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Showbiz Tonight
Controversy Pays off at Golden Globes; Former Weather Channel Anchor Sues Network; iPod Boosts Ratings for "The Office"
Aired January 17, 2006 - 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.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And I`m Brooke Anderson. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, it was a golden night, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was the only entertainment news show live at the Golden Globes.
REESE WITHERSPOON, ACTRESS: I`ve been shaking and sweating and shaking and sweating more.
HAMMER: Tonight, how risky business pays off big-time. Hollywood rolls the dice on gay cowboys and transsexuals, and scores Globe gold. But will controversy at the Globes translate into Oscar gold? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates.
Plus, who had the designer duds to die for? A no-holds barred look at the red carpet fashion fabulous and flops, live.
Also, the painful pursuit of perfection. Tonight, the remarkable story of one woman`s battle with obsessive compulsive disorder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s like a record of the same song playing over and over again in your head.
HAMMER: It`s the heart-wrenching special report you`ll see tonight, only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
KATE BECKINSALE, ACTRESS: Hi. I`m Kate Beckinsale. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Hello, I`m Brooke Anderson, live in Hollywood.
HAMMER: And I`m A.J. Hammer, live in New York City.
Right now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is your one-stop shop for the Golden Globes post-game highlights. We`re going to tell you what everyone`s talking about, from all the fashion hits and misses, to what`s next at the Oscars.
ANDERSON: But first, taking risks and taking home the gold. Hollywood made a number of risky and controversial movies last season, and now it is paying off. The Globes were given to the most controversial films. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been on top of the trend, where risky business took center stage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: The Golden Globe goes to Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Truman."
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: "Brokeback Mountain."
NATALIE PORTMAN, ACTRESS: George Clooney, "Syriana."
ANDERSON: This season, Hollywood took big risks with ground-breaking films on controversial subjects. And Monday night, those risks were rewarded at the Golden Globe awards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To feel like this, just like this always.
ANDERSON: "Brokeback Mountain," the story of two cowboys caught in a forbidden love, ruled the night, winning four Golden Globes. Ang Lee, who won best director, says his film shows progress.
ANG LEE, DIRECTOR: The gay community, they are a part of human experiences. Whether you disagree or agree with the movie, embrace it or are being provoked, any which way, I think it`s open for discussion, and I think it`s a good step forward.
ANDERSON: Also making strides, "Transamerica." Felicity Huffman got the best actress trophy for her role portraying a man living as a woman about to undergo sexual reassignment surgery when she learns she has fathered a son.
Accepting her award, Felicity Huffman took a stance, speaking out in support of the transgender community.
FELICITY HUFFMAN, ACTRESS: I would like to support the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins.
ANDERSON: Philip Seymour Hoffman, who picked up best actor for his portrayal of gay writer Truman Capote, says this acknowledgment is proof that the way Hollywood and audiences are viewing cinema is changing.
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, ACTOR: Films that maybe in the past might not have been embraced, this many at one time are. And that`s positive. That`s a positive thing.
ANDERSON: The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation was quick to applaud the winners, telling SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Hollywood is no longer afraid to take a chance.
NEIL GUILIANO, PRESIDENT, GLAAD: I believe that it`s historic in the sense that 46 percent of the awards last night, 11 out of 24 categories, were involved with a film that -- or a show that had to do with a lesbian, gay, transsexual, transgender, either actor, or story line or character. That`s significant.
ANDERSON: Also significant, political controversy. In a time of war, a politically-charged movie like "Syriana," about government corruption and the oil industry, paid off. George Clooney, who won best supporting actor for the film, says he hopes more movies like "Syriana" get made.
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: Anything that can help the film I think is important. These aren`t easy films to get made.
ANDERSON: But now, many are getting made. This season, Hollywood is taking multi-million dollar risks. It was the talk of the red carpet, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was on top of the trend. Nominee Maria Bello sees a pattern.
MARIA BELLO, ACTRESS: I think there is a trend in Hollywood, especially starting this year, that people are recognizing films that have a point of view.
ANDERSON: "Prison Break`s" Dominic Purcell applauds Hollywood`s latest direction.
DOMINIC PURCELL, ACTOR: I think it`s really cool that Hollywood is taking a stand on that kind of stuff.
ANDERSON: But Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie wasn`t buying it.
HUGH LAURIE, ACTOR: A lot of it has just to do with chance.
ANDERSON: backstage, Rachel Weisz, who won best supporting actress for "The Constant Gardener," was on board.
RACHEL WEISZ, ACTRESS: There`s some very political films around and I think that -- I think some people are saying that there`s kind of an almost a `70s revival right now. I think it`s -- I think it`s a good trend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: But will the trend continue? Oscar nominations are coming out at the end of the month, and many people are wondering if these high- risk films with potential for Oscar gold will now become mainstream.
