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Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight for August 3, 2005, CNNHN
Aired August 03, 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, tonight a British invasion. A new magazine that could dramatically change the rules of the celebrity news business. It`s open wallet, checkbook journalism. Big bucks, big controversy. Tonight, is what the new mag "OK!" doing A-OK?
HAMMER (voice-over): Also, Brad, Jen and affairs of the heart. Tonight, emotional cheating. Why Jennifer Aniston`s comments about Brad Pitt have men and women everywhere up in arms. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates infidelity without the sex.
BRYANT: And "Reality Check." Tonight, the ultimate Playboy, the ultimate tour. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes you behind the scenes of the Playboy mansion and Hugh Hefner`s new reality show, all part of our special series on the hottest reality shows of the summer.
HUGH HEFNER, FOUNDER, "PLAYBOY" MAGAZINE: I`m Hugh Hefner and if it happened today it will be on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant.
Late today, a startling new development in the Martha Stewart case.
HAMMER: Martha`s house arrest is being extended, and that electronic ankle bracelet, it`s staying on.
CNN headline news business correspondent, Jennifer Westhoven, here with the very latest for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT -- Jennifer.
JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. And she hates that. She said it. Martha Stewart won`t be released from her home confinement or that ankle monitor for an extra three weeks.
Late this afternoon, her lawyer confirmed she`ll have to do an extra three weeks at her home in Bedford, New York. Stewart`s house arrest was due to end in the next few days, but her lawyer says she has agreed to extend her home confinement. It will now go until August 31.
It was a very short statement from her lawyers, one sentence, no reason why.
Now her lawyer would not confirm a report in Sunday`s "New York Post" about her possibly breaking the rules of her home confinement. The paper reported that Stewart had been riding around her estate north of New York City in an off-road vehicle and had shown up at a yoga class nearby.
Sixty-four-year-old Stewart served five months in jail in West Virginia for lying to investigators about a stock sale back in 2001. Her home confinement is supposed to keep her inside her house, except for 48 hours a week, unless she`s working.
Stewart`s new syndicated daytime show called "Martha" is scheduled to premiere September 12, and her new "Apprentice"-style reality show debuts on NBC this fall. It`s still way too early to know how today`s developments will affect the shows.
Karyn, back to you.
BRYANT: Thanks very much, Jennifer Westhoven.
Well, one question worth asking tonight: what was Martha thinking? Here to help us figure that out is someone who should know, Christopher Byron, author of the best-selling book biography of Martha Stewart. It`s called "Martha Inc.: The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart." Christopher joins us live here tonight in New York City.
Now, first and foremost, does this come as a surprise to you, her actions and the extension of her home confinement?
CHRISTOPHER BYRON, AUTHOR, "MARTHA INC.": No, not at all. I think that -- I think this was a train wreck waiting to happen. And sooner or later, she was going to get off the reservation and provoke these people a little bit too much, and they would start looking for anything to get her back into shallow water. And I think that`s what`s happened, yes.
BRYANT: Well, certainly the perception is that she was flaunting her freedoms that, you know, she wasn`t really supposed to have.
BYRON: Yes.
BRYANT: She definitely is a very smart woman. Why would she do this?
BYRON: Well, I think, you know, there`s different kinds of smarts, and I think one of the -- one of the smarts she`s lacking is a perception of what the world sees of her. She`s missing a couple of pieces there when it comes to the Martha element in her own assessment of herself.
And I just think she didn`t quite understand that you can`t really go through the criminal justice system in this country with this kind of attitude of entitlement, like this is all as she said on the day she was sentenced, a small personal matter. I mean this is provocative statements that are inviting a counter reaction from the government, and now she got it.
BRYANT: She certainly seems to have been trying to do an image overhaul. The promos for her new television show, for example, show her dropping things and whoopsy daisy. She`s just like everybody else. You know, and we`ve all dropped stuff.
But what about this idea that this could potentially be a setback for that image overhaul?
BYRON: Yes. Look, I think that there are a lot more potential problems like this coming. We have a woman who`s going to do twice a day TV now beginning in the autumn. It`s kind of unclear as to how this is going to affect the launch of that.
I think she`s supposed to have a press conference soon on one of them, and maybe she can`t attend it now because of the extension of this house arrest.
But she`s -- she`s at constant risk of sort of acting before thinking through what she`s saying, and this is what`s got her into this kind of trouble time and time and time again.
BRYANT: All right. Well, thank you for joining us with your insight.
BYRON: My pleasure.
BRYANT: Christopher Byron, author of "Martha Stewart, Inc." And we will have more on Martha with "Celebrity Justice`s" Harvey Levin. That`s coming up later in the show.
HAMMER: Tonight, a British invasion of America`s celebrity magazine racks officially begins, and the world of star gossip may never be the same.
A new magazine launched today that may raise serious questions about what you read. The reason? Checkbook journalism.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson joins us from Hollywood with more -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "OK!" magazine hit shelves in New York today and goes nationwide tomorrow.
