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Showbiz Tonight

Martha Stewart Announces Deal to Launch New Radio Channel; Green Day Starts Nationwide Tour

Aired April 18, 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: A big TV change on Monday.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And Green Day on Monday. I`m Karyn Bryant.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA PEET, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": So what are your plans?

ASHTON KUTCHER, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": Plans for what?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: How`s about a star-studded opening? Amanda, Ashton and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re live at the "A Lot Like Love" premiere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: I`m very excited about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: What`s Martha excited about? First, it was a new TV show. Now she`s dialing up something else.

Their album is "American Idiot," but these guys are no dummies. Green Day is here today.

Brandi, Whitney, Destiny`s Child. Ever dream of working with them? He has. We`ll show you what it`s like to be a music producer.

And a cup of joe and a CD to go. We spill the beans on how one java giant is changing the music business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE DIRNT, GREEN DAY: Hi. We`re Green Day. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, and you are at the top of the show.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. We are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.

HAMMER: Well, tonight, Martha Stewart is getting Sirius. Martha announced a deal today to launch a new channel with Sirius satellite radio.

BRYANT: It is expected to be called -- what else? -- Martha Stewart Living Radio, and it`s giving Martha another big post-prison project.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: I`m very excited about this.

BRYANT (voice-over): Martha Stewart should be excited. The busiest ex-con in show business has got a brand-new bag, her own 24-hour-a-day radio channel on Sirius satellite radio. Flanked by the bigwigs of Sirius and the head of her Omnimedia company today, Martha said her new gig sure is convenient.

STEWART: I could just run over to the television studio in Westport, Connecticut, to the sound room -- no makeup, no wardrobe. I could just roll in there.

BRYANT: And when she rolls in there, here`s what you`ll hear on "all Martha all the time": cooking tips, how to garden, decorating direction, wedding advice, even tips for your pets. Martha says it will be a most excellent venture.

STEWART: Excellent information, excellent inspiration, excellent teaching, excellent tips, excellent, very well researched programming to the homemakers of America and beyond.

BRYANT: You have to wonder how Martha is going to jam it all in once she`s officially out her jam -- namely, her five months of home detention. She`s launching a new daily syndicated show to replace her old show, "Martha Stewart Living," kicking off the Martha version of "The Apprentice," not to mention her still-on-the-newsstands magazine. Is it all going to be too much Martha to handle?

JULIA BOORSTIN, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: The people who are going to be watching the Martha "Apprentice" show are definitely going to be a different kind of viewer. People are going to be tuning in on their radios when they`re driving around, hoping for some tips on how to fix up their house.

BRYANT: When Martha joins the Sirius house, she`ll have some superstar company. Sirius is padding Howard Stern`s pockets with a half- billion-dollar deal for a show that starts next January. And rap superstar Eminem is also getting a channel on Sirius. And with the addition of Martha, Sirius is really hoping to get cooking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

So how much is Martha getting paid? Well, Reuters says Sirius is shelling out $7.5 million a year for the Martha Stewart channel. Sirius hopes to have it up and running in September. That just happens to be around the time her house arrest ends.

Well, it is time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories making news tonight. No more pedal pushing. Cancer survivor Lance Armstrong said today he will retire from professional cycling after this summer`s Tour de France. Now, he has won that race a record six times, and as you see her there, Armstrong has been dating rocker Sheryl Crow (INAUDIBLE)

Well, it was a "One Tree" wedding. Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush tied the knot this weekend in Santa Barbara, California. The met on the set of their WB drama, "One Tree Hill."

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

HAMMER: The premiere of her new movie, "A Lot Like Love," is kicking off right now here in New York City, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is live there, waiting for the stars of the film, Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher, to show up.

Now, David, is it true that Ashton and Amanda are not going to be showing up together and Ashton might be with his real-life love, Demi?

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: That is what we understand, at this point, A.J., and time will tell over the course of this evening. As you can tell, people are just beginning to arrive at this point -- limousine, paparazzi, et cetera, just down to my left, as you can see here.

Imagine finding your soulmate six years too early. That is the premise of "A Lot Like Love." Ashton Kutcher plays Oliver. He`s a recent college grad who`s got some big dreams for himself. He meets up with Emily, who`s played by Amanda Peet. And together, their relationship blossoms over the course of the next six years into something that neither one of them really expected.

Our very own Karyn Bryant sat down with the stars today to talk to them about finding their own real-life soulmates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYANT: If you don`t believe in fated love, you don`t believe in soulmates, either, then?

AMANDA PEET, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": I believe in soulmates...

BRYANT: Oh, you do.

PEET: ... I just don`t believe in a single soulmate. You know, it`s, like, I have, you know, two friends who I`m incredibly close to. And they`re very different, and I need them both and I adore them both. And if someone asked me, Who are you closer to, or, Would you choose, I wouldn`t be able to. I believe...

ASHTON KUTCHER, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": So you`re into, like, open relationships? Is that what you`re saying?

PEET: I believe it`s the same with finding someone to love who`s your partner. I think probably there are a few people it could be and...

KUTCHER: I want to explain that one to Demi. It`s, like, Honey, I -- she`s my other soulmate! (INAUDIBLE) likes she walks in on me. What (INAUDIBLE) She`s my other soulmate! I had to!

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: Ashton Kutcher and his soulmate, Demi Moore, expected to be showing up here a bit later on this evening, and we`ll have that for you a bit later on in the program. Back to you in the studio.

HAMMER: All right, thanks very much, David Haffenreffer, live in New York City -- Karyn.

BRYANT: Well, tonight, Green Day. It is hard to believe that the band has been together for 15 years. Their major label debut release, called "Dookie," took radio by storm, christening a whole new generation of punk fans. And thanks to their Grammy-winning album, "American Idiot," the band is currently riding a gigantic wave of popularity. Green Day just kicked off their nationwide tour, and we were there for day one in Miami, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Green Day -- they`re pretty much on top of the world. Critics are calling their album, "American Idiot," a punk rock masterpiece. And for once, the critics, the music industry and the fans all agree. The album has moved more than two million copies here in the United States and took home the Grammy for Best Rock Album.

Now the guys from Green Day are packing their bags and hitting the road stadium-style. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there with them in Miami as they kicked off a huge nationwide tour. And they tell me it`s not so bad making it so big.

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, VOCALS, GUITAR: It feels damn good. We`re really excited about playing the big places.

MIKE DIRNT, BASS: It`s time for another really big rock show on this planet, you know, and we`re going to go put one on.

ARMSTRONG: Writing the album, we were thinking about it in live terms all the time because I always thought (INAUDIBLE) it was the greatest music in the world. I think about when I was 14 or 15, playing air guitar and -- you know, in front of the mirror and rocking out to my favorite albums -- I think one thing people get out of "American Idiot" is that feeling of playing air guitar and -- you know, the physical aspect of it. I want to make sure that every album that we put out, we put as much passion into it and integrity as we can and do it for the sake of rock-and-roll music.

BRYANT: Can you keep it together, though? Because it`s been 15 years. I think there`s -- there has to have been hard times. There has to have been times when you hated each other and you didn`t want to talk to each other, let alone play music together, or -- or doesn`t -- or does...

DIRNT: I don`t think we`ve ever really hated each other.

BRYANT: No?

DIRNT: You know, I think we`ve always -- we all have one common goal in our lives, and that is that this band is what we do best.

ARMSTRONG: We never had any weird sort of love or sexual fallings- out, like, you know, Fleetwood Mac or something like that.

BRYANT: And you`re not going to, like, Metallica therapy and all that?

ARMSTRONG: No. I mean, I want to capture this band in its prime, not a band (INAUDIBLE) decline.

BRYANT: So what about the idea that "American Idiot" can be made into a film?

DIRNT: We`re working on it. It`s actually moved forward from the last (INAUDIBLE) You know, we want to get it right, so we will sell no wine till its time.

BRYANT: Stephen King be involved at all? Because I know he wrote that glowing article about you...

(CROSSTALK)

DIRNT: And he should be. He`s great.

(LAUGHTER)

BRYANT: I mean, how does it feel when a guy like Stephen King, you know, just tells America that your album is the greatest he`s heard in, you know, how many years?

ARMSTRONG: You get so focused on how you would want it to be a record, and you just don`t eve think -- like, you think about someone else listening to it and think about it in terms of being -- you know, the way people have talked about "American Idiot," which -- you just -- I don`t think you`re ever really prepared for, you know, someone to actually say something like "American Idiot" is one of the best, you know, records of the rock era. You`re like, Come again?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRYANT: If you don`t have "American Idiot," you got to get it. It`s fantastic. And Green Day went on to tell me that they`re not worried about topping that album, they`re just going to enjoy the tour and then think about being creative in the studio again.

HAMMER: Well, we have a late-breaking story tonight, a big football shake-up on TV. The NFL announced today that after 36 years on ABC, "Monday Night Football" will move to the ESPN cable channel. Now, they`re both owned by Disney. The "Monday Night Football" deal will reportedly net the NFL $1.1 million. The move is going to happen in the 2006 season, which means that ABC will have no pro football programming. And that`ll leave it as the only major network to have no NFL games.

