summertime anthem. from his upcoming album, son of the mountain. we get a front row seat to his creative process. >> that first verse -- we talk about his latest passion project. bringing attention to the war in ukraine. >> it really does make me , i think appreciate that i have more than i ever had in my life. >> later, actress sharon stone. >> what you going to do? charge me with smoking? >> we look back at her career . >> i did not know that moment would change the dynamic of my life forever . >> why she shifting her focus to a new art form. was that part of your superpower? -- i am a little pistol. it is what it is. >> good evening and welcome back to who is talking. tonight we start with the raging war in ukraine. the crucial ukrainian counteroffensive continued to struggle about russian forces that are heavily done in. dealing with fast minefields. antitank barriers and valleys of friendship. the civilian nightmare is even worth. since fighting began some 9000 civilians have been killed, including 500 children while foreign leaders and politicians talk about how to end the war, some celebrities are trying to do their part to end ukrainian people. that is where we start, with country music star, brad paisley. >> let's start with the first single from your upcoming album. the song is called same here. he released it, interestingly enough, in february, on the first anniversary of the russian invasion of ukraine. before we hear it, why did you want to write a song that connects life here in the u.s. to what those poor folks are going through over there? >> i was really affected when the invasion first happened a year ago now. watching that, having toured europe so much and seeing the town squares of these major european capitals and cities as people were running for their lives and trying to get out of town. i think it is just an unprecedented thing in our lifetime. we sat down to write this and had this idea. i had in my phone. it was the title. the idea i had was do we have these things in common? is that the way it is in these other places? it really does make me, i think, appreciate what we have more than i ever had in my entire life. i am knowing that it is fragile. >> in april, you actually went to ukraine and sang the song at st. michael's square. you did a video of the song that includes a conversation that you had with president zelensky. take a look. ♪ >> to defend our houses and families. ♪ >> proceeds from the single go to a program called united 24 that helps rebuild homes in ukraine that have been destroyed by the war. i mean, you are really personally committed to this. aren't you? >> i really entrance of the asked me the other day, how did you wind up caring about this that much? the answer is, i don't know. i just was affected so much in the beginning that the next thing you know, this has been the story of my life. you write a song and it winds up leading you to places you never expected. now, having been there and taking the train ride and the cover of darkness and gone around the city and met people and watched as real life is happening in between the air raid sirens. having seen that first hand, i cannot believe that songwriting took me there, to a place like that. >> you were generous enough to bring your guitar with you. i would love you to play a passage that particularly makes the point you want to make. >> yeah, i think as we wrote it, as a kid from west virginia asking this question, you know? ♪ >> the name of the show is who is talking with chris wallace. i prefer this to be who is singing to chris wallace. >> we can change the title. >> in june you can release a second song from the album, so many summers. here we are performing in nashville. take a look. ♪ ♪ >> your eldest son turned 16 this year. i read somewhere that you were really talking to him. you only get so many summers. >> talking to him and me. it is sort of the same. we are two sides of the same coin. he has me at 16. i am watching him, other than the fact that i turned 16, i took my driver's test and was expected to drive all of these kids to the mall to see a movie. the pressure was on, i had to pass. he has not gotten his yet. he is a little bit more anxious about it than i was. i wanted to hit the highway. i am speaking to that first verse. ♪ that is to him and me. you know? she is leaving in september, by the way. it is an interesting thing, this passage of july. it is my favorite verse. it was suggested by the head of my record label, they say to me, hey, what do you think of this on? she loved it, but she said we both have teenagers, we have like three more summers. can you get that in there? that is what the last verse is about. >> i was going to say, to 16- year-old, hawk, you are saying man, enjoy it. the failure summers. but, i am a little bit older than you, maybe a lot older than you. for us, it is a little different. what your brain is saying is, there are only so many summers left. >> it is true. it is sands through the hourglass. summer is one of those times a year, summer and christmas both mark the passing of time. >> absolutely. train many of had a remarkable career. 5 billion streams of your music. 