Now, it doesn`t look too different from the other celebrity mags you`ll find in your supermarket checkout line or favorite newsstand, but "OK!" is bringing one distinctive feature to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): The British are coming to the celebrity magazine wars. "OK!", the British mag that calls itself the largest celebrity magazine in the world, is hitting the U.S., launching a new front in the cutthroat world of celebrity publication. "OK!", is bringing a controversial weapon to this war: its checkbook.
LAUREN ASHBURN, "USA Today": Not that it`s the British invasion of the tabloids to the U.S., but it really is that this magazine differentiates itself in the marketplace, because it openly acknowledges paying celebrities for access, and those celebrities get the opportunity to pick out the layout. They pick their own pictures, and they get editorial approval.
ANDERSON: Checkbook journalism is the practice of paying for interviews. It`s prominent in the U.K., and word is "OK!" will continue that practice in the U.S., where paying to play is generally frowned upon.
DR. ROBERT THOMPSON, POP CULTURE PROFESSOR: I don`t think that`s journalism. I think that`s a collection of press releases for these stars.
ANDERSON: "OK!" magazine reportedly is hitting the ground running. The "New York Post" reported today that OK is paying Michael Jackson $2 million for his first post-trial interview, which would run in next week`s issue.
"OK!" magazine tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that report is unsubstantiated.
Experts say celebs may turn to magazines like "OK!" as a way to get more control over their client`s image in the media.
ASHBURN: You go to "OK!" magazine, and they pay you for this. They are going to photograph you beautifully. They are not going to twist your words. The words will be your own. And it`s going to be a true story instead of what a waiter said that someone overheard you saying.
ANDERSON: Celebrity mags are big business in the United States. "Us Weekly" magazine`s weekly circulation is 1.5 million. "Star" magazine`s is 1.3 million and "In Touch" magazine`s weekly circulation is one million.
And as "OK!" tries to crash the party, will readers care how it gets its stories?
THOMPSON: I think some people who are reading these magazines and buying them as they check out from the grocery stores may not care about the ethics of journalism.
ASHBURN: We talked to one magazine expert who says no one gives a hoot who says what in these magazines. The appetite is just so insatiable right now for anything celebrity that one more magazine added to the plethora of magazines that are already out there, is actually going to probably do very well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You`ll soon have one more celebrity mag to choose from. As you may have heard hear on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "TV Guide" as you know it will soon cease to exist. It`s being remade into a full blown celebrity mag in October, and Karyn, there will probably be even more celebrity magazines to follow.
HAMMER: OK, Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. I`ll take it back from you so we can keep talking about the idea of celebrities selling their stories tonight in our "SHOWBIZ In-Depth."
When is it right for celebrities to be paid for their story, and how is this going to affect the business of celebrity journalism?
Joining us live, celebrity publicist Johnathan Cheban of Grubman Cheban Public Relations. That`s right?
JONATHAN CHEBAN, GRUMMAN CHEBAN PUBLIC RELATIONS: That`s right.
HAMMER: All right. Sometimes takes a little while to get it out.
In Hollywood, joining us tonight, Howard Bragman of 15 Minutes Public Relations. Let me start with you, Howard.
Obviously, it`s advantageous for you to sell your stories, your clients` stories to a magazine like "OK!", as we heard in that last piece, because there`s a lot of control involved, I guess.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, 15 MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: Right. Well, that`s the most important thing. It`s less about the money because most of the people we`re talking about make a lot of money anyway, but it`s really about the control.
For somebody like a Michael Jackson to be able to not only get his story in there, but to get it in his words and not have any negatives in there. That`s a home run for him, because he`s not going to get the same treatment from any other magazine with a higher journalistic standard.
HAMMER: Everybody is going after these same stories, too. And as you said, you know, a magazine that`s willing to pay for it and, if the client of yours is willing to accept the money and give the story, they`re the ones who are going to win. So does this create sort of a slippery slope for how celebrity journalism is going to move forward from here, Johnathan?
CHEBAN: Well, I think basically this has been going forever. In Britain this has been going on, and I think they`re not doing anything different. They`re paying the celebrity instead of paying the paparazzi for the pictures.
And when the celebrity gets paid it`s basically like a job, and he will deliver like he`s working for you. And I don`t think there`s anything wrong with this at this point, especially someone like a Michael Jackson, when the whole world wants to know what you`re doing. He would be dumb not to get paid for this huge story.
HAMMER: But obviously, this has to, you know, keep a competitive market going and, Howard, I imagine the other magazines are going to have to respond to this because, you know, if "OK!" is willing to pay big bucks for the same story everyone`s going for, how will the other magazines avoid getting in a similar game?
BRAGMAN: Well, I think the other magazines have to go to their natural turf, which is credibility, and what they have to start selling is they`re getting real balanced news and not press releases if they`re going to survive.
I mean, as a P.R. guy there are times when I want to go to "OK!" and there`s times when I want a little more credibility and, depending on the client and certainly the strategic task at hand, I have to make my decision.
I.E., if I have something like a Michael Jackson that`s a little more controversial, I`m going to go for the control. If I have something that`s newsworthy on its own and I don`t have a big negative, I`m going to probably, you know, want to work with one of the more journalistic publications that`s going to give more credibility, and other journalists are going to look at that and build off of that.