And also announced today later in the day, NBC will once again have the NFL back on the "Peacock Network" after a six-year absence. The NBC deal will bring "Sunday Night Football" to the network for $600 million over six years.

So what does this all mean? Well, joining me now on the telephone is Josh Elliott. He`s a staff writer for "Sports Illustrated." Thanks for being with us, Josh. Tell me how this all happened. How did ABC let this go?

JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, I mean, you know, at this point, it really wasn`t an ABC move again as must as it was a Disney move. You know, the show itself -- "Monday Night Football" as a show still had relatively high ratings, but it had been losing market share, and ABC eventually just, I think, deciding at the end of the day -- and I wish I had been in the meeting where this happened -- but that, you know, maybe throwing an extra, you know, episode of "Wife Swap" on there or something might get a bigger number. And I think the -- dominoes sort of fell from there.

HAMMER: And it shouldn`t be lost, as we mentioned a moment ago, that ABC and ESPN, part of the same company. But the question is, will the ratings now be hurt because this is a cable network versus a regular broadcast network?

ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, that`s -- that`s a real -- another really interesting thing here is that now ESPN, with this move, has become something more than just a cable network -- something less, really, than a network, but really something more than a cable network. This really -- Disney has been, you know, really using ESPN as a cash cow to this point. This is going to give them a lot more leverage in coming cable fee wars with, I guess, the likes of Time Warner and Cablevision, I`m sure. It`s going to be interesting to see. I still think that the majority of sports fans who do watch "Monday Night Football" will find it on ESPN, and it will probably set some sort of cable-rating record.

HAMMER: Right. And unfortunately, though, there`s still a segment of the population that doesn`t have satellite and doesn`t have cable. They`ll have to figure out one way or another to catch the games on Monday Night. Well, Josh Elliott from "Sports Illustrated," thanks a lot for being with us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

So did you ever wonder what it`s like to make a hit album, to be right behind it? Well, somebody who has had that experience -- with Britney, Whitney, Michael and more -- will let us tag along. What it`s like to be a music producer, coming up.

BRYANT: And changing the music business. Starbucks is making big bucks for singing stars. We`ll tell you how.

Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who was the voice of Charlie in the TV series "Charlie`s Angels"? Was it, A, Tom Selleck, B, Bruce Boxleitner, C, Michael Landon, or D, John Forsythe?

We`ll be right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Welcome back. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who was the voice of Charlie in the TV series "Charlie`s Angels"? Was it Tom Selleck, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Landon or John Forsythe? You never saw him, but you did hear him. The answer is D, John Forsythe.

HAMMER: Well, a lot of people did see "The Amityville Horror." The update of a 1970s horror flick scared up $23.5 million during its opening weekend. In other final box office numbers just out this afternoon, "Sahara," the desert adventure with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, slid down to the number two spot with $13 million at the box office. "Fever Pitch" cooled off to number three, with $8.5 million. "Sin City" took in more than $6.5 million. And "Guess Who?" rounds up the top five with just under $5 million.

BRYANT: Our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day has to do with "The Amityville Horror." The movie is based on the Lutz family, who moved into a Long Island, New York, home in the 1970s. A year before they moved in, a young man had killed his entire family in the house. The Lutzes only lasted one month in their new home, claiming it was haunted. So tonight, we ask you about the haunting. "The Amityville Horror": Do you believe it happened? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.

HAMMER: It is 17 past the hour and time now for "The Show`s Biz." The latte effect on music. You ever notice that Starbucks sells CDs? Well, did you know that Starbucks has been selling so many of those CDs that they are now a major player in the music business? Take a look at these numbers. They`re absolutely staggering. Starbucks sold more than a quarter of the 2.8 million CDs of Ray Charles`s "Genius Loves Company." That`s at Starbucks. They also got credit for turning Tina Turner`s "Best of" collection into a best-selling album -- the best-selling album of her career. And Alanis Morrissette`s going to debut her next CD, it`s an acoustic version of "Jagged Little Pill," at Starbucks. And they`re going to do that six weeks before anywhere else.

The story behind the latte effect is covered in this week`s issue of "Entertainment Weekly," and joining us now to help us figure out this whole latte effect thing, Ari Karpel, who`s a senior editor for "Entertainment Weekly." Thanks for being here, Ari.

ARI KARPEL, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Thanks for having me.

HAMMER: So is this, like, a master plan that Starbucks had? Because you always go in there, there`s always music playing in the background. Music and coffee kind of go hand in hand. Was this part of their business model, or did it just happen as a fluke?

KARPEL: Apparently, it was not initially part of their business model, but pretty quickly, they realized that the customers were asking, What are those songs you`re playing? Where can I buy them? And they realized it should be part of their business model. So they`ve been very deliberate in the past six years in acquiring the Hear music label so that they could actually co-produce artists, and now in selecting artists very carefully to suit their audience. They have a really captive and caffeinated audience...

HAMMER: Yes.

KARPEL: ... that can really -- that is really loyal to Starbucks.

HAMMER: Well, I think the Alanis Morrissette thing is really interesting to me because she`s a perfect artist for the coffeehouse genre, among other genres. But they`re releasing her "Jagged Little Pill" 10th anniversary acoustic CD six weeks before you`re going to be able to buy it in the CD store. That has to be making the music chains enraged.

KARPEL: It`s got smaller retailers angry. It`s something that larger retailers do sometimes, so they understand. But you know, people figure that it helps out. Any music sales is going to help out awareness of a CD...

HAMMER: Sure.

KARPEL: ... and is going to boost consumers going to stores and buying CDs. And hopefully, it`ll help them out. But naturally, some stores are pretty angry about it.

HAMMER: And they`re helping boost awareness not just of established artists like Alanis but also new and upcoming artists. Antigone Rising comes to mind. I`ve seen that they are pushing a CD from them.

KARPEL: Yes, that`s actually -- they`re releasing it in a few weeks, and they`re just starting to get the marketing going on Antigone Rising CD, and that`s a real first for Starbucks, to branch into new music. They feel like they have really found a foothold and gained the trust of their consumers with Sheryl Crow and Ray Charles...

HAMMER: Right.

KARPEL: ... and Tina Turner, and now they can branch out a bit with this female rock band.

HAMMER: Tell me about the part of the business that`s growing, where customers can go in, get a cup of coffee, if they`d like, and actually burn a CDs? They can burn their own mixes?

KARPEL: Yes, they`re music media bars that they`re opening in Starbucks. Right now, they`re in 45 Starbucks, and by 2006, they`ll be in all of them, where while you`re ordering your latte, during the time that it takes to get it, you can download a CD for 99 cents a song and walk out with it.

HAMMER: It`s fascinating. I wonder if they`re going to change their name to Starbucks and Music or just keep it Starbucks with the music in the background.

KARPEL: They seem pretty careful to maintain that coffee base.

HAMMER: OK. All right. Well, thank you very much, Ari.

KARPEL: OK.

HAMMER: I appreciate you coming in, giving us your insight. And you can read more about the latte effect in this week`s "Entertainment Weekly." It is available on newsstands everywhere.

BRYANT: Well, should you get hitched to Will Smith`s new CD? We`ll find out if you should get jiggy with it. It`s "People`s" "Pick and Pans."

HAMMER: Did you say just "jiggy with it"?

BRYANT: I did. I brought it back, A.J.

HAMMER: All right. If you love TV, well, Jimmy Kimmel`s got a great job offer for you. And "I Want a Famous Face" is coming back. Our "Buzz Bench" is full of smiling faces about all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time for "People" magazine`s music "Picks and Pans." Three new CDs to talk about tonight from Will Smith, Garbage and Aslyn. Joining us here in New York, "People" magazine`s assistant manager editor, Albert Kim. Albert, we`re going to get right to it. What`s up with the Will Smith record?

ALBERT KIM, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Will Smith. You know, I got to say, I actually feel sorry for Will Smith.

BRYANT: Why?

KIM: Well, as sorry as you can for a multi-millionaire movie star.

BRYANT: (INAUDIBLE) paid. What`s there to...

KIM: But as a rapper, he tries so hard, but he gets no respect. He`s kind of like the Rodney Dangerfield of hip-hop, you know? And you can sort of tell from this album because it`s OK, it`s catchy. You can dance to the tracks. But when you put it up against the other hip-hoppers that are out there now -- Eminem, 50 Cent, it really pales in comparison.

BRYANT: But he does try to keep it positive.

KIM: He does. He does. You can dance to a lot of the tracks. And you know, he talks about his struggles in being -- getting respect as a rapper on the -- on the CD. So it`s all right, but it`s not really up to par with what`s out there today.

BRYANT: OK. What about Garbage? They`re back with a new album, Shirley Manson singing.

KIM: Yes. Garbage fans have had a tough time in recent years. You know, it`s been four years since their last album. The band even broke up for a short period during that time. But I`ve got to say, it was worth the wait. This is a terrific album.

BRYANT: Really?

KIM: It`s everything that Garbage fans have waited for -- a lot of hard rock, a lot of good, punching (ph) guitar sound, some good ballads on there, as well. It`s definitely something all rock fans have to have.

BRYANT: Great. That`s good to hear. Now, I want to move on to Aslyn. She`s a new singer, songwriter, kind of pop, kind of...

