Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Celebs Face Sex Tape Legal Battles; Tracey Gold Discusses Eating Disorder, New Film
Aired February 23, 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 in New York.
SIBILA VARGAS, CO-HOST: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, new information in the Natalee Holloway case. Brand new surveillance video and a prime suspect speaks out.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, QUESTIONED IN NATALEE HOLLOWAY DISAPPEARANCE: Well, the first thing that popped in my head, was (expletive deleted). What if something happened to her?
HAMMER: Tonight a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report. Why is there still such a fascination with the Natalee Holloway mystery?
Celebrity sex tapes. Tonight, the latest stars to join the ranks of the sex tape club. And it`s far from kid stuff. From Paris to Pamela, to Colin Farrell. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates. Should stars who point the cameras on themselves be able to keep the steamy scenes from seeing the light of day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s unbelievable. Look at that. He`s out of control. Head on into a pickup truck.
HAMMER: The chase is on. The ultimate in reality television played out on the freeways of California.
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Hello, I`m Sibila Vargas live in Hollywood.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer, live in New York City.
Sibila, tonight we have a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report on celebrity sex videos.
The latest one involves a tape that allegedly shows rock star Kid Rock having sex with strippers. And these aren`t the first stars supposedly caught on tape. Why is it that there are so many out there? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates hot celebrity sex tapes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Kid Rock is a rock star, and he apparently doesn`t want to be known as a porn star. That`s why Kid, also known about Robert Ritchie, is going to court to stop a California company from promoting this sex video SHOWBIZ TONIGHT obtained. It features Kid and former Creed lead singer, Scott Stapp, romping with four women after a concert in Miami in 1999.
SCOTT STAPP, SINGER: It`s good to be the king.
HAMMER: There`s stuff on it we can`t show you. And Kid Rock wants to make sure it`s never seen again.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: Kid Rock is saying, "I may be a rock star but I also have a right of privacy."
HAMMER: It`s an argument you often hear from steamed stars, who sue after finding themselves in steamy sex tapes that are made public. Movie star Colin Farrell is suing ex-girlfriend, former "Playboy" model Nicole Narain, for allegedly planning to market this homemade sex tape.
Former Limp Biskit lead singer Fred Durst is suing 10 web site operators for $70 million after they allegedly showed a stolen home video of him frolicking with an ex-girlfriend.
But do these stars have a case? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT got all the juicy details from legal expert Harvey Levin from TMZ.com.
LEVIN: Anybody in a situation like Colin Farrell is in or Kid Rock is in, they have a good argument to the extent that people are peddling that tape specifically because it`s Kid Rock or because, you know, it`s another star. They`re selling the tape because these stars are marketable. And generally you need permission in order to do it, whether there`s a privacy right or not.
HAMMER: Kid Rock says he did not give that permission. His attorney says the sex tape was stolen property. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT talked to the attorney for Worldwide Red Light District, which posted the video on its web site but pulled it last week. The attorney tells us it`s not stolen. He says they got the video legally from a, quote, "rightful owner" and that Red Light had every right to show it.
RAY TAMADDON, RED LIGHT VIDEO ATTORNEY: We are talking about a newsworthy item here. We`re talking about two very public figures, rock stars, that the public has an interest and have right to know about their activities.
HAMMER: TMZ`s Levin doesn`t think that argument will fly in court.
LEVIN: Celebrities have a certain measure of privacy, not as much as a private person. But when something is done in private behind closed doors, that doesn`t mean because they`re celebrities they can`t expect that it will remain behind closed doors. There is a right of privacy in this country, and celebrities have some of that.
HAMMER: Sure, stars often win these lawsuits. Remember the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape? They successfully sued the company that marketed the tape, which the now ex-couple says was stolen.
But then there`s the question: why do the stars keep making these sex tapes when the videos somehow keep leaking out into the public domain? Is it all worth the headache? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asked a true sex expert, Ian Kerner, who wrote the popular books, "She Comes First" and "He Comes Next."
IAN KERNER, AUTHOR/SEX THERAPIST: Being in the moment, passion, desire, I think, always overwhelms logic.
Maybe there`s also a publicity component to this. I mean, we live in a society where Jenna Jameson is writing books called "How to Make Love like a Porn Star." She`s starting her own fashion line.
I mean, porn is more and more becoming very, very mainstream. And I think the more acceptable porn becomes, the less taboo it is, the more we`re willing to exploit our own sexuality for publicity.