Because you know, media, you talk about stories that are in other media outlets and that continues to happen. And I think "OK!" is going to suffer, because I think people like SHOWBIZ TODAY (sic) aren`t going to be as willing to talk about it.
HAMMER: Well, Howard, I want to stay with you on that for just one moment because among your client the Hiltons, and obviously, you know, there are few families that get more tabloid attention than them. Paris Hilton, planning a wedding right now.
BRAGMAN: She is, yes.
HAMMER: You may have heard about it. Is that sort of a perfect scenario for you and the Hiltons, perhaps, to get involved?
BRAGMAN: Certainly. It`s certainly something you would consider. First of all, you know, weddings are the kind that I suspect we`re going to be talking about, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, first of all.
The second thing is if we don`t work with one specific publication, there`s going to be a media frenzy. There`s going to be paparazzi flying overhead and things you can`t imagine.
So if we cut a deal ahead of time with -- with a certain magazine, we`re going to get exactly the photos we want of exactly the people we want and exactly the story we want and undermine paparazzi and other journalists who might try and leak our stories.
HAMMER: And that`s a good point about the paparazzi, Johnathan. You know, obviously, they`re sort of usurping the paparazzi in the case where they`re paying for a story directly to the celebrity.
CHEBAN: Exactly, absolutely. And the paparazzi get very frustrated about it, but there`s nothing they can do. If the paparazzi don`t sell the pictures, it`s better that the star gets the money than the paparazzi at this point. Because the star will give you a lot more of themselves than if it`s just the picture than the story that a magazine paid a million dollars for, actually.
HAMMER: Johnathan Cheban, Howard Bragman, we appreciate you joining us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
"OK!" magazine will be hitting newsstands today. It`s in stores already. The inaugural issue features Jessica Simpson right there on the cover and in the interview Simpson answers questions about her marriage to Nick Lachey.
BRYANT: Coming up, there have been rumors that Brad Pitt cheated on Jennifer Aniston physically, but tonight what about Aniston apparently feeling emotionally cheated on? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT looks at how emotional cheating could affect you.
HAMMER: And it`s a play date with some Playmates. Come along for a special behind-the-scenes tour of Hugh Hefner`s Playboy mansion and his new reality show. That`s right; Hef`s getting into TV. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s special series, "Summer Reality Check."
BRYANT: Plus more on why Martha Stewart is going to be wearing her ankle bracelet a little while longer. We`ve got a report from "Celebrity Justice`s" Harvey Levin.
Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." "Everybody Loves Raymond" originally aired opposite what popular supernatural themed ABC program? Was it "M.A.N.T.I.S," "The Magic School Bus," "Teen Angel" or "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch"? We`ll be right back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." "Everybody Loves Raymond" originally aired opposite what popular supernatural themed ABC program? Was it "M.A.N.T.I.S," "The Magic School Bus," "Teen Angel" or "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch"? Well, Melissa Joan Hart`s "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" swept onto airwaves opposite "Raymond" in September `96, so it is "D."
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
Well, now that Jennifer Aniston has opened up to "Vanity Fair" about her breakup with husband Brad Pitt. A new subject has emerged that could affect all of us. Aniston suggested in the interview that Pitt emotionally left her when Angelina Jolie stepped into the picture. Psychologists call it emotional cheating.
CNN`s Mary Snow has that story for "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were Hollywood`s it couple with star power, money, not to mention good lucks. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt`s split seemed to strike a cord with many.
GARY NEUMAN, MARITAL THERAPIST: Whenever difficulty happens and couples break apart, everybody always wonders, "My gosh, if they have it all and they can`t make it work, it doesn`t say a lot for the average person in the street."
SNOW: To hear therapists tell it, the average person on the street may have a lot more in common with the Hollywood couple than they think: emotional cheating.
In an interview with "Vanity Fair," Jennifer Aniston suggests her husband had an emotional, not sexual, bond with actress Angelina Jolie.
Gary Neuman, who wrote the book "Emotional Infidelity," says emotional connections outside the marriage are increasingly common and can be more damaging to a marriage than a sexual affair.
NEUMAN: Emotional cheating is when you take in the bulk and the majority of your emotional self and place it outside of your mate. It`s a very simple equation. We only have so much emotional energy in life.
SNOW: Neuman says married couples spend an average of four minutes a day talking.
And, in many cases, when spouses stray, columnist Hara Marano hears about it. She`s a columnist for "Psychology Today."
HARA ESTROFF MARANO, "PSYCHOLOGY TODAY": Affairs of the heart or affairs of the mind are very common. I get letters in all the time from men, from women.
ANDERSON: Some say the workforce is one reason for the increase, another more people are online.
MARANO: And all you have to do is log into another room, go on the computer and find hordes of other people who want to talk to strangers.
ANDERSON: Psychologists say it`s normal to be attracted to other people, but to save your marriage it`s important to know where to draw a line.
NEUMAN: If you are someone who has been attracted to someone else and even began toward the path of emotional infidelity, but reeled yourself back, starting back to your spouse and put the new energy into your spouse, then it really becomes less of a need to tell your spouse or admit to anything, because they haven`t really done anything wrong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: That was CNN`s Mary Snow for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
So is emotional cheating for real? Well, joining me live here in New York is psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky.
