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Showbiz Tonight
Did Media Play Part in Bush`s Turnaround on Hurricane?; Gwyneth Paltrow Passionate about Hurricane Response; Angelina Jolie Makes Trip to Africa to Chronicle Poverty; Media`s Influence on Bush`s Actions on Katrina Discussed
Aired September 14, 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: And I`m Karyn Bryant. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, President Bush`s turnaround.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the extent that the federal government didn`t fully do its job right, I take responsibility.
BRYANT: Tonight, did the media force the president to take responsibility for the chaos after Hurricane Katrina?
HAMMER (voice-over): Paltrow`s passion. Gwyneth Paltrow lets loose about the aftermath of Katrina. Her disbelief and her criticism of the government`s response. It`s the must-see SHOWBIZ TONIGHT interview.
BRYANT: Plus, Katrina`s impact on the Emmys. Should this weekend`s awards ceremony be toned down? The surprising comments from one major star who opens up to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ZACH BRAFF, ACTOR: Hi, I`m Zach Braff. It happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant.
Tonight, President Bush takes the blame, but did the media make him do it?
HAMMER: Well, the president is going to be addressing the nation in prime time tomorrow night about Hurricane Katrina after taking responsibility for the federal response to the disaster.
David Haffenreffer is live in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom with the latest on this battle for the public`s hearts and minds which is playing out on television -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A.J. and Karyn, when the president appears in prime time, it will be the TV climax to a blame game drama that cameras have captured every step of the way. Ever since the outrage began over how the government responded to Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUSH: And Brownie, you`re doing a heck of a job.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): It`s a comment that has come back to haunt President Bush over and over again, his early praise for FEMA director Mike Brown`s handling of the Katrina aftermath.
BUSH: They`re working 24 hours a day.
HAFFENREFFER: Less than a week later, Brownie resigned.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I`m here to introduce Chief Paulison, who has been appointed as the acting director of FEMA, replacing Mike Brown.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s an undeniable fact that Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans and other areas were adequate and that the federal government response was terribly slow.
SOLEDAD O`BRIEN, HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": We`re getting better intel than you`re getting. We had a crew in the air. We were showing live pictures of the people outside the convention center.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why has the response been so slow?
MELISSA GREGO, "TELEVISION WEEK": That, I think, was really a major turning point in the coverage of the story. Passion is in fashion in the TV news business. And this is really what it`s about. This is why the freedom of the press is so precious.
HAFFENREFFER: It was the beginning of the blame game, and now it turns out President Bush is stepping up to the plate after this tough question from one reporter last night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shouldn`t what happened with Katrina -- shouldn`t Americans be concerned that the government isn`t prepared to respond to another disaster or even a terrorist attack?
HAFFENREFFER: His response?
BUSH: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn`t fully do its job right, I take responsibility.
HAFFENREFFER: It was the first time the president took responsibility for Katrina. And tomorrow night, he`ll give a prime time address to America.
RICHARD WOLFFE, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NEWSWEEK": The media was doing stuff that the administration didn`t want. That is to say looking at what went wrong. And there was a whole series of people in the media doing that.
That`s one piece of it. The other is, just this remarkable disconnect between what people could read in newspapers and watch on TV and what they`re hearing about from the mouth of people like the president. And that impression is something the White House is working very hard to overcome.
HAFFENREFFER: Images are everything. And as criticism of President Bush has mounted, he made trip after trip to the hardest hit areas in the Gulf to show he was hands on and getting control of the situation.
WOLFFE: There is an awareness of the president`s empathy and his ability to be on top of the situation by being there on the ground. It was real and for TV, as well.
HAFFENREFFER: A president prime time speech does carry a lot of weight with the public and the press. But in this game of images, what does President Bush need to say and how should he portray himself as tens of millions of Americans watch?
WOLFFE: This is another attempt to reshape the TV pictures and the agenda there. He needs to cast forward and look to something more optimistic than what we`re seeing and promise a better performance.
HAFFENREFFER: As the victims of Katrina struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives, the focus is now shifting from the Gulf to Capitol Hill, where a congressional committee is gearing up to find out just where the government went wrong.
GREGO: People are starting to play the blame game. And there`s more opportunity, I think, now for it to become a game of spin, of he said/she said. And it`s actually of utmost importance that the journalists continue to ask those hard questions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And they will. Aside from claiming responsibility for the slow reaction to Katrina relief, President Bush said he plans to get to the bottom of what went wrong on every level of government. More on that, no doubt, coming up tomorrow in the president`s address -- Karyn.
BRYANT: All right. Thank you very much, David Haffenreffer.
And we will have more on the media`s influence on Katrina`s politics later in the show when the one and only James Carville joins us live.
And now we want to hear from you. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Katrina aftermath: did the media force President Bush to take responsibility? You can vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. And you can send e-mail to us at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts later on in our show.
