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Showbiz Tonight
Jude Law Apologizes for Cheating on Fiancee; Sandra Bullock Weds `Monster Garage` Star; Hollywood Markets to Christians
Aired July 18, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: I`m A.J. Hammer.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And I`m Brooke Anderson. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, a showbiz sex shocker. Hollywood leading man Jude Law makes a public confession that he cheated on his fiancee. But what`s even more shocking is who he cheated with. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the latest on this developing stunning story.
HAMMER (voice-over): Also, Sandra Bullock and the biker. Tonight, Miss Hollywood Hottie is now Mrs. Motorcycle Mama. Everyone`s talking about it. We`ve got the new details of the wedding between the beauty and the bad boy.
ANDERSON: Tonight, our special series, "Silver Screen Secrets," begins as we reveal the secrets behind those movie trailers.
Plus, meet the man whose voice you hear in most of those trailers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is powerful.
ANDERSON: He joins us live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, and you`ll be saying, "So, that`s the guy?"
JAMES DENT, ACTOR: Hi, I`m James Dent from "Desperate Housewives." If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson. Karyn Bryant is off.
HAMMER: Well, tonight, an astonishing apology from one of Hollywood`s biggest stars. Actor Jude Law publicly confessed today that not only did he cheat on his fiancee, but he did it with the nanny of his child.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is here with the very latest on this startling story.
David, fill us in.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke and A.J., it was an announcement that nobody was expecting. When the British tabloids came out with a story that Jude Law, one of the world`s leading men, was cheating on his fiancee, he immediately came clean to the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): What Jude Law did was very bad, but now he says he`s very sorry and ashamed of his behavior.
Today, Jude Law publicly apologized to his fiancee, actress Sienna Miller, for cheating on her with his son`s nanny. Yes, the same nanny who was hired by his ex-wife, actress Sadie Frost, to take care of their son.
In a statement to the British Press Association, Jude said, quote, "I just want to say I am deeply ashamed and upset that I`ve hurt Sienna and the people close to us."
Law says, quote, "There is no defense for my actions, which I sincerely regret, and I ask that you respect our privacy at this very difficult time."
Today, Sienna Miller was spotted walking into the Wyndham Theatre in London where she`s performing "As You Like It." The Press Association says she wasn`t wearing an engagement ring.
It`s an eye-opening statement and not the first time a celebrity has come clean to the world.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: He actually took almost, like, a Hugh Grant approach to this. Remember when Hugh Grant was caught with a prostitute when he was with another beautiful woman, Elizabeth Hurley. He went on "The Tonight Show" and said, you know, "I`m sorry I did this. I don`t know what I was thinking."
HAFFENREFFER: British tabloids said Law met his son`s nanny, 26-year- old Daisy Wright, in New Orleans earlier this year whiles he was filming "All the King`s Men."
BERNARD: One alleged scenario, the nanny was obviously spending an awful lot of time with Jude, and Jude and Sadie`s kids noticed it and ended up telling Sadie what they thought was happening, Sadie Frost being Jude`s ex-wife. So you know, when your own kids rat you out, you`re doing something wrong.
HAFFENREFFER: Jude Law and Sienna Miller first met while filming last year`s movie, "Alfie." Yes, that movie, the one in which Law plays a charming ladies` man who loses the woman he loves because he cheats on her.
Law and Miller tried to keep the relationship low key, but this past Christmas, Law popped the question.
JUDE LAW, ACTOR: Thank the lord. A Christmas miracle.
HAFFENREFFER: Law, who was named "People`s" sexiest man alive, could not be missed in movie theaters last year. Besides "Alfie," he starred in everything from "Closer" and, yes, he cheated on his woman on that one, too, as well as "The Aviator," with Leo DiCaprio, and "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" with Gwyneth Paltrow. No cheating in those two.
This isn`t Law`s first rocky relationship. His ex-wife Sadie Frost divorced Law in 2003 after six years of marriage for what she called unreasonable behavior. The couple had three children together.
BERNARD: To put this a little bit in prospective, he`s not ripping a phone out of the wall and throwing it at a hotel reception clerk, you know? He is not doing anything remotely similar to what Courtney Love has done. So this is -- having an affair with someone else is actually quite human on the spectrum of celebrity psychosis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: Earlier this year, Sienna Miller said she was in no rush to get married. Following the announcement today, there`s no word on how it might impact their engagement.
Back to you in the studio.
ANDERSON: Thanks, David. David Haffenreffer in Manhattan. And we`ll have more on Jude Law and how his announcement today could impact his career. That`s coming up later in the show.
HAMMER: Well, tonight a Hollywood marriage that could be called the odd couple. Miss Congeniality and Mr. Monster Car are husband wife.
America`s sweetheart, Sandra Bullock, has married her biker beau, Jesse James. And tonight, we can reveal what really happened.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S Sibila Vargas in Hollywood with the details. Hi, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, A.J.
Well, it was a low-key wedding for a low-key couple, a sunset ceremony on a 300-acre ranch near Santa Barbara, California, with a hoe-down theme. The pair arrived in a red monster truck, and the 300 guests didn`t even know it was a wedding until after they arrived. It was a surprise wedding for what many are calling a surprising couple.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (voice-over): Actress Sandra Bullock proved that yes, opposites attract when she married biker boyfriend Jesse James over the weekend.
