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Showbiz Tonight
`Idol` Mystery Continues; Makeover for Makeover Shows?; Celebrities Take in L.A. Fashion Show, CNNHN
Aired March 15, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: An "American Idol" mystery still in progress.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And "Jake in Progress." John Stamos live. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: And I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: Mario mystery continues. An "American Idol" contestant moves on, and now the show`s producers speak out. We`ll sort it out for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONO, ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: You`re asking me what I want to do. I want to be president. I wouldn`t move to a smaller house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Rocking the house. It`s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2005. We`ve got the superstar performances, and after the party, the one-on-one interviews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re just excited to, like, be out together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: So are we. Beauty and bytes. The stars are out, as style and videogames collide. Uh-oh! We`re in LA for fashion week.
HAMMER: Full circle. A "Full House" star`s new show puts Jake on the make. "Jake in Progress`s" John Stamos live.
BRYANT: And mommy terrorist. No soccer practices and PTA meetings for this "24" star, Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA ABDUL, "AMERICAN IDOL": Hi, I`m Paula Abdul. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, and you`re at the top of the show.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. We`re live with you from the Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.
HAMMER: Well, tonight "American Idol" starts its final rounds. But the buzz isn`t around the six men and six women who are there, it`s about the one who isn`t there.
BRYANT: Yes, the big question is, Where`s Mario? And the second question, Why did he really quit "American Idol"? Well, we are going west side (ph) for some answers with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson in Los Angeles. Brooke, the Mario mystery continues.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Oh, yes, it does, A.J. and Karyn. And there was talk, there were rumors that P. Diddy was behind the mini- controversy, that he had signed Mario to a record deal. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT spoke to Diddy`s people, and they told us, quote, "P. Diddy is not even watching `American Idol,` and he`s focused on making "The Band 3.`" So now it`s back to the original question. What`s up with Mario?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDUL: Honestly, it`s leaving everybody perplexed.
ANDERSON (voice-over): That`s the understatement of the year for "American Idol" fans. Two days after fan favorite Mario Vazquez mysteriously announced he was withdrawing from the singing competition, all of America is still asking, Why? And so was "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went to her for some clues.
ABDUL: It`s always confusing when something as big as a contestant dropping out -- I mean, I was a huge fan of Mario`s. I mean, Maria, you know, was favored to go pretty much right down to the finals there. So everyone is quite upset, and it`s, you know, his own personal decision.
MARIO VAZQUEZ, LEFT "AMERICAN IDOL": You fall in love, and just for some reason, after a while, you don`t -- you don`t understand why you`re falling out of love.
REGIS PHILBIN, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Mario, you were there for a week!
VAZQUEZ: I know. But it`s true.
ANDERSON: Mario says it wasn`t business, it`s personal. And he kept saying it this morning on "Live With Regis & Kelly."
VAZQUEZ: Personally, it just -- it -- I felt like the competition wasn`t right for me. It is cited as personal reasons. Personally, I just didn`t think the competition was right for me. Personally, I just didn`t think it was right.
ANDERSON: But under heavy interrogation from none other than Kelly Ripa, Mario did give a somewhat revealing non-answer.
KELLY RIPA, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Are you contractually obligated to "American Idol"?
VAZQUEZ: Well, Kelly, I really can`t talk about that, so...
ANDERSON: He may not be able to talk about the contract, but we will. The winners of "American Idol" are signed to a record deal with the show`s executive producer, a deal some people say is very restrictive.
As Paula Abdul said, Mario may have had the pipes to win "American Idol" and that "AI" record deal. But Mario may end up with the best of both worlds, fame and exposure from doing and then publicly leaving "American Idol" and the freedom to shop around for his own lucrative record deal. So what about the future?
VAZQUEZ: I will just say this is not the last you`ve heard of Mario Vazquez. At all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The "American Idol" producers are downplaying the whole thing as no big deal. One of them said today that all "American Idol" performers are contractually bound for three months after the show`s finale airs. Once that time is up, we could see Mario breaking loose to perform again. And by the way, Karyn, Mario will spoof this situation tonight as he reads the top 10 list on "The Late Show With David Letterman."
BRYANT: All right, thank you very much, Brooke, out in Los Angeles.
HAMMER: Well, someday, if you can imagine it, we just might see an "American Idol" getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Last night, we were live at the 20th annual induction ceremonies here in New York City. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer has a look at all of the great performances -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Boy, A.J., what a great night it was. U2 took a lot of the spotlight last night. It`s hard to believe it`s been 25 years since the band released its first album, "Boy," back in 1980, kicking off a career that continues today at full throttle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The keepers of some of the most beautiful sonic architecture in rock-and-roll.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Last night, it was all about recognition in the rock world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome U2 to the Rock Hall of Fame.
BONO, HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE Rock-and-roll is the sound of revenge. When we look out into the audience, we don`t see any enemies, we just see friends. And this country has taken this band into its bosom.
HAFFENREFFER: But Bono says they probably wouldn`t make it if U2 was just starting out today.
BONO: I would like to ask the music business to look at itself and ask itself some hard questions.
HAFFENREFFER: The band played some of their biggest hits and found a little help from The Boss. After the show, more of Bono on the business.
BONO: There`s very little chance for there to be another U2, the way that the music business is constructed right now. You just have to have the single immediately. If you don`t, you don`t get a second chance.
HAFFENREFFER: But it wasn`t just about U2.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your butts out of your seats. One more time for the O`Jays.
HAFFENREFFER: The O`Jays, R&B icon Percy Sledge, blues legend Buddy Guy, and new wavers The Pretenders also received keys to rock`s exclusive clubs. Chrissie Hynde hit the press room and hinted this may be the last time we see her for a while.
CHRISSIE HYNDE, THE PRETENDERS: I just want to hang out on the beach and, like, not do anything.
BONO: "When a Man Loves a Woman" is one of the best performances I`ve ever heard.
HAFFENREFFER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with Percy Sledge minutes after he received his award.
(on camera): I`ve got to ask you about the picture.
PERCY SLEDGE, INDUCTEE: Oh, I was sporting it then, man! I was 25 years old, and I thought I was the sweetest thing, you know, especially after "When a Man Loves a Woman."
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Buddy Guy was ushered in by Eric Clapton and B.B. King.
(on camera): What took so long for this night to happen?
BUDDY GUY, HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: I don`t have no control over that, sir. You know, but all I can say is, better late than never.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And inducted into the non-performer category, Frank Barsalona, credited with creating the first big rock-and-roll booking agency, and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein. That show airs on VH-1 Saturday, a must-see.
BRYANT: All right. Thanks a lot, David. Hard to believe the first time I saw U2 was 1983. And they were amazing then, as now.
Time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories making news tonight. Back in rehab tonight. Singer-songwriter Billy Joel has checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic for alcohol abuse. It`s the second time he`s done so in three years. In a statement released by his publicist, Joel is asking that his privacy be respected.
Arresting beauty. Former "Baywatch" star Alexandra Paul is free today after being arrested last night in California. She was protesting the destruction of some remaining EV-1 electric cars. The cars were introduced by General Motors in the late 1990s but never caught on.
More "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming up throughout the show.
HAMMER: Well, it was another tough day of testimony for the boy at the center of the Michael Jackson trial. Pat Lalama of "Celebrity Justice" has been keeping a close eye on the goings on there. She joins us live from Burbank, California, now with the latest. Pat, the 15-year-old took the stage, not an easy day, though.
PAT LALAMA, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Has it ever been an easy day for him? I don`t think. Today he tried to explain why he didn`t tell the school administrator about the alleged molestations, and he gave, a lot of people think, a pretty credible answer, and that would be, I was afraid. I was attacked. I was made fun of by the other children at the school, and so I just preferred not to say so.
Now, also, let me tell you that Tom Mesereau tried to attack the child`s credibility by telling him that, Hey, you know, you really didn`t want to -- you did want to leave Neverland, you were able to leave Neverland. And he said he never really wanted to leave, it was his mother that wanted to leave.
And then finally, Tom Sneddon asked him, What do you feel about Michael Jackson? He said, I don`t like him much anymore. He said that he didn`t feel he deserved his respect. And I think it`s all done for him. And it can`t be easy for a child, in any event.
HAMMER: Well, Pat, we`re hearing also something about a connection to the cartoon "The Simpsons." Can you explain this to us?
LALAMA: Only in Hollywood does something like this happen, the proverbial six degrees of separation. As the story goes, "The Simpsons" people wanted to use a voice to impersonate Michael Jackson as a character in "The Simpsons," and Jackson said, Oh, no, no, no. There`s only one condition under which I will allow this to happen, and that will be if you write in a character, me having an actual episode with this, like -- with Bart Simpson, and they agreed to do so. And so there you go.
HAMMER: Only in Hollywood, indeed. We also hear "Celebrity Justice" is reporting another development in this case.
LALAMA: Absolutely. Remember the following name -- Rudy Provencio (ph). This is going to be very, very big, according to our sources, a potential witness. He happened to be a friend of Michael Jackson`s friend, the gay porn producer Marc Schaffel (ph), who is considered an unindicted co-conspirator in this case. He got into the Jackson ring and apparently kept a daily journal of the alleged discussions about keeping this family hostage and the conspiracy to keep them quiet. And according to our sources, he was able to document all of it and even tape record this information. We understand he will be quite a heavy-duty witness when and if he takes the stand. We understand that he will.
