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Evacuations Halted in Eastern Aleppo Philippines President Defends Comments in Singapore; What's the Verdict of Rogue One? 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired December 16, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:14] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

Now, Russian President Vladimir Putin spokesman hits back at the U.S. saying that they should provide proof that Russia was involved in hacking

attacks to influence the U.S. election.

The evacuation of civilians from Aleppo has halted, but Russia state media claim only militants remain in the eastern part of the city.

And a new chapter for the Galaxy far, far away. We'll get the verdict on the first Star Wars spinoff movie Rogue One.

Moscow and Washington are facing off over allegations that Russia meddled in U.S. elections.

Now, the Kremlin today said the U.S. should offer some proof or stop talking about it.

Now, meanwhile, President Obama now pledges Russia will face consequences. And an official familiar with the investigation tells CNN that tools used

in the cyber attacks against the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign have, quote, unique signatures, and that only the top

levels of Russia's government could have approved the hacks.

Now, President-elect Donald Trump has called the Russia link ridiculous. And that has prompted harsh criticism from White House Press Secretary Josh

Earnest. Sara Murray has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A week of Russia revelations and Donald Trump's denials creating a rift between incoming and outgoing

administrations.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: This foolish guy, Josh Earnest.

MURRAY: The president-elect taking shots at President Obama's press secretary.

TRUMP: He is so bad the way he delivers their message. He can deliver a positive message, and it sounds bad. He could say, "Ladies and gentlemen,

today we have totally defeated ISIS," and it wouldn't sound good.

MURRAY: Lashing out after the White House sharply criticized Trump's continued dismissal of intelligence about Moscow's election meddling.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Mr. Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber-activity that was helping him and

hurting Secretary Clinton's campaign.

TRUMP: The president is very positive, but he's not positive. And I mean, maybe he's getting his orders from somebody else.

MURRAY: Russia putting a strain on the roller-coaster relationship between Trump and Obama. The two attempting a show of unity for a smooth transition

after a bitter campaign.

Now, tensions rising between the camps, fueled in part by Trump's tweet accusing the White House of only complaining about the hacking after

Hillary Clinton lost. But, in fact, in early October, the intelligence community was saying they were, quote, "confident Russia was behind the DNC

hack."

Clinton herself addressing the hacking for the first time since the election, telling donors that Russian President Vladimir Putin's grudge

against her prompted the attack against the DNC.

This as Clinton's former campaign chair, John Podesta, penned a scathing rebuke of the FBI's handling of the hack, writing in "The Washington Post,"

"When the FBI discovered the Russian attack in September 2015, it failed to send even a single agent to warn senior Democratic National Committee

officials," adding, "Something is deeply broken at the bureau."

Podesta's criticism echoed by outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I think that it's about time that Comey acknowledged publicly what a disservice he's rendered to our country

by doing nothing -- nothing except interfering with the election. He became such a partisan that he should become the new chair of the RNC.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was our Sara Murray reporting there.

Now, let's dig deeper into the latest findings with Sean Sullivan. He is the security adviser for F-Secure. He joins us live from Helsinki. And

Sean, welcome back to the program.

The Kremlin has responded saying basically produce some proof.

So, what is the most definitive proof that can be given to the Kremlin to say, yep, you're behind the hack?

SEAN SULLIVAN, F-SECURE: Well, definitive proof would be an email chain, I suppose, saying do it. I don't think that sort of proof is going to come

forward, though.

What we do have is more -- sorry.

LU STOUT: Go ahead, what do we have?

SULLIVAN: What we do have are forensic evidence, binaries that are typical of the tools used by agencies, or tools that are used by what we believe

are agencies because of the way they operate in and out of Russia. So, that's the best evidence that we're going to get. It's not beyond a

reasonable doubt, but it is preponderance of evidence. It is does clear that bar.

[08:05:10] LU STOUT: But how about the evidence that it was directed all the way from the top by Vladimir Putin. How do you determine if a hack was

state sponsored, that it was sponsored or directed by the president himself?

SULLIVAN: That would be something I think that the NSA and the CIA might have resources, either of a human or they do have technical access to get

into the communication streams. I don't think that sort of information is the sort of thing that the Obama administration is going to make public.

I don't think we need that to know that the Russians are involved. But Russian hacking is very fuzzy in the sense that whether it's an agency or

if it's a privateer, because a lot of Russian hackers involved in criminal activities also do work for the government.

