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Showbiz Tonight
Britney Baby Buzz; Alicia Silverstone`s New Film, `Beauty Shop`; Lisa-Marie Presley`s New Album; Living in `Sin`; Gay Television Gets Its Day; Rappers Sell Out to Fast Food; Tribute to Late Johnnie Cochran, CNNHN
Aired March 29, 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: Breaking news: Celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran, Jr., has died. I`m A.J. Hammer.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: I`m Karyn Bryant. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Britney, baby buzz. The pop princess pregnancy that is or isn`t, the spin that`s sending the media into a tizzy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICIA SILVERSTONE, "BEAUTY SHOP": What do you suggest?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: How about a visit to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Alicia Silverstone -- Aerosmith queen to Queen Latifah. She joins us live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA MARIE PRESLEY: I`m not a self-absorbed person who`s trying to be, you know, sexy, cute, naked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: But Lisa Marie Presley bears all to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Her new album, that famous family and the spotlight.
HAMMER: Plus, stars split up. Jennifer filed, Charlie fights back. Who gets what? We pore through the papers with someone who knows live.
BRYANT: And an original sin. Bruce, Jessica and Clive come out for the "Sin City" premier. We`re there with the graphic scoop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA ALBA, "SIN CITY": Hi. I`m Jessica Alba. 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.
Breaking news tonight. Just a short time ago, we learned that famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, Jr., has died.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer has the story -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Yes, A.J. and Karyn, some sad news today. Cochran`s law partner said he died of a brain disorder in his Los Angeles home. His family was by his side. Cochran was 67 years old. He was best known as a member of the "Dream Team" for his highly publicized role in O.J. Simpson`s murder trial. You might know his famous line about Simpson`s glove.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNNIE COCHRAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If it doesn`t fit, you must acquit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: O.J. Simpson issued a statement saying, quote, "I loved him as a good Christian man and a great lawyer. I look at Johnnie as a great Christian. I knew him as that. He was a great guy. We were praying for him then and I still am." Simpson wasn`t his only famous client. The list is a long one, including the likes of Michael Jackson, James Brown, Rosa Parks, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Todd Bridges.
Joining us now live on the phone is Todd Bridges, best known as Willis from "Diff`rent Strokes." Cochran got him acquitted of 1990 charges for assault with a deadly weapon.
Welcome, Todd. Describe for me Johnnie Cochran on a personal level.
TODD BRIDGES, "DIFF`RENT STROKES": On a personal level, he was probably one of the nicest people you`d ever want to meet. He was not only a lawyer for me, but he was just like a father figure for me. You know, at the time that he handled my case, he became more, became a mentor. He really helped me get through those tough moments in my life, where I was dealing with a lot of stuff.
HAFFENREFFER: What were your thoughts today when you heard the news?
BRIDGES: It was a sad day, you know? It was very sad. I had called a couple times, you know, and I just -- it`s sad for me to hear anyone dies at 67 years old. That`s a very young age to pass away at. But also it`s sad to me because, you know, the lawyers of America -- you know, this was a great lawyer. He was a really good lawyer. And he had a lot more to give. And it`s unfortunate that, you know, sometimes you go before your time.
HAFFENREFFER: Do you feel as though, as a celebrity, you benefited by having a celebrity attorney on your side, as well, to try this case?
BRIDGES: Well, no. I think the thing that helps me out a lot is knowing that I had a guy who`s a Christian representing me, who`s going to represent me in the best of light, and at the same time, going to do his job the right way. And for me, like I said, he was like a mentor. He was like a father to me. So he helped me out tremendously during my trial, during my case and during just my time in general, when I needed somebody to talk to.
HAFFENREFFER: You know, the famous quote is that if the glove doesn`t fit, you must acquit, obviously. But what was he like in the courtroom with you?
BRIDGES: He was very charismatic. He was probably one of the best showmen lawyers that I`ve ever seen in my entire life. He really knew how to talk to the jury. The jury really can relate to him. They really watched him. They liked the way he moved and talked. And you know, he made them feel like they were, you know, a part of the case. And didn`t make them feel like they were outside or like they didn`t know any better, he made them feel like they were real people.
HAFFENREFFER: Todd Bridges, thank you for joining us and helping us reflect on the life of Johnnie Cochran, as well. Back to you, Karyn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: All right. Thanks for that story, David.
HAMMER: Well, divorcing Disney is our next story. Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-founders of Disney`s independent arm, Miramax, are out the door. The brothers ended their tumultuous relationship with the corporate giant in a mutual agreement just hours ago. The deal ends a bitter chapter in one of the most successful indie film ventures in Hollywood history. Disney will keep the Miramax name, as well as its 500-plus films. The Weinsteins will keep the Dimension films label. Miramax has produced Oscar-winning hits like "The English Patient," "Shakespeare in Love" and "Chicago."
They were glad to be at the GLAAD awards last night. Actors, journalists and others showed up to pick up their honors for portraying gays and lesbians fairly in the media, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Jessica Lange, Cynthia Nixon and Billy Crystal, just some of the names that showed up for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation awards. Crystal won top honors for a ground-breaking gay character he played almost 30 years ago on the sitcom "Soap."
BILLY CRYSTAL, EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA AWARD WINNER: I`m thrilled with this honor. This meant a lot to me because "Soap" really was a breakthrough in my career. It was a breakthrough in many ways for gay characters on television and gay people.
HAMMER: Alan Cumming was also honored. The star of "X-Men 2" was one of the first actors to talk openly about being bisexual.
ALAN CUMMING, VITO RUSSO AWARD WINNER: It`s such a good award to get. I feel it`s for a really good thing, trying to stop homophobia and trying to stop (UNINTELLIGIBLE) just sort of speak out for people.
HAMMER: Hal Sparks was the host for the evening. He plays a gay man in a relationship with an HIV-positive partner in the Showtime hit "Queer as Folk."
HAL SPARKS, GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS HOST: I think everyone is aware of the importance of a good front in addressing identity issues in this culture. And GLAAD does a really great job of really presenting the positive face of gay life.
HAMMER: Members of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" showed up for the big night. They`ve been honored in the past for bridging the sexual divide. So why does America love them so much?
THOM FILICIA, "QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY": Our relationship with the straight guys somehow allow other straight guys that are watching it and other people watching it to see that it can just be sort of a natural relationship.
JAI RODRIGUEZ, "QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY": The girls watch the show because they`re, like, I love these guys. Girls, we`ve been doing your hair. We -- you know, we go shopping with you. We decorate your house. We went to the prom with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Shows like "Queer Eye" have been popular with mainstream audiences, but how about a gay-themed TV network? Will they fly? Well, we`ll break that down in our "SHOWBIZ In Depth." That`s coming up in about 10 minutes
BRYANT: As we told you last night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the Supreme Court today began hearing arguments in a case that could change the way you listen to music, watch TV or see movies. Some entertainment companies want to shut down so called peer-to-peer file-sharing sites like Grokster and Morpheus, in order to protect copyright holders.
Protesters from both sides of the case made their feelings heard on the courthouse steps in Washington today. One woman told us how file sharing had hurt her personally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Working now as a sales clerk at Dillard`s. I`ve been there for a little over two years because I lost my publishing deal. So when you have an Emmy sitting on your mantle and a badge on your chest that says, Hi, my name is Debbie, it`s pretty obvious that the impact is great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Another protester saw the fight from a different angle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF JOSEPH, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION: Actually, what the Supreme Court is talking about today is technology. It`s whether the technology is legal or illegal. The technology is benign. If there are bad actors, there are people who are doing illegal things, we ought to go after them. But we shouldn`t be destroying technology. We shouldn`t be undermining technology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Yesterday, this was our "SHOWBIZ Showdown" question of the day. We asked: Should Internet file sharing be legal? Thousands of you voted, with 74 percent of you saying, Yes, Internet file sharing should be legal, 26 percent of you saying, No, it should not be legal. We have no word yet though on when the high court will hand down its decision.
HAMMER: It is time now for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories that are making news tonight. Far East footwork. Richard Gere was in Tokyo to promote the release of his film "Shall We Dance." When the prime minister of Japan asked him, Well, shall we dance, Mr. Gere did oblige.
And tonight, they`re moving on out. "People" magazine has learned that Mary Kate and Ashley Olson are selling their $7 million Manhattan apartment, and they never even lived in it
More "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming up throughout the show.
BRYANT: The "City of Angels" was sin city last night. Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson were among the stars who hit the red carpet for their premiere of the new film "Sin City." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson was there, and she`s joining us live with the details -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Karyn, it`s "Sin City" like you`ve never seen it before. Comic legends Frank Miller`s graphic novels have been made into what some say is a brutal movie. Hollywood`s A-listers were on hand last night to bring a bit of evil to the big screen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The premier of "Sin City" lured Tinseltown`s top stars to the red carpet. Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Kristin Davis, Benizio del Toro, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there to get the devilish details.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`ve just gone and done the dumbest thing in your whole life.
ANDERSON: "Sin City" highlights corruption, evil and destruction in a pretty raw way. And who knows raw better than Oscar-nominated actor Clive Owen, who told me it`s not as violent as you might think.
CLIVE OWEN, "SIN CITY": It`s at its funniest when it`s at its most violent. It`s like Tom and Jerry humor for adults.
JESSICA ALBA, "SIN CITY": There`s a few things that are a little gory, but I just think it`s absolutely beautiful.
BRUCE WILLIS, "SIN CITY": I think that theater-going audiences are very smart, and they know the difference between the violence they see in movies and the violence that they see on television.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s "Sin City," but I think it`s quite romantic.
ANDERSON: Author Frank Miller told us why, initially, he didn`t want this movie to be made.