HAMMER: Well, we`ll be looking for him, Pat. Thanks so much. Pat Lalama of "Celebrity Justice" joining us live from Burbank -- Karyn.
BRYANT: Well, a snip-snip here and a nip-nip there. Do makeover shows, well, need a makeover? We`ll talk about it in our "SHOWBIZ Showdown."
HAMMER: And it`s the West Coast`s turn to roll out the runway. LA fashion week gets under way, and we`re there.
Now it`s time for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly" "Great American Pop Culture Quiz." In "South Park," who saves the town from a giant marauding Barbra Streisand robot? Was it Isaac Hayes, Robert Palmer, Robert Smith or Sally Struthers? We`re coming back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly" "Great American Pop Culture Quiz." In "South Park," who saves the town from a giant marauding Barbra Streisand robot? Your choices, Isaac Hayes, Robert Palmer, Robert Smith or Sally Struthers. The lead singer of The Cure had the cure for mega-Streisand, so the answer is C, Robert Smith.
BRYANT: It`s 14 minutes past the hour. Time now for the "SHOWBIZ Showdown." It is graphic. Some say it`s exploitative, and it`s all over the airwaves, plastic surgery on TV. "The Swan" and "Extreme Makeover" were the first to make the big cut, but audiences and ratings have followed up with shows like "Dr. 90210." Which leads us to tonight`s hot topic, plastic surgery shows. There`s a lot of them out there.
Joining us live for our "SHOWBIZ Showdown," actress and author Emme, who says plastic surgery shows are harmful, and Dr. Robert Rey, a plastic surgeon on the reality show "Dr. 90210," who says plastic surgery shows aren`t harmful at all, and he joins us live from Los Angeles.
Doctor, I`m going to start with you. You`ve got to explain your case here.
DR. ROBERT REY, "DR. 90210": Karyn, I think plastic surgery shows, as a reality genre, has gone through a maturation process. Initially, the first show checked with the associations of plastic surgery and they put out a very good show. The shows that followed, typical for Hollywood, kind of pushed the envelope a little bit. And they had one emotionally charged woman compete against another emotionally charged patient, and I thought that was a little bit in bad taste.
BRYANT: You`re talking about "The Swan" there?
REY: Well, you know, I`d rather not give you names, but I think there are two or three of them.
BRYANT: Sure.
REY: Our show represents a maturation process. In our show, we don`t pit one patient against the other. We don`t do 14 surgeries...
EMME, ACTRESS AND AUTHOR: But the shows are such...
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: Yes, go ahead...
REY: We don`t do multiple surgeries on each patient, which is very, very dangerous. They`re my patients. I don`t pay them to be on.
BRYANT: OK. Well, Emme...
REY: And I think...
BRYANT: ... let me hear what you have to say about the whole plastic surgery television...
EMME: I think that we`re putting out a really strange message out to the youth of America, where there`s 13-year-olds getting chin implants and boob jobs for their turning-of-age. There`s a big problem with women who are suddenly looking out and saying, Oh, I want to do whatever XYZ actress is doing, and goes into a doctor`s office, and seeing that it`s completely acceptable with all the shows that are out there promoting it.
We`re looking at train wrecks daily. We`re looking -- it`s -- you can`t not look at this because it`s intriguing to see, Oh, my gosh, what are they doing? But what`s happening to our culture is that it`s starting to seem like it`s acceptable, that it`s normal for some woman who doesn`t feel comfortable in her body, having body dysmorphism, to say, You know what? The way to change my life and the way to fix everything is to go and change a cheekbone or an eye or a boob...
BRYANT: Now, Doctor...
REY: Karyn...
(CROSSTALK)
EMME: ... and she`s getting into severe problems without going into the emotional issues ahead of time.
BRYANT: Right. Now, Doctor, let`s talk about this, because shows like "I Want a Famous Face," which is on MTV -- this is specifically targeted to teenage girls. Most of the people on the shows are young...
EMME: They haven`t even grown into their faces...
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: And so what about that argument that you are enticing young girls who haven`t even, like you said, Emme, grown into themselves yet, to...
EMME: For what? For money?
BRYANT: ... want plastic surgery?
REY: Karyn, plastic surgeons, like anything else in life, there are extremes. Either end of the extreme is bad. Somewheres in the middle is the answer. I see plastic surgery shows in a slightly different light. For instance, patients come to me and say, Dr. Rey, I`ve seen the operation on TV. I know what the limitations of the operation are. I know...
BRYANT: So you think it`s educating?
REY: It`s very educating. For example, in the old days, they used to do breast reductions with enormous scars. These women have enormous breasts. It gives them arthritis of the neck. They see the new operations that we`re doing, and they come in...
EMME: Doctor, a question...
REY: ... and they get a much better operation with much less scarring.
EMME: Doctor...
REY: For example -- just one more second. Young girls who become socially withdrawn just because the ears stick out a little bit, they come in...
(CROSSTALK)
REY: ... and make their lives better. One more example...
EMME: Is there therapy, Doctor, ahead of time -- excuse me. As a part of your practice, do you offer therapy, not after, to help them get used to their image...
REY: Yes.
EMME: ... but beforehand...
REY: One door next to mine is a psychologist.
EMME: Do you ask them...
REY: And you know, I agree with you...
EMME: Do you tell them, Do not go into surgery? Do you -- how many patients do you turn away?
REY: I reject 30 percent -- I turn down 400 patients a year, and I reject them on the show, as a matter of fact, if you watch it. So you`ll see that we reject patients that don`t have the maturity to deal with healing process or they have body dysmorphia, as you very aptly mentioned. These are patients who think they`re very ugly, but you look at them, they`re actually very, very pretty. This year we also do pro bono. I had a young lady come in, 100-pound body...
EMME: But we`re not talking about...
(CROSSTALK)
EMME: We`re not talking about this.
BRYANT: Doctor, we want to focus on the idea that, you know, sometimes this is a one-hour program, people see radical changes in one hour, and they don`t see what happens three months down the road.
REY: There have definitely been some abuses. I will give you that. There`s definitely been some abuses. But please don`t clump all the shows together. There`s some very good programming. There`s some...
EMME: There`s a cultural phenomenon...
REY: ... very bad programming and everything...
BRYANT: Emme, I`m going to give you the last word.
EMME: The cultural phenomenon is to try and let people know that the changing beauty myth that`s out there -- it changes monthly.
BRYANT: OK.
EMME: It changes per actress or whatever lips you want to have. You`ve got to get to the source of what is the issue. It`s not this.
BRYANT: OK. It`s not -- well, thank you very much...
REY: A little plastic surgery helps. Too much is too much.
BRYANT: Doctor, we could go on for hours. Emme, author and actress, thank you very much. And Dr. Robert Rey of "Dr. 90210," thank you very much for your opinions, as well.
We want to thank -- we want you at home to write in. Thank you for writing in. It`s our "SHOWBIZ Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows: Are they harmful? That`s the question. You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight. Or if you want to tell us more, e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.
HAMMER: We love when you write in. Please write in.
He`s traded in his San Francisco "Full House" for a New York apartment. John Stamos has got a new show, and he joins us live to talk about it.
BRYANT: And I also see Patricia Arquette in our future. Yes, it`s coming to me. NBC`s "Medium" gives us an inside look at her Malibu Beach home "Tuesday In Style."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It`s time now for "Tuesday In Style." You know Patricia Arquette from the hit NBC show "Medium," but now another side of the TV psychic, an inside look at her modern yet cozy Malibu Beach home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUBIRA SHAW, "IN STYLE" MAGAZINE: Patricia Arquette`s home is very beachy, very open, very modern. Patricia`s really into real eclectic mix. She has everything from sheepskin rugs to custom-made 14-foot-wide sofas to robots. The robot she has in her home is named Gigantor. It`s a replica, a full-size life-size replica of a Japanese cartoon character.
Patricia has a 2-year-old daughter named Harlow (ph), and she`s created this alcove in her living room that`s a great play area for Harlow. She`s got it lined with sheepskin everywhere you can see, and she`s got these bubble chairs made of lucite that are suspended from the ceiling by chains. So it`s a really whimsical, adventurous atmosphere for a child to play in.
Patricia has a -- fixtures in the children`s bathroom are stainless steel and were manufactured by a company that makes toilets for prisons, but she was quick to add that these are from the home collection.
One of her goals when she first moved into the house, which is a very modern structure, was to make it more cozy and inviting, and she achieved that by bringing in antiques from places like Asia and Africa, decorating the walls with colorful artwork, and also just bringing along keepsakes that she`s collected over the years. It`s very important, obviously, for her to have elements in her family, past and present, in her home. She has things are from -- passed down from her parents.
Patricia told us that she didn`t think -- or envision herself living by the ocean, but actually, it was a psychic, ironically, that told her that she would be living in Malibu on a hill. She says that when she first moved, she was going through a hard time emotionally. She had parents who had passed away, and she felt that the home she was in was full of memories. So she moved and said that she wanted to be in the light, and she is, figuratively and literally in this sun-splashed, amazing, gorgeous home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: If you want to read more on Patricia Arquette and her eclectic beach house, pick up a copy of this month`s "In Style" magazine. It`s on newsstands now.
BRYANT: This TV mom doesn`t bake cookies, drive carpools or help out with the homework unless it involves terrorist plots. Oscar nominee, and she`s from the show "24," it`s Shohreh Aghdashloo.