HAMMER: While plenty of celebrities have been taking part in the relief efforts in the Gulf Coast area, many have also been talking openly about their disappointment with the government`s response.
In an interview with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Gwyneth Paltrow got very passionate on the subject. Brooke Anderson joins us now live in Hollywood with more -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A.J., Gwyneth Paltrow was back on the big screen in her new film, "Proof." And in an interview with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Paltrow spoke passionately, passionately about her other main role, as mother to 15-month-old daughter Apple and about the government`s response to Hurricane Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Gwyneth Paltrow`s initial reaction to Hurricane Katrina`s magnitude was disbelief.
GWYNETH PALTROW, ACTRESS: At first, I was -- I was in complete disbelief. And I didn`t really understand when people sort of talk about it, the actual magnitude of it. And I thought, surely, it can`t be that bad. Incomprehensible.
ANDERSON: But when Paltrow, a new mother to 15-month-old Apple and wife to Chris Martin, lead singer of the rock group Coldplay, began to see the images coming out of the Gulf Coast, she was shocked at what she was seeing.
PALTROW: Then when you started to see what was actually going on, and you heard all the stories and saw the images, I mean, just that that could happen in this country in this day and age, it`s inexcusable.
ANDERSON: Characterizing the U.S. government`s response as tardy, Paltrow, like so many other celebrities, is deeply concerned by the government`s commitment to the war in Iraq and thinks lives in the Gulf Coast could have been saved if their response were quicker.
PALTROW: The fact that we can be in Iraq doing what we`re doing every day, spending billions and billions of dollars. And when we have a crisis of that nature in this country, and it takes people four days to start? The numbers of lives that were lost because of the tardiness of the response? This is totally unacceptable.
The rapes that were going on in the bathrooms of the Superdome. I mean, it`s just totally inexcusable on all levels, and I completely blame the government for it. That`s exactly why it all went down.
ANDERSON: Describing their acts as nothing short of valiant, Paltrow says she was moved by the images of celebrities like Sean Penn and Oprah Winfrey assisting in the relief efforts.
And while she doesn`t think anyone has a responsibility to help out, she does think that artists who have been successful doing what they love, are looking to give back in any way they can.
PALTROW: I don`t think anybody has a responsibility to do anything. But I think that, you know, I think that if you`re an artist who`s been able to make a living doing what you love to do and you`re successful, you have a great sense of fortune and luck. And, you know that -- you know, you`ve won the lottery. And with that comes a sense you want to give back.
ANDERSON: As for her own work as an artist, motherhood has taken front and center in her life for now. But she doesn`t rule out acting if the right choice comes her way.
PALTROW: No. I think that I`m totally committed to my sort of self as a mother and totally committed to my daughter. But I feel like, in my professional life, if I ever go back to work, that the choices that I make will be for myself artistically and to make me, you know, a more interesting person, as an artist and as a woman, for her. And but I would never sort of rule out something just because I`m a mother now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Paltrow`s new movie, "Proof," opens up in New York and L.A. this weekend and nationwide September 23 -- A.J.
HAMMER: All right, Brooke.
Let`s now go from a big time movie star to a big time music star, with some other big news in Hollywood tonight about Britney Spears. Fill us in.
ANDERSON: Right you are, A.J. Big news in Hollywood. There are reports tonight that Britney Spears is a mom. She reportedly gave birth to a baby boy this afternoon at Santa Monica`s UCLA Medical Center near Los Angeles.
Now Britney announced the pregnancy back in April. This is her first child. Her husband, Kevin Federline, has two children from a previous marriage. So we`ll be waiting for news about the baby`s name and, of course, looking for those first baby pictures.
Congratulations to them. A.J., back to you.
HAMMER: My guess is there were a few photographers camped outside that hospital today.
ANDERSON: Just a few.
HAMMER: Thanks very much, Brooke. Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood.
BRYANT: Well, Hurricane Katrina will have an impact on journalism for years to come, which will be apparent soon enough, now that Hurricane Ophelia is starting to hit North Carolina`s coast. We`ll have a report on that impact coming up live next.
HAMMER: Plus, some say this weekend`s Emmy Awards should be toned down out of respect to the hurricane victims from Katrina. We`re going to get one Emmy nominee`s strong opinions on that topic. That`s still ahead.
BRYANT: And part two of my exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie. Find out what struck her most when she took a trip to some African villages. That`s later on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
For supermodel Petra Nemcova, the scenes of destruction following Hurricane Katrina hit very close to home. As you may remember, Nemcova`s boyfriend died last year`s Southeast Asia tsunami, and Nemcova herself nearly lost her life.
In New York today, Nemcova was out promoting a new on air campaign for the Women`s Entertainment Channel called "Minute of Empowerment."
