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Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight for August 12, 2005, CNNHN
Aired August 12, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: I`m Karyn Bryant.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: I`m A.J. Hammer. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Hollywood and smoking, the myths, the truth. When stars light up on the big screen, do kids take the bait? Tonight, we set the record straight. The ifs, the ands, the butts.
BRYANT (voice-over): A heart-wrenching story on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." A little girl kidnapped, a family holding out hope 10 years later. On a painful anniversary, the makeover team shows up to bring some cheer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Nick family.
BRYANT: Tonight, the home makeover story you`ll never forget.
HAMMER: Tommy Lee goes to college. Can a heavy metal drummer cut it on a college campus, and can he make the marching band?
TOMMY LEE, MUSICIAN: It`s a beautiful campus, by the way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we think so, and don`t trash it.
HAMMER: Tommy Lee, a good boy? Say it ain`t so! Tommy Lee, right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
LEE: Hello, I`m Tommy Lee, and if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, baby.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: Tonight, Hollywood under fire for what some are calling glamorizing cigarette smoking on the silver screen and for potentially influencing kids to pick up the habit, too.
BRYANT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is here to set the record straight. We took to the streets to find out what people are thinking, and our David Haffenreffer is here live with the story -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Karyn and A.J., the warm streets of New York City today, yes.
Since Peter Jennings` death earlier this week, America`s awareness of the harsh realities of smoking and lung cancer has never been higher. Now, attention is turning to the big screen, where some of Hollywood`s biggest stars habitually light up the screen, cigarette in hand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): You see it all the time, celebrities taking a puff on the silver screen.
JULIA ROBERTS, ACTRESS: Do you smoke, Richard?
PAUL GIAMATTI, ACTOR: Yes, I do.
HAFFENREFFER: And in a renewed debate about whether Hollywood glamorizes cigarettes, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT wanted to find out what smoking on the big screen conveys to movie-goers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it sends the wrong message to particularly young people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sends a message that it`s socially acceptable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess it does glamorize it in some way.
HAFFENREFFER: There`s a notion that the beautiful rich hero type characters, like the ones we see in old movies, glamorized smoking.
HUMPHREY BOGART, ACTOR: I get the point.
HAFFENREFFER: But Bogey, is that really true?
(on camera) A new study says no. As a matter of fact, they found just the opposite.
After looking at over 400 movies from the past 15 years, they found the people who light up on the big screen are usually the bad guys, and they`re poor, a far cry from the era of James Dean.
JAMES DEAN, ACTOR: Certainly is.
HAFFENREFFER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT looked at a study published in the medical journal "CHEST" -- yes, "CHEST" -- that shows, of all the top 10 box office grossers since 1990, more than 35 percent of the characters that smoked were the antagonists. Twenty-five percent of them were men, and almost half were in a lower socioeconomic class.
The findings weren`t all that glamorous. As a matter of fact, they pretty much mimic real life smoking habits.
DENZEL WASHINGTON, ACTOR: We don`t roll like that no more.
HAFFENREFFER: And it`s not only the so-called glamour of smoking but how much it influences children to smoke.
Curtis Mekemson, who wrote "Hollywood Speaks Out on Tobacco," told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT there`s a direct link between celebrities lighting up on the big screen and teens following suit.
CURTIS MEKEMSON, AUTHOR, "HOLLYWOOD SPEAKS OUT ON TOBACCO": It sends a very powerful message to young people that smoking is a highly desirable activity.
HAFFENREFFER: The American Lung Association reports that a startling 5,000 teens under 18 try a cigarette for the first time every single day. And more than 2,000 keep smoking.
Are the movies really that influential in getting teens to smoke? Here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, we decided to find out for ourselves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it could have an influence on younger people, because you notice a lot of younger people smoking again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think so. I think if they`re going to smoke, they`re going to smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people are much more likely to start smoking if they`re exposed it to on the street with their family.
HAFFENREFFER: Reviews are mixed, at best, but some people want Hollywood to change and impose stricter ratings on films with smoking scenes. That means certain films could one day be off limits to teens.
JIM CARREY, ACTOR: Smoking!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And the U.S. Center for Disease Control named tobacco in the movies a major factor leading to teen smoking in the last two years -- A.J.
HAMMER: Got kind of a mixed reaction out there on the streets, didn`t you?
HAFFENREFFER: I did.
HAMMER: All right. Well, that leads us to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. We`d like to hear from you. Smoking: does Hollywood glamorize it? If you`d like to vote, go to CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Got more to say? E-mail us at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com, and we`ll share some of what you have to say later in the show.
BRYANT: Tom Cruise swears by it so does John Travolta, but where do you go to learn to be a scientologist? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings you the story you haven`t heard. It`s the school that not only preaches scientology but teaches the lessons that stars all over Hollywood say they live their lives by.