HAMMER: And this Oscar winner wowed us in "The Pianist," but we bet you can`t guess who some of his favorite musicians are. Well, here`s a hint. They are not classical. Adrien Brody tells us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HAMMER: Making progress. John Stamos has a new show called "Jake in Progress." He joins us live tonight.
BRYANT: Fashion week in L.A. The beautiful people, a brand new Playstation, when fashion meets technology. Stars really know how to play the game.
SLEDGE: Hi. This is Percy sledge. If it happens today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: And I`m A.J. Hammer. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.
BRYANT: Mario`s making the rounds after dropping out of "American Idol." Mario Vazquez is appearing on David Letterman tonight. And he was on "Regis & Kelly" this morning. Now, Vazquez says he isn`t saying why he left the show beyond personal reasons. Today the producers of "American Idol" said Vazquez has explained his decision to them but they are respecting his privacy.
HAMMER: Jackson trial update. Michael Jackson`s teenage accuser is off the stand after four days of testimony. Today he testified that the reason he told a school official that Jackson did not molest him was because he was embarrassed and kids were making fun of him.
BRYANT: We`ve been asking you to vote on tonight`s "Showbiz Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows, are they harmful? You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight and send us your e-mails at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.
HAMMER: Well, fashion week is in full swing in Los Angeles. Last night`s events got everybody talking with a new Playstation, some little accessories and a big fall. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson joins now live in Hollywood with the details. Brooke?
ANDERSON: A.J., yes, the stars were out last night, and so were we. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was front and center as top models were strutting their stuff on the runway, showing off hip designer carry-alls for Hollywood`s favorite new gadget.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Alyssa Milano, Jessica Alba, Drea de Matteo, and Chris Katan, Courtney Cox with David Arquette one row behind her. Just some of the celebs that got a great view at Sony`s Playstation portable designer accessory show. Ask Lauren Holly.
LAUREN HOLLY: These events are always just fun. I mean, it`s kind of like -- it`s theater. And so I just like to watch the show and see what grabs me.
TAYLOR DAYNE: I heard like Mark -- I heard there`s a bunch of designers, Diane von Firstenburg and there`s going to be like -- they know how to throw a party. It`ll be fun.
ANDERSON: Marc Jacobs, Diane von Firstenburg, and Coach were just a few of the names flaunting their wares. But the stars seem more interested in high-energy games than high fashion. Kevin Dillon.
KEVIN DILLON: Is it fashion night? I would have wore something better. I didn`t realize it was fashion night. I`m here for the games. Look at the sneakers.
MICHAEL VARTAN: That`s one of the reasons I came here, because that new gadget is fantastic, and it`s -- it`s a reason to be here.
HAYLIE DUFF: Very exciting. Playstation and the fashion and we`re just excited to like be out together.
ANDERSON: Nicky Hilton. She knows the runway when she sees it. She was first and some big names followed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother`s married to one of the models, Kristy Hume so, I`m always excited to see her. And she never does runway anymore. So this is like probably the only time she`ll do it.
ANDERSON: Maggie Riser joined Kristy Hume on the catwalk, and runway veteran Alec Weck (ph) stopped the show, fashion road kill, but she made a graceful recovery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Alec Weck was not the only fall of the evening. Two models lost their tops completely, but we thought we`d leave that scene on the cutting room floor. A.J., I know that disappoints you.
HAMMER: Yeah. That was still probably a good idea. And did you say fashion road kill in there, Brooke? I believe you did.
ANDERSON: I did. It was a harsh term, but she did make a great recovery, right? You know those spiked heels, they`re tricky.
HAMMER: You get two demerits for that one. Thanks a lot. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S Brooke Anderson live in Los Angeles. Now tomorrow night, we`re going to bring you more from fashion week in L.A. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is going to drop by Cindy Crawford`s rock the runway benefit and the star-studded Hugo Boss party.
BRYANT: Time for more "Showbiz Shorts." Martha`s monitoring device. It`s a bad thing. In an online chat with fans last night, Martha Stewart said the ankle device she has to wear while on house arrest is uncomfortable and gets in the way of exercise. She wrote, quote, I wish it were removable, but it is not. More "Showbiz Shorts" coming up later in the show.
Oprah is winning the ratings game. In numbers out today, the Oprah Winfrey show is averaging nearly 11 million viewers every day. For February sweeps the show posted its highest total audience in more than a decade.
Well, you know, they`ve been talking all day, and we`ve been listening. Now, as we do every night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today`s talk shows. On "Live with Regis & Kelly," Ashton Kutcher and Kelly Ripa re-enact a memorable scene from the movie "Dirty Dancing."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY RIPA: Don`t drop me.
ASHTON KUTCHER: I`m not going to.
RIPA: Tens of people across the country.
KUTCHER: This is a lot of pressure but we`re doing the lift. Just jump a little.
RIPA: OK. Ready?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Coming up later we`ll show you what Ashton had to say about the rumors that his girlfriend, Demi Moore, is pregnant.
HAMMER: Well, he already has an Oscar, but Adrien Brody could be on his way to getting a Grammy. Tonight a side of Adrien Brody you just might not know about. He`s shedding light on the musician in him. More than you saw in his Oscar-winning role in "The Pianist." Brody keys in in his noteworthy side in a very current issue of "Vitals Man" magazine which is on stands today. Editor in chief Joe Zee tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, while you might think Brody`s into classical pianist numbers, his real musical passion comes from a very different place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ZEE, VITALS MAN MAGAZINE: He travels with a keyboard. He travels with monitors. He composes music on every down minute that he has. And I think that`s sort of a real telling sign of something that he`s really interested in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Among Brody`s favorites, Nas (ph), Tupac and Eminem. And as Brody told the magazine, for him music is much more than a hobby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZEE: Oh, my God. I think if anything he is the biggest hip- hopper/rapper out there. I think he was brought up and raised in Queens. He short of was raised on hip-hop music so long before hip-hop was even a mass sort of genre of music. He was already sort of enthralled and sort of embraced by it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Brody isn`t embarking on a full-time music career just yet. He`s got some more acting to do. He`s finishing up the hotly anticipated "King Kong" which is co-starring Naomi Watts and coming out near Christmas.
BRYANT: If you`ve ever watched "Full House," you know John Stamos also has a musical side. And now he has a brand new TV show called "Jake in Progress." John Stamos joins us live coming up.
HAMMER: Plus, a star of TV`s "24" tells us why she initially turned down the part.
BRYANT: Now, tonight`s birthday shout out. "Desperate Housewives`" Eva Longoria turns 30 years old today. The shout out comes from her co- star, Jesse Metcalfe (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE METCALFE: Happy birthday, Eva. I love you. I couldn`t ask for a better co-star. You`re great to work with, and I hope we`re friends forever. So happy birthday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. ABC`s new comedy "Jake in Progress" was a big player in the ratings game Sunday night, winning the night hands down. Funny, though, the show was about a big player in the dating field, but he is not so lucky there. So joining me live from Los Angeles in his first post-premiere interview, none other than John Stamos. John, welcome now. Before we get to chatting, we`re going to give the people a little clip from "Jake in Progress."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN STAMOS: OK. I remember. Of course I remember you. You have a cat and I have allergies. See, I remember everything. So why don`t we go grab a drink?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, I don`t think I`m going to be grabbing a drink with you.
STAMOS: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I don`t know. Maybe because I thought we had a great night together and you never called, and the worst part of it is you`re such a man whore you don`t even remember it.
STAMOS: Man whore? I think you`re confusing me with someone else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, really?
STAMOS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, gee. You cry every time you watch "Jerry Maguire."
STAMOS: Who doesn`t?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You celebrated your 32nd birthday for the past three years because you`re terrified of getting older. And you carry around a little talcum powder in your pocket because when you get nervous, your palms get sweaty.
STAMOS: How do you know about that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Now, John, I`m watching you watch this clip, I don`t know if you knew I could see you there, you looked a little squirmy. Do you not like watching yourself?
STAMOS: No, it makes me nervous. I was flirting with you during the commercial. Tell everybody. And they said, hey -- you said I`m married, my husband`s a martial artist, you know. And it scared me so much that I told you that I have a gun, so I don`t care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And now I`m in full blush mode. Obviously, John.
STAMOS: And we have to turn this off, though, there`s a monitor here and I can see you and I don`t want to see you because you`re so cute I don`t want to -- can we turn this off? Because I`ll be watching.
BRYANT: Here`s the thing. Here`s the thing. You`re back on the dating scene.
STAMOS: OK, now I don`t see you.
BRYANT: And I have a feeling you`re going to be extremely successful.
STAMOS: Really?
BRYANT: Because you`re working it right now. How do you feel about this show kind of mirroring where you are in your life?
STAMOS: Well, oddly enough, you know, it didn`t start out to be. You know, it was going to be kind of more of "Mad About You," I was going to be with one girl, if the show succeeded through most of the time. And then ABC saw the pilot, loved the pilot, but decided that it might be more interesting, Steve McPherson thought it would be interesting to kind of open it up and make me a guy out on the dating, you know, scene. So then it kind of -- and then simultaneously, you know, I don`t know if anyone heard, but I got divorced.
BRYANT: Yeah.
STAMOS: So that kind of happened and so we kind of tailored the show a little more towards my life. But to me, I mean, it`s very interesting to see a guy in his 30s. I`m a little older. But I mean, I`m playing a guy in his 30s.
BRYANT: Sure.
