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Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight for July 28, 2005, CNNHN
Aired July 28, 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.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: I`m Karyn Bryant. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: revenge of the celebrities. Kate Moss, Cameron Diaz, Roman Polanski, Catherine Zeta-Jones. All winning big cases against the press and photographers. Tonight, what it means for the way you get your celebrity news.
HAMMER (voice-over): The Natalee Holloway case. A nation transfixed. Are the people of Aruba following as closely as Americans? And what`s it like to be a reporter on the scene? Tonight, we go to Aruba to get the answers.
BRYANT: Real women. Real curves. Real controversy. A new ad campaign has stirred up hot debate about beauty standards and body image and definitely touched a nerve. Tonight, we dive into the debate.
GEENA DAVIS, ACTRESS: Hi, I`m Geena Davis, and if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Welcome to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant.
Well, you could call it the revenge of the stars.
HAMMER: Tonight celebrities are fighting back like never before against outright lies about them and invasion of their privacy. What`s more, they are winning big time in court.
BRYANT: Let`s go right to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas in Hollywood with the latest.
What`s going on, Sibila?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Karyn and A.J., over the past week alone, at least three major celebrities have come out winners in the legal system. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went looking for the answers to find out why the courtroom is now the place to be seen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (voice-over): Celebrities are fighting back. Cameron Diaz, Roman Polanski, Kate Moss, all in court, all winning battles and fights for their reputation.
We went to celebrity publicist Marvet Britto. She told us celebrities are finally standing up for themselves.
MARVET BRITTO, CELEBRITY PUBLICIST: I think stars are fighting back because for years they`ve been preyed upon. They`ve exploited with the increase in the magazine wars and with the increase in new publications hitting the newsstands, you know, the stakes are higher. And I think that, you know, you don`t want your life, your private life to be exploited.
VARGAS: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT giving you the latest. Just yesterday, Kate Moss won a libel suit against the "Sunday Mirror" in Britain over their report that she did so much cocaine she fell into a coma.
And Roman Polanski, the Oscar winning director of "The Pianist," won over a libel suit on Friday against "Vanity Fair" magazine. He sued over an article claiming he said tried to seduce another woman on the day of his wife`s funeral.
Marvet Britto told us the explosion of celebrity magazines has created a race for star scandal.
BRITTO: There`s an amazing thirst and it`s -- you know, I`m afraid as a publicist because there`s a new magazine, "OK," that`s launching in the U.S. And whenever I`ve gone to Europe, I have found that, you know, the journalists in Europe just fabricate stories.
I went with Mariah Carey to Europe in May, and they said that she requested red carpet to be rolled out and candles to be lit, and it was -- it was completely not true. So they seem to stop at nothing.
VARGAS: But it`s not just the magazines. Photographers, ex- boyfriends and girlfriends, everyone wants a piece of the celebrity pie.
On Monday, Cameron Diaz claimed a victory in a lawsuit against a photographer who tried to sell topless photos of her taken in 1992. She had said her signature on the release form was forgery. The court said, we agree.
And Colin Farrell just sued ex-flame and former "Playboy" playmate Nicole Narain, for allegedly trying to sell their sex tape through an intermediary. A temporary restraining order was issued against Narain last week in that case.
"Newsweek" Nicky Gostin said it`s a trend.
NICKY GOSTIN, "NEWSWEEK": It seems like, you know, anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with a celebrity will somehow try and make a buck out of it.
There was a case, I think it was last week, of someone who dated Jennifer Aniston back in high school and was selling a piece of paper where she`d written her phone number. And he was selling that, auctioning of that on eBay, which is just ridiculous but you know, paperwork, bidding on it.
VARGAS: Some celebs are famous for being litigious. Catherine Zeta- Jones sued "Hello" magazine for printing unauthorized photos of her wedding to Michael Douglas. She won $30,000.
And Tom Cruise won a multi-million dollar judgment after suing a wrestler for claiming they had an affair.
But Nicky Gostin says beware, magazines are finding ways around this.
GOSTIN: We see with certain newspapers like the famous page 6 in "The New York Post" if they have some really salacious gossip that for whatever reason they don`t feel they can print, they print it as a blind item. Which is they give you lots of clues about the celebrity that they`re talking about, but they don`t actually give the name, which is sort of a cheesy way of getting out of it, because if you read the papers you can work out which celebrity they`re actually talking about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Of course some of those blind items aren`t so easy to figure out. And A.J., insiders tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT some celebs just try to ignore any false reports. That`s because going to court, as you can imagine, is such a huge undertaking, and some celebrities just -- they don`t want the hassle -- A.J.
HAMMER: And you can certainly understand why. Thanks very much, Sibila Vargas, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT in Hollywood.
All right. Well, huge undertaking or not, something is definitely tipping the scales of justice in the favor of celebrities lately. So who better than to help us discuss all this than "Celebrity Justice`s" Harvey Levin, who is also an attorney, and joining us live from Hollywood.
Thanks for joining us, Harvey.
