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Showbiz Tonight

Stars Come Out to Honor Spielberg; `American Idol`s` Wild Week

Aired March 25, 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: Steven Spielberg gets a special award.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And we judge "American Idol`s" wild week. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: Starlight Starbright, lots of stars we see tonight. Spielberg, Rock and Hatcher come out for a good cause. We`re with them in LA.

HAMMER: Judging "American Idol": the mix-up, the Mikalah vote-off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The journey ends for you tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: So what`s next for the final 10? She knows. Former finalist Kimberly Caldwell live.

BRYANT: Homeward bound. A wisenheimer apprentice wannabe flunks her Home Depot task. Tell us, Donald, what did you do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": You`re fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Erin joins us live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth, the legend (UNINTELLIGIBLE) make some noise!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: And he sure is making noise. Some big names in the music business are standing up and taking notice. A "SHOWBIZ Sitdown" with John Legend.

BRYANT: And Dixie lands on "Hope and Faith," and she`s bringing some company. "Designing Women`s" Dixie Carter and her husband, Hal Holbrook, join us live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: Hey, how`re you doing? I`m Matthew McConaughey. 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 are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.

HAMMER: Starry, starry night. Big names come out for a big cause in Hollywood.

BRYANT: Steven Spielberg led the way, but a "desperate housewife" took center stage. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson is live in Hollywood with the details on the gala. Brooke, now, Chris Rock emceed?

BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Yes, he did, Karyn and A.J. This was the first big hosting gig for Rock since the Oscars, actually. "American Idol" favorite Tamyra Gray also took the stage to perform. But the main purpose of the star-studded evening was to raise money for sick children and to pay tribute to the man who helped make it all possible.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice-over): The red carpet was rolled out last night for legendary director Steven Spielberg. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there as he was honored for his work with Starlight Starbright.

STEVEN SPIELBERG, STARLIGHT STARBRIGHT CO-FOUNDER: Thank you very much.

ANDERSON: Starlight is a children`s foundation Spielberg co-founded 15 years ago. He told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it brings laughter and entertainment to sick children while they`re hospitalized.

SPIELBERG: I would like to somehow find a way to empower children to get better. If we can`t heal their bodies, we can maybe cure their spirits and raise them.

ANDERSON: This two-time Oscar-winning director also had movies on his mind. He`s currently in final production on a remake of the H.G. Wells classic "War of the Worlds," and he tells us, Watch out.

SPIELBERG: It`s the largest-scale film I`ve made many years. I`m the guy that made people look up in the sky and think friendly thoughts. I`m making a first movie of my career where people are going to be looking up in to the sky and they`re going to realize it`s not so friendly maybe up there.

ANDERSON: Also on hand to honor Spielberg, "desperate housewife" Teri Hatcher, and she was, oh, so ready to spill some desperate secrets.

TERI HATCHER, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES": The new thing is that everything is a mystery scene now. Like, we don`t actually get full scripts anymore. It`ll say "Mystery screen," and then you show up and you shoot it. So I shot a mystery scene the other day that I can`t talk about, but it was really great.

ANDERSON: And this famously real-life single mom opened up about what she wants in a man. Single guys, listen up. And three, two, one!

HATCHER: Honesty, kindness, humor, warmth. Very unoriginal answers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: One lucky guy could try to live up to her expectations. During last night`s auction, Hatcher kicked off her shoes and jumped on the stage to help bring in the bids for a lunch date with her. She even threw in her co-star, James Denton, as a bonus on the date. Well, it worked because the lunch brought in a $100,000 bid. Overall, Karyn, the evening raised close to $2 million for the cause. Not so bad, right?

BRYANT: Not so bad. Thank you very much. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood.

HAMMER: It is time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories that are making news tonight. Shepherding Martha, take two. Actress Cybill Shepherd, who played Martha Stewart in an NBC movie two years ago, has signed up once again to play the domestic diva, this time on CBS. It could make it to air in time for May sweeps.

Well, tonight, Crowe`s cronies crow no more. Russell Crowe says he`s disbanded his rock band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, but the "Beautiful Mind" star isn`t totally giving up the mike. He`s working on a solo album.

More "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming your way throughout the show.

BRYANT: This was the week that was on "American Idol," and what a week it was. A phone vote snafu led to an extra airing of "Idol" last night, and when the votes were in, Mikhala Gordon got the news that she was out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your results now. Mikhala, the journey ends for you tonight on "American Idol." You`re leaving us and going home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Now, as we do every week here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, judging "American Idol." Joining us live from Los Angeles is Kimberly Caldwell, who was an "American Idol" finalist in season two and is now a correspondent with the TV Guide channel.

So first and foremost, do you think Mikhala`s the one who should have been booted this week?

KIMBERLY CALDWELL, CORRESPONDENT, TV GUIDE CHANNEL: I think that it was possibly Mikhala`s time to go this week. I mean, if it was a personality competition, I think that she would have won hands down. But I think it`s definitely for sure that her cell phone is ringing today, and I think that she`ll wind up in some kind of a sitcom. You never know. Maybe "The Nanny" will come back. She can be the daughter.

BRYANT: Right. You never know. Now, who do you think was actually the best this week?

CALDWELL: Actually, I haven`t voted at all thus far this year on "American Idol," and I voted for Vonzell last night. I think that she did an amazing job. She stepped up her game, and she definitely had the triple threat going on. So I think she did a great job and she`s going to be remembered from now on.

BRYANT: Well, it seems, too, that the wrong-number mayhem may have helped her because it gave people a second look at a performance that Simon even said, you know, really was a 360 -- a 180 for her, rather.

BRYANT: Right. I think that she did a great job Tuesday, and of course, Wednesday. And I think that it was a really good thing for the contestants because it gave the audience another opportunity to see a little bit more of the contestants, which you don`t really get to see on "American Idol." You don`t really get to see their personality. So I definitely don`t think that it hurt them, which is a good thing.

BRYANT: Yes, I think the whole wrong number situation, you know, it begs the question, is the guy who did that getting a raise or getting fired?

BRYANT: I know!

(LAUGHTER)

BRYANT: I`m not sure. I don`t know. I hope he`s still there because I saw a big sign that said "Please do not fire the graphics guy."

BRYANT: Funny. So...

CALDWELL: But they said that it`s been corrected.

BRYANT: Corrected and...

CALDWELL: But you never know what that means.

BRYANT: That`s right. Last question, quickly. How difficult is it to choose a song every week?

CALDWELL: OK, well, I think that they had it a little bit easier this week, and I think that`s why everybody was really on point this week and gave it their best because not only were they singing a No. 1 hit, but normally, you have a few songs to choose from. And this week, they had over 900 songs, great songs, No. 1 hits, to choose from, and everybody got to pick their favorite. And I think that everybody did a really great job this week.

BRYANT: All right. Well, Kimberly, be sure to keep watching and voting. Thank you, Kimberly Caldwell from the TV Guide channel.

CALDWELL: Thanks, guys.

HAMMER: Well, they may have repackaged it this week, but "American Idol" doesn`t show repeats, but one of your favorite shows, "Desperate Housewives," has been recently. And quite frankly, fans are fed up. Up next, the "SHOWBIZ in Depth." Why are you forced to play the TV waiting game?

BRYANT: And he may sing about ordinary people, but Kanye West thinks this guy is extraordinary. On the way, a "SHOWBIZ Sitdown" with John Legend.

HAMMER: Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who appeared as a dancer in this B-52`s video, the song "Love Shack"? Was it, A, RuPaul, B, Jennifer Tilly, C, Winona Ryder, or D, Lenny Kravitz? We are coming right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Welcome back. Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who appeared as a dancer in the B-52`s "Love Shack" video? Was it RuPaul, Jennifer Tilly, Winona Ryder or Lenny Kravitz? It was a drag queen. He reigned in the 1989 video. The answer, of course, is RuPaul.

HAMMER: Well, tonight an amazing story. If it were a reality TV show, you could probably call it "Survivor Fear Factor," and here`s why. A California woman today is crediting an episode of "Fear Factor" for saving her life. This morning, she told the "Today" show she knew exactly what to do when her car slid into a raging creek, thanks to the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "TODAY": And you remember an episode of "Fear Factor" that actually showed people trying to escape a submerged car, right?

DEBRA SWAIM, ESCAPED SINKING CAR: That is very true. They -- in the particular episode, they talked about having a mental image on what they`re going to do, have an image of the car, the windows, everything. That episode, it really -- it played a big deal in that particular -- in my incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Host of "Fear Factor" Joe Rogan heard about the story and came by in person to surprise the survivor live, as she talked to "Today" co-host Matt Lauer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWAIM: Oh!

JOE ROGAN, "FEAR FACTOR": Hey, what`s happening? We got you some flowers.

SWAIM: Oh! Oh!

ROGAN: Just let me give you a hug, say congratulations and -- you know, for all silly things that our show has done, I think this is probably the most positive thing that`s ever come out of it.

LAUER: Is there something you`d like to say to Joe?

SWAIM: Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, wow!

ROGAN: Well, on behalf of all the producers of the show, I mean, we were all very happy about it when we read it in the paper. And you know, it`s a phenomenal thing, and to think that we actually helped you is really terrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: It`s really an amazing story. Joe Rogan said that of all the 120 episodes they`ve shot so far, this probably tops the list as the most wonderful things that has happened.

BRYANT: Well, it is just about 13 minutes past the hour, time now for "SHOWBIZ in Depth." Why do you have to wait so long to see new episodes of your favorite TV shows? This Sunday, we will finally get to see a new episode of "Desperate Housewives." For five weeks, there`s been fan hysteria over the Wisteria Lane delay, as "Desperate Housewives" addicts had to make do with rerun after rerun after rerun. So what is going on? Why do TV networks put their shows on hiatus? And why are they manipulating so much of the programming?

Well, joining us live to talk about it here in New York, Jennifer Armstrong from "Entertainment Weekly," and of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contributor Julia Boorstin, who covers the entertainment industry for "Fortune" magazine, and in Hollywood, Andy Wallenstein, who is senior reporter for "The Hollywood Reporter." Thanks for joining us here.