STAMOS: Who`s out there dating and trying to find real love again. And I think it`s happening to a lot of my friends that are in their 30s. You know, they`re not married. They don`t have kids, and I found that part interesting and so we dug into that.
BRYANT: Right. One thing I find very appealing about the show is that it`s not a standard sitcom format. You`ve got the single camera. How did you feel about doing that, because obviously you have a great history in the standard sitcom.
STAMOS: Well, that was kind of mandatory for me. I wanted to do something different and fresh, and I thought single camera would be the way to go. They`ve been doing some great stuff, "Arrested Development" and, you know, "Scrubs" and these shows, but they hadn`t -- nobody kind of tapped into a romantic comedy. Other than "Sex and the City," which was, you know, a fantastic show but it was on HBO. So I felt it was time to kind of you know, try to bring that to the network. And just, you know, deal with a guy -- you know, a guy`s point of view of dating and that whole you know, world.
BRYANT: So yeah, I guess you could think of it as sort of an answer to the "Sex and the City," like you just said.
STAMOS: I`m not saying that. If people want to make those comparisons, that`s fine. I don`t really -- it`s a "Sex and the City" like, but it is a guy`s point of view of dating, you know.
BRYANT: OK. Now, I want to talk about sort of your reinvention because, you know, I read somewhere that you weren`t really that happy about being on "Full House," not that you weren`t happy about it but that.
STAMOS: No.
BRYANT: Were you not happy about it?
STAMOS: No, I loved it. It was eight or nine of the best years of my life. I refuse -- no, seriously. And I refuse to be one of those actors that, you know, bitch about this thing that made them successful. You know, I loved that show. I loved everybody. Naturally, you know, it was a different show. I mean, it was during a time when there were very hip, smart television shows on television, you know, and -- the critics said that "Full House" wouldn`t last until Thanksgiving. So when I got good reviews for this show, I got scared. But.
BRYANT: There`s nothing wrong with doing a family show that people like, but I`m just curious.
STAMOS: I was very proud of it. There were great values there and it was a show that parents could watch with their kids and it was about love and family and taking care of your brother and your sister and being a good person and for that, I`m very proud. I would never bash "Full House." It was just a doubled edged sword. It took me these 10 years to kind of get away from that character and let people know that I could do other things. I`ve been spending a lot of time on Broadway. I`ve been doing a lot of small movies, independent movies and now I`ve grown up. I`m 41 years old and it`s time to play a guy like Jake, who`s struggling and trying to find real love.
BRYANT: I hear you. Now I know you actually are a musician yourself too. What are you listening to these days? Are you playing with anybody? What`s your music thing all about?
STAMOS: Well, I`ve had a good run with the "Beach Boys" for the last 20, 22 years. I love playing drums. I would rather just - and when I retire and I`m sure no one will cry when I do, but it`s going to be not too far and I`m not going to be one of those actors at 90 going, I love acting. I`m telling you, I`m out relatively soon and I`m sure no one will shed a tear. But I want - here`s my dream. I want to have a nice little place in Australia. I`m going to build a little restaurant and I want to play in some crappy bar band and give away free beer to woman all week.
BRYANT: Great.
STAMOS: Seven days a week. Come on down. Don`t bring the husband. (INAUDIBLE) and my gig is just to have a good time. I like to play drums and have fun. I know you`re trying to rap.
BRYANT: I am. It`s fine with me. I`m very engaged in this right now, but I`m getting (INAUDIBLE)
STAMOS: No, you have a lot of important entertainment stuff going on today.
BRYANT: Well, John, thanks for joining us and the show is called "Jake in Progress" starring the very charming John Stamos. It`s Thursday nights on ABC. A.J.
HAMMER: I was ready to come in and break you guys apart. I was. I was. The TV show "24" is certainly never short on drama. But some of the drama comes from people who feel the show is anti-Islamic. "24" star Shohreh Aghdashloo weighs in on that and that`s coming up.
BRYANT: Plus is Demi pregnant? Ashton Krucher battles the rumor mill on Letterman. That`s coming up in "Laughter Dark."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Time now for another showbiz short. The "Lord of the Rings" is being made into a musical. The show is set to start next year in Toronto, then go to stages in London. The producer says it will be very traditional, so unfortunately, no dancing Hobbits.
BRYANT: "24" is one of TV`s top rated shows and I had a chance to sit down with one of the stars, Oscar nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo, to talk about her first television role.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT (voice-over): Shohreh Aghdashloo. She plays Deena Araz (ph), the mother in a terrorist sleeper cell, the woman everyone loved to hate, a role she originally passed up.
SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO: The reason I turned it down was because they told me they could not give me a screenplay to read. And I said, I`m sorry, I don`t work this way. Within two weeks the producers asked for a meeting. And in that meeting they told me all about this character and I realized what a strong woman she is. She`s a complex character.
BRYANT: The role has gotten attention, mainly from Muslims, who feel it`s anti-Islamic. Shohreh doesn`t see it that way.
AGHDASHLOO: The truth of the matter is that "24" is a TV drama, nothing to do with reality. But its intelligent writers are obviously inspired by the post-9/11 era.
BRYANT: The show, now in its fourth season, has scored 28 Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe for best television series. Shohreh told me even the stars don`t know what can happen next.
AGHDASHLOO: We`re going to have to wait and see for ourselves whether she is going to change. And if this change is for better or for worse.
BRYANT: And it has been better. She was nominated for best supporting actress opposite Ben Kingsley.
AGHDASHLOO: The night before the nomination, I decided that I am going to bed at a regular time. My poor husband stayed up all night. And all of a sudden all the phones at home started ringing. That`s right there and then that I realized that it was not a dream and that actually a dream has come true.
BRYANT: A dream she held on to after fleeing Iran. She was the first Middle Easterner to be considered for an Academy Award.
AGHDASHLOO: Now the screenplays are coming and not necessarily stereotype ones, which I do not believe in and it`s been great. I feel -- strange enough, I feel at home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: The lovely Shohreh also told me she`s eager to show her comedic side someday. "24" airs Monday nights.
HAMMER: Jimmy Kimmel waxes poetic on the surfer stereotype. That`s coming up in "Laughter Dark." and there`s still time for you to sound off in tonight`s "Showbiz Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows, are they harmful? Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight to vote.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is time to get your laugh on in "Laughter Dark." As we do every night, we bring you the late night laughs you just might have missed.
BRYANT: Ashton Kutcher sets the record straight about the rumor on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN: I read it in the paper this morning that Demi Moore you and Demi are expecting a child. Congratulations. That`s just great.
ASHTON KUTCHER: What paper?
LETTERMAN: It was one of the dailies here in New York city.
KUTCHER: Really?
LETTERMAN: Yeah. Did you see that item?
KUTCHER: They should send that paper out with like a bottle of whiteout or something. Why am I the last one to know everything? Nobody tells me. And if she is, I`ve got to go find some guy and kick his ass because no one told.
LETTERMAN: So you`re saying it`s not true?
KUTCHER: Not that I know of. I mean, we had sex this week. So it could be. But.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That doesn`t work, right? I mean.
BRYANT: Just read the next thing.
HAMMER: Last night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," it was all about addressing stereotypes.
BRYANT: Specifically the typical surfer guy. This is so rad, dude.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL: People tend to stereotype surfers. They say they`re not too bright. They`re maybe a little bit burned out. But that isn`t fair at all. There are a lot of very smart, very motivated people on the beach who are just as bright as anybody. Well, like this guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just like, dude, you get the best barrels ever, dude. Just like you pull in and you just get spit right out of them. And you just drop in and just smack the lip, hoopa. Drop in. Baaa. And then just after that you drop in and just ride the barrel and get pitted, so pitted like that.
KIMMEL: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: He`s for real.
HAMMER: Can you do that? Hoopa. We`ll call on you for the sound effects. Throughout the show we`ve been asking you to vote online on our "Showbiz Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows, are they harmful? Let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far. 78 percent of you say yes, they are harmful. 22 percent of you said no, they are not. We`ve also gotten some e-mails on the question. Rahul from Boston says images of surgeons performing cosmetic procedures to make pretty even prettier can foster insatiable vanity in the public eye.
And Ratliff from Jasper, Alabama says, I have watched these shows and the teams do a super job. The women`s self esteem is greatly improved.
Remember, you can continue to vote. Just go online. Cnn.com/showbiztonight is the address.
BRYANT: Time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this week. Now, the marquee man is off today. So we actually have a guest marquee man in. Let`s roll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Playing tomorrow, picture it. The celebrities, the press, the fashion, the stress, and you`re in charge of where they sit. What it`s like to be a fashion show producer, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, just when you thought it was safe to go back to your VCR, "The Ring" is back. We`re one on one with Naomi Watts tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And playing Thursday, where there`s a will, there`s a way.
Will Ferrell`s (ph) secrets of success, from Spartan spirit on "Saturday Night Live" to his new movie with Woody Allen. Thursday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So that`s what`s coming up this week on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I want to go back to something that happened just a little while ago when you were interviewing John Stamos and turned the color of your shirt.
BRYANT: I know. I was very embarrassed. But you know, it`s somebody you watch on TV for years and years and years, when they flirt with you it`s just a little -- it`s a little off putting.
HAMMER: And just so your husband knows, he was flirting.
BRYANT: John Stamos is great. Anyway.
HAMMER: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to see you back here tomorrow.