She told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT how she reacted to Hurricane Katrina and what she thinks should be done to help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETRA NEMCOVA, SUPERMODEL: When it happened, it was very emotional, very hard. Because, of course, it`s brought the memories back. And what was the most heart breaking, really, is just that everybody knew it was coming. So there were so many lives lost, you know, because of a mistake.
What`s important, instead of losing the energy on finding out what happened, who did the mistake, to use this energy to help people actually out there. And then later on, you know, you can find out. But now, it`s still very critical and very fresh. So I think the energy needs to be used there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Nemcova was one of the first celebrities to sign onto the WE Networks`s "Minute of Empowerment" campaign, which supports women`s health and education issues. The campaign starts airing on October 1.
BRYANT: Angelina Jolie is arguably one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. But the Academy Award winner and mother of two is also a big- time humanitarian.
At the moment, she has her sights set on global poverty. She`s raising awareness for the new MTV documentary about a trip she took through Kenya with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs of the U.N. Millennium Project.
I had a chance to speak with them about that very trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. JEFFREY SACHS, U.N. ADVISOR: I have never seen people piled in the beds. Somebody comes in with malaria, they`re put in a bed with someone with tuberculosis.
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: You leave the hospital sicker than you came in. I would be scared to death if my child was in that hospital.
BRYANT (voice-over): A dramatic journey through Africa, a road trip through Kenya by one of the most famous actresses in the world. It`s Angelina Jolie`s video notebook chronicling the struggles of some of the poorest people in the world.
Angelina told me she can`t understand why people even have to live like this in first place.
JOLIE: We can accomplish things. We understand this, and there are people that have a lot and people that have nothing.
BRYANT: Jolie came to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to talk about MTV`s new documentary, "The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa." It takes a look at one village`s efforts to end poverty, hunger and disease.
JOLIE: I traveled to Africa with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, the world`s leading expert in extreme poverty, to explore how we can solve inconceivable problems with very simple interventions.
BRYANT: As a mother of two adopted children, Jolie encountered moving stories, heartbreaking accounts from mothers with virtually nothing, who struggle to feed their children.
SACHS: Monica`s one of the poorest people in this village.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up to the time that we came in, she didn`t know where she was going to go. So she was just going to sit and think and trust in God to give her something to eat for the children for supper.
BRYANT (on camera): One thing I found really very moving, I know you`re a mom, you went into a woman`s hut. And she basically said that she asked God for dinner.
JOLIE: I really wasn`t expecting -- you don`t know -- you certainly see poverty, you see hunger. But we were just -- we were asking such a kind of simple question. Because we thought, well, we`re here with the camera crew, and we`ll say to her, "Could we see how you`re going to prepare dinner? You know, would it be OK to show us how you prepare dinner? And could you describe how you`re going to prepare dinner?"
And she said, "Well, I`m going the sit and I`m going to think about it. I`m going pray about it."
And it took us awhile to realize what she was talking about.
You can`t afford not to just find these solutions. And we`re so capable and we have so much these days, that the mom having -- having all of her children and having nothing to give them.
If my kid was hungry and asked me for food, to not have anything to give my children for dinner, I can`t imagine how horrible that feeling would be as a parent.
BRYANT (voice-over): Jolie tells us she was astounded that so little could go such a long way. Here in the village of Sari (ph) in Western Kenya, simple $7 mosquito netting, dramatically lowered the malaria rates.
SACHS: When a whole village uses these bed nets, it`s been shown time and again the malaria drops tremendously.
BRYANT: Angelina tells us she donates a third of what she makes to battle poverty. But, as much as she wants to help, there`s only there`s so much she can do.
JOLIE: Frustration and for me, it`s anger. That I just don`t get why it can`t be done. I know it can be done. I know if the right people who are in the right positions and just had a clear, you know, worked with and listened to each other and made some bold decisions, it could be absolutely be done.
BRYANT: Is there ever a part of you that says, "I might just become a humanitarian full time"?
JOLIE: Part of me would love to. But the reality is the reason I can have people watching right now is because I keep my foot in both doors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: Angelina Jolie has donated $3 million to the United Nations since becoming a goodwill ambassador in 2001. Her special, "The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Sachs in Africa," airs tonight on MTV.
HAMMER: In tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Showcase," celebrities are reacting to the heartbreaking sights of abandoned animals aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Stars including Alec Baldwin, Dennis Rodman and Pamela Anderson are calling for the government to include pets in all of the rescue efforts that are taking place and to take steps to reunite animals with their owners. They`re speaking out in a new ad from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA. Here`s a look at tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Showcase" exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: Hurricane victims have lost enough. Let them keep their animals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hurricane victims have lost enough.
PINK, SINGER: Please let them keep their animals.