KIM: Yes. She`s kind of in the vein of Michelle Branch (ph) or Vanessa Caldon (ph), along those lines. It`s good. It`s poppy. It`s engaging. It`s catchy. I fully expect it to be on the next "O.C." soundtrack or (INAUDIBLE) soundtrack. It`s one of those kinds of albums. I think we`ll hear a lot from her in the future.

BRYANT: Well, even when you look in the video, which we can see right here now, she does. She has that kind of thing going on where you expect 14 or 15-year-old girls will just be singing this.

KIM: She`s definitely got a teen vibe, yes. She`ll definitely catch on with that crowd really well.

BRYANT: OK. But out of the three, your favorite is?

KIM: Garbage. Definitely.

BRYANT: Garbage.

KIM: Yes.

BRYANT: Definitely not garbage. All right, well, thanks for joining us here.

And of course, if you would like more from "People" magazine, you can check out their latest copies on newsstands everywhere. Albert Kim, thanks for joining us.

KIM: Thanks for having me.

HAMMER: All right. Have you ever wondered what it takes to put an album together? We`re going to introduce you to someone who has worked with some of the biggest names in the biz.

BRYANT: And Jimmy Kimmel`s got a job offer for you, and Martha Stewart and Howard Stern might run into each other at the water cooler. Our "Buzz Bench" has all the water-cooler chat.

HAMMER: Now it`s time for tonight`s "Birthday Shoutout." "Late Night`s" Conan O`Brien turns 42 today, and the shoutout comes from "Less Than Perfect`s Andy Dick, who`s adding a few extra birthday candles to Conan`s cake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY DICK, "LESS THAN PERFECT": Conan, it`s always fantastic when somebody turned the big 5-0. I say hats off to you, my friend. You would never wear a hat, would you. You`ve got that bouffant going. It would flatten it, like mine is now. Do I have hat head now? There, I took my hat off for you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: The big star-studded "A Lot Like Love" premiere happening right now. This is a live picture in New York City. Of course, it`s Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet`s movie. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

HAMMER: He`s the man behind some of the most popular women in music. Tonight, we`re going to go to the studio to see what it`s like to be a music producer, with Rodney Jerkins.

BRYANT: Plus, it`s a lot like a red carpet. We`ll take you back live to the premiere of "A Lot Like Love."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi this is (INAUDIBLE) and if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, almost 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: And I`m AJ Hammer. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.

BRYANT: A big shakeup in the TV football world. We learned late today that NFL`s Monday night football will move to ESPN starting with the 2006 season after 36 years on ABC. NFL games will also be returning to NBC after a six-year absence.

HAMMER: Retire strong. Lance Armstrong announced today he`s retiring from professional cycling after this summer`s Tour de France. He said, ultimately, athletes have to retire because the body just doesn`t keep going and going. Armstrong is going for his seventh consecutive win this summer.

BRYANT: A "Sirius" deal for Martha. Martha Stewart announced today she has a deal with Sirius satellite radio to create a 24-hour station featuring cooking, gardening and entertainment. The channel is expected to be called "Martha Stewart Living Radio."

HAMMER: Whitney, Britney, Brandi. They all have music producer Rodney Jerkins to thank for some of their top-selling hits. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with the A-list music producer and his wife, pop singer Joy Enriquez at Pacifique studios in Los Angeles. And tonight we`re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what it`s like to be a music producer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RODNEY JERKINS, MUSIC PRODUCER: This is actually studio B of Pacifique. This is where we do the vocals and the production. I did "Say My Name" by Destiny`s Child in this studio. I mixed the Britney Spears record in this studio. I did some stuff with Brandy. Brandy`s whole "Never Say Never" album was mixed in this studio. Michael Jackson -- I did stuff for Michael Jackson. Today, I`m going to record my wife Joy, a record called "Irreplaceable You."

Let me get a level on you real quick. Stop. Stop. Stop. I need you to be more - you have to bring up some air in your voice. Be a little bit more sexy with it. I`ve had success with a lot of different female artists and I work with a lot of different emotions. Throughout the years, I`ve worked with some of the best artists there are and everybody is different so you want to treat everybody different. I have to learn to ease back on certain artists, because they can`t take it. Some artists emotionally can`t take, Do that again. You`re off. You`re flat. You`re sharp. They start to cry. So sometimes I got to ease back and just feel them out first and then, you know, tell them what to do. We got to win a Grammy right now. We`re at the Grammys. I need you to be on fire right now, Watch your pitch. One more time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

JERKINS: You have to take your time. It`s all about juggling. My days are very hectic and very long. If I`m not in the studio, I`m shooting some pool. If I`m not shooting some pool, I`m at the nail salon getting a manicure. If I`m not there, I`m trying to get a quick bite in. Back to the studio for mixing. OK. I`m seeing it. You went for it. You can hit that. Let`s take it from the bridge.

Come out. You nailed it that time. Thanks for hanging out at Pacifique studios with me. I hope you learned a little bit about what it is to be a music producer. Sorry, but I got to get back to work. I`ll catch you next time. Bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: The guy`s got great ears. His current project is called "The Versatility Competition." It`s a new collection of Rodney Jerkins tracks that kids can actually write to and sing over. The competition will hopefully yield some fresh new talent and the winner will get the opportunity to sign with Rodney`s company, Dark Child Records.

BRYANT: As we report earlier, "The Amityville Horror" was number one at the weekend box office and we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "The Amityville Horror," do you believe it happened? You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight and send us your e-mails at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.

HAMMER: It is time for show blog tonight, a look at celebrity weblogs and tonight`s edition comes from broadcasting legend Tom Snyder. Snyder was the host of "Tomorrow," which premiered back in 1973 as the first late-late-night talk show on network TV. On his Web site, Snyder announces, quote, I have been diagnosed with something called chronic lympho-cytic leukemia. When I was a kid, leukemia was a death sentence. Now my doctors say it`s treatable. He goes on to lament the state of network news, writing, I miss Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw and I pray in my own stupid way for Peter Jennings to get well soon.

BRYANT: Jennings started chemotherapy for lung cancer last week. Tonight, we have a look at an e-mail he sent to close friends and colleagues as he began treatment. The treatment often includes steroids, which reduce the side effects of chemo and experts say the steroids can cause emotional outpouring, something Jennings refers to in an e-mail. He wrote, some of you -- many of you -- have made me cry in the very best sense, which out of a slight sense of embarrassment I immediately blamed on the steroids. Truth be told, I think you have given me more strength than I thought I had. I want you to know that and to say thank you.

HAMMER: Well, couch potatoes, your ship has come in. Jimmy Kimmel is poised to make all your dreams come true. We`re going to take that to the buzz bench, coming up.

BRYANT: Plus, we`re live at the premiere of Ashton Kutcher`s new movie with Amanda Peet. We`ll see which stars come out for "A Lot Like Love," coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY JACKSON, AMERICAN IDOL: I`m watching DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and LOST.

PAULA ABDUL, AMERICAN IDOL: And I`m watching what else, AMERICAN IDOL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time for the buzz bench, where today`s entertainment chatter takes center stage. Tonight -- Martha gets a Sirius deal, Jimmy Kimmel gets a couch potato and "I want a Famous Face," gets a second season.

HAMMER: And joining us on the buzz bench tonight, CNN`s pop culture correspondent Toure, comedian and TV personality Leigh Kessler and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contributor Amy Kean. So let`s get right to topic number one. Sirius satellite radio announced today that Martha Stewart has an exclusive four-year deal to create and launch a Martha Stewart-branded satellite radio` channel which is going to air original programming, 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. Amy, I want to get your take on this. I have to fully disclose here in the interests of full disclosure, I have a show on Sirius satellite radio, so Martha`s business grows.

AMY KEAN, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CONTRIBUTOR: I love Martha Stewart and it could work, but I think that her previous gig was a minute and a half. To jump from a minute and a half to 24 hours a day is a big one and so much of Martha Stewart`s appeal I think is a visual appeal of Martha and watching her make the crafts, watching her cook, watching what she`s doing. It`s going to be hard to do.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I don`t know. She can talk to the people through the radio and tell them what to do. Sirius and XM as well have a lot of money. They`re being really aggressive with new programming, Howard Stern. I mean there`s a revolution going on in radio with these two companies building up and changing. They`re going to figure out how to do this right because Martha Stewart is huge business.

KEAN: Right, but it`s still radio. No matter how you slice it, it`s still radio. So we`re still not going to see -- you`re a Martha Stewart lover.

BRYANT: I`m a fan, but I think if I were driving around and I wanted to hear how deep I should plant tulip bulbs, that`s fine. I could listen to that.

LEIGH KESSLER, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: I would think people are going to fall asleep at the wheel as she describes how to decorate your mailbox with decoupage.

(CROSSTALK)

HAMMER: Those people won`t be listening.

TOURE: There`s got to be 100,000 people at least who will love to listen to this all day long.

KESSLER: I think it`s visual.

BRYANT: Speaking of visual, Jimmy Kimmel needs a new staffer. He has let go one of the guys who is paid to watch television for Jimmy. Now he is looking for a new couch potato. The job will net you about $500 to $600 a week, but basically you would just get paid for watching television. Leigh.

