"Today" Anchors Blatantly Sell "Crash" DVD, Laud Its Use In School As "Teaching Tool"

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MRC's Geoff Dickens reported that in the 9 am half hour of "Today," Katie Couric went mushy for "Crash," a movie even liberal critics disliked for its manipulative (and at times unrealistic) plotting. Couric even mentioned how she liked that her daughter's ninth grade class was shown the fictional L.A.-stuffed-with-racism flick to spur discussion about America's unending race problem.

Katie Couric: "And also I think, Chris [Bridges], don't you think that, that the things weren't so black and white, so to speak, in the, in the movie. You know people were very nuanced. They had very different sides to them. So there weren't clear cut lines between bad characters and good characters were there?"

Chris Bridges AKA the rapper Ludacris: "Yeah very much. Well also you're very correct and at the end of the day you have to respect it because it's extremely real. It's reality and I think that's another reason why we're holding these statues right now."

Couric added to "Crash" director Paul Haggis:

"You know Paul just on a personal note I thought it was interesting, I was watching the Oscars with my 14-year-old daughter and she said, 'You know in, in ninth grade we used this movie to discuss racism, prejudice, the importance of diversity and sort of,' and I thought wow what a great tribute to this movie and hopefully..."

Haggis: "It was pretty amazing. On, on the way out a couple of security guards stopped us and, and they were, they were LAPD and they said, 'Best movie of the year, man.' And it just, it was, it was, to see, to see it embraced by, by, you know, by the cops, by the, by Chief Bratton, by the mayor, by the, the people that, the people of the city and the country it was, it was, it was humbling."

Bridges: "It makes you want to go home and watch it like right now."

Couric: "Makes you want to run out and get the DVD, right, guys?!"

Later, there was more unpaid shilling for "Crash" from the NBC anchors:

Matt Lauer: "That was a happy group this morning but also a really important movie so..."

Couric: "Yeah I think, I think what people really responded to, the movie was so raw and so honest."

Lauer: "I have to see it. I have to admit I have not seen it yet so that's my next order of business as I said earlier I think a lot of people are gonna run out and see it right now."

Couric: "Absolutely. And, and hopefully it can be used as a teaching tool for kids."

Lauer: "Absolutely."

PS: On ABC's "Good  Morning America," co-host Charles Gibson said late in the show that "Crash" was a "very worthy winner."