tough on him,
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: then
maybe, just maybe,
NARRATOR TO AUDIENCE: he
wouldn't have hit the self-destruct button
quite so hard. DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: I
mean, the more you keep going at it, the more
you keep going at it,
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: the more you keep pursuing
something, pursuing something,
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE: sooner
or later something's gotta
happen.
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE: It's a big picture, not this one.
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE: It's a big picture, OK?
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: So,
you know, it's like it's gonna
work.
DENNIS TO AUDIENCE: And
people are gonna open their eyes
and say, 'Wow. OK, great, cool.'
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: We could actually go to North
Korea
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: and
actually survive and actually come back,
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: and
actually are saying, wow, you know, it's not
so bad.
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: But people wanna make it like, that country is so...
DENNIS
TO AUDIENCE: it's like the devil, and it's not. |
|
.
|