HAMMER: And when you`re talking sex tapes and publicity, you have to talk about Paris Hilton. A 2003 sex tape featuring her and then boyfriend Rick Solomon mysteriously surfaced right before the premiere of her reality show, "The Simple Life." The rest is pop culture history.
LEVIN: I don`t think the sex tape hurt Paris Hilton any. In, fact I think it really catapulted her into this level of Gabor-like stardom. For other stars who are trying to be a little bit more mainstream and respectable, I think it might not help them at all. Maybe it would hurt them. I think it`s very star specific. But Paris Hilton, it was a bonanza for her.
HAMMER: Still, celebrities complain about the loss of privacy that happens with stardom. And Kerner says videotaping your love making session does not help that problem.
KERNER: When you make a sex tape, whether it`s in the present or the future, you risk the possibility that it`s going to get out and somebody is going to get hurt. And you know, I think when you`re -- when you`re a public celebrity I think you have more of an obligation to protect your privacy from these sorts of incidents.
HAMMER: So maybe a good way for stars to keep their private lives private is to keep the cameras off in the bedroom.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, Kid Rock has a federal court hearing tomorrow in Detroit on his lawsuit. He wants, of course, a permanent injunction barring the sale or promotion of the sex video. When SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contacted his record label this afternoon they said, "No comment."
VARGAS: Now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Celebrity sex tapes: should stars have the right to block their release? Go to CNN.com/ShowbizTonight and send us e-mail at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts later in the show.
Tonight, the war of words between Donald Trump and Martha Stewart. And don`t go anywhere because in just a moment, I`m going to be speaking with Trump. Here is how it all started.
Stewart fired the very first shot in a "Newsweek" interview, saying that having two "Apprentice" shows on at the same time was unfair to her and to Trump and that the plan was for her to fire Trump on her show, leaving only Martha`s version of "the Apprentice."
Well, then Trump fired back in a letter heard around the world, saying, quote, "Dear Martha, it`s about time you started taking responsibility for your failed version of `The Apprentice.` Your performance was terrible. I knew it would fail as soon as I first saw it, and your low ratings bore me out."
Joining me on the phone from his Palm Beach, Florida home, Donald Trump. It`s nice to speak with you, Mr. Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: Nice speaking with you.
HAMMER: So let`s get into this here. As I just read in your letter, you said that you knew her show would fail as soon as you first saw it. I have to ask you, as one of the executive producers of the show, don`t you bear some responsibility in its failure?
TRUMP: No, because I never really thought it was a very good idea to do it, as you know, right from the beginning. I let that be clear. I never liked the idea of doing a second version of "The Apprentice."
My version went of "The Apprentice" went to the No. 1 show in television. It continues to do great ratings. In fact, our finale, where I hired Randal, was the No. 2 show of the week, as you probably know. So I mean, it continues to do well.
And I didn`t like the idea that Martha, instead of taking responsibility for really a terrible show, that Martha goes around saying that it was Donald Trump and Mark Burnett`s fault that he show wasn`t successful. It was her fault.
HAMMER: Well, your letter certainly went beyond just poking at her show. You actually took a jab at her with her ImClone scandal. You went after her daytime talk show. You threatened to do her own show and take hers down in the process.
I want to read you something that Martha said this week. She said that "the letter is so mean-spirited and reckless that I almost can`t believe my longtime friend Donald Trump wrote it."
Now, Donald, nobody would deny this is a pretty mean letter. Do you have any...
TRUMP: I`ve seen a lot rougher. I mean, it`s a pretty rough world. I`m sure she`s seen a lot rougher.
HAMMER: Certainly -- certainly, that`s true. Certainly that`s true. But do you have any regrets about the mean tone that you took with this letter?
TRUMP: No, I have absolutely no regrets. Hey, look, I`m reading an article in "Newsweek," and all of a sudden I read out of the blue. I mean, her show failed awhile ago.
You know, there have been 15 copies of "The Apprentice." Every single one of them have failed. And my version continues to be one of the top shows on television. So there`s something going on.
The fact is I`m reading "Newsweek" and I see that she was going to fire me. Let me ask you a question. If you have the No. 1 show on television, do you honestly think you`re going to be fired by somebody that -- you know, let`s fire Trump and put Martha on. It doesn`t make sense. Are we going to fire Jennifer Aniston, when she was hot on "Friends"? Let`s fire Jennifer Aniston. "Friends" is hot. And we`ll put somebody else on. It doesn`t make sense.