FRANK MILLER, WRITER/DIRECTOR: What I was afraid of was that it would be compromised, that it would be given happy endings and, you know, scenes where people get medals, you know, heroes get medals at the end or they -- like, all their -- all their, like, fellow students are cheering like some damn Harry Potter movie.
ANDERSON: No happy endings, no cheering here. To make it all come together, "Sin City" had not one or two, but three directors. Robert Rodriguez asked Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino to help out. Rodriguez told us Tarantino was a treat for the actors.
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, WRITER/DIRECTOR: I knew he would just give it a style that would just make it really cool. And the actors loved having a guest director for a day. They were, like, This is really experimental renaissance cinema going on here.
ANDERSON: So did the experiment stay true to the "Sin City" story?
(on camera): Is it a pretty faithful interpretation?"
MILLER: It`s beyond faithful, it`s a translation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Miller is also the man behind the Ninja assassin character Elektra, and he collaborated on "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" and Marvel`s ``Spectacular Spiderman." Karyn, "Sin City" is new in theaters this weekend.
BRYANT: I`m going to check it out. And I`m glad you got the memo about the black blazer tonight, Brooke.
ANDERSON: We all got the memo, didn`t we?
(LAUGHTER)
BRYANT: Good-looking outfit -- A.J.
HAMMER: I`m not wearing it.
Queen Latifah is moving to a new city, and she`s taking Alicia Silverstone with her. The young woman you knew from the Aerosmith videos joins us live.
BRYANT: And Elvis`s daughter has got a new album. Lisa Marie Presley tells us all about it.
HAMMER: It`s time for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Ringo Starr sings lead vocals on which of these classic Beatles songs? "A Day in the Life," "I Am the Walrus," "Octopus`s Garden" or "Blackbird"? Coming straight back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Ringo Starr sings lead vocal on which of these classic Beatles songs? "A Day in the Life," "I Am the Walrus," "Octopus`s Garden" or "Blackbird"? Just listen. That`s the answer right there. Ringo`s singing up front on, C, "Octopus`s Garden."
BRYANT: Well, just about 15 minutes past the hour, time now for "SHOWBIZ In Depth." Today we are discussing whether television channels geared towards the gay community can survive. Now, shows that prominently feature gay characters or themes have found success in the mainstream. You can just look at "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Will and Grace," for example. This summer, Viacom will launch Logo, a network specifically targeting gay audiences. And it will join two others, one called Here, which is a gay subscription channel available in about 30 million homes, and also Q television, which is not as widely distributed.
So tonight`s hot topic: Gay TV networks, the right idea? Last night, at the GLAAD media awards, we asked that very same question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAI RODRIGUEZ: I think that gays and lesbians have grown up -- we`ve grown up just to, you know, watch, you know, heterosexual TV. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) even think about it. You know, the man, he falls in love with the girl. You go to movies all the time. And we find it uniquely entertaining. But it`s nice to have things that you can identify with sometimes. And sometimes in those stories, you can identify with what the couple`s going through. But it`s cool to see, like -- for me, if I see a really great film where it`s two men, then it`s going to hit home a little bit more because I`m, like, That`s my reality, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Well, joining us live to discuss and debate this is Jim Finkle, a writer from "Broadcasting and Cable" magazine. He joins us live from Los Angeles. And here in New York is Glennda Testone from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and Stephen Macias from Here networks.
With all that intro out of the way now, ladies and gentlemen, why now? Why should we have gay-themed channels now? I`m going to start with you, Glennda.
GLENNDA TESTONE, GLAAD: Well, it`s actually long overdue, so now is a fantastic time. I think we`ve got a thriving lesbian and gay community in this country, and they are just hungry to see images of themselves, to see their stories, to see their lives portrayed on screen. It`s not just for gay audiences. I mean, you look at "Will and Grace" and the broad audience that that show pulls down every week, and you can see that there`s definitely a market out there for gay-themed content.
BRYANT: Jim, what are your -- what are your thoughts on this? Is this the right time?
JIM FINKLE, "BROADCASTING AND CABLE": Sure, it`s the right time. You`ve got advertisers who are trying to find new ways to make an impact on people. And one of the ways you do it is, you know, you look for something that they identify and you talk about that. You`ve got media companies that are looking for new channels. I mean, we can`t have MTV 6. You know, Viacom`s going to be much more successful with something different.
BRYANT: Well, Stephen, you`re with the Here network. This is a pay channel, sort of akin to what an HBO would be. What kind of programming do you have? I mean, what are you doing that`s specifically different than from what I can just see on regular television?
STEPHEN MACIAS, HERE NETWORKS: Well, a lot more. I mean, I think if you look at our programming, there`s a really diverse collection of faces. And it`s one of the things that you don`t see on network television. You know, there are no people of color. There are very few lesbian characters. The amount of scripted gay and lesbian characters in the past year has actually gone down in network television. And so at Here, you`ve got films for people of color, you`ve got films for women, you`ve got films for men. The gay and lesbian community is not this monolithic community. It`s as diverse as the American people, and that`s what our network is offering.
BRYANT: Well, I want to talk about something that Jim mentioned, and that is advertising. According to one research study that had come out, the gay and lesbian audience has basically a half a trillion -- they have $585 billion of what they consider disposable income. So obviously, this is a group advertisers would want to be a part of. Are you thinking that people are going to be fearful, though, of getting in line behind a gay channel?
TESTONE: Well, I think one of the biggest factors is the content. You know, gay and lesbian customers have proven themselves to be a very loyal market if they have a quality product. And this is what`s really important. If they see programming that is diverse, that accurately reflects their lives, they`re going to support that. It`s absolutely proven.
BRYANT: Now, last question. Do you fear, though, the idea that you`re ghettoizing the community, that the people who should maybe have their minds opened to gay and lesbian lifestyles are the ones who are just going to flip right by that channel and that you`ll only be preaching toward the converted?
MACIAS: Well, no. I mean, for us, it`s about finding the audience of the gay and lesbian community. And we`re -- we`ve been rolling out over the past couple of years, and we`re available in 30 million homes now across the country. And it`s the audience, it`s our community that we`re finding.
BRYANT: So Jim, last word from you, as well?
FINKLE: It doesn`t matter if those people pass their eyes over the channel. It`s a niche channel, and you know, it`s like any other niche channel, it`s not for everybody. People who want to see it will.
BRYANT: OK. Well, Jim, thank you for joining us. Stephen and Glennda, thank you for joining us to discuss the matter.
We want to know what your thoughts are at home. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Gay TV networks, the right idea? 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. And we will share some of what you had to say later in the show.
HAMMER: Well, Alicia Silverstone gave out beauty tips in "Clueless," and now she`s doing it again, but in a very different setting. "Beauty Shop`s" Alicia Silverstone is joining us live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Well, she first blasted onto the big screen back in 1993, playing teenager obsessed with an older man in "Crush." And in 1995`s "Clueless" -- well, that`s what propelled her right into the big time. Now she stars alongside Queen Latifah in "Beauty Shop," a spinoff of the "Barber Shop" films.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to move a little or something?
ALICIA SILVERSTONE, "BEAUTY SHOP": What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He asked you to dance, crazy girl!
SILVERSTONE: Oh! I thought he wanted to move some chairs or something!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Go have fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Alicia Silverstone, thanks for stopping by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
SILVERSTONE: Thank you for having me.
HAMMER: Your character, Lynn, in "Beauty Shop" seems to be the white girl desperately trying to fit in with Queen Latifah`s beauty shop crew. And I think she makes a good job of doing that.
SILVERSTONE: Yes. I think that Lynn doesn`t really have any awareness that she doesn`t fit in. You know what I mean? She`s just, like, What`s everyone`s problem?
HAMMER: But they keep calling her out on it, don`t they.
SILVERSTONE: Yes. And she`s just -- that`s what I love about her. She has no issues. She`s happy wherever she is, as long as it`s -- you know, she wants to do hair, and Gina`s her really -- Queen Latifah`s character is Gina, and she`s her really good friend. So it`s, like, they - - she really leans -- they`re really good friends for real, so she doesn`t understand what the problem is, you know?
HAMMER: And she seems to have a good time doing whatever she`s doing in there.
SILVERSTONE: Yes, she does.
HAMMER: It`s always seemed to me that you have never really tried to fit in. You know, you`re a Hollywood A-lister, yet you never seem caught up with all of the Hollywood starlets with your need to be on every red carpet and in every magazine. Is that right? And how do you -- what`s your secret to sort of avoiding that whole Hollywood scene?
SILVERSTONE: I mean, you have to do it sometimes because it`s your job, but it`s just too much work for regular life. I like gardening and I like jumping on my trampoline and hanging out with my dogs and I like all sorts of things, like -- so I feel like I`ve just got so many different interests that it`s not a choice to not do that, it`s just -- I can`t even figure out how to get dressed in the morning. It`s just takes -- that takes too much energy, do you know what I mean? Like, I`m busy.
HAMMER: So you`re happy when you have the stylist picking out your clothes for you? Those are the good moments to celebritydom to enjoy?
SILVERSTONE: Yes, because otherwise, I mean, you know, honestly, every day I wear sweatpants. That`s -- I could go four days without showering quite easily. It`s, like, really not a problem for me at all.
HAMMER: Do you find it hard to believe "Clueless" was 10 years ago, 1995?
SILVERSTONE: When it came out?
HAMMER: Yes.
SILVERSTONE: Yes.
HAMMER: It`s amazing, isn`t it? Is that something that you still consider yourself feel quite proud of...
SILVERSTONE: Yes.
HAMMER: ... as a big accomplishment in your career?
SILVERSTONE: It`s one of the things I -- I mean, I had so much fun being that character, and I never knew what was going to happen. I mean, I never had any intention that it was going to be this huge hit. That wasn`t -- I didn`t know that at all. I just was excited to get a job that I liked. And it was such a great job, and I loved my character. So I`m thrilled. And I haven`t seen it in a while, so it might be fun to see it again.