Now, Jennifer, I`ll start with you. And you guys are definitely free to pipe in on this. First, why do they do this? Why do they give us five reruns in a row?

JENNIFER ARMSTRONG, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Well, mainly, it`s because they need to hold off for a little while and then give you a clump of programming. I mean, that`s basically what they`re wanting to do here. It`s a judgment call. They have to decide if they want to do repeat and then original, repeat and original, and kind of lose their momentum, or just, you know, bang them out all at once.

BRYANT: But why do they have to do that?

(CROSSTALK)

JULIA BOORSTIN, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: They only shoot a certain number of episodes...

BRYANT: Right.

BOORSTIN: ... to show over the entire season. And the truth is, they don`t have enough episodes to fill every single week.

BRYANT: Sure.

BOORSTIN: So they`re faced with this decision whether or not to spread them out or whether to show them in clumps. And I think that the way "Desperate Housewives" is doing it is very smart. Because it is a serial and because you are supposed to remember what happened in the last one to understand the next one, this way, you`re not confused. You`re not bouncing back and forth...

BRYANT: Right.

BOORSTIN: ... between the past and the present. And this way, you`re just sort of seeing the progression, and then you get a break, and then they`re going to move forward with the progression. But I think clumping is definitely a smart move.

BRYANT: Andy?

ANDY WALLENSTEIN, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Well, Karyn, if I may, I should point out there are a few shows on TV now -- - "Alias" on ABC, "24" on Fox -- that are shown without repeats, and they`re doing better than ever. You can bet you`ll see a lot of the networks try that again next fall.

BRYANT: Yes, I just think it`s important to -- you know, because a lot of viewers don`t understand the politics and all the things that are going on behind the scenes at the network. What about...

WALLENSTEIN: Well, the truth is, it comes down to basic economics.

BRYANT: Sure.

WALLENSTEIN: They can`t run episodes two or three times without paying the bills, and that`s, unfortunately, what`s going on now.

BRYANT: OK. Well, what about the idea, Julia, that sometimes they`ll start a show at 10:05 or 9:05 or have a super-sized episode that goes for 40 minutes? What about this as a strategy with shows?

BOORSTIN: Well, these are all different ways to keep viewers` attention. And for some shows, if you start a show, you know, five minutes into the programming, then if someone was watching an end of a show -- I mean, if "Desperate Housewives" is really hot and they`re trying to hype another show, they might have "Desperate Housewives" run 10 minutes into the next hour to keep people watching. So these are all different strategies to keep viewers` eyeballs glued to their screens.

BRYANT: But it infuriates us Tivo owners!

ARMSTRONG: Yes, I mean, that`s -- it is really, really frustrating when you have a DVR and it overlaps, and then basically, what ends up happening is you can end up missing recording...

BRYANT: Right.

ARMSTRONG: ... the next show because of the overlap. And it`s very, very frustrating. I don`t know if you`re going to see that start to affect the networks right away. There`s still not enough Tivo owners out there to really...

BRYANT: But we`re feisty people.

ARMSTRONG: That`s true.

BOORSTIN: But the networks don`t like the Tivo owners.

BRYANT: Right. Right.

BOORSTIN: The networks want you to watch their advertising.

BRYANT: Well, that`s what I was going to ask. Andy, what do you think about DVRs and Tivo? I mean, do you think that this is going to change the way shows are produced...

WALLENSTEIN: Absolutely.

BRYANT: ... and advertising?

WALLENSTEIN: Absolutely. You`ve got to understand, DVRs are scheduled to have exponential growth in U.S. American homes, so you will have to accommodate that with this new programming.

BRYANT: So in some ways, though, repeats -- repeats -- well, I don`t know if they help DVR owners, but I don`t know, if you didn`t get the show in the season past, you can catch up and get some more of that. But I don`t know. I want to move on to the cable world because shows like "The Shield," Andy, started only two weeks ago. Has the old-fashioned idea of a season starting in September just gone, you know, by the wayside?

WALLENSTEIN: Absolutely. It`s actually not even just a cable phenomenon. Even on broadcast television, shows like "Desperate Housewives" take a break, so other new shows can take in their time slot, get some audience and then move off to another part of the schedule.

BRYANT: What do you guys think about that whole later season starting?

BOORSTIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) just a model that we`ve seen with HBO with "Sex in the City," with these shorter sort of mini-seasons, and also the way that they`ve scheduled "The Sopranos," and then also the way they`ve scheduled certain shows only to air during the summer in their first run. It`s been very successful because it generates an excitement and also the sense of scarcity, that you better watch it the first time it`s out because you`re not quite sure when it`s going to be on again.

BRYANT: Right. Right. Right. Well, all right. Well, thank you for joining us. We want to know your -- of course, Jennifer, Julia and Andy.

We want to know your thoughts on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "Desperate Housewives": Is it worth the wait? We want to know what you think. 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: Well, one half of "Hope and Faith" gets a visitor, but it turns out to be a longer stay than expected. "Designing Woman" Dixie Carter and her husband, Hal Holbrook, are live with us to explain.

BRYANT: And home not so sweet home An apprentice doesn`t cut it in her Home Depot task and gets sent from the boardroom to our green room. Erin joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: They`re hanging out in the beauty shop, but how do Queen Latifah and Alicia Silverstone like their locks? Find out a bit later.

BRYANT: Time for more "SHOWBIZ Shorts." A bittersweet ending tonight. Neil Simon`s "Sweet Charity" isn`t coming to Broadway. It was supposed to open April 4. In a press release out today, weak advance ticket sales are the reason. The show`s lead, Christina Applegate, broke her foot two weeks ago.

Well, Danny Glover is headed to the ER. The actor will play Mekhi Phifer`s dad on the NBC drama. Glover`s first guest role will be in the season finale airing May 19, and then he`ll be back for more next season.

We`ll have more "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming up throughout the show.

HAMMER: Well, Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook have been married for 20 years in real life. And tonight, they`re playing husband and wife on ABC`s "Hope and Faith." In tonight`s episode, they`re Hope`s in-laws. Dixie and Hal are joining us now live from Hollywood. We`d like to welcome them both for being with us. And before we have a chance to take a look at their real-life marriage versus their on-screen marriage, let`s take a look at a clip of a tonight`s show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIXIE CARTER, PLAYS HOPE`S MOTHER-IN-LAW: Edward, what are you doing here!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ll tell you what he`s doing here. He`s come to tell you that you`re a fool for throwing away 40 years of marriage just to steal my lousy room! Oh, and he wants her back. Tell her, Ed!

HAL HOLBROOK, PLAYS HOPE`S FATHER-IN-LAW: This isn`t a birthday party for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Dixie and Hal, thanks for joining us live from Hollywood tonight.

CARTER: Hi.

HOLBROOK: Hi.

HAMMER: I got to know right off the top. Your real-life marriage, not in trouble, like it looks like your couple is on tonight`s "Hope and Faith"?

CARTER: No, thank heavens.

HOLBROOK: No, I think we`re doing good. Yes.

HAMMER: What`s the problem there with the couple you play on tonight`s show?

CARTER: I love it. I`ve been telling my friend, Doris Roberts, for years that I`ve prayed to get a part of a really hard-to-take mother-in- law, the way that Doris is able to cut loose on "Everybody Loves Raymond." And here comes this horrific mother-in-law. And plus, we have a very funny -- at one point, I say to Hal, I think I`ll go home -- go back to where I`m -- somebody wants me, and he says...

HOLBROOK: Try Fallujah.

(LAUGHTER)

HAMMER: Well, I`ve got -- you have been...

CARTER: We fight all through the show. You know, it`s fun.

HOLBROOK: You`ve been successfully married yourself now for 20 years, at this point.

CARTER: Yes.

HAMMER: Day after day, we`re constantly reading about, you know, Hollywood couples are dropping like flies. Tell us the secret. Tell them the secret, please. How do you keep it together?

HOLBROOK: They`re flying too high.

HAMMER: What`s that, Hal? One more time?

HOLBROOK: You said they`re dropping like flies. They`re flying too high.

HAMMER: Yes. Yes. Is that it? I mean, is it -- is it -- are they just playing too hard in Hollywood? Is it -- you know, you guys have managed to keep it -- keep it to go.

HOLBROOK: We don`t know. We`re not perfect. We just do the best we can. We love each other. For one thing, we really love each other and we are quite well mated, you might say.

CARTER: You know what I think one thing is? I think with show business people, you`ve got to -- you`ve got to admire the other person`s talent.

HAMMER: Right.

CARTER: I hate to say it, but you`ve got to think the other persons`s really good at what they do, or you get tired of being with an actor who`s not very good.

HAMMER: Well, I`m sure...

(CROSSTALK)

HAMMER: I`m sure Hal was admiring you for all those years that you were on "Designing Women." I`m sure Hal was tuned in every single week. You`ve had a little distance -- you were doing that show for what, about seven years. You`ve had a little distance from it. What`s the single best memory that you have of that series?

CARTER: From "Designing Women"?

HAMMER: Yes.

CARTER: The very first time we all got together. It`s still my best memory.

HAMMER: All right. Well, we`re looking forward to seeing you tonight and seeing how it goes, you know, with the on-screen marriage. Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook, thanks for joining us live from Hollywood. And you can catch...

CARTER: Thank you, A.J.

HAMMER: ... Dixie and Hal on "Hope and Faith" tonight on ABC -- Karyn.

BRYANT: It is time to get your laugh on in "Laughter Dark." As we do every night, we bring you the late night laughs you may have missed. Jay Leno has some news for all the macho men out there. Take a look at this clip from the "Tonight" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, HOST: Well, the Village People now say they do not want to be known as a gay group.

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: Why would anyone think the Village People -- show that picture. Why would you think this group...

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: Why would anyone think that? No, that`s what they said. They said they want to be known as mainstream. Or maybe it was man stream. Maybe -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Oh, the Village People!

