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Showbiz Tonight

ShowBiz Tonight for April 20, 2005, CNNHN

Aired April 20, 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 stroll in the park with Jay-Z and Kanye West.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And a walk on Pam Anderson`s set. I`m Karyn Bryant.

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

BRYANT: Tonight: picture, not so perfect? Paparazzi click, but celebrities are ticked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE KIDMAN: They`re so distracting me. Shush!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Paula opens up. The "American Idol" judge`s secret struggle with a debilitating disorder.

BRYANT: Plus, Central Park West. Kanye West parks himself in the middle of New York City, and he`s bringing along some famous friends. We`re live.

HAMMER: Trump`s bullish on Bill. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is on the job exclusively with the Donald and the man he picked to be his first "Apprentice."

BRYANT: And beauty booked. Pam Anderson. Millions are watching the "Baywatch" beauty. A "Stacked" set visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA ANDERSON, "STACKED": Hi. I`m Pamela Anderson. 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, it`s a fashion frenzy being billed as the largest fashion show in Central Park history. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there live.

BRYANT: H&M is pulling out all the stops, putting on a huge show tonight in New York City. Grammy Award-winner Kanye West is performing, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is live right there in the middle of it all -- David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Karyn and A.J., this is called H&M Live from Central Park. It is an event that takes place every five years, but the first time it has taken place in the United States. And what better place to do it than in New York`s Central Park in springtime?

Kanye West is one of the -- the headline performer here tonight, and he joins us here live before the event even gets under way. It`s great to see you again.

KANYE WEST, PERFORMING AT H&M LIVE: It`s good to be here.

HAFFENREFFER: You`ve been a busy man, haven`t you.

WEST: Yes, I`ve been working on my label, "Good Music," that has Carmen (ph), John Legend, who just went platinum. Carmen`s album`s coming out May 24. And I just released my first single from my new album, "Late Registration." We just dropped it on radio today.

HAFFENREFFER: And so you`ve been busy. What are you going to play here tonight?

WEST: I don`t want to give it away, but it`s going to be exciting.

HAFFENREFFER: And you also recently were working with John Mayer, as well. Tell me about that experience. What was that like?

WEST: Well, John Mayer`s just a friend of mine. We just, like, get in the studio and crack jokes on people and do a little music.

HAFFENREFFER: He`s got a great sense of humor, and we`ve met him before and had a good time with him at the time. Tell me a little bit about why you`re here tonight at this event.

WEST; They told me to come through.

(LAUGHTER)

WEST: You know, you have to prep me for stuff like this. They pay me to do the show and...

HAFFENREFFER: See? Honesty. Honesty. That`s good. That`s good.

WEST: Isn`t that the reason why all artists are usually like this -- like...

HAFFENREFFER: Now, last time we saw you was at the TRL Awards down in Times Square here in New York, and you were all gussed up. Tell me a little bit about what you`re wearing tonight, what you`re thinking about fashion-wise these days.

WEST: I`ll probably be wearing this. It`s, like -- it`s really, like -- once you`ve pushed it to a certain limit, sometimes you can just, like, lay back with it. But I`m still, like, dressed fresh to def (ph), as usual. You know, I still got Ifeezu (ph) gym shoes. It`s, like -- it`s more subtle. Like, you wouldn`t notice it unless I was to name-drop everything I had on. And then you would say, Oh, wow, that really must be nice.

HAFFENREFFER: Kanye West, we`re going to follow you inside to see what you play a little later bit on tonight. Thanks for talking with us today.

WEST: OK. Cool.

HAFFENREFFER: And we`ve got 150 models here, 800 people coming for dinner tonight. So it`s a major-league event. And it`s just beautiful inside. We`ll bring the cameras in a bit later on. Karyn, back to you in the studio.

BRYANT: Thanks, David Haffenreffer. Good to see Kanye out there keeping it real.

Well, tonight: The Ben is the same, but the Jen is different. "People" magazine is reporting today that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are engaged. The couple has been dating nine months. Now, Affleck met the star of the TV show "Alias" on the set of the 2003 movie "Daredevil." He played the lead, and she was Elektra. Affleck was scheduled to marry Jennifer Lopez in September of 2003, but he broke that off. Jennifer Garner was previously married to Scott Foley. They divorced in 2003.

For more, you can check out this week`s "People" magazine on newsstands Friday.

HAMMER: Well, Mariah Carey has emancipated herself onto the top of the charts. "The Emancipation of Mimi" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 album chart, which is just out today. Mariah sold more than 400,000 copies in the best opening week of her career. Here`s a look at the rest of the top five. Rockers Mudvayne premiered at number two. After six weeks on top, 50 Cent gets bumped to number three. Garbage earns its first ever top 10 album, debuting at number four. And Faith Evans drops to number five.

BRYANT: Tonight, we are taking a field trip to the set of Pamela Anderson`s new Fox TV show, "Stacked." The premise of the show? You can`t judge a bookstore by its cover girl. Pam stars as a hard-partying blond bombshell who takes a job in a brainy bookstore. Our guide for the field trip, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson, who`s live in Hollywood right now -- Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Hi, Karyn. Fox has high hopes for "Stacked," which was written just for Pamela Anderson by Steve Levitan, who created "Just Shoot Me." They invited SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to the set of the sexy sitcom, and we sat down with Pamela Anderson and talked about her career, her kids and dodging her agent`s phone calls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Pamela Anderson is already hired as the star of Fox`s new sitcom "Stacked." The title, of course, is a play on words.

PAMELA ANDERSON, "STACKED": A lot of double entendres, yes. A lot of double things.

BROOKE ANDERSON: The series is a play on Pam`s life and pokes fun at her image.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what does this screwed-up boyfriend of yours do?

PAMELA ANDERSON: Oh, he`s in a band. I seem to have a thing for guys in a band. And actors. And pro athletes. And circus performers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

It was actually funny watching it with my son. And when I said, rock star, he`s, like, Daddy. Actors, So-and-So. Pro athletes, So-and-So. Circus performers -- like, he knew what each person was. He was saying it as we were watching it. I was like, Brandon, it`s a sitcom!

BROOKE ANDERSON: The sitcom`s premise? Blond bombshell meets brainy bookworm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON GOLD, "STACKED": I`m taking this phone call. Please pretend to be my girlfriend!

PAMELA ANDERSON: What?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ANDERSON (voice-over): Elan Gold plays the co-owner of the book store, and he told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he`s got the real dirt on Pam.

GOLD: We share a dressing room wall, and sometimes you can faintly hear what she`s saying. You think it`d be, like, something really crazy or some heavy breathing, at the very least. Here`s what she`s doing. Yes, we`ll pick the kids up from school at 3:30, and then I`m going to take them for pizza. And it`s just, like, Oh, she`s talking about her kids!

BROOKE ANDERSON: Pamela Anderson told us that spending time with her kids is still her top priority.

PAMELA ANDERSON: The great thing about being on a sitcom is it works good with school hours. I can drop my kids off every day at school and come to work and, you know, only two days a week, really, I miss dinner with them. And I get to all their Little League games and I -- it works out with my schedule.

For two years, I wouldn`t even answer my agent`s phone calls. I was, like, Nick, leave me alone. I`m going to be with my kids, and that`s it.

BROOKE ANDERSON: But that poor agent wasn`t going to take no for an answer.

PAMELA ANDERSON: Nick called and said, Just go next door, have a little lunch with Steve Levitan. He`s the best writer on TV. You`ll love him. And see how you feel. And we just instantly connected, and I was doing a show, you know, two weeks later.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON: The cast also includes former "Taxi" star Christopher Lloyd, Marissa Jaret Winokur of "Hairspray" fame and stand-up comic Brian Scolaro. Cast members told us that Pamela Anderson is a real professional and very easy to work with -- Karyn.

BRYANT: Well, thanks a lot, Brooke. Now, Pamela`s show airs tonight on Fox, right after her friend, Paris Hilton`s, "The Simple Life."

HAMMER: Seacrest among the stars on Hollywood Boulevard. Today, "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He received the honor for his work on the radio over the past 10 years.

"Idol" judges Randy and Simon were there for the festivities, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas got the scoop on who the next "American Idol" just might be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: And who do you think is going to take home the "American Idol" (INAUDIBLE)

SIMON COWELL, "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE: You. I do.

VARGAS: I`m not in the competition!

COWELL: Well, you are now.

VARGAS: Thank you!

COWELL: And you sing.

VARGAS: I can sing. Absolutely.

COWELL: Really? Do it now.

VARGAS: All right. What song would you like me to sing?

COWELL: I`ll leave it up to you.

VARGAS: (SINGING) I write the songs that make the whole world sing, I write the songs of love and special things -- I can`t believe it!

COWELL: Can you do that in a bikini?

RANDY JACKSON, "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE: What? What are you doing? Why a bikini?

VARGAS: I can`t believe this! (INAUDIBLE)

COWELL: I can just see you in a bikini doing that song.

JACKSON: You mean on the beach, selling beads?

COWELL: No, just in a bikini on the beach.

VARGAS: Was it the right song selection?

COWELL: Anything from you is the right song selection.

JACKSON: Whoa! I`m going to go over here!

COWELL: Yes, I would vote for you. Jolly nice to meet you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYANT: Wow! That took a lot, to sing on TV. Good girl, Sibila.

Well, Paula Abdul`s 25-year-old secret -- she tells all to "People" magazine. We`ve got your first look.

HAMMER: I got to find out what happened after that was all over.

BRYANT: I know!

HAMMER: Lights, camera, and celebrities not happy with their actions. The paparazzi -- - doing harm or just doing their job? "SHOWBIZ In Depth" on the way.

