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Showbiz Tonight
Ripped from the Headlines: Shows Borrow from News; Are Rock Icons Selling Out?; Talk Radio Abuzz with CIA Leak Investigation Talk; Collector`s Edition of "Wizard of Oz" Boasts Brighter Colors, Bonuses
Aired October 26, 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 in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, ripped from the headlines. TV dramas take a cue from real-life dramas and turn it into big-time ratings, from the White House to Tom DeLay, to Judith Miller. Tonight why primetime shows are borrowing plot lines from headlines.
The rock revolution comes with cream and sugar, from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones to Madonna, why one-time rebels are turning to Starbucks, even soap operas. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks, are rock icons selling out?
Sometimes the loser is the winner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, get back on, get back on. Get back on.
HAMMER: He`s whipped some of Hollywood`s biggest start into shape. Now, he sets his sights on "The Biggest Loser" contestants. Tonight, Bob Harper on how he gets them to lose a ton of weight, and how you can, too. It`s the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
LEANNE WOMACK, COUNTRY MUSIC ARTIST: Hi, I`m Leanne Womack. And if it happened today, it will be a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
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HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there, I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
HAMMER: Tonight, ripped from the headlines. From the West Wing of the White House to the streets of "Law & Order," primetime TV is taking the headlines from news and making news by turning them into plotlines for your favorite shows.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom right now with the headline-making story -- David.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A.J., they`re hard to miss on your television these days: popular primetime dramas that tell a story that might be -- well, might sound a bit familiar. Whether it`s politics, crime or even Mother Nature, many shows are getting their ideas right from the news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEENA DAVIS, ACTRESS: What a town, you can`t even trust the back- stabbers.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Ripped from the headlines. You may have noticed that primetime likes to get real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homeland security is recommending that we raise the terror alert nationally.
HAFFENREFFER: Especially when it comes to politics. Some of the most gripping White House stories aren`t coming from D.C., but from TV. ABC`s "Commander in Chief" and NBC`s "West Wing" have been mirroring much of the action about all the president`s men and women in their scripts. Just take a look at last night`s "Commander in Chief."
DAVIS: Have homeland raise the terror alert.
HAFFENREFFER: President Geena Davis raised the security threat level after she was told about a terrorist smuggling explosives across the border. These are the types of story lines that a lot of people want to see.
MARC PEYSER, SENIOR WRITER, "NEWSWEEK": These are the kinds of things that people expect to hear about and I think they want their stories, fictional ones, even, to seem real in some sense.
HAFFENREFFER: How is this for real? Next week on "Commander in Chief," the fictional White House will respond to, get this, a hurricane in Florida. Unbelievable timing, given the real Hurricane Wilma`s hit on the Sunshine State.
PEYSER: Frankly on the one hand it seems like how did they come up with it already? On the other hand, we`re so many hurricanes into the season that we`ve run out of names. You do, obviously, though, have people who are smart enough to know the kinds of stories that will probably become headlines. And they hit it over the head this time.
You can`t be too careful about freaking people out, because they`re scaring them and they don`t want to have that in their life. So it is a balancing act.
HAFFENREFFER: One show that`s gotten it right, "the West Wing." With eight million viewers a week, it`s found a niche in real life storylines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn`t talk to a grand jury. The judge held me in contempt, and I report to Cumberland minimum-security prison tomorrow.
HAFFENREFFER: In this episode the White House is caught up in an investigation over who leaked some super-secret space shuttle info to the media. If that plot sounds familiar to you, it should. The real White House is currently caught up in an investigation over who may have leaked the name of a CIA operative to the press.
"Law & Order" may very well be the daddy of ripped from the headlines. Back in May, "Law & Order Criminal Intent" made headlines of its own when it took what some called a cheap shot at then House majority leader, Republican Tom DeLay. Detectives on the show were investigating killings of two federal judges by suspected right-wing extremists, an episode that aired soon after DeLay criticized judges in the right-to-die Terri Schiavo case.
TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: An arrogant, out of control, unaccountable judiciary.
HAFFENREFFER: And "Law & Order" jumped right on that.
KATHRYN ERBE, ACTRESS: It looks like the same shooter. PSU found the slug in a post, matched it to the one that killed Judge Barton. Maybe we should put on the an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt.
HAFFENREFFER: Some critics said the show went too far. DeLay wasn`t happy either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Mr. DeLay. Can we ask you about this "Law & Order" controversy?
HAFFENREFFER: DeLay wasn`t talking to reporters, but he did fire off a letter to the president of NBC, accusing the show of manipulating his name.
It`s not just politics that show up in primetime. "CSI Miami" churned out an episode in October inspired by the Natalee Holloway case. "CSI" hires consultants like forensic scientists to work closely with writers to ensure the show`s authenticity.
"Commander in Chief" is another show working to get it right. Hillary Clinton`s former social secretary works on the show, and a former Clinton aide helps to write it.
PEYSER: They want the shows to be grounded in reality, because that`s what they`re there for.
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HAFFENREFFER: And while many of these ripped from the headlines shows are popular, Peyser says what is often most surprising is exactly how quickly the shows` producers are able to grab the concept, write the script, shoot the show, edit it and get it all on TV while the subject is still news -- A.J.