25 number one hits. 10 in a row, at one point. how do you explain it? >> it is about the song, country music is about the song. if your song is saying something, here we are talking about why summers is what it is. that is the key to me. if i had any advice for anybody wanting to do this. it is saying something you believe or something that you really cannot wait to perform and cause an emotion with it. when you do that, you know, the rest will follow. i have said all along, as a songwriter or not, i wrote most of my heads. there are some i didn't. anybody with those exact songs is probably a bigger star than me. i think it is always about what you are saying. you know? >> anything that somebody else in your song would be a better star? >> they would have more charisma. >> do you think you are charisma deficient? >> definitely. my wife does too. >> i don't believe that for a minute. i think the record would show i am right and you are wrong. >> i hope you're right . >> so, let's talk a little bit about process. which comes first, the words or the music? >> bermuda's words. sometimes i will have a great melody or something and the log goes with that. most of the time, i have a hook. i have this hook. ♪ ♪ you know, that was a number one song. i remember playing that or the head of my label when it was written going they are either going to drop me or this is a hit. he loved it. the next thing i know, it was a hit. >> you know, i might think that to my wife, i want to check you for ticks. you are being the ultimate romantic by saying it to her. >> i am surprised that has not been picked up by a bug spray or something like that. >> exactly. off is our next tour sponsor. >> next up, brad's biggest hits in music and in life, including the music video that change everything. plus, the surprising advice he has got at an early age. >> he said, you are 14, you're cute. you are going to be 18 and not as cute, at least. you better be good at 18. 2024 chevy trax. ucingw ♪ ♪ helps you stay connected, ♪ safe ♪ and charged. ♪ the all-new chevy trax starting at $21,495. the possibilities are endless. here's how tommy lost 30 lbs on noom weight. i'm tom. noom helped him use psychology to lose weight. the mindful aspect made me feel more conscious about what i was eating and why i was eating it. it's actually working. lose weight and make it last with noom weight. what's considered normal for your cat is interesting. but if your cat isn't their quirky self lately, they may have pain from a common condition called osteoarthritis. now, there's solensia. solensia is a once-monthly injection to control your cat's oa pain. veterinary professionals administering solensia who are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breast feeding should take extreme care to avoid self-injection. self-injection could cause allergic reactions like anaphylaxis. ask your vet about solensia and help get your cat back to their normal. like ours is spoiling their dogs. good, real food is simple. it looks like food, it smells like food, it's what dogs are supposed to be eating. no living being should ever eat processed food for every single meal of their life. it's amazing to me how many people write in about their dogs changing for the better. the farmer's dog is just our way to help people take care of them. ♪ ♪ at morgan stanley, old school hard work meets bold new thinking. ♪ at 87 years old, we still see the world with the wonder of new eyes, helping you discover untapped possibilities and relentlessly working with you to make them real. old school grit. new world ideas. morgan stanley. that neighbor is hot! that's my husband... what? 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(scream) here comes the choo-choo train of love! inspire. sleep apnea innovation. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com. >> brad paisley has hit the top of the country music charts 25 times. the songs from the sentimental to the satirical. his gift for writing music started before he was even a teenager. we will get to that. we start with a music video that brought him romance in real life. >> some of your songs are just plain funny. one of them is i'm going to miss her or the fishing song. >> here we go. ♪ >> at first, it is funny. what is most interesting about that video is who's in it. >> a great actress, kimberly williams. right at that time, she was starring in the remake of father of the bride. here is the question. how does kimberly williams, a hollywood address and up in your video? >> i stalked her. >> what happened was i have a long story about going to see father of the bride on what would become one of my biggest heartbreaks, it was college romance, that was our movie. it ended badly. i came up with this idea that she should be in a music video. i called the manager who is wonderful. it was her manager at the time. i give her the whole story on how i had given her the song. she called kim. i had ulterior motives, of course, i wanted to meet her more than anything. but yes, i did want her to be in the music video. she called kim and said this guy called and wants to put you in a music video. she was doing my work, i had no idea. she was a great manager. >> she said yes? >> how long between making the video to you guys becoming husband and wife? >> let's see, we got married the next year. we dated for about a year. we dated for seven months before i got engaged. i realized the clock was ticking before she can figure out she could do better. got that out of the way. she said yes. her parents did not like it, especially her mother. but, i asked the question quickly. i was nothing like what they pictured for their daughter. i was a cowboy from west virginia, it was not on the list. >> 20 years later, do you sometimes live out that video where you have to choose between pleasing her and doing fishing or something else you want to do? >> how long have you been married? >> 25 years. >> you know. >> the answer is yes. >> it is ironic, we go back to the same subject of writing what is true. i had this song and i turned it into a record label. they said women are going to hate this. i can excited, however old it was, they love it. there are bruises from them nudging them as hard as they can when the song starts, that's you. anything true is fairly universal in that way. >> i want to play my favorite brad paisley song. this one is a duet with carrie underwood. ♪ >> i am getting a live show in a video. this is an outstanding interview. you and kerry hosted the cma awards for 11 years and one of my favorite