Today Show: Edward Burns Interview & “Newlyweds” Movie

Today Show: 99 Year-Old Divorce

The Today Show co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb shared a few strange stories with the audience and viewers at home.

First up, as most of us know, 1 out of 2 marriages end in divorce. The co-hosts shared the story of a 99 year old who divorces his wife after finding out she was in an affair during her 40s. They had been married for 77 years, and the affair was essentially 50 years ago. Kathie Lee said they shouldn’t have been divorced, noting that men take these things harder than women due to pride. What do you think? It sounds like an unfortunate situation for either man or woman — even after all of those years have passed.

Today Show: Police Officer Asks Out Speeder

Another weird story: a police officer arrests a woman for speeding and later can’t stop thinking about her. He tracks her down and leaves a note on her car. The note says something along the lines of “the least I can do for the $132 ticket is take you out to dinner, etc”. Needless to say, she wasn’t pleased and said he violated her civil rights. She ended up filing a lawsuit! Kathie Lee and Hoda seemed certain something else was going on in the story – either she felt threatened by him or she’s just plain crazy. Either way, it’s an odd story.

Today Show: Edward Burns Interview

Actor and director Edward Burns, known for his roles in “She’s the One” and “Confidence”,  joined the set to discuss his “Newlyweds” Movie. He shot the movie on a small budget of around $9,000, with post production costing another $100,000. The inspiration for the film: he was at a friend’s 10^th wedding anniversary and it was proclaimed “if this ended today, in this day and age, we can call it a success”. At the time, Burns laughed about it but later realized it was true but tragic, and it soon became the inspiration for the movie.

For research, he interviewed couples who were divorced and found that 9 out of 10 responses noted the honeymoon stage ended with issues surrounding other family members. As a result, the movie focuses on in-laws and other family members. In a nutshell, the movie looks at married couples who navigate through the pitfalls of life.

The movie also showcases a popular way to watch movies, as most people will see it on TV via on-demand and not in the theaters. With movies being released directly to on-demand now, it’s changed the livelihoods for independent filmmakers, Burns said. Kathie Lee thought the movie had a great sensitivity to it, and while it has a sad ending, offered plenty of laughs. Sounds like a movie to check out!