HAMMER: Thanks very much. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer.
Well, tonight, Janet Jackson is doing damage control, denying reports that she has a secret 18-year-old daughter. Now this all started on Friday, when Young DeBarge, who is the brother of Jackson`s ex-husband, James, who was on a New York City radio show. He said Jackson and his brother, James, have a daughter named Renee. Here`s some of what was said.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a niece, don`t you?
YOUNG DEBARGE, BROTHER OF JANET JACKSON`S EX-HUSBAND: Yes. Renee. I love her so. I haven`t really got to spend a lot of time with her in the past, but we`re moving into the future and doing some things now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s about 18 now, right?
DEBARGE: Just about, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Damn!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HAMMER: For the record, DeBarge is promoting his debut album.
Janet Jackson released a statement today. It was short and sweet. She said, quote, "I did not have a child, and all allegations saying so are false."
ANDERSON: Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan. Through the decades, these iconic names were rebels in music, finding new ways to bring in the money to help out that bottom line. But tonight you`ll be surprised to see some of the places they`re turning up, and some are saying it`s a sellout.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas is live in Hollywood tonight with that story.
Hi, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.
Well, we`re seeing some of our favorite musicians thinking outside the box, and some critics are calling it commercialism. From soap operas to primetime, these legends are showing up in unlikely places. Some aren`t shying away from endorsing anything from big-name minivans to mutual funds.
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(MUSIC)
VARGAS (voice-over): That`s the Rolling Stones` new single, "The Streets of Love," and yes, that`s daytime soap, "Days of Our Lives," you`re watching it on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just so good.
VARGAS: I`m sorry, the stones on a soap? It`s part of a tie-in with the daytime drama. The song is written to the story line, and you`ll hear it several times over the next four weeks.
And the Stones are not alone. Madonna just announced her new single, "Hung Up," will be featured nest month on crossover episodes of CBS`s "CSI Miami" and "CSI New York."
TV tie-ins are just one of the ways rock icons now have to sell their songs. But some ask, are they selling their souls?
BRETT PULLEY, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: There`s no doubt, you know, for a long time, this is not the type -- these are not the type of alliances that rock stars would have agreed to, but times have changed. And what we`re seeing is an industry that`s been turned upside down in the music business, and so they`re looking for new ways to reach customers.
VARGAS: Another big-time commercial venture, Starbucks. The Stones are set to release an album of rare tracks, "Rarities 1971-2003," next month through a deal with the Seattle coffee chain.
Also in Starbucks, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. These are legendary rock icons, for many icons of rebellion. Now they`re for sale in one of the biggest chains in the U.S. Are they going commercial? Have they sold out to the man?
Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment, insisted to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s just a new way to bring music to the masses.
KEN LOMBARD, PRESIDENT, STARBUCKS ENTERTAINMENT: This is not about trying to drive more coffee sales. We have a tremendous opportunity to transform the way that music is discovered and delivered.
VARGAS: Let`s face it. Rather than rocking at Woodstock, many of today`s music buyers are sipping lattes and watching soaps, and many original Stones and Dylan fans are aging boomers, now interested in minivans and money management. And that, too, is being capitalized on. Here is Paul McCartney plastered all over a Fidelity ad. And lending his name to Lexus.
And open today`s "New York Times" and you`ll see the Rolling Stones hawking a Mercedes minivan. The Stones in a minivan?
PULLEY: I don`t know if it`s so much a matter of them absolutely having to go commercial. It`s a statement about, I think, how much stars like these big, big paychecks the companies are offering.
VARGAS: But some are fighting against all this commercialism. Legendary Tom Waits recently filed suit against General Motors for using an impersonation of his voice on a commercial.
A.J. asked legendary music producer Clive Davis what he thought about all this commercialism.
CLIVE DAVIS, MUSIC PRODUCER: You always want to be in the grounds of being tasteful. Marketing is good if it expands your audience. It`s bad if it taints you in a way which is not honest or soulful. So it`s a two- edged sword; you`ve got to be careful.
VARGAS: But "Rolling Stone" magazine`s Joe levy says expect more of this business model.
BILL LEVY, "ROLLING STONE": You need to find a new way at going at those two audiences. When it comes to an older audience, that means getting music in front of them, whether they`re buying a frappuccino or watching primetime TV.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: And one expert we spoke with said that much of this trend is thanks to the increasing disappearance of record stores. And with radio turning into talk radio, musicians are looking for other ways to reach their listeners. So times are a-changing`.
Brooke, back to you.
ANDERSON: Oh, they certainly have changed in how music is marketed. All right, Sibila, thank you so much.
And now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. CDs in Starbucks: are rock icons selling out? Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Send us an e-mail at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
HAMMER: Well, from the red carpet to reality shows, he knows how to get people to shed the pounds. Bob Harper is going to tell us about how we can all be big losers. That`s coming up.
ANDERSON: Plus, why is Major League Baseball crying over spilled milk? We`ll find out why a new ad campaign is hitting a little too close to home.