This reminds me of the movie, "Brewster`s Millions" where the guy has got to spend $30 million in 30 days. It seems amazing.

BRYANT: It`s going to be a nationwide search for this coach potato.

KESSLER: It seems amazing, but after 30 days, you`re like, oh, my God, I just want to read.

TOURE: I actually do this without the money. It`s not that hard to do. It`s not that bad, but the Kimmel show is just a total disaster. Whoever would want to be on this show is just taking career suicide.

KEAN: This is more of like Jimmy Kimmel`s, the man show shtick, a guy sitting around with a remote. So I think it`s just kind of a publicity stunt. He`s looking for fat, funny dumb guys to come on and talk about it.

HAMMER: He`s paying them $500 to $600 week. Nobody`s getting rich off.

KESSLER: They had a little thing - I remember there was a documentary they made on the making of the Jimmy Kimmel show and they showed the guys who did this for a living and they all seemed like, get me out of here. I`m dying. The only job growth is actually your waistline.

TOURE: How did Kimmel even still has a show (INAUDIBLE) not doing so hot.

BRYANT: Yeah, well --

HAMMER: Let`s move on to a show that must have had enough success to get picked up for yet another season. MTV`s documentary series "I Want a Famous Face" began its second season on March 29th. This is a show that follows the transformation of all these young people who have chosen to undergo plastic surgery so they can look like their celebrity idols and this season, Carmen Electra and Arnold Schwarzenegger are among the people that people are trying to look like.

TOURE: It`s an incredible show. I don`t know where they found all these people who want to look like a specific celebrity and to MTVs credit, it`s a responsible show. They don`t hold back at all on how hard plastic surgery is, how painful it is. They won`t pay for it and they tell you how much it costs and all this sort of thing. They show kids struggling and hurting in bed. This show to me turns my stomach. It`s great for some people, but I can`t deal with it.

KEAN: There are so many shows that are showing cosmetic surgery now that I`m so desensitized from seeing blood and guts, (INAUDIBLE) that`s all I see. But I do think that no matter how much they show the downside, it still is making kids think that -- since 1997, the number of cosmetic procedures has tripled.

KESSLER: If you watch this show, you will not want to go under the knife.

HAMMER: I don`t think the problem is about people doing make overs and getting changed and plastic surgery. The problem is that these people want to become the stars and there`s a psychological issue there.

(CROSSTALK)

KEAN: No, they don`t look like them.

KESSLER: No, they never come close. They did that extreme make over, then extreme home make over. Now, I want to a famous crib.

(CROSSTALK)

KESSLER: I want to get Ludacris` kitchen.

(CROSSTALK)

HAMMER: I`m still shopping around pimp my bride, but no one is biting on that.

BRYANT: And with that, I`m going to say thanks AJ. Thank you to Amy, Leigh a Toure for joining us here on the buzz bench.

There`s a lot of Ashton Kutcher at the movies lately. "Guess Who" is out now, and "A Lot Like Love" comes out this Friday. The premiere is going on right now in New York and we`ll take you back there live next.

HAMMER: Never going to live that down, am I? A brand new honor, I almost said horror, thinking of Amityville, a brand new honor for Dustin Hoffman tonight. We`re going to have that story, coming up as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is still on the red carpet at the premier for "A Lot Like Love." It`s a romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. Now David, we saw Amanda walking down the red carpet a few minutes ago. She`s right there with you.

HAFFENREFFER: Amanda Peet is right there with us. It is a romantic comedy as you said and a funny one at that. Amanda Peet, thanks for speaking with us tonight. Thanks for having me.

PEET: Well, thanks for having me.

HAFFENREFFER: It`s kind of a welcome home for you. You`re a New York City native.

PEET: Born and bred.

HAFFENREFFER: Tell me a little bit about the character Emily and the three stripes. She sounds like a picky human being to some degree.

PEET: When you`re young, you`re stubborn and you think you`re too cool for sweet Midwestern boys, but alas, it`s not true.

HAFFENREFFER: And yet, over the relationship that Emily has with Oliver, Ashton Kutcher`s character goes through so many hoops to try to win you back. Have you ever done anything absolutely crazy for love? I mean he even goes out and learns how to play guitar.

PEET: Yeah, I have done things, but I don`t know if I want to talk about them on national television because they`re sort of cringy and embarrassing.

HAFFENREFFER: Are you a romantic?

PEET: I think probably sadly for me.

HAFFENREFFER: But in a romantic comedy situation, I always find that people tend to like these movies because they relate. They feel in some way as though they`re relating to what the characters are going through. Is this a subject matter, a type of genre of movie that you enjoy doing?

PEET: I love doing them, I love seeing them. I see all of them. I get weak in the knees. I cry, probably my favorite.

HAFFENREFFER: How hard was Ashton Kutcher to work with, just total diva?

PEET: Total diva.

HAFFENREFFER: You had not worked with him before.

PEET: No. We met at a party once and he`s just my favorite. He`s such a gentlemen and I love him dearly. I love him so much.

HAFFENREFFER: And I think he`s coming in right behind you as well, indeed so. Amanda Peet, thank you very much for speaking with us. We appreciate it, best of luck with the film. As you can see here, we`re watching the arrival of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, the co-star of this film and flash bulbs galore, of course. We will certainly do our best to try to grab Mr. Kutcher as he comes down the red carpet as well. Until then, back to you in the studio.

HAMMER: All right, David. That`s a live shot. They are live at the red carpet, the gala premier in New York City of the "A Lot Like Love" film. Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher and it opens in theaters tomorrow. Thanks a lot David Haffenreffer, live in New York City. Karyn.

BRYANT: Well, Jon Stewart stages an Oprahesque surprise. That is coming up in talk of the day. And there`s still time for you to sound off on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "The Amityville Horror," do you believe it happened? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight or email us your two cents at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll read some of those emails live next.

HAMMER: And before we go to break, it`s another live shot, Ashton Kutcher arriving at the premier for his new movie "A Lot Like Love," live in New York City. The movie opens in theaters tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Tonight, Dustin Hoffman is being honored by the film society of Lincoln Center here in New York. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the story first. Hoffman has an incredible film career spanning almost 40 years with characters ranging from Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate," to Captain Hook to Dorothy Michael in "Tootsie," fantastic film and just moments ago, Hoffman told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT the secret to choosing his wide range of characters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUSTIN HOFFMAN, ACTOR: Just feeling the same things that author wrote called the character is feeling and say, oh I felt that. I know what that is so you don`t become it. You just take it to you. That`s all you can do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that`s how you act?

HOFFMAN: Yeah, I don`t know how you can be anyone else but yourself but you just do certain things and they transform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Also out tonight to support Hoffman was Kevin Bacon who says he really admires Hoffman as an actor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: He`s really probably the most influential actor (INAUDIBLE) my thoughts about what it means to be an actor are certain, based on what Dustin Hoffman has done with his career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Past honorees include Charlie Chaplin, Al Pacino, Mike Nichols, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese.

Well, they have been talking all day. AJ, now I`ve been listening. Now as we do everything night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today talk shows.

HAMMER: "The Daily Show`s" Jon Stewart paid a visit to Oprah. He showed her how he granted one lucky Oprah fan her wildest dream on a daily show budget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, DAILY SHOW: I have a note from an Oprah viewer. I think her name`s Betty. She works at a Starbucks. I`m going to make a dream come true. This is going to be great. I`m here with the dream van. I am going to make some dreams come true.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know anything about a van.

STEWART: Well, no, it`s (INAUDIBLE) Oprah show. Oprah has that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oprah Winfrey. Did you get my letter? You got my letter.

STEWART: Yes, we got your letter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I quit. You can take this job and cram it -- I quit. I won. I won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Of course that is Amy (INAUDIBLE). Now the reward turned out to be tickets to a Broadway show, but something tells me that comedian Amy (INAUDIBLE) who played the coffee shop girl, will land on her feet and tomorrow on Oprah, it`s the "O" magazine birthday (INAUDIBLE).

HAMMER: We have been asking you to vote online in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "The Amityville Horror," do you believe it actually happened? Karyn. Here`s what the voting had to say so far. As you see, 39 percent of you said yes you do believe in "The Amityville Horror" and 61 percent of you said no. Among the emails we received one from Clive in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, who wrote, of course it didn`t happen. The hype around "Amityville Horror" proves that the American public can so easily be deceived into believing such tomfoolery.

BRYANT: Well, speaking of tomfoolery, it`s time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.

HAMMER: He lives for this moment. Let`s take a look at the showbiz marquee with the marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: They are not divas. They`re il divo! (ph). If you haven`t heard of them yet, you will, and you`d better learn a new word - popera, popera, love that. Il divo, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Also tomorrow. Are you not Fonda your in-laws? Wait until you meet the monster-in-laws, Jane Fonda`s first movie in 15 years. I`m excited. I can almost weep from the excitement. Jane Fonda in the showbiz sit down tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is the marquee guy saying "The Amityville Horror" really happened. I was there.

HAMMER: All right, marquee guy. That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ll see you here tomorrow.

BRYANT: Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from HEADLINE NEWS.