She`s the 41-year-old innocent acting beauty who rose to fame as the girl next door in movies like "Speed" and "While You Were Sleeping."
SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS: I love you.
VARGAS: And made a career playing out of likeable losers in comedies like "Two Weeks Notice" and "Miss Congeniality."
BULLOCK: First of all, thank you for calling me skinny.
VARGAS: He`s five years younger, 36 years old, anything but wholesome looking, a tattooed biker who owns West Coast Choppers, a custom motorcycle company, and stars in the Discovery Channel series "Monster Garage."
She`s never been married. He`s been divorced twice. His most recent marriage was to porn star Janine Lindemulder. So, wait, from porn star to prom queen? Hello again?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went straight to "People" magazine`s Jeff Cagle for the real deal on this love connection.
JEFF CAGLE, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: They seem like real opposites that have gotten together. However, people that know them say that they actually have a lot in common, in that neither of them are that into publicity, for example. They are both fairly low-key. They kind of try to keep it simple. And I think that`s what probably keeps them together.
VARGAS: Sandra`s never had kids of her own, but she is now the stepmother to Jesse James` three children from a previous marriage.
Bullock had come close to marriage before. She was engaged before to actor Tate Donovan and linked to actors Mathew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.
Sandra`s not shy about talking about why she`s resisted marriage, once telling SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s all about waiting for the right moment.
BULLOCK: I`ve had a union where I`ve been committed, and I felt married. I would have been divorced. I would do it over again, because it was the great moment of my life. I would do it, and I would still be divorced.
So I respect it too much to look at it as a frivolous union. It`s not about be on the cover of "People" in my dress going "Look at how happy I am."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Certainly isn`t that. The couple met when Sandra toured the "Monster Garage" set with her young godson. And since then, she and Jesse have had a very low profile romance. They`ve been spotted vacationing in Hawaii and hanging out in Sandra`s home base of Austin, Texas -- A.J.
HAMMER: All right, Sibila. Thanks very much. Sibila Vargas live in Hollywood.
And the celebrity wedding news just keeps on coming tonight. "Malcolm in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz is engaged to get hitched. The 19-year- old actor met his fiancee, Jamie, in New Orleans this past spring while filming the horror movie "Stay Alive." She`s not an actress. No wedding date has yet been set. "Malcolm in the Middle" begins its seventh season in the fall. Muniz, of course, plays Malcolm.
ANDERSON: Tonight, it`s looking like Hollywood is starting to become "Holy-wood." Well, there`s a new trend in town: targeting Christians. And that`s what we`re looking at in "The Show`s Biz."
Mel Gibson couldn`t get "The Passion of the Christ" made without investing some $25 million of his own money to make it. But after taking in $370 million of domestic box office, it looks like Hollywood is now taking notice. Tonight, an inside look at Hollywood`s new push for the Christian audience.
Joining us live from Hollywood is Sharon Waxman, columnist for "The New York Times," authors of "Rebels on the Back Lot." Sharon`s article, "The Passion of the Marketers" appears in today`s "New York Times," an interesting and informative read.
Sharon, welcome, thanks for being here.
SHARON WAXMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes. Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: Well, like I said, Sharon, Hollywood basically didn`t respond initially when Mel Gibson wanted to do this movie. He did it all with his own money, basically. Why now? Why is Hollywood courting the Christian audience?
WAXMAN: Well, basically, Hollywood discovered that there was this major niche audience out there that they hadn`t really tapped into before. When all of these millions of people showed up to see "The Passion of the Christ" once, twice, three times, Hollywood really sat up and paid attention.
But they weren`t going to go out and make another "Passion of the Christ," and I don`t think anyone thinks that there`s going to be more of those kinds of movies and certainly not made by Hollywood studios.
But Hollywood is sensitive to the social temperature of the country, and the industry is starting to adjust and be aware of this -- not only of this niche but what they percent to be a rising religiosity in general across the country. Whether it`s true of not, that`s certainly the perception in the industry now.
ANDERSON: Sharon, you say they`re not going to make another "Passion of the Christ." So is this effort more focused on the premise, the content of the story, or basically about not offending Christian audiences simply by editing out, maybe, sacrilegious terms or ideas?
WAXMAN: Yes, well, it`s a subtle thing, and it`s different. It goes from small measures to larger ones and that affect mainstream movies to very small niche movies.
For example, Sony is in business to collaborate on the next "Left Behind" movie about the end of days, which is catering only to the Christian -- fundamentalist Christian audience.
But at the same time they`re also consulting with Christian marketers on their big movies like "Cinderella Man," like "Kingdom of Heaven," to see if there are elements in there that can be marketed directly to that audience and also they are starting to submit scripts to some of these marketers to see if there`s something in there that might be removed or changed or enhanced that might appeal to that audience or might not offend them.
ANDERSON: Bottom line, is this about morality, or is it about money?
WAXMAN: No, no, it`s not about morality. Whoever suggested Hollywood is about morality? It`s about tapping into this audience. Don`t forget, we`re in a year where Hollywood is very concerned about the movie-going habits of the American public. And if this is a niche of maybe 30 million or so people, they want to be seen as taking advantage of that.