I`ve got to tell you, Dr. Judy, it sounds like it could just be a bunch of psychobabble for, "Hey, I`m not interested in you anymore."
DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, PSYCHOLOGIST: That`s not true. It really exists and men and women suffer from it when they`re on the other end of it, and it has, really, three characteristics.
One is you`re giving your attention to somebody else. You`re emotionally attached to that person, and you have an erotic interest in that person, even though you don`t act on it. And that`s what the criteria would be.
BRYANT: Still sounds like you`re just losing interest in your spouse to me. I mean...
KURIANSKY: Well, you`re losing interest when you have a sexual affair, but in this case it`s not to the point of where you`re actually having intercourse or a sexual experience.
BRYANT: Right. But your mind has checked out.
KURIANSKY: Right, your mind has checked out, and you may have sexual fantasies about it, too. So it`s a little bit scary for people when they know that their spouse may be interested either in a real person or somebody online.
BRYANT: Now, what about the idea, thought, that you can have a close friend of the opposite sex, maybe do a little playful flirting. Are we cheating now if you do that?
KURIANSKY: Flirting is OK, because you haven`t given your emotional investment away. So flirting, I think, actually is healthy for people. It makes you feel like you`re attractive. It makes you feel alive. It gives you energy and that`s fine.
But when your emotion, when your heart goes to the other person and your mind also goes to that other person and hasn`t quite gone to the other parts of your body, then it`s crossed the line. So it`s really a matter of that continuum and where you stop.
BRYANT: I`m worried that we may spark a bunch of paranoia now. We`re talking about the workplace, that`s where it happens. Well, lots of people work. Is this just going to spread paranoia now about emotional cheating?
KURIANSKY: I don`t want people to start getting paranoid about, "Oh, my goodness if I flirt with this person something`s wrong."
Here the way to really prevent it. What you really need to do is to make sure the bond between you and your partner is strong, that it`s emotionally strong, that you`re sharing your interests, that you`re sharing the things that are most important for you and that you`re having good sex, too. And that`s the way to prevent it so that you don`t have to be paranoid about it over the water cooler.
BRYANT: And my goodness, talk more. I can`t believe four minutes, they say, most married couples talk to each other.
KURIANSKY: Well, as I talk about it, you really need -- you need talking. You need time together. That`s also important. And you need the right kind of touching. That helps. And trust between the two of you, because that`s what stops the emotional kind of infidelity.
BRYANT: All right. Well, thanks for joining us, Dr. Judy Kurianski.
And now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Angelina, Brad and Jen: do you believe in emotional cheating? You can vote on CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. You can send e-mails to us at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts later on in SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s program.
HAMMER: Coming up, Nick Lachey sets the record straight about his marriage.
BRYANT: And these aren`t your average girls next door. They are Playboy Playmates, and we`re getting a door of their house. Come inside Hugh Hefner`s new reality show. It`s a revealing part of our special series on summer`s hottest reality shows. That`s next.
HAMMER: Plus, their whole world is going to pot, and they seem to be OK with it. It`s a controversial new TV series called "Weeds," and "Saturday Night Live" alum Kevin Nealon joins us live to talk about the series that has many fired up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Tonight, Nick Lachey is setting the record straight again. Nick was filling in for Regis Philbin on "Live," and co-host Kelly Ripa gave him a chance to put and end to longstanding rumors about his troubles in his marriage to Jessica Simpson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY RIPA, CO-HOST, ABC`S "LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY": This is your forum, right here. Your total forum. Would you like to say right now that your marriage is fine, you`re a happy guy?
NICK LACHEY, SINGER: I would absolutely, positively like to set the record straight. Everything is absolutely wonderful in marriage, in life and love, and we`ve been saying it for months now. It`s just -- we`re OK, we`re all right.
RIPA: That`s good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: By the way, Kelly said that Regis was on special assignment and that everything is OK between them, as well. There have been rumors that the two hosts weren`t getting along.
I toss it over to you, my beloved co-host, A.J.
HAMMER: Thank you, my beloved co-host Karyn.
And as we were talking about at the top of the show, it looks like Martha Stewart is going to be wearing that ankle bracelet a little bit longer. Coming up, more on why her house arrest just got extended.
BRYANT: Also, the Playboy mansion, to them, you know, it`s home. To the rest of us it`s just a fantasy. To the rest of some it`s a fantasy. Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends have a new reality show, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gets behind the scenes. It`s part of our "Reality Check" series on the most talked about reality shows of the summer.
HAMMER: And tonight in "The Show`s Biz," dollars and cents. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT finds out why advertising -- advertisers are turning to hip-hoppers like 50 Cent to sell their products. That is coming up next here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MIKE GALANOS, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in just one minute. I`m Mike Galanos with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Well, grief in Ohio, after 14 members of the same battalion are killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq. It`s the single deadliest roadside attack for U.S. troops there. The same battalion saw six other Marines die near Baghdad Monday.
NASA is cheering after today`s historic in-space repair job. Astronaut Stephen Robinson successfully removed some fibers dangling from the space shuttle Discovery. Now mission specialists are trying to decide whether a torn thermal blanket could also pose a threat.