And now it`s time for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Which actor`s resume includes stints as a coffin polisher, a milkman and a nude model for artists? Was it Ewan McGregor, Sean Connery, Robert Wagner or Harrison Ford. We`re coming straight back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Which actor`s resume includes stints as a coffin polisher, a milkman and a nude model for artists, Ewan McGregor, Sean Connery, Robert Wagner or Harrison Ford? Well, Miss Moneypenny, you can also add to that resume James Bond. The answer is B, Sean Connery.

BRYANT: One problem 007 never has to deal with is over-eager paparazzi. But tonight, it`s a whole other story for some Hollywood stars who have had a rough few weeks. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there as the paparazzi snapped away and some of the stars snapped back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Maria Carey, blinded by the light as paparazzi compete for the money shot at a CD signing, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore blinded by the light as paparazzi photogs scream their names in a frenzy of flashbulbs. The competition for the shot that will deliver a paparazzi paycheck is getting more intense than it`s ever been before.

Last night in New York City, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is with Nicole Kidman at the premier of her new movie, "The Interpreter." And as we try to talk with her, she talks back to the paparazzi.

NICOLE KIDMAN, "THE INTERPRETER": I`m sorry, they`re so distracting me. Shush! It`s too loud!

BRYANT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is also there when the paparazzi get a little too enthusiastic with Ashton and Demi at Monday`s premier of Ashton`s new movie, "A Lot Like Love." Ashton told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer it can rattle your nerves.

ASHTON KUTCHER, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": Frankly, I don`t know why everyone has to yell.

HAFFENREFFER: It`s warm and springtime in New York.

KUTCHER: I know. Yes. And it felt like -- why are we yelling? Like, let`s use the indoor voices. It`s nice, you know? I mean, we can all have a civil conversation and -- I mean, they act like I`m not looking at them or I`m, like, picking which one I don`t want to look at. I can`t see anything. So it`s bizarre.

BRYANT: At one point, a paparazzo, frustrated with Demi for not giving him the perfect shot, starts yelling out her home address and tells the other photogs to wait for her there. Last year`s movie, "paparazzi," depicts a fantasy of many celebs. In it, a young actor gets revenge against pesky photographers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the paparazzi nearly killed my wife. (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: And pesky photographers were what Reese Witherspoon ran into last week. She called the cops on them, claiming they chased her as she drove home from the gym and blocked the gate to her house. Jennifer Lopez feels Reese`s pain. She says photogs almost caused a car accident in Beverly Hills as they tried to follow her. And with the ever-growing number of celebrity magazines willing to pay for the perfect shot, the paparazzi are not going away anytime soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

In tonight`s "SHOWBIZ In Depth," we look at the world of the paparazzi, what they do, how they do it, and what drives their business. Joining us live to discuss how the paparazzi work is Steve Legrice, who has worked for "In Touch" and `Star" magazine and who is now editor-in-chief for the brand-new magazine, "Inside TV," which debuts its first issue tomorrow. Congrats to you. And in Hollywood, Pablo Grosby. He`s the president and director of the Grosby Group, an agency that sells and distributes paparazzi photos internationally. And he also was a paparazzi photographer. Thank you for joining us.

Now, I want to start with you, Steve. Where do the paparazzi come from? When you go to a -- you see -- at the premiere, you see tons of photographers. Where are they all coming from?

STEVE LEGRICE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "INSIDE TV": They`re coming from all over. I mean, they`re -- there`s huge market for these photographs, and so people come out from all kinds of places. I mean, some of them are professional photographers, some of them are not. Some are just people with a cheap digital camera trying to grab a shot because there`s big money to be made for the right shot.

BRYANT: Pablo, what about that factor, that there are not just professionals there anymore?

PABLO GROSBY, PRES., THE GROSBY GROUP: I think Steve hit it on the spot. The problem is that there`s a lot of non-professional photographers. Years ago, in the days when I used to shoot, you had to be a photographer. And being a photographer wasn`t only about the camera, it was about a certain work ethic. That`s gone now. The whole glamorization of the paparazzi photos has made that anybody that can buy a digital camera and put it in automatic, be it a fan, be it an autograph hunter, be it somebody who never picked up a camera before, thinks, Oh, I can do -- I want to do that, too, and make tons of money. And that ruins the job for the real professionals, too.

BRYANT: Well, tell us, then, what is the code of ethics? For those of us who are not professional photographers, what should you be doing out there?

GROSBY: Well, there is a certain respect. Now, of course, the paparazzi have to shout a lot more because now there`s -- instead of being 30 guys shooting, it`s 200. And so it really gets overwhelming, even for the photographers.

And also, that happens when those photos get to the editor`s desk. Before a good shot of, let`s say, Demi and Ashton, of course, the editor would sell. Now the editor has to look at 200 of those shots. So there`s a lot more competition and speed, not only in the quality of the photo. And some of the people get desperate. And now, like in every other profession, there`s always -- there are some rotten apples, like there are bad journalists or there are bad cab drivers. There are bad paparazzi, but that`s not the rule. That`s not -- it`s not that you have to be bad to be one.

BRYANT: OK. So Steve, what is the value of a good picture, and what constitutes a good picture?

LEGRICE: I mean, the value of it is, it`s what the fans want to see. I mean, we`re in the business of giving fans pictures of the stars that they love. And so, you know, if the star is doing something that they`re interested in, it`s of value to us. The value goes up, obviously, the more interesting it is. You know, like a new couple, a new relationship, something like that, is terrific, the first picture of a baby. And you know, if it`s something that can make a cover, it`s terrific because, obviously, we...

BRYANT: I want a real figure here. What is terrific? I mean, is terrific...

LEGRICE: Well, I mean, you know, the numbers can go from, you know, for a cover picture, from $10,000 to $120,000, $150,000.

BRYANT: Wow. That`s pretty good.

LEGRICE: Yes.

BRYANT: Now, Pablo, would you say, though, that the business, you know, that element of it, the quick payday, or maybe not necessarily quick, but the huge payday has changed the industry? I mean, were they always that valuable?

GROSBY: In a way, they were. Of course, you know, maybe the amount`s changed over the years, but there were always a good paparazzi. We have to differentiate. So far, we`ve been showing the photographers that shoot at se public events, like premieres, where you get 100, 200 people. Now, of course, there`s different value of those paparazzi. There are the guys that go out with the very long lens and shoot more exclusive material, OK? And as Steve was saying, like, those prices of good pictures -- of course, you know, whoever gets an exclusive, in that perfect storm...

BRYANT: Right....

GROSBY: ... of good pictures and the opportunity of getting, I don`t know, let`s say Britney Spears`s baby, the first photo, could get a million dollars maybe.

BRYANT: Wow. Wow. Well, who knows. Well, I want to thank you, Pablo Grosby, for joining us. And Steve Legrice, thank you, as well.

We want to know your thoughts. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The paparazzi: Do they cross the line? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, you can e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.

HAMMER: What`s wrong with "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul? Well, coming up, she reveals her painful struggle as she sets the record straight.

And Trump hired him, and we follow him. Spend a day in the life of apprentice Bill Rancic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back. This just in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. CNN has learned that Macaulay Culkin is planning to testify on behalf of Michael Jackson in his child molestation case. We`ll have more details on this story throughout the night on CNN Headline News.

BRYANT: Time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories making news tonight. Martha movie on hold. CBS said today that it`s holding off airing its made-for-TV movie about Martha Stewart`s recent prison stay. It was set to air on May 25, but will be replaced by a TV movie about Amber Frey, Scott Peterson`s ex-lover. No word yet on when the Martha movie will air.

A spat with some spitting. Michael A. Smith is accused tonight of spitting tobacco on Jane Fonda while waiting in line to have her sign her new book in Kansas City, Missouri. The man, a Vietnam war veteran, told "The Kansas City Star" that Fonda was, quote, "a traitor." Fonda made a 1972 trip to Vietnam to protest the war. Smith was arrested and released.

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

HAMMER: Tonight, a very painful side of Paula Abdul you probably have never known about. Millions know her as the perky, positive judge of "American Idol," but in next week`s "People" magazine, Abdul opens up about the chronic pain that she`s battled ever since she was 17 years old.

And joining me to discuss Paula`s secret struggle, Cindy Sanz, who`s the senior editor for "People" magazine. Cindy, I found this to be an absolutely a fascinating article and something that anybody who has lived with chronic pain is going to absolutely relate to. What has Paula been dealing with all these years?

CYNTHIA SANZ, SENIOR EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Paula had really been hiding the pain all these years. But ever since she had a cheerleading accident when she was in high school, she`s had problems with her neck. There were problems with the disks in her spine. And she had a couple of car accidents later. And just the years of dancing and choreography really put her in almost all-the-time pain.

HAMMER: But there was a real disorder going on here that they had never diagnosed.

SANZ: Yes. Doctors had sort of treated the pain, tried to treat it with painkillers. She had 12 surgeries. But she really had some sort -- it`s a rare sort of disorder where the nerves just act weird for some reason.

HAMMER: Right.

SANZ: Doctors don`t really understand what causes it. It`s called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and she really just -- it put her in pain all the time.

HAMMER: And there were no physical -- overt physical manifestations, so we didn`t see it. You know, we knew all about her bulimia. Her weight was up and down when that happened. But this was something she chose to hide all this time. Why is that?

SANZ: Paula wanted to hide it. She didn`t want to be seeming to ask for pity or sympathy from people. And she was a dancer, and she`s been taught to sort of work through the pain. So she really tried to keep it to herself.

HAMMER: And she`s had how many surgeries over the years?

SANZ: She`s had 12 surgeries, and none of them helped.

HAMMER: That is unbelievable. But they were finally able to diagnose it, and now she`s happy again. And a lot of people -- and this really came about, didn`t it, her decision to disclose this, because people were writing that they thought she was on drugs because she`s -- they think she`s been acting weird on "American Idol."