BRYANT: The one and only Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from headline news.
END
Aired March 15, 2005 - 19:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: An "American Idol" mystery still in progress.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And "Jake in Progress." John Stamos live. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: And I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: Mario mystery continues. An "American Idol" contestant moves on, and now the show`s producers speak out. We`ll sort it out for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONO, ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: You`re asking me what I want to do. I want to be president. I wouldn`t move to a smaller house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Rocking the house. It`s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2005. We`ve got the superstar performances, and after the party, the one-on-one interviews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re just excited to, like, be out together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: So are we. Beauty and bytes. The stars are out, as style and videogames collide. Uh-oh! We`re in LA for fashion week.
HAMMER: Full circle. A "Full House" star`s new show puts Jake on the make. "Jake in Progress`s" John Stamos live.
BRYANT: And mommy terrorist. No soccer practices and PTA meetings for this "24" star, Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA ABDUL, "AMERICAN IDOL": Hi, I`m Paula Abdul. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, and you`re at the top of the show.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. We`re live with you from the Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.
HAMMER: Well, tonight "American Idol" starts its final rounds. But the buzz isn`t around the six men and six women who are there, it`s about the one who isn`t there.
BRYANT: Yes, the big question is, Where`s Mario? And the second question, Why did he really quit "American Idol"? Well, we are going west side (ph) for some answers with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson in Los Angeles. Brooke, the Mario mystery continues.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Oh, yes, it does, A.J. and Karyn. And there was talk, there were rumors that P. Diddy was behind the mini- controversy, that he had signed Mario to a record deal. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT spoke to Diddy`s people, and they told us, quote, "P. Diddy is not even watching `American Idol,` and he`s focused on making "The Band 3.`" So now it`s back to the original question. What`s up with Mario?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABDUL: Honestly, it`s leaving everybody perplexed.
ANDERSON (voice-over): That`s the understatement of the year for "American Idol" fans. Two days after fan favorite Mario Vazquez mysteriously announced he was withdrawing from the singing competition, all of America is still asking, Why? And so was "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went to her for some clues.
ABDUL: It`s always confusing when something as big as a contestant dropping out -- I mean, I was a huge fan of Mario`s. I mean, Maria, you know, was favored to go pretty much right down to the finals there. So everyone is quite upset, and it`s, you know, his own personal decision.
MARIO VAZQUEZ, LEFT "AMERICAN IDOL": You fall in love, and just for some reason, after a while, you don`t -- you don`t understand why you`re falling out of love.
REGIS PHILBIN, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Mario, you were there for a week!
VAZQUEZ: I know. But it`s true.
ANDERSON: Mario says it wasn`t business, it`s personal. And he kept saying it this morning on "Live With Regis & Kelly."
VAZQUEZ: Personally, it just -- it -- I felt like the competition wasn`t right for me. It is cited as personal reasons. Personally, I just didn`t think the competition was right for me. Personally, I just didn`t think it was right.
ANDERSON: But under heavy interrogation from none other than Kelly Ripa, Mario did give a somewhat revealing non-answer.
KELLY RIPA, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": Are you contractually obligated to "American Idol"?
VAZQUEZ: Well, Kelly, I really can`t talk about that, so...
ANDERSON: He may not be able to talk about the contract, but we will. The winners of "American Idol" are signed to a record deal with the show`s executive producer, a deal some people say is very restrictive.
As Paula Abdul said, Mario may have had the pipes to win "American Idol" and that "AI" record deal. But Mario may end up with the best of both worlds, fame and exposure from doing and then publicly leaving "American Idol" and the freedom to shop around for his own lucrative record deal. So what about the future?
VAZQUEZ: I will just say this is not the last you`ve heard of Mario Vazquez. At all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The "American Idol" producers are downplaying the whole thing as no big deal. One of them said today that all "American Idol" performers are contractually bound for three months after the show`s finale airs. Once that time is up, we could see Mario breaking loose to perform again. And by the way, Karyn, Mario will spoof this situation tonight as he reads the top 10 list on "The Late Show With David Letterman."
BRYANT: All right, thank you very much, Brooke, out in Los Angeles.
HAMMER: Well, someday, if you can imagine it, we just might see an "American Idol" getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Last night, we were live at the 20th annual induction ceremonies here in New York City. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer has a look at all of the great performances -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Boy, A.J., what a great night it was. U2 took a lot of the spotlight last night. It`s hard to believe it`s been 25 years since the band released its first album, "Boy," back in 1980, kicking off a career that continues today at full throttle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The keepers of some of the most beautiful sonic architecture in rock-and-roll.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Last night, it was all about recognition in the rock world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome U2 to the Rock Hall of Fame.
BONO, HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE Rock-and-roll is the sound of revenge. When we look out into the audience, we don`t see any enemies, we just see friends. And this country has taken this band into its bosom.
HAFFENREFFER: But Bono says they probably wouldn`t make it if U2 was just starting out today.
BONO: I would like to ask the music business to look at itself and ask itself some hard questions.
HAFFENREFFER: The band played some of their biggest hits and found a little help from The Boss. After the show, more of Bono on the business.
BONO: There`s very little chance for there to be another U2, the way that the music business is constructed right now. You just have to have the single immediately. If you don`t, you don`t get a second chance.
HAFFENREFFER: But it wasn`t just about U2.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your butts out of your seats. One more time for the O`Jays.
HAFFENREFFER: The O`Jays, R&B icon Percy Sledge, blues legend Buddy Guy, and new wavers The Pretenders also received keys to rock`s exclusive clubs. Chrissie Hynde hit the press room and hinted this may be the last time we see her for a while.
CHRISSIE HYNDE, THE PRETENDERS: I just want to hang out on the beach and, like, not do anything.
BONO: "When a Man Loves a Woman" is one of the best performances I`ve ever heard.
HAFFENREFFER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with Percy Sledge minutes after he received his award.
(on camera): I`ve got to ask you about the picture.
PERCY SLEDGE, INDUCTEE: Oh, I was sporting it then, man! I was 25 years old, and I thought I was the sweetest thing, you know, especially after "When a Man Loves a Woman."
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Buddy Guy was ushered in by Eric Clapton and B.B. King.
(on camera): What took so long for this night to happen?
BUDDY GUY, HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: I don`t have no control over that, sir. You know, but all I can say is, better late than never.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And inducted into the non-performer category, Frank Barsalona, credited with creating the first big rock-and-roll booking agency, and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein. That show airs on VH-1 Saturday, a must-see.
BRYANT: All right. Thanks a lot, David. Hard to believe the first time I saw U2 was 1983. And they were amazing then, as now.
Time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories making news tonight. Back in rehab tonight. Singer-songwriter Billy Joel has checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic for alcohol abuse. It`s the second time he`s done so in three years. In a statement released by his publicist, Joel is asking that his privacy be respected.
Arresting beauty. Former "Baywatch" star Alexandra Paul is free today after being arrested last night in California. She was protesting the destruction of some remaining EV-1 electric cars. The cars were introduced by General Motors in the late 1990s but never caught on.
More "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming up throughout the show.
HAMMER: Well, it was another tough day of testimony for the boy at the center of the Michael Jackson trial. Pat Lalama of "Celebrity Justice" has been keeping a close eye on the goings on there. She joins us live from Burbank, California, now with the latest. Pat, the 15-year-old took the stage, not an easy day, though.
PAT LALAMA, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Has it ever been an easy day for him? I don`t think. Today he tried to explain why he didn`t tell the school administrator about the alleged molestations, and he gave, a lot of people think, a pretty credible answer, and that would be, I was afraid. I was attacked. I was made fun of by the other children at the school, and so I just preferred not to say so.
Now, also, let me tell you that Tom Mesereau tried to attack the child`s credibility by telling him that, Hey, you know, you really didn`t want to -- you did want to leave Neverland, you were able to leave Neverland. And he said he never really wanted to leave, it was his mother that wanted to leave.
And then finally, Tom Sneddon asked him, What do you feel about Michael Jackson? He said, I don`t like him much anymore. He said that he didn`t feel he deserved his respect. And I think it`s all done for him. And it can`t be easy for a child, in any event.
HAMMER: Well, Pat, we`re hearing also something about a connection to the cartoon "The Simpsons." Can you explain this to us?
LALAMA: Only in Hollywood does something like this happen, the proverbial six degrees of separation. As the story goes, "The Simpsons" people wanted to use a voice to impersonate Michael Jackson as a character in "The Simpsons," and Jackson said, Oh, no, no, no. There`s only one condition under which I will allow this to happen, and that will be if you write in a character, me having an actual episode with this, like -- with Bart Simpson, and they agreed to do so. And so there you go.
HAMMER: Only in Hollywood, indeed. We also hear "Celebrity Justice" is reporting another development in this case.
LALAMA: Absolutely. Remember the following name -- Rudy Provencio (ph). This is going to be very, very big, according to our sources, a potential witness. He happened to be a friend of Michael Jackson`s friend, the gay porn producer Marc Schaffel (ph), who is considered an unindicted co-conspirator in this case. He got into the Jackson ring and apparently kept a daily journal of the alleged discussions about keeping this family hostage and the conspiracy to keep them quiet. And according to our sources, he was able to document all of it and even tape record this information. We understand he will be quite a heavy-duty witness when and if he takes the stand. We understand that he will.
HAMMER: Well, we`ll be looking for him, Pat. Thanks so much. Pat Lalama of "Celebrity Justice" joining us live from Burbank -- Karyn.