Here`s CNN`s Ted Rowlands for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long before scientologist Jessica Rodriguez showed up next to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, she was educated at the Delphian School, a private boarding school based on the teachings of scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Delphian, a K-8 school with about 225 students, sits on 700 acres high above the rural town of Sheridan, Oregon. A former seminary, the property was purchased by scientologists 30 years ago.
SCOTT POND, SHERIDAN RESIDENT: In the beginning, it was kind of weird: who are they? What`s this all about? But it`s been around for a long time. And you know, I don`t know of any kind of problems or anything like that. So it`s just part of the town now.
ROWLANDS: It`s part of the town that people say is still somewhat of a mystery. Through the years, celebrities like John Travolta and Lisa Marie Presley have been rumored to be in town with their children, but other than that, people here say they don`t give the school much thought.
We tried to find out more about the school but were told there was nobody available to talk to us. We were then told to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delphian School offers a brilliant alternative to today`s public education.
ROWLANDS: According to a video that`s part of the school`s web site, Delphi uses L. Ron Hubbard`s teaching techniques to master the art of learning, with an emphasis on reading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Students progress from the simplest ones to books by Thomas Payne, De Tocqueville, Dickens and Plato.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delphi taught me that you can teach man to fish and he`ll never get hungry, but if you teach man to learn, he can teach himself how to fish and anything else he wants to do.
ROWLANDS (on camera): According to their web site, the school is focused on academics and not scientology. Over the 30 years that the school has been here, it has produced some very impressive graduates.
(voice-over) Including high-tech entrepreneur Sky Dayton, who became a 20-something multi-millionaire after starting the company Earthlink. The Delphian web site touts Dayton and other graduates and the extensive curriculum at the school. What`s never mentioned is scientology or how it fits into what`s taught here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: That was CNN`s Ted Rowlands, reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Now, let`s look at the scientology connection to Tom Cruise. A fascinating new article just out in "Radar" magazine has revealing, starling information about Cruise`s connection to scientology. The article is called, "Risky Business: The Untold Story of Scientology`s Movie Star Martyr."
Joining us tonight from Hollywood is the article`s author, "Radar" magazine`s Kim Masters.
So Kim, you spent a lot of time looking into this, Tom, his relationship with scientology. What was the most surprising thing you found out?
KIM MASTERS, "RADAR" MAGAZINE: Well, I think the most surprising or dramatic thing is the change in Tom Cruise, really. He -- everyone I talked to who had worked with him for years when he made different movies who worked in the film industry, not in the scientology world, said he never talked about this. He never pressed about scientology. He was totally focused on being a movie star and being Tom Cruise.
And then that just changed very dramatically, as I think most of America has now seen.
HAMMER: One of the other things you also point out is how insulated Tom has become from the world outside of scientology?
MASTERS: Well, I don`t know that he was ever, you know, like, exactly following the news closely, but we certainly get the sense that Tom Cruise doesn`t really have much of an idea about the negative reaction to a lot of the behavior the public -- that`s been reported by the public.
And when I asked his sister, who is now his publicist, about it, she - - she said -- she says Tom is aware, but they regard it as fabrication, a media fabrication.
HAMMER: Well, a lot of this started to come out around the time of the release of "War of the Worlds." I want to look at a piece of type tape here from the world premier, the New York City premier of "War of the Worlds," when he was live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with Stephen Spielberg, and the two looking quite chummy when they appeared on our show.
You found out otherwise, that that may have been what it looked like that on the surface, with them arm in arm, but in fact, Mr. Spielberg not all that pleased with what was going on in Tom`s life at the time.
MASTERS: No. I think Stephen Spielberg gradually got more and more upset about what was happening, but as early as his appearance on "The Oprah Show," when he was talking about Katie Holmes, Stephen Spielberg was already concerned that he was not focusing on the film.
And as things marched on, I think Stephen Spielberg became quite upset and unhappy. And I understand that he barely wanted to make any appearance with Tom Cruise at the end, and...
HAMMER: And this has -- go ahead.
MASTER: And blames him to some degree. He feels -- you know, you can argue why -- the film did very well. Could it have done better? I understand that he and DreamWorks believe that it would have done better but that Tom Cruise had alienated a lot of women movie-goers.
HAMMER: And this obviously has to be of concern to anybody who`s planning to work with him in the future. The studio who`s working with him on "Mission: Impossible 3," Paramount Pictures, I understand, we had heard rumblings that they were getting a little nervous about all of this.
MASTERS: Very nervous, yes. They pounced on this opportunity just weeks before that film was to start shooting to say this deal is too rich. And they simply said, "We`re going to have to redo it." And I think they in fact then did redo it.
I don`t think Paramount Pictures wanted to be on the hook for $200 million with a movie like "Mission: Impossible 3," which is a much more Tom Cruise vehicle than "War of the Worlds," which is perceived as a Stephen Spielberg event picture.
HAMMER: All right. Well, we appreciate your insight and sharing some of your article with us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Kim Masters from "Radar" magazine. And you can read Kim`s full article on Tom Cruise and scientology, "Risky Business: The Untold Story of Scientology`s Movie Star Martyrs," in the current issue of "Radar" magazine.