SANZ: It is sort of ironic. Paula was looking at the message boards for the "American Idol" site, and she saw that readers were -- fans were writing in and saying, What`s the matter with Paula this year? She`s dancing all the time. She`s acting weird. You know, Is she on drugs? And she was sort of hurt and offended by it and said, No, she`s now actually better than ever.

HAMMER: Yes, she`s just enjoying herself. It really is a great read, Cindy. Thank you very much for stopping in and sharing it with us.

And that issue of "People" magazine featuring the interview with Paula Abdul will hit newsstands on Friday.

BRYANT: Ben and Jen again. Is there more to the e-mail that got Courteney Cox upset? That`s another story, and it`s on our "Buzz Bench" coming up.

HAMMER: Plus, Moby wants to rock-and-roll. We`re going to talk about that. It`s coming up in our weekly "Show Blog Tonight" segment. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AJ HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: He trumped the competition in the first APPRENTICE, and he just spent a day with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So tonight, what it`s like to be Bill Rancic.

KARYN BRYANT, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Plus, fashion, music and a walk in the park. We`ll take you back live to central park, where Kanye West is performing.

(INAUDIBLE): What`s up? If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So keep it right here.

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: And I`m AJ Hammer. Here are tonight`s hot headlines. Culkin to testify. CNN learned just a short time ago that former child start Macauley Culkin plans to testify on behalf of Michael Jackson in his child molestation trial.

BRYANT: We have word of a big Hollywood engagement. "People" magazine is reporting that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are engaged. The couple`s reps haven`t confirmed that. Affleck and Garner co-starred in "Daredevil" and have been dating since last August.

HAMMER: Mariah is back in a big way. Mariah Carey`s new album "The Emancipation of Mimi" has knocked 50 Cent out of the top spot on the "Billboard" album chart in numbers just out today. It`s Mariah`s first number one album in eight years and her biggest opening sales week, with 404,000 copies sold.

BRYANT: Grammy award winner Kanye West is gearing up to take center stage in New York`s central park. He`s providing the entertainment tonight at a huge fashion show thrown by H&M.

HAMMER: That`s right, so let`s get right back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer who is live in the park right now and waiting for the show to start.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: AJ, Karyn, you`re looking at the very live media representation here from all around the world. H&M is a Swedish fashion company that`s just had an enormous launch here in the United States and this is an event that takes place every five years, but this is the first time that it`s taken place here in the United States. So it`s a big event here in central park tonight. We got here a little bit early today and caught up with some of the models who are getting ready for this major event, 150 models here tonight. It`s a big event. It will be followed by 800 people having dinner at this event. Kanye West, as you mentioned, is performing here tonight as well. We caught up with the designer of H&M but a little bit earlier, she said that she told us rather, that they`ve been planning this event for about a year and a half. We also spoke with some other fashion watchers on the red carpet tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA LEPORE: I think so. I think it`s a good thing, H&M, you know, people that don`t have a lot of money can still dress fashionable and stuff (INAUDIBLE). So it`s good that people can knock off some stuff and everything.

HEATHERETTE: (INAUDIBLE) I think I`m actually wearing H&M underwear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAFFENREFFER: Also waiting for Boy George to show up as well here at this event, some other big names on the list include Stephanie Seymour and Mariska Hargitay (ph) of course from NBC`s LAW AND ORDER. Back to you in the studio.

HAMMER: And it`s a hot spring night out there. Thanks very much, David Haffenreffer, live in central park in New York City. We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The parazzi, do they cross the line? You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight or send us an e-mail with more of what you have to say at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to share what you have to say at 55 past the hour.

BRYANT: Time now for showblog tonight, where we keep our eyes on what the stars are blogging about. This week, we have Moby, and CNN pop culture correspondent Toure is here with us to blog away.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Hi KB. How are you?

BRYANT: I`m well. How`s it going?

TOURE: Have you ever wondered whether Moby is truly a big geek or if he`s just pretending to be one to sell records? Probably not. You know the answer. But if you want definitive proof, look no further than his blog, moby.com. Moby posts quite often, and writes in a voice that`s very moby. Here`s a post. Some notes for people who com to moby.com to let me and others know how much they loathe me. Number one, thank you. I find it incredibly flattering that you would take the time out of your busy day to spend hours and hours just letting me know how much you hate me. Personally, if I really hated someone, I would just ignore them. So I appreciate your attention. Now, I swear, none of those letters were written by me. At least I didn`t use my real name.

OK. Here`s my favorite post of the month, bar none, of all the blogs, where Moby confirms his geekiness beyond a shadow of a doubt. Last night as we were getting ready to perform at the tabernacle in Atlanta, Daron was drinking miso broth, Laura was doing yogic stretches, and I was reading "The Economist." Damn! We are such abjectly pathetic excuses for rock stars. I need to hire a rock star consultant. I`ve talked about this before, I know, but every now and then I ask myself, wwtcd? As in, what would Motley Crue do, not to be blasphemous of course. We`re backstage at a concert venue, getting ready to play a big concert, where are the groupies? Where are the lines of cocaine? Where are the gallon jugs of Jack Daniels? Miso soup? Yogic stretches? "The Economist"? Shouldn`t I be reading "Juggs" or "Barely Legal?" If anyone knows of any good rock star consultants, please let me know. We need help. Yes, you do, Moby. And a great rock star consultant, Karyn Bryant.

BRYANT: Well, thank you. I love this performance art you`re doing.

TOURE: Thank you.

BRYANT: Thank you for joining us here for def blog jam.

HAMMER: At least Moby owns it, right?

It is time now for the show`s biz. It`s a first on "One Tree Hill." Fans are actually helping decide how one of the storylines is going to play out. They`re doing it with their cell phones. On last night`s episode, viewers were invited to text message whether they thought Nathan should kiss Taylor. Voting continues until Friday and the results will play out on next week`s episode.

"Star Wars" marathon. On May 16th, all six "Star Wars" movies will run back-to-back in London. That will go over the course of about 14 hours and culminate with "Revenge of the Sith." The marathon is across the street from where the new movie has its London premiere on May 19th.

BRYANT: As we mentioned earlier, there are reports of a big Hollywood engagement. Is the world ready for Bennifer with a different Jennifer? We`ll take that to the buzz bench coming up.

HAMMER: Plus, what it`s like to be Bill Rancic. We`re going to hang out with the winner of the first APPRENTICE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CABRERA: Hey, what`s up? I`m Ryan Cabrera and I`m watching ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Because it`s awesome and it`s different and it`s funny. And you should watch it. Because I`m a dork and I watch it

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to go back out to central park live where David Haffenreffer is at the H&M fashion show and he has a famous former AMERICAN IDOL contestant with him.

HAFFENREFFER: That couldn`t be better said AJ and Mario Vazquez is joining us here, as he makes his way into the H&M live from central park event. What brings you here tonight?

MARIO VAZQUEZ, FORMER IDOL CONTESTANT: I was an invited guest. I`m happy to be here. It`s a beautiful day to have such an event. H&M I like, so I like very much. Glad they have five in the city, or more.

HAFFENREFFER: All right. It`s time to clear something up here. What is going on with you?

VAZQUEZ: Nothing much. Just, you know, just thinking of the future, thinking of my career, as always, just making sure that I focus on more important things that I consider very important right about now in my career. You know, as in song writing and so forth.

HAFFENREFFER: So you`re writing at the moment?

VAZQUEZ: Yes, I am.

HAFFENREFFER: Any record contracts to talk about?

VAZQUEZ: Nothing to talk about, that I will talk about publicly but good things are in the future, very good things.

HAFFENREFFER: Sean P. Diddy Combs around here?

VAZQUEZ: I don`t know. I`m trying to see if I find him myself.

HAFFENREFFER: So, nothing hard on what your future plans may hold in the music industry. Any labels you`ve been talking to? Are there negotiations ongoing?

VAZQUEZ: Well, there`s things that I`m just looking forward to. I`m not going to really talk about that so much publicly. But things are being -- they`re very positive in the future. All I can say is this won`t be the last time you`ll hear of Mario Vazquez.

HAFFENREFFER: I`ve heard you say that before But we do appreciate your talking to us. Have fun inside. It`s a great looking party. Karyn, back to you in the studio, nothing real there, huh?

BRYANT: Nice. Nice. . Getting the hard questions in there, David Haffenreffer. Good to see you.

Well, it is time for the buzz bench where today`s entertainment chatter takes center stage. Tonight, the paparazzi phenomenon. Aniston`s friends e-mail escapade and the new Bennifer, the Affleck-Garner engagement.

HAMMER: And joining us on the buzz bench because you can`t get enough of him, CNN pop culture correspondent Toure, comedian and TV personality Chuck Nice.

BRYANT: Yes he is.

HAMMER: And "Entertainment Weekly`s" Jessica Shaw is here as well. So at the "A Lot Like Love" premier last night, Demi and Ashton ignored a very parazzi, whose name is Steve Sands and he asked them to turn around for a photo and they didn`t want to do it and to retailiate, Sands began screaming Demi`s home address out to the crowd, revealing where she lived, what building she lived in. This is something we`ve been talking about for years. Have the paparazzi gone too far, Jessica?

JESSICA SHAW, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It`s a very dysfunctional relationship between celebrities and paparazzi. They need each other so badly and they both hate each other so badly. It`s like paging Dr. Phil time. But I do think that Steve Sands didn`t go way too far with this. You can`t call out someone`s home address. A year ago, with Rebecca Romain-Stamos (ph), she didn`t feel like stopping and pose, so he called her a word that we can`t say on TV. He said, I understand why John Stamos broke up with you. Who is he? He`s a photographer.