HAMMER: Ten-year anniversary. Got to have a little party. I have to ask really quickly, because I know one thing you`re very passionate about animal rights. And you mentioned your dog a little earlier.
SILVERSTONE: Yes.
HAMMER: And there`s a lot of controversy swirling around right now about the use of fur and Jennifer Lopez...
SILVERSTONE: Oh, yes.
HAMMER: ... using fur. And what`s...
SILVERSTONE: Controversy? What`s the controversy?
HAMMER: Well, real quickly, what`s your take on -- on celebrities being attacked for -- for their use of fur, whether it`s in their clothing lines or...
SILVERSTONE: I think wearing fur is unacceptable. I mean, just an animal -- they electrocute -- the torture that happens -- there`s -- I mean, it`s unacceptable. They electrically through their anal canal, and then the whole -- I mean, it`s just so unacceptable. The animals are tortured so badly.
HAMMER: So you`re -- so you`re OK with it?
SILVERSTONE: I think nobody should be wearing fur, but...
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: We`re out of time right now. Thanks for dropping by. And we`ll be right back on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
BRYANT: Britney baby buzz. It`s only speculation but some headlines tell a different story. We`ll look at the media frenzy.
HAMMER: Well, she may be the king`s daughter but is she a pop princess on her new record? We are one-on-one with Lisa Marie in the showbiz sit down.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m AJ Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.
HAMMER: Famed defense attorney Johnny Cochran died this afternoon. He was 67 years old. Cochran`s long time pastor said Cochrane was suffering from a neurological problem. Cochran`s most famous client, OJ Simpson released a statement saying quote, I loved him as a good Christian man and great lawyer.
BRYANT: Joining me now is someone who can tell us a little bit about what it was like to work with Johnny Cochran. He is celebrity attorney Raul Felder and thank you. First, you two worked together on the Riddick Bowe case.
RAOUL FELDER, ATTORNEY: First of all, I only found out he died 10 minutes ago and I was absolute taken aback. Yes, we represented some people together, amongst which was Riddick Bowe. I do divorce and he did criminal and there was divorce and criminal involved here and we worked very closely with him both here and in Maryland. He was a great lawyer and a good friend. I remember when I had a book come out. He called me. He wanted to write a blurb for it because he was conscious of the fact that people followed him and thought well of him and so forth and he was a very well prepared lawyer and he was one of these lawyers that could do many things. He was doing criminal work. Then he went into negligence. Then he`d done civil rights law and he was somebody who spanned all the barriers. You didn`t think of him as black or white. You thought of him as just a great lawyer and if you`re in trouble, that`s the guy to go to.
BRYANT: How do you think his own celebrity affected the way he was received in the courtroom and how his cases played out?
FELDER: A lot of people just wanted to meet Johnny Cochran. When we had this case in Maryland or Virginia, I think it was, I sent a young lawyer with him. The lawyer told me when they got to the airport, they wanted to have a bite, people wouldn`t let Johnny Cochran eat. Everybody would say, oh, Johnny Cochran, come over there. I think he brought that celebrity with him and I think he lent his credibility to whoever he was representing.
BRYANT: Do you think he changed the way cases were heard in the courtroom? Because he -- we see the clips of him with his aphorism, if it does not fit, you must acquit. How did he change how proceedings take place?
FEDLER: One thing funny, you look at him, you think it`s very easy. He could be a lawyer, I could be a lawyer. I`m sure he was the genesis of many people of a generation wanting to be lawyers looking at him but it ain`t easy. What he did was very hard, but he made it look easy.
BRYANT: He made it look easy. That`s the true test right there. Well, thank you Raoul Felder for joining us. Of course, I`m very sorry.
HAMMER: Well, we`ve been asking you to vote on the question of the day. Gay TV networks, the right idea. We`d like you to keep voting by going to cnn.com/showbiz tonight. You can also send us e-mails on the subject at showbiztonight@cnn.com and we`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.
Well, tonight, it`s a media frenzy over Britney Spears. The question everyone is acting, is Britney about to become a mom? The speculation is now reaching a fever pitch and so for that, we go to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S David Haffenreffer. David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What a fever pitch AJ. Anybody who`s picked up a tabloid in the past five years knows that Britney Spears gossip is nothing new, but this time there`s a new wrinkle. A variety of media outlets are running with speculation that the 23-year-old pop star may be pregnant and Spears is not exactly mounting a major counter offensive to squash those reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Oh baby, baby, are the words that best sum up recent coverage of Britney Spears.
CESAR G. SORIANO, USA TODAY: People have said this is probably going to be the story of 2005.
HAFFENREFFER: Less than two weeks after Britney appeared in her home state of Louisiana to promote her perfume Curious, whispers that she might be pregnant are flowing like the Mississippi throughout the media. From "Us Weekly," to "Star" to "Life" and "Style," why is this happening?
SORIANO: It`s been a while since there has been a really big celebrity story, not since the Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt divorce. So people have been sort of looking for this.
HAFFENREFFER: This week`s "People" magazine features a story titled "Britney`s baby buzz," complete with recent photos of the pop star and the word from the Britney camp hasn`t cleared up the speculation.
SORIANO: They`re basically issuing non-denial denials. They`re saying that she has not told them that she`s not pregnant. But they`re not flat out saying she`s not.
HAFFENREFFER: Of course, all this baby talk could be just that, all talk. Remember the three Jennifers, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Anniston and Jennifer Garner have all been subjects of baby buzz that turned out to be bogus. For the record, Britney has made no secret of her desire to start a baby with her new husband Kevin Fedderline. On her website, she recently wrote, quote, the only thing I haven`t done so far is experience the closest thing to God and that`s having a baby. I can`t wait. Apparently, neither can the media.
SORIANO: The tabloids and the celebrity media in general would be ecstatic if she had a baby. It would certainly sell a lot of copies and I`m sure there will be a very competitive fight over who gets to these first, who gets the baby photos first, who gets the baby name first and it will interesting to see what happens next.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And what will happen next. Britney herself is dropping some hints. She left an interesting statement on her website last month, saying that she feels as though she`s been very quiet and still lately and she suggested it was quote, the calm before the storm. Imagine that Karyn.
BRYANT: All right. David, thanks a lot. We will just have to wait and see. It is time now for another showbiz short.
They are so good. The tour has begun. U2 kicked off its Vertigo tour last night in San Diego. The two-hour set was a mix of new songs and older hits with two encores. The band plays again in San Diego tonight.
HAMMER: Lisa Marie`s Presley`s second album comes out next Tuesday but we have a first look tonight. The normally press shy Presley talked to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about the paparazzi, Priscilla and pop music. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson is live in Hollywood with the latest on Lisa. Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, AJ. Yes, Lisa Marie`s sophomore effort is a full length album with mostly original material, but one cover on the album made famous by former Eagle Don Henley speaks to an issue Lisa knows all about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): No stranger to tabloids and half truths, the 37-year-old daughter of Elvis and ex-wife of Michael Jackson criticizes modern culture in her sophomore album. She told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she feels it`s an issue that deserves attention.
LISA MARIE PRESLEY: There`s video cameras in our ambulance now or when someone`s arrested. This is what we watch on TV. This is our entertainment. So I just think that the song captures that and captures people`s taste for wanting to build something up and make it huge and then at the same time wanting to tear it down. It`s the nature of the way things go. It`s the state of affairs right now in entertainment out there in the world. I`m not even thinking about myself.
ANDERSON: Lisa Marie tells us it was the rocky relationship with her mother Priscilla Presley that influenced her like the song "Raven."
PRESLEY: I think it took a long time for the two of us to get OK with each other because we are absolutely oil and water. And it took a long time before we were OK with who the other one is, even though we`re completely opposite of each other and that song I think depicts it. Usually when I know I`m on to something, when I start crying when I`m writing and that chorus made me cry so I imagine she had the response and I thought, OK, this is emotive and good and then I just --she fell in love with it. It`s her favorite song.
ANDERSON: Lisa Marie pens the lyrics to all of the album`s original songs and they are all autobiographical. Presley told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she`s not trying to be like other pop icons.
PRESLEY: I`m not as self-centered. I`m not a self absorbed person who`s trying to be sexy, cute, naked and running around dancing, being top of the charts. It`s a not my deal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You won`t see her half dressed or looking cutesy, but you can catch Lisa Marie on the road AJ. Her spring tour kicks off on April 26th, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Back to you.
HAMMER: All right. Thanks very much Brooke and of course the brand- new CD from Lisa Marie arrives in stores on Tuesday. Karyn.
BRYANT: PETA`s ad pulled. The group targeted J. Lo`s use of fur with a full page ad, but now "Billboard" isn`t running it. We`ll take that to the buzz bench coming up.
HAMMER: Plus Mena Suvari from "American Beauty" to "Beauty Shop." How she gets her look. That`s coming up in Tuesday in style.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Time now for tonight`s buzz bench, where we buzz about what everybody`s talking about these days. Madonna as a nun, PETA`s J.Lo ad pulled and McDonald`s advertising through rapper`s lyrics.
HAMMER: And joining us on the buzz bench tonight, Suchin Pak from MTV news and comedian and TV personality Sherrod Small. Thanks for being here.
SHERROD SMALL, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: Thanks for having us.
HAMMER: So Madonna and Guy Ritchie, go to a little party for Purim. It`s a Jewish holiday. They observe the Kabbalah but they`re going to this purim costume party and they`re dressed as a nun and the pope.
SMALL: Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie went to the party dressed as an ailing pope and nun, not the young sexy pope, the ailing pope and a nun.
SUCHIN PAK, MTV NEWS: His problem is that it was the ailing pope.