BRYANT: A missing child, a family that isn`t giving up hope. It`s an emotional story from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and it`s coming your way.
HAMMER: Plus, and we want to shift gears here, we`ve got a heavy metal drummer who`s going to school. Find out why Tommy Lee is hitting the books when he joins us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. That`s coming up next.
BRYANT: And the new Madden NFL football game is all the rage. But even if you don`t like video games or football, there`s a good reason to check it out. That`s coming your way as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Time now for a "SHOWBIZ Sitdown." Tonight, Tommy Lee.
At an age when most kids gear up for college, Tommy Lee began a career as a rock star with the group Motley Crue. And now two decades later he`s giving it the old college try for a new reality show. And that`s not all: for extra credit, he`s also just released his third solo album.
Tommy Lee, welcome to the show.
LEE: Thank you.
BRYANT: So let`s first get our hands on this reality show. Can you tell us what it`s about?
LEE: OK. Well, basically, it takes place in Lincoln, Nebraska, middle America, the heartland.
BRYANT: Right.
LEE: And it`s basically your fish out of water, rock star goes to college kind of concept. There`s no, like -- there`s no prize money at the end. There`s no -- none of that. It`s actually something really new and different. I don`t think it`s like anything I`ve ever seen. So...
BRYANT: And it`s just Tommy Lee goes to college. It is what it is.
LEE: Basically, none of the students knew that we were coming there, obviously, to make a TV show. So we basically bum rushed the university and, like, just getting all these people`s reactions for the first time was, I think, the coolest ever, you know. And in a place like Lincoln, Nebraska, they were tripping. You know, I`m coming walking through, they`re like, "Is that -- that`s Tommy Lee."
BRYANT: Cornhusker country. I mean, they`re not used to that. Well, we actually have a clip, so let`s take a listen.
LEE: Sweet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy -- what did you do? Oh, my God!
LEE: You got the cappuccino machine cracking, fridge, microwave. PlayStation 2. The flatty. Look at -- dude, look at the size of the alarm clocks. We will be waking up. Bring!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s my stuff?
LEE: Where`s my stuff?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I`m serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Now, I should have explained that a little more to set it up, but it`s basically self-explanatory. Basically, you pimped out the college dorm room?
LEE: Absolutely. Absolutely.
BRYANT: Nice, nice. Now, did you get in there and, you know, party with the band kids? Did you make the marching band?
LEE: Yes, I made it, I made it.
BRYANT: Nice.
LEE: Yes, I mean, the show goes through so many crazy scenarios. I mean, we did everything from, like, seriously studying. I had to take some exams.
BRYANT: Did you`ve to take SAT`s to get in?
LEE: No. Tried out for the women`s swim team.
BRYANT: Did you?
LEE: That was interesting.
BRYANT: You didn`t make that, I`m imagining?
LEE: No. We did a bunch of kooky stuff. Like, I really think everyone`s going to dig it. I -- we had a blast making it. So...
BRYANT: Coo. Now stuff that people wouldn`t expect, on your third solo record, you have Nick Carter from The Backstreet Boys in that.
LEE: I know.
BRYANT: How did that happen?
LEE: Originally, Nick had reached out to me, because he needed some, you know, edgier sound for stuff for he was working on a solo record. So we meet, we get together, and I brought some things that I thought might work for him. So we -- we have dinner and some drinks and go out to his car.
And surprisingly, super surprisingly to me, we pull out his CD changer, and there`s, like, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC. I`m like, does anybody know this guy, that he loves rock music?
So we went back to my studio at home and we worked on two tracks. And then he aborted the solo record, because he got back together with The Backstreet Boys. So those two songs were just sitting there, and I was like, "I`ll be using that one, thanks."
Nick is a cool dude: "Yes, sure. Let`s do it."
BRYANT: Because I know Dave Navarro and I expected to see him and the Jane`s Addiction guy.
LEE: Sure.
BRYANT: But I did not expect to see Nick Carter.
LEE: Yes. A lot of people are tripping on that one.
BRYANT: Pretty cool.
Also, you know, obviously, we have to talk about -- a little bit about Pam. I want to hear, how did this rumor start that you guys were getting married? It was floated out there not long ago that you guys were getting married. What`s going on?
LEE: You know what? Basically, I -- you know, I took her to -- took her and the boys for her birthday to Hawaii for a week. And you know, any time people see us, especially goofing around down on a beach somewhere...
BRYANT: Frolicking.
LEE: ... the rumors and sparks start flying. But I`m -- no, I`m not married and not engaged. We do love each other very much. We have two beautiful kids together, and we`re stuck with each other. It`s all good.
BRYANT: For better or for worse?
LEE: All good.
BRYANT: And how was that roast?
LEE: Oh, my God. The roast was unbelievably hard core. And if you can imagine the jokes flying around.