DENNIS RODMAN, BASKETBALL STAR: I hope you let them keep their animals. I hope you understand these animals are just like animals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let them keep their animals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, help them protect their animals.
PAMELA ANDERSON, ACTRESS: Hurricane victims have lost enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let them keep their animals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: PETA`s not stopping there. Tomorrow, they`re going to be having a demonstration right outside the congressional hearings that are taking place to protest animal neglect in Katrina`s aftermath.
BRYANT: Well, it is time now to take a look at the best in late night laughs in "Laughter Dark."
Well, on "Late Night with Conan O`Brien," Conan takes a look at potential casting for "Hurricane Katrina: The Movie."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O`BRIEN, HOST, NBC`s "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O`BRIEN": For example, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco will be played by Kathy Bates. I think that`s good casting.
Former FEMA director Michael Brown will be played by Jon Lovitz. Good casting.
Michael Chertoff will be played by Sam the Eagle, I think.
Pumping station number six -- pumping station number six will be played by Paris Hilton.
And finally, President George W. Bush will be played by Ralph Wiggum from "The Simpsons."
(END VIDEO CLIP0
BRYANT: All right, Conan. You know, sometimes it`s nice to have a little bit of lightness in such a difficult situation. Well, tonight Conan welcomes "Proof" star Gwyneth Paltrow.
Now, when you think of Ellen DeGeneres, you might think it`s all fun and games. Well, tonight on the -- rather, on "The Tonight Show," Ellen shows Jay that her summer diet has made her just a little bit cranky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLEN DEGENERES, TALK SHOW HOST: But it was -- I thought it was diet food, so I was having huge portions of that and a peace. But apparently you`re supposed to have something the size of your fist, and then -- no, protein is the size of your palm, carbs the size of your fist. And you eat five times a day. That`s the rule that these.
JAY LENO, HOST, NBC`S "TONIGHT SHOW": Really?
DEGENERES: I go like that to them.
LENO: Wow.
DEGENERES: I don`t know what happened. That`s not me.
LENO: I never saw working blue. Unbelievable.
DEGENERES: I never have.
LENO: That`s the x-rated "Ellen" show. Oh, my God. This is unbelievable.
DEGENERES: I surprise myself. When you have such little food you get angry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Amen to that, Ellen. I understand. Good thing that was on a late night show, A.J.
Well, it is a personal connection to the hurricane story for a member of CNN family. The executive producer of "AMERICAN MORNING" takes an emotional trip home to New Orleans, and she joins us live. That`s coming up.
HAMMER: Plus, what part did the media play in President Bush finally taking responsibility for the government`s response to the hurricane? Spin doctor extraordinaire, the raging Cajun himself, James Carville, is going to join us live, and he`ll give us his take on that, coming up in a bit.
BRYANT: And the Emmys are taking place this weekend, but is it appropriate for an awards show to be happening right now in the hurricane aftermath? We`ll have one nominee`s strong opinions on that subject. That`s later on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back. I`m A.J. Hammer.
Tonight Kanye West still way up north on the charts. Here`s a look at this week`s best selling album from the Billboard 200 chart, which is just out today.
The rapper`s new album, "Late Registration," which includes a Jamie Foxx cameo on the song "Gold Digger," is No. 1 for the second week in a row. 50 cent is back in the top five, after "The Massacre" was reissued with music videos. The Rolling Stones bang into the NO. 3 slot. Long time since we`ve had them in the top five. They do it with the debut of "A Bigger Bang." Then the Black Eyed Peas are, with "Monkey Business" at No. 4, and Mariah Carey rounding out the top five this week with "The Emancipation of Mimi."
BRYANT: All right. Well, it is time now to take a look at the best of today`s talk shows in "Talk of the Day."
Melanie Griffith, she is the star of the WB`s show, "Twins." It`s a new show coming out. Well, she stopped by to chat with Ellen about life, love and what it`s like to have a few in-laws around for the birth of her third child.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIE GRIFFITH, ACTRESS: When we came home, we left the hospital two hours after she was born. And there were about 20 relatives there waiting for us. And the next morning, there were about 40 relatives that came to the house. And that continued for about 10 days, like 40 relatives showing up to see the baby.
DEGENERES: Was that a surprise to you that that many people were getting -- did they warn you that 200 people would come by?
GRIFFITH: No. It was -- it was quite an experience.
DEGENERES: And it also -- is that early to leave a hospital two hours after you have a baby?
GRIFFITH: It was my third child so I kind of knew what to do. You know what I mean?
DEGENERES: One more, you`ll just squat in the field, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Nice. I wonder how long Britney Spears is going to stay in the hospital? Well, tomorrow, Ellen welcomes "King of Queens" star Leah Remini and "Proof" star Gwyneth Paltrow. She`s making the rounds, A.J.