Well, she`s not a girl, but this year, she`s not an FHM (ph) woman, either. The hottie who topped last year`s sexiest woman list isn`t so lucky this year. It`s our "Buzz Bench`s" prerogative to talk about her.

HAMMER: And guess who`s in movie theaters? No, really, guess who`s in movie theaters? It`s in "People`s" "Picks and Pans," and that`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: Now tonight`s "Birthday Shoutout." The Rocket Man himself, the one and only brilliant Elton John, turns 58 today. The shoutout comes from fellow musicians The Scissor Sisters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elton, you`re the queen of the universe, and we love you. And happy, happy birthday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BRYANT: Lots of people have off today for Good Friday, but this contestant is permanently off "The Apprentice." She got fired on last night`s show, but Erin is here live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

HAMMER: Plus, a legend in his own time. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT parties with one of the most buzz-worthy artists around, John Legend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LEGEND: Hey, this is John Legend. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thirty minutes past the hour. I`m AJ Hammer.

BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.

HAMMER: "Fear Factor" life saver. A California woman says the reality show saved her life. She says watching an episode of the show helped her know what to do when her car slid into a creek. "Fear Factor" host, Joe Rogan heard her story and surprised her on the "Today" show this morning.

BRYANT: It`s the end of a roller coaster of a week on "American Idol." It is down to 10 after the voting sent Mikhala home last night. The final 10 will perform live on Tuesday`s show.

HAMMER: This Sunday, ABC will finally air a new episode of "Desperate Housewives" after five weeks! So we`re asking you to vote on tonight`s question of the day. "Desperate Housewives," is it worth the wait? We`d like you to continue to vote by going to cnn.com/showbiztonight. If you`d like to e-mail us, you can at showbiztonight@cnn.com.

Well, even if you haven`t heard any of John Legend`s new album, bet you know the voice. He`s worked with several big names in the business, and now it`s about time he`s making a big name for himself. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer had the chance to talk with him about his album. David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About time instead, AJ. He`s a busy man, John Legend`s currently on tour with Alicia Keys. His album, "Get Lifted" is one of the best sellers in the country right now. Critics are saying this guy is the real deal. He sings, plays the piano. He even writes his own music. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been catching up with him in the very little down time that he`s had recently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Keep your eyes on that man. The music world`s buzzing about John Legend. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with the not- so-ordinary John Legend at a party thrown for him by rapper Kanye West. The two first hooked up when John moved to New York after finishing college. Their first project, Kanye`s Grammy-winning album, "College Dropout." John`s project "Get Lifted" came next.

LEGEND: The songs we wrote together were number one and "Used to Love You" and you can hear kind of his influence on the songs lyrically, because it has a little more of that humor and sarcasm that he`s known for.

HAFFENREFFER: Legend has also worked with other big-name artists, punching up hooks for Jay-Z and singing on the hit song, "You Don`t Know My Name," with Alicia Keys. It all began with his first major gig, playing piano on Lauryn Hill`s multi-platinum album.

LEGEND: I played on the record. I also auditioned for her touring band. She gave me some great advice even then, just talking to me about how I should play piano on hip-hop records and I definitely used that advice.

HAFFENREFFER: When Legend`s own album came out, it took only two months for it to go platinum. It`s not only his fans who love the album, so do most critics.

LEGEND: I`m more gratified by selling a million records than getting the critical acclaim, but both is better, so I`m glad both is happening.

HAFFENREFFER: I caught up with John at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. We spoke about how it all comes together. It sounds like the writing process comes easily to you.

LEGEND: No, it`s not easy, but it`s very natural and it`s all in my head. So like, I`ll just get an inspiration and I don`t know where it comes from sometimes. Right now we`re going to do one of my favorite songs. This is a song about cheating. I write from real experiences. All of them aren`t autobiographical, but they`re all real, and I think they`re formed by conversations I`ve had, and I just try to speak the truth.

HAFFENREFFER: Has this felt like a ride that you`re on right now?

LEGEND: Yeah, it feels like a ride, definitely, and it`s all gone up up to this place. I don`t know if that ever is going to go down, but I`m enjoying it going up right now. It keeps getting better and better, every time I think it`s hit a plateau.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: Thumbs up indeed. John`s credits are not just limited to music. He`s an ivy leaguer who`s worked as a management consultant before signing his record deal. You can catch John Legend in his first televised concert this Sunday on the Oxygen Network. Karyn?

BRYANT: All right. Thanks a lot, David Haffenreffer.

Time now for more showbiz shorts. That`s Braff directing a music video. Today we learned the "Garden State" director has signed on to direct a video for Gavin DeGraw`s new single, "Chariot." Braff says he`s a big fan of DeGraw`s. Shooting is set for Tuesday.

Well, the lollipop is back. The new "Kojak" has Ving Rhames playing the police detective made famous by Telly Savalas back in the `70s. "Kojak" premieres tonight on the USA Network.

HAMMER: Well, she`s the book smart girl with the high class style, but on last night`s "The Apprentice," it was a home improvement do it yourself task that put Erin in unfamiliar territory. The daunting demo landed her in Trump`s boardroom where from wisecracking may have been the final straw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP: And I got to listen to that?

ERIN ELMORE: You have to?

TRUMP: No, I really don`t, but I`m going to. You`re a real wise guy, you know that?

ELMORE: I was just asking -- that was a dumb statement.

TRUMP: Now, but you are a wise guy, there`s no question about it. You know what, Erin, you`re fired.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: Erin Elmore, thanks for joining us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

ELMORE: Hi, how are you?

HAMMER: I`m good. I`m good. I have to ask you, because it was suggested earlier in the show, earlier in last night`s program that you flirted with Donald Trump and in the clip there of you getting fired, it almost looks like you`re winking at him. Can you set the record straight? Are you being flirtatious at any point with the Donald?

ELMORE: Look I my ship was sinking. I was about to do a tap dance. Look if you don`t fire me, I`ll tap dance. I was going to do anything at that point.

HAMMER: So did you wink at him?

ELMORE: It was not a wink for winking`s sake. It was a win for "please don`t fire me."

HAMMER: All right. Well, going into the board room, it actually looked like in the course of the boardroom that you were not going to get fired because everybody was getting it a little bit. Do you think it was the wisecrack that finally did sink that ship?

ELMORE: I think Mr. Trump led me down that path. He said, Erin, I don`t want to fire you. Carolyn and George want me to, so I was like, hey man, don`t fire me. So I was really appealing to his independent business judgment. I wasn`t trying to insult Carolyn or George. I was just saying, hey, you`re the CEO. At the end of the day, you have the final word. Why don`t you make your own decision and keep me and I will be the third apprentice and everyone else can go home.

HAMMER: They did take an interesting approach with this season. There`s been a lot of talk about book smarts versus street smarts. Did you as a book smart person learn anything from the street smart people you were competing against?

ELMORE: The street smart people were amazing. They have a totally different approach to business. The book smarts people are theoretical. We like to think everything through and analyze, whereas the street smart people, they hustle. They just get down and dirty and get the job done fast and that`s so admirable to me.

HAMMER: So if you`re hiring a team of your own, would you necessarily be hiring people just because of their degrees now or you might look for some people who just have those street smarts?

ELMORE: There`s more to people than just the resume. I like to see what they can do on the street level and that`s what`s so great about the street smarts team. I would hire one of each if it was my company.

HAMMER: You were really terrific on TV, when you did the little thing on "Fuse" a couple of weeks back that episode aired. You seemed very comfortable in front of the camera as you do right now. Even Donald himself said so. Are you going anywhere with that, a TV career in the future?

ELMORE: It`s not that much of a stretch. I have a degree in broadcasting. I graduated cum laude, so it`s definitely something I`m pursuing. Maybe you and I can be co-hosts.

HAMMER: Don`t say that too loud. Karyn is right over here.

ELMORE: She can join us too. It can be all three of us together.

HAMMER: Best of luck to you. I don`t know if it`s going to work out around here, Erin Elmore, we appreciate you stopping by. And of course, you can catch "The Apprentice" Thursday nights on NBC.

BRYANT: It is d'j... vu all over again for Cybill Shepherd. She`s playing Martha Stewart again for another TV movie. We`ll take that to the buzz bench coming up.

HAMMER: Plus is the L.A. premiere of the movie "Beauty Shop" and I wonder what happened when the director yelled cut on that set. Get it? Anyway, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT curls up with the stars and that`s coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAI RODRIGUEZ: I`m a little obsessed with the latest Kelly Clarkson, just because I just got it, so I`m probably behind the times, but Daniel Bedingfield, his latest album, I`m really loving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time now for tonight`s buzz bench. Here`s what we are buzzing about. Cybill Shepherd playing Martha again, tripping with Cameron Diaz and Britney Spears, not sexy anymore?

HAMMER: Joining us on the buzz bench, former "Apprentice" contestant Heidi Bresler, comedian and TV personality Chuck Nice -- yes, he is and Fuse VJ Marianela is here as well. We`re going to start with you and Martha. Cybill Shepherd has already played Martha Stewart in the first television movie that came out a couple of years ago and now she`s getting set to do another one and this is the bad time for Martha, the ImClone scandal.

MARIANELA, FUSE VJ: Yes, she`s going to follow her through the conviction, through her time in prison and then the release, which of course I`m sure she`ll be wearing, sporting the freedom poncho. I don`t know, I love Cybill shepherd, but I feel like after "Moonlighting," things went a little sour. Now she`s playing Martha again, and actually the Martha fans are actually angry about it. They`re like, we want Sigourney Weaver to play Martha. Cybill Shepherd plays her well.

BRYANT: She does do a pretty good job.

MARIANELA: And Martha Stewart, I mean America is just obsessed with Martha Stewart right now, so I have no doubt it`s going to do phenomenal.

CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: I just hope that she doesn`t get typecast. Now it`s Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart again. Next it will be Martha Washington, Martha Graham. She may have been pigeonholed at this point.

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: . should play Martha Stewart, don`t you?