So did the Hollywood Foreign Press Association get it right? We want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Golden Globe winners: do you think the right ones were picked? Go to CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Send us an e-mail at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We will read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
HAMMER: Well, tonight, former "Star Trek" star William Shatner may have truly gone where no man has gone before. Shatner has just revealed he sold his kidney stone for $25,000 to an online casino and Shatner, the Emmy-winning star of "Boston Legal," is doing it for charity.
Live tonight on the phone for a "SHOWBIZ Newsmaker" interview, William Shatner.
Bill, I appreciate you being with us tonight. I have to admit, this is a first for me. Why the heck did you do this?
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: Well, I did it because I was able to raise some money for a great charity, Habitat for Humanity. They`re building homes for the homeless all over the country but especially in the south, where there is so much need. And you know, I`d used the stone for awhile. I didn`t need it any longer.
HAMMER: And does it come with a plaque of authenticity signed by you and everything?
SHATNER: No, there`s a little blood but if you do DNA on it, I`m sure it`s mine. It comes with a stent, and GoldenPalace.com bought it, and made a check out for Habitat for Humanity.
We had -- the cast of "Boston Legal" had earlier for Christmas, had earlier donated $20,000. We had gathered $20,000 for the cast members for Habitat for Humanity. So we had about a quarter of the house, and now, we have in conjunction with GoldenPalace.com, half a house, and I`m working on getting the other half in some manner or other.
And then we`ll adopt that house. We`ll get pictures of its progression as it`s being built, as it`s being erected and as it`s being lived in. So it`s a -- it`s a really neat cause.
HAMMER: It`s all for a good cause. And it`s so great that you did it. Twenty-five thousand dollars, certainly nothing to sneeze at. How do you arrive at that sum?
SHATNER: If you sneezed -- if you sneezed at it we might be able to sell that, too.
HAMMER: Well, you know, before long, somebody may actually clone you from whatever they`re able to get off that kidney stone. But how do you arrive at a price of $25,000?
SHATNER: Well, you take what they are offering and double it.
HAMMER: Is that basically what happened here?
SHATNER: About what happened.
HAMMER: Well, William Shatner, you -- I think we can coin a new phrase that charity is only a kidney stone`s throw away.
SHATNER: That`s funny. Or you`re Bill-ding a house.
HAMMER: Very nice. Well, we appreciate what you`re doing for Habitat for Humanity. William Shatner, thanks for joining us on the phone.
SHATNER: Thank you for having me.
HAMMER: And of course, "Boston Legal" airs tonight on ABC. And you can find Habitat for Humanity on the Web at HabitForHumanity.org.
Well, tonight, a storm is brewing behind the scenes at the Weather Channel. A former on-air forecaster for the channel is suing her old bosses. She says that they fired her so that they could replace her with younger and prettier faces.
Marny Stanier Midkiff was 41 when she was dismissed back in 2003 after 16 years at the channel. She`s citing a memo from a network official, who allegedly said that viewers called the network`s anchorwomen matronly, dowdy and old.
The Weather Channel says the claims are a whole lot of hot air. But the case is making its way through federal court.
Attorney Lida Rodriguez-Taseff joins us live from Miami to give us the lowdown on this quite fascinating issue.
Thanks for joining us, Lida.
LIDA RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF, ATTORNEY: No problem. Glad to be here.
HAMMER: So this is a very interesting idea, because we`re talking about appearance. If, let`s say, you`re a television producer or TV executive, you know that your viewers like the talent on TV that they`re watching to look a certain way, perhaps to look young. What`s wrong with making sure your on-air staff reveals what you believe your viewers want to see?
RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: And indeed, you`re making the point that the Weather Channel is making, which is they`re allowed to pick the appearance of their people and that they actually can and that the law permits them to discriminate based on how somebody looks. They can look sexy. They want a sexy look. They want a happy look, they can do it.
But the argument here is, wait a second. You weren`t really going after how somebody looks. You were going after age. You wanted to young up your forecast so that you could get hotter and hotter-looking forecasters so that you could get more ratings. And that what this is really about is a no-no, which is age discrimination. You didn`t want women over 40; you didn`t want men over 40. You wanted a young forecast crew.
HAMMER: And this is something that we seem to hear about quite often, age discrimination, but it would seem that it`s fairly hard to prove, particularly in the entertainment industry, particularly when the employers can fall back on "Hey, you just don`t look the part." So how can anybody possibly win a case?
RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Well, it has happened. You`re right, it is very, very difficult in an industry that makes all its money on looks and appearance to win these kinds of cases. But it happened in 1983, with a woman named Christine Craft, who won half a million dollars from ABC affiliate in Kansas City, because they said a focus group showed that she was too old.
But you know, you see it every day. They`re very, very hard claims to prove. There`s a very thin line between appearance and age. And the networks and television exploit that thin line so that they can always make that argument, "We just want you to be prettier and hotter."
HAMMER: And no doubt the Craft case is something they may be choosing to use as a precedent.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contacted the Weather Channel. They gave us the following statement. They said that Ms. Midkiff was a supervisory employee whose position was eliminated in 2003, part of a reduction in force. No merit to her claims of discrimination.