TOURE: I`ve yelled things like that at her before too, but I mean yelling out a celebrity`s home address is so messed up. There`s no reciprocity. There`s nothing you can do back to the paparazzi that would be anywhere near equivalent. So it`s completely messed up.

CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: That`s like somebody yelling out your last name. Actually, paparazzi, the new Satan, that`s all I`m saying. These guys are way out of control. And honestly, who cares. You know? Why do you have to be mean spirited about it? You`re not getting a picture. It`s not the end of the world.

TOURE: But you should remember, paparazzi, you are leeches on the celebrity whale. So don`t act like they -- you deserve --

SHAW: But the celebrities want it, too. They definitely do. If you`ve ever been on line at a movie premier, they go there. They (INAUDIBLE) and this angle and that angle.

BRYANT: Sure. Something a celebrity didn`t want, this is from Jennifer Aniston, allegedly. These e-mails going around were from Jennifer Aniston. They were pictures from her goddaughter Coco Arquette`s christening. These emails got around to everybody and it has it originated from Jennifer Aniston and it also had a little story in there about how she was crying about the break-up with Crad and how Courtney Cox Arquette said, you know, you said you wouldn`t do this to me. Chuck?

NICE: Yeah, come on, we know this is not real. You know? Honestly, why would you put that kind of information out about yourself? People who do this type of thing are lower than low. You know, once you bring children into it --

SHAW: Lower than paparazzi?

NICE: Lower than paparazzi. This is paparazzi, the guy who sent the e-mail. That`s the pecking order. That`s personal pictures.

SHAW: And of a baby.

NICE: And a baby! You`re bringing children into this?

TOURE: That`s where the paparazzi thing really gets me, when they start showing people`s kids, especially the kids away from the parents. Because the parents sign up for this deal, but Coco or Apple, you know, they didn`t sign up for this.

SHAW: I do believe this is Paris Hilton`s doing though. I think she wanted to take all the attention away from her palm pilot. I think she sent out the e-mail.

HAMMER: (INAUDIBLE) really quickly, because I know Toure has something to say about Bennifer. But it`s Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. "People" magazine is saying they are getting married.

TOURE: Hollywood loves a sequel, so I`m not (INAUDIBLE) Bennifer 2. The thing that surprised me though that once again, Affleck has chosen a woman who I would bet could kick his ass. So why does he - if you`ve seen "Alias," you know she can do it. So why does he keep going for these tough girls? I don`t know.

SHAW: I just want to say, I think they`re a cool couple. The one thing is, if I were Jennifer Garner, I would kind of be like, my ring only costs $500,000? And the one you bought J. Lo was like $2 million?

BRYANT: Jennifer has also been married before. So maybe she wants to keep it a little simpler this time.

NICE: It`s possible.

TOURE: It`s possible.

NICE: I still haven`t recovered from when he and Matt Damon broke up.

BRYANT: We`ve got to go, guys. Thank you Jessica, Chuck and Toure for joining us on the bench.

Denzel Washington - he`s on Broadway right now and he is learning about some of the dangers of live theater. Let`s just say the cell phone ringeth. We`ll hear what Denzel has to say about that coming up.

HAMMER: Also, we`re going to see, what`s up with the guy who won the very first APPRENTICE. What it`s like to be Bill Rancic, coming up too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Tonight, what it`s like to be working for Donald Trump as his APPRENTICE. Bill Rancic will go down in infamy to the very first APPRENTICE to win a job with Donald Trump. Rancic won a year`s contract to work on Trump`s Chicago property and after a year on the job, he just signed on for one more. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer caught up with Rancic in New York to see what it`s like to be Bill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER Today, we`re going inside to meet up with Bill Rancic, Donald Trump`s number one APPRENTICE to spend the entire day with him, site inspection and a meeting with the Donald. Let`s go.

BILL RANCIC: This is the famous Robin. I think the one thing about Donald Trump is what you see is what you get.

DONALD TRUMP: I want shutters on the outside.

RANCIC: Whether the camera was there today or wasn`t there. That`s how he is. He knows exactly what he wants, how it`s going to go and he`s a perfectionist. Part of the education is just sometimes going in the office and watching him.

HAFFENREFFER: The education paid off. Trump just signed Rancic on for one more year with his company.

TRUMP: (INAUDIBLE) Why did you decide to do it? (INAUDIBLE)

RANCIC: Are you kidding? It`s a privilege and an honor. I`m getting a $1 billion vacation. I would have done it for free.

HAFFENREFFER: Are you giving him a raise?

TRUMP: I don`t think we should talk about it. He`s a young, smart guy that picks up things very carefully. He`s one of the best pros in the business. I put him with Greg (INAUDIBLE). There`s nobody better than Greg. And Greg has given him in a short period of time a big education. And Bill appreciates it.

HAFFENREFFER: Next stop on our day with bill? The Trump national golf club. An ultra-expensive, ultra private club that Donald and his gang are developing.

RANCIC: This course is just amazing how beautiful it is over here.

HAFFENREFFER: We met up with Trump`s right-hand woman, Carolyn Hepture (ph) to take a look at the $7 million 13th hole. You heard right, $7 million hole.

CAROLYN HEPTURE: $7 million hole. There is a story behind this hole. (INAUDIBLE)

RANCIC: The one time I`ve beaten her in golf.

HEPTURE: I appreciate that very much.

RANCIC: It`s very rare. (INAUDIBLE) sky diving.

HEPTURE: I jumped out a perfectly good airplane.

HAFFENREFFER: From sky diving to skyscrapers, Rancic is an extreme businessman and believed so much in the Trump brand, he bought himself an apartment in one of Trump`s new towers.

RANCIC: We`re standing in the middle of my family room or soon-to-be family here.

HAFFENREFFER: APPRENTICE one, the first APPRENTICE. You broke that new ground with the Trump organization. Tell me about what you`ve learned along the way.

RANCIC: One of the things that this whole experience has done is it really validated a lot of my skills. And I`m an entrepreneur. I see that business at that level isn`t much different than some of the smaller businesses that I`ve been involved with. The numbers are much larger, but the fundamentals of business, they never change. When I leave this experience, you know, at the end of next year -- knowing that the key to business is mastering those fundamentals. When you can master those fundamentals and use that as your foundation, you can build upon that foundation anything you want.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: Rancic says when he leaves the company, he does plan on still doing lots of business with Donald Trump.

BRYANT: We`re going to find out what it`s like to be a fly on the wall at the TONIGHT show. That is coming in laughter dark. And there`s still time for you to sound off on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The paparazzi, do they cross the line? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us what`s on your mind at showbiztonight@cnn.com where (INAUDIBLE) live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Time for another showbiz short. There`s another little brat on the way. Benjamin Bratt and his wife Talisa (ph) are expecting their second child. Their rep announced today the baby is due this fall. The couple also has a little girl named Sophia.

BRYANT: Denzel Washington is on Broadway right now in "Julius Caesar" and he says he`s loving it. The show opened two weeks ago, and in an interview with 60 MINUTES correspondent Ed Bradley, Washington says he`s adjusting to the varied distractions of live theater.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENZEL WASHINGTON: The lights come up and the curtain goes up and it`s an actor`s medium on stage. It`s flying by the seat of your pants. You`ve got to keep going. It`s live. Things happen. We`re still going through things. Things fall. Lights don`t work. You forget lines or whatever happens. And that`s good. That`s good exercise.

ED BRADLEY, CBS CORRESPONDENT: Cell phones go off.

WASHINGTON: Cell phones go off. One of these days I`m going to respond to it in iambic pentameter. Answereth it, my lord. My lord. It is for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: That interview with Denzel Washington airs tonight on 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY on CBS.

HAMMER: Well, it`s time now to get your laugh on in laughter dark as we do every night. We bring you the late night laughs you just might have missed and on the TONIGHT show, Jay Leno experiments with a new kind of fly swatting. Watch this.

BRYANT: Yes and surprisingly, the experiment didn`t disrupt a rather significant speaking event going on next door.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO: I`ve used lasers to create remote control flies, flies. The lasers stimulate specific brain cells making the flies jump, walk, flap its wings and they can control the fly. Did I tell you that? I was at Yale the other day. I had a chance to experiment. Well here, take a look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Well, tonight, Jay welcome "A Lot Like Love" star Ashton Kutcher.

BRYANT: Throughout the show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The paparazzi, do they cross the line? Let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far. 97 percent of you say yes, the paparazzi cross the line and a mere 3 percent of you said, no, they don`t. And you`ve also been sending us e-mails on this question. Larry from Boca Raton, Florida says, celebrities should copyright their faces, then pictures of their image could not be printed without their permission. Don`t know if that would work. Marissa from Larson, Minnesota adds, I think the paparazzi should respect actors` and actresses` privacy because without them they have no job.

Remember you can continue to vote at cnn.com/showbiz tonight.

HAMMER: Well, it`s time now to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. You know what that means.

BRYANT: I do AJ. It means we`re going to talk to the showbiz marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: Dr. Carter, Dr. Carter, paging Dr. Carter. Please report to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT stat! It`s a big good-bye for Noah Wiley. And we`re on the ER set of Wiley, tomorrow, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

From Wiley to Weiland, Scott Weiland. We`re bringing out the big guns with the lead singer of Velvet Revolver. Scott Weiland tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is the velvety marquee guy and AJ and Karyn, I`m feeling velvety smooth. Are you?

BRYANT: I actually am. I`m a big fan of.

HAMMER: You learned some stuff from Scott Weiland. He had a lot to say.

BRYANT: He did. He and Splash (ph) are both pretty cool, but Scott has a lot on his mind about the music industry, for sure.

Well that does it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ll see you here tomorrow.

HAMMER: Nancy Grace is next after the latest from "headline news."