HAMMER: All right, Karyn.
Well, the Emmy Awards, of course, are happening this weekend. The question is how will Katrina affect what goes on at the Emmys? One nominee has some very strong feelings about it, and that`s coming up.
BRYANT: Plus, President Bush says the buck stops with him when it comes to the federal government`s response to Katrina. But was the media coverage pushing him? We`ll go in-depth with some Washington heavy hitters. That`s ahead on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: And we have an emotional journey home for New Orleans. CNN`s Kim Bondi from "AMERICAN MORNING" is on the way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in just a minute. I`m Sophia Choi with your headline prime news break. Two major airlines in trouble tonight. Delta and Northwest Airlines have both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The carriers say they intend to keep normal flight operations. Delta and Northwest join United Airlines and U.S. Airways in bankruptcy.
North Carolina`s governor says anyone who was asked to evacuate ahead of Ophelia should get out. Ophelia could be a category two hurricane when its eye wall makes landfall tomorrow. The storm`s slow movement could cause severe flooding along rivers, low-lying areas and the outer banks.
And the head of the Federal recovery effort says the remains of those killed in hurricane Katrina will be treated with the utmost respect. Meantime, the New Orleans suburbs of Waswego (ph), Lafitte (ph) and Bretna (ph) have now been reopened. More than 2,000 children are still separated though from their parents in the wake of the hurricane. That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi. Now back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
KARYN BRYANT, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.
AJ HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: And I`m AJ Hammer. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
Still to come inside the next half hour, of course, President Bush finally addressing the nation. It`s his first public address to the nation in prime time tomorrow night. A lot of people are saying that is because of the media`s outcry that the president is finally stepping up to the plate and doing his job. We`re going to tackle that topic with some great guests, including the wonderful James Carville coming up in a moment.
BRYANT: He is so entertaining, smart guy too. And also, we`re going to talk about the idea that the Emmys - some people say they shouldn`t even happened this week in light of everything that`s going on. If you remember after 9/11, they were pushed back a number of times and we`re going to talk to Patricia Arquette about that (INAUDIBLE). So stay with us.
But first, let`s get tonight`s hot headlines. Brooke Anderson joins us live again from Hollywood. Hi Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Karyn. Thanks. Tonight, it`s the news that we have been waiting for nine months for, Britney Spears is a mom. According to reports, the pop star gave birth to a baby boy this afternoon in a Los Angeles hospital. Now it`s the first child for Britney. Her husband Kevin Federline has two kids from a previous relationship. No word on the child`s name just yet.
Russell Crowe is trying to get his charges reduced. According to the Australian magazine "The Bulletin," the actor says his lawyers are working to get his felony assaults charges lowered to a misdemeanor. Crowe allegedly threw a phone at a New York City hotel clerk in June. If convicted on the felony charge, he could lose his right to work in the United States.
And AMC theaters is helping out with the hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The move theater chain said today that it will donate all proceeds from ticket and food sales at its 207 U.S. locations tomorrow to the American Red Cross hurricane relief fund. And those are the hot headlines from Hollywood. Karyn, back to you in New York.
BRYANT: Thank you very much, Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood.
HAMMER: President Bush is set to address the nation tomorrow about hurricane Katrina and tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tackles the question, did the media force President Bush to take the blame for the widely criticized response to the disaster?
Joining us to discuss the issue, live from Washington, D.C., CNN political commentator James Carville, live from San Francisco, Jeff Katz. He is the host of "The Jeff Katz" show on KNEW talk radio. And live from New York, Morris Reid. He`s a Democratic strategist and business brand expert. James, going to fire this up with you and I want everybody to have a chance to answer on this first question. I want you to know your opinion. Did the media actually force Bush to finally take some responsibility for the slow response in the Katrina aftermath?
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it was more - some of the media (ph) I think it was more Republicans on the Hill saying, you have to do something. (INAUDIBLE) a deteriorating political situation. It`s absurd to say there`s no Federal responsibility here. And you know, you have to act like you did after 9/11 and sort of take charge of things. So I think it`s part the media, but I think it`s more of a political reality and the Republicans on the Hill that (ph) forced this to come about.
HAMMER: Morris, let me get your take on this.
MORRIS REID, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: There`s been pressure from Republicans on the Hill from the past when George Bush has fumbled the ball and he`s never made - he never had any contrition then. I think the fact of the matter is that he had a guy who we just applauded in the media, who was sent home, who quit. It was time for him to really get this thing behind him and the only way he could do that was to apologize.
HAMMER: All right Jeff. Why don`t you chime in?
JEFF KATZ, KNEW TALK SHOW, SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Well, listen, I don`t think that the president felt pressured by the media. I think the media has done a pretty poor job frankly in looking at Ray Nagin and the aptly named Kathleen Blanco. I think there were some Republicans absolutely who said to the president, hey, let`s take control of this thing. Admit the fact that the Fed seemed a little slow out of the blocks and let`s get it behind us.