ANDERSON: Very quickly, do you know if Hollywood has plans to court any other religious groups in addition to Christians?
WAXMAN: That`s a good question, because when we talk about Christians, we`re really talking more the evangelical segment of the huge Christian population in this country. And no, I can`t say I know of any other groups that have really made their impact felt at the box office. But if they do, I`m sure Hollywood will go after them.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. We`ll have to wait and see. Sharon, thank you so much for joining us this evening. We appreciate it. Sharon Waxman, columnist for "The New York Times."
HAMMER: The story of a soldier who put what he saw in Iraq into song. You get to hear his amazing story when he joins us live, coming up next.
ANDERSON: He`s the guy that`s never quiet at the movies, but you usually don`t mind the voice behind those movie trailers. We`ve got him live in front of the camera as we begin our special series, "Silver Screen Secrets Revealed."
HAMMER: And we`re the bearer of "Bad News." Sorry. It`s live, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT live at the premier of "Bad News Bears," starring Billy Bob Thornton, Marcia Gay Harden and Greg Kinnear.
Time now for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." When did the TV sitcom "Bosom Buddies" debut? Was it 1986, 1982, 1980 or 1979? Stick around. We`ll come straight back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." What year did the TV sitcom "Bosom Buddies" premiere? `86, `82, `80 or `79? Well, a young Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari dressed up in drag and moved into an all-women`s residence in this ABC sitcom. The year was 1980, C.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
Tonight, we bring you the extraordinary story of a soldier in Iraq who is spreading his story through the power of music.
Luke Stricklin spent a year in Iraq facing danger, but keeping the frightening details from his family back home. And then one day, Luke, who had never been without a guitar, asked a young Iraqi boy to find him a guitar, and that`s where the story really gets interesting.
Luke Stricklin is live with us tonight, here in New York. Luke, thank you so much for being here.
LUKE STRICKLIN, U.S. ARMY: Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: All right. You served in Iraq for a year. Let me get this right. You`re an E.R. specialist with the Arkansas Army National Guard, just returned home in March. While there you bought a guitar from a little Iraqi boy for just $10. Tell us what happened after that.
STRICKLIN: Well, I mean, I`ve always had a passion for music in my whole life. A guitar is, you know, kind of like, you know, a right leg. So I had the young boy, Hassam, buy me that guitar, and so I could, you know, continue writing music when I was over there.
And I wrote this song "America, By God`s Amazing Grace," you know, to kind of answer the question of what my time was like over there, you know, because every time I called home, you know, my parents and my wife, and friends, they would always ask that question, "What`s it like?" So I`d always, you know, talk about something else, because you know, phone calls are precious.
And so I looked at the bottom of my boots one day, and they were getting pretty worn. And I thought that`s a pretty good line. I tossed the idea around for a little while. And then I sat down with a very good friend of mine, and out come the song. And you know, it went from, you know, painting a picture of our every day experience was like to, you know, making a statement, like, you know, how you need to be thankful you`re born in America.
ANDERSON: Well, that song, "America, By God`s Amazing Grace," has now become a hit at radio stations across the country. Why don`t we take a listen to it?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Powerful lyrics and powerful pictures we were just watching. And you e-mailed the song lyrics to your folks back home, right? And then what happened? You had no idea what was going on.
STRICKLIN: Yes. You know, I wrote the song, you know, for family and friends. And so, you know, I e-mailed it home. And a couple of weeks after I e-mailed it home, I was talking to them on the phone and they were like, "Hey, your song is playing on the radio station."
And I said, "That`s pretty cool."
A couple weeks later, you know, I had a syndicated radio show in Nashville get in contact with me via e-mail, and so they were like, "Is there a chance we could do phone interview?"
And I was like, "Yes, that`s cool." And so I did an interview with those guys, and they aired it. And you know, from there it spread like wild fire.
ANDERSON: You spoke about being grateful for what you have. Is that the main message with these lyrics? What do you want to convey?
STRICKLIN: I mean, you know, like I said earlier, you know, it kind of paints a picture of what, you know, the every day experience is like for a soldier in Iraq, you know, what they see, what they do. And then, you know, in the chorus, you know, it says you`re born in America by God`s amazing grace. You know, it kind of paints a picture, this is why you`re so lucky to be born in America.
ANDERSON: How do you feel about the war?
STRICKLIN: Well, it`s sad, I mean, seeing it firsthand. I think there`s a lot of progress that`s made. You know, I was there during the first election, you know, so that was something in itself words can`t describe, you know, seeing that.
You know, I sit on an observation post at the day -- on the day of the elections and looked over that polling site, you know, all day. And so, you know, it really was a sight to see the people slowly start to trickle in, and you know, celebrate out in the streets. I mean it was amazing.
ANDERSON: And you have an album coming out in September. If people want to get this song now, can they do it?
STRICKLIN: Yes. They can go to LukeStricklin.com. That`s L-U-K-E-S- T-R-I-C-K-L-I-N dot-com.
ANDERSON: All right. Thanks so much, Luke. We appreciate it.
STRICKLIN: My pleasure.