END


Aired April 18, 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: A big TV change on Monday.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And Green Day on Monday. I`m Karyn Bryant.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA PEET, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": So what are your plans?

ASHTON KUTCHER, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": Plans for what?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: How`s about a star-studded opening? Amanda, Ashton and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re live at the "A Lot Like Love" premiere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: I`m very excited about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: What`s Martha excited about? First, it was a new TV show. Now she`s dialing up something else.

Their album is "American Idiot," but these guys are no dummies. Green Day is here today.

Brandi, Whitney, Destiny`s Child. Ever dream of working with them? He has. We`ll show you what it`s like to be a music producer.

And a cup of joe and a CD to go. We spill the beans on how one java giant is changing the music business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE DIRNT, GREEN DAY: Hi. We`re Green Day. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, and you are at the top of the show.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. We are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.

HAMMER: Well, tonight, Martha Stewart is getting Sirius. Martha announced a deal today to launch a new channel with Sirius satellite radio.

BRYANT: It is expected to be called -- what else? -- Martha Stewart Living Radio, and it`s giving Martha another big post-prison project.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: I`m very excited about this.

BRYANT (voice-over): Martha Stewart should be excited. The busiest ex-con in show business has got a brand-new bag, her own 24-hour-a-day radio channel on Sirius satellite radio. Flanked by the bigwigs of Sirius and the head of her Omnimedia company today, Martha said her new gig sure is convenient.

STEWART: I could just run over to the television studio in Westport, Connecticut, to the sound room -- no makeup, no wardrobe. I could just roll in there.

BRYANT: And when she rolls in there, here`s what you`ll hear on "all Martha all the time": cooking tips, how to garden, decorating direction, wedding advice, even tips for your pets. Martha says it will be a most excellent venture.

STEWART: Excellent information, excellent inspiration, excellent teaching, excellent tips, excellent, very well researched programming to the homemakers of America and beyond.

BRYANT: You have to wonder how Martha is going to jam it all in once she`s officially out her jam -- namely, her five months of home detention. She`s launching a new daily syndicated show to replace her old show, "Martha Stewart Living," kicking off the Martha version of "The Apprentice," not to mention her still-on-the-newsstands magazine. Is it all going to be too much Martha to handle?

JULIA BOORSTIN, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: The people who are going to be watching the Martha "Apprentice" show are definitely going to be a different kind of viewer. People are going to be tuning in on their radios when they`re driving around, hoping for some tips on how to fix up their house.

BRYANT: When Martha joins the Sirius house, she`ll have some superstar company. Sirius is padding Howard Stern`s pockets with a half- billion-dollar deal for a show that starts next January. And rap superstar Eminem is also getting a channel on Sirius. And with the addition of Martha, Sirius is really hoping to get cooking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

So how much is Martha getting paid? Well, Reuters says Sirius is shelling out $7.5 million a year for the Martha Stewart channel. Sirius hopes to have it up and running in September. That just happens to be around the time her house arrest ends.

Well, it is time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories making news tonight. No more pedal pushing. Cancer survivor Lance Armstrong said today he will retire from professional cycling after this summer`s Tour de France. Now, he has won that race a record six times, and as you see her there, Armstrong has been dating rocker Sheryl Crow (INAUDIBLE)

Well, it was a "One Tree" wedding. Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush tied the knot this weekend in Santa Barbara, California. The met on the set of their WB drama, "One Tree Hill."

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

HAMMER: The premiere of her new movie, "A Lot Like Love," is kicking off right now here in New York City, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is live there, waiting for the stars of the film, Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher, to show up.

Now, David, is it true that Ashton and Amanda are not going to be showing up together and Ashton might be with his real-life love, Demi?

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: That is what we understand, at this point, A.J., and time will tell over the course of this evening. As you can tell, people are just beginning to arrive at this point -- limousine, paparazzi, et cetera, just down to my left, as you can see here.

Imagine finding your soulmate six years too early. That is the premise of "A Lot Like Love." Ashton Kutcher plays Oliver. He`s a recent college grad who`s got some big dreams for himself. He meets up with Emily, who`s played by Amanda Peet. And together, their relationship blossoms over the course of the next six years into something that neither one of them really expected.

Our very own Karyn Bryant sat down with the stars today to talk to them about finding their own real-life soulmates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYANT: If you don`t believe in fated love, you don`t believe in soulmates, either, then?

AMANDA PEET, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": I believe in soulmates...

BRYANT: Oh, you do.

PEET: ... I just don`t believe in a single soulmate. You know, it`s, like, I have, you know, two friends who I`m incredibly close to. And they`re very different, and I need them both and I adore them both. And if someone asked me, Who are you closer to, or, Would you choose, I wouldn`t be able to. I believe...

ASHTON KUTCHER, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": So you`re into, like, open relationships? Is that what you`re saying?

PEET: I believe it`s the same with finding someone to love who`s your partner. I think probably there are a few people it could be and...

KUTCHER: I want to explain that one to Demi. It`s, like, Honey, I -- she`s my other soulmate! (INAUDIBLE) likes she walks in on me. What (INAUDIBLE) She`s my other soulmate! I had to!

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: Ashton Kutcher and his soulmate, Demi Moore, expected to be showing up here a bit later on this evening, and we`ll have that for you a bit later on in the program. Back to you in the studio.

HAMMER: All right, thanks very much, David Haffenreffer, live in New York City -- Karyn.

BRYANT: Well, tonight, Green Day. It is hard to believe that the band has been together for 15 years. Their major label debut release, called "Dookie," took radio by storm, christening a whole new generation of punk fans. And thanks to their Grammy-winning album, "American Idiot," the band is currently riding a gigantic wave of popularity. Green Day just kicked off their nationwide tour, and we were there for day one in Miami, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Green Day -- they`re pretty much on top of the world. Critics are calling their album, "American Idiot," a punk rock masterpiece. And for once, the critics, the music industry and the fans all agree. The album has moved more than two million copies here in the United States and took home the Grammy for Best Rock Album.

Now the guys from Green Day are packing their bags and hitting the road stadium-style. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there with them in Miami as they kicked off a huge nationwide tour. And they tell me it`s not so bad making it so big.

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, VOCALS, GUITAR: It feels damn good. We`re really excited about playing the big places.

MIKE DIRNT, BASS: It`s time for another really big rock show on this planet, you know, and we`re going to go put one on.

ARMSTRONG: Writing the album, we were thinking about it in live terms all the time because I always thought (INAUDIBLE) it was the greatest music in the world. I think about when I was 14 or 15, playing air guitar and -- you know, in front of the mirror and rocking out to my favorite albums -- I think one thing people get out of "American Idiot" is that feeling of playing air guitar and -- you know, the physical aspect of it. I want to make sure that every album that we put out, we put as much passion into it and integrity as we can and do it for the sake of rock-and-roll music.

BRYANT: Can you keep it together, though? Because it`s been 15 years. I think there`s -- there has to have been hard times. There has to have been times when you hated each other and you didn`t want to talk to each other, let alone play music together, or -- or doesn`t -- or does...

DIRNT: I don`t think we`ve ever really hated each other.

BRYANT: No?

DIRNT: You know, I think we`ve always -- we all have one common goal in our lives, and that is that this band is what we do best.

ARMSTRONG: We never had any weird sort of love or sexual fallings- out, like, you know, Fleetwood Mac or something like that.

BRYANT: And you`re not going to, like, Metallica therapy and all that?

ARMSTRONG: No. I mean, I want to capture this band in its prime, not a band (INAUDIBLE) decline.

BRYANT: So what about the idea that "American Idiot" can be made into a film?

DIRNT: We`re working on it. It`s actually moved forward from the last (INAUDIBLE) You know, we want to get it right, so we will sell no wine till its time.

BRYANT: Stephen King be involved at all? Because I know he wrote that glowing article about you...

(CROSSTALK)

DIRNT: And he should be. He`s great.

(LAUGHTER)

BRYANT: I mean, how does it feel when a guy like Stephen King, you know, just tells America that your album is the greatest he`s heard in, you know, how many years?

ARMSTRONG: You get so focused on how you would want it to be a record, and you just don`t eve think -- like, you think about someone else listening to it and think about it in terms of being -- you know, the way people have talked about "American Idiot," which -- you just -- I don`t think you`re ever really prepared for, you know, someone to actually say something like "American Idiot" is one of the best, you know, records of the rock era. You`re like, Come again?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRYANT: If you don`t have "American Idiot," you got to get it. It`s fantastic. And Green Day went on to tell me that they`re not worried about topping that album, they`re just going to enjoy the tour and then think about being creative in the studio again.

HAMMER: Well, we have a late-breaking story tonight, a big football shake-up on TV. The NFL announced today that after 36 years on ABC, "Monday Night Football" will move to the ESPN cable channel. Now, they`re both owned by Disney. The "Monday Night Football" deal will reportedly net the NFL $1.1 million. The move is going to happen in the 2006 season, which means that ABC will have no pro football programming. And that`ll leave it as the only major network to have no NFL games.

And also announced today later in the day, NBC will once again have the NFL back on the "Peacock Network" after a six-year absence. The NBC deal will bring "Sunday Night Football" to the network for $600 million over six years.