BRYANT: I can.
LEE: Yes. We can`t say any of them on air. But I`ll be very surprised to see what actually makes it on the Comedy Central show. I think that airs on the 14th.
BRYANT: Yes, yes. We`ll have to check it out.
Well, thank you for joining us here, Tommy Lee.
LEE: Thanks for having me.
BRYANT: And his upcoming reality show, "Tommy Goes to College" premieres this Tuesday on NBC. His new album, "Tommyland: the Ride," is in stores now.
HAMMER: Tonight a way for you to get new music. You may have heard that video killed the radio star. Well, now, video games may do the same thing, especially the Madden NFL football games.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the inside story on how the games are challenging radio as the place to hear new music.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Want to hear a cool new song from the Foo Fighters?
Do you like to rock out to The All American Rejects?
Or do you want to be the first to hear the big single off Godsmack`s next CD, which isn`t due out until this fall? Well, right now, there`s one surefire place to go hear the next big hits.
The hugely successful game, "Madden NFL Football" is leaving the pack, as video games are becoming a popular way for artists and record companies to showcase new music.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: EA Sports. It`s in the game.
HAMMER: This year`s version of "Madden" features tracks from more than 20 artists, many of whom are debuting brand-new songs on the game.
BRIAN GARRITY, "BILLBOARD" MAGAZINE: These are enormous exposure platforms for artists in a time when radio doesn`t have as much power as it once did.
HAMMER: The band Green Day certainly aren`t idiots. When they wanted to promote the title track to their last album, "American Idiot," they didn`t go to MTV. They went to Madden.
STEVE SCHNUR, MUSIC EXECUTIVE, ELECTRONIC ARTS: Last year, Green Day, the guys in Green Day and their manager called us, asked us to come to the studio here in Hollywood, and they hadn`t recorded this record yet. And they played us and read us lyrics and played us some of the songs they were going to record. And there was a song called "American Idiot," which we all fell in love with. And the question that they said was, "When do we have to get this finished to get it into `Madden`?"
HAMMER: Green Day got the song done in time, and the rest is rock history. After "American Idiot" was previewed in "Madden," the CD went on to become one of the biggest selling albums last year and scored Green Day a Grammy.
Such success stories have artists and record companies flocking to be in the next "Madden" game.
SCHNUR: Once bands started seeing that and started going -- started seeing their audience show up at shows, and saying, "Hey, the reason why I`m here is because, you know, you`re the band from `Madden,`" the minute they started to see that, they started coming to us in droves.
HAMMER: If you want to know why, take a look at the numbers. Last year`s "Madden" games sold more than six million copies. That`s not too far behind the biggest selling CD of last year, Usher`s "Confessions," which sold more than seven million.
And consider this: an estimated 20 percent of gamers go out and buy music they hear in their favorite games.
GARRITY: You have essentially a captive audience there and is hearing these songs over and over again. So you know, repetition and exposure like that is basically what helps create hits for the music industry.
HAMMER: But when it comes to breaking new music, "Madden" isn`t the only game in town.
Last year, rapper Snoop Dogg remade the door song "Riders on the Storm" for the racing game "Need for Speed Underground 2." And look for an exclusive track from hip-hop group The Roots from the upcoming basketball game, "NBA 2K6.
Good video game sales can lead to good music sales. It`s a tune record companies are becoming very familiar with.
SCHNUR: They know that if -- if their future audience is going to find a place to find them, chances are pretty good they`re playing a video game right now
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: The new Madden game, which was released this week, also has music from Reverend Run DMC, of Run DMC, and from Eminem`s protege, rapper Stat Quo.
BRYANT: Of three new movies out this weekend, there may only be one worth paying for. We`ll check them out, coming up in "People" magazine`s picks and pans.
HAMMER: Plus, an unforgettable "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." One unlike any other. It`s a great story, and it`s on the way.
BRYANT: Plus, she has built an empire on something simple. In the time it takes to get a pizza to your door, you can cook something fantastic yourself. Rachel Ray is joining us live, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: We have this story just in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We just got word that FOX`s investigation of the Paula Abdul-Corey Clark scandal is now over. Investigators have concluded that Clark`s allegation that he had sex with Abdul are not true. And the bottom line is Paula Abdul will get to continue as a judge on "American Idol."
We`re going to have more on this story in just a few minutes.
BRYANT: A single mother who lived through a parent`s worst nightmare gets a surprise from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." That`s coming up a little later.
HAMMER: Plus, she`s famous for cooking and now she is getting the disk on celebrities. Two of our favorite things: food and stars. They`re together at last. Rachel Ray, coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, live.
BRYANT: And I`ve got to tell you, it is a rock `n` roll fantasy come true. Admit it: you`ve always wanted to smash a guitar on stage. Well, hello, Cleveland, because I got to do it today. I`ll tell you all about it, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in one minute. Hi, everybody, I`m Thomas Roberts with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
As tonight`s rush hour winds down, the terror threat level for transit systems is being eased to yellow. But transit riders are being urged to remain alert. The threat was raised to orange, or elevated, after the deadly rush-hour bombings in London.