SMALL: That`s right. A young sexy pope would have been different. Nobody would have been mad.
BRYANT: My thing is is why are we still surprised that Madonna is doing things that are surprising.
HAMMER: The Catholic League came out with some big statements saying how upset they were about this.
BRYANT: Again. They just re-released the press release when the videos came out.
SMALL: They`re trying to make money. I heard they first caught some action was, Guy Ritchie was going as Jose Canseco and Madonna as steroids.
BRYANT: It was Jewish holiday so they really wanted to keep it sacred with the pope and... We`ve even got a copy of the newspaper
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Here we got a sexy pope, now.
BRYANT: Again, if nothing else, it did get some publicity. Does Guy have a film coming out or something? Does Madonna have a new project?
PAK: Does it matter? I mean no publicity is bad publicity.
SMALL: Just doing this to do this.
HAMMER: I don`t think they`re doing this for the publicity. It just follows them.
SMALL: I love it. I love it.
BRYANT: Speaking of publicity, some are saying that Jennifer Lopez` publicists were able to wield enough pressure on "Billboard" magazine to get them to stop this PETA ad that was going to run. It was a full page ad. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals really fed up with Jennifer Lopez for her use of fur in her line. The ad has been stopped. It`s been pulled.
PAK: What`s ironic is, is that I think that with the ad being pulled, it`s actually been more press and "Billboard" magazine is traditionally what, it`s sort of like an insider`s magazine.
BRYANT: It`s an industry...
PAK: Right and I don`t think anyone would have even noticed this ad had it not actually been pulled. So probably in hindsight people are like, oh, maybe we should just let it go, but I think at some point they were kind of putting their foot down. I think PETA`s been very very vigilant about going after Jennifer Lopez.
BRYANT: But was this the audience to whom you should send the message, the trade magazine?
SMALL: No. Only people who buy Billboard" and are in "Billboard" buy fur coats. That`s the people who buy the furs. Let me get my fur page- turner.
BRYANT: Let me shoot my new rap video. Let me get the fur.
PAK: It`s not your average sort of young person that`s going out to buy her perfumes and her clothing line and CDs that`s picking up "Billboard" magazine.
BRYANT: Do you think this is going to have any effect on Jennifer though, this whole campaign against her?
SMALL: This should make Jennifer Lopez a lot more money.
BRYANT: Do you think?
SMALL: Oh, a lot more money.
HAMMER: The CD "Rebirth" her latest not doing so well and PETA, one quote I read today, sort of taking a little bit of credit for the fact that it`s failing.
SMALL: Really? Did they produce the album?
BRYANT: No, they didn`t.
HAMMER: Let`s move from J. Lo to hip-hop music. In hip hop music for years now, brand name products have been showing up in the lyrics. And now McDonald`s is saying they will actually pay rappers who work Big Mac into their songs. We`re saying it right here.
SMALL: McDonald`s finally wants part of that street money, first Courvoisier -- Puffy and big Busta Rhymes did a couple for Courvoisier - boom, sales rocketed. Now McDonald`s like hey, if we got to make Ronald McDonald a blood or a crip we`ll do it.
BRYANT: Where`s the red and the yellow though?
SMALL: He`s gonna start a new gang. Not as hard as the blood and the crips.
BRYANT: But the Hamburgler is the one. He`s got a brand cause he`s been to jail.
SMALL: That`s right. He`s got some time.
BRYANT: She knows!
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: Whatever. McDonald`s has been in the street game for a while.
PAK: But listen, do Courvoisier, do Hummers, do those people pay the rappers to mention them?
SMALL: Of course, they do.
PAK: This is really like one of the first times I`ve actually heard such a story where it`s so direct. I mean it`s just out there. McDonald`s isn`t hiding it.
SMALL: "My Adidas" -- Run DMC, they had the gold Adidas already. You could (INAUDIBLE) gold Adidas.
PAK: But they were wearing Adidas and rocking Adidas before.
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: It`s crossed. It`s completely crossed. I mean I think it`s a sad thing.
CROSSTALK)
SMALL: I think the rappers will do that though. The streets won`t let...
HAMMER: Well, Sherrod and Suchin, thanks for coming and buzzing on this. The songs are going to be commercials. It`s all blending together.
Well, in "Beauty Shop," which is in theaters tomorrow, Mena Suvari spends a lot of time and energy on her looks, but in real life, Nina has a very different approach to beauty. That`s coming up in Tuesday in style.
BRYANT: Plus, the new season of "The Bachelor" has started, but late night has its own ideas about who needs some love. Dave`s take coming up in laughter dark.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is time for Tuesday in style, tonight, Mena Suvari.
BRYANT: She plays a socialite in "Beauty Shop" which opens tomorrow. So what better time to talk beauty with her?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY SYNNOTT, IN STYLE MAGAZINE: We thought this was an appropriate time to talk to Mena about her beauty tips because she`s starring in this movie "Beauty Shop." It`s really all about beauty and about the dynamics between women in a beauty shop. So we thought it was a good time to ask her about her own beauty secrets.
When she was I guess a young girl, 13, Mena Suvari entered a beauty contest and she was with a whole bunch of other women with tons of makeup and she just had her little makeup bag with one lipstick and one foundation, but she still won the contest. So it taught her at an early age, that you don`t need a ton of makeup. You just need to know a few things that work.
MENA SUVARI, "BEAUTY SHOP": I think I feel the most beautiful when I am just myself, when I can be really natural, light makeup, with my hair down. I love my hair when it`s styled but it`s not always like that when you just wake up in the morning.
SYNNOTT: Mena Suvari, experiments a lot with her hair color. When she was 16, she begged her mom to die her hair lavender and these days she`s been everything from strawberry blonde to red to mousy brown, to dark brown, but what she does in between coloring treatments is she gets an ionic conditioning treatment and what this does is is, it`s basically covering the head with negative ions and it really makes the hair smooth and helps lock in the color and makes it really shiny. She only eats organic foods. She eats a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruits, a lot of whole grains. She avoids any meat unless it`s organic.
SUVARI: ... what I eat and working today on the photo shoot, you can get requests for what you want for lunch and it`s not always what everybody else might eat and so I try to go with the flow and experience things as they come and really just be grateful for everything that I have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: If you want to read more about the secrets inside Mena Suvari`s makeup bag, pick up a copy of this month`s "In Style" magazine on newsstands now.
HAMMER: Well, the bachelor is back on the air. The new season has just started, but David letterman is already recasting the show for late night and that`s coming up in laughter dark.
BRYANT: And there`s still time for you to sound off on the question of the day, gay TV networks, the right idea/ Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight or e e-mail us what`s on your mind at showbiztonight@cnn.com and we`ll read some of your thoughts live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is time for more showbiz shorts. Omarosa is coming back to reality TV. We learned today that the former "Apprentice" contestant is one of the housemates on VH1 surreal live five, living with Jose Conseco, Bronson Pinchot from "Perfect Strangers." America`s next top model Judge Janice Dickinson and Pepa from Salt & Pepa. The surreal live five debuts in September
Well, Ron Howard and Russell Crowe may be soon working together once again. "Daily Variety" says the "Beautiful Mind" director and actor are considering a new movie, called "The Power of Duff." Crowe would star as controversial newsman who prays on the air.
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.
HAMMER: On the TONIGHT SHOW, we know Jay Leno loves to show funny headlines from newspapers, but this time, the headlines hit a little close to home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO: "Leno-like suspect sought by police." Another criminal, Kev.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Well, the good.
HAMMER: No, nothing.
BRYANT: Not, what - what?
HAMMER: Not a good look for Jay. That`s all.
BRYANT: The new "Bachelor" is Charlie O`Connell. He was just here last night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Now on late night with David Letterman last night, Dave had sort of a different take on "The Bachelor." Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN: They`ve got a show over there on ABC. ABC almost went off the air a couple of years ago, and then they -- because things were just not happening, they just weren`t getting it done. Now, they`re bringing back something called "The Bachelor." Do you remember "The Bachelor"?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember that.
LETTERMAN: Well, they had some trouble with "The Bachelor" so they had to retool it and tweak it and fine tune it and then they brought it back. Take a look at a promotion for the new "Bachelor."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get ready, ladies because "The Bachelor" is back and it`s hotter than ever. You won`t believe the surprises we have in store for this year`s contestants as they look for love with the most exciting bachelor yet. "The Bachelor," tonight at 9:00/8:00 Central, only on ABC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The late show with David Letterman.
BRYANT: This show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our showbiz showdown question of the day. Gay TV networks, the right idea? Let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far, 37 percent of you said, yes, gay TV networks are the right idea, 63 percent of you said, no, gay TV networks are not the right idea. You`ve also been sending us e-mails on this question.
Christina from South Amboy, New Jersey says, if gay people want more gay programming, why not just make more gay-oriented shows?
Georgia from Nashville, Tennessee says, I think it should be a paid channel so children don`t get exposed until they`re at an appropriate age.
And Olga says, it`s high time that there be gay TV networks.
Now remember, you can continue to vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight.
It is time now to see what is playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. The marquee guy is off so here we go.
HAMMER: Sell it.
BRYANT: I`m gonna. Morpheus returns to "The Matrix" and you`re in charge of what happens next.
HAMMER: That`s good.
BRYANT: Tomorrow, Lawrence Fishbourne, live on the new "Matrix" online PC video game.
HAMMER: That was excellent. Let me try this. Also tomorrow, Al Green, Heart and Soul, a new record, a classic sound. If it ain`t easy being green, it looks like it`s a lot of fun. Al Green tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. That`s how he does it, though, the marquee guy. He sells it.
BRYANT: He sells it because he believes in the product.
HAMMER: It`s good stuff and I`m looking forward to seeing you and Al Green together. All right. Well, that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to see you back here tomorrow.