HARVEY LEVY, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, A.J.
HAMMER: So what`s going on here? There`s always litigation going on in Hollywood, but all these cases we just mentioned being settled or, you know, victories in court. Is this just a coincidence? Or to quote a line from the movie "Network," are the celebs just mad as hell and they`re not going to take it anymore?
LEVY: Yes, I mean, it`s that and a whole lot more. And when you look at what`s going on, I think the fact that you have 24-hour news now, when you have paparazzi who are really going for it more than they ever have before, in some cases crossing the line, I think the celebs have said, "Look, we have to take a stand and the public is on our side."
So armed with all of that, they`re hiring some of the best lawyers, these pit bull Hollywood lawyers. One is Marty Singer, and he strikes the fear of God in anybody he sues. And they are going after these people, basically saying, "Look, we don`t want money from you. We want a lot more than that. We want to make a statement that, whatever you do, you do so at your peril." And it`s working.
HAMMER: It does seem to be working. And I imagine it`s going to change the way that some of the places, whether it`s the celebrity publications or the paparazzi, it will change the way they`re doing business. As Nicky Gostin from "Newsweek" mentioned in our piece a moment ago, blind items are becoming more and more popular as a way around it. How do you see this having any kind of a fallout with how these publications are going to work?
LEVIN: You know, I think, A.J., it`s going to have a fallout when it comes to taking pictures of celebrities where you shouldn`t have been there, that it`s going to be real hard for newspapers and newsmagazines to start publishing these invasive photos.
But I will say this, that I think the television newsmagazines and the regular magazines, they`ve gotten a lot bolder lately in terms of putting out personal information about celebrities that you would have never seen 10 years ago. The game has just changed.
And publicists are finally saying, "You know what? We have to play this game, and rather than just ignore it, we need to address it."
So in terms of information, I think information is getting a lot more personal than it ever has about celebrities.
HAMMER: Why is it...
LEVIN: In terms of photographs, I think they have drawn the line.
HAMMER: Why is it OK for these magazines to be doing that? Why do they think they can get away with it? Because you know, they`re going after them.
LEVIN: You know, it`s all a culture. If magazines push the line and say, "Look, we have information, and this is going to come out whether we do it or somebody else does it. So play ball with us or else," publicists tend to fold on that and they tend to say, "Look, we will play ball with you."
When it comes to photographs that cross the line, there`s really no justification for it. They can say, "Look, you publish these photographs, it is just visually an invasion of privacy. And we are going to distinguish between that and information." and I think that`s what`s going on right now, A.J.
HAMMER: One thing is for certain, we`ll be reporting on a lot more of these lawsuits and the fallout from that. Harvey Levin from "Celebrity Justice," thanks for joining us.
BRYANT: Tonight a new ad campaign is trying to redefine beauty in American. A series of advertisements selling skin firming lotion has morphed into a full-fledged national campaign to get Americans to change the way they think about beauty.
Well, tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT looks into whether it really is changing the way women feel about themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: They`re everywhere, ads depicting what Dove calls real women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re showing the public that women who have real body types can be very proud and confident and celebrate their body.
BRYANT: These women are certainly not your typical supermodel. They`re not a size zero, and they`re not sorry about it. The ads are creating a lot of buzz.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the campaign is sort of revolutionary because people aren`t, you know, used to seeing an average-sized woman in media, let alone put an advertised woman in her underwear in media, unairbrushed, unretouched. And so it`s really encouraging people to redefine what beauty really is.
BRYANT: Stacey Nadeau (ph) is one of the six real models in the campaign. She came straight to SHOWBIZ to tell us she`s hoping the ad campaign will make a difference in a society that Dove believes is too hard on body image.
DEB BOYDA, OGILVY AND MATHER: The reason it`s struck such a chord with women is for so, so long we`ve been confronted with tons and tons of visual dishonesty when we look in the magazines and we look at, you know, standard depictions of beauty in society. And for the first time, there`s someone, a brand called Dove, that has the guts to go out there and say real women, regular, everyday women are really very, very beautiful just the way they are.
BRYANT: Does this ad campaign really speak to American women? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT took to the streets to get the skinny on what they think of Dove`s real women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s more about how you feel about yourself and if you carry yourself off well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously, I`m not a size six. So it`s hard to identify with a thin model al the time, and it`s nice to see, you know, fuller figured models.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The average dress size in the United States is size 12. This lady might even be bigger than that, but I think a lot of real women look like that, and they should love themselves.
BRYANT: It`s a message that has struck a nerve in America. In a forum on Dove`s web site, thousands of women have written in to express their thoughts on self-esteem and body image.
They`re also asking people to donate to a self-esteem fund to help young girls feel better about the way they look.
But not everyone is raving about the campaign. Some don`t agree with the idea of trying to get women to accept themselves, while hocking skin- firming lotion, and then there`s the whole issue of real women.
JIMMY GREENFIELD, REDEYE COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": A body lotion company and an ad agency teamed up to try to convince women that they`re out for them. And I think this is more of the same.
