then he's in trouble!
Posted on 01/27/2007 4:24:26 PM PST by marthemaria
KERRY O'BRIEN: What does Bindi Irwin have in common with Winston Churchill, Indira Gandhi and Nelson Mandela? Answer: Washington's National Press Club. She's only eight years old but, for the past fortnight, Bindi Irwin has spearheaded a quite staggering publicity blitz across America, selling the virtues of the land down under. From Hollywood to the Big Apple, the Bindi Irwin bandwagon relentlessly sang, danced and charmed everyone from fans to television talk show hosts. The final stop for the charismatic daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was the national capital. Tracy Bowden reports on the Bindi phenomenon.
TRACY BOWDEN: Washington DC, the US capital and the political powerhouse of the nation. Home to the National Press Club, and a podium normally reserved for business leaders, politicians and foreign diplomats.
BINDI IRWIN: G'day, I'm Bindi Irwin.
TRACY BOWDEN: Today the special guest is an eight year old girl from Australia with her mum by her side, sounding a lot like her dad.
BINDI IRWIN: I don't want to grow up in a world without wildlife. That's why we must do something now to help save their homes.
TERRI IRWIN: He had a drive and passion to do everything straight away. It was my honour to be there hanging onto the other side of a thrashing crocodile or holding the bag for a huge whipping snake.
TRACY BOWDEN: The event was broadcast live on networks across America as Terri Irwin and her daughter addressed the gathering in the National Press Club ballroom.
JERRY ZREMSKI, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: They certainly are a little different. We have never had an eight year old girl speak at the National Press Club, as far as I know. I can never remember anyone close to being that young. And the topic too is certainly sort of different.
BINDI IRWIN: I can see everybody. Hello, world.
TRACY BOWDEN: As the smallest star of the G'day USA tourism promotion, Bindi Irwin is wrapping up a whirlwind tour of the United States.
INTERVIEWER: You're always so happy, you're upbeat, you're enthusiastic, how do you do it?
BINDI IRWIN: I'm just being myself. I'm myself and that's all I'm - well, all I am. I don't act, I'm just myself.
INTERVIEWER: What do you do on the show?
TRACY BOWDEN: Over the past 10 days the junior conservationist has confronted a different kind of wildlife, that potentially dangerous unpredictable creature – the American talk show host.
INTERVIEWER: What kind of songs do you sing?
BINDI IRWIN: I sing kind of songs, active kind of songs all about animals.
TRACY BOWDEN: Inevitably everyone has wanted to talk to the little girl about her father Steve Irwin, who died last September.
BINDI IRWIN: I have good days and bad days. Sometimes it brings back memories and it's really nice and some days I just cry straight off.
STEVE IRWIN: These spitting cobras, they're highly venomous.
MATTHEW FELLING, CENTRE FOR MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Not only was Steve Irwin the ambassador to the animal kingdom to a lot of Americans, but he was actually the foremost ambassador to Australia. He was the face of what we thought of when we thought of Australians.
TRACY BOWDEN: Media analyst Matthew Felling says he isn't surprised by the enthusiasm of the American public for the Crocodile Hunter's family.
MATTHEW FELLING: I think grieving with his family is part of the grieving process for the American media public and it's a way of reaching closure in a way that we wouldn't do otherwise. We specially want to know the little girl, especially a little girl who shares so many traits with him, because he's obviously very placed a mantle, passed along to her a love of the animal kingdom and a friendliness that she can convey with her, and a child star is born.
WENDY DOUGLAS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, DISCOVERY NETWORK: I think we get really excited about them because they're so natural, they're so passionate, they're so enthusiastic just like Steve and we love that.
TRACY BOWDEN: The Discovery Network's Wendy Douglas has worked with the Irwins for close to a decade and is travelling with them on this hectic visit to the US.
TRACY BOWDEN: You've no doubt heard some people express concern about whether it's too much for a little girl who lost her dad five months ago; you've been watching her, what would you say?
WENDY DOUGLAS: I think she's doing great. She's fine. You know, this is truly what Bindi wants to do and I really hope that people, you know, hear that when I say that and when other people say that who know her and who are close to her, she's having the time of her life because she does want to share with people singing and dancing about animals and about respecting them and endangered species and why we have to pay attention to. That that's what she really, truly loves doing.