(CROSSTALK)

HEIDI BRESSLER, FORMER "APPRENTICE" CONTESTANT: She has the attitude, the beady little eyes. She could do it.

MARIANELA: What about the guy who`s reenacting Michael Jackson? Like what`s his next role going to be, Michael Jackson in jail.

BRYANT: Cybill Shepherd has the physicality more though than some of these other actors.

MARIANELA: I definitely think so, yeah.

BRYANT: OK, well, speaking of physicality, this one woman here is known for quite a nice bod, although she`s a little klutzy. It`s Cameron Diaz. She`s in the "USA Today." Now she`s a self admitted klutz, I didn`t just call her that. Seriously, she says that, she`s doing a new show for MTV called "Tripping." She`s going all around the world trying to raise some awareness of ecological problems and yet at the same time, she`s a $20 million actress who hasn`t been in movies in a while other than her voice in "Shrek." What`s going on with Cameron?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $23 million.

BRYANT: She upped it?

HAMMER: Wow, so $23 million.

BRYANT: We`re in the same club now.

NICE: I`ve heard of that club. Here`s the deal. Cameron -- stars love free stuff. So this is a way for her to get a free trip around the world with her friends basically. She says that when this is over, why haven`t you been in films? When this show is over, I`m going to wait and see if it gets picked up for another season and then I`m going to take a vacation. I`m like, wait a minute, you just got a vacation. What are you going to do for vacation, get a job at a construction site? You just got finished traipsing around the world, with her friends, Drew Barrymore and al these others and now you need a vacation? If she believes that what she`s doing right now is really work, she really is tripping.

MARIANELA: I think it`s genius. It`s a bunch of hotties, Eva Mendez and Drew Barrymore night camps out.

BRESSLER: They were complaining last night on Jay Leno about the bugs and the spiders and she couldn`t handle it. She was talking about it.

HAMMER: Another thing she`s complaining a lot about are the paparazzi and she is stalked and mostly because of her relationship obviously with Justin Timberlake, which she doesn`t like to talk about, but she is shunning the spotlight right now.

MARIANELA: She`s like, come find me in Tanzania. That`s why she did it.

NICE: Where in the world is Carmen Diaz? She`s the new Carmen San Diego.

MARIANELA: At least it`s a reality show that`s environmentally conscious. You know what I mean? At least most reality shows are far from real, so at least this has one some consciousness to it which is nice.

HAMMER: All right. Well, Cameron wound up on "FHM"`s list of the 100 sexiest women. Last year`s number one, Britney Spears, this year`s number one, Angelina Jolie, who was number two last year. Britney Spears nowhere to be found on the list.

BRESSLER: Britney Spears, I personally like her, I do like her, I don`t hold it against her that she was barefoot in a bathroom, but you know the last year or so, haven`t you noticed her weight is fluctuated? She`s got a little pouch and everyone thinks she`s pregnant, but you she`s not pregnant, she`s fat. There`s a difference.

BRYANT: She`s far from fat. Let`s just lay that down right now.

BRESSLER: She`s a little chunky sometimes, a little chunky. I personally think she`s pretty. I just think she`s letting herself go and she said she`d let herself go, because she`s very happily married.

MARIANELA: Britney Spears sitting at home like upset thinking about this. She`s just fine eating funnel cakes with Federline. She`s enjoying her married life. She`s laughing all the way to the bank.

BRESSLER: I still think she`s pretty and I feel bad that I said she`s fat. I`m sorry.

BRYANT: You should feel bad. That was mean.

NICE: "FHM" says that she`s not on the list because basically she got married and so guys are not turned on by the fact that she got married. I say yeah, that`s what did it for me basically. Once I saw her with that hot stud Kevin Federline, I know there was no chance.

BRYANT: We got to wrap it up. It`s Friday. This is it. Thank you Heidi, Chuck Nice, Marianela, thanks for joining us here on the buzz bench.

HAMMER: All right. It`s a long weekend for a lot of people, Chuck Nice included, plenty of time to check out a bunch of new movies. "Miss Congeniality 2" is in theaters right now. We`re going to get a review coming up in "People`s" picks and pans.

BRYANT: Plus cutting up with the stars of "Beauty Shop." We`ll take you through the LA premier. That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: It is time now for "People" magazine`s movie picks and pans. "Miss Congeniality 2," "Guess Who?" and "D.E.B.S" are all out this week in theaters, but should you check them out? Joining us to tell us, "People" magazine movie critic, Leah Rozen. Thank you for joining us Leah.

LEAH ROZEN, MOVIE CRITIC, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Hi. These are OK. All three of these movies are just sort of OK. It`s Saturday night, you want to go to the movies, every single one of them will sort of amuse you but not one of them is going to slay you.

HAMMER: Well, let`s get into "Miss Congeniality 2." Sandra bullock is back.

ROZEN: Sandra Bullock is back and basically a retread of the plot of the first one. She`s an FBI agent. She again gets a makeover. This time she goes to Las Vegas. Sandra Bullock, really likable, Regina King, her co-star, also an FBI agent, really likable. The film is kind of lame, though. Not a whole lot really going on. So you`re looking for the one- liners and there are good one liners in it.

HAMMER: All right. Well, let`s talk about "Guess Who?" then, because this looks like a lot of fun to me, light and airy, but a lot of fun with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac.

ROZEN: It`s a very loose remake of "Guess Who`s Coming to Dinner?" but with the races reversed. It`s basically "Meet the Parents" with a racial overlay. Halfway through the film -- it`s one of those weird films that actually gets better as it goes along. It start off just sort of stumblebum comedy, halfway through it kind of gets better, but again, this is no masterpiece. We`re not going to be looking at it at Oscar time.

HAMMER: And it doesn`t have lesbian action heroes as "D.E.B.S" does. Tell us about this.

ROZEN: As Howard Stern said, lesbians mean ratings. "Debs" is a spoof of "Charlie`s Angels" but with a Sapphic twist. The secret agent woman in the movie, Sara Foster falls in love with the world`s biggest criminal Jordana Brewster, fun, whole lot of style, but it just seems at 90 minutes, kind of long.

HAMMER: Not a total waste of time though.

ROZEN: Not a total waste of time. I want to see the director`s next movie.

HAMMER: OK. Thanks for stopping by, Leah Rozen.

ROZEN: You`re welcome.

HAMMER: And of course for more picks and pans, check out this week`s "People" magazine. It`s now at newsstands everywhere.

BRYANT: Another movie coming soon to a theater near you, Queen Latifah and Kevin Bacon star in "Beauty Shop" opening next Wednesday. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was at the premiere in LA last night. We`ll take you there coming up.

And still, there is time for you to sound off in tonight`s question of the day, "Desperate Housewives" delay, is it worth the wait? You can go to cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us what`s on your mind at showbiztonight@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time for more showbiz shorts. "The Office" off and running. In numbers out today, more than 11 million people tuned in for the first episode of NBC`s version of the popular British show. "The Office" is switching to its regular night this Tuesday.

HAMMER: Fox blocker. Check this out. A man in Oklahoma is selling these little metal devices that screw into the back of television sets and filters out FOX News. Sam Kimery says he has sold about 100 of the devices since he started selling them online back in August. The FOX blocker costs about $9. And Kimery says the point isn`t really about blocking the channel or free speech, but about raising awareness.

BRYANT: That`s fantastic, if I may say so myself.

HAMMER: The FOX blocker ladies and gentlemen.

Well, "Beauty Shop" opens next week. This is a comedy that`s based on the success of the barbershop movies and the stars were out last night in full force for the L.A. premiere. Queen Latifah plays a single mom who opens her own beauty shop with an array of sassy co-workers and clients who include Alicia Silverstone, Annie McDowell, Kevin Bacon and Mena Suvari. Both Silverstone and Latifah told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it was a whole lot of fun to make the movie, but they learned one thing: they could never be hairdressers in real life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN LATIFAH: I respect all hair stylists. They really have to have some skills. They have to be trained. We learned how to look good doing it in a week, but we couldn`t actually do it.

ALICIA SILVERSTONE: I`m not very girly. I never really grew up doing my hair and all that stuff, so I just, me, ponytail, greasy hair works really well for me, four days without showering, I like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Silverstone plays Queen Latifah`s right-hand girl in the beauty shop and the movie opens next Wednesday, March 30th. An even more important, Silverstone will join us live here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT next Tuesday.

HAMMER: Clueless? One of the all-time classic movies, love "Clueless." Throughout the show tonight, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our showbiz showdown question of the day. "Desperate Housewives," is it worth the wait after all of those repeats week after week? Let`s take a look at how the vote`s going so far, 54 percent of you said yes, "Desperate Housewives" is worth the wait, you love it that much. Forty six percent of you said no, not worth the wait. You`ve also be sending us your e-mails on the question. Thomas from Folsom, California, says, the decline in original episodes is due to growing salaries and the networks are steadily losing viewers.

Remember, you can continue to vote. We`d like you to do so by going to cnn.com/showbiztonight.

BRYANT: It is time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on Monday.

HAMMER: Let`s take a look now at the showbiz marquee. Take it away marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: Well, maybe U2 still hasn`t found what it`s looking for. The band is about to go on a major world tour. We sit down with U2 Monday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Also, he enjoys strolling on the beach, laughing on benches, and candlelight. And yeah, he happens to be Jerry O`Connell`s brother. Meet the new bachelor. Here comes the heartbreak, Charlie O`Connell joins us live Monday. Good-bye you guys from the marquee guy.

HAMMER: That sounds like a lot of fun. I wonder what a guy like the marquee guy does on the weekends.

BRYANT: I don`t know.

ANNOUNCER: I have a great time on the weekend, thank you AJ and Karyn.

HAMMER: That`s weird.

BRYANT: Wow, that`s freaky.

HAMMER: You think the marquee guy is going out tonight?

BRYANT: I think the marquee guy is single, I`ll tell you that.

HAMMER: One wonders why. All right. Enjoy your weekend.

BRYANT: Thank you, you too.

HAMMER: That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to see you back here on Monday.