HAMMER: And it isn`t all the president`s men, but at least two could be in a heap of trouble over the unmasking of a CIA operative. It is the talk of talk radio today, and we will find out what the callers are saying next.
ANDERSON: Now for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." What color set Tippi Hedren off in the 1964 Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Marnie"? Was it red, green, purple or black? Think about it. We`ll be right back with your answer.
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ANDERSON: I hope you have your answer. We`re here again with tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." What color set Tippi Hedren off in the 1964 Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Marnie"? Red, green, purple or black? Sean Connery co-starred in the movie, directed by the master of suspense, and it was "A," red, that set off Tippi`s -- or rather Marnie`s --mood swings.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tonight. I`m A.J. Hammer.
Well, tonight, you just can`t turn on a radio without hearing talk shows dissecting the CIA leak probe. President Bush`s right-hand man, chief political advisor Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney`s chief of staff, "Scooter" Libby, are both under scrutiny now for their roles in the outing of a CIA agent. But as Washington waits, America talks. And now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is getting the pulse of what the people are saying.
Live tonight in Dallas, Texas, Mark Davis, syndicated talk radio host out at WBAP. Nice to see you, Mark. And live in Chicago tonight, Roland Martin, talk radio host out of WVON-AM.
Roland, I`m going to kick it off with you. Of course, the grand jury went home without handing down any indictments today, but what are your listeners saying about whether or not indictments will be handed down and who might be getting nailed if they dare?
ROLAND MARTIN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, again, what they`re saying is that if these individuals did anything wrong, they should be indicted and President Bush should fire them and definitely -- or ask for their resignations.
And so what is interesting is that the partisans have already come out by saying that Fitzgerald is trying to attack the administration, as opposed to, again, if they did wrong, they should be penalized for it. That`s what they`re saying.
HAMMER: Are you getting the sense, though, from your listeners that indictments will, in fact, be handed down?
MARTIN: Well, certainly so, I mean, based upon the amount of time put into this, and clearly the White House is bracing themselves for these indictments. I wouldn`t be surprised if it comes down tomorrow or, really, with a news cycle on Friday, you`ve got to understand how that plays, as well. You put them down on Friday. That`s going to be the whole talk the entire weekend.
HAMMER: Mark, this has been going on for some time. This has not been a quick turn of events. They`re spending a lot of time. Real scrutiny going on here. What are your listeners saying about whether or not indictments are actually going to be handed down?
MARK DAVIS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, it`s funny. As Roland suggested, it`s kind of funny, because there are, of course, partisans on both sides of this. And everybody views this through the color of their political lens. The people who really don`t like the president are kind of rubbing their hands together with glee and saying, "Come on, let`s have some indictments."
The people who don`t ever want anything bad to happen the president are kind of wishing all of this would go away.
Objectivity lies in the middle. I`m a supporter of the administration, but I will tell you, I got all over Bill Clinton for lying to a grand jury, and if any of my guys did it, the deserve to be punished, as well.
It will be interesting, though, because there are obvious lies and then there are not so obvious misstatements. And if Scooter or Karl gave different answers at different times, it will be Pat Fitzgerald`s job to read their minds and figure out whether it was bad memory or intentional misleading.
HAMMER: Well, Mark, from the facts...
MARTIN: A.J.
HAMMER: Excuse me one second, Roland.
Mark, from the facts as we know them, are you hearing it all from your listeners, who perhaps are more on the right, that they are not being partisan and, in fact, looking for indictments to be handed down to Karl Rove?
DAVIS: No, I -- I quite frankly don`t hear a lot of anticipatory scorn for Pat Fitzgerald.
I was interested to hear Chuck Schumer this past weekend with a lot of praise for Fitzgerald. He`s a prosecutor`s prosecutor. I confess, it made me wonder if Charlie Schumer knows that indictments are coming, indictments that he would obviously love.
HAMMER: Well, Roland, let me -- let me ask you just about reflections on President Bush, because obviously this has a reflection on him and it has a reflection on his White House, and his administration. What are your listeners saying as far as their opinions of Mr. Bush and have they changed as a result of what`s going on with this particular probe?
MARTIN: Well, of course, a poll came out last week showing two percent of African-Americans have a low opinion or approval rating of President Bush, and so my listeners are not too particularly pleased with the president`s actions.
Again, he is going to be placed in a very difficult position. Because if they are indicted, folks are going to expect him to fire them. And if he keeps them on, then he`s going to have to defend why they still have their jobs. And so clearly the president is in a very tough situation.
But again, you know, if these guys did wrong, and I`m glad to hear Mark say it, they should go after them with every possible way they can, because that was wrong what they did, if they are indicted.
HAMMER: Mark, when we were talking about opinions of President Bush and whether this has swayed listeners one way or the other, you were smiling. I`m curious to know what your listeners are saying about their opinions right now?
DAVIS: It`s kind of funny, because I wondered as Roland properly said, what happens then, maybe one percent black approval for the president? Does he lose half his support in the black community? That`s a tough row to hoe.
Obviously here in the Texas, the president enjoys a good 70 to 75 percent of support. And I don`t think support of him goes down the toilet, but I think some people will shake their heads in disappointment that the people around him may not have served him so well.