BRYANT: Well, a snip-snip here and a nip-nip there. Do makeover shows, well, need a makeover? We`ll talk about it in our "SHOWBIZ Showdown."
HAMMER: And it`s the West Coast`s turn to roll out the runway. LA fashion week gets under way, and we`re there.
Now it`s time for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly" "Great American Pop Culture Quiz." In "South Park," who saves the town from a giant marauding Barbra Streisand robot? Was it Isaac Hayes, Robert Palmer, Robert Smith or Sally Struthers? We`re coming back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly" "Great American Pop Culture Quiz." In "South Park," who saves the town from a giant marauding Barbra Streisand robot? Your choices, Isaac Hayes, Robert Palmer, Robert Smith or Sally Struthers. The lead singer of The Cure had the cure for mega-Streisand, so the answer is C, Robert Smith.
BRYANT: It`s 14 minutes past the hour. Time now for the "SHOWBIZ Showdown." It is graphic. Some say it`s exploitative, and it`s all over the airwaves, plastic surgery on TV. "The Swan" and "Extreme Makeover" were the first to make the big cut, but audiences and ratings have followed up with shows like "Dr. 90210." Which leads us to tonight`s hot topic, plastic surgery shows. There`s a lot of them out there.
Joining us live for our "SHOWBIZ Showdown," actress and author Emme, who says plastic surgery shows are harmful, and Dr. Robert Rey, a plastic surgeon on the reality show "Dr. 90210," who says plastic surgery shows aren`t harmful at all, and he joins us live from Los Angeles.
Doctor, I`m going to start with you. You`ve got to explain your case here.
DR. ROBERT REY, "DR. 90210": Karyn, I think plastic surgery shows, as a reality genre, has gone through a maturation process. Initially, the first show checked with the associations of plastic surgery and they put out a very good show. The shows that followed, typical for Hollywood, kind of pushed the envelope a little bit. And they had one emotionally charged woman compete against another emotionally charged patient, and I thought that was a little bit in bad taste.
BRYANT: You`re talking about "The Swan" there?
REY: Well, you know, I`d rather not give you names, but I think there are two or three of them.
BRYANT: Sure.
REY: Our show represents a maturation process. In our show, we don`t pit one patient against the other. We don`t do 14 surgeries...
EMME, ACTRESS AND AUTHOR: But the shows are such...
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: Yes, go ahead...
REY: We don`t do multiple surgeries on each patient, which is very, very dangerous. They`re my patients. I don`t pay them to be on.
BRYANT: OK. Well, Emme...
REY: And I think...
BRYANT: ... let me hear what you have to say about the whole plastic surgery television...
EMME: I think that we`re putting out a really strange message out to the youth of America, where there`s 13-year-olds getting chin implants and boob jobs for their turning-of-age. There`s a big problem with women who are suddenly looking out and saying, Oh, I want to do whatever XYZ actress is doing, and goes into a doctor`s office, and seeing that it`s completely acceptable with all the shows that are out there promoting it.
We`re looking at train wrecks daily. We`re looking -- it`s -- you can`t not look at this because it`s intriguing to see, Oh, my gosh, what are they doing? But what`s happening to our culture is that it`s starting to seem like it`s acceptable, that it`s normal for some woman who doesn`t feel comfortable in her body, having body dysmorphism, to say, You know what? The way to change my life and the way to fix everything is to go and change a cheekbone or an eye or a boob...
BRYANT: Now, Doctor...
REY: Karyn...
(CROSSTALK)
EMME: ... and she`s getting into severe problems without going into the emotional issues ahead of time.
BRYANT: Right. Now, Doctor, let`s talk about this, because shows like "I Want a Famous Face," which is on MTV -- this is specifically targeted to teenage girls. Most of the people on the shows are young...
EMME: They haven`t even grown into their faces...
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: And so what about that argument that you are enticing young girls who haven`t even, like you said, Emme, grown into themselves yet, to...
EMME: For what? For money?
BRYANT: ... want plastic surgery?
REY: Karyn, plastic surgeons, like anything else in life, there are extremes. Either end of the extreme is bad. Somewheres in the middle is the answer. I see plastic surgery shows in a slightly different light. For instance, patients come to me and say, Dr. Rey, I`ve seen the operation on TV. I know what the limitations of the operation are. I know...
BRYANT: So you think it`s educating?
REY: It`s very educating. For example, in the old days, they used to do breast reductions with enormous scars. These women have enormous breasts. It gives them arthritis of the neck. They see the new operations that we`re doing, and they come in...
EMME: Doctor, a question...
REY: ... and they get a much better operation with much less scarring.
EMME: Doctor...
REY: For example -- just one more second. Young girls who become socially withdrawn just because the ears stick out a little bit, they come in...
(CROSSTALK)
REY: ... and make their lives better. One more example...
EMME: Is there therapy, Doctor, ahead of time -- excuse me. As a part of your practice, do you offer therapy, not after, to help them get used to their image...
REY: Yes.
EMME: ... but beforehand...
REY: One door next to mine is a psychologist.
EMME: Do you ask them...
REY: And you know, I agree with you...
EMME: Do you tell them, Do not go into surgery? Do you -- how many patients do you turn away?
REY: I reject 30 percent -- I turn down 400 patients a year, and I reject them on the show, as a matter of fact, if you watch it. So you`ll see that we reject patients that don`t have the maturity to deal with healing process or they have body dysmorphia, as you very aptly mentioned. These are patients who think they`re very ugly, but you look at them, they`re actually very, very pretty. This year we also do pro bono. I had a young lady come in, 100-pound body...
EMME: But we`re not talking about...
(CROSSTALK)
EMME: We`re not talking about this.
BRYANT: Doctor, we want to focus on the idea that, you know, sometimes this is a one-hour program, people see radical changes in one hour, and they don`t see what happens three months down the road.
REY: There have definitely been some abuses. I will give you that. There`s definitely been some abuses. But please don`t clump all the shows together. There`s some very good programming. There`s some...
EMME: There`s a cultural phenomenon...
REY: ... very bad programming and everything...
BRYANT: Emme, I`m going to give you the last word.
EMME: The cultural phenomenon is to try and let people know that the changing beauty myth that`s out there -- it changes monthly.
BRYANT: OK.
EMME: It changes per actress or whatever lips you want to have. You`ve got to get to the source of what is the issue. It`s not this.
BRYANT: OK. It`s not -- well, thank you very much...
REY: A little plastic surgery helps. Too much is too much.
BRYANT: Doctor, we could go on for hours. Emme, author and actress, thank you very much. And Dr. Robert Rey of "Dr. 90210," thank you very much for your opinions, as well.
We want to thank -- we want you at home to write in. Thank you for writing in. It`s our "SHOWBIZ Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows: Are they harmful? That`s the question. You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight. Or if you want to tell us more, e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.
HAMMER: We love when you write in. Please write in.
He`s traded in his San Francisco "Full House" for a New York apartment. John Stamos has got a new show, and he joins us live to talk about it.
BRYANT: And I also see Patricia Arquette in our future. Yes, it`s coming to me. NBC`s "Medium" gives us an inside look at her Malibu Beach home "Tuesday In Style."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It`s time now for "Tuesday In Style." You know Patricia Arquette from the hit NBC show "Medium," but now another side of the TV psychic, an inside look at her modern yet cozy Malibu Beach home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUBIRA SHAW, "IN STYLE" MAGAZINE: Patricia Arquette`s home is very beachy, very open, very modern. Patricia`s really into real eclectic mix. She has everything from sheepskin rugs to custom-made 14-foot-wide sofas to robots. The robot she has in her home is named Gigantor. It`s a replica, a full-size life-size replica of a Japanese cartoon character.
Patricia has a 2-year-old daughter named Harlow (ph), and she`s created this alcove in her living room that`s a great play area for Harlow. She`s got it lined with sheepskin everywhere you can see, and she`s got these bubble chairs made of lucite that are suspended from the ceiling by chains. So it`s a really whimsical, adventurous atmosphere for a child to play in.
Patricia has a -- fixtures in the children`s bathroom are stainless steel and were manufactured by a company that makes toilets for prisons, but she was quick to add that these are from the home collection.
One of her goals when she first moved into the house, which is a very modern structure, was to make it more cozy and inviting, and she achieved that by bringing in antiques from places like Asia and Africa, decorating the walls with colorful artwork, and also just bringing along keepsakes that she`s collected over the years. It`s very important, obviously, for her to have elements in her family, past and present, in her home. She has things are from -- passed down from her parents.
Patricia told us that she didn`t think -- or envision herself living by the ocean, but actually, it was a psychic, ironically, that told her that she would be living in Malibu on a hill. She says that when she first moved, she was going through a hard time emotionally. She had parents who had passed away, and she felt that the home she was in was full of memories. So she moved and said that she wanted to be in the light, and she is, figuratively and literally in this sun-splashed, amazing, gorgeous home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: If you want to read more on Patricia Arquette and her eclectic beach house, pick up a copy of this month`s "In Style" magazine. It`s on newsstands now.
BRYANT: This TV mom doesn`t bake cookies, drive carpools or help out with the homework unless it involves terrorist plots. Oscar nominee, and she`s from the show "24," it`s Shohreh Aghdashloo.