Women who have been faced with body issues their whole lives are being told now, well, you know we`re going to put real women here instead of the supermodels that you`re used to. Well, I`ve seen these women and it`s just more of the same. They`re 8s. They`re maybe 7s. They`re good looking women.
BRYANT: But Dove stands by the fact that these women are real and beautiful.
BOYDA: They`re absolutely real women, and hopefully, what we learn from this is that real women are hot the way they are and they don`t have to be a size two supermodel to be considered hot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: Hot or not we want to hear from you. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Full-figured models: do "real women" sell? You can vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. You can send e-mails to us at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
HAMMER: But are you beautiful enough? Coming up, the outrage online over a club that says you can`t join unless you`re not only pretty but downright beautiful.
BRYANT: Plus, Oprah battles Condoleezza Rice. What for? We`re the first to tell you what it is.
HAMMER: And only we have the secrets of season two of "Desperate Housewives." And if you`re desperate to find out, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the answer. That`s on the way.
BRYANT: Now, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz. In 1992, which of the following actors earned Oscar nominations for best actor and best supporting actor? Was it Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson or Denzel Washington? We`ll be right back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz. In 1992, which of the following earned Oscar nominations for best actor and best supporting actor? Was it Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson or Denzel Washington? Well, the answer is A, Al Pacino. In 1992 he won best actor for his role in "Scent of a Woman," and he was nominated for best supporting actor for "Glengarry Glen Ross." Hooah.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
In "The Show`s Biz," we all know that Oprah is one of TV`s most powerful women. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the very first to tell you that "Forbes" has put Oprah in the top 10 of the "100 Most Powerful Women in the World."
The "Forbes" list just came out, and Oprah is at No. 9. At 51 years old, the queen of daytime makes $225 million a year, and that is bound to go up, now that the DVD set of her 20-year-old talk show is being released this fall.
By the way Condoleezza Rice, tops the list.
BRYANT: But the queen of talk, it turns out, reigns supreme in the fashion world. For tonight`s "Thursday InStyle," Oprah`s style transformation through the years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLLY BLITZER, "INSTYLE" MAGAZINE: Oprah has been doing "The Oprah Winfrey Show" since 1985, but she`s actually been on the air since the age of 17, and she has become more and more comfortable with her style as the years have gone on.
If there was such a thing as beauty Viagra, I bet she`s taking it, because she just has good looks with so much stamina.
In 1971 for Oprah`s high school yearbook picture, she sported a really cool flip do and she was voted most popular in her senior yearbook. So with a hairdo like that I have no complaints.
In 1983, Oprah kind of fit with the trends by getting her hair teased, and she sported it really well, but for 2005 it`s great that she`s moved on to different looks.
In 1987, Oprah decided to take a stab at purple eye shadow and she pulled it off really well. It was just two years after "The Color Purple" movie came out in which she starred. And she really felt like she`d made it big, and I think that that`s reflected in her hairdo.
By 1992, Oprah had really come into her own and felt like she made it. She opted for a blunt cut. She really kind of came across as a businesswoman, because now she was embarking on new endeavors.
In 1999, Oprah decided to take a departure from the softer hair styles and opted instead for a very springy, spirally do, that was just a head filled with very lush ringlets.
By 2004, Oprah had hit the big 5-0, and nobody was smokin` more than she was, which is why she probably opted to try some smoky eye shadow on the red carpet.
It`s 2005, and Oprah has just proven that she gets better and better with age, and that the transformations haven`t stopped. She proves that 50 is not fatal in Hollywood, and she just keeps on going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: And if you want to read more on Oprah`s style transformations, pick up a copy of August`s "InStyle" magazine. It`s on newsstands now.
HAMMER: Here we go. Right now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the secrets of the new season of "Desperate Housewives." Fans of the show are eagerly awaiting the new season in the fall. And right here we`ve got your inside scoop on what`s in store.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there at ABC`s glam party in L.A. last night, where we talked to the residents of Wisteria Lane, who are already working on season two.
Mark Moses, who plays Paul Young, told us that it`s as darkly comedic as last season. The season finale, of course, ended with a few juicy cliffhangers, including that scene where Zach is holding Susan at gunpoint.
Well, James Denton, who plays Mike the plumber, gave us some hints about how that might play out in season two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES DENTON, ACTOR: I`m afraid to even give you page two. I`m around. We`re shooting episode two and I`m still alive. I can tell you that much. You know, Mike and Susan have a really rocky road, now that Zach is in the middle of it. Still a lot of that breaking up and getting back together.
But there`s some really, really fun stuff, the scene where Mike walks in with Zach and Susan and the gun really pays off. I think people will love it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And of course, a gun in her back is not the only lingering issue for Terri Hatcher`s character, Susan. Nicollette Sheridan`s character, Edie, apparently has more tricks up her sleeve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLLETTE SHERIDAN, ACTRESS: Yes, Edie`s going to be dating Susan`s ex-husband, and trying to steal her daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yet somehow Edie and Terri remain friends, at least their characters do.