So what does this all mean? Well, joining me now on the telephone is Josh Elliott. He`s a staff writer for "Sports Illustrated." Thanks for being with us, Josh. Tell me how this all happened. How did ABC let this go?

JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, I mean, you know, at this point, it really wasn`t an ABC move again as must as it was a Disney move. You know, the show itself -- "Monday Night Football" as a show still had relatively high ratings, but it had been losing market share, and ABC eventually just, I think, deciding at the end of the day -- and I wish I had been in the meeting where this happened -- but that, you know, maybe throwing an extra, you know, episode of "Wife Swap" on there or something might get a bigger number. And I think the -- dominoes sort of fell from there.

HAMMER: And it shouldn`t be lost, as we mentioned a moment ago, that ABC and ESPN, part of the same company. But the question is, will the ratings now be hurt because this is a cable network versus a regular broadcast network?

ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, that`s -- that`s a real -- another really interesting thing here is that now ESPN, with this move, has become something more than just a cable network -- something less, really, than a network, but really something more than a cable network. This really -- Disney has been, you know, really using ESPN as a cash cow to this point. This is going to give them a lot more leverage in coming cable fee wars with, I guess, the likes of Time Warner and Cablevision, I`m sure. It`s going to be interesting to see. I still think that the majority of sports fans who do watch "Monday Night Football" will find it on ESPN, and it will probably set some sort of cable-rating record.

HAMMER: Right. And unfortunately, though, there`s still a segment of the population that doesn`t have satellite and doesn`t have cable. They`ll have to figure out one way or another to catch the games on Monday Night. Well, Josh Elliott from "Sports Illustrated," thanks a lot for being with us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

So did you ever wonder what it`s like to make a hit album, to be right behind it? Well, somebody who has had that experience -- with Britney, Whitney, Michael and more -- will let us tag along. What it`s like to be a music producer, coming up.

BRYANT: And changing the music business. Starbucks is making big bucks for singing stars. We`ll tell you how.

Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who was the voice of Charlie in the TV series "Charlie`s Angels"? Was it, A, Tom Selleck, B, Bruce Boxleitner, C, Michael Landon, or D, John Forsythe?

We`ll be right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Welcome back. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Who was the voice of Charlie in the TV series "Charlie`s Angels"? Was it Tom Selleck, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Landon or John Forsythe? You never saw him, but you did hear him. The answer is D, John Forsythe.

HAMMER: Well, a lot of people did see "The Amityville Horror." The update of a 1970s horror flick scared up $23.5 million during its opening weekend. In other final box office numbers just out this afternoon, "Sahara," the desert adventure with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, slid down to the number two spot with $13 million at the box office. "Fever Pitch" cooled off to number three, with $8.5 million. "Sin City" took in more than $6.5 million. And "Guess Who?" rounds up the top five with just under $5 million.

BRYANT: Our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day has to do with "The Amityville Horror." The movie is based on the Lutz family, who moved into a Long Island, New York, home in the 1970s. A year before they moved in, a young man had killed his entire family in the house. The Lutzes only lasted one month in their new home, claiming it was haunted. So tonight, we ask you about the haunting. "The Amityville Horror": Do you believe it happened? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.

HAMMER: It is 17 past the hour and time now for "The Show`s Biz." The latte effect on music. You ever notice that Starbucks sells CDs? Well, did you know that Starbucks has been selling so many of those CDs that they are now a major player in the music business? Take a look at these numbers. They`re absolutely staggering. Starbucks sold more than a quarter of the 2.8 million CDs of Ray Charles`s "Genius Loves Company." That`s at Starbucks. They also got credit for turning Tina Turner`s "Best of" collection into a best-selling album -- the best-selling album of her career. And Alanis Morrissette`s going to debut her next CD, it`s an acoustic version of "Jagged Little Pill," at Starbucks. And they`re going to do that six weeks before anywhere else.

The story behind the latte effect is covered in this week`s issue of "Entertainment Weekly," and joining us now to help us figure out this whole latte effect thing, Ari Karpel, who`s a senior editor for "Entertainment Weekly." Thanks for being here, Ari.

ARI KARPEL, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Thanks for having me.

HAMMER: So is this, like, a master plan that Starbucks had? Because you always go in there, there`s always music playing in the background. Music and coffee kind of go hand in hand. Was this part of their business model, or did it just happen as a fluke?

KARPEL: Apparently, it was not initially part of their business model, but pretty quickly, they realized that the customers were asking, What are those songs you`re playing? Where can I buy them? And they realized it should be part of their business model. So they`ve been very deliberate in the past six years in acquiring the Hear music label so that they could actually co-produce artists, and now in selecting artists very carefully to suit their audience. They have a really captive and caffeinated audience...

HAMMER: Yes.

KARPEL: ... that can really -- that is really loyal to Starbucks.

HAMMER: Well, I think the Alanis Morrissette thing is really interesting to me because she`s a perfect artist for the coffeehouse genre, among other genres. But they`re releasing her "Jagged Little Pill" 10th anniversary acoustic CD six weeks before you`re going to be able to buy it in the CD store. That has to be making the music chains enraged.

KARPEL: It`s got smaller retailers angry. It`s something that larger retailers do sometimes, so they understand. But you know, people figure that it helps out. Any music sales is going to help out awareness of a CD...

HAMMER: Sure.

KARPEL: ... and is going to boost consumers going to stores and buying CDs. And hopefully, it`ll help them out. But naturally, some stores are pretty angry about it.

HAMMER: And they`re helping boost awareness not just of established artists like Alanis but also new and upcoming artists. Antigone Rising comes to mind. I`ve seen that they are pushing a CD from them.

KARPEL: Yes, that`s actually -- they`re releasing it in a few weeks, and they`re just starting to get the marketing going on Antigone Rising CD, and that`s a real first for Starbucks, to branch into new music. They feel like they have really found a foothold and gained the trust of their consumers with Sheryl Crow and Ray Charles...

HAMMER: Right.

KARPEL: ... and Tina Turner, and now they can branch out a bit with this female rock band.

HAMMER: Tell me about the part of the business that`s growing, where customers can go in, get a cup of coffee, if they`d like, and actually burn a CDs? They can burn their own mixes?

KARPEL: Yes, they`re music media bars that they`re opening in Starbucks. Right now, they`re in 45 Starbucks, and by 2006, they`ll be in all of them, where while you`re ordering your latte, during the time that it takes to get it, you can download a CD for 99 cents a song and walk out with it.

HAMMER: It`s fascinating. I wonder if they`re going to change their name to Starbucks and Music or just keep it Starbucks with the music in the background.

KARPEL: They seem pretty careful to maintain that coffee base.

HAMMER: OK. All right. Well, thank you very much, Ari.

KARPEL: OK.

HAMMER: I appreciate you coming in, giving us your insight. And you can read more about the latte effect in this week`s "Entertainment Weekly." It is available on newsstands everywhere.

BRYANT: Well, should you get hitched to Will Smith`s new CD? We`ll find out if you should get jiggy with it. It`s "People`s" "Pick and Pans."

HAMMER: Did you say just "jiggy with it"?

BRYANT: I did. I brought it back, A.J.

HAMMER: All right. If you love TV, well, Jimmy Kimmel`s got a great job offer for you. And "I Want a Famous Face" is coming back. Our "Buzz Bench" is full of smiling faces about all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time for "People" magazine`s music "Picks and Pans." Three new CDs to talk about tonight from Will Smith, Garbage and Aslyn. Joining us here in New York, "People" magazine`s assistant manager editor, Albert Kim. Albert, we`re going to get right to it. What`s up with the Will Smith record?

ALBERT KIM, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Will Smith. You know, I got to say, I actually feel sorry for Will Smith.

BRYANT: Why?

KIM: Well, as sorry as you can for a multi-millionaire movie star.

BRYANT: (INAUDIBLE) paid. What`s there to...

KIM: But as a rapper, he tries so hard, but he gets no respect. He`s kind of like the Rodney Dangerfield of hip-hop, you know? And you can sort of tell from this album because it`s OK, it`s catchy. You can dance to the tracks. But when you put it up against the other hip-hoppers that are out there now -- Eminem, 50 Cent, it really pales in comparison.

BRYANT: But he does try to keep it positive.

KIM: He does. He does. You can dance to a lot of the tracks. And you know, he talks about his struggles in being -- getting respect as a rapper on the -- on the CD. So it`s all right, but it`s not really up to par with what`s out there today.

BRYANT: OK. What about Garbage? They`re back with a new album, Shirley Manson singing.

KIM: Yes. Garbage fans have had a tough time in recent years. You know, it`s been four years since their last album. The band even broke up for a short period during that time. But I`ve got to say, it was worth the wait. This is a terrific album.

BRYANT: Really?

KIM: It`s everything that Garbage fans have waited for -- a lot of hard rock, a lot of good, punching (ph) guitar sound, some good ballads on there, as well. It`s definitely something all rock fans have to have.

BRYANT: Great. That`s good to hear. Now, I want to move on to Aslyn. She`s a new singer, songwriter, kind of pop, kind of...