Again, that is if the indictments come down. None of us knows anything yet. It might be tomorrow.
HAMMER: Roland, you want to chime in? Any last words from your listeners?
MARTIN: Sure. Yes. It will really hurt if Karl Rove is indicted. If Scooter Libby is indicted, he`s a little bit more removed, chief of staff to the vide president, but his role is a bit different perception as it relates to the president and the impact on President Bush.
HAMMER: Gentlemen, I thank you both for keeping your finger on the pulse on what America is talking about. It`s your job. And we`ll hear from you again. Roland Martin, Mark Davis, thanks for joining us here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
DAVIS: Thanks, A.J.
ANDERSON: Tonight, a very special birthday party that`s taking place in the morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are celebrating 30 years of "GMA"! We want to say and we want to say "Good morning, America!"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are celebrating 30 years of "GMA"! We want to say and we want to say "Good morning, America!"
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are celebrating 30 years of "GMA"! We want to say and we want to say "Good morning, America!"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: ABC`s "GMA" celebrating 30 years on the air. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer was right there in New York last night for the actual party, as the show`s anchors reflected on their not-so-routine mornings and teh changing face of what`s actually news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES GIBSON, CO-ANCHOR, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": The alarm clock is a jealous mistress. And something that wakes you up every day at a time that you don`t want to get up becomes difficult. But it is a joy to do this broadcast. It`s a joy to be part of people`s lives. You just become -- you come to them in their most vulnerable and most unguarded moments, and so they accept you as a friend.
DIANE SAWYER, CO-HOST, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": I think they`re most desirous of information. I think the definitions of hard, soft, feature are changing and merging in a lot of ways, but information, facts, absolutely, that`s a constant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The network morning news battle has really heated up recently. "The Today Show" has been No. 1 for 10 years straight. But "Good Morning America" has closed the gap to as little as 150,000 viewers.
HAMMER: But on the other side of the day, will the "CBS Evening News" eventually look like "Sports Center"? We`re going to explain what that`s all about. It`s a big change for CBS. That`s coming up.
ANDERSON: Plus, what will make you say "wow" about your cell phone five years from now? We`ll take a look at the crystal ball, when our series, "Extreme Cell Phones" continues. That`s coming up.
HAMMER: And, we`re off to see the wizard. And with new remastered DVDs, it is more wonderful than ever. That`s in the "SHOWBIZ Guide," and tigers and bears, oh my!
ANDERSON: That was great, A.J., but first a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT birthday shout-out, where we give fans a chance to wish their favorite stars a happy birthday.
Tonight, a birthday shout-out to New York Senator and wife of former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton. She`s celebrating her 58th today.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, I`m Brooke Anderson.
Time now for the "SHOWBIZ Guide," where throughout the week, we help you decide where to spend your dollars on movies, music, DVD`s and more. Tonight, Hollywood`s famous yellow brick road is getting a little bit brighter, thanks to some new technology. A new DVD of "The Wizard of Oz" is out.
Joining us live to take us through the new and improved land of Oz, Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com.
Welcome, Gitesh.
GITESH PANDYA, EDITOR, BOXOFFICEGURU.COM: Thanks, good to be here.
ANDERSON: All right. Literally, the yellow brick road is getting brighter. It`s due to a new technology, a new process called ultra-ultra- restoration. Specifically, in addition to brightening, what else is taking place here?
PANDYA: Right. Well, actually the original negative of "The Wizard of Oz" is now able to be transferred onto this new DVD. What that means is that colors are brighter. The sound is also digitally remastered.
And you get to see the film the way that it was originally intended by the director over 60 years ago. So it`s a new type of technology that Warner Home Video has which they will probably use with other films coming up, but it`s a greater clarity that viewers and fans get to see now.
ANDERSON: Yes. Well, we`re watching extremely clear and vibrant. And this collector`s set loaded with extras and bonus features, a few documentaries, short films. What are we going to see here, in a nutshell?
PANDYA: Well, what we love about DVDs are the bonus features, so you have four brand-new documentaries on disk No. 2, not only looking at the behind the scenes and the making of the film, but also the legacy that it had in today`s pop culture.
You also have an Emmy nominated documentary hosted by Angela Lansbury. Now viewers might remember that from a few years back when it aired on TV. You now can own that on the second disc of this DVD.
There`s also extra things on disc three, on the collector`s edition, where you have more documentaries. Also you have a silent film version of "The Wizard of Oz" that was made over 10 years before the movie that we know and love, plus a souvenir program from the original premiere in 1939.
ANDERSON: Interesting. "Wizard of Oz" in silence.
OK. And now for the "Wizard of Oz" hard-core fan, is this the ultimate? Throw out that other DVD you`ve got and replace it with this one?
PANDYA: Absolutely. If you`re the type of person who looks on eBay for every kind of "Wizard of Oz" merchandise that there is, you want to get the three-disc collector`s edition. If you`re just a casual fan, then go for the two-disc edition. But again, spring the extra $10 for the three- disc edition for the hard-core fans.
ANDERSON: You`ve got some options out there. Gitesh Pandya, thank you so much.
PANDYA: Thank you.