TRUMP: Well, to that point, you actually say, and I`m quoting from something you said in "Newsweek." You responded by saying, "What moron would think you`re going to fire the guy with the No. 1 show on television?"
Can I assume you`re referring to Martha Stewart by the use of the word "moron"?
TRUMP: I didn`t mean anybody. Look, I like Martha, she`s a nice woman. I`m very disappointed in her. I went out and I really promoted her show, even though I hadn`t seen it. You know, I`m building buildings all over the place. I can`t be working on Martha`s show. But I did promote her. I said great things about her. I really worked hard for her to try and get her show to be, you know, a success prior to its airing.
The problem is, once I looked at it, in the premiere, Mark Burnett made it. Once I looked at it in the premiere, I realized that it didn`t have the tone or the temperament for anything else. And that had to do with the star, unfortunately, and the star`s daughter.
HAMMER: And there was nothing that you felt you could do? Because again, I`m going back to if I did something for my show here and I brought it in to my executive producer and he said, "You know, this is pretty sucky. I`m not going to put that on the air," it wouldn`t get on the air.
TRUMP: You`re doing something very good for your show right now. You have Donald Trump on your show. You`re going to get very good ratings. Congratulations.
HAMMER: Well, you`re very good with the publicity, Donald. And that brings me to the point that I sort of have to ask. People certainly have taken note of the fact that all of this is going on, and the next season of "The Apprentice" is about to launch. So what would you say to people who say this whole thing is just a big publicity stunt?
TRUMP: Well, I know that people say that. Some people say that. But not the people that know me. The people that know me know that I wrote a letter and it just happened to be coincidental.
HAMMER: Always good to talk you to, Donald Trump.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
HAMMER: Thanks for joining us.
VARGAS: You can see (ph) Tracey Gold grow up on TV and make it through a very public battle with anorexia. Tracey Gold tells us how she overcame the eating disorder, live in the interview you`ll only see on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT next.
HAMMER: Plus, as new information surfaces in the Natalee Holloway case, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report. Why is there still such a fascination with the Natalee Holloway mystery?
Also coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Look at that, he`s out of control, head on into a pickup truck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: It`s the ultimate in reality television played out on the freeways of California. Coming up, the most amazing car chases and why we just can`t stop watching.
HAMMER: First, it is time for tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Name the real life radio jock that Robin Williams portrayed in 1987`s "Good Morning, Vietnam." Was it Adrian Martin, Adrian Balboa, Adrian Cronauer or Randolph Smiley? We`re coming right back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Once again, tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Name the real life radio jock that Robin Williams portrayed back in 1987`s "Good Morning, Vietnam." Was it Adrian Martin, Adrian Balboa, Adrian Cronauer or Randolph Smiley? I think this was pretty easy. Robin Williams got a best actor Oscar nomination for playing C, Adrian Cronauer.
VARGAS: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s only live entertainment news show. I`m Sibila Vargas.
Time now for a "SHOWBIZ Sit-down" with actress Tracey Gold. You remember her. She played Carol on the hit ABC show, "Growing Pains."
During the height of her sitcom success, Gold was hiding a scary and deadly secret. She was suffering from anorexia. Gold ended up leaving "Growing Pains" during the show`s last season to undergo treatment. She now leads a happy and healthy life. In fact, Tracey is back on TV now, and she joins me live in Hollywood.
Life is good.
TRACEY GOLD, ACTRESS: Yes, very good.
VARGAS: You look terrific.
GOLD: Thank you.
VARGAS: And you`ve got this new movie on Lifetime?
GOLD: Yes, I have a new movie called "Safe Harbor" on Lifetime coming out on March 20.
VARGAS: And you also have the "Growing Pains," the first season, complete season, on DVD.
GOLD: Yes, that was so much fun. It`s on a DVD, and it`s the first season and it`s really great. It`s a lot of fun.
VARGAS: You look terrific, by the way.
GOLD: Thank you.
VARGAS: I have always been fascinated with you. And I`ve always admired your boldness. Because I know that at a time it wasn`t just -- it wasn`t in vogue to come out and say the truth.
GOLD: Yes.
VARGAS: And it really sometimes never is, but you came out and you were bold and shared with the world that you had anorexia.