KIM: Yes. She`s kind of in the vein of Michelle Branch (ph) or Vanessa Caldon (ph), along those lines. It`s good. It`s poppy. It`s engaging. It`s catchy. I fully expect it to be on the next "O.C." soundtrack or (INAUDIBLE) soundtrack. It`s one of those kinds of albums. I think we`ll hear a lot from her in the future.

BRYANT: Well, even when you look in the video, which we can see right here now, she does. She has that kind of thing going on where you expect 14 or 15-year-old girls will just be singing this.

KIM: She`s definitely got a teen vibe, yes. She`ll definitely catch on with that crowd really well.

BRYANT: OK. But out of the three, your favorite is?

KIM: Garbage. Definitely.

BRYANT: Garbage.

KIM: Yes.

BRYANT: Definitely not garbage. All right, well, thanks for joining us here.

And of course, if you would like more from "People" magazine, you can check out their latest copies on newsstands everywhere. Albert Kim, thanks for joining us.

KIM: Thanks for having me.

HAMMER: All right. Have you ever wondered what it takes to put an album together? We`re going to introduce you to someone who has worked with some of the biggest names in the biz.

BRYANT: And Jimmy Kimmel`s got a job offer for you, and Martha Stewart and Howard Stern might run into each other at the water cooler. Our "Buzz Bench" has all the water-cooler chat.

HAMMER: Now it`s time for tonight`s "Birthday Shoutout." "Late Night`s" Conan O`Brien turns 42 today, and the shoutout comes from "Less Than Perfect`s Andy Dick, who`s adding a few extra birthday candles to Conan`s cake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY DICK, "LESS THAN PERFECT": Conan, it`s always fantastic when somebody turned the big 5-0. I say hats off to you, my friend. You would never wear a hat, would you. You`ve got that bouffant going. It would flatten it, like mine is now. Do I have hat head now? There, I took my hat off for you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: The big star-studded "A Lot Like Love" premiere happening right now. This is a live picture in New York City. Of course, it`s Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet`s movie. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

HAMMER: He`s the man behind some of the most popular women in music. Tonight, we`re going to go to the studio to see what it`s like to be a music producer, with Rodney Jerkins.

BRYANT: Plus, it`s a lot like a red carpet. We`ll take you back live to the premiere of "A Lot Like Love."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi this is (INAUDIBLE) and if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, almost 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: And I`m AJ Hammer. Here are tonight`s hot headlines.

BRYANT: A big shakeup in the TV football world. We learned late today that NFL`s Monday night football will move to ESPN starting with the 2006 season after 36 years on ABC. NFL games will also be returning to NBC after a six-year absence.

HAMMER: Retire strong. Lance Armstrong announced today he`s retiring from professional cycling after this summer`s Tour de France. He said, ultimately, athletes have to retire because the body just doesn`t keep going and going. Armstrong is going for his seventh consecutive win this summer.

BRYANT: A "Sirius" deal for Martha. Martha Stewart announced today she has a deal with Sirius satellite radio to create a 24-hour station featuring cooking, gardening and entertainment. The channel is expected to be called "Martha Stewart Living Radio."

HAMMER: Whitney, Britney, Brandi. They all have music producer Rodney Jerkins to thank for some of their top-selling hits. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with the A-list music producer and his wife, pop singer Joy Enriquez at Pacifique studios in Los Angeles. And tonight we`re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what it`s like to be a music producer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RODNEY JERKINS, MUSIC PRODUCER: This is actually studio B of Pacifique. This is where we do the vocals and the production. I did "Say My Name" by Destiny`s Child in this studio. I mixed the Britney Spears record in this studio. I did some stuff with Brandy. Brandy`s whole "Never Say Never" album was mixed in this studio. Michael Jackson -- I did stuff for Michael Jackson. Today, I`m going to record my wife Joy, a record called "Irreplaceable You."

Let me get a level on you real quick. Stop. Stop. Stop. I need you to be more - you have to bring up some air in your voice. Be a little bit more sexy with it. I`ve had success with a lot of different female artists and I work with a lot of different emotions. Throughout the years, I`ve worked with some of the best artists there are and everybody is different so you want to treat everybody different. I have to learn to ease back on certain artists, because they can`t take it. Some artists emotionally can`t take, Do that again. You`re off. You`re flat. You`re sharp. They start to cry. So sometimes I got to ease back and just feel them out first and then, you know, tell them what to do. We got to win a Grammy right now. We`re at the Grammys. I need you to be on fire right now, Watch your pitch. One more time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

JERKINS: You have to take your time. It`s all about juggling. My days are very hectic and very long. If I`m not in the studio, I`m shooting some pool. If I`m not shooting some pool, I`m at the nail salon getting a manicure. If I`m not there, I`m trying to get a quick bite in. Back to the studio for mixing. OK. I`m seeing it. You went for it. You can hit that. Let`s take it from the bridge.

Come out. You nailed it that time. Thanks for hanging out at Pacifique studios with me. I hope you learned a little bit about what it is to be a music producer. Sorry, but I got to get back to work. I`ll catch you next time. Bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: The guy`s got great ears. His current project is called "The Versatility Competition." It`s a new collection of Rodney Jerkins tracks that kids can actually write to and sing over. The competition will hopefully yield some fresh new talent and the winner will get the opportunity to sign with Rodney`s company, Dark Child Records.

BRYANT: As we report earlier, "The Amityville Horror" was number one at the weekend box office and we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "The Amityville Horror," do you believe it happened? You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight and send us your e-mails at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.

HAMMER: It is time for show blog tonight, a look at celebrity weblogs and tonight`s edition comes from broadcasting legend Tom Snyder. Snyder was the host of "Tomorrow," which premiered back in 1973 as the first late-late-night talk show on network TV. On his Web site, Snyder announces, quote, I have been diagnosed with something called chronic lympho-cytic leukemia. When I was a kid, leukemia was a death sentence. Now my doctors say it`s treatable. He goes on to lament the state of network news, writing, I miss Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw and I pray in my own stupid way for Peter Jennings to get well soon.

BRYANT: Jennings started chemotherapy for lung cancer last week. Tonight, we have a look at an e-mail he sent to close friends and colleagues as he began treatment. The treatment often includes steroids, which reduce the side effects of chemo and experts say the steroids can cause emotional outpouring, something Jennings refers to in an e-mail. He wrote, some of you -- many of you -- have made me cry in the very best sense, which out of a slight sense of embarrassment I immediately blamed on the steroids. Truth be told, I think you have given me more strength than I thought I had. I want you to know that and to say thank you.

HAMMER: Well, couch potatoes, your ship has come in. Jimmy Kimmel is poised to make all your dreams come true. We`re going to take that to the buzz bench, coming up.

BRYANT: Plus, we`re live at the premiere of Ashton Kutcher`s new movie with Amanda Peet. We`ll see which stars come out for "A Lot Like Love," coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY JACKSON, AMERICAN IDOL: I`m watching DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and LOST.

PAULA ABDUL, AMERICAN IDOL: And I`m watching what else, AMERICAN IDOL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: It is time for the buzz bench, where today`s entertainment chatter takes center stage. Tonight -- Martha gets a Sirius deal, Jimmy Kimmel gets a couch potato and "I want a Famous Face," gets a second season.

HAMMER: And joining us on the buzz bench tonight, CNN`s pop culture correspondent Toure, comedian and TV personality Leigh Kessler and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contributor Amy Kean. So let`s get right to topic number one. Sirius satellite radio announced today that Martha Stewart has an exclusive four-year deal to create and launch a Martha Stewart-branded satellite radio` channel which is going to air original programming, 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. Amy, I want to get your take on this. I have to fully disclose here in the interests of full disclosure, I have a show on Sirius satellite radio, so Martha`s business grows.

AMY KEAN, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CONTRIBUTOR: I love Martha Stewart and it could work, but I think that her previous gig was a minute and a half. To jump from a minute and a half to 24 hours a day is a big one and so much of Martha Stewart`s appeal I think is a visual appeal of Martha and watching her make the crafts, watching her cook, watching what she`s doing. It`s going to be hard to do.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I don`t know. She can talk to the people through the radio and tell them what to do. Sirius and XM as well have a lot of money. They`re being really aggressive with new programming, Howard Stern. I mean there`s a revolution going on in radio with these two companies building up and changing. They`re going to figure out how to do this right because Martha Stewart is huge business.

KEAN: Right, but it`s still radio. No matter how you slice it, it`s still radio. So we`re still not going to see -- you`re a Martha Stewart lover.

BRYANT: I`m a fan, but I think if I were driving around and I wanted to hear how deep I should plant tulip bulbs, that`s fine. I could listen to that.

LEIGH KESSLER, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: I would think people are going to fall asleep at the wheel as she describes how to decorate your mailbox with decoupage.

(CROSSTALK)

HAMMER: Those people won`t be listening.

TOURE: There`s got to be 100,000 people at least who will love to listen to this all day long.

KESSLER: I think it`s visual.

BRYANT: Speaking of visual, Jimmy Kimmel needs a new staffer. He has let go one of the guys who is paid to watch television for Jimmy. Now he is looking for a new couch potato. The job will net you about $500 to $600 a week, but basically you would just get paid for watching television. Leigh.