END


Aired April 20, 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 stroll in the park with Jay-Z and Kanye West.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And a walk on Pam Anderson`s set. I`m Karyn Bryant.

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

BRYANT: Tonight: picture, not so perfect? Paparazzi click, but celebrities are ticked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE KIDMAN: They`re so distracting me. Shush!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Paula opens up. The "American Idol" judge`s secret struggle with a debilitating disorder.

BRYANT: Plus, Central Park West. Kanye West parks himself in the middle of New York City, and he`s bringing along some famous friends. We`re live.

HAMMER: Trump`s bullish on Bill. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is on the job exclusively with the Donald and the man he picked to be his first "Apprentice."

BRYANT: And beauty booked. Pam Anderson. Millions are watching the "Baywatch" beauty. A "Stacked" set visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA ANDERSON, "STACKED": Hi. I`m Pamela Anderson. 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, it`s a fashion frenzy being billed as the largest fashion show in Central Park history. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there live.

BRYANT: H&M is pulling out all the stops, putting on a huge show tonight in New York City. Grammy Award-winner Kanye West is performing, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is live right there in the middle of it all -- David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Karyn and A.J., this is called H&M Live from Central Park. It is an event that takes place every five years, but the first time it has taken place in the United States. And what better place to do it than in New York`s Central Park in springtime?

Kanye West is one of the -- the headline performer here tonight, and he joins us here live before the event even gets under way. It`s great to see you again.

KANYE WEST, PERFORMING AT H&M LIVE: It`s good to be here.

HAFFENREFFER: You`ve been a busy man, haven`t you.

WEST: Yes, I`ve been working on my label, "Good Music," that has Carmen (ph), John Legend, who just went platinum. Carmen`s album`s coming out May 24. And I just released my first single from my new album, "Late Registration." We just dropped it on radio today.

HAFFENREFFER: And so you`ve been busy. What are you going to play here tonight?

WEST: I don`t want to give it away, but it`s going to be exciting.

HAFFENREFFER: And you also recently were working with John Mayer, as well. Tell me about that experience. What was that like?

WEST: Well, John Mayer`s just a friend of mine. We just, like, get in the studio and crack jokes on people and do a little music.

HAFFENREFFER: He`s got a great sense of humor, and we`ve met him before and had a good time with him at the time. Tell me a little bit about why you`re here tonight at this event.

WEST; They told me to come through.

(LAUGHTER)

WEST: You know, you have to prep me for stuff like this. They pay me to do the show and...

HAFFENREFFER: See? Honesty. Honesty. That`s good. That`s good.

WEST: Isn`t that the reason why all artists are usually like this -- like...

HAFFENREFFER: Now, last time we saw you was at the TRL Awards down in Times Square here in New York, and you were all gussed up. Tell me a little bit about what you`re wearing tonight, what you`re thinking about fashion-wise these days.

WEST: I`ll probably be wearing this. It`s, like -- it`s really, like -- once you`ve pushed it to a certain limit, sometimes you can just, like, lay back with it. But I`m still, like, dressed fresh to def (ph), as usual. You know, I still got Ifeezu (ph) gym shoes. It`s, like -- it`s more subtle. Like, you wouldn`t notice it unless I was to name-drop everything I had on. And then you would say, Oh, wow, that really must be nice.

HAFFENREFFER: Kanye West, we`re going to follow you inside to see what you play a little later bit on tonight. Thanks for talking with us today.

WEST: OK. Cool.

HAFFENREFFER: And we`ve got 150 models here, 800 people coming for dinner tonight. So it`s a major-league event. And it`s just beautiful inside. We`ll bring the cameras in a bit later on. Karyn, back to you in the studio.

BRYANT: Thanks, David Haffenreffer. Good to see Kanye out there keeping it real.

Well, tonight: The Ben is the same, but the Jen is different. "People" magazine is reporting today that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are engaged. The couple has been dating nine months. Now, Affleck met the star of the TV show "Alias" on the set of the 2003 movie "Daredevil." He played the lead, and she was Elektra. Affleck was scheduled to marry Jennifer Lopez in September of 2003, but he broke that off. Jennifer Garner was previously married to Scott Foley. They divorced in 2003.

For more, you can check out this week`s "People" magazine on newsstands Friday.

HAMMER: Well, Mariah Carey has emancipated herself onto the top of the charts. "The Emancipation of Mimi" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 album chart, which is just out today. Mariah sold more than 400,000 copies in the best opening week of her career. Here`s a look at the rest of the top five. Rockers Mudvayne premiered at number two. After six weeks on top, 50 Cent gets bumped to number three. Garbage earns its first ever top 10 album, debuting at number four. And Faith Evans drops to number five.

BRYANT: Tonight, we are taking a field trip to the set of Pamela Anderson`s new Fox TV show, "Stacked." The premise of the show? You can`t judge a bookstore by its cover girl. Pam stars as a hard-partying blond bombshell who takes a job in a brainy bookstore. Our guide for the field trip, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson, who`s live in Hollywood right now -- Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Hi, Karyn. Fox has high hopes for "Stacked," which was written just for Pamela Anderson by Steve Levitan, who created "Just Shoot Me." They invited SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to the set of the sexy sitcom, and we sat down with Pamela Anderson and talked about her career, her kids and dodging her agent`s phone calls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Pamela Anderson is already hired as the star of Fox`s new sitcom "Stacked." The title, of course, is a play on words.

PAMELA ANDERSON, "STACKED": A lot of double entendres, yes. A lot of double things.

BROOKE ANDERSON: The series is a play on Pam`s life and pokes fun at her image.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what does this screwed-up boyfriend of yours do?

PAMELA ANDERSON: Oh, he`s in a band. I seem to have a thing for guys in a band. And actors. And pro athletes. And circus performers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

It was actually funny watching it with my son. And when I said, rock star, he`s, like, Daddy. Actors, So-and-So. Pro athletes, So-and-So. Circus performers -- like, he knew what each person was. He was saying it as we were watching it. I was like, Brandon, it`s a sitcom!

BROOKE ANDERSON: The sitcom`s premise? Blond bombshell meets brainy bookworm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON GOLD, "STACKED": I`m taking this phone call. Please pretend to be my girlfriend!

PAMELA ANDERSON: What?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ANDERSON (voice-over): Elan Gold plays the co-owner of the book store, and he told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he`s got the real dirt on Pam.

GOLD: We share a dressing room wall, and sometimes you can faintly hear what she`s saying. You think it`d be, like, something really crazy or some heavy breathing, at the very least. Here`s what she`s doing. Yes, we`ll pick the kids up from school at 3:30, and then I`m going to take them for pizza. And it`s just, like, Oh, she`s talking about her kids!

BROOKE ANDERSON: Pamela Anderson told us that spending time with her kids is still her top priority.

PAMELA ANDERSON: The great thing about being on a sitcom is it works good with school hours. I can drop my kids off every day at school and come to work and, you know, only two days a week, really, I miss dinner with them. And I get to all their Little League games and I -- it works out with my schedule.

For two years, I wouldn`t even answer my agent`s phone calls. I was, like, Nick, leave me alone. I`m going to be with my kids, and that`s it.

BROOKE ANDERSON: But that poor agent wasn`t going to take no for an answer.

PAMELA ANDERSON: Nick called and said, Just go next door, have a little lunch with Steve Levitan. He`s the best writer on TV. You`ll love him. And see how you feel. And we just instantly connected, and I was doing a show, you know, two weeks later.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON: The cast also includes former "Taxi" star Christopher Lloyd, Marissa Jaret Winokur of "Hairspray" fame and stand-up comic Brian Scolaro. Cast members told us that Pamela Anderson is a real professional and very easy to work with -- Karyn.

BRYANT: Well, thanks a lot, Brooke. Now, Pamela`s show airs tonight on Fox, right after her friend, Paris Hilton`s, "The Simple Life."

HAMMER: Seacrest among the stars on Hollywood Boulevard. Today, "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He received the honor for his work on the radio over the past 10 years.

"Idol" judges Randy and Simon were there for the festivities, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas got the scoop on who the next "American Idol" just might be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: And who do you think is going to take home the "American Idol" (INAUDIBLE)

SIMON COWELL, "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE: You. I do.

VARGAS: I`m not in the competition!

COWELL: Well, you are now.

VARGAS: Thank you!

COWELL: And you sing.

VARGAS: I can sing. Absolutely.

COWELL: Really? Do it now.

VARGAS: All right. What song would you like me to sing?

COWELL: I`ll leave it up to you.

VARGAS: (SINGING) I write the songs that make the whole world sing, I write the songs of love and special things -- I can`t believe it!

COWELL: Can you do that in a bikini?

RANDY JACKSON, "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE: What? What are you doing? Why a bikini?

VARGAS: I can`t believe this! (INAUDIBLE)

COWELL: I can just see you in a bikini doing that song.

JACKSON: You mean on the beach, selling beads?

COWELL: No, just in a bikini on the beach.

VARGAS: Was it the right song selection?

COWELL: Anything from you is the right song selection.

JACKSON: Whoa! I`m going to go over here!

COWELL: Yes, I would vote for you. Jolly nice to meet you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYANT: Wow! That took a lot, to sing on TV. Good girl, Sibila.

Well, Paula Abdul`s 25-year-old secret -- she tells all to "People" magazine. We`ve got your first look.

HAMMER: I got to find out what happened after that was all over.

BRYANT: I know!

HAMMER: Lights, camera, and celebrities not happy with their actions. The paparazzi -- - doing harm or just doing their job? "SHOWBIZ In Depth" on the way.