BRYANT: The one and only Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from headline news.
(NEWS BREAK)
END
Aired March 29, 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: Breaking news: Celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran, Jr., has died. I`m A.J. Hammer.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: I`m Karyn Bryant. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Britney, baby buzz. The pop princess pregnancy that is or isn`t, the spin that`s sending the media into a tizzy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICIA SILVERSTONE, "BEAUTY SHOP": What do you suggest?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: How about a visit to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Alicia Silverstone -- Aerosmith queen to Queen Latifah. She joins us live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA MARIE PRESLEY: I`m not a self-absorbed person who`s trying to be, you know, sexy, cute, naked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: But Lisa Marie Presley bears all to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Her new album, that famous family and the spotlight.
HAMMER: Plus, stars split up. Jennifer filed, Charlie fights back. Who gets what? We pore through the papers with someone who knows live.
BRYANT: And an original sin. Bruce, Jessica and Clive come out for the "Sin City" premier. We`re there with the graphic scoop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA ALBA, "SIN CITY": Hi. I`m Jessica Alba. 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.
Breaking news tonight. Just a short time ago, we learned that famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, Jr., has died.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer has the story -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Yes, A.J. and Karyn, some sad news today. Cochran`s law partner said he died of a brain disorder in his Los Angeles home. His family was by his side. Cochran was 67 years old. He was best known as a member of the "Dream Team" for his highly publicized role in O.J. Simpson`s murder trial. You might know his famous line about Simpson`s glove.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNNIE COCHRAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: If it doesn`t fit, you must acquit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: O.J. Simpson issued a statement saying, quote, "I loved him as a good Christian man and a great lawyer. I look at Johnnie as a great Christian. I knew him as that. He was a great guy. We were praying for him then and I still am." Simpson wasn`t his only famous client. The list is a long one, including the likes of Michael Jackson, James Brown, Rosa Parks, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Todd Bridges.
Joining us now live on the phone is Todd Bridges, best known as Willis from "Diff`rent Strokes." Cochran got him acquitted of 1990 charges for assault with a deadly weapon.
Welcome, Todd. Describe for me Johnnie Cochran on a personal level.
TODD BRIDGES, "DIFF`RENT STROKES": On a personal level, he was probably one of the nicest people you`d ever want to meet. He was not only a lawyer for me, but he was just like a father figure for me. You know, at the time that he handled my case, he became more, became a mentor. He really helped me get through those tough moments in my life, where I was dealing with a lot of stuff.
HAFFENREFFER: What were your thoughts today when you heard the news?
BRIDGES: It was a sad day, you know? It was very sad. I had called a couple times, you know, and I just -- it`s sad for me to hear anyone dies at 67 years old. That`s a very young age to pass away at. But also it`s sad to me because, you know, the lawyers of America -- you know, this was a great lawyer. He was a really good lawyer. And he had a lot more to give. And it`s unfortunate that, you know, sometimes you go before your time.
HAFFENREFFER: Do you feel as though, as a celebrity, you benefited by having a celebrity attorney on your side, as well, to try this case?
BRIDGES: Well, no. I think the thing that helps me out a lot is knowing that I had a guy who`s a Christian representing me, who`s going to represent me in the best of light, and at the same time, going to do his job the right way. And for me, like I said, he was like a mentor. He was like a father to me. So he helped me out tremendously during my trial, during my case and during just my time in general, when I needed somebody to talk to.
HAFFENREFFER: You know, the famous quote is that if the glove doesn`t fit, you must acquit, obviously. But what was he like in the courtroom with you?
BRIDGES: He was very charismatic. He was probably one of the best showmen lawyers that I`ve ever seen in my entire life. He really knew how to talk to the jury. The jury really can relate to him. They really watched him. They liked the way he moved and talked. And you know, he made them feel like they were, you know, a part of the case. And didn`t make them feel like they were outside or like they didn`t know any better, he made them feel like they were real people.
HAFFENREFFER: Todd Bridges, thank you for joining us and helping us reflect on the life of Johnnie Cochran, as well. Back to you, Karyn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: All right. Thanks for that story, David.
HAMMER: Well, divorcing Disney is our next story. Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-founders of Disney`s independent arm, Miramax, are out the door. The brothers ended their tumultuous relationship with the corporate giant in a mutual agreement just hours ago. The deal ends a bitter chapter in one of the most successful indie film ventures in Hollywood history. Disney will keep the Miramax name, as well as its 500-plus films. The Weinsteins will keep the Dimension films label. Miramax has produced Oscar-winning hits like "The English Patient," "Shakespeare in Love" and "Chicago."
They were glad to be at the GLAAD awards last night. Actors, journalists and others showed up to pick up their honors for portraying gays and lesbians fairly in the media, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Jessica Lange, Cynthia Nixon and Billy Crystal, just some of the names that showed up for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation awards. Crystal won top honors for a ground-breaking gay character he played almost 30 years ago on the sitcom "Soap."
BILLY CRYSTAL, EXCELLENCE IN MEDIA AWARD WINNER: I`m thrilled with this honor. This meant a lot to me because "Soap" really was a breakthrough in my career. It was a breakthrough in many ways for gay characters on television and gay people.
HAMMER: Alan Cumming was also honored. The star of "X-Men 2" was one of the first actors to talk openly about being bisexual.
ALAN CUMMING, VITO RUSSO AWARD WINNER: It`s such a good award to get. I feel it`s for a really good thing, trying to stop homophobia and trying to stop (UNINTELLIGIBLE) just sort of speak out for people.
HAMMER: Hal Sparks was the host for the evening. He plays a gay man in a relationship with an HIV-positive partner in the Showtime hit "Queer as Folk."
HAL SPARKS, GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS HOST: I think everyone is aware of the importance of a good front in addressing identity issues in this culture. And GLAAD does a really great job of really presenting the positive face of gay life.
HAMMER: Members of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" showed up for the big night. They`ve been honored in the past for bridging the sexual divide. So why does America love them so much?
THOM FILICIA, "QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY": Our relationship with the straight guys somehow allow other straight guys that are watching it and other people watching it to see that it can just be sort of a natural relationship.
JAI RODRIGUEZ, "QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY": The girls watch the show because they`re, like, I love these guys. Girls, we`ve been doing your hair. We -- you know, we go shopping with you. We decorate your house. We went to the prom with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Shows like "Queer Eye" have been popular with mainstream audiences, but how about a gay-themed TV network? Will they fly? Well, we`ll break that down in our "SHOWBIZ In Depth." That`s coming up in about 10 minutes
BRYANT: As we told you last night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the Supreme Court today began hearing arguments in a case that could change the way you listen to music, watch TV or see movies. Some entertainment companies want to shut down so called peer-to-peer file-sharing sites like Grokster and Morpheus, in order to protect copyright holders.
Protesters from both sides of the case made their feelings heard on the courthouse steps in Washington today. One woman told us how file sharing had hurt her personally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Working now as a sales clerk at Dillard`s. I`ve been there for a little over two years because I lost my publishing deal. So when you have an Emmy sitting on your mantle and a badge on your chest that says, Hi, my name is Debbie, it`s pretty obvious that the impact is great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Another protester saw the fight from a different angle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF JOSEPH, CONSUMER ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION: Actually, what the Supreme Court is talking about today is technology. It`s whether the technology is legal or illegal. The technology is benign. If there are bad actors, there are people who are doing illegal things, we ought to go after them. But we shouldn`t be destroying technology. We shouldn`t be undermining technology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Yesterday, this was our "SHOWBIZ Showdown" question of the day. We asked: Should Internet file sharing be legal? Thousands of you voted, with 74 percent of you saying, Yes, Internet file sharing should be legal, 26 percent of you saying, No, it should not be legal. We have no word yet though on when the high court will hand down its decision.
HAMMER: It is time now for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories that are making news tonight. Far East footwork. Richard Gere was in Tokyo to promote the release of his film "Shall We Dance." When the prime minister of Japan asked him, Well, shall we dance, Mr. Gere did oblige.
And tonight, they`re moving on out. "People" magazine has learned that Mary Kate and Ashley Olson are selling their $7 million Manhattan apartment, and they never even lived in it
More "SHOWBIZ Shorts" coming up throughout the show.
BRYANT: The "City of Angels" was sin city last night. Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson were among the stars who hit the red carpet for their premiere of the new film "Sin City." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson was there, and she`s joining us live with the details -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Karyn, it`s "Sin City" like you`ve never seen it before. Comic legends Frank Miller`s graphic novels have been made into what some say is a brutal movie. Hollywood`s A-listers were on hand last night to bring a bit of evil to the big screen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The premier of "Sin City" lured Tinseltown`s top stars to the red carpet. Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Kristin Davis, Benizio del Toro, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there to get the devilish details.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`ve just gone and done the dumbest thing in your whole life.
ANDERSON: "Sin City" highlights corruption, evil and destruction in a pretty raw way. And who knows raw better than Oscar-nominated actor Clive Owen, who told me it`s not as violent as you might think.
CLIVE OWEN, "SIN CITY": It`s at its funniest when it`s at its most violent. It`s like Tom and Jerry humor for adults.
JESSICA ALBA, "SIN CITY": There`s a few things that are a little gory, but I just think it`s absolutely beautiful.
BRUCE WILLIS, "SIN CITY": I think that theater-going audiences are very smart, and they know the difference between the violence they see in movies and the violence that they see on television.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s "Sin City," but I think it`s quite romantic.
ANDERSON: Author Frank Miller told us why, initially, he didn`t want this movie to be made.
FRANK MILLER, WRITER/DIRECTOR: What I was afraid of was that it would be compromised, that it would be given happy endings and, you know, scenes where people get medals, you know, heroes get medals at the end or they -- like, all their -- all their, like, fellow students are cheering like some damn Harry Potter movie.