Tropical Storm Harvey is churning toward Bermuda with 60 mile-per-hour winds. Forecasters say there`s a slight chance Harvey could reach hurricane status before passing over the island. The storm is not expected to impact the U.S. beyond some rough surf.
And a South Korean stem-cell research says it`s created the world`s first cloned dog. The puppy is now a 14-week-old Afghan hound. The name of the puppy? Snuppy.
That`s a look at the news for now. More SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming up.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, late-breaking news for Martha Stewart. Tonight, there has been a change in her house arrest sentence. We`ll fill you in.
BRYANT: They are the girls next door, if you happen to live next door to the Playboy Mansion. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes to Hef`s house for a look at his new reality show in his special series, "Summer Reality Check."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAST OF "RODNEY," TELEVISION SHOW: We`re the cast of "Rodney," and if it happened today, it`s 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. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. Here are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
"OK" magazine hit newsstands today. The American version of the British celebrity magazine features Jessica Simpson on its first U.S. cover, as seen right there. Unlike its competitors, "OK" openly admits to paying celebrities for interviews. That`s known as checkbook journalism, although "OK`s" CEO prefers the term "relationship journalism."
BRYANT: Martha Stewart will have to wear her electronic anklet a little longer than expected. Late today, Stewart`s lawyer said her release from home confinement has been delayed three weeks until August 31st. He did not give a reason for the delay.
HAMMER: Joining us now from Glendale, California, Harvey Levin of "Celebrity Justice." Harvey, what do you make of this decision?
HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Well, it seems to me that Martha Stewart did something wrong. The lawyer is not going to announce that her home confinement was extended just because she likes it, clearly.
So obviously, this was extended for a particular reason. And usually what that means is there was some kind of violation A.J. And the "New York Post" has reported that she went to some kind of a yoga class which could have broken the rules of home confinement.
We haven`t confirmed that, but it seems that Martha Stewart did something wrong in order for this to be extended.
HAMMER: And there was also talk that she actually was riding an off- road vehicle on her property in New York. Will we ever actually find out potentially what she did do wrong and why this was extended? Or is there a chance we`ll never know?
LEVIN: No, I`m guessing we`re going to find out what it is. I mean, ultimately, this could be the subject of a court record. And usually those things become public.
But it doesn`t just happen that suddenly it extends. There`s something that triggers it. And usually what triggers it, A.J., is a violation.
HAMMER: Did this come completely as a surprise?
LEVIN: It came as a surprise to me. I mean, you know, you would think at some point they`re going to call this a day. I mean, she`s almost done with it. And especially right at the tail end of home confinement, when she`s about to start this new TV show, you know, suddenly it just comes from out of the blue. I`m really shocked by it.
HAMMER: And it came across, really, as statements from both sides, didn`t it?
LEVIN: Well, her lawyer just said home confinement was extended. He didn`t explain why it was, he just kind of made the announcement. And there have been rumblings, rumors about this, for the last day or so, so he`s just confirming what everybody`s talking about, though he didn`t say why it`s been extended.
HAMMER: And obviously, they agreed to it and nothing more was made of it, because I assume they could have challenged it if they wanted to.
LEVIN: Yes, I`m not sure they agreed to it. I think it was imposed. You`re right, they could have challenged it, but it sounds to me like that the law was laid down. The law was three weeks extension. And they acquiesced to it, because they don`t want to make a big deal of it. They want this over with so she can get on with her life.
HAMMER: Harvey Levin from "Celebrity Justice," thanks for joining us, Harvey.
LEVIN: My pleasure.
BRYANT: As we`ve been reporting, Jennifer Aniston has opened up to "Vanity Fair" magazine about her break-up with Brad Pitt. Now, she says Brad admitted to having an emotional connection with Angelina Jolie. That leads to our "Question of the Day." Do you believe in emotional cheating?
You can keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can also write us to at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e-mails are coming up at 54 past the hour.
Well, tonight in our "Showbiz Sit-down," actor-comedian Kevin Nealon. Now, Kevin stars in the new Showtime series called "Weeds." It is about a pot-dealing mom in the suburbs. Mary Louise-Parker plays the mom who resorts to selling marijuana to make ends meet after her husband suddenly dies.
Kevin plays city councilman Doug Wilson, one of her best customers. We`re pleased to welcome Kevin Nealon to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for coming.
KEVIN NEALON, ACTOR, "WEEDS": Thanks for having me, Karyn.
BRYANT: I have to ask, is this show really about people dealing pot and smoking pot or is it talking about what`s going on in suburban America?
NEALON: That`s exactly what it is. I mean, the dealing pot thing has very little to do with it. And it is about suburban America. It`s all these sprawling, modern communities that we have, you know, around the country.
This one is called (INAUDIBLE) and it`s the same houses, the same cars that people drive, the perfect homes, the perfect kids, you know, the comfort and the safety that`s guaranteed in these places. And you know, like life, there are no guarantees and there is no perfection.
So it`s about people that live in these communities that deal with everything in life, all of the dark sides of themselves, you know, and their neighbors. It`s, you know, the eating disorders, the infidelities, the emotional cheating.