REID: Jeff, it doesn`t matter about that. Ray Nagin and Blanco is not the president of the United States. So let`s deal -- with the Fed --
KATZ: And Kathleen Blanco who screwed up beyond belief. I mean let`s not try and just (INAUDIBLE) let`s not try and throw everybody at the Federal level under the bus without acknowledging that Kathleen Blanco doesn`t belong where she was. I`ve never seen somebody so (INAUDIBLE).
REID: I think it`s time that the president shows the leadership and this is for once case (ph), he`s really stepped out of a limb and understood the fact that he needed to apologize.
HAMMER: Let me jump in here for a second. Obviously we`re talking about Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans. I want to jump in with a little piece of sound as we`re addressing the idea of the media actually influencing what the administration is now doing. These are some complimentary words that President Bush had to say to former FEMA director Michael Brown during the president`s very first visit to the Gulf coast five days ago. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank you all -- and Brownie, you`re doing a heck of a job. The FEMA director`s working 24 - they`re working 24 hours a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Now, Jeff, we all know that Michael Brown was removed from the job of overseeing Katrina disaster relief and days later as we all know, he resigned. Actually Morris, I want to take this one to you. Is it fair to say that the outcry in the media had a lot, if not everything to do with this happening?
REID: I think that the outcry of the people on the ground had everything to do with this guy`s incompetence. He was exposed from the very beginning and the media, rightfully so, jumped on the band wagon and kept pressing the issue. So I think it was the fact that there was just a disaster and this guy had no real answer for it and the media did their job.
HAMMER: James, do you think TV was doing what it was supposed to be doing finally and getting this to happen?
CARVILLE: I think TV contributed to it. You only can do it in real time. There`s a Knight Ridder story that`s pretty well documented that says this guy Brown was a fall guy. The real mess up came from Chertoff who`s the secretary of the homeland security. All of this, and what you hear, it`s Blanco, it`s Nagin -- that`s why we need an independent commission to come in and see what happened. And so this kind of thing doesn`t happen again. Sure, the media did some good things. The media probably would have missed some stories and that`s what happens when you do these things in real time.
And what the president needs to say tomorrow night, he wants to get an independent commission appointed. He wants to work with both parties. He wants to work with people on the Hill and let`s get that dog gone thing done so we can find out. So we don`t go out hitting each other with talking points. We got real experts that come in, find out the time line, find out who did what when. And then present it so we can know so something like this doesn`t happen again. Find out what Mr. Chertoff and Mr. Chertoff didn`t do. We`re only going to know that if we get people with real subpoena power, people that come in and look at this and the victims of this hurricane, not just them, everybody that`s in the way of a disaster need to know how we don`t have a disastrous response to the next disaster.
KATZ: Well, listen, it`s going to be the first time that I agree with Jim Carville on anything. So I`m going to mark the date down. I would agree there needs to be an investigation here and I think Jim Carville will concede that FEMA for a long time has been used for political patronage. They`re folks getting dumped in there that have never belonged there and that`s true with Democrats as well as Republicans. And as one who lives in earthquake country, absolutely I want to know what`s going on with disaster response. But I`ve got to tell you, those of us who live here in California, as well as those I`d assume who are living in Louisiana near the levees and the dams and the rest of it, understand that you`re pretty much on your own for a couple of days and you`ve got to be prepared.
REID: (INAUDIBLE) That`s ridiculous. I don`t agree with that at all, Jeff. (INAUDIBILE) did not politicize that organization. He ran a fine institution. If anyone politicized it, it`s George Bush. And speaking to --
HAMMER: All right. Hold on, guys. Hold on a second. I`m going to take over. I`m jumping in for a second. I want to bring it back around because really what we`re dealing with here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the media`s impact on what the administration has done. We`re seeing in an unprecedented way, major anchors, high-profile anchors. We`re seeing Brian Williams on NBC. We`re seeing Anderson Cooper on CNN with an outcry like we have never seen before. Jeff, you want to let me know, do you think that they have had an impact on what has happened here with the president stepping up to the plate at long last?
KATZ: The fact of the matter is that I really don`t. I think that the matter in which you keep characterizing it, as the president finally stepping up to the plate, is not completely accurate. I would have liked to have seen the president stand up perhaps a little bit quicker. But the reality is that he got there pretty dog gone quick. The response from the Feds seemed to be pretty much on the money, a little bit slow out of the blocks. And again, the media has focused entirely on the response from the Federal government and completely and totally ignored Ray Nagin letting those school buses --
HAMMER: I don`t think they have completely ignored them. But I will make a note right here and pass it along to the powers that be and we`ll get on that. I want to appreciate -- thank you guys for joining us tonight, Morris Reid, Jeff Katz and James Carville.