HAMMER: Well, moviegoers said "I want candy!" this weekend, and lots of it. In final box office numbers just out this afternoon, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton`s "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" had a really sweet opening, pulling in more than $56 million.
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson`s "Wedding Crashers" crashed in at number two with about $34 million. The "Fantastic Four" in third, just a bit under $23 million. "War of the Worlds" in fourth place with $15 million of box office. And "Batman Begins" ends our list in fifth with $6 million.
Well, all this week we`re going to be revealing the secrets of the movie industry in our special series, "Silver Screen Secrets." A little later on, the secrets behind those movie trailers you always see when you get to the theater and the movie`s about to roll.
That leads to our question of the day here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Movie trailers: do they reveal too much? We`d like to hear from you at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. If you`ve got some words you want to share, too, e-mail address is ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`re going to share some of your thoughts later on in the show.
ANDERSON: The latest from Fountains of Wayne, R. Kelly, and Erika Jo. That`s coming up in the "Showbiz Guide to New Music."
HAMMER: Also tonight, as I mentioned, our special series, "Silver Screen Secrets." Tonight we`re going to talk about those movie trailers that you always have to sit through at the theater. And that mysterious voice you hear on those trailers, tonight you get to meet the guy who does them.
ANDERSON: Plus, we told you earlier about Hollywood star Jude Law`s startling confession today that he cheated on his fiancee with his kids` nanny. What could happen next to Jude? Possible answers, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, where it`s time now for the "Showbiz Guide." Throughout the week, we help you decide where to best spend your dollars on movies, music, DVDs and more. And tonight in "People`s Picks and Pans," new music.
Joining us live from "People" magazine in our studio, executive editor, Peter Castro.
Nice to see you, Peter.
Let`s talk about the only band I know of that`s named after a New Jersey lawn ornament shop. Everybody got to know Fountains of Wayne from "Stacy`s Mom," who has it going on, the big summer hit of last year. And they`re back.
PETER CASTRO, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: They`re pure pop. And really, very few bands to pop as well as they do. And you know, I`m surprised that this band is not bigger than it is. I mean, critics love the, but they`ve just been ignored by fans in radio. And it`s a real shame.
This is a terrific album. It`s 30 songs of their outtakes. Now an outtake of a Fountain of Wayne album is better than most songs on most commercial albums. So go figure. But it`s a terrific album, and I highly recommend it.
HAMMER: Excellent. I`m hearing that from a lot of critics. A lot of great rarities on this one. Fountains of Wayne. That`s the cover of the album right there.
Let`s move on to R. Kelly, who certainly has gotten publicity for all the wrong reasons over the past couple of years. But with the release of this album that shot straight to No. 1 with half a million sold in its first week, looks like he`s back to his old tricks.
CASTRO: Well, you know, say what you want about R. Kelly. He has a huge fan base, and he`s very, very talented. And this mixes a lot of different styles. You have reggae, and hip hop and R&B. He`s a real master of the form.
And back to his player ways. His last album was a double album where he was sort of like -- it was a confessional, about, "Oh, my God. Maybe I`m too much of a player." Forget that. He`s back and he`s back strong.
HAMMER: OK. Let`s move to another genre now: country music. "American Idol" certainly has produced big pop stars. And now the reality show "Nashville Star" looks like it`s doing the same with their big winner, Erika Jo.
CASTRO: Erika Jo. You know, fresh-faced kid from Tennessee, 18 years old. And it seems like, you know, the only people who are worth having a record contract are coming out of a television show these days.
HAMMER: Whatever works.
CASTRO: Whatever works. But you know, a lot of people compare her to a young Gretchen Wilson. This one is full of feisty songs. So you know, Nashville is really excited about what`s to come in the future.
HAMMER: OK. Peter Castro from "People" magazine, we appreciate you joining us.
And for more picks and pans, just grab a copy of "People" magazine, which is on newsstands now.
ANDERSON: Well, it`s time to get your laugh on in "Laughter Dark." As we do every night, we bring you the late night laughs you might have missed.
On "Late Night with Conan O`Brien," Owen Wilson confesses he`s done so many buddy movies, that now he`s having trouble casting co-stars. Here, he previews a few of his future projects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OWEN WILSON, ACTOR: Here comes another one. And this is simply "Owen and Lohan."
CONAN O`BRIEN, HOST, NBC`s "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O`BRIEN": "Owen and Lohan." This is you and Lindsay together?
WILSON: Yes.
O`BRIEN: That`s very -- that just -- I want to see that. That looks great.
WILSON: This next one has laughs, but it`s also kind of a thriller. And it`s with Stephen Hawking. And it`s "A Brief History of Crime."
O`BRIEN: "Brief History of Crime" Right There."
WILSON: And his wheelchair has a motor, so he actually is leading the chase.
O`BRIEN: Yes, he`s leading the chase.
WILSON: I have trouble keeping up with him.
O`BRIEN: He`s very good, yes.
WILSON: We have a lot of repartee about that.
Now, this other movie is with my friend here, Conan, and this is "Proud Poppas."
O`BRIEN: This is, I think, going to thrill a lot of people.
WILSON: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That Owen is so creative, right?
At least right now, Owen`s formula for buddy films is working. As we mentioned earlier, his latest, "Wedding Crashers," is the No. 2 film in the country.