BRYANT: You`re down with that. You believe in that whole term?
NEALON: I call it E.C.
BRYANT: E.C.
NEALON: Yes, E.C. So that`s basically what it`s about. And Mary- Louise Parker place Nancy Botwin, who is the soccer mom who loses her husband. And she`s also dealing with life. She`s dealing with kids and her work.
BRYANT: Well, what`s kind of fun about this is, unlike other sitcoms, the pot smokers are really likable people and some of the people who aren`t taking -- who aren`t experimenting, let`s say, are not so much fun. You`re kind of breaking some sitcom rules here.
NEALON: Well, I don`t think that`s the case, really. From what I`ve seen on the show, I think that everyone is kind of a dark character that has a lot of flaws. And they`re very complicated.
BRYANT: I guess it`s that you feel for them. You know what I`m saying? You understand her situation. You kind of feel for her.
NEALON: Yes, but it doesn`t really glorify anybody for smoking pot. You know, certainly, you see the people that are smoking pot, and you see they have trouble. You know, they`ve got a lot of problems.
BRYANT: Did you do any sort of method acting for this? Because, you know, we always talk to actors about how they found out about the role, how they investigated the role, how they prepared for it. You`re playing a guy, Doug Wilson, who is pretty much baked all of the time and he`s an accountant.
NEALON: Well, you know, he happens to like to smoke pot, but he`s also a very good accountant. And the character, Doug Wilson, he`s like a big grown-up, irresponsible kid with a lot of responsibilities.
And I think the amount that I could relate to him is that he has these conflicted feelings inside where he wants to do the right thing or he wants to do what he wants to do, and he doesn`t know if he should do the right thing, you know, or what`s right by people. And a lot of that is where the comedy comes from with Doug.
BRYANT: Now, certainly, we know and love you from all your years on "Saturday Night Live." Do you miss doing any of those characters, you know, Hans and Franz? I know on "The View" you brought back Subliminal Man.
NEALON: Yes, I don`t really miss that that much. Because, you know, I do stand-up comedy, and I do that in my act a lot. You know, I do like a little Hans and Franz, like it`s somebody out of the audience and, you know, berate him.
Be like, "He`s a pathetic girly man. Look at his love handles," you know? "He can take off his belt off and cause a flab-alanche. That`s right. All right, enough talk, girlie man." So I get to do that a lot, you know, in my stand-up.
BRYANT: You must have been thrilled when he was elected governor.
NEALON: That was the weirdest thing.
BRYANT: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
NEALON: I mean, Arnold always loved Hans and Franz. And it`s funny, because we were mocking him, you know? And when he came on the show one year to promote a film, we thought, "Really? He wants to do the Hans and Franz sketch? But we were making fun of him."
And they came out to get us, and they said, "Arnold`s here to talk to you about the script." And Dana Carvey and myself got a little nervous. We`re like two kids going to the principal`s office.
We said -- we were walking towards his dressing room, going, "No, you came up with it." "No, I think you did. You were the one who came up with it." And as we got there, Maria Shriver`s waiting in the doorway and kind of looked at us skeptically. And we kind of slid by her.
And Arnold was sitting in the dressing room on this little chair. It`s actually a big chair, but he made it look little, you know. And he had the script in one hand, he was smoking a cigar in the other. And the whole room was full of smoke. And through the smoke, he looked up at us, and he goes, "Hello, fellows. Now how am I supposed to do the accent?"
(LAUGHTER)
NEALON: So right then we knew he had a good sense of humor.
BRYANT: Fantastic. That`s fantastic. Well, Kevin Nealon, thank you for joining us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. The show is called "Weeds," and it starts this Sunday, August 7th, on Showtime.
HAMMER: Always good to see Kevin Nealon, a funny guy.
There`s an old adage about never working with kids or animals in show business. Well, Conan O`Brien`s going to show us why. That`s coming up in "Laughter Dark."
BRYANT: Plus, there goes the neighborhood. It isn`t on the Playboy Channel, but Hugh has his own reality show, "The Girls Next Door." That`s up next in the series, "Summer Reality Check."
HAMMER: And, my, how times have changed. We`re going to find out why 50 Cent may be a modern-day Michael Jordan. That`s still ahead on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer. Time now for "Summer Reality Check," our special series on the most buzzed-about reality shows of the summer.
Well, a peep show, reality-style. "Playboy" magnate Hugh Hefner and his three -- yes, that`s three -- live-in girlfriends are taking their very unique living situation to the boob tube in their very own reality show. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT visited Hef at the mansion to find out what the show is all about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): You know the mansion. You`ve heard the stories. Now, the ultimate playboy, Hugh Hefner, is giving America an insider`s look at life in the Playboy Mansion.
That`s right. Hef has his own reality show. And when he invited SHOWBIZ TONIGHT into the mansion, he told this show is different.
HUGH HEFNER, FOUNDER, "PLAYBOY" MAGAZINE: A lot of reality shows are essentially game shows that are not much related to reality. This show is.
HAMMER: It`s called "The Girls Next Door," and features the life of Hef and his three gorgeous blonde girlfriends.
HEFNER: It really is the "Playboy" world and my life through the eyes of the girls.