GOLD: Uh-huh.
VARGAS: How did it all start for you?
GOLD: Well, I mean, I think for me the reason that I came out about it, was because I was sort of forced to at that time. I was, you know, I was taken off the show. I wasn`t really given a choice. And it kind of, for me happened with an innocent diet that went too far.
But you know, I think that ultimately it becoming public was, you know, a blessing in disguise, because, you know, my God, 15 years later, no, not that many. Thirteen years later, it`s still something that comes up and people respond to and take inspiration that you can get better from it. And so, you know, it`s -- things happen for a reason kind of thing
VARGAS: What was the low point? What was it that made you say enough is enough?
GOLD: I think for me, it was the -- the realization that my life had completely stopped, that nothing was moving forward. And all the things in life that I want that I have now which are, you know, motherhood, being a wife, my career, and just enjoying life were just at a standstill, and I wanted that. And I realize that I was -- ultimate control was taking control of my life
VARGAS: Well, you have helped so many people.
GOLD: Thank you.
VARGAS: With your story. When you look at Hollywood today, though, and see these images of these women, like Mary Kate Ashley -- Mary Kate Olson who struggled with anorexia, she got treatment for it. But there`s others, Nicole, and there`s Paris Hilton, and so many others. Lindsay Lohan, the list goes on. Are you concerned at all?
GOLD: Well, you know what? I tend to say that, like, when I watch stars losing a lot of weight, I`m reticent to just go, "Oh, she`s anorexic." I don`t know what`s going on in their personal life, and I don`t sit back and say that I`m all-knowing. I don`t know.
And -- but I obviously get concerned when I see somebody get too thin. But I sit back and know that, like, they`re going through their own personal struggle. And sometimes when you`re in, you know, the media`s limelight, it`s not necessarily your job to profess everything. You just need to try and get yourself better. And once you can get yourself better, maybe you can come forward and say this was something that was a struggle.
VARGAS: Is there also a lot of denial, though?
GOLD: Well, sure, I think in our society, you know, obviously you have that if you lose a lot of weight, people admire it. And that`s a dangerous thing. And you know, you`ll have one magazine that say you look horrible, one says you never looked better. And it`s a mixed message, I think, that these girls are getting. It`s unfortunate. And you know, until something is done and changed, then people say, you know, enough is enough, then it`s not going to change.
VARGAS: Well, you changed.
GOLD: Thank you.
VARGAS: And you`re an inspiration. Let`s get to your movie.
GOLD: Yes. "Safe Harbor." I`m very excited.
VARGAS: Tell me about it.
GOLD: Well, I play Carly, and I play a detective. And it`s a great part in a great movie. And it was -- she plays -- I play a detective who was raised in a foster home, and now there`s a bunch of murders taking place in this foster home. And she`s never told anyone that she was raised by a foster home and had all these troubles as a kid, and she has to go back to this home and investigate the murders. And you know, of course, the murders intertangle with her own life. And it`s a kind of cool "whodunnit." And it was a really good part for me. I was really, really excited about it.
VARGAS: That sounds exciting, but I know that you also got together with your friends from "Growing Pains."
GOLD: Yes, we were here a couple weeks ago over with Larry King. And we all got together and we promoted the DVD. And it was just fun. It`s always good to see them. We never get to see each other enough. It`s always for publicity or something like that.
VARGAS: It`s great to see you.
GOLD: Great to see you.
VARGAS: So much for our time. Thanks, Tracey Gold.
"Safe Harbor" airs March 20 on Lifetime. And "Growing Pains," the complete first season, is out on DVD now.
HAMMER: Well, tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Showcase," your first look at the movie "The Sentinel," starring Michael Douglas as a Secret Service agent who becomes the man -- the main suspect in a plot to assassinate the president. "Sentinel" also stars Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger and Eva Longoria. Quite a cast. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is on the move.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the 141-year history of the United States Secret Service...
MICHAEL DOUGLAS: I look good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... there`s never been a traitor until now.
DOUGLAS: There`s an agent who wants to help assassinate the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got to find this guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of a protege of yours, what do you think?
DOUGLAS: Follow the evidence wherever it leads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re being investigated for treason.
DOUGLAS: Excuse me?
Why would I want to kill the president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am following the evidence.
DOUGLAS: I am the guy that initiated this investigation. I am being framed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kierson (ph) has escaped from the rear of the residence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people are looking for you.