Crude oil prices have reached another record high. In fact, prices are now 46 percent higher than they were just a year ago. Oil closed today near $67 per barrel. A new AAA survey said the average price of gas now tops $2.40, and a new AP-AOL poll suggests that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed expect fuel costs to create financial hardship in coming months.
Major League Baseball has handed Congress documents on Rafael Palmeiro`s failed drug test. A House committee wants to know whether Palmeiro lied under oath when he testified to never using steroids. Lawmakers could use that information to pursue a perjury charge against the Baltimore Orioles slugger. Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days after a positive steroids test.
That`s the news for now. I`m Thomas Roberts. We take you back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. As we fire up the weekend, I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
Still to come in the next half-hour, Rachel Ray is going to be joining us. You probably know her. She`s best made famous for the "30-Minute Meal." She`s got cookbooks. At one point, she had five bestselling cookbooks on the charts at the same time.
HAMMER: Well, that`s going to be a lot of fun.
BRYANT: She`s a wonder.
HAMMER: And we have a really touching story, as well. We sat down with Paige, one of the designers from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." They`re having a special on Sunday night. They got with the family of the tenth anniversary of when their child went missing and did what they do best. It`s an amazing story, and that`s on the way, too.
BRYANT: All right. But, first, let`s get tonight`s "Hot Headlines." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is here with the latest.
David, what`s going on?
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Karyn and A.J., some news just in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this evening. Paula Abdul will continue on as a judge on "American Idol." Just moments ago, we got word that the investigation is over. And FOX has concluded that Corey Clark`s allegations that he had a sexual relationship with Abdul cannot be substantiated.
In a statement, FOX says Abdul acknowledges that she had phone conversations with Clark while he was a contestant on the show but denies any sexual affair. In a statement, Abdul says she`s glad the ordeal is over and that she`s looking forward to returning to the program.
Angelina Jolie is officially a Cambodian citizen. The king of Cambodia today signing a royal decree approving citizenship for the star. You`ll remember her movie, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," was shot there. And her son, Maddox, was adopted from Cambodia in 2002.
Ellen DeGeneres is picking up some extra work. Late today, we learned that Ellen has been named as the host of the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards. It`s Ellen`s second time hosting the show. She last did it after September 11th and was a hit with both critics and audiences.
And when asked, Ellen said, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress."
And is Katie Couric fodder for comedy? Producer David E. Kelly, who`s married to Michelle Pfeiffer, thinks so. There is buzz in Hollywood tonight that producer of "Ally McBeal" is developing an "Ally"-like show that would be set behind the scenes of a network TV morning show. We think he ought to think of something a little bit more juicy, perhaps, like TV`s only live entertainment news show.
That would be nice one, wouldn`t it? That would be us.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT learned today that Ashlee Simpson may once again grace the stage of "Saturday Night Live." Simpson is timing the return to promote her new album, "I Am Me." But it wasn`t Simpson who sang back in October on the show, but a, quote, "tape backup." Simpson blamed her infamous lip-synch fiasco on acid reflux.
That`s a look at your "Hot Headlines." Back to you, A.J.
HAMMER: All right, David Haffenreffer. Thanks for joining us. And have a nice weekend.
Now time to our "Question of the Day." Smoking: Does Hollywood glamorize it? This is what we`re talking about tonight. If you`d like to vote, you can go to CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can also write us to by addressing your letter to showbiztonight@CNN.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails at 54 past the hour.
BRYANT: Tonight, we have a story of a family living with loss and never losing hope. At the same time, they`re gaining something new. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your first look at an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" that will definitely have you reaching for the Kleenex. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson is live in Los Angeles with more -- Brooke?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Karyn.
Well, it`s a heart-wrenching story but also a heart-warming one. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT got an inside look at an episode that brings a message of hope and resolve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLEEN NICK, MOTHER OF FAMILY ON "EXTREME MAKEOVER": She had been gone to play 15 minutes. I mean, she was playing 50 yards away from me. And I didn`t see what happened.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Single mother, Colleen Nick, dealing with her singling worst nightmare, her oldest daughter abducted from a Little League game, little clues left behind.
NICK: I began a search that`s still going on today.
ANDERSON: Colleen Nick and her two younger children moved to the town in Arkansas 30 miles away from their home where then-6-year-old Morgan was last seen. A dilapidated ranch house, it was all they could afford.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Nick family!
ANDERSON: Ten years to the day after Morgan disappeared, television`s "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" knocked on their door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re trying to make life a little bit easier on you guys.
ANDERSON: The show not only knocked on their door, they knocked down their home, which was already in shambles. All the floors ripped out after a recent water heater explosion flooded the house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT sat down with the show`s designer, Paige Hemmis, who told us it was about so much more than the house.