HAMMER: The show centers around Hef`s live-in girlfriends, Holly, Bridget and Kendra.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thinks there`s two main adjectives that people think when they see us: bimbo...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not a gold digger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and slut.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not a ho.
HAMMER: Aside from the inevitable tensions that come from three women sharing one man, what can we expect to see?
HEFNER: There will be some discreet nudity, and there will certainly be a lot of "Playboy" parties.
HOLLY MADISON, HUGH HEFNER`S GIRLFRIEND: It`s basically everything short of a sex tape. I mean, it`s all-access, pretty much.
HAMMER: But there may be a few surprises, too.
HEFNER: My life and the "Playboy" mansion are famous for parties. And I think there is the general misconception that, of course, that I`m partying every night. And, of course, that`s not true.
HAMMER: Yes, right. The show also gives us a glimpse into just how much it takes to keep this 24/7 mansion up and running, from the 70-person staff, to Hef`s very strict rules.
If you`re dating him, you`re a part of his image. Hef tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that means his girlfriends have a 9:00 curfew if they`re out without Hef.
MADISON: Hey, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Welcome to the Playboy Mansion.
HAMMER: Meet Holly, she`s Hef`s favorite girlfriend and offered to take us along for a ride.
MADISON: This is our pool. This is where Hef has his Sunday pool parties. On the show, you`ll also get a peek at our Fourth of July party. It`s totally fun.
In fact, I was having so much fun I don`t really remember much about Fourth of July. So it will be a treat for me to see that episode, too.
We also have a van room that looks like the back of one of those `70s vans. And it has a mattress for a floor, mirrored ceiling, erotic sculpture, baby oil, everything you need to watch television.
HAMMER: And then there`s the ever-famous grotto.
MADISON: Now, for the most part, what happens in the grotto stays in the grotto, but on our show you`ll get to see a little bit of me hanging out in here.
HAMMER: And the Playboy Mansion takes heavy petting to a whole new level, housing a huge zoo filled with exotic birds, monkeys, and Hef`s most prized animal.
MADISON: These are the real "Playboy" bunnies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You can catch "The Girls Next Door" on E! this Sunday. And, remember, all this week, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is spotlighting the new shows in our special series, "Summer Reality Check."
Tomorrow, it`s time to get your hands dirty with reality TV`s "Dirty Jobs." And Friday, we`re going to finish up our special reality TV series with what you can expect for the fall.
BRYANT: Tonight, in the "Show`s Biz," when it comes to advertising, are athletes being hip-hopped over in favor of rap stars? It seems like when Michael Jordan was not even -- it seems like it`s true -- when he was hired as Nike`s pitchman, "Just Do It" became as recognizable as his trademark dunks.
But now, the $55 billion a year footwear and sports apparel market is looking to hip-hop stars as their leading pitchmen. Joining me live in New York to discuss this latest trend in advertising is Brett Pulley, senior editor for "Forbes" magazine.
Brett, why are the companies turning away from athletes and turning to hip-hop stars?
BRETT PULLEY, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: Well, I think, in large part, this has to do with the same thing. You know, today we saw Reebok and Adidas agree to a merger, or Adidas agreed to purchase Reebok for about $4 billion. And that was largely because Nike is giving them fits.
Nike has about a third of the athletic shoe market. Well, Reebok sort of started doing this whole thing with bringing in rappers to endorse shoes largely for the same reason. Nike had the athletic market rapped up.
Reebok said, "Well, gee, we can do sort of lifestyle, a sort casual styles." And, you know, it made sense to reach out to some people other than athletes. You know, you can only sell so many pairs of basketball shoes.
But this also really underscores this fusing together of the hip-hop culture and the sports world. And it`s happening -- you know, the people, the guys and the women who are superstars in the sports world and the people who are the entertainers, they all grew up as part of this culture.
So there`s this is symbiotic relationship now. You know, rappers, like formidable rappers, like a Master P, spend a lot of time trying to be a basketball player. Then you have basketball players like Shaquille O`Neal...
BRYANT: Trying to rap.
PULLEY: ... who spend a fair amount of time trying to rap. So...
BRYANT: Yes, not so great at that part, though, I`ve got to tell you.
I want to know what your thoughts are, though, on the worries that, because sometimes there are misogynistic lyrics or lewd behavior in videos, that that`s maybe not such a great example for your lifestyle guy.
PULLEY: Well, I think those concerns were overstated. I mean, the thing is, The urban culture, the hip-hop culture, is now a part of the mainstream. And, again, we`re really talking about -- the people who they want to appeal to with these shoes are not offended by this stuff. They`ve grown up with it. It`s a part of the mainstream.
I think it`s the same thing -- if you said 30 years ago that people are going to be offended if you used a rock `n` roll star to endorse a product, you know, now that sounds ridiculous. So I really don`t think it`s a concern.
And you know, these people who are now in the urban entertainment world, the hip-hop world, are endorsing and are selling a lot of goods, a lot of things beyond tennis shoes. They`re selling luxury goods. They`re selling cars, et cetera, et cetera.
BRYANT: So it sounds like good business. It`s going to stay that way, at least while things are selling, I would imagine. Brett, thank you for joining us. Brett Pulley joining us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT -- A.J.?