DOUGLAS: I`m innocent, dammit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At that level, it doesn`t make sense. The only thing this guy cares about in life is his job.
KIEFER SUTHERLAND, ACTOR: For most of you, he`s a friend. For some of you, he`s a legend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He taught me everything I know.
SUTHERLAND: He is smarter and more experienced than all of you. He knows how you think. He knows how you operate. And he will use that against you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They think you`re an assassin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They will kill you.
DOUGLAS: Got to find the mole.
SUTHERLAND: We want the most contained environment the president`s going to be in in the next few days.
DOUGLAS: Who sent you?
The traitor is still out there, Dave.
SUTHERLAND: You really think it`s him, don`t you?
Holster your weapon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My radio just went dead.
DOUGLAS: He`s going down. Get Down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Not a romantic comedy. "The Sentinel" hits theaters in April.
VARGAS: What`s hot on the red carpet right now? We`ll show the latest trend-setting looks as the stars are wearing coming up on "Thursday InStyle."
HAMMER: Plus the chase is on, and it`s the ultimate in reality television played out on the freeways of California. On the way, amazing car chases making it impossible to look away.
VARGAS: And brand new information in the Natalee Holloway case, new surveillance video and a new interview with a teenager questioned in the case. Coming up, we investigate why this mystery still has the country transfixed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VARGAS: Time now for "Thursday InStyle." Tonight the very best and the very latest looks from the red carpet. What`s in, what`s out, and what celebrities are wearing it best.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE ZUCKERMAN, "INSTYLE" MAGAZINE: "InStyle" chose Emmy Rossum in Celine as our best dressed for the look in our March issue. She`s wearing this really beautiful Cameto (ph) red little cocktail dress by Celine. And we selected it, not only because Emmy looks so sexy but also subdued in this amazing dress.
But in addition to that, this is evocative of the trend that`s going on right now on the red carpet, which is that there are bows, and flourishes and feminine touches. But at the same time, designers and celebrities aren`t going over the top with this return to femininity.
We also in the March issue of "InStyle" point out that a lot of stars aren`t taking the plunge, so to speak, when it comes to sort of evening dressing for the red carpet. They`re wearing a lot more sort of elegant subdued evening ware that shows maybe a hint of a collar bone as opposed to a sort of buoyant decolletage. Jennifer Lopez in Rochas is a beautiful example of this.
The look in the "have you seen big foot" section is that we are talking about massive, sexy towering stilettos. Two shining examples of this are Lindsay Lohan and Ashley Olson. And what you`ll notice that they`ll do is they`re wearing these towering platforms. They`ll generally make the shoes the centerpiece of the outfit. They won`t wear sort of sequins glittering over the gowns. They`ll let the shoes sort of walk the walk and speak for themselves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: And if you want to read more about the best looks on the red carpet, pick up a copy of March`s "InStyle" magazine on newsstands tomorrow.
HAMMER: So what would it take to get you to pay more than $100,000 for two -- two pieces of used clothing? We`re going to meet a man who had a very good reason. That`s coming up.
VARGAS: Plus the chase is on. It`s the ultimate in reality television, real life high speed car chases. Coming up, the amazing chases that make it impossible to stop watching.
HAMMER: And brand new information in the Natalee Holloway case. New surveillance video and a teenager questioned in the case breaking his silence. Next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, we get into why the case still fascinates so many people all these months later.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
HAMMER: Sibila, if you check the calendar, almost nine months to the day that Natalee Holloway vanished while she was on vacation in Aruba. People go missing everyday in this country, yet for some reason America has continued to be captivated by this particular story. Plus, there happens to be some new video which could prove as useful evidence in the case. We have a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report on the Natalee Holloway case coming up in just a couple of minutes.
VARGAS: Also, A.J., something that other people are very fascinated with is car chases. I`ve got to admit I`m one person who says, "I`m not going to watch that car chase on television," but here I am.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: You can`t turn it away. You can`t turn it off.
VARGAS: I can`t! I can`t, from beginning to end. It`s just something that we`re fascinated with. But why, you ask? Well, we`re going to explore that, coming up.
But first, here are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
Some good news today about ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman, Doug Vogt. Vogt has checked out of Bethesda, Maryland, hospital. ABC News President David Westin says that Woodruff is making progress and slowly being brought out of sedation. Woodruff and Vogt were injured during a roadside bomb attack in Iraq last month.