So, you can't definitively say this is this Russian agency, you only have your best leads and you have a preponderance of evidence to suggest it's

not anybody else, so therefore Russia.

The only way that they could definitively prove that this was ordered by Putin, I would think, would be to have something on a communications chain.

But that is what the NSA does, and so perhaps they do actually have that information.

LU STOUT: What do you know about the Dukes. This is the cyber criminal team believed to be linked to the Russian government and believed to be

behind this hack attack on the DNC?

SULLIVAN: Yes, well, of my colleagues here at F-Secure has done an extensive analysis of The Dukes. He took a look at the toolset from years

ago until more recently and he found something that was in between from our sample base. He went through and figured out that this has been evolving

over time and therefore I should be able to find something between versions 2 and 4. I can go hunt and look for version 3.

And indeed he did, and he found it by using the sort of forensic tools and he looked for the signatures involved, sort of fingerprints, if you will,

of the toolsets from one year to the next. And he found samples.

This is a tool that's been evolving over time. It's a tool that's used by an agency, we believe, because in the way in which it's used outside of

Russia and which it's used inside of Russia. And we don't think it would be used inside of Russia unless it was being used by an official agency,

because they wouldn't dare risk coming on, you know, the wrong side of the law.

So, therefore, it provides very good evidence that it is something that is authorized by higher ups.

LU STOUT: And you can identify that something has been authorized higher up. You can identify a cyber criminal gang, but how do you bring them to

justice?

I mean, we know that Russia, they don't extradite citizens, but how difficult is it to even track down and find a cyber criminal?

SULLIVAN: Well, cyber criminal is very different story. I think this is - - this is a matter of nation states and it's not a criminal court of law. So, there's a lot of discussion about, you know, is thee a definitive

amount of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. That's for a criminal court of law. In a civil court of law, you've got preponderance of evidence.

And I think nation states probably will operate somewhere in between that they've got preponderance of evidence that indicates to them that this is

beyond, you know, what they need to -- you know, it's not somebody else, therefore it is the most likely candidate.

There's more than enough evidence to suggest that this is Russia. If you want to try to prove it, you know, in a criminal court of law, I don't

think there's an International Criminal Court, so I think that's kind of a moot point.

LU STOUT: Right, but looking at -- and just a final question for you, I mean, looking at what Russia in the end was able to achieve, and it was

able to do so undetected at the time, is cyber power the perfect weapon here to achieve a specific effect?

SULILVAN: I think absolutely, particularly in terms of the sort state craft that the Russian government would like to practice. It's -- a good

level of plausible deniability. It, again, it's not something that can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. so, in order to make really hard

sanctions and apply them to a country, you have to have something that you can physically point to as a cause for action. Cyber provides sort of a

web of possibilities that -- you know, it looks like it's most likely Russia, but it cannot be proven in a way that we would like to have in the

real world for like the UN to apply sanctions against a nation state.

So, for nation states that have soft power goals that they want to achieve, cyber provides a very good avenue.

LU STOUT: All right, Sean Sullivan of F-Secure joining us live from Helsinki, thank you so much for joining me. Take care.

SULLIVAN: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now, as Moscow responds to those hacking allegations, the Russian president is on a state visit to Japan.

Now, let's bring in Andrew Stevens from Tokyo. And Andrew, Vladimir Putin is there to shore up ties with Tokyo, but has he addressed these serious

U.S. charges of Russian hacking?

[08:10:13] ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in short he hasn't at all, Kristie. He's been in Japan for two days and he has not

spoken publicly at least on anything to do with the growing hacking scandal.

There was a press conference today at which several international media, including myself, armed with questions on this very topic. But the

Japanese hosts said there would be only four questions taken for Mr. Putin and Mr. Abe and only Russian media or Japanese media could ask those

questions.

So, the questions were asked and it did not include the hacking.

It did include Aleppo, so Putin spoke about Aleppo. But as far as addressing the issue, almost the elephant in the room, it just didn't

happen.

I mean, the Russians have said, as we know in the past they've continually denied that they are involved, and as you pointed out, they've continually

said if we are involved, well show us the evidence.

So, Vladmir Putin was in no hurry whatsoever. I mean, he could have turned the topic to that if he wanted to, but he decided against it.