A.J., I got a kick out of that one.
HAMMER: It was a lot of fun.
And whether a movie succeeds or fails, Brooke, could be determined even before it`s in movie theaters. Up next, we`re going to begin our special series, "Silver Screen Secrets Revealed." And the secrets of movie trailers.
ANDERSON: And what is it about Billy Bob Thornton and this "bad" thing? "Bad Santa" and now "The Bad News Bears." We`re live at the premier of his movie.
HAMMER: And Harry Potter sure hit a home run in weekend. Find out what Harry did that no other book has ever done. That and hear from author J.K. Rowling. Potter power coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, there. I`m Sophia Choi. And here`s your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
President Bush may be changing his story when it comes to punishment for the person responsible for revealing a CIA agent`s identity. The president now says anyone who committed a crime will be fired from his administration. He had said anyone involved in the leak would be fired. Bush`s political adviser, Karl Rove, has been named as the potential source of the leak.
Well, there`s still no launch date for the Shuttle Discovery, despite ongoing troubleshooting by NASA engineers. They`ve yet to reach a definite conclusion about why a hydrogen fuel sensor failed last Wednesday. NASA now says the earliest could be ready is next Tuesday.
And there may be a new development in the search for missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway. Aruban investigators and the FBI are testing strands of a blond hair on a piece of duct tape which was found yesterday on a beach. Holloway has been missing since May 30th.
That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi. Now back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, law and dis-order. Jude Law admits to cheating on his fiancee. The question is, will the sex jinx his career? We`ll talk about that coming up.
ANDERSON: And, "Silver Screen Secrets." It`s our special week-long series. Tonight, movie trailers, how two minutes can turn a flick into a big blockbuster or a big dud.
HAMMER: Let`s get into "Hot Headlines" right now.
ANDERSON: All right, absolutely.
Welcome back to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," TV`s only live entertainment news show. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Brooke Anderson, in for a vacationing Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: And I am A.J. Hammer. "Hot Headlines" as follows.
Shocker! Actor Jude Law very publicly admitted to a very private affair with a nanny, an affair that was busted by one of his own children. In just a few minutes, we`re going to look closely at whether this public admission will actually affect his career.
ANDERSON: There is good news in couple-dom. "Miss Congeniality" star Sandra Bullock tied the knot with mechanic and reality TV star Jesse James over the weekend in Santa Barbara. The couple met just over a year ago on the set of his "Monster Garage" series. It`s the first marriage for the star; it`s the third one for James.
High drama in high court. Director Roman Polanski shouted a denial he tried to pick up a woman on his way to attending his wife`s funeral. Polanski`s wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered in 1969 by Charles Manson`s followers. He`s suing "Vanity Fair" for libel in Britain, and sent his testimony today via satellite to the court.
HAMMER: It`s time now to uncover "Silver Screen Secrets." All this week, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be revealing some of the biggest big-screen secrets in the movie industry from industry insiders.
Tonight, movie trailers. They are, of course, the ultimate tease. From "Star Wars" to "King Kong," movie trailers have really become an art form all to their own. But what`s the secret to sucking you in to see a movie? And what`s the deal with those revealing pivotal plot lines before we actually get to see the movie?
Well, here live with some answers, from Los Angeles, the co-founder and CEO of Trailer Park -- I love the name of that company. It`s a production company that makes movie trailers. Excellent choice of names there, Tim Nett.
TIM NETT, CEO, TRAILER PARK: Thank you.
HAMMER: And you might not recognize this next guy`s face, but take a listen to the famous voice of our next guest.
From Los Angeles -- he`ll have to do it for us live -- from Los Angeles, with over 4,000 trailers to his credit, Mr. Movie Trailer, Don Lafontaine.
Don, I`m going to put you on the spot and make you do the voice right now so people know -- apparently we didn`t have that piece of tape.
DON LAFONTAINE, PROVIDES VOICE-OVER FOR TRAILERS: Well, it`s the only voice I have, is this one here. "In a world where something is happening" -- that`s the one you were going to here normally.
HAMMER: Well, Tim, I`m going to throw it back to you now. Movie trailers, of course, are essentially commercials, promotional materials, to get people to want to get out and see the movies. Regardless of the genre, comedy, drama, action, what is one secret that makes for an excellent movie trailer?
NETT: A secret that makes it? Well, you know, I mean, in our business, we`re just trying to get everybody interested in a movie. And if they see one of our trailers, and afterward they just kind of go, "Wow, cool," then that`s the whole secret. We`ve done our job if we`ve done that. And no matter what the genre is, you know, you`re just trying to find out what makes somebody think it`s cool.
HAMMER: And of course, one secret which I didn`t mention, using Don Lafontaine, who is good enough to join us tonight. Don, do you have any secrets that you employ, in terms of your delivery?
You mention it`s just your voice. But obviously, if you talked in your movie trailer voice at a party, some people might look at you kind of funny. In terms of deciding how you deliver, the way you deliver, what`s your secret?
LAFONTAINE: Well, actually, the words, the scripts themselves tell you how to deliver something. They dictate how they want to be read. It`s pretty much straightforward stuff, because -- you know the context of the film generally going in.