And of course, this leads to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day - - Katrina aftermath -- did the media force President Bush to take responsibility? Do you think they had anything to do with it? Let us know, cnn.com/showbiztonight. Got more to say, showbiztonight@cnn.com is the address. Your e-mails coming up at 54 past the hour.
BRYANT: Patricia Arquette is nominated for her very first Emmy. But there`s actually something else she`s thinking more about this week. Find out what that is when we hear from the medium star, as our "and the nominee is" series continues. That`s next.
HAMMER: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s heart-wrenching trip to New Orleans. We`re along for the ride with someone who was a part of the Katrina story. She was telling the story. The dramatic story of what she found, live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m AJ Hammer. Big week in television, with the 57th annual primetime Emmy awards are being handed out on a Sunday. All week long, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been bringing you the biggest nominees. It`s our "and the nominee is" series. Tonight, "Medium`s" Patricia Arquette. She`s nominated for her very first Emmy award for her very first television show which is in its very first season. SHOWBIZ TONIGHTs" Brooke Anderson is live now in Hollywood with more. Brooke, even though Patricia is excited about the nomination, it`s really the Katrina aftermath that`s on her mind, isn`t it?
ANDERSON: That`s absolutely right AJ. Just like four years ago when the Emmy`s followed the tragic events of 9/11, you may remember most people wore black that year. They scaled down the red carpet interviews. The show took a more subdued tone. Ellen DeGeneres hosted then. She`s hosting this year as well. And yet while Patricia Arquette is nominated for lead actress in a drama, for NBC`s "Medium," she`s far more concerned about those affected by the devastation left behind by hurricane Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The show will go on at this Sunday`s Emmys. But in the wake of Katrina, not all the invited guests are in a celebratory mood.
PATRICIA ARQUETTE: It`s such a strange time in the world, I feel weird about wearing this glamorous borrowed dress, and there`s people that have nothing, so it`s kind of a weird conflict for me.
ANDERSON: Arquette and her fellow cast and crew have jumped into action to help those devastated by Katrina, packing and sending three trucks full of supplies to the victims. But Patricia told me so much more still needs to be done.
ARQUETTE: I think there`s still a lot of people really hungry out there, and they need camping supplies, and they need canned foods and diapers and cleaning products. I want to somehow start doing maybe canned food drives at schools and stuff like that and getting more trucks.
ANDERSON: Arquette is hoping the Emmys serve as a needed distraction.
ARQUETTE: I know people like to be distracted by watching TV and seeing events like that, so I don`t know, I don`t even think it`s up to me to say what it is, I just show up because God put this in my path and it`s a nice compliment.
ANDERSON: In the first season, 15 million viewers watched every week as Arquette`s character channeled psychic powers to solve crimes.
ARQUETTE: Suffice it to say, I`m apparently either a little psychic or a little psycho.
ANDERSON: Arquette herself believes some people really do have psychic abilities.
ARQUETTE: Yes, I do believe in psychic powers. I don`t believe everybody has them. I don`t believe a lot of people who say they have them do, but I`ve definitely seen demonstrations of things that I really could not explain any other way.
ANDERSON: But seeing dead people in "Medium" doesn`t intimidate Arquette. Getting dressed to the nines for the Emmys, on the other hand, does.
ARQUETTE: First, I just felt nauseous and scared, I just felt like, "oh, my God, I`ve got to get a dress." I`m still kind of nauseous about the whole dress thing. I have a dress, I don`t have any shoes, so I may go barefoot. I don`t have a purse, but it`ll all come together.
ANDERSON: Arquette comes from a family of actors, including brother David and sister Rosanna, whom Patricia says is her biggest fan.
ARQUETTE: She immediately watched it. She immediately got on board with the pilot, she immediately TIVOed it. She would call me after episodes and say how good they were.
It is really exciting, though. It`s really a wonderful compliment, because the voters are all in my business, and they`re very discriminating, and they`ve been in the business for years, so it`s really a beautiful compliment, and such great company to be in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Get this, Patricia also told me she`s actually hoping not to win, so she won`t have to give an acceptance speech, but she says she does think she should scratch out a list of names of people just to thank, just in case her name is called so she doesn`t forget anyone and then get in trouble later for it. AJ, such a pleasant person to talk to, first time I had met her and I really enjoyed the conversation.
HAMMER: Our people are always prepared with those lists no matter what they say.
ANDERSON: Absolutely, (INAUDIBLE)
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood. Thanks for joining us Brooke.
BRYANT: Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes a very emotional trip to New Orleans with one of our own. Kim Bondy is the executive producer of CNN`s "American Morning." She visits her home for the first time since hurricane Katrina tore through the area. This is the story of what she found. Here is CNN`s Miles O`Brien reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM BONDY, CNN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: I was born and raised here. So much of our entire life story is on this one street.