parts but i used to watch every year. i look forward to this part in particular. the opening song parody. >> obamacare by morning. ♪ >> how did you discover that you were so good together ? there was great chemistry. monday paired us up. we had already toured together. we did not know that lightning in a bottle would strike. there were so many moments i just can't believe we came up with. we wrote the show together and i said what if we did parities of country songs based on current events? the first thing we did hold up even more now. it was this. a certain gentleman had stolen the microphone from taylor swift that same year. ♪ we wrote that. it went berserk. everybody was kind of mad at him at that time. something still hold up. >> your life story is so interesting. you were eight years old and you were getting your first guitar by your grandfather. there is a picture, right there of him. by age 12, tell me if this is true. you were eight regular on a jamboree usa opening for stars like roy clark? true? >> true. i cnn original christmas song at a rotary club luncheon . they had this 13-year-old songwriter. the first song ever wrote was a christmas song, it wasn't bad. in some ways, it is better than somethings i have tried to write lately. you know, i stumbled upon it. the next thing i know, they invited me on the local christmas show. the very next time i played the jamboree, they let me open for the judds. the biggest thing in the world at the time. >> i was going to say, this is a 12-year-old kid. >> in the words of my dad at the time, he was really good about not thinking everything i did was great. he said, you know, you are 14. you're cute. but, you are going to be 18 and not as cute. you better be good at 18. i thought that was really good advice. i was good for 14, but not necessarily great for 21. there are kids that are amazing at that age and virtuosos. i had to really work at it. >> i have to ask because everybody is wondering, can you play is a little? you remember the christmas on? ♪ head ♪ anyway, that is the choice of it. >> you wrote that at what age? >> reporter: 12 when i wrote it, but they're humanizing it. >> after an extraordinary first 50 years, the journey of your life so far , what's next? >> i think for me, what is on my mind, as i finish this album, at some point later this year it is called son of the mountains. it is me looking through the lens of the person that i was. this kid from west virginia at the world now. i am not shying away from things that inherit to me musically. it is newgrounds and in some ways. in that sense, i am very excited about this artistically. i am very excited about some of the songs that are the kinds of things we deal with things the opioid crisis in west virginia and we deal with depression in another song. i have got several different things that we do. some of it is fun. for the most part, it is a record of real-life and not pulling punches. that is what is next. >> coming up, a conversation with actress sharon stone. from the pandemic project she has turned into a new career to why she says hollywood abandoned her. >> i was pretty much shoved to the back of the line. i felt that i lost my film family. for most, hpv clears on its own. but for others, it can cause certain cancers later in life. you're welcome! now, as the “dad cab”, it's my cue to help protect them. embrace this phase. help protect them in the next. ask their doctor today about hpv vaccination. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ what do we always say, son? 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is that why you became so devoted to paint? >> i had a massive stroke in 2001. i had a nine day brain hemorrhage and a massive, very debilitating stroke. i did not recover quickly. it took years for me to recover. i could not come back because i cannot remember my lines and i cannot function for quite some time. i was pretty much to the back of the line. once you are in the back of the line, getting back to the front of the line is not about whether you made a lot of blockbusters and billions of dollars for your industry, you don't really matter anymore. so, i felt like i don't know if i really abandoned it if that is the correct word. i felt that i lost my film family. so, it did not stop my creativity or my ability to be creative which is why i wrote my book and i am writing another book and i am painting. it is why i have done so much advocacy. i am valuable. i am worthy. i am creative. i am exceptionally so. so, i wanted to be able to use my exceptional ability successfully and productively. >> let's go back to the scene he will be remembered for. >> there is no smoking in this building. >> what you going to do, charging the smoking? >> why are you laughing? >> i think it is such an example of male behavior. when i was breaking down the script, i thought the thing about catherine trammell is that she speaks man. because she speaks man, it is so confounding to the men in the room because she speaks back to them in the exact same way they speak to her, which is a showstopper. >> do you think this was a case of man directors and writers putting words in your mouth that you would not have said, or do you think in fact, that was right for that character. >> i think it was absolutely not only right for the character, but it was systematically correct for that period in time. it was such a controversial moment in time with and sexuality. with the a.i.d.s. crisis. with the controversy in filming itself. i got a triple x on the first review with the review board. you see so little of anything in this film, actually. now we see men with full frontal nudity on television. but, still, we look at that film has such a scandalous, controversial moment in filmmaking. really, it is quite benign by comparison to almost anything we see now. >> not seen in that