ANDERSON: No happy endings, no cheering here. To make it all come together, "Sin City" had not one or two, but three directors. Robert Rodriguez asked Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino to help out. Rodriguez told us Tarantino was a treat for the actors.
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, WRITER/DIRECTOR: I knew he would just give it a style that would just make it really cool. And the actors loved having a guest director for a day. They were, like, This is really experimental renaissance cinema going on here.
ANDERSON: So did the experiment stay true to the "Sin City" story?
(on camera): Is it a pretty faithful interpretation?"
MILLER: It`s beyond faithful, it`s a translation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Miller is also the man behind the Ninja assassin character Elektra, and he collaborated on "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" and Marvel`s ``Spectacular Spiderman." Karyn, "Sin City" is new in theaters this weekend.
BRYANT: I`m going to check it out. And I`m glad you got the memo about the black blazer tonight, Brooke.
ANDERSON: We all got the memo, didn`t we?
(LAUGHTER)
BRYANT: Good-looking outfit -- A.J.
HAMMER: I`m not wearing it.
Queen Latifah is moving to a new city, and she`s taking Alicia Silverstone with her. The young woman you knew from the Aerosmith videos joins us live.
BRYANT: And Elvis`s daughter has got a new album. Lisa Marie Presley tells us all about it.
HAMMER: It`s time for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Ringo Starr sings lead vocals on which of these classic Beatles songs? "A Day in the Life," "I Am the Walrus," "Octopus`s Garden" or "Blackbird"? Coming straight back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Ringo Starr sings lead vocal on which of these classic Beatles songs? "A Day in the Life," "I Am the Walrus," "Octopus`s Garden" or "Blackbird"? Just listen. That`s the answer right there. Ringo`s singing up front on, C, "Octopus`s Garden."
BRYANT: Well, just about 15 minutes past the hour, time now for "SHOWBIZ In Depth." Today we are discussing whether television channels geared towards the gay community can survive. Now, shows that prominently feature gay characters or themes have found success in the mainstream. You can just look at "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Will and Grace," for example. This summer, Viacom will launch Logo, a network specifically targeting gay audiences. And it will join two others, one called Here, which is a gay subscription channel available in about 30 million homes, and also Q television, which is not as widely distributed.
So tonight`s hot topic: Gay TV networks, the right idea? Last night, at the GLAAD media awards, we asked that very same question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAI RODRIGUEZ: I think that gays and lesbians have grown up -- we`ve grown up just to, you know, watch, you know, heterosexual TV. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) even think about it. You know, the man, he falls in love with the girl. You go to movies all the time. And we find it uniquely entertaining. But it`s nice to have things that you can identify with sometimes. And sometimes in those stories, you can identify with what the couple`s going through. But it`s cool to see, like -- for me, if I see a really great film where it`s two men, then it`s going to hit home a little bit more because I`m, like, That`s my reality, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Well, joining us live to discuss and debate this is Jim Finkle, a writer from "Broadcasting and Cable" magazine. He joins us live from Los Angeles. And here in New York is Glennda Testone from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and Stephen Macias from Here networks.
With all that intro out of the way now, ladies and gentlemen, why now? Why should we have gay-themed channels now? I`m going to start with you, Glennda.
GLENNDA TESTONE, GLAAD: Well, it`s actually long overdue, so now is a fantastic time. I think we`ve got a thriving lesbian and gay community in this country, and they are just hungry to see images of themselves, to see their stories, to see their lives portrayed on screen. It`s not just for gay audiences. I mean, you look at "Will and Grace" and the broad audience that that show pulls down every week, and you can see that there`s definitely a market out there for gay-themed content.
BRYANT: Jim, what are your -- what are your thoughts on this? Is this the right time?
JIM FINKLE, "BROADCASTING AND CABLE": Sure, it`s the right time. You`ve got advertisers who are trying to find new ways to make an impact on people. And one of the ways you do it is, you know, you look for something that they identify and you talk about that. You`ve got media companies that are looking for new channels. I mean, we can`t have MTV 6. You know, Viacom`s going to be much more successful with something different.
BRYANT: Well, Stephen, you`re with the Here network. This is a pay channel, sort of akin to what an HBO would be. What kind of programming do you have? I mean, what are you doing that`s specifically different than from what I can just see on regular television?
STEPHEN MACIAS, HERE NETWORKS: Well, a lot more. I mean, I think if you look at our programming, there`s a really diverse collection of faces. And it`s one of the things that you don`t see on network television. You know, there are no people of color. There are very few lesbian characters. The amount of scripted gay and lesbian characters in the past year has actually gone down in network television. And so at Here, you`ve got films for people of color, you`ve got films for women, you`ve got films for men. The gay and lesbian community is not this monolithic community. It`s as diverse as the American people, and that`s what our network is offering.
BRYANT: Well, I want to talk about something that Jim mentioned, and that is advertising. According to one research study that had come out, the gay and lesbian audience has basically a half a trillion -- they have $585 billion of what they consider disposable income. So obviously, this is a group advertisers would want to be a part of. Are you thinking that people are going to be fearful, though, of getting in line behind a gay channel?
TESTONE: Well, I think one of the biggest factors is the content. You know, gay and lesbian customers have proven themselves to be a very loyal market if they have a quality product. And this is what`s really important. If they see programming that is diverse, that accurately reflects their lives, they`re going to support that. It`s absolutely proven.
BRYANT: Now, last question. Do you fear, though, the idea that you`re ghettoizing the community, that the people who should maybe have their minds opened to gay and lesbian lifestyles are the ones who are just going to flip right by that channel and that you`ll only be preaching toward the converted?
MACIAS: Well, no. I mean, for us, it`s about finding the audience of the gay and lesbian community. And we`re -- we`ve been rolling out over the past couple of years, and we`re available in 30 million homes now across the country. And it`s the audience, it`s our community that we`re finding.
BRYANT: So Jim, last word from you, as well?
FINKLE: It doesn`t matter if those people pass their eyes over the channel. It`s a niche channel, and you know, it`s like any other niche channel, it`s not for everybody. People who want to see it will.
BRYANT: OK. Well, Jim, thank you for joining us. Stephen and Glennda, thank you for joining us to discuss the matter.
We want to know what your thoughts are at home. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Gay TV networks, the right idea? 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. And we will share some of what you had to say later in the show.
HAMMER: Well, Alicia Silverstone gave out beauty tips in "Clueless," and now she`s doing it again, but in a very different setting. "Beauty Shop`s" Alicia Silverstone is joining us live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Well, she first blasted onto the big screen back in 1993, playing teenager obsessed with an older man in "Crush." And in 1995`s "Clueless" -- well, that`s what propelled her right into the big time. Now she stars alongside Queen Latifah in "Beauty Shop," a spinoff of the "Barber Shop" films.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to move a little or something?
ALICIA SILVERSTONE, "BEAUTY SHOP": What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He asked you to dance, crazy girl!
SILVERSTONE: Oh! I thought he wanted to move some chairs or something!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Go have fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Alicia Silverstone, thanks for stopping by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
SILVERSTONE: Thank you for having me.
HAMMER: Your character, Lynn, in "Beauty Shop" seems to be the white girl desperately trying to fit in with Queen Latifah`s beauty shop crew. And I think she makes a good job of doing that.
SILVERSTONE: Yes. I think that Lynn doesn`t really have any awareness that she doesn`t fit in. You know what I mean? She`s just, like, What`s everyone`s problem?
HAMMER: But they keep calling her out on it, don`t they.
SILVERSTONE: Yes. And she`s just -- that`s what I love about her. She has no issues. She`s happy wherever she is, as long as it`s -- you know, she wants to do hair, and Gina`s her really -- Queen Latifah`s character is Gina, and she`s her really good friend. So it`s, like, they - - she really leans -- they`re really good friends for real, so she doesn`t understand what the problem is, you know?
HAMMER: And she seems to have a good time doing whatever she`s doing in there.
SILVERSTONE: Yes, she does.
HAMMER: It`s always seemed to me that you have never really tried to fit in. You know, you`re a Hollywood A-lister, yet you never seem caught up with all of the Hollywood starlets with your need to be on every red carpet and in every magazine. Is that right? And how do you -- what`s your secret to sort of avoiding that whole Hollywood scene?
SILVERSTONE: I mean, you have to do it sometimes because it`s your job, but it`s just too much work for regular life. I like gardening and I like jumping on my trampoline and hanging out with my dogs and I like all sorts of things, like -- so I feel like I`ve just got so many different interests that it`s not a choice to not do that, it`s just -- I can`t even figure out how to get dressed in the morning. It`s just takes -- that takes too much energy, do you know what I mean? Like, I`m busy.
HAMMER: So you`re happy when you have the stylist picking out your clothes for you? Those are the good moments to celebritydom to enjoy?
SILVERSTONE: Yes, because otherwise, I mean, you know, honestly, every day I wear sweatpants. That`s -- I could go four days without showering quite easily. It`s, like, really not a problem for me at all.
HAMMER: Do you find it hard to believe "Clueless" was 10 years ago, 1995?
SILVERSTONE: When it came out?
HAMMER: Yes.
SILVERSTONE: Yes.
HAMMER: It`s amazing, isn`t it? Is that something that you still consider yourself feel quite proud of...
SILVERSTONE: Yes.
HAMMER: ... as a big accomplishment in your career?
SILVERSTONE: It`s one of the things I -- I mean, I had so much fun being that character, and I never knew what was going to happen. I mean, I never had any intention that it was going to be this huge hit. That wasn`t -- I didn`t know that at all. I just was excited to get a job that I liked. And it was such a great job, and I loved my character. So I`m thrilled. And I haven`t seen it in a while, so it might be fun to see it again.