BRYANT: Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from headline news.

END


Aired March 25, 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: Steven Spielberg gets a special award.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And we judge "American Idol`s" wild week. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: Starlight Starbright, lots of stars we see tonight. Spielberg, Rock and Hatcher come out for a good cause. We`re with them in LA.

HAMMER: Judging "American Idol": the mix-up, the Mikalah vote-off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The journey ends for you tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: So what`s next for the final 10? She knows. Former finalist Kimberly Caldwell live.

BRYANT: Homeward bound. A wisenheimer apprentice wannabe flunks her Home Depot task. Tell us, Donald, what did you do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": You`re fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Erin joins us live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth, the legend (UNINTELLIGIBLE) make some noise!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: And he sure is making noise. Some big names in the music business are standing up and taking notice. A "SHOWBIZ Sitdown" with John Legend.

BRYANT: And Dixie lands on "Hope and Faith," and she`s bringing some company. "Designing Women`s" Dixie Carter and her husband, Hal Holbrook, join us live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: Hey, how`re you doing? I`m Matthew McConaughey. 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 are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.

HAMMER: Starry, starry night. Big names come out for a big cause in Hollywood.

BRYANT: Steven Spielberg led the way, but a "desperate housewife" took center stage. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson is live in Hollywood with the details on the gala. Brooke, now, Chris Rock emceed?

BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Yes, he did, Karyn and A.J. This was the first big hosting gig for Rock since the Oscars, actually. "American Idol" favorite Tamyra Gray also took the stage to perform. But the main purpose of the star-studded evening was to raise money for sick children and to pay tribute to the man who helped make it all possible.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice-over): The red carpet was rolled out last night for legendary director Steven Spielberg. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there as he was honored for his work with Starlight Starbright.

STEVEN SPIELBERG, STARLIGHT STARBRIGHT CO-FOUNDER: Thank you very much.

ANDERSON: Starlight is a children`s foundation Spielberg co-founded 15 years ago. He told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it brings laughter and entertainment to sick children while they`re hospitalized.

SPIELBERG: I would like to somehow find a way to empower children to get better. If we can`t heal their bodies, we can maybe cure their spirits and raise them.

ANDERSON: This two-time Oscar-winning director also had movies on his mind. He`s currently in final production on a remake of the H.G. Wells classic "War of the Worlds," and he tells us, Watch out.

SPIELBERG: It`s the largest-scale film I`ve made many years. I`m the guy that made people look up in the sky and think friendly thoughts. I`m making a first movie of my career where people are going to be looking up in to the sky and they`re going to realize it`s not so friendly maybe up there.

ANDERSON: Also on hand to honor Spielberg, "desperate housewife" Teri Hatcher, and she was, oh, so ready to spill some desperate secrets.

TERI HATCHER, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES": The new thing is that everything is a mystery scene now. Like, we don`t actually get full scripts anymore. It`ll say "Mystery screen," and then you show up and you shoot it. So I shot a mystery scene the other day that I can`t talk about, but it was really great.

ANDERSON: And this famously real-life single mom opened up about what she wants in a man. Single guys, listen up. And three, two, one!

HATCHER: Honesty, kindness, humor, warmth. Very unoriginal answers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: One lucky guy could try to live up to her expectations. During last night`s auction, Hatcher kicked off her shoes and jumped on the stage to help bring in the bids for a lunch date with her. She even threw in her co-star, James Denton, as a bonus on the date. Well, it worked because the lunch brought in a $100,000 bid. Overall, Karyn, the evening raised close to $2 million for the cause. Not so bad, right?

BRYANT: Not so bad. Thank you very much. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood.

HAMMER: It is time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories that are making news tonight. Shepherding Martha, take two. Actress Cybill Shepherd, who played Martha Stewart in an NBC movie two years ago, has signed up once again to play the domestic diva, this time on CBS. It could make it to air in time for May sweeps.

Well, tonight, Crowe`s cronies crow no more. Russell Crowe says he`s disbanded his rock band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, but the "Beautiful Mind" star isn`t totally giving up the mike. He`s working on a solo album.

More "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming your way throughout the show.

BRYANT: This was the week that was on "American Idol," and what a week it was. A phone vote snafu led to an extra airing of "Idol" last night, and when the votes were in, Mikhala Gordon got the news that she was out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your results now. Mikhala, the journey ends for you tonight on "American Idol." You`re leaving us and going home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Now, as we do every week here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, judging "American Idol." Joining us live from Los Angeles is Kimberly Caldwell, who was an "American Idol" finalist in season two and is now a correspondent with the TV Guide channel.

So first and foremost, do you think Mikhala`s the one who should have been booted this week?

KIMBERLY CALDWELL, CORRESPONDENT, TV GUIDE CHANNEL: I think that it was possibly Mikhala`s time to go this week. I mean, if it was a personality competition, I think that she would have won hands down. But I think it`s definitely for sure that her cell phone is ringing today, and I think that she`ll wind up in some kind of a sitcom. You never know. Maybe "The Nanny" will come back. She can be the daughter.

BRYANT: Right. You never know. Now, who do you think was actually the best this week?

CALDWELL: Actually, I haven`t voted at all thus far this year on "American Idol," and I voted for Vonzell last night. I think that she did an amazing job. She stepped up her game, and she definitely had the triple threat going on. So I think she did a great job and she`s going to be remembered from now on.

BRYANT: Well, it seems, too, that the wrong-number mayhem may have helped her because it gave people a second look at a performance that Simon even said, you know, really was a 360 -- a 180 for her, rather.

BRYANT: Right. I think that she did a great job Tuesday, and of course, Wednesday. And I think that it was a really good thing for the contestants because it gave the audience another opportunity to see a little bit more of the contestants, which you don`t really get to see on "American Idol." You don`t really get to see their personality. So I definitely don`t think that it hurt them, which is a good thing.

BRYANT: Yes, I think the whole wrong number situation, you know, it begs the question, is the guy who did that getting a raise or getting fired?

BRYANT: I know!

(LAUGHTER)

BRYANT: I`m not sure. I don`t know. I hope he`s still there because I saw a big sign that said "Please do not fire the graphics guy."

BRYANT: Funny. So...

CALDWELL: But they said that it`s been corrected.

BRYANT: Corrected and...

CALDWELL: But you never know what that means.

BRYANT: That`s right. Last question, quickly. How difficult is it to choose a song every week?

CALDWELL: OK, well, I think that they had it a little bit easier this week, and I think that`s why everybody was really on point this week and gave it their best because not only were they singing a No. 1 hit, but normally, you have a few songs to choose from. And this week, they had over 900 songs, great songs, No. 1 hits, to choose from, and everybody got to pick their favorite. And I think that everybody did a really great job this week.

BRYANT: All right. Well, Kimberly, be sure to keep watching and voting. Thank you, Kimberly Caldwell from the TV Guide channel.

CALDWELL: Thanks, guys.

HAMMER: Well, they may have repackaged it this week, but "American Idol" doesn`t show repeats, but one of your favorite shows, "Desperate Housewives," has been recently. And quite frankly, fans are fed up. Up next, the "SHOWBIZ in Depth." Why are you forced to play the TV waiting game?

BRYANT: And he may sing about ordinary people, but Kanye West thinks this guy is extraordinary. On the way, a "SHOWBIZ Sitdown" with John Legend.

HAMMER: Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who appeared as a dancer in this B-52`s video, the song "Love Shack"? Was it, A, RuPaul, B, Jennifer Tilly, C, Winona Ryder, or D, Lenny Kravitz? We are coming right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Welcome back. Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who appeared as a dancer in the B-52`s "Love Shack" video? Was it RuPaul, Jennifer Tilly, Winona Ryder or Lenny Kravitz? It was a drag queen. He reigned in the 1989 video. The answer, of course, is RuPaul.

HAMMER: Well, tonight an amazing story. If it were a reality TV show, you could probably call it "Survivor Fear Factor," and here`s why. A California woman today is crediting an episode of "Fear Factor" for saving her life. This morning, she told the "Today" show she knew exactly what to do when her car slid into a raging creek, thanks to the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "TODAY": And you remember an episode of "Fear Factor" that actually showed people trying to escape a submerged car, right?

DEBRA SWAIM, ESCAPED SINKING CAR: That is very true. They -- in the particular episode, they talked about having a mental image on what they`re going to do, have an image of the car, the windows, everything. That episode, it really -- it played a big deal in that particular -- in my incident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Host of "Fear Factor" Joe Rogan heard about the story and came by in person to surprise the survivor live, as she talked to "Today" co-host Matt Lauer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWAIM: Oh!

JOE ROGAN, "FEAR FACTOR": Hey, what`s happening? We got you some flowers.

SWAIM: Oh! Oh!

ROGAN: Just let me give you a hug, say congratulations and -- you know, for all silly things that our show has done, I think this is probably the most positive thing that`s ever come out of it.

LAUER: Is there something you`d like to say to Joe?

SWAIM: Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, wow!

ROGAN: Well, on behalf of all the producers of the show, I mean, we were all very happy about it when we read it in the paper. And you know, it`s a phenomenal thing, and to think that we actually helped you is really terrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: It`s really an amazing story. Joe Rogan said that of all the 120 episodes they`ve shot so far, this probably tops the list as the most wonderful things that has happened.

BRYANT: Well, it is just about 13 minutes past the hour, time now for "SHOWBIZ in Depth." Why do you have to wait so long to see new episodes of your favorite TV shows? This Sunday, we will finally get to see a new episode of "Desperate Housewives." For five weeks, there`s been fan hysteria over the Wisteria Lane delay, as "Desperate Housewives" addicts had to make do with rerun after rerun after rerun. So what is going on? Why do TV networks put their shows on hiatus? And why are they manipulating so much of the programming?

Well, joining us live to talk about it here in New York, Jennifer Armstrong from "Entertainment Weekly," and of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contributor Julia Boorstin, who covers the entertainment industry for "Fortune" magazine, and in Hollywood, Andy Wallenstein, who is senior reporter for "The Hollywood Reporter." Thanks for joining us here.