movie made you a huge star and made you a symbol. was that easy transition for you and did you enjoy it? >> first of all, that scene, my acting teacher roy london said to me, you know, this scene, this is an action movie. this scene stops all the action. it has to be very specific and on the moment. i did not know that my being super present in the moment would change the dynamic of my life forever. i did not know that on friday, when that movie came out that i would be basically a nobody and on tuesday, i would go to get my eyeglasses picked up at sunset plaza and i would come out in my little bmw and i would stop at the stop light and everybody would climb all over my car and then the light were turned green and cars would start beeping and i would not know, is it legal to drive when people are all over the top of your car? >> is this a story or is this real? >> it is a real thing. i am in my car at sunset boulevard. they are all over the hood and all over the windshield and people there blowing their horns. i'm thinking if i drive and they get hurt, do i get arrested? is it a crime if you drive when people are on your car? i am inside thinking, do i drive, not drive? what is the law about people all over your car? >> don't get on sharon stone's car . >> i don't know what to do. >> along with the glamour and the mixed blessings became a reputation that sharon stone was tough to work with or as you credit -- >> the word was difficult, that was the word that was assigned to me, difficult. >> had to put it in your memoir, sharon stone has the biggest balls in hollywood, honestly. did you deserve it? did you become difficult? >> no. what i did was protect myself. i used my same hair, makeup and same team all the time. i expected them to stay in the same hotel that i stayed in. two travel with me. cannot be put in some crappy hotel down the street. i felt like i needed the people that i worked with to stay with. for me not to be isolated away by myself because i did not feel that would be safe room. i also did not have sex with people to get a job or keep a job or make things go smoothly on set. i was questionably very specifically and quite often. i just did not feel that was my job or quite frankly that i was capable of that. that i needed to focus on my work. i don't feel that should make me be a difficult person. now, things have changed very much in my industry and there are protections for that. in my era, there were not protections for any of the women in that era. >> after the break, sharon reveals her freakishly high iq. plus, the lesson arnold schwarzenegger taught her that had me reacting like this. >> the politicians have gotten that lesson. eva's about to learn her fear of missing out leads to overeating. i totally eat stuff to not miss out. and that's just a bit of psychology eva learned from noom weight. sign up now at noom.com ♪ ♪ we're reinventing our network... ...with smarter, more efficient routes... ...so you can deliver more value to your customers. fast. reliable. perfectly orchestrated. the united states postal service. >> sharon stones breakthrough roles are full of scene stealing moments. she is also scared shared the big screen actors that taught her important lessons. >> 1990, you did a movie called total recall. you are supposedly arnold schwarzenegger's wife, but you really aren't. >> double agent. >> don't give it away. >> the job is real , the agency set it up. they raised your identity and implanted a new one. i was written in as your wife so i could watch you and make sure the erasure took. sorry, quaid. your whole life is just a dream. >> what did you learn from arnold? >> so many things. what a professional. honestly, he is so professional. he taught me everything i needed to be prepared before i got there. he really expected a level of professionalism that was like his own. when we did the press for he stayed for all of my press and stayed each night and taught me about how to do an interview. he would say things to me that were very, very smart. you do not have to answer the question you asked. you have to answer the question they should've asked. >> if you interview politicians, they've got that. >> it was very smart. he really understood the art of the whole thing. >> the fascinating thing is , you were an attractive woman in that movie when departure basic instinct came up your manager said they were not interested in you because they did not think you were sexy enough. >> that was always thinking about me, no one thought i was sexy enough. >> how did you persuade them? >> i think a lot of it was because the fact that i was difficult. that is not sexy. then i got a screen test. but michael did not want to screw test with media >> michael douglas? >> it was such a huge risk for him to play this part at this period in time, controversial film. so, verhoeven, the director said he was also the director of total recall. he said okay, everyone that we screen test, we will play sharon's test after. there test has to be sharon's test. so, they tested 12, 13, 14 women and no one be my screen test. i felt so relaxed that i really aced the test. everything was so chaotic that the test went really well. >> my other movie, my guess is maybe your favorite, 1995, you play a key role in a mob movie, casino with robert de niro and martin scorsese. >> my wife comes to me and asking for $25,000 per what you want, do you want a code? if you want a coat it is not the money, it is what he wanted? my not allowed to ask that? >> i have been independent my whole life i never had to ask anybody for anything and now you're making me beg you for this. you are embarrassing me. i you making me feel so bad? >> you were nominated for an oscar for that. i am thinking it is more gratifying to be accepted and praised by robert de niro and martin scorsese. >> yeah. that was my goal. i want to