The Janet Jackson flash fine has been upheld. According to the Associated Press, the Federal Communications Commission still wants CBS to pay the $550,000 penalty for the so-called wardrobe malfunction during 2004`s Super Bowl.
A former James Bond is coming to the defense of a new one. Roger Moore says give Daniel Craig a chance. A group of fans has threatened to boycott the upcoming "Casino Royale" film, starring Craig, who took over for Pierce Brosnan last October.
And big iTunes milestone today. Apple says a billion songs have now been downloaded from its music store. The 1 billionth song was Coldplay`s "Speed of Sound."
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
A new celebrity sex tape out there. Rocker Kid Rock trying to stop the sale of it, so now we want to hear from you. Celebrity sex tapes: Should stars have the right to block their release? Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight and write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e- mails are coming up a bit later.
HAMMER: And now a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report. Incredible new details in the Natalee Holloway story. She`s the American teen who vanished in Aruba last May. Not only is there new video of Holloway`s last hours before she disappeared, but Joran Van Der Sloot, a main suspect in her disappearance, is speaking out for the very first time. And with his story comes a whole new wave of media speculation and coverage of the Natalee Holloway mystery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would you forget your shoes? You said you weren`t drunk.
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, LAST SEEN WITH NATALEE HOLLOWAY: Like I just told you, I had left them on the beach. I had walked to the car. We got in the car. And right then and there, I couldn`t go back because we were going home.
HAMMER (voice-over): This is Joran Van Der Sloot, the teen last seen with Natalee Holloway the night she disappeared in Aruba, talking with ABC News Primetime, his first on-camera interview, his first shot at defending himself to the American public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did it seem like a wrong thing to do, leaving the girl on the beach like that?
VAN DER SLOOT: At that moment in time, for me it wasn`t the wrong thing, but it`s definitely the wrong thing to do. I mean, it`s not something (INAUDIBLE) would do.
HAMMER: ABC also got its hands on this video, surveillance video of Holloway and Van Der Sloot at a casino in Aruba, just hours before her disappearance, yet another chapter in an intricate, mysterious tale about the disappearance of an all-American girl.
NATALEE HOLLOWAY, MISSING IN ARUBA: The beach was a blast.
HAMMER: And yet another reason why this story just won`t go away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On CNN tonight, Natalee Holloway`s parents speak out.
BRIAN STELTER, EDITOR, TVNEWSER.COM: The media feeds off of it, because it`s cheap and easy, and it`s compelling. You know, you will see a tick up in the ratings in the quarter hours that Natalee Holloway is on. It certainly doesn`t bring in the ratings it did last summer, but it certainly still does attract attention.
HAMMER: Last summer, when Natalee first disappeared, every fact, every intricacy of the case was broadcast around the clock for months.
RITA COSBY, MSNBC HOST: The big mystery, of course, is taking place on the island of Aruba.
DAN ABRAMS, MSNBC HOST: Let`s go to Aruba. It`s getting ugly. Natalee Holloway`s mother is fighting back.
STELTER: I think we`ve found a new trend in recent years, especially on cable news, crime stories as docudramas, as real-life mysteries.
ABRAMS: After a romantic encounter, he leaves Natalee Holloway sleepily staring at the stars.
STELTER: Really, you lose the larger context, which is that a teenaged girl went missing in Aruba last year and we still don`t know what happened.
HAMMER: We don`t know what happened. But this face is burned into the minds of many Americans, young, pretty, blonde. Natalee Holloway`s disappearance became the top news story.
NANCY GRACE, CNN HEADLINE NEWS HOST: The family, America, Natalee Holloway needs the cooperation of the Aruban government.
HAMMER: But why her, when tens of thousands of other children and teens go missing every year?
STELTER: There certainly seems to be an average or stereotypical character that the media looks for in stories like this. Whether or not they do it consciously, I`m not sure. And it may be simply that these individuals, usually women, come along, and cable nets grab on because there`s no other big news story happening.
HAMMER: But today, it`s this guy making the news; Joran Van Der Sloot wants America to know his version of the story, using the very medium that made him a central character in an international mystery.
STELTER: I think he sees an ABC primetime interview as a chance to clear the waters and, hopefully, clear his name.
VAN DER SLOOT: Well, the first thing that popped into my head was (bleep) what if something happened to her?