And now it`s time for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Which actor`s resume includes stints as a coffin polisher, a milkman and a nude model for artists? Was it Ewan McGregor, Sean Connery, Robert Wagner or Harrison Ford. We`re coming straight back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Which actor`s resume includes stints as a coffin polisher, a milkman and a nude model for artists, Ewan McGregor, Sean Connery, Robert Wagner or Harrison Ford? Well, Miss Moneypenny, you can also add to that resume James Bond. The answer is B, Sean Connery.

BRYANT: One problem 007 never has to deal with is over-eager paparazzi. But tonight, it`s a whole other story for some Hollywood stars who have had a rough few weeks. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there as the paparazzi snapped away and some of the stars snapped back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Maria Carey, blinded by the light as paparazzi compete for the money shot at a CD signing, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore blinded by the light as paparazzi photogs scream their names in a frenzy of flashbulbs. The competition for the shot that will deliver a paparazzi paycheck is getting more intense than it`s ever been before.

Last night in New York City, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is with Nicole Kidman at the premier of her new movie, "The Interpreter." And as we try to talk with her, she talks back to the paparazzi.

NICOLE KIDMAN, "THE INTERPRETER": I`m sorry, they`re so distracting me. Shush! It`s too loud!

BRYANT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is also there when the paparazzi get a little too enthusiastic with Ashton and Demi at Monday`s premier of Ashton`s new movie, "A Lot Like Love." Ashton told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer it can rattle your nerves.

ASHTON KUTCHER, "A LOT LIKE LOVE": Frankly, I don`t know why everyone has to yell.

HAFFENREFFER: It`s warm and springtime in New York.

KUTCHER: I know. Yes. And it felt like -- why are we yelling? Like, let`s use the indoor voices. It`s nice, you know? I mean, we can all have a civil conversation and -- I mean, they act like I`m not looking at them or I`m, like, picking which one I don`t want to look at. I can`t see anything. So it`s bizarre.

BRYANT: At one point, a paparazzo, frustrated with Demi for not giving him the perfect shot, starts yelling out her home address and tells the other photogs to wait for her there. Last year`s movie, "paparazzi," depicts a fantasy of many celebs. In it, a young actor gets revenge against pesky photographers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the paparazzi nearly killed my wife. (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: And pesky photographers were what Reese Witherspoon ran into last week. She called the cops on them, claiming they chased her as she drove home from the gym and blocked the gate to her house. Jennifer Lopez feels Reese`s pain. She says photogs almost caused a car accident in Beverly Hills as they tried to follow her. And with the ever-growing number of celebrity magazines willing to pay for the perfect shot, the paparazzi are not going away anytime soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

In tonight`s "SHOWBIZ In Depth," we look at the world of the paparazzi, what they do, how they do it, and what drives their business. Joining us live to discuss how the paparazzi work is Steve Legrice, who has worked for "In Touch" and `Star" magazine and who is now editor-in-chief for the brand-new magazine, "Inside TV," which debuts its first issue tomorrow. Congrats to you. And in Hollywood, Pablo Grosby. He`s the president and director of the Grosby Group, an agency that sells and distributes paparazzi photos internationally. And he also was a paparazzi photographer. Thank you for joining us.

Now, I want to start with you, Steve. Where do the paparazzi come from? When you go to a -- you see -- at the premiere, you see tons of photographers. Where are they all coming from?

STEVE LEGRICE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "INSIDE TV": They`re coming from all over. I mean, they`re -- there`s huge market for these photographs, and so people come out from all kinds of places. I mean, some of them are professional photographers, some of them are not. Some are just people with a cheap digital camera trying to grab a shot because there`s big money to be made for the right shot.

BRYANT: Pablo, what about that factor, that there are not just professionals there anymore?

PABLO GROSBY, PRES., THE GROSBY GROUP: I think Steve hit it on the spot. The problem is that there`s a lot of non-professional photographers. Years ago, in the days when I used to shoot, you had to be a photographer. And being a photographer wasn`t only about the camera, it was about a certain work ethic. That`s gone now. The whole glamorization of the paparazzi photos has made that anybody that can buy a digital camera and put it in automatic, be it a fan, be it an autograph hunter, be it somebody who never picked up a camera before, thinks, Oh, I can do -- I want to do that, too, and make tons of money. And that ruins the job for the real professionals, too.

BRYANT: Well, tell us, then, what is the code of ethics? For those of us who are not professional photographers, what should you be doing out there?

GROSBY: Well, there is a certain respect. Now, of course, the paparazzi have to shout a lot more because now there`s -- instead of being 30 guys shooting, it`s 200. And so it really gets overwhelming, even for the photographers.

And also, that happens when those photos get to the editor`s desk. Before a good shot of, let`s say, Demi and Ashton, of course, the editor would sell. Now the editor has to look at 200 of those shots. So there`s a lot more competition and speed, not only in the quality of the photo. And some of the people get desperate. And now, like in every other profession, there`s always -- there are some rotten apples, like there are bad journalists or there are bad cab drivers. There are bad paparazzi, but that`s not the rule. That`s not -- it`s not that you have to be bad to be one.

BRYANT: OK. So Steve, what is the value of a good picture, and what constitutes a good picture?

LEGRICE: I mean, the value of it is, it`s what the fans want to see. I mean, we`re in the business of giving fans pictures of the stars that they love. And so, you know, if the star is doing something that they`re interested in, it`s of value to us. The value goes up, obviously, the more interesting it is. You know, like a new couple, a new relationship, something like that, is terrific, the first picture of a baby. And you know, if it`s something that can make a cover, it`s terrific because, obviously, we...

BRYANT: I want a real figure here. What is terrific? I mean, is terrific...

LEGRICE: Well, I mean, you know, the numbers can go from, you know, for a cover picture, from $10,000 to $120,000, $150,000.

BRYANT: Wow. That`s pretty good.

LEGRICE: Yes.

BRYANT: Now, Pablo, would you say, though, that the business, you know, that element of it, the quick payday, or maybe not necessarily quick, but the huge payday has changed the industry? I mean, were they always that valuable?

GROSBY: In a way, they were. Of course, you know, maybe the amount`s changed over the years, but there were always a good paparazzi. We have to differentiate. So far, we`ve been showing the photographers that shoot at se public events, like premieres, where you get 100, 200 people. Now, of course, there`s different value of those paparazzi. There are the guys that go out with the very long lens and shoot more exclusive material, OK? And as Steve was saying, like, those prices of good pictures -- of course, you know, whoever gets an exclusive, in that perfect storm...

BRYANT: Right....

GROSBY: ... of good pictures and the opportunity of getting, I don`t know, let`s say Britney Spears`s baby, the first photo, could get a million dollars maybe.

BRYANT: Wow. Wow. Well, who knows. Well, I want to thank you, Pablo Grosby, for joining us. And Steve Legrice, thank you, as well.

We want to know your thoughts. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The paparazzi: Do they cross the line? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, you can e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.

HAMMER: What`s wrong with "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul? Well, coming up, she reveals her painful struggle as she sets the record straight.

And Trump hired him, and we follow him. Spend a day in the life of apprentice Bill Rancic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back. This just in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. CNN has learned that Macaulay Culkin is planning to testify on behalf of Michael Jackson in his child molestation case. We`ll have more details on this story throughout the night on CNN Headline News.

BRYANT: Time for "SHOWBIZ Shorts," a look at more stories making news tonight. Martha movie on hold. CBS said today that it`s holding off airing its made-for-TV movie about Martha Stewart`s recent prison stay. It was set to air on May 25, but will be replaced by a TV movie about Amber Frey, Scott Peterson`s ex-lover. No word yet on when the Martha movie will air.

A spat with some spitting. Michael A. Smith is accused tonight of spitting tobacco on Jane Fonda while waiting in line to have her sign her new book in Kansas City, Missouri. The man, a Vietnam war veteran, told "The Kansas City Star" that Fonda was, quote, "a traitor." Fonda made a 1972 trip to Vietnam to protest the war. Smith was arrested and released.

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

HAMMER: Tonight, a very painful side of Paula Abdul you probably have never known about. Millions know her as the perky, positive judge of "American Idol," but in next week`s "People" magazine, Abdul opens up about the chronic pain that she`s battled ever since she was 17 years old.

And joining me to discuss Paula`s secret struggle, Cindy Sanz, who`s the senior editor for "People" magazine. Cindy, I found this to be an absolutely a fascinating article and something that anybody who has lived with chronic pain is going to absolutely relate to. What has Paula been dealing with all these years?

CYNTHIA SANZ, SENIOR EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Paula had really been hiding the pain all these years. But ever since she had a cheerleading accident when she was in high school, she`s had problems with her neck. There were problems with the disks in her spine. And she had a couple of car accidents later. And just the years of dancing and choreography really put her in almost all-the-time pain.

HAMMER: But there was a real disorder going on here that they had never diagnosed.

SANZ: Yes. Doctors had sort of treated the pain, tried to treat it with painkillers. She had 12 surgeries. But she really had some sort -- it`s a rare sort of disorder where the nerves just act weird for some reason.

HAMMER: Right.

SANZ: Doctors don`t really understand what causes it. It`s called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and she really just -- it put her in pain all the time.

HAMMER: And there were no physical -- overt physical manifestations, so we didn`t see it. You know, we knew all about her bulimia. Her weight was up and down when that happened. But this was something she chose to hide all this time. Why is that?

SANZ: Paula wanted to hide it. She didn`t want to be seeming to ask for pity or sympathy from people. And she was a dancer, and she`s been taught to sort of work through the pain. So she really tried to keep it to herself.

HAMMER: And she`s had how many surgeries over the years?

SANZ: She`s had 12 surgeries, and none of them helped.

HAMMER: That is unbelievable. But they were finally able to diagnose it, and now she`s happy again. And a lot of people -- and this really came about, didn`t it, her decision to disclose this, because people were writing that they thought she was on drugs because she`s -- they think she`s been acting weird on "American Idol."