be able to sit opposite robert de niro and hold my own. that is my goal. that is it. mission accomplished. that was my goal. that was my whole goal. to me, he was, is the greatest actor working. i wanted to be able to have the skill set to work with him because he is not only an on the page actor, but he is the greatest improvisational actor and he embodies his characters fully and completely. he is housed in these characters that he plays. i want to be able to be right there with him. >> and then asking about something that most people did not know in that same area. is it true that you have a freakishly high iq and that you started college when you were 15? >> yeah. yeah. >> i have got to say, your acting teacher would not like that. i think a man would say, yeah right. why did you wince at the fact? i think people finally threatening both emotionally and psychologically because they feel like i am smarter. it makes people feel uncomfortable, i think. i think i can be very disquieting. >> why not just say yeah? >> i have been tested between 158 and 164 . >> well, i am feeling a little threatened and intimidated. >> people don't really grasp, that doesn't mean that you were smart at everything. it doesn't mean that you are good at everything and it also doesn't mean that you don't have enormous blind spots. you have to realize that most people, many people, loads of people with these super high iq but many people do. many people have these very high iqs have other issues. they stutter, they have other sorts of impacts in their life because when you get a very high iq, you also end up on the spectrum. there are lots of things on the spectrum that we are dealing with when you have a very high iq. it does give you you can understand things and that does cause disk use among other people. >> said, looking back, this has been quite a conversation, looking over this extraordinary life, great highs and some terrible lows. are you happy? are you at peace? >> i am. i am and at peace person. i am a happy person. i faced tragedy with two feet on the ground. i have an open heart and the belief that these are the lessons and these are the ways to continue to be more openhearted and more grounded and more loving and more available and deeper and more understanding of one another. i hope to find more and more people of the same ilk. >> up next, we turned pink . it has nothing to do with barbie. c after reconnecting with me. ♪ get 1.9% apr for 36 months plus $1,500 purchase allowance on a 2023 xt5 and xt6 when you finance through cadillac financial. ♪ my name is brian delallo. i teach ap and honors economics in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. financial well-being to me is knowing that i can be free to do the things that i love to do. i hope when i retire someday, they say, that guy made this place a special place to come to school and gave as much as he could to help the community. listen up, you dogs with allergic itch! today's talking lesson is just one word: apoquel. ap--o--quel. ♪ you can't teach your itchy dog to talk... ...so, talk to your vet about apoquel. apoquel is for the control of allergic itch in dogs. do not use apoquel in dogs with serious infections. apoquel may increase the chances of developing serious infections... ...and may cause existing parasitic skin infections or pre-existing cancers to worsen. new neoplasias have been observed. i'm glad we speak the same language. ask your vet for apoquel. hi, i'm jill and i've lost 56 pounds on golo. hi, i'm barry and i've lost 42 pounds. jill and i are a team. if she tells me to do something, i usually jump on board. golo was doable, it's realistic, and it's something we can do the rest of our lives. time stops. ♪ (music plays) ♪ and you realize you're in love... steve? ...with a laundry detergent. new gain flings. seriously good scent. >> finally tonight, pink is the color of the summer. the barbie movie enjoying a blockbuster opening week. it is also the stage name of one of my previous guests, the popstar pick who is kicking off the north america leg of her summer carnival tour this week. i spoke with pinker earlier this year about her newest album, trust fall. as she was preparing for the tour, she told me what it is like to prepare and from of a packed house and sometimes to fly over it. >> explained to us mortals what is it like when you walk out on a stage and there are 50,000 screaming, adoring fans. what is that like? >> it is amazing. it is amazing. it is an authentic experience. >> i feel like it is group therapy. we are having this amazing experience together. music is an experience. it is a memory. sans do that. in a concert experience for us, it is beautiful. >> how hard is it to sagan when you're hanging upside down and spinning through the air. >> i will let you know if i ever sound great. >> you sound great. >> you know, you're trained for it. it forced me to take my craft very, very, very seriously. i am always trying to top myself because it makes people happy. when i fly around through the air, it is wonderful when you can go in the four seconds from the stage to the back of the stadium and be right over that wheelchair section and waving at people with tears coming down their face. you can't imagine it. it >> is it scary question mark >> yeah. yeah. i have had some hoops, that is good moments. it is exhilarating. you should do it. you should come out. >> you're coming to washington for the tour. i am not getting into a harness and flying around. >> my daughter has done it. >> your daughter is braver than i. >> well, i am still considering her invitation. this wraps up season three of who's talking. we wilbein the fall with brand-new conversations. until then you can catch all of our episodes including pink, brad paisley and sharon stone anytime you want. thank you for watching and good evening, everyone. i'