PAIGE HEMMIS, SHOW DESIGNER: And the home, actually, was so secondary on this episode, in particular. And we always ask the family what they would like when they`re leaving. And you know, sometimes they`ll say, like, what kind of themes they want, or maybe, you know, a TV of some sort. And all she said was, "I want you to hold up pictures of missing children."
ANDERSON: Paige learned first-hand the amazing strength and resolve of this single mom.
HEMMIS: She`s been an advocate for, you know, helping missing children and helping recover missing children, and getting the Amber Alert system set up in Arkansas and nationwide.
ANDERSON: Through her efforts, Colleen has helped recover more than 100 missing children and is still going strong, all while raising 13-year- old Logan and 11-year-old Taren (ph) with strength.
HEMMIS: Colleen has actually made a conscious effort. She said, "I didn`t want these kids to feel like they were any less important. I wanted to make them feel that they were such a part of the family and so important," even though they`re still looking for Morgan and concentrating a lot on Morgan.
ANDERSON: The home is a gift to all three of them, offering comfort and lifting their burden as their search continues. They are never giving up hope.
HEMMIS: After talking to colleen, you absolutely, 100 percent believe that Morgan is out there and she`s coming home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Now, Paige wouldn`t let us see the Nick family`s new digs, but she says it`s gorgeous and it sort of looks like a southern plantation, and that they were able to give the family much more space.
If you want to see the final product, the two-hour "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" special airs on ABC this Sunday.
Karyn, what a deserving family.
BRYANT: All right, great story. Thanks very much, Brooke Anderson, live in Hollywood.
HAMMER: Time now for the "Showbiz Guide," where, throughout the week, we help you decide where to spend your dollars on movies, music, DVDs and more. Tonight, as "People" magazine`s picks and pans new movies, "The Great Raid," "Skeleton Key," and "Deuce Bigalow" all hit theaters today.
Joining us here in New York City, "People" magazine critic Leah Rozen to talk about them. Let`s start off with the rather serious fare in "The Great Raid" with Benjamin Bratt.
LEAH ROZEN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: This is the only one I`d spend my money on. You know, because we are in the dog days of summer when it comes to Hollywood. "The Great Raid" is based on a true story. Half of this is a good movie, the half that`s actually true, which is based on this daring raid to rescue American POWs in the Philippines during World War II.
That`s terrific, but they`ve also grafted on this sort of maudlin love story, with the suffering prisoners, with Joseph Fiennes, and a nurse played by Connie Nielsen. And that`s just sentimental schmaltz and keeps sort of slowing down the movie, when you want to see this crisp, involving action story.
HAMMER: Some good historical perspective though?
ROZEN: Yes, it`s like, who knew? It`s this terrific -- it`s how they did this really amazing raid and saved these guys.
HAMMER: All right. Well, we already know you wouldn`t spend the money to see the next film we`re going to talk about. But tell us about it anyway, Leah, "The Skeleton Key," Kate Hudson. And it seems kind of spooky.
ROZEN: It is kind of spooky. It`s swampy time down south. You`re in Louisiana. She`s a hospice worker, takes a job in a spooky old mansion where, you know, stuff starts rattling. Who do that voodoo that she knows so well?
It`s no better than it has to be. It`s basically fairly silly, has a good twist at the end, but that doesn`t make up for the fact that the rest of it you`ve seen a hundred times.
HAMMER: OK. Well, speaking of fairly silly, he`s back, Rob Schneider and "Deuce Bigalow," this time the European gigolo. Thank goodness.
ROZEN: Yes, now, this was his big hit in 1999. They`ve decided to do a sequel. I don`t know why, unless you`re a 14 year old boy.
I mean, every mean thing I said last week about "Dukes of Hazzard," I take it back. This is the worst movie of the year.
HAMMER: Applying it to the Deuce Bigalow?
ROZEN: Yes. I mean, this is just puerile garbage, meant only for teenage boys. They make fun of gays. They make fun of women with hunchbacks. They make fun of Asian men. They make fun of pretty much everybody.
HAMMER: Take care of the whole thing.
ROZEN: And, you know, anyone who spends good money on this deserves what they get.
HAMMER: Leah, thank you for pulling no punches and have a lovely weekend.
ROZEN: You`re welcome.
HAMMER: And of course, for more picks and pans, you can grab this week`s copy of "People" magazine, which is on newsstands now.
BRYANT: Well, I had a smashing morning here in New York. Coming up, what it`s like to fulfill a rock `n` roll fantasy.
HAMMER: ... inside dish on celebs and their table manners from Rachel Ray, all next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tonight, in another "Showbiz Sit-down," the Food Network`s Rachel Ray. She`s the host of several shows on the culinary channel, and Ray has not only exposed viewers to tastes from around the world but from her own kitchen, as well.
So it may surprise you that she calls herself a cook, not a chef. Joining me live here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Rachel Ray.
Explain that, because you`ve grown up in a family of foodies. I would have think you`d be master chef.