SANZ: It is sort of ironic. Paula was looking at the message boards for the "American Idol" site, and she saw that readers were -- fans were writing in and saying, What`s the matter with Paula this year? She`s dancing all the time. She`s acting weird. You know, Is she on drugs? And she was sort of hurt and offended by it and said, No, she`s now actually better than ever.

HAMMER: Yes, she`s just enjoying herself. It really is a great read, Cindy. Thank you very much for stopping in and sharing it with us.

And that issue of "People" magazine featuring the interview with Paula Abdul will hit newsstands on Friday.

BRYANT: Ben and Jen again. Is there more to the e-mail that got Courteney Cox upset? That`s another story, and it`s on our "Buzz Bench" coming up.

HAMMER: Plus, Moby wants to rock-and-roll. We`re going to talk about that. It`s coming up in our weekly "Show Blog Tonight" segment. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AJ HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: He trumped the competition in the first APPRENTICE, and he just spent a day with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So tonight, what it`s like to be Bill Rancic.

KARYN BRYANT, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Plus, fashion, music and a walk in the park. We`ll take you back live to central park, where Kanye West is performing.

(INAUDIBLE): What`s up? If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So keep it right here.

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: And I`m AJ Hammer. Here are tonight`s hot headlines. Culkin to testify. CNN learned just a short time ago that former child start Macauley Culkin plans to testify on behalf of Michael Jackson in his child molestation trial.

BRYANT: We have word of a big Hollywood engagement. "People" magazine is reporting that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are engaged. The couple`s reps haven`t confirmed that. Affleck and Garner co-starred in "Daredevil" and have been dating since last August.

HAMMER: Mariah is back in a big way. Mariah Carey`s new album "The Emancipation of Mimi" has knocked 50 Cent out of the top spot on the "Billboard" album chart in numbers just out today. It`s Mariah`s first number one album in eight years and her biggest opening sales week, with 404,000 copies sold.

BRYANT: Grammy award winner Kanye West is gearing up to take center stage in New York`s central park. He`s providing the entertainment tonight at a huge fashion show thrown by H&M.

HAMMER: That`s right, so let`s get right back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer who is live in the park right now and waiting for the show to start.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: AJ, Karyn, you`re looking at the very live media representation here from all around the world. H&M is a Swedish fashion company that`s just had an enormous launch here in the United States and this is an event that takes place every five years, but this is the first time that it`s taken place here in the United States. So it`s a big event here in central park tonight. We got here a little bit early today and caught up with some of the models who are getting ready for this major event, 150 models here tonight. It`s a big event. It will be followed by 800 people having dinner at this event. Kanye West, as you mentioned, is performing here tonight as well. We caught up with the designer of H&M but a little bit earlier, she said that she told us rather, that they`ve been planning this event for about a year and a half. We also spoke with some other fashion watchers on the red carpet tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA LEPORE: I think so. I think it`s a good thing, H&M, you know, people that don`t have a lot of money can still dress fashionable and stuff (INAUDIBLE). So it`s good that people can knock off some stuff and everything.

HEATHERETTE: (INAUDIBLE) I think I`m actually wearing H&M underwear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAFFENREFFER: Also waiting for Boy George to show up as well here at this event, some other big names on the list include Stephanie Seymour and Mariska Hargitay (ph) of course from NBC`s LAW AND ORDER. Back to you in the studio.

HAMMER: And it`s a hot spring night out there. Thanks very much, David Haffenreffer, live in central park in New York City. We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The parazzi, do they cross the line? You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight or send us an e-mail with more of what you have to say at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to share what you have to say at 55 past the hour.

BRYANT: Time now for showblog tonight, where we keep our eyes on what the stars are blogging about. This week, we have Moby, and CNN pop culture correspondent Toure is here with us to blog away.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Hi KB. How are you?

BRYANT: I`m well. How`s it going?

TOURE: Have you ever wondered whether Moby is truly a big geek or if he`s just pretending to be one to sell records? Probably not. You know the answer. But if you want definitive proof, look no further than his blog, moby.com. Moby posts quite often, and writes in a voice that`s very moby. Here`s a post. Some notes for people who com to moby.com to let me and others know how much they loathe me. Number one, thank you. I find it incredibly flattering that you would take the time out of your busy day to spend hours and hours just letting me know how much you hate me. Personally, if I really hated someone, I would just ignore them. So I appreciate your attention. Now, I swear, none of those letters were written by me. At least I didn`t use my real name.

OK. Here`s my favorite post of the month, bar none, of all the blogs, where Moby confirms his geekiness beyond a shadow of a doubt. Last night as we were getting ready to perform at the tabernacle in Atlanta, Daron was drinking miso broth, Laura was doing yogic stretches, and I was reading "The Economist." Damn! We are such abjectly pathetic excuses for rock stars. I need to hire a rock star consultant. I`ve talked about this before, I know, but every now and then I ask myself, wwtcd? As in, what would Motley Crue do, not to be blasphemous of course. We`re backstage at a concert venue, getting ready to play a big concert, where are the groupies? Where are the lines of cocaine? Where are the gallon jugs of Jack Daniels? Miso soup? Yogic stretches? "The Economist"? Shouldn`t I be reading "Juggs" or "Barely Legal?" If anyone knows of any good rock star consultants, please let me know. We need help. Yes, you do, Moby. And a great rock star consultant, Karyn Bryant.

BRYANT: Well, thank you. I love this performance art you`re doing.

TOURE: Thank you.

BRYANT: Thank you for joining us here for def blog jam.

HAMMER: At least Moby owns it, right?

It is time now for the show`s biz. It`s a first on "One Tree Hill." Fans are actually helping decide how one of the storylines is going to play out. They`re doing it with their cell phones. On last night`s episode, viewers were invited to text message whether they thought Nathan should kiss Taylor. Voting continues until Friday and the results will play out on next week`s episode.

"Star Wars" marathon. On May 16th, all six "Star Wars" movies will run back-to-back in London. That will go over the course of about 14 hours and culminate with "Revenge of the Sith." The marathon is across the street from where the new movie has its London premiere on May 19th.

BRYANT: As we mentioned earlier, there are reports of a big Hollywood engagement. Is the world ready for Bennifer with a different Jennifer? We`ll take that to the buzz bench coming up.

HAMMER: Plus, what it`s like to be Bill Rancic. We`re going to hang out with the winner of the first APPRENTICE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CABRERA: Hey, what`s up? I`m Ryan Cabrera and I`m watching ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Because it`s awesome and it`s different and it`s funny. And you should watch it. Because I`m a dork and I watch it

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to go back out to central park live where David Haffenreffer is at the H&M fashion show and he has a famous former AMERICAN IDOL contestant with him.

HAFFENREFFER: That couldn`t be better said AJ and Mario Vazquez is joining us here, as he makes his way into the H&M live from central park event. What brings you here tonight?

MARIO VAZQUEZ, FORMER IDOL CONTESTANT: I was an invited guest. I`m happy to be here. It`s a beautiful day to have such an event. H&M I like, so I like very much. Glad they have five in the city, or more.

HAFFENREFFER: All right. It`s time to clear something up here. What is going on with you?

VAZQUEZ: Nothing much. Just, you know, just thinking of the future, thinking of my career, as always, just making sure that I focus on more important things that I consider very important right about now in my career. You know, as in song writing and so forth.

HAFFENREFFER: So you`re writing at the moment?

VAZQUEZ: Yes, I am.

HAFFENREFFER: Any record contracts to talk about?

VAZQUEZ: Nothing to talk about, that I will talk about publicly but good things are in the future, very good things.

HAFFENREFFER: Sean P. Diddy Combs around here?

VAZQUEZ: I don`t know. I`m trying to see if I find him myself.

HAFFENREFFER: So, nothing hard on what your future plans may hold in the music industry. Any labels you`ve been talking to? Are there negotiations ongoing?

VAZQUEZ: Well, there`s things that I`m just looking forward to. I`m not going to really talk about that so much publicly. But things are being -- they`re very positive in the future. All I can say is this won`t be the last time you`ll hear of Mario Vazquez.

HAFFENREFFER: I`ve heard you say that before But we do appreciate your talking to us. Have fun inside. It`s a great looking party. Karyn, back to you in the studio, nothing real there, huh?

BRYANT: Nice. Nice. . Getting the hard questions in there, David Haffenreffer. Good to see you.

Well, it is time for the buzz bench where today`s entertainment chatter takes center stage. Tonight, the paparazzi phenomenon. Aniston`s friends e-mail escapade and the new Bennifer, the Affleck-Garner engagement.

HAMMER: And joining us on the buzz bench because you can`t get enough of him, CNN pop culture correspondent Toure, comedian and TV personality Chuck Nice.

BRYANT: Yes he is.

HAMMER: And "Entertainment Weekly`s" Jessica Shaw is here as well. So at the "A Lot Like Love" premier last night, Demi and Ashton ignored a very parazzi, whose name is Steve Sands and he asked them to turn around for a photo and they didn`t want to do it and to retailiate, Sands began screaming Demi`s home address out to the crowd, revealing where she lived, what building she lived in. This is something we`ve been talking about for years. Have the paparazzi gone too far, Jessica?

JESSICA SHAW, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It`s a very dysfunctional relationship between celebrities and paparazzi. They need each other so badly and they both hate each other so badly. It`s like paging Dr. Phil time. But I do think that Steve Sands didn`t go way too far with this. You can`t call out someone`s home address. A year ago, with Rebecca Romain-Stamos (ph), she didn`t feel like stopping and pose, so he called her a word that we can`t say on TV. He said, I understand why John Stamos broke up with you. Who is he? He`s a photographer.