The show is up for 15 awards on Emmy night, September 18. And mark your calendars, if you`d like to. The season premiere of "Desperate Housewives" is the following Sunday after Emmy week. It`s September 25 on ABC.
BRYANT: America`s obsession with the Natalee Holloway story. Coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s live in Aruba at the center of the story. We`re wondering is the round-the-clock coverage the same down there?
HAMMER: Plus, the Rolling Stones giving you satisfaction only a click away. That`s just ahead in the "SHOWBIZ Guide" to music.
BRYANT: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the prime-time premiere of Mariah Carey`s new song. That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: It`s time now for the "SHOWBIZ Guide," where throughout the week, we help you decide where to spend your dollars on movies, DVDs, music and more. Tonight, online music.
The Rolling Stones want you, an online "Conversation" with Tom Petty, and a little blues to note online, all available to you in just a few clicks.
Joining me to discuss here in New York City, Barry Jeckell, online music editor for Billboard.com. So first and foremost, let`s start with the Rolling Stones. They`re going on tour next month, and fans can help pick the set list?
BARRY JECKELL, BILLBOARD.COM: Yes, they`ve asked fans to go through their web site and basically submit songs that you want to hear. If you haven`t heard a song from an old album in a long time, and you really want to hear it, submit it. They`re asking for dream set lists where you more or less put together a show, and they might consider it and put it on.
BRYANT: And that`s at RollingStones.com.
JECKELL: RollingStones.com. And the good thing is they`re doing a whole bunch of different tour -- things on their tour. They`re playing stadiums all the way to small clubs. So every night is going to be a different set list.
BRYANT: What`s your favorite song?
JECKELL: I have so many, I can`t even think. "Jumpin` Jack Flash" is probably one.
BRYANT: Really? Good, OK.
Well, let`s move on to Tom Petty. I think Tom Petty is fantastic. Of course, maybe some of his biggest hits, "Free Falling," "Into the Great Wide Open." Speaking of wide open, he`s got a new book that he`s writing. He`s laying it out there for people to read online.
JECKELL: Actually written by Paul Zollo, who`s a music journalist and a song writer and he was -- he interviewed Tom at length about every single song and everything he`s ever done from his earliest garage bands all the way through to the Heartbreakers, playing with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.
And this book really goes in-depth. And it`s great for the smallest fan to biggest fan to really get an idea of what`s behind Tom and what he does. And I`ve read the whole thing already. It`s fantastic.
BRYANT: Nice. And we mentioned that Blue Note has something for jazz fans, both new and old jazz, right?
JECKELL: Absolutely. You can hear vintage songs all the way to Norah Jones and Amos Lee and other great near artists on BlueNoteRadio.com. Or BlueNote.com, their Blue Note Radio application. It`s completely -- it`s a fantastic thing to do.
BRYANT: And it`s a player where you can set play lists and mix it up?
JECKELL: Actually, it streams through, and you can rest songs. You can pick things that you want to hear more often or less often and really kind of judge the frequency. It`s great to just go down and listen for a long time. It`s fantastic radio.
BRYANT: Nice. So that`s what`s going on, online musically, right?
JECKELL: Yes, that`s right. And we`re also -- Billboard.com is coming to mobile, which is a great thing. Within the next few weeks, we`re launching on Cingular, and you`ll be able to find charts, ring tones, all the stuff that we offer online, plus all the ring tones, right on your cell phone.
BRYANT: You`re busy, Barry.
JECKELL: Very, very busy.
BRYANT: Thanks for joining us here, Barry Jeckell of Billboard.com -- A.J.
HAMMER: Well, in tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Showcase," some more music. We`ve got the prime-time premiere of Mariah Carey`s new video, "Shake It Off." You`ve been hearing this single on the radio. This is the newest from her triple-platinum album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The album is still flying high in Billboard`s top 200. It`s in the top five right now. You can grab your copy of "The Emancipation of Mimi" in stores now.
BRYANT: No one has been able to shake off the sister act of Venus and Serena Williams. They`re awesome. Well, coming up, how their lives on and off the courts are causing a racket.
HAMMER: And of course, many people consider the Williams sisters to be beautiful, but there`s buzz behind an online club that claims to be the final arbiter. And with that buzz, of course, comes outrage. That`s on the way on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: And "iPod Nation," we are all over those little white jukeboxes. But what`s next on the horizon? The future of iPods. We will gaze into the crystal ball, actually I guess the crystal chips, A.J.?
HAMMER: Yes, the crystal chips, Karyn.
BRYANT: Coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in a minute. I`m Sophia Choi with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Well, just in from NASA, engineers say a piece of foam that fell off the space shuttle Discovery`s fuel tank may have hit the wing, but they don`t think it caused any damage. In the meantime, the shuttle has docked with the International Space Station. Its seven astronauts are delivering 15 tons of supplies and equipment.