Now, Jennifer, I`ll start with you. And you guys are definitely free to pipe in on this. First, why do they do this? Why do they give us five reruns in a row?

JENNIFER ARMSTRONG, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Well, mainly, it`s because they need to hold off for a little while and then give you a clump of programming. I mean, that`s basically what they`re wanting to do here. It`s a judgment call. They have to decide if they want to do repeat and then original, repeat and original, and kind of lose their momentum, or just, you know, bang them out all at once.

BRYANT: But why do they have to do that?

(CROSSTALK)

JULIA BOORSTIN, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: They only shoot a certain number of episodes...

BRYANT: Right.

BOORSTIN: ... to show over the entire season. And the truth is, they don`t have enough episodes to fill every single week.

BRYANT: Sure.

BOORSTIN: So they`re faced with this decision whether or not to spread them out or whether to show them in clumps. And I think that the way "Desperate Housewives" is doing it is very smart. Because it is a serial and because you are supposed to remember what happened in the last one to understand the next one, this way, you`re not confused. You`re not bouncing back and forth...

BRYANT: Right.

BOORSTIN: ... between the past and the present. And this way, you`re just sort of seeing the progression, and then you get a break, and then they`re going to move forward with the progression. But I think clumping is definitely a smart move.

BRYANT: Andy?

ANDY WALLENSTEIN, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Well, Karyn, if I may, I should point out there are a few shows on TV now -- - "Alias" on ABC, "24" on Fox -- that are shown without repeats, and they`re doing better than ever. You can bet you`ll see a lot of the networks try that again next fall.

BRYANT: Yes, I just think it`s important to -- you know, because a lot of viewers don`t understand the politics and all the things that are going on behind the scenes at the network. What about...

WALLENSTEIN: Well, the truth is, it comes down to basic economics.

BRYANT: Sure.

WALLENSTEIN: They can`t run episodes two or three times without paying the bills, and that`s, unfortunately, what`s going on now.

BRYANT: OK. Well, what about the idea, Julia, that sometimes they`ll start a show at 10:05 or 9:05 or have a super-sized episode that goes for 40 minutes? What about this as a strategy with shows?

BOORSTIN: Well, these are all different ways to keep viewers` attention. And for some shows, if you start a show, you know, five minutes into the programming, then if someone was watching an end of a show -- I mean, if "Desperate Housewives" is really hot and they`re trying to hype another show, they might have "Desperate Housewives" run 10 minutes into the next hour to keep people watching. So these are all different strategies to keep viewers` eyeballs glued to their screens.

BRYANT: But it infuriates us Tivo owners!

ARMSTRONG: Yes, I mean, that`s -- it is really, really frustrating when you have a DVR and it overlaps, and then basically, what ends up happening is you can end up missing recording...

BRYANT: Right.

ARMSTRONG: ... the next show because of the overlap. And it`s very, very frustrating. I don`t know if you`re going to see that start to affect the networks right away. There`s still not enough Tivo owners out there to really...

BRYANT: But we`re feisty people.

ARMSTRONG: That`s true.

BOORSTIN: But the networks don`t like the Tivo owners.

BRYANT: Right. Right.

BOORSTIN: The networks want you to watch their advertising.

BRYANT: Well, that`s what I was going to ask. Andy, what do you think about DVRs and Tivo? I mean, do you think that this is going to change the way shows are produced...

WALLENSTEIN: Absolutely.

BRYANT: ... and advertising?

WALLENSTEIN: Absolutely. You`ve got to understand, DVRs are scheduled to have exponential growth in U.S. American homes, so you will have to accommodate that with this new programming.

BRYANT: So in some ways, though, repeats -- repeats -- well, I don`t know if they help DVR owners, but I don`t know, if you didn`t get the show in the season past, you can catch up and get some more of that. But I don`t know. I want to move on to the cable world because shows like "The Shield," Andy, started only two weeks ago. Has the old-fashioned idea of a season starting in September just gone, you know, by the wayside?

WALLENSTEIN: Absolutely. It`s actually not even just a cable phenomenon. Even on broadcast television, shows like "Desperate Housewives" take a break, so other new shows can take in their time slot, get some audience and then move off to another part of the schedule.

BRYANT: What do you guys think about that whole later season starting?

BOORSTIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) just a model that we`ve seen with HBO with "Sex in the City," with these shorter sort of mini-seasons, and also the way that they`ve scheduled "The Sopranos," and then also the way they`ve scheduled certain shows only to air during the summer in their first run. It`s been very successful because it generates an excitement and also the sense of scarcity, that you better watch it the first time it`s out because you`re not quite sure when it`s going to be on again.

BRYANT: Right. Right. Right. Well, all right. Well, thank you for joining us. We want to know your -- of course, Jennifer, Julia and Andy.

We want to know your thoughts on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "Desperate Housewives": Is it worth the wait? We want to know what you think. 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: Well, one half of "Hope and Faith" gets a visitor, but it turns out to be a longer stay than expected. "Designing Woman" Dixie Carter and her husband, Hal Holbrook, are live with us to explain.

BRYANT: And home not so sweet home An apprentice doesn`t cut it in her Home Depot task and gets sent from the boardroom to our green room. Erin joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: They`re hanging out in the beauty shop, but how do Queen Latifah and Alicia Silverstone like their locks? Find out a bit later.

BRYANT: Time for more "SHOWBIZ Shorts." A bittersweet ending tonight. Neil Simon`s "Sweet Charity" isn`t coming to Broadway. It was supposed to open April 4. In a press release out today, weak advance ticket sales are the reason. The show`s lead, Christina Applegate, broke her foot two weeks ago.

Well, Danny Glover is headed to the ER. The actor will play Mekhi Phifer`s dad on the NBC drama. Glover`s first guest role will be in the season finale airing May 19, and then he`ll be back for more next season.

We`ll have more "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming up throughout the show.

HAMMER: Well, Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook have been married for 20 years in real life. And tonight, they`re playing husband and wife on ABC`s "Hope and Faith." In tonight`s episode, they`re Hope`s in-laws. Dixie and Hal are joining us now live from Hollywood. We`d like to welcome them both for being with us. And before we have a chance to take a look at their real-life marriage versus their on-screen marriage, let`s take a look at a clip of a tonight`s show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIXIE CARTER, PLAYS HOPE`S MOTHER-IN-LAW: Edward, what are you doing here!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ll tell you what he`s doing here. He`s come to tell you that you`re a fool for throwing away 40 years of marriage just to steal my lousy room! Oh, and he wants her back. Tell her, Ed!

HAL HOLBROOK, PLAYS HOPE`S FATHER-IN-LAW: This isn`t a birthday party for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Dixie and Hal, thanks for joining us live from Hollywood tonight.

CARTER: Hi.

HOLBROOK: Hi.

HAMMER: I got to know right off the top. Your real-life marriage, not in trouble, like it looks like your couple is on tonight`s "Hope and Faith"?

CARTER: No, thank heavens.

HOLBROOK: No, I think we`re doing good. Yes.

HAMMER: What`s the problem there with the couple you play on tonight`s show?

CARTER: I love it. I`ve been telling my friend, Doris Roberts, for years that I`ve prayed to get a part of a really hard-to-take mother-in- law, the way that Doris is able to cut loose on "Everybody Loves Raymond." And here comes this horrific mother-in-law. And plus, we have a very funny -- at one point, I say to Hal, I think I`ll go home -- go back to where I`m -- somebody wants me, and he says...

HOLBROOK: Try Fallujah.

(LAUGHTER)

HAMMER: Well, I`ve got -- you have been...

CARTER: We fight all through the show. You know, it`s fun.

HOLBROOK: You`ve been successfully married yourself now for 20 years, at this point.

CARTER: Yes.

HAMMER: Day after day, we`re constantly reading about, you know, Hollywood couples are dropping like flies. Tell us the secret. Tell them the secret, please. How do you keep it together?

HOLBROOK: They`re flying too high.

HAMMER: What`s that, Hal? One more time?

HOLBROOK: You said they`re dropping like flies. They`re flying too high.

HAMMER: Yes. Yes. Is that it? I mean, is it -- is it -- are they just playing too hard in Hollywood? Is it -- you know, you guys have managed to keep it -- keep it to go.

HOLBROOK: We don`t know. We`re not perfect. We just do the best we can. We love each other. For one thing, we really love each other and we are quite well mated, you might say.

CARTER: You know what I think one thing is? I think with show business people, you`ve got to -- you`ve got to admire the other person`s talent.

HAMMER: Right.

CARTER: I hate to say it, but you`ve got to think the other persons`s really good at what they do, or you get tired of being with an actor who`s not very good.

HAMMER: Well, I`m sure...

(CROSSTALK)

HAMMER: I`m sure Hal was admiring you for all those years that you were on "Designing Women." I`m sure Hal was tuned in every single week. You`ve had a little distance -- you were doing that show for what, about seven years. You`ve had a little distance from it. What`s the single best memory that you have of that series?

CARTER: From "Designing Women"?

HAMMER: Yes.

CARTER: The very first time we all got together. It`s still my best memory.

HAMMER: All right. Well, we`re looking forward to seeing you tonight and seeing how it goes, you know, with the on-screen marriage. Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook, thanks for joining us live from Hollywood. And you can catch...

CARTER: Thank you, A.J.

HAMMER: ... Dixie and Hal on "Hope and Faith" tonight on ABC -- Karyn.

BRYANT: It is time to get your laugh on in "Laughter Dark." As we do every night, we bring you the late night laughs you may have missed. Jay Leno has some news for all the macho men out there. Take a look at this clip from the "Tonight" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, HOST: Well, the Village People now say they do not want to be known as a gay group.

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: Why would anyone think the Village People -- show that picture. Why would you think this group...

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: Why would anyone think that? No, that`s what they said. They said they want to be known as mainstream. Or maybe it was man stream. Maybe -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Oh, the Village People!