So real quickly, Lida, put on your forecaster`s hat. I want to know what the odds are that her lawsuit will actually succeed?
RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Snowball`s chance in a very hot summer day. The temperatures really have to cool for this one to succeed.
HAMMER: We just need to get that little map up behind you. Lida, thanks very much for joining us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Any time.
ANDERSON: Coming up, a woman`s painful struggle with a debilitating illness, one that causes her to take hours to do simple tasks. A special report.
HAMMER: And, this duo could win the award for the oddest couple. Tonight, the amazing tale of a tortoise-loving hippo. But will this feel- good friendship story have a happy ending? Find out, coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Plus, Hollywood`s award season is off and running. So what`s next for the Golden Globe winners? And do they really have a better chance of snagging Oscar gold? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is live with a panel of entertainment experts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR: Who would ever have thought that -- I will pay. I will pay. Who would ever have thought that I would win in the comedy or musical category? You don`t expect it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York, and you`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
Well, tonight, the Golden Globes may be over, but the race for Oscar gold is just beginning. After their big ones last night, the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line" positioned to go head for head -- head to head with the gay cowboy romance, "Brokeback Mountain" at the Oscar awards.
In just days, academy members will submit their nomination ballots. So who will make the cut?
Joining me live in New York, "People" magazine film critic, Leah Rozen; Peter Travers from "Rolling Stone" magazine. Joining us live from Hollywood, we have Tom O`Neil from TheEnvelope.com.
And Tom, while you`re up on the screen, let me start with you. Of course, the Globes being done, Oscars are next. And everybody usually says it`s a good predictor for what will happen at the Oscars. Is that the case with what we saw last night? What do you think?
TOM O`NEIL, THEENVELOPE.COM: Well, this is a race we`ve never seen before, A.J. In a couple of weeks, the Oscar race is about to shut down for a month and then resume again.
A couple years ago when the Oscars moved into February in order to get better ratings, the Guild awards moved up into January. Well now, here come the winter Olympics next month, and the Oscars, to get out of the way of that, moved into March. We have this freak factor of one extra week between nominations and win. And remember the one year when "Chicago" almost lost the Oscar to "The Pianist," which had won director, picture -- I mean, had won director, actor and screenplay. And everyone said if there was one just more week, this race isn`t over.
HAMMER: I`m almost a little confused.
LEAH ROZEN, FILM CRITIC, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: I`m just hung up on the freak factor.
PETER TRAVERS, "ROLLING STONE": Freak factor.
ROZEN: There is a freak factor.
HAMMER: Leah, what`s your take, though, in terms of what we saw last night, having...
ROZEN: Last night I think you saw a fairly even, you know, one for you, one for you, one for you, one for you. I think it`s sort of the race in some ways got a little more bit -- more of a weight. There are more horses in there, although clearly, "Brokeback Mountain" is the leading horse.
TRAVERS: I didn`t see -- I saw it becoming more and more predictable. I saw "Brokeback" as best picture, best director, best screenplay. I was hoping something would jump in there. I know Tom out there has been hoping with me George Clooney would win a best director award just to spark things up a little.
ROZEN: The acting, they certainly passed them around to different films.
TRAVERS: They did. And Heath ledger didn`t win the Golden Globe, and Philip Seymour Hoffman did. But that`s still a race, I think.
O`NEIL: That`s where that month of February really counts.
HAMMER: Well, you know, the interesting thing, as I mentioned, is the Oscar nominations, the ballots have to all be in by this Saturday as they get set to announce the nominations on January 31. Now call me crazy or maybe I`m way off, but I have heard...
ROZEN: Crazy A.J.
HAMMER: I have heard that people actually look to the speeches that the award winners give at the Golden Globes in terms of perhaps deciding on what kind of votes they`re going to make. Let me throw this to Tom out there in Hollywood first -- Tom.
O`NEIL: Sure. When Jamie Foxx gave that tearful salute to his grandmother -- what was it -- last year, two years ago, he had the Oscar in the bag. And when Annette Bening bored us to tears, when she won for "Being Julia," she lost it. Globe -- those -- your time at the Globe podium is your audition for the Oscars.
HAMMER: What do you think about that? Is it a big audition?
ROZEN: Yes, it is. And it`s also a way of going I really, really want this. I really want you to like me. Look, I`ve shown up at the Globes. I will do whatever I have to do to get that Oscar gold."
TRAVERS: And also, it`s look what I wore. Look at how special I thought this occasion was. You know? Reese Witherspoon was really working it. She can be a little cool sometimes, but she had hubby there.
ROZEN: She was charming.
TRAVERS: She was pouring out the charm.
HAMMER: I may have to bring you back for the fashion panel a little later on.
TRAVERS: I think you might have to, because it`s growing more and more essential to women in the awards.
ROZEN: It was Chanel.
TRAVERS: Was it? I thought it was a Valentino.