TOURE: I`ve yelled things like that at her before too, but I mean yelling out a celebrity`s home address is so messed up. There`s no reciprocity. There`s nothing you can do back to the paparazzi that would be anywhere near equivalent. So it`s completely messed up.

CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN/TV PERSONALITY: That`s like somebody yelling out your last name. Actually, paparazzi, the new Satan, that`s all I`m saying. These guys are way out of control. And honestly, who cares. You know? Why do you have to be mean spirited about it? You`re not getting a picture. It`s not the end of the world.

TOURE: But you should remember, paparazzi, you are leeches on the celebrity whale. So don`t act like they -- you deserve --

SHAW: But the celebrities want it, too. They definitely do. If you`ve ever been on line at a movie premier, they go there. They (INAUDIBLE) and this angle and that angle.

BRYANT: Sure. Something a celebrity didn`t want, this is from Jennifer Aniston, allegedly. These e-mails going around were from Jennifer Aniston. They were pictures from her goddaughter Coco Arquette`s christening. These emails got around to everybody and it has it originated from Jennifer Aniston and it also had a little story in there about how she was crying about the break-up with Crad and how Courtney Cox Arquette said, you know, you said you wouldn`t do this to me. Chuck?

NICE: Yeah, come on, we know this is not real. You know? Honestly, why would you put that kind of information out about yourself? People who do this type of thing are lower than low. You know, once you bring children into it --

SHAW: Lower than paparazzi?

NICE: Lower than paparazzi. This is paparazzi, the guy who sent the e-mail. That`s the pecking order. That`s personal pictures.

SHAW: And of a baby.

NICE: And a baby! You`re bringing children into this?

TOURE: That`s where the paparazzi thing really gets me, when they start showing people`s kids, especially the kids away from the parents. Because the parents sign up for this deal, but Coco or Apple, you know, they didn`t sign up for this.

SHAW: I do believe this is Paris Hilton`s doing though. I think she wanted to take all the attention away from her palm pilot. I think she sent out the e-mail.

HAMMER: (INAUDIBLE) really quickly, because I know Toure has something to say about Bennifer. But it`s Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. "People" magazine is saying they are getting married.

TOURE: Hollywood loves a sequel, so I`m not (INAUDIBLE) Bennifer 2. The thing that surprised me though that once again, Affleck has chosen a woman who I would bet could kick his ass. So why does he - if you`ve seen "Alias," you know she can do it. So why does he keep going for these tough girls? I don`t know.

SHAW: I just want to say, I think they`re a cool couple. The one thing is, if I were Jennifer Garner, I would kind of be like, my ring only costs $500,000? And the one you bought J. Lo was like $2 million?

BRYANT: Jennifer has also been married before. So maybe she wants to keep it a little simpler this time.

NICE: It`s possible.

TOURE: It`s possible.

NICE: I still haven`t recovered from when he and Matt Damon broke up.

BRYANT: We`ve got to go, guys. Thank you Jessica, Chuck and Toure for joining us on the bench.

Denzel Washington - he`s on Broadway right now and he is learning about some of the dangers of live theater. Let`s just say the cell phone ringeth. We`ll hear what Denzel has to say about that coming up.

HAMMER: Also, we`re going to see, what`s up with the guy who won the very first APPRENTICE. What it`s like to be Bill Rancic, coming up too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Tonight, what it`s like to be working for Donald Trump as his APPRENTICE. Bill Rancic will go down in infamy to the very first APPRENTICE to win a job with Donald Trump. Rancic won a year`s contract to work on Trump`s Chicago property and after a year on the job, he just signed on for one more. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer caught up with Rancic in New York to see what it`s like to be Bill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER Today, we`re going inside to meet up with Bill Rancic, Donald Trump`s number one APPRENTICE to spend the entire day with him, site inspection and a meeting with the Donald. Let`s go.

BILL RANCIC: This is the famous Robin. I think the one thing about Donald Trump is what you see is what you get.

DONALD TRUMP: I want shutters on the outside.

RANCIC: Whether the camera was there today or wasn`t there. That`s how he is. He knows exactly what he wants, how it`s going to go and he`s a perfectionist. Part of the education is just sometimes going in the office and watching him.

HAFFENREFFER: The education paid off. Trump just signed Rancic on for one more year with his company.

TRUMP: (INAUDIBLE) Why did you decide to do it? (INAUDIBLE)

RANCIC: Are you kidding? It`s a privilege and an honor. I`m getting a $1 billion vacation. I would have done it for free.

HAFFENREFFER: Are you giving him a raise?

TRUMP: I don`t think we should talk about it. He`s a young, smart guy that picks up things very carefully. He`s one of the best pros in the business. I put him with Greg (INAUDIBLE). There`s nobody better than Greg. And Greg has given him in a short period of time a big education. And Bill appreciates it.

HAFFENREFFER: Next stop on our day with bill? The Trump national golf club. An ultra-expensive, ultra private club that Donald and his gang are developing.

RANCIC: This course is just amazing how beautiful it is over here.

HAFFENREFFER: We met up with Trump`s right-hand woman, Carolyn Hepture (ph) to take a look at the $7 million 13th hole. You heard right, $7 million hole.

CAROLYN HEPTURE: $7 million hole. There is a story behind this hole. (INAUDIBLE)

RANCIC: The one time I`ve beaten her in golf.

HEPTURE: I appreciate that very much.

RANCIC: It`s very rare. (INAUDIBLE) sky diving.

HEPTURE: I jumped out a perfectly good airplane.

HAFFENREFFER: From sky diving to skyscrapers, Rancic is an extreme businessman and believed so much in the Trump brand, he bought himself an apartment in one of Trump`s new towers.

RANCIC: We`re standing in the middle of my family room or soon-to-be family here.

HAFFENREFFER: APPRENTICE one, the first APPRENTICE. You broke that new ground with the Trump organization. Tell me about what you`ve learned along the way.

RANCIC: One of the things that this whole experience has done is it really validated a lot of my skills. And I`m an entrepreneur. I see that business at that level isn`t much different than some of the smaller businesses that I`ve been involved with. The numbers are much larger, but the fundamentals of business, they never change. When I leave this experience, you know, at the end of next year -- knowing that the key to business is mastering those fundamentals. When you can master those fundamentals and use that as your foundation, you can build upon that foundation anything you want.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: Rancic says when he leaves the company, he does plan on still doing lots of business with Donald Trump.

BRYANT: We`re going to find out what it`s like to be a fly on the wall at the TONIGHT show. That is coming in laughter dark. And there`s still time for you to sound off on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The paparazzi, do they cross the line? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us what`s on your mind at showbiztonight@cnn.com where (INAUDIBLE) live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Time for another showbiz short. There`s another little brat on the way. Benjamin Bratt and his wife Talisa (ph) are expecting their second child. Their rep announced today the baby is due this fall. The couple also has a little girl named Sophia.

BRYANT: Denzel Washington is on Broadway right now in "Julius Caesar" and he says he`s loving it. The show opened two weeks ago, and in an interview with 60 MINUTES correspondent Ed Bradley, Washington says he`s adjusting to the varied distractions of live theater.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENZEL WASHINGTON: The lights come up and the curtain goes up and it`s an actor`s medium on stage. It`s flying by the seat of your pants. You`ve got to keep going. It`s live. Things happen. We`re still going through things. Things fall. Lights don`t work. You forget lines or whatever happens. And that`s good. That`s good exercise.

ED BRADLEY, CBS CORRESPONDENT: Cell phones go off.

WASHINGTON: Cell phones go off. One of these days I`m going to respond to it in iambic pentameter. Answereth it, my lord. My lord. It is for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: That interview with Denzel Washington airs tonight on 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY on CBS.

HAMMER: Well, it`s time now to get your laugh on in laughter dark as we do every night. We bring you the late night laughs you just might have missed and on the TONIGHT show, Jay Leno experiments with a new kind of fly swatting. Watch this.

BRYANT: Yes and surprisingly, the experiment didn`t disrupt a rather significant speaking event going on next door.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO: I`ve used lasers to create remote control flies, flies. The lasers stimulate specific brain cells making the flies jump, walk, flap its wings and they can control the fly. Did I tell you that? I was at Yale the other day. I had a chance to experiment. Well here, take a look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Well, tonight, Jay welcome "A Lot Like Love" star Ashton Kutcher.

BRYANT: Throughout the show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The paparazzi, do they cross the line? Let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far. 97 percent of you say yes, the paparazzi cross the line and a mere 3 percent of you said, no, they don`t. And you`ve also been sending us e-mails on this question. Larry from Boca Raton, Florida says, celebrities should copyright their faces, then pictures of their image could not be printed without their permission. Don`t know if that would work. Marissa from Larson, Minnesota adds, I think the paparazzi should respect actors` and actresses` privacy because without them they have no job.

Remember you can continue to vote at cnn.com/showbiz tonight.

HAMMER: Well, it`s time now to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. You know what that means.

BRYANT: I do AJ. It means we`re going to talk to the showbiz marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: Dr. Carter, Dr. Carter, paging Dr. Carter. Please report to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT stat! It`s a big good-bye for Noah Wiley. And we`re on the ER set of Wiley, tomorrow, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

From Wiley to Weiland, Scott Weiland. We`re bringing out the big guns with the lead singer of Velvet Revolver. Scott Weiland tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is the velvety marquee guy and AJ and Karyn, I`m feeling velvety smooth. Are you?

BRYANT: I actually am. I`m a big fan of.

HAMMER: You learned some stuff from Scott Weiland. He had a lot to say.

BRYANT: He did. He and Splash (ph) are both pretty cool, but Scott has a lot on his mind about the music industry, for sure.

Well that does it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ll see you here tomorrow.

HAMMER: Nancy Grace is next after the latest from "headline news."

END