HAMMER: Ten-year anniversary. Got to have a little party. I have to ask really quickly, because I know one thing you`re very passionate about animal rights. And you mentioned your dog a little earlier.
SILVERSTONE: Yes.
HAMMER: And there`s a lot of controversy swirling around right now about the use of fur and Jennifer Lopez...
SILVERSTONE: Oh, yes.
HAMMER: ... using fur. And what`s...
SILVERSTONE: Controversy? What`s the controversy?
HAMMER: Well, real quickly, what`s your take on -- on celebrities being attacked for -- for their use of fur, whether it`s in their clothing lines or...
SILVERSTONE: I think wearing fur is unacceptable. I mean, just an animal -- they electrocute -- the torture that happens -- there`s -- I mean, it`s unacceptable. They electrically through their anal canal, and then the whole -- I mean, it`s just so unacceptable. The animals are tortured so badly.
HAMMER: So you`re -- so you`re OK with it?
SILVERSTONE: I think nobody should be wearing fur, but...
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: We`re out of time right now. Thanks for dropping by. And we`ll be right back on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWS BREAK)
BRYANT: Britney baby buzz. It`s only speculation but some headlines tell a different story. We`ll look at the media frenzy.
HAMMER: Well, she may be the king`s daughter but is she a pop princess on her new record? We are one-on-one with Lisa Marie in the showbiz sit down.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m AJ Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.
HAMMER: Famed defense attorney Johnny Cochran died this afternoon. He was 67 years old. Cochran`s long time pastor said Cochrane was suffering from a neurological problem. Cochran`s most famous client, OJ Simpson released a statement saying quote, I loved him as a good Christian man and great lawyer.
BRYANT: Joining me now is someone who can tell us a little bit about what it was like to work with Johnny Cochran. He is celebrity attorney Raul Felder and thank you. First, you two worked together on the Riddick Bowe case.
RAOUL FELDER, ATTORNEY: First of all, I only found out he died 10 minutes ago and I was absolute taken aback. Yes, we represented some people together, amongst which was Riddick Bowe. I do divorce and he did criminal and there was divorce and criminal involved here and we worked very closely with him both here and in Maryland. He was a great lawyer and a good friend. I remember when I had a book come out. He called me. He wanted to write a blurb for it because he was conscious of the fact that people followed him and thought well of him and so forth and he was a very well prepared lawyer and he was one of these lawyers that could do many things. He was doing criminal work. Then he went into negligence. Then he`d done civil rights law and he was somebody who spanned all the barriers. You didn`t think of him as black or white. You thought of him as just a great lawyer and if you`re in trouble, that`s the guy to go to.
BRYANT: How do you think his own celebrity affected the way he was received in the courtroom and how his cases played out?
FELDER: A lot of people just wanted to meet Johnny Cochran. When we had this case in Maryland or Virginia, I think it was, I sent a young lawyer with him. The lawyer told me when they got to the airport, they wanted to have a bite, people wouldn`t let Johnny Cochran eat. Everybody would say, oh, Johnny Cochran, come over there. I think he brought that celebrity with him and I think he lent his credibility to whoever he was representing.
BRYANT: Do you think he changed the way cases were heard in the courtroom? Because he -- we see the clips of him with his aphorism, if it does not fit, you must acquit. How did he change how proceedings take place?
FEDLER: One thing funny, you look at him, you think it`s very easy. He could be a lawyer, I could be a lawyer. I`m sure he was the genesis of many people of a generation wanting to be lawyers looking at him but it ain`t easy. What he did was very hard, but he made it look easy.
BRYANT: He made it look easy. That`s the true test right there. Well, thank you Raoul Felder for joining us. Of course, I`m very sorry.
HAMMER: Well, we`ve been asking you to vote on the question of the day. Gay TV networks, the right idea. We`d like you to keep voting by going to cnn.com/showbiz tonight. You can also send us e-mails on the subject at showbiztonight@cnn.com and we`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.
Well, tonight, it`s a media frenzy over Britney Spears. The question everyone is acting, is Britney about to become a mom? The speculation is now reaching a fever pitch and so for that, we go to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S David Haffenreffer. David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What a fever pitch AJ. Anybody who`s picked up a tabloid in the past five years knows that Britney Spears gossip is nothing new, but this time there`s a new wrinkle. A variety of media outlets are running with speculation that the 23-year-old pop star may be pregnant and Spears is not exactly mounting a major counter offensive to squash those reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Oh baby, baby, are the words that best sum up recent coverage of Britney Spears.
CESAR G. SORIANO, USA TODAY: People have said this is probably going to be the story of 2005.
HAFFENREFFER: Less than two weeks after Britney appeared in her home state of Louisiana to promote her perfume Curious, whispers that she might be pregnant are flowing like the Mississippi throughout the media. From "Us Weekly," to "Star" to "Life" and "Style," why is this happening?
SORIANO: It`s been a while since there has been a really big celebrity story, not since the Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt divorce. So people have been sort of looking for this.
HAFFENREFFER: This week`s "People" magazine features a story titled "Britney`s baby buzz," complete with recent photos of the pop star and the word from the Britney camp hasn`t cleared up the speculation.
SORIANO: They`re basically issuing non-denial denials. They`re saying that she has not told them that she`s not pregnant. But they`re not flat out saying she`s not.
HAFFENREFFER: Of course, all this baby talk could be just that, all talk. Remember the three Jennifers, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Anniston and Jennifer Garner have all been subjects of baby buzz that turned out to be bogus. For the record, Britney has made no secret of her desire to start a baby with her new husband Kevin Fedderline. On her website, she recently wrote, quote, the only thing I haven`t done so far is experience the closest thing to God and that`s having a baby. I can`t wait. Apparently, neither can the media.
SORIANO: The tabloids and the celebrity media in general would be ecstatic if she had a baby. It would certainly sell a lot of copies and I`m sure there will be a very competitive fight over who gets to these first, who gets the baby photos first, who gets the baby name first and it will interesting to see what happens next.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And what will happen next. Britney herself is dropping some hints. She left an interesting statement on her website last month, saying that she feels as though she`s been very quiet and still lately and she suggested it was quote, the calm before the storm. Imagine that Karyn.
BRYANT: All right. David, thanks a lot. We will just have to wait and see. It is time now for another showbiz short.
They are so good. The tour has begun. U2 kicked off its Vertigo tour last night in San Diego. The two-hour set was a mix of new songs and older hits with two encores. The band plays again in San Diego tonight.
HAMMER: Lisa Marie`s Presley`s second album comes out next Tuesday but we have a first look tonight. The normally press shy Presley talked to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about the paparazzi, Priscilla and pop music. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson is live in Hollywood with the latest on Lisa. Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, AJ. Yes, Lisa Marie`s sophomore effort is a full length album with mostly original material, but one cover on the album made famous by former Eagle Don Henley speaks to an issue Lisa knows all about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): No stranger to tabloids and half truths, the 37-year-old daughter of Elvis and ex-wife of Michael Jackson criticizes modern culture in her sophomore album. She told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she feels it`s an issue that deserves attention.
LISA MARIE PRESLEY: There`s video cameras in our ambulance now or when someone`s arrested. This is what we watch on TV. This is our entertainment. So I just think that the song captures that and captures people`s taste for wanting to build something up and make it huge and then at the same time wanting to tear it down. It`s the nature of the way things go. It`s the state of affairs right now in entertainment out there in the world. I`m not even thinking about myself.
ANDERSON: Lisa Marie tells us it was the rocky relationship with her mother Priscilla Presley that influenced her like the song "Raven."
PRESLEY: I think it took a long time for the two of us to get OK with each other because we are absolutely oil and water. And it took a long time before we were OK with who the other one is, even though we`re completely opposite of each other and that song I think depicts it. Usually when I know I`m on to something, when I start crying when I`m writing and that chorus made me cry so I imagine she had the response and I thought, OK, this is emotive and good and then I just --she fell in love with it. It`s her favorite song.
ANDERSON: Lisa Marie pens the lyrics to all of the album`s original songs and they are all autobiographical. Presley told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she`s not trying to be like other pop icons.
PRESLEY: I`m not as self-centered. I`m not a self absorbed person who`s trying to be sexy, cute, naked and running around dancing, being top of the charts. It`s a not my deal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You won`t see her half dressed or looking cutesy, but you can catch Lisa Marie on the road AJ. Her spring tour kicks off on April 26th, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Back to you.
HAMMER: All right. Thanks very much Brooke and of course the brand- new CD from Lisa Marie arrives in stores on Tuesday. Karyn.
BRYANT: PETA`s ad pulled. The group targeted J. Lo`s use of fur with a full page ad, but now "Billboard" isn`t running it. We`ll take that to the buzz bench coming up.
HAMMER: Plus Mena Suvari from "American Beauty" to "Beauty Shop." How she gets her look. That`s coming up in Tuesday in style.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Time now for tonight`s buzz bench, where we buzz about what everybody`s talking about these days. Madonna as a nun, PETA`s J.Lo ad pulled and McDonald`s advertising through rapper`s lyrics.
HAMMER: And joining us on the buzz bench tonight, Suchin Pak from MTV news and comedian and TV personality Sherrod Small. Thanks for being here.
SHERROD SMALL, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: Thanks for having us.
HAMMER: So Madonna and Guy Ritchie, go to a little party for Purim. It`s a Jewish holiday. They observe the Kabbalah but they`re going to this purim costume party and they`re dressed as a nun and the pope.
SMALL: Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie went to the party dressed as an ailing pope and nun, not the young sexy pope, the ailing pope and a nun.
SUCHIN PAK, MTV NEWS: His problem is that it was the ailing pope.
SMALL: That`s right. A young sexy pope would have been different. Nobody would have been mad.