LU STOUT: Interesting. I mean, Japan has really been rolling up the red carpet for Vladimir Putin from that, as you described it, pretty much

controlled press conference with safe questions being asked, arranging talks at a hot springs resort. There was a visit to a judo center. We

know Putin enjoys Judo. I mean, why is Shinzo Abe so eager to shore up this friendship and this alliance with Putin.

STEVENS: Well, there are two key reasons at play here, two key currents. The first, very much is something Abe is very, very passionate about, and

that is trying to regain ownership of four islands, the Kurile Islands, north of Japan, which were seized by Russia in 1945 just after the end of

the war.

Now, Mr. Abe realizes that Russia is not just going to turn around to hand them back to Japan, but he wants to start a dialogue with Vladimir Putin

which could eventually lead if not to ownership, maybe shared ownership or maybe some compromise. But this is something that Abe's father was

involved with when he was the foreign minister and Abe has picked up the baton on that.

And to help ease the process of that, he has laid out some economic plans for Russia, which Russia is badly in need of economic aid, particularly in

the east.

The other side of this, too, is that closer ties with Russia in Japan's sort of strategic outlook means that it could help offset the growing

weight and the growing might of China. So, getting closer to Russia is important for Japan to get a little bit more balance in this region,

Kristie.

The interesting thing is, of course, is that if Japan goes ahead with these economic packages, the question becomes would they bust sanctions, which

Japan is a party to, these sanctions against Russia. The U.S. is watching that very closely. And the last thing Japan wants is to be a sanctions

buster, particularly with the U.S.

And given the fact that those two remain a very, very close alliance, it's difficult to see that Japan would go that far, but certainly they're very

keen to bring Russia on board.

LU STOUT: Absolutely.

Andrew Stevens reporting live from Tokyo for us, thank you.

Now, in Aleppo, Syria, the evacuation of rebel-held Aleppo could be over just a day after it began. Now, Russia says the operation is complete with

only militants left in rebel-held neighborhoods. And the REd Cross says taht Syria has told it to leave areas of Aleppo held by the rebels.

Now, meanwhile, in Japan as reported just then, Russian president Vladimir Putin, who backs the Syrian president, well, while there he has proposed

peace talks in Syria's civil war.

Now, let's bring in our Fred Pleitgen who has of course reported extensively from Aleppo and about Aleppo for CNN. He joins us now live

from Beirut.

And Fred, first these conflicting reports about what's happening on the ground in Aleppo are the evacuations from the city suspended or complete?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks as though at this point in time they are suspended, Kristie, but it really is

a very confusing situation on the ground there, and certainly one at this point in time looks like it does have the potential to escalate and

possibly end quiet tragically.

Now, what the opposition is saying is that the convoys were actually running quite smoothly yesterday and then throughout the night, apparently

between 8,000 and 9,000 people were evacuated, most of them women and children and people who were wounded, who needed immediate medical

attention, some rebel fighters apparently also among those who were evacuated as well.

But then at some point this morning, one of the convoys was shot at, or at least the route it was suppose to travel down was shot up. The convoy was

stopped and then was turned around back into those rebel-controlled areas. And at that point in time, the whole evacuation agreement apparently

stalled, both sides blaming each other.

Now, the Syrian government saying that the rebels were trying to smuggle out heavy weapons whereas the opposition is saying they believe that Shiite

fighters who were unhappy with this deal in general were the ones who stopped it.

Now, you're absolutely right, the Russians came out with a statement saying they believe that the evacuation is complete. The Turks deny that. They

say there's still tens of thousands of people in eastern Aleppo who want to get out. So, certainly at this point in time with the volatility of the

situation on the ground with the fact that you have people who are very trigger happy on the ground there as well, this does have the potential to

escalate.

And we have to keep in mind that the folks would still be in there would be people who are very weak, who haven't eaten anything real in days, who are

cold and who tried to get out and are still looking to try and leave that enclave. So, certainly something that we're keeping an eye on, it's

something that really has the potential to end very badly, Kristie.

[08:16:10] LU STOUT: Fred Pleitgen, keeping an eye on the situation in Aleppo from Beirut for us. Thank you, Fred. Take care.

Now, inside Aleppo, I mean the news, as you heard just then, it's so fluid. It changes on a dime. Just 24 hours ago, the evacuations were beginning,

now they could be over.

ITN's Dan Rivers provides some perspective with a look back at what happened only 24 hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, ITV NEWS REPORTER: Even on the last day of besiege of Aleppo the despicable violence against civilians didn't stop. The sun had barely

risen when this ambulance was attacked.