ROZEN: She was wearing vintage Chanel.
HAMMER: OK, you guys. Take this -- take this backstage.
Controversial themes, never really something that Oscar warms up to. Golden Globes, well, they were all about it last night. We saw Felicity Huffman winning for playing a transsexual character in "Transamerica." We saw "Brokeback Mountain" with all the awards that it took home.
Is the academy going to be able to ignore some of the controversial films that, you know, we saw? Isn`t it a foregone conclusion, Tom, that "Brokeback Mountain" is going to be a big contender?
O`NEIL: Oh, yes. And it`s probably the front-runner. It -- the odds are stacked heavily in its favor.
And Philip Seymour Hoffman will probably win best actor. The big toss up is in the actress race between Felicity Huffman and Reese Witherspoon, but if Felicity wins two and those front-runners come through, we have the all-gay Oscars.
HAMMER: That`s a whole other thing.
ROZEN: A key here -- the key is to watch the SAG awards, which are coming up at the end of January, because the Screen Actors Guild votes. Actors make up the greatest component of the academy voters, so whoever gets the screen awards is a pretty good signal who`s going to get an Oscar.
TRAVERS: Yes, but controversy, per se, I mean, there`s really not too much of a threat in "Brokeback Mountain." A lot of my gay friends have always said, "Look, all these two guys from this movie are miserable." So as long as they`re miserable the academy can relate to them.
HAMMER: And a controversial subject but when it comes right down to it, a love story.
ROZEN: Exactly.
TRAVERS: And "Good Night and Good Luck" is the same thing. It`s controversial about its criticism of television, but hey, that was 50 years ago, so they can embrace it.
A movie like "Crash," which I think is going to jump in to this Academy Award race, is really controversial. And right now, and it`s also Los Angeles and racism. I`m hoping for that because you know me, I like excitement in these races.
HAMMER: All right. Tom, I have five seconds for you to answer this question. Best moment for you last night?
O`NEIL: I loved Hugh Laurie`s acceptance speech, where he`s pulling out three -- three different ones randomly from his pocket. I thought that was hilarious.
HAMMER: It was a good moment. And you had said last week you were hoping they would bar mitzvah up the Golden Globes. You can`t beat Uncle Harrison Ford up there.
O`NEIL: With the drink in his hand. I was happy to see that.
HAMMER: Leah Rozen, Peter Travers and --- I call you Peter. It`s very formal. Tom O`Neil out in Hollywood, thank you for joining us tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
We have a lot more of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s coverage of the Golden Globes coming up. Our fashion expert is going to dish on the duds that were worn on the red carpet. Stick around for that.
ANDERSON: OK. Remember all that talk about digital downloading destroying the entertainment business? Well, tonight, the stunning story of how your iPod is keeping some of your favorite shows on the air. That`s next.
HAMMER: Plus, how a hippo and a tortoise are teaching the world a very important life lesson of tolerance. It`s a story that is sure to make you smile. That`s coming up.
ANDERSON: Also, the inspirational story of a woman who`s fighting her way back from a devastating disorder, and it`s an illness Hollywood is no stranger to. A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It is time now for "The Show`s Biz," a look at the business side of entertainment. Tonight, what may be the beginning of a startling new trend, Video iPods affecting TV ratings.
Once upon a time people screamed, "I want my MTV." Remember that? But today it`s the chants of "I want my iPod video" that are making networks sit up and listen.
Last Thursday, NBC`s "The Office" delivered its highest ratings ever in the highly coveted 18-49-year-old demographic, a rating NBC partly credits to the wild popularity of "The Office" as an iPod download. So will this new technology boost ratings for network television?
Joining me live from San Francisco, Daisy Whitney, a writer for "Television Weekly." Daisy`s latest article focuses on this very topic.
Daisy, a wild success, "The Office" accounting for one-third of all the NBC shows that are being sold on iTunes. How much of the show`s success this season is because of iTunes? I mean, iPod, I`m sorry.
DAISY WHITNEY, WRITER, "TELEVISION WEEKLY": No, that`s OK. Thanks so much for having me here on the show.
I think that you can`t attribute all of the show`s success to iTunes, but what you have is a lot of young people are really getting into using the Video iPod. And that`s the demographic that fits really well with the show. So it makes sense that the folks that would be downloading "The Office" on iTunes would then, in turn, want to tune in and watch the show.
So I think it`s very reassuring for network executives, who have been worried about what could happen, what impact this might have.
ANDERSON: OK. Well, we`re not just talking about iPods here, Video iPods. Google just last week started posting video that you can download and buy, one in ten people own a DVR, the digital video recorder, the same thing as a TiVo. I know I don`t know what I would do without mine. But are the days of people rushing home to watch television at a certain time, appointment viewing, is it gone?
WHITNEY: I think it`s absolutely gone. I mean, it`s on its way out. You have a DVR. I have one, too. I can`t imagine actually having to watch a show when it`s on. I mean, it seems so foreign and ancient and such a throw-back.