BRYANT: My thing is is why are we still surprised that Madonna is doing things that are surprising.
HAMMER: The Catholic League came out with some big statements saying how upset they were about this.
BRYANT: Again. They just re-released the press release when the videos came out.
SMALL: They`re trying to make money. I heard they first caught some action was, Guy Ritchie was going as Jose Canseco and Madonna as steroids.
BRYANT: It was Jewish holiday so they really wanted to keep it sacred with the pope and... We`ve even got a copy of the newspaper
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Here we got a sexy pope, now.
BRYANT: Again, if nothing else, it did get some publicity. Does Guy have a film coming out or something? Does Madonna have a new project?
PAK: Does it matter? I mean no publicity is bad publicity.
SMALL: Just doing this to do this.
HAMMER: I don`t think they`re doing this for the publicity. It just follows them.
SMALL: I love it. I love it.
BRYANT: Speaking of publicity, some are saying that Jennifer Lopez` publicists were able to wield enough pressure on "Billboard" magazine to get them to stop this PETA ad that was going to run. It was a full page ad. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals really fed up with Jennifer Lopez for her use of fur in her line. The ad has been stopped. It`s been pulled.
PAK: What`s ironic is, is that I think that with the ad being pulled, it`s actually been more press and "Billboard" magazine is traditionally what, it`s sort of like an insider`s magazine.
BRYANT: It`s an industry...
PAK: Right and I don`t think anyone would have even noticed this ad had it not actually been pulled. So probably in hindsight people are like, oh, maybe we should just let it go, but I think at some point they were kind of putting their foot down. I think PETA`s been very very vigilant about going after Jennifer Lopez.
BRYANT: But was this the audience to whom you should send the message, the trade magazine?
SMALL: No. Only people who buy Billboard" and are in "Billboard" buy fur coats. That`s the people who buy the furs. Let me get my fur page- turner.
BRYANT: Let me shoot my new rap video. Let me get the fur.
PAK: It`s not your average sort of young person that`s going out to buy her perfumes and her clothing line and CDs that`s picking up "Billboard" magazine.
BRYANT: Do you think this is going to have any effect on Jennifer though, this whole campaign against her?
SMALL: This should make Jennifer Lopez a lot more money.
BRYANT: Do you think?
SMALL: Oh, a lot more money.
HAMMER: The CD "Rebirth" her latest not doing so well and PETA, one quote I read today, sort of taking a little bit of credit for the fact that it`s failing.
SMALL: Really? Did they produce the album?
BRYANT: No, they didn`t.
HAMMER: Let`s move from J. Lo to hip-hop music. In hip hop music for years now, brand name products have been showing up in the lyrics. And now McDonald`s is saying they will actually pay rappers who work Big Mac into their songs. We`re saying it right here.
SMALL: McDonald`s finally wants part of that street money, first Courvoisier -- Puffy and big Busta Rhymes did a couple for Courvoisier - boom, sales rocketed. Now McDonald`s like hey, if we got to make Ronald McDonald a blood or a crip we`ll do it.
BRYANT: Where`s the red and the yellow though?
SMALL: He`s gonna start a new gang. Not as hard as the blood and the crips.
BRYANT: But the Hamburgler is the one. He`s got a brand cause he`s been to jail.
SMALL: That`s right. He`s got some time.
BRYANT: She knows!
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: Whatever. McDonald`s has been in the street game for a while.
PAK: But listen, do Courvoisier, do Hummers, do those people pay the rappers to mention them?
SMALL: Of course, they do.
PAK: This is really like one of the first times I`ve actually heard such a story where it`s so direct. I mean it`s just out there. McDonald`s isn`t hiding it.
SMALL: "My Adidas" -- Run DMC, they had the gold Adidas already. You could (INAUDIBLE) gold Adidas.
PAK: But they were wearing Adidas and rocking Adidas before.
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: It`s crossed. It`s completely crossed. I mean I think it`s a sad thing.
CROSSTALK)
SMALL: I think the rappers will do that though. The streets won`t let...
HAMMER: Well, Sherrod and Suchin, thanks for coming and buzzing on this. The songs are going to be commercials. It`s all blending together.
Well, in "Beauty Shop," which is in theaters tomorrow, Mena Suvari spends a lot of time and energy on her looks, but in real life, Nina has a very different approach to beauty. That`s coming up in Tuesday in style.
BRYANT: Plus, the new season of "The Bachelor" has started, but late night has its own ideas about who needs some love. Dave`s take coming up in laughter dark.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is time for Tuesday in style, tonight, Mena Suvari.
BRYANT: She plays a socialite in "Beauty Shop" which opens tomorrow. So what better time to talk beauty with her?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY SYNNOTT, IN STYLE MAGAZINE: We thought this was an appropriate time to talk to Mena about her beauty tips because she`s starring in this movie "Beauty Shop." It`s really all about beauty and about the dynamics between women in a beauty shop. So we thought it was a good time to ask her about her own beauty secrets.
When she was I guess a young girl, 13, Mena Suvari entered a beauty contest and she was with a whole bunch of other women with tons of makeup and she just had her little makeup bag with one lipstick and one foundation, but she still won the contest. So it taught her at an early age, that you don`t need a ton of makeup. You just need to know a few things that work.
MENA SUVARI, "BEAUTY SHOP": I think I feel the most beautiful when I am just myself, when I can be really natural, light makeup, with my hair down. I love my hair when it`s styled but it`s not always like that when you just wake up in the morning.
SYNNOTT: Mena Suvari, experiments a lot with her hair color. When she was 16, she begged her mom to die her hair lavender and these days she`s been everything from strawberry blonde to red to mousy brown, to dark brown, but what she does in between coloring treatments is she gets an ionic conditioning treatment and what this does is is, it`s basically covering the head with negative ions and it really makes the hair smooth and helps lock in the color and makes it really shiny. She only eats organic foods. She eats a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruits, a lot of whole grains. She avoids any meat unless it`s organic.
SUVARI: ... what I eat and working today on the photo shoot, you can get requests for what you want for lunch and it`s not always what everybody else might eat and so I try to go with the flow and experience things as they come and really just be grateful for everything that I have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: If you want to read more about the secrets inside Mena Suvari`s makeup bag, pick up a copy of this month`s "In Style" magazine on newsstands now.
HAMMER: Well, the bachelor is back on the air. The new season has just started, but David letterman is already recasting the show for late night and that`s coming up in laughter dark.
BRYANT: And there`s still time for you to sound off on the question of the day, gay TV networks, the right idea/ Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight or e e-mail us what`s on your mind at showbiztonight@cnn.com and we`ll read some of your thoughts live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is time for more showbiz shorts. Omarosa is coming back to reality TV. We learned today that the former "Apprentice" contestant is one of the housemates on VH1 surreal live five, living with Jose Conseco, Bronson Pinchot from "Perfect Strangers." America`s next top model Judge Janice Dickinson and Pepa from Salt & Pepa. The surreal live five debuts in September
Well, Ron Howard and Russell Crowe may be soon working together once again. "Daily Variety" says the "Beautiful Mind" director and actor are considering a new movie, called "The Power of Duff." Crowe would star as controversial newsman who prays on the air.
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.
HAMMER: On the TONIGHT SHOW, we know Jay Leno loves to show funny headlines from newspapers, but this time, the headlines hit a little close to home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO: "Leno-like suspect sought by police." Another criminal, Kev.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Well, the good.
HAMMER: No, nothing.
BRYANT: Not, what - what?
HAMMER: Not a good look for Jay. That`s all.
BRYANT: The new "Bachelor" is Charlie O`Connell. He was just here last night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Now on late night with David Letterman last night, Dave had sort of a different take on "The Bachelor." Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN: They`ve got a show over there on ABC. ABC almost went off the air a couple of years ago, and then they -- because things were just not happening, they just weren`t getting it done. Now, they`re bringing back something called "The Bachelor." Do you remember "The Bachelor"?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember that.
LETTERMAN: Well, they had some trouble with "The Bachelor" so they had to retool it and tweak it and fine tune it and then they brought it back. Take a look at a promotion for the new "Bachelor."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get ready, ladies because "The Bachelor" is back and it`s hotter than ever. You won`t believe the surprises we have in store for this year`s contestants as they look for love with the most exciting bachelor yet. "The Bachelor," tonight at 9:00/8:00 Central, only on ABC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The late show with David Letterman.
BRYANT: This show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our showbiz showdown question of the day. Gay TV networks, the right idea? Let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far, 37 percent of you said, yes, gay TV networks are the right idea, 63 percent of you said, no, gay TV networks are not the right idea. You`ve also been sending us e-mails on this question.
Christina from South Amboy, New Jersey says, if gay people want more gay programming, why not just make more gay-oriented shows?
Georgia from Nashville, Tennessee says, I think it should be a paid channel so children don`t get exposed until they`re at an appropriate age.
And Olga says, it`s high time that there be gay TV networks.
Now remember, you can continue to vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight.
It is time now to see what is playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. The marquee guy is off so here we go.
HAMMER: Sell it.
BRYANT: I`m gonna. Morpheus returns to "The Matrix" and you`re in charge of what happens next.
HAMMER: That`s good.
BRYANT: Tomorrow, Lawrence Fishbourne, live on the new "Matrix" online PC video game.
HAMMER: That was excellent. Let me try this. Also tomorrow, Al Green, Heart and Soul, a new record, a classic sound. If it ain`t easy being green, it looks like it`s a lot of fun. Al Green tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. That`s how he does it, though, the marquee guy. He sells it.
BRYANT: He sells it because he believes in the product.
HAMMER: It`s good stuff and I`m looking forward to seeing you and Al Green together. All right. Well, that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to see you back here tomorrow.
BRYANT: The one and only Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from headline news.
(NEWS BREAK)
END