ANDERSON: "The Wizard of Oz" two-disc special edition, and the three- disc collector`s edition are both in stores now.
HAMMER: Well, Bob Harper is the guy who helps the people on "The Big Loser (sic)" get smaller. We`re going to get some training tips from Bob, coming up.
ANDERSON: Plus, first the steroid scandal. Now the milk scandal? We`ll tell you why Major League Baseball got irked over the new "got milk?" campaign.
HAMMER: And it`s the call of the wild, and it`s just getting wilder all the time. We`re going to find out where cell phone technology will take us next and the amazing things that you`re going to have on your phone ahead in our special series, "Extreme Cell Phones."
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CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in a minute. Hello, everyone. I`m Catherine Callaway with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Two days after Hurricane Wilma punished Florida, long lines continue just to get basic supplies, like gasoline, ice and water. A third of that state is still without power.
Wal-Mart is taking fire for an internal memo on ways to cut spending on employee health care. It suggests recruiting a healthier workforce and hiring part-time workers. Wal-Mart says its benefits are generous.
And a woman whose stomach was cut open in an alleged attempt to steal her unborn baby has given the baby up for adoption. The mother had arranged to give up the baby before the attack.
Meet Gibson. This three-year-old Harlequin Great Dane is the tallest dog in the world. He stands more than seven feet tall when upright, and gallops into next year`s "Guinness Book of World Records." That`s a big dog.
That`s the news for now. I`m Catherine Callaway. Back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 31 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And you`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
Now, A.J., there`s a new "Got Milk?" commercial out there that has caused some folks to turn a little bit sour, so to speak. When I saw it, I thought it was pretty clever, but Major League Baseball doesn`t think it`s clever or funny, to say the least.
It`s a parody of the recent baseball steroid scandal. It talks about milk like it`s a powerful performance-enhancing drug. And coming up, we`re going to get CNN`s Jeanne Moos` unique take on this milky controversy.
HAMMER: Love that Jeanne Moos. Looking forward to that, coming up.
Also, Brooke, last night, I had the chance to finally to watch "The Biggest Loser" television program. It is unlike any other reality show. One of the really great things about this particular program is the fact that everybody`s a winner. They`re losers, but they`re winners. It`s really cool.
Bob Harper, who`s a trainer to the stars, is also a trainer on that show. We`re going to talk to Bob about why people are so into this type of programming on TV.
ANDERSON: You really get wrapped up into their stories.
HAMMER: Yes. Really some great drama going on there. That`s coming up.
ANDERSON: Absolutely.
All right, A.J. But first, let`s get tonight`s "Hot Headlines." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas joins us again live here in Hollywood.
Hey, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Brooke.
Well, tonight, one group is calling for change from 50 Cent. Activists in Los Angeles say that the billboards for the rap star`s upcoming movie, "Get Rich or Die Trying," promote gun violence. The ads show 50 holding a gun one hand a microphone in another.
Just a short time ago, though, Paramount told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that it will be taking some of them down.
Tonight, a split on Wisteria Lane. Nicollette Sheridan and her fiance have called it quits. In a statement released today to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT by her publicist, Sheridan, who plays Edie on the hit ABC TV show "Desperate Housewives," says she and Niklas Soderblom have split after a year and a half.
And tonight, you`ll soon be able to order your Vente Caramel Frappuccino with a shot of Rolling Stones. Starbucks and Virgin Records are releasing a CD of rare Stones` tunes, including b-sides and remixes. "Rarities 1971-2003" will be out in stores on November 22nd.
And those are your tonight`s "Hot Headlines." Brooke, back to you. I`ll take some Stones in my latte anytime.
ANDERSON: A little music from the coffee. That`s right. Sibila Vargas, thank you.
And besides the Rolling Stones, we told you earlier about Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, about others putting their music in Starbucks. So we`re asking you in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." CDs in Starbucks: Are rock icons selling out?
Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight. Write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e-mails are coming up at 55 past the hour.
HAMMER: Tonight, another major shakeup at CBS News in the wake of the Dan Rather-George Bush Memogate scandal, and it is a shocker. The head of news is out; the head of sports is in.
CBS said today that news president Andrew Heyward is being replaced by the president of CBS Sports, Sean McManus. He`s also going to keep his sports job.
CBS News has been rocked, of course, ever since that controversy over the "60 Minutes Wednesday" report that President Bush allegedly got special treatment to get out of the National Guard when he was younger. Well, the fallout that followed included Dan Rather leaving the CBS News anchor chair, of course.
And joining us live tonight in Pittsburgh to talk about all this, Jeff Alan. Jeff is the author of "Anchoring America," and he`s also the news director of WPGH Televisions.
Also live, here in New York, John Higgins, the business editor of "Broadcasting and Cable" magazine.
Gentlemen, thank you both for joining us. And I want to start with you, John. Certainly no surprise here that Heyward was going to be replaced, but what a surprise that he`s being replaced not only by a sports guy, but this is a sports guy with no news experience. Are they nuts?
JOHN HIGGINS, "BROADCASTING AND CABLE": Well, no sports guys have much news experience. You know, they`re looking at this as, you know, TV production. And this is a guy who`s put on, you know, TV shows, live every Sunday, every NFL game. And he can process a lot of what goes on at CBS News kind of through that experience.