Well, those DNA tests in Aruba haven`t brought investigators any closer to finding missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway. The tests show blonde hair stuck to a piece of duct tape found on a beach does not belong to the missing girl. Meantime, investigators searching for possible remains expect to finish draining a pond near her hotel tomorrow.
And a first look today at new plans for the World Trade Center. Nearly four years after 9/11, the design for the trade center`s transportation hub was unveiled today. The hub is to open in 2009. It will connect city transit and subway lines. And it`s expected to have a $3.5 billion economic impact.
That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi. Now back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, covering the Natalee Holloway case. Tonight, we are going live to Aruba. CNN reporter Susan Candiotti will tell us what it`s like to be in the middle of the media frenzy there.
BRYANT: The beautiful people. A new web site says it`s for anyone who is sick of meeting unattractive people online. Some say it`s really just a high-tech high school cafeteria. Tonight, the guy behind the site joins us live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ESTEFAN, MUSICIAN: Hi, I`m Gloria Estefan. And if it happened today, it`s happens on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s only live entertainment news show. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. And I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. Here are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
The feud between Moby and Eminem may be over tonight. Moby says he has a new respect for the rapper because he criticizes President Bush on his latest album. The artists have been trading barbs ever since Moby criticized Eminem`s lyrics about women and gays and Eminem called Moby a girl.
BRYANT: Debate is raging tonight over the new Dove ad campaign which features real women. The company says it wants to broaden the definition of what is beautiful, and the campaign has gotten a lot of positive feedback. But many blogs are criticizing the campaign for simultaneously telling women to accept themselves and selling them skin-firming lotion.
HAMMER: And that leads us to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Full-figured models: Do real women sell?
If you want to vote, you can continue to do so by going to CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can also write to us. Showbiztonight@CNN.com is our address. We`re going to read some of your e-mails at about 54 past the hour.
BRYANT: There is an old saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but on a new matchmaking web site that officially launched today, the beholders also hold the keys to the kingdom.
It`s as simple as this: If you are not beautiful, don`t even think of going there to sign up. So joining us live, the managing director of beautifulpeople.net, Greg Hodge.
So, Greg, hi.
GREG HODGE, MANAGING EDITOR, BEAUTIFULPEOPLE.NET: Hi, how are you?
BRYANT: I`m well. Thanks for joining us.
How come you started this site, because there`s obviously a lot of...
(CROSSTALK)
HODGE: The concept started in Denmark by my business partner and dear friend, Robert Hintze, who was on existing mainstream sites, browsing through numerous unattractive profiles, and finding no one close to his ideal match.
He dreamt up the idea of having a site full of beautiful people, and it stemmed from there and developed from there. But to create this ideal environment, which was difficult, was he going to have a team of sociologists or some model bookers?
No. The smart guy that he is came up with a rating module where existing members of the opposite sex decide whether or not someone is attractive enough to enter, in a completely fair and democratic way, which is perfect being in America.
BRYANT: Right, but don`t you -- where does personality come into it? Because a lot of the other web sites match people on their personalities, and that might be better.
HODGE: Definitely. But let`s get down to grassroots here. Bottom line is, if you`re out in a social situation, especially if you have a romantic inclination, you`re going to approach someone if you`re attracted to them.
With Beautifulpeople.net, we remove that first hurdle, because everyone in there is beautiful, as deemed so by the members. Once they`re in there, of course, they have numerous tools to get to know the character behind the beauty.
BRYANT: And so what do you make of the criticism that you`re making a high school cafeteria, and that is, sort of Am I Hot or Not, you know, web site where people just were offended?
HODGE: We love it. We love it. It makes the world go round. I mean, the thing about it, is it elitist? Yes, it is, because our members want it to be. Is it lookers? Yes, it is, because our members want it to be. Is it P.C.? No, it`s not, but it`s honest.
BRYANT: OK. So how does it work then? Do people sign up -- are they automatically...
HODGE: No, what happens, you put up a profile, you validate it by an administrator to make sure, you know, nothing`s too racy on there. And then you go through the rating module, where you`re voted on by existing members of the opposite sex over a 72-hour period.
BRYANT: And you pay for this? Because our booker signed up already. And she`s been getting e-mails even...
HODGE: I saw your booker. Your booker`s hot.
BRYANT: Isn`t she?
HODGE: She`s not going to have any problems getting in.
BRYANT: And she`s already getting e-mails.
HODGE: I`m thinking about asking her out for dinner after this.
BRYANT: So is she accepted then?
HODGE: Well, she`s not.
BRYANT: You`re the man! Just accept her.
HODGE: If it was my choice, believe me, she`d be in there, she`d be straight through. But it`s the members.
And you know what? I have to say, the American people so far -- the members we have online are very, very tough. One in eight is getting through at this stage.
BRYANT: All right. Well, you have administrative rights. I know you can make it happen. Thanks for joining us.
HODGE: Pleasure. Pleasure. Pleasure.
BRYANT: A.J.?