Well, she`s not a girl, but this year, she`s not an FHM (ph) woman, either. The hottie who topped last year`s sexiest woman list isn`t so lucky this year. It`s our "Buzz Bench`s" prerogative to talk about her.

HAMMER: And guess who`s in movie theaters? No, really, guess who`s in movie theaters? It`s in "People`s" "Picks and Pans," and that`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: Now tonight`s "Birthday Shoutout." The Rocket Man himself, the one and only brilliant Elton John, turns 58 today. The shoutout comes from fellow musicians The Scissor Sisters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elton, you`re the queen of the universe, and we love you. And happy, happy birthday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

BRYANT: Lots of people have off today for Good Friday, but this contestant is permanently off "The Apprentice." She got fired on last night`s show, but Erin is here live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

HAMMER: Plus, a legend in his own time. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT parties with one of the most buzz-worthy artists around, John Legend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LEGEND: Hey, this is John Legend. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thirty minutes past the hour. I`m AJ Hammer.

BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.

HAMMER: "Fear Factor" life saver. A California woman says the reality show saved her life. She says watching an episode of the show helped her know what to do when her car slid into a creek. "Fear Factor" host, Joe Rogan heard her story and surprised her on the "Today" show this morning.

BRYANT: It`s the end of a roller coaster of a week on "American Idol." It is down to 10 after the voting sent Mikhala home last night. The final 10 will perform live on Tuesday`s show.

HAMMER: This Sunday, ABC will finally air a new episode of "Desperate Housewives" after five weeks! So we`re asking you to vote on tonight`s question of the day. "Desperate Housewives," is it worth the wait? We`d like you to continue to vote by going to cnn.com/showbiztonight. If you`d like to e-mail us, you can at showbiztonight@cnn.com.

Well, even if you haven`t heard any of John Legend`s new album, bet you know the voice. He`s worked with several big names in the business, and now it`s about time he`s making a big name for himself. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer had the chance to talk with him about his album. David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About time instead, AJ. He`s a busy man, John Legend`s currently on tour with Alicia Keys. His album, "Get Lifted" is one of the best sellers in the country right now. Critics are saying this guy is the real deal. He sings, plays the piano. He even writes his own music. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been catching up with him in the very little down time that he`s had recently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Keep your eyes on that man. The music world`s buzzing about John Legend. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with the not- so-ordinary John Legend at a party thrown for him by rapper Kanye West. The two first hooked up when John moved to New York after finishing college. Their first project, Kanye`s Grammy-winning album, "College Dropout." John`s project "Get Lifted" came next.

LEGEND: The songs we wrote together were number one and "Used to Love You" and you can hear kind of his influence on the songs lyrically, because it has a little more of that humor and sarcasm that he`s known for.

HAFFENREFFER: Legend has also worked with other big-name artists, punching up hooks for Jay-Z and singing on the hit song, "You Don`t Know My Name," with Alicia Keys. It all began with his first major gig, playing piano on Lauryn Hill`s multi-platinum album.

LEGEND: I played on the record. I also auditioned for her touring band. She gave me some great advice even then, just talking to me about how I should play piano on hip-hop records and I definitely used that advice.

HAFFENREFFER: When Legend`s own album came out, it took only two months for it to go platinum. It`s not only his fans who love the album, so do most critics.

LEGEND: I`m more gratified by selling a million records than getting the critical acclaim, but both is better, so I`m glad both is happening.

HAFFENREFFER: I caught up with John at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. We spoke about how it all comes together. It sounds like the writing process comes easily to you.

LEGEND: No, it`s not easy, but it`s very natural and it`s all in my head. So like, I`ll just get an inspiration and I don`t know where it comes from sometimes. Right now we`re going to do one of my favorite songs. This is a song about cheating. I write from real experiences. All of them aren`t autobiographical, but they`re all real, and I think they`re formed by conversations I`ve had, and I just try to speak the truth.

HAFFENREFFER: Has this felt like a ride that you`re on right now?

LEGEND: Yeah, it feels like a ride, definitely, and it`s all gone up up to this place. I don`t know if that ever is going to go down, but I`m enjoying it going up right now. It keeps getting better and better, every time I think it`s hit a plateau.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: Thumbs up indeed. John`s credits are not just limited to music. He`s an ivy leaguer who`s worked as a management consultant before signing his record deal. You can catch John Legend in his first televised concert this Sunday on the Oxygen Network. Karyn?

BRYANT: All right. Thanks a lot, David Haffenreffer.

Time now for more showbiz shorts. That`s Braff directing a music video. Today we learned the "Garden State" director has signed on to direct a video for Gavin DeGraw`s new single, "Chariot." Braff says he`s a big fan of DeGraw`s. Shooting is set for Tuesday.

Well, the lollipop is back. The new "Kojak" has Ving Rhames playing the police detective made famous by Telly Savalas back in the `70s. "Kojak" premieres tonight on the USA Network.

HAMMER: Well, she`s the book smart girl with the high class style, but on last night`s "The Apprentice," it was a home improvement do it yourself task that put Erin in unfamiliar territory. The daunting demo landed her in Trump`s boardroom where from wisecracking may have been the final straw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP: And I got to listen to that?

ERIN ELMORE: You have to?

TRUMP: No, I really don`t, but I`m going to. You`re a real wise guy, you know that?

ELMORE: I was just asking -- that was a dumb statement.

TRUMP: Now, but you are a wise guy, there`s no question about it. You know what, Erin, you`re fired.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: Erin Elmore, thanks for joining us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

ELMORE: Hi, how are you?

HAMMER: I`m good. I`m good. I have to ask you, because it was suggested earlier in the show, earlier in last night`s program that you flirted with Donald Trump and in the clip there of you getting fired, it almost looks like you`re winking at him. Can you set the record straight? Are you being flirtatious at any point with the Donald?

ELMORE: Look I my ship was sinking. I was about to do a tap dance. Look if you don`t fire me, I`ll tap dance. I was going to do anything at that point.

HAMMER: So did you wink at him?

ELMORE: It was not a wink for winking`s sake. It was a win for "please don`t fire me."

HAMMER: All right. Well, going into the board room, it actually looked like in the course of the boardroom that you were not going to get fired because everybody was getting it a little bit. Do you think it was the wisecrack that finally did sink that ship?

ELMORE: I think Mr. Trump led me down that path. He said, Erin, I don`t want to fire you. Carolyn and George want me to, so I was like, hey man, don`t fire me. So I was really appealing to his independent business judgment. I wasn`t trying to insult Carolyn or George. I was just saying, hey, you`re the CEO. At the end of the day, you have the final word. Why don`t you make your own decision and keep me and I will be the third apprentice and everyone else can go home.

HAMMER: They did take an interesting approach with this season. There`s been a lot of talk about book smarts versus street smarts. Did you as a book smart person learn anything from the street smart people you were competing against?

ELMORE: The street smart people were amazing. They have a totally different approach to business. The book smarts people are theoretical. We like to think everything through and analyze, whereas the street smart people, they hustle. They just get down and dirty and get the job done fast and that`s so admirable to me.

HAMMER: So if you`re hiring a team of your own, would you necessarily be hiring people just because of their degrees now or you might look for some people who just have those street smarts?

ELMORE: There`s more to people than just the resume. I like to see what they can do on the street level and that`s what`s so great about the street smarts team. I would hire one of each if it was my company.

HAMMER: You were really terrific on TV, when you did the little thing on "Fuse" a couple of weeks back that episode aired. You seemed very comfortable in front of the camera as you do right now. Even Donald himself said so. Are you going anywhere with that, a TV career in the future?

ELMORE: It`s not that much of a stretch. I have a degree in broadcasting. I graduated cum laude, so it`s definitely something I`m pursuing. Maybe you and I can be co-hosts.

HAMMER: Don`t say that too loud. Karyn is right over here.

ELMORE: She can join us too. It can be all three of us together.

HAMMER: Best of luck to you. I don`t know if it`s going to work out around here, Erin Elmore, we appreciate you stopping by. And of course, you can catch "The Apprentice" Thursday nights on NBC.

BRYANT: It is d'j... vu all over again for Cybill Shepherd. She`s playing Martha Stewart again for another TV movie. We`ll take that to the buzz bench coming up.

HAMMER: Plus is the L.A. premiere of the movie "Beauty Shop" and I wonder what happened when the director yelled cut on that set. Get it? Anyway, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT curls up with the stars and that`s coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAI RODRIGUEZ: I`m a little obsessed with the latest Kelly Clarkson, just because I just got it, so I`m probably behind the times, but Daniel Bedingfield, his latest album, I`m really loving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time now for tonight`s buzz bench. Here`s what we are buzzing about. Cybill Shepherd playing Martha again, tripping with Cameron Diaz and Britney Spears, not sexy anymore?

HAMMER: Joining us on the buzz bench, former "Apprentice" contestant Heidi Bresler, comedian and TV personality Chuck Nice -- yes, he is and Fuse VJ Marianela is here as well. We`re going to start with you and Martha. Cybill Shepherd has already played Martha Stewart in the first television movie that came out a couple of years ago and now she`s getting set to do another one and this is the bad time for Martha, the ImClone scandal.

MARIANELA, FUSE VJ: Yes, she`s going to follow her through the conviction, through her time in prison and then the release, which of course I`m sure she`ll be wearing, sporting the freedom poncho. I don`t know, I love Cybill shepherd, but I feel like after "Moonlighting," things went a little sour. Now she`s playing Martha again, and actually the Martha fans are actually angry about it. They`re like, we want Sigourney Weaver to play Martha. Cybill Shepherd plays her well.

BRYANT: She does do a pretty good job.

MARIANELA: And Martha Stewart, I mean America is just obsessed with Martha Stewart right now, so I have no doubt it`s going to do phenomenal.

CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: I just hope that she doesn`t get typecast. Now it`s Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart again. Next it will be Martha Washington, Martha Graham. She may have been pigeonholed at this point.

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: . should play Martha Stewart, don`t you?