In the front, a man was being hit in the head. In the back, children who thought they were about to escape. The gunman had other ideas. The

ambulance abandoned its rescue and still the sniper tries to kick them off.

We don't know who was shooting but you can see the effect. A searing portray of the last hours of besiege images which should haunt those

responsible. Later, thousands gathered as words spread that the ceasefire was holding and mass evacuation was being organized. They are being

targeted for four and a half years, but finally these people were preparing to leave.

And these pictures show while fighters were among them most appeared to be civilians, women, children, the injured, and the vulnerable all caught up

in the catastrophe of this conflict.

Outside, the regime buses were lined up and ready. A solitary vehicle carrying a Red Crescent flag emerge from rebel lines terms agreed it was

time to end the suffering. The buses threaded their through the debris to stop the evacuation.

For two and a half hours we waited and watched as did the world hoping this would not collapse into more fighting as it did yesterday. That smoke

blowing from fires set by rebels hinted at a scorched earth policy to deny the regime the use of anything they were leaving behind. It's hard to

imagine there was much left to burn.

The call to prayer kept through the silence as a tenth city held its breath and hope for peace. Then the first sign of flashing lights, a convoy of

ambulances and buses emerging onto Aleppo's ring road.

Well, this is the moment the world has been waiting for. The civilians are leaving their enclave and ignominious defeat for the rebels. But finally,

the battle for Aleppo is over.

The occupants of the buses came almost face to face with the men who sought to kill them, but they were allowed to leave unhinged. And it didn't take

long for President Assad supporters to stop their celebrations.

(CROWD CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel very happy. I feel -- I feel that this victory will continue to all Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It is of great joy, we were waiting for this day minute by minute. We couldn't just believe this day

would come. I congratulate all the Syrians.

RIVERS: But after so much bloodshed this shouldn't have been a day of celebration rather a time to reflect on why this took so long.

Dan Rivers, ITV News, Aleppo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was ITN's Dan Rivers reporting from Aleppo while the evacuations were underway.

And again those evacuations appear to have been halted.

Now, the president of the Philippines is not backing down despite criticism of his violent approach to fighting drug crime. And after the break, more

tough words from Rodrigo Duterte.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:05] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now the Philippine president is not backing away from his controversial war on drugs. On a visit to Singapore, Rodrigo Duterte told a largely Filipino

crowd there that it is not a crime for him to say he will kill people who destroy his country.

Earlier this week, he admitted to personally killing criminal suspects while he was Davao City mayor.

Now, Mr. Duterte is due to touchdown in Davao City later today. And CNN's Will Ripley has more on the victims of Duterte's war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Philippines symbol of a family seeking justice for two lives stolen, two chicks sit atop the coffin

of Francis Maniosca (Ph), 6-years-old, killed in his sleep, lying in his father, Domingo.

"There was a knock on the door, says Elizabeth Navarro, "My husband said, "who's that?" Then I heard two gunshots." By the time Navarro realized what

was happening, her husband and son were dead, the gunman gone.

She says her husband was an occasional drug user trying to get clean in what has become open season for anyone suspected of being tied to drugs.

Married for 11 years, this mother of five now a widow at 29.

You have a baby on the way how do you forward now?

"I have nothing to do," she says, "but try to go on with life." One day after these murders, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte revealed he

personally killed drug suspects while serving mayor of his hometown.

RODRIGO DUTERTE, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: But in Davao I used to do it personally just to show to the guys that if I can do it why can't you.

RILEY: Nearly 6,000 people have died in the Philippines in less than six months. Police call more than half of those deaths vigilante style

killings, many suspect the police involvement often little or no investigation, all of this openly encourage by President Duterte.

This woman too afraid to show her face. "Their killing left in right," she says, "sometimes they kill 10 or 20 day, I'm scared. These days you don't

know whose your enemy."

Public opinion poll show the majority of Filipino support President Duterte's war on drugs. They say it makes their communities feel safer. But

here in this neighborhood we can't find a single person who says this number of killings is justified.

Even this woman who supports Duterte is afraid to speak openly. "I hope that the government will give people a chance to change," she says, "a

chance for them to stop using illegal drugs."

Aria Mosabea (Ph) insists her son Domingo was not a thug or a dealer. But she admits he's used a shabu or met a $3 high may have have gotten him

killed.