HAMMER: And now for something completely different. As we wrap up our series tonight, "iPod Nation," with a look at what`s next for the iPod.
In a relatively short amount of time, that iPod has really become a gadget that a lot of people can`t imagine being without, but what new bells and whistles are in the works? Well, live now from San Francisco to help fill us in on that, Jim Louderback. He`s the editorial director with Ziff Davis Internet. That`s a company that publishes computer- and Internet- related materials.
All right, Jim, so all week long, we`ve been talking about this iPod. And we basically have one last question: What is next on the horizon for this thing?
JIM LOUDERBACK, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, ZIFF DAVIS INTERNET: All right. Well, let me start off with -- we got audio on the iPod. We got photos with the photo iPod. What we don`t have yet, video.
And although Apple hasn`t announced anything, their competitors are moving forward with new products and really second-class products. I just want to show this to you real quickly, because it is actually brand-new, never before seen, from a company called Creative.
It`s the Zen Vision. And if you see it, it`s basically a large iPod- shaped device. It plays all your music, plays your photos, but it also plays through video. Apple`s got to do video on an iPod, and they`ve got to it pretty soon, because people are using this stuff to watch video as they go on. You don`t need to carry a DVD player with you anymore.
HAMMER: And it seems to be a natural part of the evolution for the iPod. And there`s been a lot of buzz on it going on in the Internet. So I`m sure we`ll see that coming soon.
And I imagine, as podcasting has come to the iPod, videocasting, where people will be able to do their own little video shows, will wind up downloadable onto their iPods?
LOUDERBACK: Yes, exactly. Now, podcasting is so easy to do with iTunes and with iPod, and the other things out there. A similar thing doesn`t exist yet for video, but it`s a no-brainer. Video is just a collection of bits like audio. It`s a little bit bigger.
All you`ve got to do is set the software up and download it. And it`s not about, you know, people ripping their DVDs off. It`s about grabbing those cute little videos and other things that people send you and watching it on here and sharing it with your friends.
HAMMER: Well, all of this is about convergence and moving different forms of media into one gadget. And I`ve seen a lot of buzz, as well, and the possibility that very soon we`ll actually have a telephone that will work with the iTunes software, is that right?
LOUDERBACK: Yes, exactly. That`s the next thing that has to come out, as well. You know, the cell phone is becoming the Swiss army knife, where everything`s going into it. It`s a camera. You can play music on it. You can take movies with it.
There`s no reason why you shouldn`t be able to have, you know, a Macintosh or an iPod version of this, running iTunes. So if you want to buy a song, you can hit a button and buy a song from iTunes, just like you`d buy a ring tone.
Now, Motorola is working on one. And it`s ready to go. It`s just Apple and Motorola haven`t really figured out all the money deals with providers, like Verizon and Cingular.
HAMMER: But as soon as they do, I`m sure it will be a big hit, just like the iPod.
LOUDERBACK: Exactly.
HAMMER: Jim Louderback, with Ziff David Internet, thanks for joining us tonight as we wrap up "The iPod Nation."
BRYANT: Mel Gibson is making a new movie. But David Letterman has already made the trailer. That`s coming up in "Laughter Dark."
HAMMER: Plus, the Williams sisters, you`ve seen them battle it out on the court. Well, up next a special report, as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the other places they are serving up aces.
BRYANT: Plus, the Natalee Holloway story. Is Aruba as obsessed with the story of the missing teenager as America is? And what is it like to be a reporter covering the story there? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is live in Aruba with some answers, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, where tonight we have a behind-the-scenes look at what it`s like to cover the story of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who disappeared during a trip to Aruba some two months ago.
It has become a story that viewers can`t seem to get enough of. And joining us live tonight from a very windy Aruba, apparently, CNN`s Susan Candiotti, who is covering this story, has been for some time.
And, Susan, here in the United States, you can`t turn on a television without running into this story. It`s everywhere. Is this as big a deal in Aruba as it is here in the States? Are they covering it locally?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. It continues to be big news in the local newspapers, here in the local language, as well as on television newscasts. But in tourist newspapers, it is not.
So it`s a big deal here. Everyone knows about the story, and they`re following it very closely.
HAMMER: And there are a lot of experts who are saying Natalee`s disappearance wouldn`t have gotten the coverage that it did without Natalee`s family being on hand. They`ve been working very closely with people down there, particularly her mother, been very aggressive in courting the media to keep the attention on their missing daughter.
Can you give us any behind-the-scenes insights on how the family has been dealing and working with the media? Have you had a lot of interaction yourself with the family?
CANDIOTTI: They`ve been making themselves available to the news media because, look, they realize that the more they can keep this story out there, the more people will know that Natalee is missing, and perhaps it will generate some interest, perhaps it will prompt someone who might be afraid to come forward to come forward, if they can connect with the family.
And that`s why they`re making themselves available. They want to find out where their daughter is, and I think everyone can understand that.