RACHEL RAY, FOOD NETWORK HOST: Well, to me, a chef is like, you know, you get your stripes, you go to culinary school, you work in, you know, big, hardcore kitchens.
I grew up in my mom`s kitchen. She grew up in my grandfather`s kitchen. My mom did work in restaurants for 40 years, and she didn`t trust people to watch her children. So we were all slave labor from a young age.
(CROSSTALK)
RAY: Exactly. You know, I could keep my eye on you, go clean the shrimp. But, you know, I am. I`m a cook. I`m not a chef, so...
BRYANT: Well, what is the deal with the popularity of cooking shows? Because I`ve been known to zone out on them. I love to cook, but they`ve really gotten very popular.
RAY: You know, food touches up all your senses and it`s sort of an immediate payoff. And there`s very few things in life that are like that.
You start with a pile of raw ingredients. And in a very short amount of time, there`s something that appeals to all your senses. You know, and it`s very empowering. That`s why it`s so good to cook with children, because it can be a real confidence booster, and why it`s so sexy when you cook with somebody you love, because it appeals to all your senses.
And it`s just that immediate kind of payoff. And whether you cook or not, if you`re watching somebody cook, you see that payoff, it`s a great story that you always know is going to be a happy ending, you know?
BRYANT: Because I`m one of those, like, "Bring on the holidays." People come over, I love to throw down. I look forward to it. But I love the concept of 30-minute meals. How did you come up with that whole idea?
RAY: You know, I was a buyer in a small market in upstate New York. And I was buying all these groceries, great (INAUDIBLE) tomatoes, and pastas, and these terrific ingredients, but they weren`t selling.
And by a series of accidents, I ended up being the production chef there, as well. And I started teaching 30-minute meals as a cooking class to kind of trick people into buying more groceries. If they don`t know how to make dinner, I figured, well, we`ll show them how.
You know, my boss didn`t think it was crazy idea. And she would stay late with me on Wednesday nights and started as this little cooking class. I called it "30 30-Minute Mediterranean Meals." And we had football players, retirees, you know, girl scouts. It appealed to everybody, and it took over my life. I`m happy about that.
BRYANT: Yes, that`s a great concept. And what I loved, too, is the idea on your new show of getting celebrities in the kitchen with you. It`s "Inside Dish." Who have you had on, and what`s your favorite recipe so far?
RAY: We`re not always even in their kitchens. Like, Morgan Freeman doesn`t cook at all, but he has two restaurants. You get anybody around food, you know, it relaxes them. It`s a common denominator. It`s something we all do. You got to eat, you know? So I mean, he was one of my absolute favorites, Morgan.
BRYANT: Well, what did they serve at his restaurant? Or what did you make together?
RAY: He has a very fancy restaurant, Madidi, and then he has this place called Ground Zero, this blues club. We had, you know, catfish, and okra, and fried green pickles. I`ve never had them in my life.
BRYANT: Those are the best. I had them in Nashville.
RAY: So good! So good.
BRYANT: Fantastic.
RAY: You know, and we went out. And we were dancing, you know, Mustang Sally together, and just storytelling. I`m like, "Oh, my god, look at Morgan Freeman dancing to the Mustang Sally. I mean, it`s awesome."
It`s just so much fun to be around celebrities and food at the same time, because it shows people that celebrities are just like your next-door neighbors, and your cousins, and your uncles. There`s good, there`s bad, some are funny, you know, but everybody can put their elbows on the table and just break bread, you know?
BRYANT: Now, this is my last question, but on your show, everything always comes out very, very well. But you must have had, at some point, a souffle explode, something catch on fire. You got to come clean.
RAY: Thankfully I never tackled souffles. I mean, we don`t set the bar too high.
BRYANT: Burgers?
RAY: I haven`t ever burned a burger. I`m the queen of burgers. You know, I`ve screwed up a lot of meals, but we actually put those right on air. And sometimes they say, "You know what, yours will turn out better looking than mine."
BRYANT: All right. Keeping it honest.
RAY: I do. I keep it real.
BRYANT: Well, there you go. Thanks for joining us, Rachel Ray. And Rachel`s latest book, "30-minute Get Real Meals" is on bookshelves now.
HAMMER: Well, whether it`s "Fahrenheit 9/11" heating up ticket sales, or "March of the Penguins" freezing out the competition, documentary films are the new black at the American box office. Well, now comes another amazing true and tragic tale. It`s told in the new movie opening this weekend called "Grizzly Man."
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson back with us, live from Hollywood, with this unbelievable story -- Brooke?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, A.J. Imagine living with grizzly bears. Imagine believing you are a grizzly bear. Well, that wasn`t make-believe but a reality for one man, Timothy Treadwell. Somewhat of a celebrity, Treadwell even appeared on David Letterman. And now his intense love for grizzlies has been captured forever in this new documentary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIMOTHY TREADWELL, "THE GRIZZLY MAN": I love them with all my heart. I will protect them. I will die for them.