(CROSSTALK)

HEIDI BRESSLER, FORMER "APPRENTICE" CONTESTANT: She has the attitude, the beady little eyes. She could do it.

MARIANELA: What about the guy who`s reenacting Michael Jackson? Like what`s his next role going to be, Michael Jackson in jail.

BRYANT: Cybill Shepherd has the physicality more though than some of these other actors.

MARIANELA: I definitely think so, yeah.

BRYANT: OK, well, speaking of physicality, this one woman here is known for quite a nice bod, although she`s a little klutzy. It`s Cameron Diaz. She`s in the "USA Today." Now she`s a self admitted klutz, I didn`t just call her that. Seriously, she says that, she`s doing a new show for MTV called "Tripping." She`s going all around the world trying to raise some awareness of ecological problems and yet at the same time, she`s a $20 million actress who hasn`t been in movies in a while other than her voice in "Shrek." What`s going on with Cameron?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $23 million.

BRYANT: She upped it?

HAMMER: Wow, so $23 million.

BRYANT: We`re in the same club now.

NICE: I`ve heard of that club. Here`s the deal. Cameron -- stars love free stuff. So this is a way for her to get a free trip around the world with her friends basically. She says that when this is over, why haven`t you been in films? When this show is over, I`m going to wait and see if it gets picked up for another season and then I`m going to take a vacation. I`m like, wait a minute, you just got a vacation. What are you going to do for vacation, get a job at a construction site? You just got finished traipsing around the world, with her friends, Drew Barrymore and al these others and now you need a vacation? If she believes that what she`s doing right now is really work, she really is tripping.

MARIANELA: I think it`s genius. It`s a bunch of hotties, Eva Mendez and Drew Barrymore night camps out.

BRESSLER: They were complaining last night on Jay Leno about the bugs and the spiders and she couldn`t handle it. She was talking about it.

HAMMER: Another thing she`s complaining a lot about are the paparazzi and she is stalked and mostly because of her relationship obviously with Justin Timberlake, which she doesn`t like to talk about, but she is shunning the spotlight right now.

MARIANELA: She`s like, come find me in Tanzania. That`s why she did it.

NICE: Where in the world is Carmen Diaz? She`s the new Carmen San Diego.

MARIANELA: At least it`s a reality show that`s environmentally conscious. You know what I mean? At least most reality shows are far from real, so at least this has one some consciousness to it which is nice.

HAMMER: All right. Well, Cameron wound up on "FHM"`s list of the 100 sexiest women. Last year`s number one, Britney Spears, this year`s number one, Angelina Jolie, who was number two last year. Britney Spears nowhere to be found on the list.

BRESSLER: Britney Spears, I personally like her, I do like her, I don`t hold it against her that she was barefoot in a bathroom, but you know the last year or so, haven`t you noticed her weight is fluctuated? She`s got a little pouch and everyone thinks she`s pregnant, but you she`s not pregnant, she`s fat. There`s a difference.

BRYANT: She`s far from fat. Let`s just lay that down right now.

BRESSLER: She`s a little chunky sometimes, a little chunky. I personally think she`s pretty. I just think she`s letting herself go and she said she`d let herself go, because she`s very happily married.

MARIANELA: Britney Spears sitting at home like upset thinking about this. She`s just fine eating funnel cakes with Federline. She`s enjoying her married life. She`s laughing all the way to the bank.

BRESSLER: I still think she`s pretty and I feel bad that I said she`s fat. I`m sorry.

BRYANT: You should feel bad. That was mean.

NICE: "FHM" says that she`s not on the list because basically she got married and so guys are not turned on by the fact that she got married. I say yeah, that`s what did it for me basically. Once I saw her with that hot stud Kevin Federline, I know there was no chance.

BRYANT: We got to wrap it up. It`s Friday. This is it. Thank you Heidi, Chuck Nice, Marianela, thanks for joining us here on the buzz bench.

HAMMER: All right. It`s a long weekend for a lot of people, Chuck Nice included, plenty of time to check out a bunch of new movies. "Miss Congeniality 2" is in theaters right now. We`re going to get a review coming up in "People`s" picks and pans.

BRYANT: Plus cutting up with the stars of "Beauty Shop." We`ll take you through the LA premier. That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: It is time now for "People" magazine`s movie picks and pans. "Miss Congeniality 2," "Guess Who?" and "D.E.B.S" are all out this week in theaters, but should you check them out? Joining us to tell us, "People" magazine movie critic, Leah Rozen. Thank you for joining us Leah.

LEAH ROZEN, MOVIE CRITIC, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Hi. These are OK. All three of these movies are just sort of OK. It`s Saturday night, you want to go to the movies, every single one of them will sort of amuse you but not one of them is going to slay you.

HAMMER: Well, let`s get into "Miss Congeniality 2." Sandra bullock is back.

ROZEN: Sandra Bullock is back and basically a retread of the plot of the first one. She`s an FBI agent. She again gets a makeover. This time she goes to Las Vegas. Sandra Bullock, really likable, Regina King, her co-star, also an FBI agent, really likable. The film is kind of lame, though. Not a whole lot really going on. So you`re looking for the one- liners and there are good one liners in it.

HAMMER: All right. Well, let`s talk about "Guess Who?" then, because this looks like a lot of fun to me, light and airy, but a lot of fun with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac.

ROZEN: It`s a very loose remake of "Guess Who`s Coming to Dinner?" but with the races reversed. It`s basically "Meet the Parents" with a racial overlay. Halfway through the film -- it`s one of those weird films that actually gets better as it goes along. It start off just sort of stumblebum comedy, halfway through it kind of gets better, but again, this is no masterpiece. We`re not going to be looking at it at Oscar time.

HAMMER: And it doesn`t have lesbian action heroes as "D.E.B.S" does. Tell us about this.

ROZEN: As Howard Stern said, lesbians mean ratings. "Debs" is a spoof of "Charlie`s Angels" but with a Sapphic twist. The secret agent woman in the movie, Sara Foster falls in love with the world`s biggest criminal Jordana Brewster, fun, whole lot of style, but it just seems at 90 minutes, kind of long.

HAMMER: Not a total waste of time though.

ROZEN: Not a total waste of time. I want to see the director`s next movie.

HAMMER: OK. Thanks for stopping by, Leah Rozen.

ROZEN: You`re welcome.

HAMMER: And of course for more picks and pans, check out this week`s "People" magazine. It`s now at newsstands everywhere.

BRYANT: Another movie coming soon to a theater near you, Queen Latifah and Kevin Bacon star in "Beauty Shop" opening next Wednesday. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was at the premiere in LA last night. We`ll take you there coming up.

And still, there is time for you to sound off in tonight`s question of the day, "Desperate Housewives" delay, is it worth the wait? You can go to cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us what`s on your mind at showbiztonight@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time for more showbiz shorts. "The Office" off and running. In numbers out today, more than 11 million people tuned in for the first episode of NBC`s version of the popular British show. "The Office" is switching to its regular night this Tuesday.

HAMMER: Fox blocker. Check this out. A man in Oklahoma is selling these little metal devices that screw into the back of television sets and filters out FOX News. Sam Kimery says he has sold about 100 of the devices since he started selling them online back in August. The FOX blocker costs about $9. And Kimery says the point isn`t really about blocking the channel or free speech, but about raising awareness.

BRYANT: That`s fantastic, if I may say so myself.

HAMMER: The FOX blocker ladies and gentlemen.

Well, "Beauty Shop" opens next week. This is a comedy that`s based on the success of the barbershop movies and the stars were out last night in full force for the L.A. premiere. Queen Latifah plays a single mom who opens her own beauty shop with an array of sassy co-workers and clients who include Alicia Silverstone, Annie McDowell, Kevin Bacon and Mena Suvari. Both Silverstone and Latifah told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it was a whole lot of fun to make the movie, but they learned one thing: they could never be hairdressers in real life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN LATIFAH: I respect all hair stylists. They really have to have some skills. They have to be trained. We learned how to look good doing it in a week, but we couldn`t actually do it.

ALICIA SILVERSTONE: I`m not very girly. I never really grew up doing my hair and all that stuff, so I just, me, ponytail, greasy hair works really well for me, four days without showering, I like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Silverstone plays Queen Latifah`s right-hand girl in the beauty shop and the movie opens next Wednesday, March 30th. An even more important, Silverstone will join us live here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT next Tuesday.

HAMMER: Clueless? One of the all-time classic movies, love "Clueless." Throughout the show tonight, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our showbiz showdown question of the day. "Desperate Housewives," is it worth the wait after all of those repeats week after week? Let`s take a look at how the vote`s going so far, 54 percent of you said yes, "Desperate Housewives" is worth the wait, you love it that much. Forty six percent of you said no, not worth the wait. You`ve also be sending us your e-mails on the question. Thomas from Folsom, California, says, the decline in original episodes is due to growing salaries and the networks are steadily losing viewers.

Remember, you can continue to vote. We`d like you to do so by going to cnn.com/showbiztonight.

BRYANT: It is time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on Monday.

HAMMER: Let`s take a look now at the showbiz marquee. Take it away marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: Well, maybe U2 still hasn`t found what it`s looking for. The band is about to go on a major world tour. We sit down with U2 Monday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Also, he enjoys strolling on the beach, laughing on benches, and candlelight. And yeah, he happens to be Jerry O`Connell`s brother. Meet the new bachelor. Here comes the heartbreak, Charlie O`Connell joins us live Monday. Good-bye you guys from the marquee guy.

HAMMER: That sounds like a lot of fun. I wonder what a guy like the marquee guy does on the weekends.

BRYANT: I don`t know.

ANNOUNCER: I have a great time on the weekend, thank you AJ and Karyn.

HAMMER: That`s weird.

BRYANT: Wow, that`s freaky.

HAMMER: You think the marquee guy is going out tonight?

BRYANT: I think the marquee guy is single, I`ll tell you that.

HAMMER: One wonders why. All right. Enjoy your weekend.

BRYANT: Thank you, you too.

HAMMER: That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to see you back here on Monday.

BRYANT: Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from headline news.

END