The big question is, what happens when the big, hot Pentagon leak comes CBS` way, and a reporter, you know, kicks it up the line, and he`s got to decide what to do?
HAMMER: And that seems to be exactly the point. Jeff, let me let you get in here, because here`s a guy who, you know, through basic television programming knowledge, you know, can certainly get a show on the air, but this is the "CBS Evening News" and CBS News at large that we`re talking about.
JEFF ALAN, AUTHOR, "ANCHORING AMERICA": You know, you go back to Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America. Well, viewers want trust. And I think what they`re going to get now is spice, OK?
It`s a really big difference between the old days and new days. Now the challenge is making the money, getting them out of the ratings hole that they`ve dug and what have you.
And I`ve got to tell you, the writing was on the wall for Andy Heyward. I mean, he was unable to do it, as far as the accountants and the execs in the tower were concerned at CBS, so they want to try something new.
You might remember, Rune Arledge was the president of ABC Sports before they brought him over to ABC News. And he ran ABC News for a while.
HAMMER: And, of course, Rune Arledge not the only one. Jim Bell, currently running "The Today Show," also comes from a sports background.
So what do you think, John? What do you think these guys have in common? What`s the thread that they can bring to the news programs to make them better that they`re bring from their sports backgrounds?
HIGGINS: Look, the threat is, is that it`s all television. And at its base, you know, sports is some of the most popular stuff on TV. And these guys know how to make programming that`s appealing to a certain kind of person in a place where people expect action.
You know, they can make things engaging that are, you know, pretty routine. If you`ve ever seen, you know, the fourth quarter of a losing basketball game, it`s pretty hard to do.
So, you know, that`s what these guys have. It`s television first and foremost. And then how do you make it news?
You can hire good, solid news executives to help you with the tough news decisions that you don`t have any background in, but if you`re no good at television, you`re going to put on boring television no matter who you are.
HAMMER: And certainly, he`s going to need to do what he can to bring things to the future.
Jeff, I have about 30 seconds here. We`ve talked about this a great deal, a lot of change with the network anchors leaving over the past year, the change in "Nightline" on ABC, so are the TV news programs we`re used to on the broadcast networks every night gone forever?
ALAN: I don`t know that they`re gone, but they`re going to change, because -- my big fear as a journalist is these things are going to sway way, way over to the entertainment side, like the movie "Network," and Patty Chayefski`s work there, that he wrote a really good piece about that.
But I`ve got to tell you, if you swing too far over to entertainment, you`re going to lose the journalistic quality. And I wouldn`t be surprised, A.J., if one day CNN ended up producing the nightly news on CBS, believe it or not.
HAMMER: It`s all in the family. Well, Jeff Alan, thank you very much for joining us tonight. Jeff, the author "Anchoring in America." And John Higgins, the business editor of "Broadcasting and Cable" magazine. We appreciate you being with us.
HIGGINS: Thanks.
ALAN: Thanks.
ANDERSON: Tonight, as the Chicago White Sox look to close out the 2005 World Series, there`s a controversy brewing off the field. If you`ve been watching the games, chances are you`ve seen a commercial where milk meets steroids. And it`s got baseball crying foul. Here`s CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It figures someone would try to milk the subject of steroids. And who better than the folks famous for saying...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got milk?
MOOS: "Got Milk" has injected steroids into five new commercials launched during the baseball playoffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homerun hitter Dave Laden was pulled from last night`s line-up after testing positive for performance-enhancing substance. The substance, said to help rebuild muscles and maintain bone strength, was found in the hitter`s locker before game time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know how that got in there.
MOOS: The ad agency was careful not to use real uniforms or real names in its parody commercials. Here, the guilty verb isn`t "inject," it`s "pour."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This stuff is everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you pour?
MOOS: The ad agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, says that, to prepare, its creative people viewed news clips from the real steroid scandal.
JOSE CANSECO, FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER: I injected him. And at the same time showed him the injection site...
MOOS: From the real steroid user, Jose Canseco, to the parody...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, you claim to have introduced homerun hitter Javier Castillo to the substance, and that you would privately pour for him before games?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would pour for me, too.
MOOS: From the real Orioles first-baseman Rafael Palmeiro...
RAFAEL PALMEIRO, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER: I`ve never intentionally used steroids, never, ever.
MOOS: ... to the parody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, I never know when I used that stuff, all right?
MOOS: But when it comes to the "Got Milk" ads, Major League Baseball is lactose-intolerant, saying there is nothing humorous about steroid abuse, to which the ad agency said, "It`s not about steroid abuse, it`s about milk."
Milk and baseball have had previous run-ins.
(on-screen): Got milk? Got sick. A few months back, Dodgers Pitcher Brad Penny bet a Florida Marlins batboy $500 that he couldn`t drink a gallon of milk in less than an hour without getting sick. Not only did the batboy fail, but the Marlins suspended the batboy for six games for accepting the dare.
(voice-over): The batboy ended up on "Letterman," while the pitcher who made the bet complained, "It`s kind of ridiculous that you get a ten- game suspension for steroids and a six-game suspension for milk."