Just outside they play cards to raise $900 for the funeral, three times for late son's yearly earnings as a bicycle taxi driver. This is just one

Filipino family out of thousands and promises by their president of even more killing to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:25:27] LU STOUT: Just imagine that heartbreak is being repeated over and over again across the country.

Will Ripley is in Davao City. He joins us now live. And will, while you are there in Duterte's hometown, Duterte has been in Singapore defending

this brutal war on drugs. How so?

RIPLEY: Well, it was interesting to hear his remarks, although not surprising that he defiantly defended this war on drugs, saying very

powerfully that at least until the end of his term as president he won't rest until every last thug, as he put it is executed. And this is what

we've heard from President Duterte before.

We're here at the airport now and expecting him to arrive from Singapore within the next two-and-a-half hours or so, there will be a press

conference inside. And we will be in there and hope to ask him some questions.

But, before we came here, we were out in Davao City. We were speaking with residents here. And we heard some pretty interesting perspectives, because

of course this is the city where Duterte began his drug war as the mayor of the city where he claimed just this week that he drove around on his

motorcycle and looked for drug suspects to shoot and kill, to set an example for his police officers here about what they should do.

And what residents have been telling me, Kristie, is that they do feel safer as a result of his policies, while some people don't necessarily

agree with killing people without a trial. Nearly everybody who I spoke with said that they think this city is a far safer place now than prior to

Duterte's time as mayor. Back then it was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the Philippines. And now, police say, it's among the

safest.

And many here do credit Duterte's war on drugs for that.

LU STOUT: Will Ripley reporting live for us from Davao City in The Philippines, the hometown of Rodrigo Duterte. Many thanks indeed for that,

Will.

Now, President Barack Obama is vowing to retaliate against Russia, accusing it of hacking before the U.S. election. But we'll hear from a former

leader who is telling Washington we told you so. We got that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:19] LU STOUT: Now let's go back to our top story. the U.S. is accusing Russia of hacking during the U.S. presidential campaign. But now

some other countries are saying, we know the feeling.

Ivan Watson has the story for us. He joins us now live from Kiev, Ukraine. And Ivan, we know the Kremlin is dismissing the U.S. charges of hacking,

but according to officials there in Ukraine, Russia can do this, because it has done it before.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

Kristie, I've been traveling across former Soviet republics in eastern Europe and talking to senior officials, former senior officials, who have

all been saying basically I told you so, that they have warned the U.S. government in the past that they, themselves, have been the target of

Russian cyber attacks of other forms of Russian hybrid warfare and that whatever the U.S. is seeing in connection with the most recent U.S.

presidential election is an echo of previous attacks that they've seen in the past in their countries.

One of the officials I've spoken to is the former president fo the Republic of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who famously went to war against Russia

and lost. Here's an excerpt of what he had to tell me. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, FRM. PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: Well, I was almost like vindicated when the same administration in Washington suddenly started to

speak about Russian involvement in elections, because we -- for me, it's a deja vu. They were the same people telling us, no, no, it cannot possibly

be true.

And now it came to their doorsteps. And so -- and of course he does all those things, of course he's master -- he's (inaudible) master. He

controls the greatest amount of black cash anybody had ever controlled in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The defense ministry in Latvia, another former Soviet Republic, Kristie, saying that they've come under frequent cyber attacks, and that

they believe they come originally from Russia. Here in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government saying that they've come under at least 10 major cyber

attacks recently, including the infrastructure ministry (inaudible) website taken down earlier today.

Ukrainian officials so far are not directly pointing the finger at Russia for that. However, in December, Ukraine says that one of its electricity

companies was attacked that forced a blackout of more than 100 cities across this country, partial blackout, more than 150 other cities across

Ukraine. And in that case, Ukrainian and U.S. investigators did point the finger at Russia saying that a virus coming from Russia was responsible for

that rather large blackout that took place -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: You just detailed concrete examples of how Russia has used its cyber power to go after targets in Ukraine, in Georgia and elsewhere. Is

there growing concern in Europe that Russia could use its cyber power again, especially with upcoming big elections there?

WATSON: Certainly. And we've heard warnings from the intelligence chiefs of the UK and of Germany, and I've also heard it from senior Latvian

government officials, warnings that Russia could try to meddle in upcoming elections that are key in France, in Germany and in The Netherlands.

Some of these officials certainly here in former Soviet states saying we saw of ourselves in our own previous elections.