If it`s something like "King Kong," you have a pretty good idea of how you`re going to say it. It`s going to be a big adventure thing. And I let the strip more or less guide what I`m going to say.
And you`re right. If I tried to use that voice in public, they`d be calling security, generally.
HAMMER: Probably would be.
Well, Tim, walk us through the process a little bit, because movie trailers back in the day, early on, really started out by the movie editors just taking various clips of the movie and cutting them together themselves. It`s turned into a whole industry unto itself, as you can attest to with your company.
How does it work, and how does this process get done?
NETT: Well, generally, we get the movie very early on. Lately, increasingly, because we want to start working on them as early as we can, we get them before they`re even cut together. We`ll just get the dailies of the movie, and we`ll start watch all the stuff that they`ve cut.
And we`ll read the script, and we`ll try to come up with something that`s sort of, you know, encapsulates what the movie is about and what the story is in short of the shortest form to sort of set it up.
And then get to, you know, the sort of -- the things that make the movie great. What`s really funny, or exciting, or what are the great special effects, or, you know, try to highlight as many of those things as you can as quickly as you can.
HAMMER: And hopefully, for the movie -- I`m sorry, did you want to continue?
NETT: Oh, well the thing is, you know, we`re always constrained by time. So you have two-and-a-half minutes to make your case, so you really got to get going.
HAMMER: And hopefully for the movie-goer, not revealing too much. Because I`m like anybody else. I go into the movies and I`m watching the trailers. And I`ll see one and say, "Hey, I`ve got to go see that movie," or I`ll see one and say, "Gosh, maybe I don`t need to see that movie, because I kind of feel like I got it all," or sometimes the ones comedies may have all the best jokes right there in the trailer.
Don, it`s actually our "Question of the Day." And we`re asking people to chime in on whether movie trailers show too much. Recently, with "The Interpreter," the director Sidney Pollack was really upset that the fact that a pivotal scene of the bus blowing up shouldn`t have been included in the trailer.
What`s your take?
LAFONTAINE: Well, again, as Tim said, they have to find the very best material that they can in the picture itself to try and sell the film. And you know, people have complained about this in the past about the idea that they`re giving away too much, they`re showing too many scenes, giving away all the best stuff, but it doesn`t stop people from going to see the film, because they actually -- they want to go see what came before, and what`s going to coming after. They want to see that material in context.
In some ways, it raises the anticipation level, because you`re going there -- you`re waiting to see at least some of these things that are happening.
HAMMER: And Tim -- I`m sorry. Let me just jump in real quickly with Tim. One thing that I`ve noticed, other moviegoers have noticed, sometimes there will be a scene we will see in a trailer and then we go to see the movie, you know, two, three months later, that scene not actually in the film.
What`s the secret there? Why is that scene not making it to the final cut?
NETT: Yes. People get really mad at us about that. Actually, we start working on movies so early, they`re usually three hours long when we get them. You know, in the theaters, about an hour-and-a-half long, but sometimes we get them twice as long because they haven`t cut them down yet.
So we don`t even know that that`s not going to be in the movie when it finally makes its form. Like, it may be something that`s great for a trailer, but when they actually figure out what the movie`s supposed to be, they find it`s unnecessary or just not as good as what they already have. So yes, sorry.
HAMMER: OK. Don, I know before you were just doing the voice, you were actually behind some of the trailers years and years ago, among the original great trailers coming out of the `60s and `70s.
Give us one secret that would really surprise us about the movie trailer business.
LAFONTAINE: Oh, wow.
HAMMER: Something that, if we knew that was going on, we`d say, "Oh, my goodness, that`s how those are done."
LAFONTAINE: I don`t think there really is anything. I really think this is one of the few industries where everything is right up front there. What you see is what you get.
Obviously, there`s a lot of work that goes into it. And I think that, if there is a secret -- it`s not really a secret, I think it`s that -- a trailers are one of the great art forms. And I think it employees some of the most talented and incredibly creative people in the industry. And I think that they`ve had a very strong effect on how films themselves are made.
HAMMER: Right.
LAFONTAINE: And I think there is other things like MTV, which I know, A.J., you came out of, was part of that. It was one of the children of trailers was the -- and the music videos is one of the children of trailer- cutting and all that fast, exciting format that we`ve put together.
HAMMER: Kind of the tale wagging the dog, so to speak.
LAFONTAINE: Yes, sort of.
HAMMER: Don, I appreciate very much you being here with us tonight.
And Tim, thank you for your input. We`ll never look at trailers exactly the same way again. We kind of know a little bit more how everything is done.
Now, tomorrow in our week-long series on "Silver Screen Secrets," Renee Zellweger did it for "Bridget Jones," Hilary Swank did it for "Million Dollar Baby," how movie stars dramatically transform their bodies to fit a role. That`s tomorrow on "Silver Screen Secrets."
And as I mentioned, we`ve been asking you to sound off on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day" about movie trailers. "Do you think they reveal too much?" Keep voting by going to CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can also write to us, showbiztonight@CNN.com is our address. E-mails coming up at 54 past the hour.
ANDERSON: All right, well, from the baseball diamond to a jewel of a book, a look at one of the very special ingredients that goes into Harry Potter`s successful spell. The woman that puts a face to J.K. Rowling`s words, next.