Good old milk, as this carton proclaims, fat-free, from real cows. Are we to infer some milk comes from fake cows? If Jose Canseco can write a book on steroid use called "Juiced," what`s next, "Milked"?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN`s Jeanne Moos reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And coming up, he`s gotten both winners and losers in shape. He`s the trainer on the NBC hit show "The Biggest Loser." And tonight, he reveals his secret tips for staying slim. Bob Harper, next.
HAMMER: Also, our special series, "Extreme Cell Phones." Even if you aren`t a techie, you`re not going to want to miss this. The hottest new features for your cell phone, right now, and the cool stuff that is yet to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
Tonight, a "Showbiz Sitdown" with Bob Harper. Now, you might not recognize his name right away, but you probably know his face. He`s the guy behind such famous bodies as Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, even Ellen DeGeneres.
For the past two seasons, he has successfully trained and trimmed contestants on the NBC reality show "The Biggest Loser." I had the chance to ask Bob about the extreme weight loss in Hollywood, gastric bypass surgery, and asked for one big tip we can all use to keep fit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So your show is wildly popular. When I mentioned to people that you were coming on, they were, like, "Oh, I love this show," and not just people who are overweight or have weight to lose, but my skinny friends, people who are very, you know, much into health.
Why do you suppose it is that people are so interested in seeing other people losing weight on television?
BOB HARPER, CELEBRITY TRAINER: I think people are obsessed with weight loss, people that need to lose a few pounds or people that need to lose 100 pounds. They want to see how everyone`s doing it.
And when they tune in to our show, they see people that are their mother, or their sister, or their brother, or themselves. And they can relate. And it`s kind of like we`re all in the same boat kind of a thing.
HAMMER: So it`s not necessarily, you know, the idea that, in America, we sometimes like to see people who aren`t doing so well?
HARPER: Well, I know that there`s definitely that side, but I think people are much more inspired. And we come from a place of inspiration on the show, I feel. And I think that they`re -- they`re almost get to where they`re rooting for them. "Come on, you can lose those couple more pounds. You can do it."
HAMMER: And you guys did have such great success stories on your show. And you yourself have worked with some big-time Hollywood stars, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ellen DeGeneres, Ben Stiller among them. We see stars very often having to go through these major weight fluctuations for various roles. Christian Bale comes to mind for "The Machinist."
Are they just doing damage to their body?
HARPER: I feel like -- personally, if you`re asking me, yes, I feel like they`re doing damage to their body. I mean, when you`re dealing with actors, you`re dealing with a whole other breed.
Their body is their livelihood. And when you get an actor like Christian Bale, who`s very serious about his profession, he`s going to take that character as far as he can, or however the director or however he sees that character or how he should be looking.
And I just think that they just need to be really careful what they`re doing to their body.
HAMMER: And they do it in a relatively short amount of time, from what I understand. Do you have clients who, in fact, come to you, celebrity or otherwise, saying, "Well, that guy did it for that role in such a short amount of time, lost all that weight. Can`t I do the same thing?"
HARPER: I especially get people saying, "I want to lose all this weight for my wedding, and I have a class reunion to get to." I really try to get them to look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is, you`ve got to look past that wedding dress, because your life`s still ahead of you.
And don`t be so focused on that one goal, when you need to be worried about everything else that`s going on.
HAMMER: Right. And I know you also focus a lot on not just the body but the mind and everything that`s behind it, which is obviously a huge issue with weight loss and when you`re just trying to get involved with a program.
The other thing -- and we were dealing with it on this program recently -- is the quick fixes, like the surgeries. A lot of celebrities, we`re seeing them now, going through that. Do you think they`re setting a bad example with the gastric bypass, in terms of, you know, just that quick weight-loss fix?
HARPER: It saddens me to hear about this. Because it`s -- to me, it`s crazy to think that, if I`ve got to lose weight, I`m going to go to a doctor and have him cut my stomach out.
I understand that -- it`s easy for me to sit here, who`s not morbidly obese and have that situation, but I deal with people that are morbidly obese all the time now. And it`s just about them realizing that, no matter how much they have to lose, that they can get charge of their lives.
Because it`s one thing to really get all the weight off. It`s another thing to really change your life.
HAMMER: Well, you have a lot of great suggestions in this book. It`s a cool book, because it`s not just a diet book. It`s not just an exercise book. You have the success stories from your show, as well as, you know, diet tips and exercise tips.
What`s your single biggest tip you would give the average person trying to lose weight?
HARPER: Start a food journal. You`ve got to see what calories are going in and then the energy`s going out. You`ve got to create that deficit, and then you will lose the weight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You can catch Bob on "The Biggest Loser." It`s on Tuesday nights on NBC.
ANDERSON: Love that show.
OK, tonight, our special series, "Extreme Cell Phones." From video games to TV, cell phones are becoming a one-stop entertainment center.
And tonight, we`ve got the inside scoop on what must-have technology is out there for your cell phone. And joining us live from Hollywood, Xeni Jardin from Boingboing.net, a technology web site, and Leo LaPorte, author of the "2006 Gadget Guide," live tonight in San Francisco.