And I think that networks are needing to figure out how to build up the specific shows they have rather than just focus on the ABC brand or the CBS brand or the FOX brand, per se.
ANDERSON: Do you think -- very quickly, the ratings system as we know it will be gone, because they`re done by appointment viewing?
WHITNEY: Well, that`s a big question. A lot of people in the television industry are trying to figure that out. I mean, ratings are definitely, definitely under siege right now. And I don`t think anybody has the answers to that yet.
But folks are really trying to figure out what sort of impact we`re going to see on traditional TV from all these new -- cool new ways of viewing TV, like video on demand...
ANDERSON: Right.
WHITNEY: ... and DVRs and iPod. And we`re just starting to see that data now. So I don`t think anybody has the answers yet, but they want to start to figure I can them out.
ANDERSON: OK. All right. Daisy Whitney, thank you so much for your insight. Daisy Whitney from "Television Weekly".
WHITNEY: Thank you.
HAMMER: It is a huge night for "American Idol." The show kicks off its brand-new season tonight. Some big news for a former "Idol" contestant coming up.
Also, imagine having to keep making your bed over and over again because you can`t stop yourself. This heart-wrenching story also on the way.
Plus, fashion hits and misses at the Golden Globes when SHOWBIZ TONIGHT returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 are watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
A.J., coming up, we are going to take a look at a woman who is struggling to overcome obsessive-compulsive disorder, her obsessive rituals that take her hours and hours to complete and what she`s doing about them. That`s coming up.
HAMMER: And, Brooke, of course, we have a fashion expert from the fashion industry who has been dissecting all of the pictures of all the pretty people who were out on the red carpet showing off their fashion last night. The hits and misses on the way, as well.
ANDERSON: All right. But first, here are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
And we`re going to start this off with a doozy. William Shatner has sold a kidney stone for $25,000. Shatner sold his kidney stone to an online casino called GoldenPalace.com, which collects strange things. The money is going to Habitat for Humanity. Earlier on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Shatner told us he was happy to help the cause and didn`t need the stone anyway.
All right, as "American Idol" kicks off its fifth season tonight, some news about an "Idol" alum. Diana DeGarmo is heading to Broadway. The 18- year-old former "Idol" contestant is joining the cast of "Hairspray" on February 7th.
"Brokeback Mountain" is picking up steam as we head to the Oscars. The film picked up four Golden Globes last night, including best picture and best director. Early numbers show about 18.7 million people tuned in to the Golden Globes telecast last night. That`s up about two million from last year when it was up against "Desperate Housewives."
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
And that is going to lead us again to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." We want to hear from you. Golden Globe winners: Do you think the right ones were picked? Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight, and write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your thoughts and e-mails are coming up at 55 past the hour.
HAMMER: "Desperate Housewives" was the Golden Globe pick for best TV comedy. One of its characters, Bree Van De Kamp, played by Marcia Cross, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Well, on the show, it`s a personality disorder used to darkly comic effect. But tonight, a showbiz special report about OCD in real life and its disruptive effects on people who suffer from it.
Here`s CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Folding laundry is such a simple task, but watch what happens when Shannon Fleishman tries to fold this shirt.
SHANNON FLEISHMAN, SUFFERS FROM SEVERE OCD: I really don`t want to touch that.
COHEN: She`s desperate to smooth the wrinkles that bother only her. She`s tortured that these sock seams don`t line up perfectly.
(on-screen): How anxious are you, on a scale from zero to 10?
FLEISHMAN: Ten.
COHEN (voice-over): These clothes look fine to the rest of us, but in Shannon`s mind, they`re a wrinkled, disorganized mess. And she wants more than anything...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Try not to touch them again.
COHEN: ... to make them look perfect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead and shut it.
COHEN: As painful as this is to watch, imagine how painful it is for Shannon, who has a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder called perfection obsession.
S. FLEISHMAN: A fear of making mistake, regardless of how little, how small or minute it might be.
COHEN (on-screen): So getting a load of dirty clothes off the floor would take three hours?
S. FLEISHMAN: Well, I only got three items in three hours.
COHEN (voice-over): Growing up, Shannon was an incredible kid. A popular girl, an A-plus student admired by her teachers, and a gifted athlete. She was the daughter every parent dreamed of.
LORI FLEISHMAN, SHANNON`S MOTHER: We were extremely proud of Shannon and her accomplishments.
S. FLEISHMAN: I`d spend six to eight hours a night on homework, because I would check everything and everything was done so thoroughly.
COHEN (on-screen): So it sounds like you were in some ways the perfect girl.
S. FLEISHMAN: I was like the golden child.
COHEN (voice-over): But as Shannon got older, there were signs of a problem.
L. FLEISHMAN: Setting her alarm for, like, 2:30, 3:00 in the morning to redo homework that was already done.
COHEN: Shannon graduated fourth in her class and was voted most likely to succeed. She won a softball scholarship to college.