And Jude cheating confession. What happens to his career now? Will Hollywood turn its back on one of its leading men? We`ll sort it out, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The "Bad News Bears" trailer is getting big buzz. The movie stars Billy Bob Thornton. Tonight is the red-carpet premiere for the film right here in New York City. And if there`s a premiere, as usual, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there live, and so is our David Haffenreffer.
David, hit any home runs with the stars yet?
HAFFENREFFER: Yes, we`ve a lot of home runs with the stars tonight, Brooke, actually. This is another remake. It`s been a summer full of remakes.
The original "Bad News Bears" was made back in 1976, nearly 30 years ago and starred Walter Matthau and a young, up-and-coming actress by the name of Tatum O`Neal, of course. And she`s actually here tonight at this particular premiere.
In this version of the "Bad News Bears," Billy Bob Thornton plays the coach Morris Buttermaker. He`s a washed-up major leaguer who is hired to coach a bunch of no-talent little leaguers. We caught up with Billy Bob earlier on the red carpet and asked him what it was like to play a role made famous by Walter Matthau.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY BOB THORNTON, ACTOR: Well, I loved Walter Matthau. I mean, he was an amazing actor, a really funny guy. And you know, in this one, I never tried to even halfway pretend that I was going to be as good as him.
I just have to go do my job and hope for the best, because he was an amazing actor. And I guess the only wish I have is that he were still living so he could come see this and at least like it a little bit.
HAFFENREFFER: Any thoughts about maybe coaching yourself or buying a team somewhere down the road?
THORNTON: Well, I`m not one of those $25 million-a-movie actors. So I don`t think I`ll ever be able to buy a team. If I could buy a team, it`d be the St. Louis Cardinals. And if I had the money, I would definitely do it.
HAFFENREFFER: Was there something about the original 1976 film that drew you to this project?
GREG KINNEAR, ACTOR, "BAD NEWS BEARS": Just that I loved the magic of the first one. And I always thought that Vic Morrow, who I play, did an incredible job. So we tried to go a different way with it, make him a little scary in his own way, Pollock. But it was fun to do, and had a great time with Billy Bob and the kids.
HAFFENREFFER: Easy to work with Misters Billy Bob Thornton and Greg Kinnear?
MARCIA GAY HARDEN, ACTRESS: You know, Billy Bob is so high- maintenance. They are both fantastic. They`re amazing, wonderful guys. And Billy Bob is this like kind of dirty-minded southern gentlemen. And Greg is, too, on some level. And it just made it more fun for all of us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And despite all the heat and humidity out here tonight in New York`s Ziegfeld Theater, people were still in very good spirits. This film opens up this Friday.
Back to you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: All right. Thank you, David. David Haffenreffer for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Well, as we reported earlier, as the good-guy image of actor Jude Law is now under the microscope tonight after a startling admission earlier today. In a statement to the British press, the 32-year-old actor admitted to cheating on a fiancee, actress Sienna Miller, with his kids` nanny.
Law apologized to Sienna for, quote, "the pain that I had caused." We`re going to talk more about Law`s admission with Lola Ogunnaike, from the "New York Times," who sometimes gets to right about these sorts of things, joining us live.
Nice to see you, Lola. This is a story that really unfolded in the last 24 hours. Usually there`s a whole spin cycle with the publicist and everything. But no, Jude Law raised his hands and copped to it. Why do you think that happened so quickly?
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, "NEW YORK TIMES": It`s so interesting, because the number-one rule in Hollywood is to deny until you die or at least ignore it until it goes away. And I think he just decided, "Look, I did it. I just want to get it out of the way, apologize so this thing doesn`t continue to spread and become some big media circus."
HAMMER: So immediately, we move onto the question of image and how this may impact things. He was named "People" magazine`s sexiest man alive. Chances are, if this had happened beforehand, he wouldn`t have gotten that title. Do you think his image will be tarnished by this?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, you know, Hugh Grant getting caught with a hooker, that`s surprising. Eddie Murphy being caught with a transsexual, that`s surprising. Jude Law, sexiest man alive, being caught with the nanny, that`s not surprising.
I don`t think this is going to hurt him in any way. It might have people raising eyebrows about him, but long-term effect on his career, no. He`s still regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation right now. So, no, it`s not going to have any effect at all.
Had he been caught with a male nanny, now that would have been a very different.
HAMMER: That would have been a whole different story. But do you think that that was also among the reasons that he just wanted to take care of business right away?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, with a-list actors, especially, you don`t want anything taken away from the craft. You want people to always focus on the craft and never on extracurricular activities.
And so he says, "Look, I`m sorry this happened." I`m sure he`ll star in another great film, and we`ll forget about this whole thing.
HAMMER: People love to buzz about these stories. It`s going to be on the cover of all the magazines that come out this week. Does the story have legs? Or as a result of his quick confession, do you think it`s going to fizzle out pretty quickly?
OGUNNAIKE: I think people will talk about it for a while, but I think more than anything the thing that we need to take away from this is you`ve got Sienna Miller. You know that this guy`s voted one of the most sexiest guys on the face of the Earth.