Welcome to you both.
LEO LAPORTE, TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: Hi.
ANDERSON: Hi there.
OK, Leo, I want to start with you. You brought along this cell phone with you that has converged a number of really neat features. Tell us about it.
LAPORTE: Yes. This is a kind of need cell phone. It`s from Verizon. It`s the 9800, the LG. It looks like a camera, right? I turn it around, it looks like a phone. I open it up, it looks like a laptop, and it`s got video.
I mean, this thing is all-in-one. I mean, if you look at it, it`s really kind of aimed at the business market, but you an actually play back -- here I`m playing back some CNN content.
ANDERSON: That is really cool.
LAPORTE: This is live off the air. Yes, isn`t that great?
ANDERSON: How much does that cost, very quickly?
LAPORTE: Well, you know, with cell phones, you never talk about the actual price. If you sign up for a two-year deal, it`s about $299, but you have to make a contract, right?
ANDERSON: Well, that`s great, but really it`s nothing compared to what Asia is doing right now. Xeni, specifically, what does Asia have, in terms of cool cell phones, that the U.S. hasn`t quite caught onto?
XENI JARDIN, BOINGBOING.NET EDITOR: Well, part of what they have are amazing devices. But then part of what they have also are networks that are more mature. They`ve been established longer, and they have higher- speed data access available.
And that`s what all this video stuff is all about. You have to have fat pipes so that you can download all this great video, and music, and all of this other rich content quickly.
ANDERSON: And also, Xeni, for years, decades, we`ve been hearing about the videophone where we can talk to someone, see them at the same time. Is that going to happen?
JARDIN: Well, again, it depends on how quickly we can get reliable network service. I mean, here in L.A., I drive around all the time and voice calls are dropped or instant messaging sessions are dropped. It would be really a drag to have a video file drop halfway through and then you kind of miss the most fun.
ANDERSON: And, Leo, we spoke -- or you told us earlier before the show that most cell phones have GPS capabilities, GPS, the location-finding technique or technology. How is that going to evolve and turn into something that`s user-friendly and really an amazing technique for cell phone users?
LAPORTE: This is something the FCC required. They call it "E-911." You know, when you call 911 from your home, they know where you are, but where are you when you have a cell phone?
So they said they have to have location-finding capability built in. They have for about a year now. But nobody knows it, nobody uses it. We`re starting to see applications where you`ll call a subscription service, say, "I want directions to this place," the phone will tell you how to get there as you go. It knows where you are.
ANDERSON: Well, I think I need to learn how to use that.
LAPORTE: It`s pretty cool.
ANDERSON: And very important question here. Cell phone technology is evolving, is improving -- Xeni, I`ll address this one to you -- but the batteries are not. They die so quickly. Why is that?
JARDIN: That`s so frustrating. And it`s even more so when you`re playing music, playing games, that kind of thing.
But there`s technology on the way that could solve that problem. Toshiba announced last week that they`re going to start making fuel cells. So this is a high-tech way of producing energy, where you combine hydrogen and oxygen, and it makes power.
Usually, we hear about that with space ships or cars. They`re going to be making these, starting in 2007, about the size of your finger. So you could just pour liquid into your cell phone and keep on talking or keep on watching CNN or whatever it is you`re doing.
ANDERSON: Oh, wow. Still a couple years away, though, but we will look forward to it.
Xeni Jardin and Leo LaPorte, thank you both so much for your insight.
JARDIN: Thank you.
HAMMER: Still some time for you to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." We`re asking, CDs and Starbucks: Are rock icons selling out?
You can continue to vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight. You can also write to us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Coming up next, we`re going to read some of your e-mails live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Throughout the show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day," asking, CDs in Starbucks: Are rock icons selling out?
The vote so far tonight: 62 percent of you say, yes, they are selling out; 38 percent of you say, no, they are not.
Among the e-mails we`ve received, one from Gary in California who says, "Selling out? No. Expanding your distribution to put yourself in the spotlight? Yes."
Well said.
Also heard from Bethany. She`s in Alabama. She doesn`t like the Rolling Stones "Days of our Lives" hookup. "Premiering a music video on daytime television is completely ridiculous," she says.
You can continue to vote by logging on to CNN.com/showbiztonight.
ANDERSON: It`s time now to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. So, Marquee Guy, here you go. Take it away.
MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow, Patti LaBelle. The lady behind "Lady Marmalade" is part of an all-star jam called "Come Together Now." And she`s got stars, like Celine Dion, John Legend, and Sharon Stone at the mike with her. Come together now, well, not now, but tomorrow. And join Patti LaBelle on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, "Gloria, Gloria, we hear you`re writing a book now." I hate when they make the Marquee Guy sing. Gloria Estefan makes you to "get on your feet." Now she`s trying her hand at writing children`s books. Gloria Estefan congas her way to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, when? Tomorrow.
This is the Marquee Guy. And I just love a conga line, but if only A.J. and Brooke are in line with me.
HAMMER: OK. Good night, Marquee Guy.
ANDERSON: And he`s not the only one who hates it when he sings, right?
HAMMER: That is also true. That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson. Please stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
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