HAMMER: And this Oscar winner wowed us in "The Pianist," but we bet you can`t guess who some of his favorite musicians are. Well, here`s a hint. They are not classical. Adrien Brody tells us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HAMMER: Making progress. John Stamos has a new show called "Jake in Progress." He joins us live tonight.
BRYANT: Fashion week in L.A. The beautiful people, a brand new Playstation, when fashion meets technology. Stars really know how to play the game.
SLEDGE: Hi. This is Percy sledge. If it happens today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: And I`m A.J. Hammer. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.
BRYANT: Mario`s making the rounds after dropping out of "American Idol." Mario Vazquez is appearing on David Letterman tonight. And he was on "Regis & Kelly" this morning. Now, Vazquez says he isn`t saying why he left the show beyond personal reasons. Today the producers of "American Idol" said Vazquez has explained his decision to them but they are respecting his privacy.
HAMMER: Jackson trial update. Michael Jackson`s teenage accuser is off the stand after four days of testimony. Today he testified that the reason he told a school official that Jackson did not molest him was because he was embarrassed and kids were making fun of him.
BRYANT: We`ve been asking you to vote on tonight`s "Showbiz Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows, are they harmful? You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight and send us your e-mails at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.
HAMMER: Well, fashion week is in full swing in Los Angeles. Last night`s events got everybody talking with a new Playstation, some little accessories and a big fall. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson joins now live in Hollywood with the details. Brooke?
ANDERSON: A.J., yes, the stars were out last night, and so were we. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was front and center as top models were strutting their stuff on the runway, showing off hip designer carry-alls for Hollywood`s favorite new gadget.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Alyssa Milano, Jessica Alba, Drea de Matteo, and Chris Katan, Courtney Cox with David Arquette one row behind her. Just some of the celebs that got a great view at Sony`s Playstation portable designer accessory show. Ask Lauren Holly.
LAUREN HOLLY: These events are always just fun. I mean, it`s kind of like -- it`s theater. And so I just like to watch the show and see what grabs me.
TAYLOR DAYNE: I heard like Mark -- I heard there`s a bunch of designers, Diane von Firstenburg and there`s going to be like -- they know how to throw a party. It`ll be fun.
ANDERSON: Marc Jacobs, Diane von Firstenburg, and Coach were just a few of the names flaunting their wares. But the stars seem more interested in high-energy games than high fashion. Kevin Dillon.
KEVIN DILLON: Is it fashion night? I would have wore something better. I didn`t realize it was fashion night. I`m here for the games. Look at the sneakers.
MICHAEL VARTAN: That`s one of the reasons I came here, because that new gadget is fantastic, and it`s -- it`s a reason to be here.
HAYLIE DUFF: Very exciting. Playstation and the fashion and we`re just excited to like be out together.
ANDERSON: Nicky Hilton. She knows the runway when she sees it. She was first and some big names followed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother`s married to one of the models, Kristy Hume so, I`m always excited to see her. And she never does runway anymore. So this is like probably the only time she`ll do it.
ANDERSON: Maggie Riser joined Kristy Hume on the catwalk, and runway veteran Alec Weck (ph) stopped the show, fashion road kill, but she made a graceful recovery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Alec Weck was not the only fall of the evening. Two models lost their tops completely, but we thought we`d leave that scene on the cutting room floor. A.J., I know that disappoints you.
HAMMER: Yeah. That was still probably a good idea. And did you say fashion road kill in there, Brooke? I believe you did.
ANDERSON: I did. It was a harsh term, but she did make a great recovery, right? You know those spiked heels, they`re tricky.
HAMMER: You get two demerits for that one. Thanks a lot. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S Brooke Anderson live in Los Angeles. Now tomorrow night, we`re going to bring you more from fashion week in L.A. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is going to drop by Cindy Crawford`s rock the runway benefit and the star-studded Hugo Boss party.
BRYANT: Time for more "Showbiz Shorts." Martha`s monitoring device. It`s a bad thing. In an online chat with fans last night, Martha Stewart said the ankle device she has to wear while on house arrest is uncomfortable and gets in the way of exercise. She wrote, quote, I wish it were removable, but it is not. More "Showbiz Shorts" coming up later in the show.
Oprah is winning the ratings game. In numbers out today, the Oprah Winfrey show is averaging nearly 11 million viewers every day. For February sweeps the show posted its highest total audience in more than a decade.
Well, you know, they`ve been talking all day, and we`ve been listening. Now, as we do every night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today`s talk shows. On "Live with Regis & Kelly," Ashton Kutcher and Kelly Ripa re-enact a memorable scene from the movie "Dirty Dancing."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY RIPA: Don`t drop me.
ASHTON KUTCHER: I`m not going to.
RIPA: Tens of people across the country.
KUTCHER: This is a lot of pressure but we`re doing the lift. Just jump a little.
RIPA: OK. Ready?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Coming up later we`ll show you what Ashton had to say about the rumors that his girlfriend, Demi Moore, is pregnant.
HAMMER: Well, he already has an Oscar, but Adrien Brody could be on his way to getting a Grammy. Tonight a side of Adrien Brody you just might not know about. He`s shedding light on the musician in him. More than you saw in his Oscar-winning role in "The Pianist." Brody keys in in his noteworthy side in a very current issue of "Vitals Man" magazine which is on stands today. Editor in chief Joe Zee tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, while you might think Brody`s into classical pianist numbers, his real musical passion comes from a very different place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ZEE, VITALS MAN MAGAZINE: He travels with a keyboard. He travels with monitors. He composes music on every down minute that he has. And I think that`s sort of a real telling sign of something that he`s really interested in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Among Brody`s favorites, Nas (ph), Tupac and Eminem. And as Brody told the magazine, for him music is much more than a hobby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZEE: Oh, my God. I think if anything he is the biggest hip- hopper/rapper out there. I think he was brought up and raised in Queens. He short of was raised on hip-hop music so long before hip-hop was even a mass sort of genre of music. He was already sort of enthralled and sort of embraced by it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Brody isn`t embarking on a full-time music career just yet. He`s got some more acting to do. He`s finishing up the hotly anticipated "King Kong" which is co-starring Naomi Watts and coming out near Christmas.
BRYANT: If you`ve ever watched "Full House," you know John Stamos also has a musical side. And now he has a brand new TV show called "Jake in Progress." John Stamos joins us live coming up.
HAMMER: Plus, a star of TV`s "24" tells us why she initially turned down the part.
BRYANT: Now, tonight`s birthday shout out. "Desperate Housewives`" Eva Longoria turns 30 years old today. The shout out comes from her co- star, Jesse Metcalfe (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE METCALFE: Happy birthday, Eva. I love you. I couldn`t ask for a better co-star. You`re great to work with, and I hope we`re friends forever. So happy birthday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. ABC`s new comedy "Jake in Progress" was a big player in the ratings game Sunday night, winning the night hands down. Funny, though, the show was about a big player in the dating field, but he is not so lucky there. So joining me live from Los Angeles in his first post-premiere interview, none other than John Stamos. John, welcome now. Before we get to chatting, we`re going to give the people a little clip from "Jake in Progress."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN STAMOS: OK. I remember. Of course I remember you. You have a cat and I have allergies. See, I remember everything. So why don`t we go grab a drink?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, I don`t think I`m going to be grabbing a drink with you.
STAMOS: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I don`t know. Maybe because I thought we had a great night together and you never called, and the worst part of it is you`re such a man whore you don`t even remember it.
STAMOS: Man whore? I think you`re confusing me with someone else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, really?
STAMOS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, gee. You cry every time you watch "Jerry Maguire."
STAMOS: Who doesn`t?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You celebrated your 32nd birthday for the past three years because you`re terrified of getting older. And you carry around a little talcum powder in your pocket because when you get nervous, your palms get sweaty.
STAMOS: How do you know about that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Now, John, I`m watching you watch this clip, I don`t know if you knew I could see you there, you looked a little squirmy. Do you not like watching yourself?
STAMOS: No, it makes me nervous. I was flirting with you during the commercial. Tell everybody. And they said, hey -- you said I`m married, my husband`s a martial artist, you know. And it scared me so much that I told you that I have a gun, so I don`t care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And now I`m in full blush mode. Obviously, John.
STAMOS: And we have to turn this off, though, there`s a monitor here and I can see you and I don`t want to see you because you`re so cute I don`t want to -- can we turn this off? Because I`ll be watching.
BRYANT: Here`s the thing. Here`s the thing. You`re back on the dating scene.
STAMOS: OK, now I don`t see you.
BRYANT: And I have a feeling you`re going to be extremely successful.
STAMOS: Really?
BRYANT: Because you`re working it right now. How do you feel about this show kind of mirroring where you are in your life?
STAMOS: Well, oddly enough, you know, it didn`t start out to be. You know, it was going to be kind of more of "Mad About You," I was going to be with one girl, if the show succeeded through most of the time. And then ABC saw the pilot, loved the pilot, but decided that it might be more interesting, Steve McPherson thought it would be interesting to kind of open it up and make me a guy out on the dating, you know, scene. So then it kind of -- and then simultaneously, you know, I don`t know if anyone heard, but I got divorced.
BRYANT: Yeah.
STAMOS: So that kind of happened and so we kind of tailored the show a little more towards my life. But to me, I mean, it`s very interesting to see a guy in his 30s. I`m a little older. But I mean, I`m playing a guy in his 30s.
BRYANT: Sure.