Why do you have him near a hot nanny? Nanny and the secretaries must always look like trolls. They have to be hunchback trolls. You cannot have anyone remotely attractive around your man. That will be a problem.
HAMMER: OK. Well, we`ll have to watch and see how it unfolds in the press and in the media. Lola Ogunnaike, always good to see you. And thanks for chiming in with us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Tonight, in another "Show`s Biz," Potter pandemonium. The latest J.K. Rowling fantasy folio, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is king and making publishing history. "Half-Blood Prince" shattered U.S. sales records, raking in $100 million in revenue over the weekend, the first book ever to sell so much so quickly.
That`s more money than the top two movies at the box office, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Wedding Crashers," made combined. And that`s not all. About 9 million copies have already been sold in the U.S. and Britain. Here in the U.S., 250,000 of them sold every hour, more than most books sell in a lifetime.
Not everyone wants their kids reading Potter. In an exclusive interview this morning on the "Today" show, author J.K. Rowling told Katie Couric what she would say to those parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.K. ROWLING, "HARRY POTTER" AUTHOR: I`d say what I`ve always said. I think they`re very moral books. I truly believe that.
There are people who are uncomfortable with the fact that I explore morality to an extent. In other words, the children do challenge accepted authority. They do break rules. I think those are healthy things.
I`m never going to agree with someone who feels that you should shut up and do what you`re told because I`m older than you. I just don`t believe that that is a good basis for discipline or education. I really don`t.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, as powerful as J.K. Rowling`s words of Potter have come, there`s another woman who wields a different kind of pen behind the Potter phenomenon. CNN`s Alina Cho has the story for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With 10 million copies printed in the U.S. alone, the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is the publishing event of the year.
There`s the coveted signed first edition, the midnight magic parties. And then there is Mary GranPre. Her name may not be familiar, but she`s the other woman responsible for bringing Harry Potter to life. Title: Illustrator for all six Potter books. In the beginning, GranPre thought it would be a one-book project.
MARY GRANPRE, ILLUSTRATOR FOR HARRY POTTER SERIES: Pretty soon, book two was in my hands, then book three. And then it really was taking off, and we knew this was going to be something more than just a book.
CHO: Known for her use of light and color that she says adds to the magic of the story, GranPre says she`s inspired by author J.K. Rowling`s rich and descriptive writing.
GRANPRE: There`s not a lot of work I have to do to come up with the images.
CHO: Her biggest challenge, she says, is making Harry believable as he and his readers get older. For those who are still young...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the illustrations there, they look like the characters and they have a lot of detail on them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can actually see them in your mind like if they were alive.
CHO: Potter-mania is a world-wide phenomenon that has made Rowling one of the richest woman in the U.K. and GranPre something of a celebrity.
(On-screen): Is it sort of strange for you as an illustrator? Because generally illustrators are behind the scenes. And yet, you`re out front doing this publicity blitz. Do you feel like a celebrity?
GRANPRE: A lit bit. You know, especially with the kids, but it`s really fun, because they`re so excited to meet me, and I`m excited to meet them.
CHO: What do they say to you, these kids?
GRANPRE: They just want my autograph. And they ask about drawing and who is my favorite character?
CHO (voice-over): For the record, it`s a tie, Hagrid and, of course, Harry. So what`s next?
(on-screen): Book seven?
GRANPRE: Book seven, yes, exactly. I`ve got to gear up for that.
CHO: Wannabe wizards, as always, will be waiting.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, my 8-year-old nephew has not only read the entire sixth book by now but he`s examined every one of those pictures with a magnifying glass.
Still time for you to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." One more time, "Movie trailers: Do you think they reveal too much?" Vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight or write to us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails live, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Throughout the show, we have been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." "Movie trailers: Do they reveal too much?"
Pretty close right now. In fact, split right down the middle. Fifty- one percent of you say yes, they do reveal too much; 49 percent of you say no, they do not.
Among the e-mails we received on the topic, one from Jay in Tennessee who writes, "It seems like trailers show the best parts. When we go to the movie expecting even more, we`re often disappointed." How true.
But Nicholas from Florida says, "Movie trailers only tend to reveal too much about the movie when it lacks substance."
If you`d like to vote, you still can by going to CNN.com/showbiztonight.
ANDERSON: Hmm, I agree with Jay. Sometimes I am just a little disappointed.
All right. Time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.
HAMMER: Are you ready to hear the...
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: I am ready.
HAMMER: ... on the "Showbiz Marquee." Marquee Guy, back from the weekend.
Take it away.
MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, our week-long series continues. In a world filled with secrets, more "Silver Screen Secrets" spilled. How the stars get smaller or even bigger for their big roles. Hollywood body transformations, tomorrow.
And here`s the story of a lovely lady who one day had a hunch. She decided to hold a contest, and that`s the way it became the doggie bunch. Doggone it, what is "Brady Bunch" mom up to now? Find out when she joins us live, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
This is the Marquee Guy. It`s a dog-eat-dog world out there, but even I at times rough it.
ANDERSON: Finally, there it was, the Marquee Guy. I love it.
HAMMER: It was all you had ever hoped for, wasn`t it?
ANDERSON: It was.
HAMMER: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
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