This reminds me of the movie, "Brewster`s Millions" where the guy has got to spend $30 million in 30 days. It seems amazing.

BRYANT: It`s going to be a nationwide search for this coach potato.

KESSLER: It seems amazing, but after 30 days, you`re like, oh, my God, I just want to read.

TOURE: I actually do this without the money. It`s not that hard to do. It`s not that bad, but the Kimmel show is just a total disaster. Whoever would want to be on this show is just taking career suicide.

KEAN: This is more of like Jimmy Kimmel`s, the man show shtick, a guy sitting around with a remote. So I think it`s just kind of a publicity stunt. He`s looking for fat, funny dumb guys to come on and talk about it.

HAMMER: He`s paying them $500 to $600 week. Nobody`s getting rich off.

KESSLER: They had a little thing - I remember there was a documentary they made on the making of the Jimmy Kimmel show and they showed the guys who did this for a living and they all seemed like, get me out of here. I`m dying. The only job growth is actually your waistline.

TOURE: How did Kimmel even still has a show (INAUDIBLE) not doing so hot.

BRYANT: Yeah, well --

HAMMER: Let`s move on to a show that must have had enough success to get picked up for yet another season. MTV`s documentary series "I Want a Famous Face" began its second season on March 29th. This is a show that follows the transformation of all these young people who have chosen to undergo plastic surgery so they can look like their celebrity idols and this season, Carmen Electra and Arnold Schwarzenegger are among the people that people are trying to look like.

TOURE: It`s an incredible show. I don`t know where they found all these people who want to look like a specific celebrity and to MTVs credit, it`s a responsible show. They don`t hold back at all on how hard plastic surgery is, how painful it is. They won`t pay for it and they tell you how much it costs and all this sort of thing. They show kids struggling and hurting in bed. This show to me turns my stomach. It`s great for some people, but I can`t deal with it.

KEAN: There are so many shows that are showing cosmetic surgery now that I`m so desensitized from seeing blood and guts, (INAUDIBLE) that`s all I see. But I do think that no matter how much they show the downside, it still is making kids think that -- since 1997, the number of cosmetic procedures has tripled.

KESSLER: If you watch this show, you will not want to go under the knife.

HAMMER: I don`t think the problem is about people doing make overs and getting changed and plastic surgery. The problem is that these people want to become the stars and there`s a psychological issue there.

(CROSSTALK)

KEAN: No, they don`t look like them.

KESSLER: No, they never come close. They did that extreme make over, then extreme home make over. Now, I want to a famous crib.

(CROSSTALK)

KESSLER: I want to get Ludacris` kitchen.

(CROSSTALK)

HAMMER: I`m still shopping around pimp my bride, but no one is biting on that.

BRYANT: And with that, I`m going to say thanks AJ. Thank you to Amy, Leigh a Toure for joining us here on the buzz bench.

There`s a lot of Ashton Kutcher at the movies lately. "Guess Who" is out now, and "A Lot Like Love" comes out this Friday. The premiere is going on right now in New York and we`ll take you back there live next.

HAMMER: Never going to live that down, am I? A brand new honor, I almost said horror, thinking of Amityville, a brand new honor for Dustin Hoffman tonight. We`re going to have that story, coming up as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is still on the red carpet at the premier for "A Lot Like Love." It`s a romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. Now David, we saw Amanda walking down the red carpet a few minutes ago. She`s right there with you.

HAFFENREFFER: Amanda Peet is right there with us. It is a romantic comedy as you said and a funny one at that. Amanda Peet, thanks for speaking with us tonight. Thanks for having me.

PEET: Well, thanks for having me.

HAFFENREFFER: It`s kind of a welcome home for you. You`re a New York City native.

PEET: Born and bred.

HAFFENREFFER: Tell me a little bit about the character Emily and the three stripes. She sounds like a picky human being to some degree.

PEET: When you`re young, you`re stubborn and you think you`re too cool for sweet Midwestern boys, but alas, it`s not true.

HAFFENREFFER: And yet, over the relationship that Emily has with Oliver, Ashton Kutcher`s character goes through so many hoops to try to win you back. Have you ever done anything absolutely crazy for love? I mean he even goes out and learns how to play guitar.

PEET: Yeah, I have done things, but I don`t know if I want to talk about them on national television because they`re sort of cringy and embarrassing.

HAFFENREFFER: Are you a romantic?

PEET: I think probably sadly for me.

HAFFENREFFER: But in a romantic comedy situation, I always find that people tend to like these movies because they relate. They feel in some way as though they`re relating to what the characters are going through. Is this a subject matter, a type of genre of movie that you enjoy doing?

PEET: I love doing them, I love seeing them. I see all of them. I get weak in the knees. I cry, probably my favorite.

HAFFENREFFER: How hard was Ashton Kutcher to work with, just total diva?

PEET: Total diva.

HAFFENREFFER: You had not worked with him before.

PEET: No. We met at a party once and he`s just my favorite. He`s such a gentlemen and I love him dearly. I love him so much.

HAFFENREFFER: And I think he`s coming in right behind you as well, indeed so. Amanda Peet, thank you very much for speaking with us. We appreciate it, best of luck with the film. As you can see here, we`re watching the arrival of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, the co-star of this film and flash bulbs galore, of course. We will certainly do our best to try to grab Mr. Kutcher as he comes down the red carpet as well. Until then, back to you in the studio.

HAMMER: All right, David. That`s a live shot. They are live at the red carpet, the gala premier in New York City of the "A Lot Like Love" film. Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher and it opens in theaters tomorrow. Thanks a lot David Haffenreffer, live in New York City. Karyn.

BRYANT: Well, Jon Stewart stages an Oprahesque surprise. That is coming up in talk of the day. And there`s still time for you to sound off on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "The Amityville Horror," do you believe it happened? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight or email us your two cents at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll read some of those emails live next.

HAMMER: And before we go to break, it`s another live shot, Ashton Kutcher arriving at the premier for his new movie "A Lot Like Love," live in New York City. The movie opens in theaters tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Tonight, Dustin Hoffman is being honored by the film society of Lincoln Center here in New York. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the story first. Hoffman has an incredible film career spanning almost 40 years with characters ranging from Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate," to Captain Hook to Dorothy Michael in "Tootsie," fantastic film and just moments ago, Hoffman told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT the secret to choosing his wide range of characters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUSTIN HOFFMAN, ACTOR: Just feeling the same things that author wrote called the character is feeling and say, oh I felt that. I know what that is so you don`t become it. You just take it to you. That`s all you can do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that`s how you act?

HOFFMAN: Yeah, I don`t know how you can be anyone else but yourself but you just do certain things and they transform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Also out tonight to support Hoffman was Kevin Bacon who says he really admires Hoffman as an actor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: He`s really probably the most influential actor (INAUDIBLE) my thoughts about what it means to be an actor are certain, based on what Dustin Hoffman has done with his career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Past honorees include Charlie Chaplin, Al Pacino, Mike Nichols, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese.

Well, they have been talking all day. AJ, now I`ve been listening. Now as we do everything night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today talk shows.

HAMMER: "The Daily Show`s" Jon Stewart paid a visit to Oprah. He showed her how he granted one lucky Oprah fan her wildest dream on a daily show budget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, DAILY SHOW: I have a note from an Oprah viewer. I think her name`s Betty. She works at a Starbucks. I`m going to make a dream come true. This is going to be great. I`m here with the dream van. I am going to make some dreams come true.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know anything about a van.

STEWART: Well, no, it`s (INAUDIBLE) Oprah show. Oprah has that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oprah Winfrey. Did you get my letter? You got my letter.

STEWART: Yes, we got your letter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I quit. You can take this job and cram it -- I quit. I won. I won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Of course that is Amy (INAUDIBLE). Now the reward turned out to be tickets to a Broadway show, but something tells me that comedian Amy (INAUDIBLE) who played the coffee shop girl, will land on her feet and tomorrow on Oprah, it`s the "O" magazine birthday (INAUDIBLE).

HAMMER: We have been asking you to vote online in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "The Amityville Horror," do you believe it actually happened? Karyn. Here`s what the voting had to say so far. As you see, 39 percent of you said yes you do believe in "The Amityville Horror" and 61 percent of you said no. Among the emails we received one from Clive in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, who wrote, of course it didn`t happen. The hype around "Amityville Horror" proves that the American public can so easily be deceived into believing such tomfoolery.

BRYANT: Well, speaking of tomfoolery, it`s time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.

HAMMER: He lives for this moment. Let`s take a look at the showbiz marquee with the marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: They are not divas. They`re il divo! (ph). If you haven`t heard of them yet, you will, and you`d better learn a new word - popera, popera, love that. Il divo, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Also tomorrow. Are you not Fonda your in-laws? Wait until you meet the monster-in-laws, Jane Fonda`s first movie in 15 years. I`m excited. I can almost weep from the excitement. Jane Fonda in the showbiz sit down tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is the marquee guy saying "The Amityville Horror" really happened. I was there.

HAMMER: All right, marquee guy. That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ll see you here tomorrow.

BRYANT: Nancy Grace is up next right after the very latest from HEADLINE NEWS.

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