STAMOS: Who`s out there dating and trying to find real love again. And I think it`s happening to a lot of my friends that are in their 30s. You know, they`re not married. They don`t have kids, and I found that part interesting and so we dug into that.
BRYANT: Right. One thing I find very appealing about the show is that it`s not a standard sitcom format. You`ve got the single camera. How did you feel about doing that, because obviously you have a great history in the standard sitcom.
STAMOS: Well, that was kind of mandatory for me. I wanted to do something different and fresh, and I thought single camera would be the way to go. They`ve been doing some great stuff, "Arrested Development" and, you know, "Scrubs" and these shows, but they hadn`t -- nobody kind of tapped into a romantic comedy. Other than "Sex and the City," which was, you know, a fantastic show but it was on HBO. So I felt it was time to kind of you know, try to bring that to the network. And just, you know, deal with a guy -- you know, a guy`s point of view of dating and that whole you know, world.
BRYANT: So yeah, I guess you could think of it as sort of an answer to the "Sex and the City," like you just said.
STAMOS: I`m not saying that. If people want to make those comparisons, that`s fine. I don`t really -- it`s a "Sex and the City" like, but it is a guy`s point of view of dating, you know.
BRYANT: OK. Now, I want to talk about sort of your reinvention because, you know, I read somewhere that you weren`t really that happy about being on "Full House," not that you weren`t happy about it but that.
STAMOS: No.
BRYANT: Were you not happy about it?
STAMOS: No, I loved it. It was eight or nine of the best years of my life. I refuse -- no, seriously. And I refuse to be one of those actors that, you know, bitch about this thing that made them successful. You know, I loved that show. I loved everybody. Naturally, you know, it was a different show. I mean, it was during a time when there were very hip, smart television shows on television, you know, and -- the critics said that "Full House" wouldn`t last until Thanksgiving. So when I got good reviews for this show, I got scared. But.
BRYANT: There`s nothing wrong with doing a family show that people like, but I`m just curious.
STAMOS: I was very proud of it. There were great values there and it was a show that parents could watch with their kids and it was about love and family and taking care of your brother and your sister and being a good person and for that, I`m very proud. I would never bash "Full House." It was just a doubled edged sword. It took me these 10 years to kind of get away from that character and let people know that I could do other things. I`ve been spending a lot of time on Broadway. I`ve been doing a lot of small movies, independent movies and now I`ve grown up. I`m 41 years old and it`s time to play a guy like Jake, who`s struggling and trying to find real love.
BRYANT: I hear you. Now I know you actually are a musician yourself too. What are you listening to these days? Are you playing with anybody? What`s your music thing all about?
STAMOS: Well, I`ve had a good run with the "Beach Boys" for the last 20, 22 years. I love playing drums. I would rather just - and when I retire and I`m sure no one will cry when I do, but it`s going to be not too far and I`m not going to be one of those actors at 90 going, I love acting. I`m telling you, I`m out relatively soon and I`m sure no one will shed a tear. But I want - here`s my dream. I want to have a nice little place in Australia. I`m going to build a little restaurant and I want to play in some crappy bar band and give away free beer to woman all week.
BRYANT: Great.
STAMOS: Seven days a week. Come on down. Don`t bring the husband. (INAUDIBLE) and my gig is just to have a good time. I like to play drums and have fun. I know you`re trying to rap.
BRYANT: I am. It`s fine with me. I`m very engaged in this right now, but I`m getting (INAUDIBLE)
STAMOS: No, you have a lot of important entertainment stuff going on today.
BRYANT: Well, John, thanks for joining us and the show is called "Jake in Progress" starring the very charming John Stamos. It`s Thursday nights on ABC. A.J.
HAMMER: I was ready to come in and break you guys apart. I was. I was. The TV show "24" is certainly never short on drama. But some of the drama comes from people who feel the show is anti-Islamic. "24" star Shohreh Aghdashloo weighs in on that and that`s coming up.
BRYANT: Plus is Demi pregnant? Ashton Krucher battles the rumor mill on Letterman. That`s coming up in "Laughter Dark."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Time now for another showbiz short. The "Lord of the Rings" is being made into a musical. The show is set to start next year in Toronto, then go to stages in London. The producer says it will be very traditional, so unfortunately, no dancing Hobbits.
BRYANT: "24" is one of TV`s top rated shows and I had a chance to sit down with one of the stars, Oscar nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo, to talk about her first television role.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT (voice-over): Shohreh Aghdashloo. She plays Deena Araz (ph), the mother in a terrorist sleeper cell, the woman everyone loved to hate, a role she originally passed up.
SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO: The reason I turned it down was because they told me they could not give me a screenplay to read. And I said, I`m sorry, I don`t work this way. Within two weeks the producers asked for a meeting. And in that meeting they told me all about this character and I realized what a strong woman she is. She`s a complex character.
BRYANT: The role has gotten attention, mainly from Muslims, who feel it`s anti-Islamic. Shohreh doesn`t see it that way.
AGHDASHLOO: The truth of the matter is that "24" is a TV drama, nothing to do with reality. But its intelligent writers are obviously inspired by the post-9/11 era.
BRYANT: The show, now in its fourth season, has scored 28 Emmy nominations and won a Golden Globe for best television series. Shohreh told me even the stars don`t know what can happen next.
AGHDASHLOO: We`re going to have to wait and see for ourselves whether she is going to change. And if this change is for better or for worse.
BRYANT: And it has been better. She was nominated for best supporting actress opposite Ben Kingsley.
AGHDASHLOO: The night before the nomination, I decided that I am going to bed at a regular time. My poor husband stayed up all night. And all of a sudden all the phones at home started ringing. That`s right there and then that I realized that it was not a dream and that actually a dream has come true.
BRYANT: A dream she held on to after fleeing Iran. She was the first Middle Easterner to be considered for an Academy Award.
AGHDASHLOO: Now the screenplays are coming and not necessarily stereotype ones, which I do not believe in and it`s been great. I feel -- strange enough, I feel at home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: The lovely Shohreh also told me she`s eager to show her comedic side someday. "24" airs Monday nights.
HAMMER: Jimmy Kimmel waxes poetic on the surfer stereotype. That`s coming up in "Laughter Dark." and there`s still time for you to sound off in tonight`s "Showbiz Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows, are they harmful? Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight to vote.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is time to get your laugh on in "Laughter Dark." As we do every night, we bring you the late night laughs you just might have missed.
BRYANT: Ashton Kutcher sets the record straight about the rumor on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN: I read it in the paper this morning that Demi Moore you and Demi are expecting a child. Congratulations. That`s just great.
ASHTON KUTCHER: What paper?
LETTERMAN: It was one of the dailies here in New York city.
KUTCHER: Really?
LETTERMAN: Yeah. Did you see that item?
KUTCHER: They should send that paper out with like a bottle of whiteout or something. Why am I the last one to know everything? Nobody tells me. And if she is, I`ve got to go find some guy and kick his ass because no one told.
LETTERMAN: So you`re saying it`s not true?
KUTCHER: Not that I know of. I mean, we had sex this week. So it could be. But.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That doesn`t work, right? I mean.
BRYANT: Just read the next thing.
HAMMER: Last night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," it was all about addressing stereotypes.
BRYANT: Specifically the typical surfer guy. This is so rad, dude.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL: People tend to stereotype surfers. They say they`re not too bright. They`re maybe a little bit burned out. But that isn`t fair at all. There are a lot of very smart, very motivated people on the beach who are just as bright as anybody. Well, like this guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just like, dude, you get the best barrels ever, dude. Just like you pull in and you just get spit right out of them. And you just drop in and just smack the lip, hoopa. Drop in. Baaa. And then just after that you drop in and just ride the barrel and get pitted, so pitted like that.
KIMMEL: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: He`s for real.
HAMMER: Can you do that? Hoopa. We`ll call on you for the sound effects. Throughout the show we`ve been asking you to vote online on our "Showbiz Showdown" question of the day. Plastic surgery shows, are they harmful? Let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far. 78 percent of you say yes, they are harmful. 22 percent of you said no, they are not. We`ve also gotten some e-mails on the question. Rahul from Boston says images of surgeons performing cosmetic procedures to make pretty even prettier can foster insatiable vanity in the public eye.
And Ratliff from Jasper, Alabama says, I have watched these shows and the teams do a super job. The women`s self esteem is greatly improved.
Remember, you can continue to vote. Just go online. Cnn.com/showbiztonight is the address.
BRYANT: Time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this week. Now, the marquee man is off today. So we actually have a guest marquee man in. Let`s roll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Playing tomorrow, picture it. The celebrities, the press, the fashion, the stress, and you`re in charge of where they sit. What it`s like to be a fashion show producer, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, just when you thought it was safe to go back to your VCR, "The Ring" is back. We`re one on one with Naomi Watts tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And playing Thursday, where there`s a will, there`s a way.
Will Ferrell`s (ph) secrets of success, from Spartan spirit on "Saturday Night Live" to his new movie with Woody Allen. Thursday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So that`s what`s coming up this week on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I want to go back to something that happened just a little while ago when you were interviewing John Stamos and turned the color of your shirt.
BRYANT: I know. I was very embarrassed. But you know, it`s somebody you watch on TV for years and years and years, when they flirt with you it`s just a little -- it`s a little off putting.
HAMMER: And just so your husband knows, he was flirting.
BRYANT: John Stamos is great. Anyway.
HAMMER: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to see you back here tomorrow.
BRYANT: The one and only Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from headline news.
END