Now, it's important to note that all of these countries have very complicated, in some cases tense relationships with Russia. In the case of

Latvia, it is a member of the NATO military alliance. All of these countries look to the west, to the U.S., for protection against Russia,

particularly Ukraine, which is currently in the second year of a war against separatists that are backed by their neighbor to the east, Russia.

So, they all have an agenda when they are making some of these accusations. But they also have a very interesting perspective. These are all countries

that are former Soviet Republics. So some of these officials are saying that the tactics they're seeing today, they're more modern technology, echo

back to strategies that they saw of disinformation, of spreading propaganda that they saw developed by the Soviets in the 1960s and the 1970s when

these countries themselves were part of the Soviet Union -- Kristie.

[08:35:45] LU STOUT: Yeah, a modern update to old warfare tactics by Russia. Ivan Watson reporting live for us from Kiev. Thank you.

Now, you're watching News Stream. And still to come, it may take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But it is the biggest film on

earth right now.

We take a look at the latest Star Wars: Rogue One next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, 40 years after it first appeared and gave us a glimpse of a different galaxy, now Star Wars is taking another step into the unknown with Rogue

One. And Disney has high hopes for it at the box office this weekend.

Now, fans are already flocking to the cinema to see the film. And Frank Pallotta has more on the latest Star Wars movie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Star Wars is beloved by a galaxy of fans, but even one of the most popular sagas in film history has a dark

side. Yes, it's time to talk about the Star Wars prequels.

Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith told the story of how the honorable Jedi Anakin Skywalker went from this...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a pilot, you know.

PALLOTTA: To this.

JAMES EARL JONES, ACTOR: I find your lack of faith disturbing.

PALLOTTA: The prequels seem to have everything a Star Wars fan would want -- light saber duels, force, even Yoda -- and they were huge commercial

successes, but with critics and fans ot so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That seemed a little wonky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just bad filming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were just a lot of things wrong.

PALLOTTA: Because unfortunately they also had this...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meesa (ph) Jar Jar Binks.

PALLOTTA: And this.

Now, there's a new hope for the prequels with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rogue One is set before the original 1977 film and is based on a single

line from the famous opening crawl, telling the story of the rebel alliances attempts to steal the secret plans for the Death Star.

The film will introduce new characters and include some old favorites. But can it do what Jar Jar, Darth Maul, and Padme couldn't and make a Star Wars

prequel that fans will actually like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they need to do is they need to keep is as close to the original trilogy as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they just stay true to the old story...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really learned their lesson from the other prequels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Jar Jar Binks. I mean, that's...

UNIDENTIFIFIED MALE: No Jar Jar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, that's the important.

PALLOTTA: Nobody likes Jar Jar Binks.

UNIDENIFIED MALE: No, this movie is different from all the other movies, even the New Hope and the ones that come after it because it's grittier,

you know, it's a bunch of people going to steal these plans and it's almost like a war movie.

PALLOTTA: Rogue One is Disney's first Star Wars spinoff. And it needs to be a success. Disney bought Lucas Film, including the franchise, for $4

billion in 2012. So it has to expand the galaxy past the Skywalker family to justify that investment. I mean, Luke Skywalker ain't getting any

younger. Not to mention it has another Star Wars prequel no deck with a Hans Solo origin story in 2018.

Rogue One may be a movie about the past, but Disney is depending on its success to give Star Wars a bright future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May the force be with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now Frank Pallotta, he joins us now live form New York with more.

So, Frank, you've established that the real mission here for Rogue One is to expand the Star Wars universe for Disney. Now, you saw the movie. Is

it going to work?

PALLOTTA: I think so. The movie is really fun. It's very much a Star Wars movie. But it's very, very different, too. It's kind of a more war

than stars, I guess you could say.

And it's got a great third act. It's one of the best endings to a Star Wars movie that we will see in any sort of form since the original trilogy

itself.

LU STOUT: Wow. And it's also, you know, it's an experimental Star Wars movie. As you said, it's more of a war movie. It has gritty feel to it.

We know it's the firs spinoff. There's no Skywalker in there. There's no John Williams score. Does this work with fans of the original Star Wars

franchise?

Oh, no, did I just lose your, Frank? Can you hear me?

Oh, man. I think I just lost Frank Pallotta there in New York. You're going to have to check out his review. It's on CNNMoney.com. It's a good

article there.

Our apologies for that.

But that is it for us here at News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, because I promise we've got World Sport with Alex Thomas,

that's coming up next. So, keep it here.

END