MILES O`BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elysian Fields Avenue runs like a river through Kim Bondy`s life. Now it resembles a river and the dark, noxious water is eating away at a lifelong dream.
BONDY: The second house is my house with the white, my brother`s house next door. Wow. Wow.
O`BRIEN: She bought the house in her childhood neighborhood four years ago, and she got right to work fixing it up.
BONDY: It is almost like I don`t even recognize it. It is so sad. It is just unbelievable. This is almost so surreal. This is not my house. My house is cute. This is, like, my dream house. Not a whole lot to it, just exactly what I wanted. I could have lived here forever.
O`BRIEN: For Kim, it was an idyllic goal, as much as it was a place to live. She lives and works in New York, a CNN vice president, in charge of "American Morning." But like all good producers, she had a plan laid out with a timetable, one she pondered on the beach the Saturday before Katrina hit.
BONDY: I was thinking about in a few years, I`ll be able to retire and I could come home, live simply in my house. I don`t need a whole lot. I own this house free and clear. There`s no mortgage on it. My car was paid for and I just wanna come home, and be with my family, and live in my cute little house and just like that, 48 hours later.
O`BRIEN: Her brother Blayne lives next door.
BLAYNE BONDY, NEW ORLEANS HOMEOWNER: I just don`t have words for this. I mean I`m looking at the high water mark in my house, and it is almost six feet high. There is not one thing in there I can salvage.
O`BRIEN: But this is really not about things. This is about dreams that flower from deep roots. Blayne Bondy made a separate trip on another boat and tromped through the house he was renovating. New kitchen, bathrooms, an added bedroom, all trashed, the things all gone. And now the bloom is off the flower.
BONDY: There are two constants about New Orleans that are never going to go away or two constants. New Orleans will always be in a bowl and there will always be hurricanes, and to think that we could go through this again, it is too much.
BLAYNE BONDY: You can`t subject yourself to this. I am only 33 years old, and I can`t see putting my family through this again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT: And Kim Bondy joins us now live from her home town of New Orleans to tell us more about her emotional trip back home. Thanks Kim. I have to ask we had shots of you there in the control room, the nerve center of the show. You`re getting information from all sides. What were your thinking while you say in the control room and you knew your family, your homes were right in the path of Katrina?
BONDY: You know Karyn, there`s something about being, having a filter between you and the real story. And I was able to sort of distance myself emotionally from it for a little while. And the great thing about the job that I have is that I have access to a lot of information. So I didn`t feel powerless. I felt like - I mean when the eye wall was getting ready to cross my home and my parents were inside my house, I asked Chad Myers our meteorologist, what was going to happen. He told me in the next hour, the eye wall was going to pass. It`s going to get worse and I was able to get through to my parents and say, listen, it`s getting worse in the next hour, so please hunker down. But then they were missing for about -- or I should say that we were out of touch with them for about three days, which were probably the hardest three days of my life. It was very hard to leave work. I sort of channeled all of my energy and frustration into the work and helped tell the story that was really important to me, but also to the people of New Orleans who I love so dearly.
BRYANT: And is that what made you decide to go down there with the camera, to tell the story, for others who haven`t been there yet.
BONDY: Actually it was Miles` idea, he was going down. And (INAUDIBLE) two weeks before we came, I would always try to lend my perspective to a story and to help explain and New Orleans is a city like no other. We`re very different people. And our sensibilities are very different. And so as I would talk to my staff about stories and story coverage and Miles pulled me aside and he says Kim, you know, we should go home together. We should go and tell your story. And I immediately said I`d be happy to do that because I wanted to show the world that New Orleans is really a terrific place and this is a really horrific story. But my heart and soul lies there and I don`t know how I could have stayed away for the two weeks. I`m actually, as much as I`m devastated, as I look around me and what behind me, it`s nice to be here and be on the ground and to touch people`s lives and to just see it up close and personal.
BRYANT: Certainly is emotional for you. Kim, we do wish you the best down there. Thank you for sharing your story with us and with everyone here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thank you Kim Bondy and we will be right back with more SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: We`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Katrina aftermath. Did the media force President Bush to take responsibility? The vote so far -- 79 percent of you says yes, the media did force the president to take responsibility; 21 percent of you say no, they did not. Some of your e-mails passionate ones tonight. Felicia from Georgia writes, absolutely. He is on a spin campaign to save his legacy as a president.
But Tom from Kansas says, no. You are not the reason that Bush took responsibility for the Federal response to Katrina. He took it because his integrity is 1000 percent more than any journalist in this country. You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiz tonight.
HAMMER: We tell the story, there`s accountability. End of story. That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m AJ Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN`s headline news.
END