S. FLEISHMAN: I have the expectations -- that`s like a 4.0, what I want to get, a 4.0.
COHEN: She couldn`t live up to that 4.0. And when she had her first taste of failure, she began to unravel. Her doctor prescribed an antidepressant.
S. FLEISHMAN: The medicine wasn`t helping. I remember telling him, "I think I have OCD." And he said, "No, you`re just a perfectionist."
COHEN: So much so that she stopped turning in assignments because she felt they weren`t perfect enough and she eventually flunked out of college.
S. FLEISHMAN: And it was a huge disappointment. And I was very ashamed and embarrassed.
COHEN: Her perfectionism because all-consuming.
L. FLEISHMAN: Things like taking care of groceries, she could go buy them but she`d get them home, she wasn`t able to get them in the cupboard. She couldn`t line up everything perfect enough. She couldn`t stop herself from ironing clothes. She literally burned her clothes.
COHEN: And she began what psychiatrists call obsessive-compulsive rituals, counting everything.
S. FLEISHMAN: I would brush my teeth in sets of eight. I would blow my nose in sets of eight. I would put makeup on in sets of eight. A number of times, I patted under my eyes in sets of eight, which I still do.
COHEN: These rituals took all day to complete and eventually took over her life.
S. FLEISHMAN: Sometimes I use the metaphor that it`s like a record, the same song, going over and over and over again in your head, you know, like you just can`t get rid of that obsession. It`s just always there.
COHEN: The breaking point? When Shannon`s parents got a long- distance call from one of her friends. Their daughter needed help. But when her mother, Lori, went to pick her up, even she wasn`t prepared for what she was about to see.
L. FLEISHMAN: When we pulled in that day, and I saw her the way she was, I just couldn`t believe it was her.
S. FLEISHMAN: I was voted most likely to succeed by my high school class. And now look at me.
L. FLEISHMAN: ): When you go from being on top of the world and able to do anything that your heart desires, to not being able to wash yourself or do a load of laundry, it`s pretty depressing.
COHEN: Shannon checked into McLean Hospital`s OCD Institute, a residential hospital dedicated to treating patients like her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let`s try to put a big wrinkle in the middle.
COHEN: She`s taking medication and getting intense behavioral therapy like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave the hair on it.
COHEN: It`s called exposure therapy.
S. FLEISHMAN: Just leave it how it is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Does that bother you?
S. FLEISHMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Then let`s leave it.
COHEN: And counselor Carol Heavy (ph) is helping Shannon to deal with her biggest fears...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop before the last tug.
S. FLEISHMAN: Alrighty. I can do this.
COHEN: ... by confronting them head-on.
S. FLEISHMAN: All right. I guess it`s done.
COHEN (on-screen): I saw her, she was folding something. And there really was a hair on it. Why not let her take the hair off of it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because she`d take off that hair, and then she`d see another piece of lint, and then she`d see another piece of lint, and she could potentially be taking off lint for hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is more and more evidence that it really is a brain disorder.
COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Michael Jenike is head of the OCD program at McLean and one of the nation`s top experts in the field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that we are actually looking at structure, we`re looking at function and trying to figure what`s going on.
COHEN: Brain scans show these areas of the brain control simple decision-making, like judging whether a shirt has wrinkles. In people with OCD, these areas are hyperactive, as shown by the red. When people with OCD try to make a simple decision, it keeps skipping, like that broken record.
So how do people get this brain disorder? Most of the time, no one knows. Some experts say there`s a genetic link. In some rare cases, it`s because of some damage to the brain. What doctors know for sure is that there`s almost never a cure, but treatment does help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cure is something we don`t generally expect. Probably over 70 percent of the ones that stayed in treatment and really worked hard are doing really good.
COHEN: Shannon is a gifted artist, and this expression helps her to find some answers. This one is of a road that starts out bleak, and on the road is a turtle. Shannon`s friends used to call her Turtle, because it took her so long to do everything.
S. FLEISHMAN: The road is lined with numbers, going from one to eight, that sort of fade away. The further down the road you get, the greener the grass is, the more -- you know, there`s a beautiful sunset. There`s so much more color and life.
COHEN: Shannon has been at McLean for a month and a half, and she`s halfway through her treatment.
(on-screen): Do you think you`ll ever come to feel that this bed is good enough, even with this wrinkle, even with that lint?
S. FLEISHMAN: Honestly, no. I think I can live with little wrinkles. I don`t think that my OCD will ever go away. I think that I can control it. Like maybe I can make my bed in five minutes, you know, would be great. This is going to be the toughest battle of my life that I`ll have to face. I can still succeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Fascinating. That was CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Tonight, new developments in the so-called honeymoon cruise ship mystery. George Smith was on his honeymoon when he vanished from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last summer. His wife and family believe he was murdered and they pointed fingers at the cruise line for trying to cover up the crime to protect its image. Now for the first time, Royal Caribbean`s president is speaking out to Oprah. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT obtained this sneak peek.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Adam Goldstein is the president of Royal Caribbean International. He has not spoken publicly about this case until today.