HAMMER: All right, Karyn. Time now to get your laugh on in "Laughter Dark," as we do every night, bringing you the late-night laughs you might have missed. On "Late Night with Conan O`Brien," animal expert Jared Miller attempted to educate Conan on exotic animals. But it kind of turned out that Conan learned more about Jared instead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JARED MILLER, ANIMAL EXPERT: Scratch his armpit, too. He loves that.
CONAN O`BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT": Ah, that`s OK. Look at that.
MILLER: Here scratch his other one, too. Do you feel the nipples?
(LAUGHTER)
MILLER: No, I`m serious. It`s remarkable that he`s a male...
O`BRIEN: Get a girlfriend, all right?
MILLER: Big toe.
O`BRIEN: Look at this.
MILLER: But look how amazing. Here, walk back a little bit, so she walks on the carpet a little.
O`BRIEN: OK. All right. OK.
MILLER: You are feeding a three...
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHTER)
O`BRIEN: So this is how you get him to do it, huh?
(LAUGHTER)
You are an incredible perv.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight on "Late Night," our friend and star of "Weeds," Kevin Nealon drops by.
BRYANT: The "Constant Gardener" doesn`t really sound like a thriller, does it? But let`s just say Ralph Fiennes` new movie isn`t about pulling weeds. We have your exclusive look, coming up in the "Showbiz Showcase."
And there`s still time for you to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Angelina, Brad and Jen: Do you believe in emotional cheating? You can vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can write to us at showbiztonight@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Time now for the "Showbiz Showcase."
Tonight, "The Constant Gardener." It`s a film based on the best- selling novel by John le Carre. The movie stars Ralph Fiennes as a British diplomat and Rachel Weiss as his wife who`s found murdered in Kenya. She had been compiling data against a drug company that used Africans as guinea pigs to test tuberculosis remedies with fatal side effects.
Here`s an exclusive look at a clip from the movie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your business here, please?
RALPH FIENNES, ACTOR, "THE CONSTANT GARDENER": My name is Quayle. I`m from the British High Commission.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you see any of your countrymen here, Mr. Quayle?
FIENNES: Excuse me, may I see your card? I see, this is in (INAUDIBLE) name. That`s a family (INAUDIBLE) card, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?
FIENNES: And what does I.C. mean?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It means informed consent. It means they consented to treatment to (INAUDIBLE) medical entitlement.
FIENNES: And that treatment is (INAUDIBLE) But if they don`t give consent, then they lose the right to medical care? That`s not much of a choice, is it? I suppose they`re not even informed that they`re testing a new drug.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t make the rules.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Quayle?
FIENNES: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you please come with us?
FIENNES: There`s your card. Thank you. Why is the child being questioned?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: "The Constant Gardener" hits theaters on August 26th.
BRYANT: We`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day. Angelina, Brad and Jen: Do you believe in emotional cheating?
The vote so far, 80 percent of you say yes, you do believe in emotional cheating; 20 percent of you say you don`t. These are come of your e-mails.
Kathy from Montana writes, "Emotional or physical cheating are one in the same and someone gets hurt."
Martha from Florida writes, "Who wants to spend a lifetime having no emotional connection with anyone but your spouse? This is why marriages fail."
You can keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight.
HAMMER: Let`s not waste any time, find out what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.
BRYANT: Let`s take a look at the "Showbiz Marquee." Take it away, Marquee Guy.
MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow, pack your bag, everybody. We`re going to Houston. What you`ve always wanted to know about Whitney, but were afraid Bobby Brown would beat you up if you asked, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gets down and dirty. The host of "Dirty Jobs" joins us live to talk trash. He`s in our series, "Summer Reality Check." He`s finding the filthiest jobs in America and jumping right in. It`s the show that will make you appreciate your cubicle, tomorrow.
This is the Marquee Guy, and being the Marquee Guy is a dirty job, but someone`s got to do it. And if not me, then who?
HAMMER: I think Karyn Bryant would be your perfect choice.
BRYANT: Well, there`s the ticket taker guy, and the popcorn butter guy.
HAMMER: The reception man guy. Let`s just say good-bye.
BRYANT: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. Please stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
MIKE GALANOS, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. I`m Mike Galanos. Let`s get you right to your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Rafael Palmeiro says he`s coming clean with Congress. The baseball slugger will release documents about has positive steroid test to federal lawmakers and says he`s ready to answer any more questions they might have.
The Associated Press reports the head of the House Committee says Congress will investigate whether Palmeiro committed perjury this spring when he told the committee he`d never taken steroids. Palmeiro now says he has never willingly or intentionally taken them.
It is the single deadliest roadside bombing against U.S. troops in Iraq. Fourteen Marines from an Ohio battalion were killed while on patrol in western Iraq. Insurgents killed six other Marines from the same battalion on Monday.
A 26-year-old brain-dead mother has died in a Virginia hospital after her life support was disconnected. Susan Torres had been kept alive to give her unborn daughter a chance to develop. The baby was delivered yesterday and named after her mom. Doctors say the newborn is healthy.
That`s a look at the news. I`m Mike Galanos.
END