From our perspective, of course, it does help to humanize the story. Naturally, everyone wants to know what they think about the course of the investigation, how things are going, if they`re getting discouraged, and what more they think can be done.
HAMMER: Do they just sort of come by your media camp personally? Will they just walk up to you and address you? Or is there a more official sort of methodology going on, in terms of how they`re dealing with the media?
CANDIOTTI: It`s not difficult to find them. And naturally, you can go through. We`ve got local people here working with them. But if you approach them, they will never turn down an interview. They make themselves available, and they`re not coming here to seek us out. Primarily, we`re looking for them. But if you run into them, they`re easy to talk to, approachable.
HAMMER: And we will continue to follow the story. Susan Candiotti at CNN, thanks for joining us, live from Aruba.
Well, the Bob Hope Memorial Garden opens to the public tomorrow. Two years after his death, Hope`s remains have been moved from a mausoleum to the new site in the San Fernando Valley. The Hope family web site says, "The memorial garden is a place where fans can go to remember the comedian`s life and career."
BRYANT: Tonight, "People in the News," Venus and Serena Williams. The tennis-playing sister act is very well-known on the court. Of course, Venus just won again at Wimbledon a few weeks ago, and now, with their reality show, which premiered last night on ABC, Venus and Serena fans are getting the chance to know them off-court.
Here`s CNN`s Kyra Phillips for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By 2001, Venus and Serena Williams had reached the top of the tennis world, winning three of the last five grand slam tournaments. They`d gotten gold at the Olympics, Venus in singles, together in doubles. But success also meant they would have to play each other, something their father had never encouraged.
RICHARD WILLIAMS, FATHER OF VENUS AND SERENA WILLIAMS: I never would have allowed it when they was little kids, because I think it`s a good way to tarnish the family. To be honest with you, I didn`t want them playing each other on the WTA tour, either, or should I say the, what is it, the Williams Tennis Association?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: There was no mistaking the emotional strain the sisters experienced when they did face one another, most notably in the 2000 Wimbledon semifinals, where Serena walked off the court in tears after losing to her big sister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both play the same game. They both are power players, which usually leads to a lot of unforced errors. Also, they warm up with each other before their matches. So it`s not as though one`s got a secret weapon the other hasn`t seen that she`s ready to unleash.
PHILLIPS: It added up to questions about the sister`s willingness to play one another. "The National Enquirer" even printed a story that alleged Richard had predetermined which sister would win their 2000 semifinal match-up at Wimbledon.
SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: Come on, it`s "The National Enquirer." I mean, god! Next thing you know, I`m going to be pregnant by some Martians.
R. WILLIAMS: I would never tell my daughter to lose or to win, under no circumstances. But I would tell my daughter this here: When you`re out there, do the best you can do.
JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": I don`t think the matches are fixed. And I don`t think they ever were fixed. But I think people see how the level of play dropped so dramatically when they compete against each other, and you also have the Richard factor to contend with.
PHILLIPS: Richard Williams seemed to get more outrageous as his daughters became more successful. He badmouthed other players, held up signs, and danced at tournaments. He supplied the press with a seemingly endless string of outlandish comments and stories.
SONJA STEPTOE, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I think Richard is a modern day P.T. Barnum. There`s no question about him. He`s full of bluster.
WERTHEIM: This is a man who just doesn`t distinguish between fact and fiction. And he`s buying Rockefeller Center for $3.9 billion. And owns thousands of buses. And he has a seat on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. And I`m not sure it`s sort of controversy, so much as it`s amusement.
R. WILLIAMS: Even a black person come along in this country and says anything, he`s crazy. Well, I tell the world today I`m not crazy. I tell you one thing, I have plenty of money, though, but I`m not crazy.
PHILLIPS: Despite the drama, the sisters pushed forward, playing each other and beating everyone else.
WERTHEIM: Clearly, they`re uncomfortable playing against each other. But if you sort of look at the results, it was all Venus in the first half. And then once Serena got over the hump, she`s been rolling over Venus ever since.
PHILLIPS: By the fall of 2002, Serena and Venus Williams were numbers one and two in the world.
R. WILLIAMS: I`d been dreaming about this all of my life. And when it happened, I wasn`t ready, I guess. I mean, they keep catching me off- guard. It`s just such a thrill.
PHILLIPS: But 2003 would bring devastating news. Yetunde Price, their half-sister, was killed in a shooting in Compton, California.
S. WILLIAMS: We`re doing. We`re all doing. And I think that`s the best way to describe it. You know, we`re so close as a family. We`ve always been really close.
My sisters are my life. And just I couldn`t live without them. They`re like the blood that`s in my body, and so it`s always tough.
PHILLIPS: The sisters also battled injuries that kept them off the court, yet gave them time to pursue other interests. Serena Williams has begun pursuing an acting career, appearing on "Law and Order: SVU."
VENUS WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: When they carry you on your shoulders to the stage and shine a spotlight on you, what do you call that?
PHILLIPS: She also has her own fashion line, Aneres, which is Serena spelled backwards.