We`re glad to have you here. What did happen? Are you -- did you participate in the cover-up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will have full coverage of the interview tomorrow.
HAMMER: Well, forget about Monday morning quarterbacking. We are playing Tuesday evening stylist. And we`ve called in a pro to help us out. Next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, all the fashion hits and misses from the Golden Globes.
ANDERSON: Plus, in Hollywood, couples with age differences are pretty common. In nature, less so. Get ready to meet a couple separated by 128 years, not to mention the fact that they`re from different species. The tortoise and the hippo, that`s coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. EPATHA MERKERSON, GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER: This is so amazing. I`m 53 years old. This is my first lead in a film. I feel -- I feel like I`m 16. But if I wasn`t in the middle of a hot flash, I`d believe that.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s only live entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer.
One of the biggest moments of the Golden Globes isn`t the awards but the clothes. Fashion is everything when those celebrities hit the red carpet. So who did it right? And who made the biggest fashion faux pas of the night?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brought in the expert to help us sort it all out. Mary Alice Stephenson, contributing fashion editor for "Harper`s Bazaar," joining us live here in New York.
We have a lot of ground to cover, Mary Alice.
MARY ALICE STEPHENSON, "HARPER`S BAZAAR": We sure do, A.J.
HAMMER: Let`s get right to it and throw up a photo...
STEPHENSON: OK. Great.
HAMMER: ... of somebody you absolutely loved last night. This is Natalie Portman.
STEPHENSON: Natalie Portman looked stunning in vintage Chanel couture from the 1950s, flown in from Paris. She pretty much sums it all up, the best of the red carpet. Strapless was a huge trend. And she`s pretty much number one on everybody`s list, including mine. I love the short hair.
HAMMER: A lot of people also talking about the lovely Keira Knightley. She`s just beautiful to begin with. And then put her in that...
STEPHENSON: Well, you know, this could have gone all wrong. If she had too much of a hairdo, put too heavy of a jewel on, she could have looked like a prom queen. Instead, she looks stunning, young, breath- taking. That`s Valentino couture, and she`s got these amazing Cartier vintage jewels on.
Jewelry was all about vintage, like, diving into the archives, having things flown in, priceless pieces of jewelry from all over the world. These girls pretty much had their pick of any jewel they wanted.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about Charlize Theron, because I don`t recall an award show where she ever didn`t look amazing.
STEPHENSON: Well, Charlize is stunning, absolutely stunning. And this -- Charlize is on contract with the House of Dior for Beauty. So this is John Galliano for Dior, very sheer.
Charlize sometimes felt a very little uncomfortable. That`s the bag right there. I think because it was sheer, but a stunning, stunning dress, great length. She`s also wearing Cartier. That cuff is basically priceless, flown in from a museum.
HAMMER: I was going to say, that`s not even a half-a-million dollar cuff. That`s off the chart.
STEPHENSON: That`s just -- you can`t buy that cuff.
HAMMER: Well, what about Sarah Jessica Parker? How do you feel about her last night?
STEPHENSON: You know, Sarah Jessica Parker, she was wearing Rochas, made for her. Beautiful, but I just felt like Sarah Jessica, you know, you`re our style risk-taker. Where was the umph? It was basically boring black.
The great thing though, again, is the Fred Leighton necklace, beautiful, vintage, gorgeous, black and white diamonds. And also the hair is a big trend. The weaving in the hair was something we saw and looked good.
HAMMER: A lot of...
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHENSON: So beauty-wise, interesting, great jewels. But the dress, for me, wasn`t my favorite.
HAMMER: OK, well, last on your favorites -- we`ll do this quickly -- Rachel Weisz, who surprised a lot of people last night.
STEPHENSON: Rachel Weisz actually was not a favorite, A.J., I have to say. I think, if we were going to talk about Gwyneth Paltrow...
HAMMER: OK.
STEPHENSON: Gwyneth Paltrow and Rachel Weisz were interesting. Both pregnant. Here`s Rachel. You know, Donna Karan dress, I love Donna Karan clothes. The hair, the dress, too much. For me, didn`t work. The color, not good.
HAMMER: OK. Gwyneth`s also pregnant.
STEPHENSON: Gwyneth Paltrow, now, she got a lot of flak. Everyone said she looked like Snow White, from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," but Gwyneth took a risk. She is wearing Balenciaga. She looks like a princess. Up close, her hair and her makeup stunning. Fred Leighton, gorgeous earrings. I think it`s beautiful. To me, it`s high fashion. To me, it`s interesting. And that`s why I like to watch the red carpet, not to see everyone looking the same in a simple, safe dress. Gwyneth took a risk.
HAMMER: OK. We don`t have a lot of time, so I`m going to cut right to some of the faux pas of last night that you pointed out. Geena Davis, you didn`t think she...