ANDERSON: The opening scene of acclaimed director Werner Herzog`s documentary film "The Grizzly Man" offers a hint of things to come.
WERNER HERZOG, "THE GRIZZLY MAN" DIRECTOR: I think it became a film not only a wild nature. It became a film on our nature, of human nature.
ANDERSON: The human in Herzog`s film is Timothy Treadwell. And for 13 Alaskan summers, Treadwell, an activist, educator, and amateur filmmaker, taped himself living dangerously close to grizzly bears.
TREADWELL: As you can see, I`m just feet away.
ANDERSON: In October of 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amy Huegenard, were attacked and killed by a brown grizzly bear.
TREADWELL: Well, they needed a caretaker. They needed somebody to look after them. But not a drunk person, not a person messed up. So I promised the bears that, if I would look over them, would they please help me be a better person?
ANDERSON: Herzog paints a complex portrait of Treadwell, a man who was passionate and committed, but also probably mentally unstable.
TREADWELL: Tabitha is hungry. Melissa is eating her babies. I`m like a nut.
SAM EGLI, FRIEND/HELICOPTER PILOT: Treadwell thought these bears were big, scary-looking, harmless creatures that he could go up and pet and sing to. He had lost sight of what was really going on.
HERZOG: We have to see that Treadwell is a deeply troubled man, but at the same time, he was man of courage. He was a man who had a vision. It`s not simple to nail him down at this or that quality. That makes him so fascinating.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Reviews for this documentary have actually been incredible. "Variety" says it`s a "brilliant portrait of adventure, activism, obsession, and potential madness."
I`ve seen it. And while parts of it are difficult to watch, it certainly is fascinating.
A.J., "Grizzly Man," new in theaters this weekend.
HAMMER: Looks so interesting. Thanks so much, Brooke, in Hollywood. Have a good weekend.
ANDERSON: You, too.
BRYANT: Well, I had a chance to vent this morning. Got some anger out, broke a few things, and I had some stars help me. The tape is coming up.
And there`s time for you to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Smoking: Does Hollywood glamorize it? You can vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight or write to us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your e-mails live.
HAMMER: But first, time for the "Entertainment Weekly" must-list, five things that "EW" says you got to check out this week.
First, "Junebug." It`s a small film about country mouse meet city mouse that`s making it big and charming both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Then get in shape by laughing the pounds away with the "Complete Thin Man," new on DVD.
Next, it`s a wish come true. MTV`s "My Super Sweet 16" is back for a new season. And "EW" has a suggestion for you: Get the new book based on random comments from New York City pedestrians.
Finally, listen to "These Words." It`s a must-have summer track by U.K. chart-topper Natasha Bedingfield.
For more of "EW`s" must-list, grab a copy of "Entertainment Weekly" on newsstands now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, a guitar-friendly program. No guitars were hurt in the making of this show, unlike the opening of the newest "Hard Rock Cafe" in Times Square, New York. I was there.
And rather than the traditional ribbon-cutting, the "Hard Rock" celebrated by smashing 100 guitars, a feat, it says, is the largest ever simultaneous smash. Rock legends Brian Wilson and Steven Van Zandt lent a smashing hand. And also, Steven also gave me a little smashing history lesson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN VAN ZANDT, E STREET BAND: ... The Who, who sort of invented that very effective symbolic expression of teenage frustration. But my very first band, I got into the Who very early. And at the end of the shows, we would smash our equipment. And, you know, I didn`t realize that Pete was taping it back together and using the same one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: It was fun. A.J., here`s the part -- this was my Gibson guitar this morning. It was fun.
HAMMER: I found the switch on the floor of your dressing room. And I`m going to keep that as a souvenir.
BRYANT: Mine goes to 11.
HAMMER: Throughout our show tonight, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Smoking: Does Hollywood glamorize it?
Here`s how the vote`s been going tonight: 65 percent of you say yes, Hollywood does glamorize smoking; 35 percent of you say no.
Here`s an e-mail we got.
BRYANT: Christopher from Ontario, Canada, writes, "Smoking has been a supporting player used to emphasize coolness and dramatics for many leading entertainers."
You can keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight.
And it is time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on Monday.
HAMMER: He`s here to launch us into the weekend. Take it away, Marquee Guy.
MARQUEE GUY: I vanna get to know you better. Ivana Trump`s going to be here and tell us about a new project that makes sure what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Yeah, baby, Monday.
Also, he plays buttoned-up Will on TV`s "Will & Grace." But will Will let loose and go home from SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a lady, an Emmy perhaps? Eric McCormack, live, Monday.
This is the Marquee Guy. And while I definitely have the will, I wish I had the grace.
HAMMER: I was a little upset about the guitar. But you said they were destined for the garbage anyway?
BRYANT: They were. They were second, so (INAUDIBLE) donated them instead of throwing them away. And there was charity money involved, all kinds of good stuff.
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
END