S. WILLIAMS: I draped this one dress. I`m like, OK, "I need you to make this dress with all this different fabric." And I just said, "I`m going to work on it in England. I`m going to tell you what to buy, buy you the tool for it." And so it`s really exciting. I really enjoy it.
PHILLIPS: However, as the sisters enjoyed life off the court, their commitment to tennis was questioned, doubts furthered by their lackluster results when they did play.
WERTHEIM: Tennis has had all of these players where all they`ve done is eat, drink, sleep, breathe tennis. And here come these two sisters, and they`re reading, they`re trying to take up foreign languages, they travel with their laptops, they`re fashion and acting, and people somehow get a bad feeling, somehow they`re short-changing tennis.
PHILLIPS: But July 2nd, 2005, Venus proved their critics wrong. The 14th-ranked underdog made a startling comeback, defeating number-one ranked Lindsay Davenport and clinching her third Wimbledon singles title. She came from behind to win the longest women`s final in the tournament`s history.
V. WILLIAMS: I can`t believe it. It was such a tight match and a match that I played until just these last two games, you know, down. And I can`t believe it, you know, it was me. You know, I`m the champ this year. I`m just so glad that it`s a part of my destiny.
PHILLIPS: Two sisters striving for excellence, both on and off the court. Playing tennis is their passion, and living life to the fullest will be their legacy.
V. WILLIAMS: Every day I try to be me. And in doing that, I hope that I can be successful on every plane that I try for.
S. WILLIAMS: And I realize that, you know, anything can happen on any day and everything can be all over in a moment. And you`ve got to live your life to the fullest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: That was CNN`s Kyra Phillips reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" airs Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. And you can pick up a copy of "People" magazine on newsstands now.
HAMMER: 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 might have missed. On "The Late Show with David Letterman," we get a sneak peek of Mel Gibson`s new movie, "Late Show"-style, of course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW": Well, he`s announced that he will direct a film set 500 years ago in Central America. And all of the dialogue will be an obscure Mayan dialect.
PAUL SHAFFER, CO-HOST, "LATE SHOW": I see.
LETTERMAN: Not even a Mayan dialect, an obscure Mayan dialect.
(LAUGHTER)
It`s called "Apocalypto." Anyway, we have an early sneak preview of "Apocalypto."
ANNOUNCER: From writer-director Mel Gibson, a majestic look-back at the awe-inspiring civilization of 16th century Latin America in the original Mayan dialect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ANNOUNCER: "Apacalypto," coming next summer to theaters everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: It`s going to be an interesting movie. Tonight, Dave`s guest is Bill Murray. Well, I`ve got to run out to a movie screening. I`m going to leave you in the capable hands of my lovely co-host, Karyn Bryant.
BRYANT: Well, thank you, A.J. Have fun.
There is still time for you at home to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Full-figured models: Do real women sell? You can vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight or write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your e-mails live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Throughout the show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Full-figured models: Do real women sell?
We`re going to take a look at how the vote is going so far. Seventy percent of you say yes, they do. That means 30 percent of you saying that real women do not sell.
And we`ve gotten some e-mails. Christine (ph) from Florida writes, "I think it`s great to show not everyone looks the way society tells us we should look. It`s great for young girls to see."
And Lana from California writes, "This campaign is excluding people who are smaller than a size six. I am a size zero, and I consider myself a real woman."
Well, the debate continues. And you can keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight.
It is time now to see what is playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow, which, of course, means we`re going to take a look at the "Showbiz Marquee."
Marquee Guy, take it away.
MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow, get ready for a play date with Ludacris. The rapper invited SHOWBIZ TONIGHT over to watch him take on his fans in an online video game challenge. The thrills, the spills, the trash talk, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, put up your dukes, everybody. We`re on the red carpet with Jessica Simpson and her co-stars. We`re taking you to the premiere of "The Dukes of Hazzard" movie, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
This is the Marquee Guy. And General Lee speaking, I`m putting my dukes up a lot these days. Guess it`s just an occupational "Hazzard."
BRYANT: Ah, somebody please take the pun machine away from the Marquee Guy. That is just ridiculous.
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Karyn Bryant. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hello, I`m Sophia Choi. Let`s get to your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Well, after a four-year stalemate, the House today passed a new energy bill that gives energy companies more than $14 billion in tax breaks over the next ten years. It`s designed to encourage development of a wider mix of energy sources, including nuclear plants. It does not include President Bush`s goal of opening an Arctic refuge to oil drilling and it`s not expected to affect oil or gasoline prices.
The White House is calling the announcement potentially historic. Today in Dublin, the Irish Republican Army pledged to put down its weapons, cease all armed activity, and pursue its aims through political channels.
And a soldier who refused to go to Iraq as a conscientious objector is going to prison now for 15 months. Former U.S. Army Sergeant Kevin Benderman had been accused of desertion, but was convicted of a lesser charge. The Army mechanic was also given a dishonorable discharge and a drop in rank to private.
That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi.
END