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
STEPHENSON: God, Geena Davis, you`re so gorgeous. Geena Davis, get it together. You`re an amazing actress. No. Not good. Not good. She needs to step it up. It was too early-`80s.
HAMMER: Pam Anderson?
STEPHENSON: Pam Anderson, ugh, I don`t even want to go there. Forget it. Let`s not waste our time.
HAMMER: Well, let`s do Mariah Carey with 10 seconds left.
STEPHENSON: Oh, my god, Mariah Carey. You know, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, not so good. You know, just no. But the men looked great, in Calvin, in Weisel, and Dolce Gabbana. The men were show-stealers.
HAMMER: I thought everybody looked great. What do I know? Mary Alice Stephenson, thanks for joining us.
STEPHENSON: Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: We appreciate your insight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Well, you`ve probably heard of the tortoise and the hare. But we bet you haven`t heard the tale of the tortoise and the hippo. Tonight, the heart-warming story of an unlikely pair that has no problem palling around, despite their obvious differences.
Here`s CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the odd couple that makes that other odd couple seem bland. Maybe you`ve had heard about the baby hippo that fell for an aging tortoise in Kenya.
(on-camera): I could see why the hippo would think this was a hippo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Large, round, gray.
MOOS (voice-over): Hippos do have poor eyesight, but even in hindsight it`s hard to believe that, a year later, these two are inseparable.
And here`s how they got that way. Just over a year ago when the tsunami`s waves hit Kenya`s shore, Owen the Hippo was separated from his family. He had to be rescued by villagers using shark nets. They brought him to Heller Park Animal Preserve, where he made a beeline for Mzee the Tortoise, even though the tortoise ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was hissing and rebuffing.
MOOS: But the hippo glommed onto the tortoise. The tortoise relented, and their cozy photos made them a world-famous couple. Now Mzee and Owen sleep together. They wallow in the pond together. Owen tends to follow Mzee around like a lovesick dog. A two-year-old hippo and a 130- year-old tortoise, their age difference puts even Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones to shame.
DR. PAULA KUHUMBU, GEN. MGR., LAFARGE ECOSYSTEMS: I`ve seen Mzee put his head into Owen`s mouth, and this is a hippopotamus that could crunch his head. But he doesn`t. They`re extremely trusting of each other.
MOOS: Dr. Paula Kuhumbu is Heller Park`s expert on the pair. They even munch on the same branch. Back when they first got famous, a then- six-year-old girl in New York saw pictures of the two and asked her dad if they could write a book. Now, Scholastic is publishing it, a children`s picture book.
CRAIG HATKOFF, CO-AUTHOR, "OWEN AND MZEE": It`s almost surreal what`s happened between these animals. And they`re developing their own form of communication, which has really sort of baffled the scientists.
MOOS: We`re not talking the usual snorts and moans. Doctor Kuhumbu tells us the hippo and the tortoise now make noises at each other, a high- pitched wailing sound.
(on camera): I don`t suppose you could imitate the sound, could you?
KUHUMBU: It sounds a bit like this. It goes, "Booowoowoowoo."
MOOS (voice-over): Fans get fanatic. This box arrived for the author of the children`s book...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unbelievable.
MOOS: ... a miniature diorama created by his mother`s hairdresser.
There are plans for Owen to be introduced to a female hippo name Cleo to teach him hippo behavior, because he`s acting too much like a tortoise. When Owen wants Mzee to move, he nibbles on his foot. Scientists say the amazing thing is that a cold-blooded reptile would warm up to a mammal. Slow and steady doesn`t just win the race; it wins the hippo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That music`s quite appropriate. I thought they were cute together. OK, that was CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. By the way, that Owen and Mzee book is scheduled to come out in March.
HAMMER: I got a little weepy there. There is still time for you to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Golden Globe winners: Do you think the right ones were picked? You can vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight or write us. Showbiztonight@CNN.com is our address. Your e-mails live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: We have been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Golden Globe winners: What do you think? Did they get the right ones?
Well, the vote so far, yes, you thought so: 59 percent of you said yes; 41 percent of you say no. Among the e-mails we`ve received, one from Ali who writes, "The right people won Golden Globes last night, especially Geena Davis. She has done a superb job on `Commander in Chief.`"
Also heard from Larry in Arizona. He writes, "They got it right with one exception. Heath Ledger is clearly the best actor of the year."
ANDERSON: It is time now to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. So let`s take a look at the "Showbiz Marquee." Marquee Guy, take it away.
MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow, we`re going to hunt her. She`s Rachel Hunter. You may have seen her on "Dancing with the Stars" or as "Stacy`s Mom." She`s got it going on. Now she`s dancing with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Rachel Hunter, live, tomorrow, in the interview you`ll see, where? Only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Marcia Cross, that is. But don`t cross this desperate housewife off your list, because she`ll be here, too, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Hunter and Marcia, and it`ll be wild, tomorrow.
This is the Marquee Guy, cross my heart, I`ll be here, too.
ANDERSON: Oh, don`t we know it.
HAMMER: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
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