TRACY BOWDEN: It was Terri Irwin who struggled as she spoke about what she considers her late husband's greatest role.
TERRI IRWIN: If he was to be remembered for one thing and one thing only – sorry, Bindi, I'm going to need you to whack me – then it should be that he was the best dad.
TRACY BOWDEN: The Irwins' visit coincides with the US airing of the documentary Steve Irwin was working on when he died 'Ocean's Deadliest' and Bindi Irwin's new series, 'Bindi the Jungle Girl', is due to air in the US later in the year. Today, it seems, she's snared a few more fans.
JERRY ZREMSKI: We do have a lot of politicians here, a lot of world leaders, a lot of chief executive officers, but I could tell from the reaction in the audience that our audience was enjoying this probably as much if not more than any luncheon we've had that I've attended in the past year.
TRACY BOWDEN: Bindi Irwin is a straight talker, just like her father, and she also knows how to play to an audience. That was clear when she was asked her preference TV reporters or poisonous snakes.
BINDI IRWIN: OK, I really don't want to offend anyone but, um I really
INTERVIEWER: This ought to be good.
BINDI IRWIN: OK, so please nobody be offended.
INTERVIEWER: We've got that. We're not offended.
BINDI IRWIN: OK, good. I think I like poisonous snakes.
INTERVIEWER: I'm not surprised.
BINDI IRWIN: I really like poisonous snakes.
KERRY O'BRIEN: Tracy Bowden on the globalisation of Bindi Irwin.
I imagine "Uncle Wes" will her potential suitors out for a little walk around the croc pens for a nice chat before a date. I am guessing this will be one girl a boy would have home early!
That was very rude and uncalled for.
Re-Bump
I never could figure out why some that leave FR don't just leave
An opus thread reminds me of algore, Jon Carry - even Slick Willie crying he can't run for a 3rd term
--
The Fritz Modale / Jimmuh Carter types
How can I miss you if you won't go away!
You're right - I don't imagine any boy taking the chance of messing up while dating Bindi.
The stroll around the croc pen sounds far more persuasive to me than my husband's idea of greeting our daughter's dates while cleaning a firearm :) (she's the same age as Bindi, so I don't expect to learn if he means it for a few years to come)
I'm sorry devolve, I haven't read clear through the thread so don't know about the 'opus' part of it.
Yes. It's from the NPC event in the article.
LOL!!!!
I would venture to say he will do it..........much to our daughter's embarrassment :)
"She is adorable!! Anyone who finds fault with this delightful 8 years old has a crust thicker than mother earth."
Bindi has enormous appeal. What disturbs me is that she always appears to be "on." Having known a number of precocious child actors who knocked themselves out amusing adults at every turn -- I can't help but wonder how Bindi will fare from all of this in the long run. Few of the young actors I knew grew up to be happy, well-adjusted adults. Far from it.
Has she truly grieved for her father? Does she ever have time to simply be a kid? I realize her life has always been unusual. Nonetheless, how healthy is it for an 8-year-old to be called upon to keep her late father's memory alive? Wouldn't it be a better idea to allow her to have a few years off so that she could get to know herself? Cute as she is, I'm certain she could pick up the Irwin mantle after that and it might be a whole lot better for her.
What you said didn't make any sense. We in America loved Steve and his family. They have every right to come here.
I think they do it in hopes of getting 15 minutes of attention.
May God bless Bindi and her family.
I can only imagine the blow that Steve's death must have inflicted upon Terri's heart and soul. Fortunately, she had their two wonderful children and the caring family at Australia Zoo to help her through the dark and stormy days after his death and to help her focus on the brighter things in life.
It's so sad that her father won't be there to scare the daylights out of them. "Crikey mate, if you touch my little girl, I'm going to feed you to a big, buffy (boofy), croc."
G'day Bindi-o! Cute thing.
*B - I - N - D - I ... B - I - N - D - I ... B - I - N - D - I ... and Bindi was her name-o!*
Bless their hearts.
Correction...we in America loved Steve...
What a wood sprite.
I hope though that her life will be a quiet one, out of the limelight and cameras.
then he's in trouble!
to answer your PM question, i think the answer would be ....It took 9 minutes.
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