HAMMER: Whether or not America believes him, we`ll find out. But one thing is for certain: This tale of one missing girl may have changed the nature of news and media coverage forever.
STELTER: We have seen in the last year, since the Natalee Holloway story first came out, how we`ve seen really an increase in the number of segments about crime or even shows devoted to missing persons, and unsolved mysteries, and crimes.
It really seems to be a niche that certain programs are going after in a way we`ve never seen before. And I think it opened -- I think Natalee Holloway opened that up a lot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And tonight on CNN`s "LARRY KING LIVE," Natalee Holloway`s parents react to the Joran Van Der Sloot interview.
VARGAS: If Philip Seymour Hoffman wins an Oscar, he won`t be cheering, he won`t be laughing. He`ll be barking like a dog. Find out what in the world we`re talking about in "Laughter Dark."
HAMMER: What in the world are we talking about?
Well, coming up, meet the guy who bought the shirts off of Jake Gyllenhaal`s and Heath Ledger`s backs literally. Why he spent a mountain of dough on these "Brokeback Mountain" stars. That`s live, next.
Plus, we`ve got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. Look at that. He`s out of control, head on into a pickup truck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: They`re dangerous, they`re shocking, and we just can`t stop watching. Why car chases are so popular on TV, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates next.
HAMMER: But first, a look at what`s new at the movies this weekend. Paul Walker takes on Paul Walker. His mob thriller, "Running Scared," heads into theaters, up against "Eight Below," the sled dog survival story.
Tyler Perry in the same role he played in "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," and returns with a dramatic comedy, "Madea`s Family Reunion." And an all-star cast, including William H. Macy, Jon Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg and Chevy Chase lend their voices to the animated feature, "Doogal."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VARGAS: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. And this TV`s only live entertainment news show.
California, home to sun, surf and dangerous high-speed car chases. People all over the world tune in to watch the bad guys run from the cops. So why do these chases, that sometimes have deadly endings, get us all revved up and keep us glued to the TV screen? Here`s CNN`s Ted Rowlands for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... unbelievable. Look at that. He`s out of control, head on into a pickup truck.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They play out on a daily basis in California and many times end up on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s four vehicles that he just ran into.
ROWLANDS: Police chases, which some consider the ultimate in reality television.
JUDY GRAFFE, PURSUIT WATCHER: I have to tune in.
ROWLANDS: Judy Graffe, along with thousands of other viewers, love to watch people on the freeways in streets of California trying to get away from the police. Judy is such a fanatic that she actually subscribes to a service that alerts her with a phone call when a chase is under way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, look at that. Right between those two cars.
GRAFFE: No one single car chase is like another. I mean, anything from what neighborhoods they go to, to the speeds they travel, to who it turns out they are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he goes. He`s out, and he`s in the lanes of traffic.
ROWLANDS: Over the years, there have been some memorable California chases. There was the stolen tank in San Diego. There was the hijacked bus in Los Angeles, the driver careening through the streets like a real- life version of the movie, "Speed," without the Hollywood ending.
GRAFFE: That one was absolutely fascinating. Imagine somebody hijacking a bus and thinking they could get away? Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s over 120 miles an hour here in...
ROWLANDS: Police have chased practically everything on wheels, from motorcycles...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at this, a wheelie, right through traffic.
ROWLANDS: ... to RVs. This chase lasted more than four hours, part of it off-road. Everyone seemed relieved when this ended.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nature called.
ROWLANDS: 7-Up received some free advertising while police pursued this stolen truck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look out. Spinning out...
ROWLANDS: There`s even been a case of ambulance-chasing, literally. Sometimes the suspect runs; many times they give up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it`s a foot chase, and we`ll see if the officers -- he runs out of steam.
ROWLANDS: This person decided to turns things around, putting the car in reverse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very bizarre behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It went through the interchange, continuing northbound on the 405...
ROWLANDS: And, of course, there was the ultimate celebrity pursuit, O.J., the slow-speed chase seen live around the world.
GRAFFE: Who knew where that was going to go? I mean, it was anybody`s guess. And so I think that sort of hooked me into car chases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we will take you back to regular programming now.
ROWLANDS: Interrupting television programming to show chases started before O.J. It has been a part of Southern California life since the early `90s.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve been live with you now just about an hour here on Channel 9 following this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people do not want to go to jail.
ROWLANDS: Joe Zizi is an officer with the California Highway Patrol who`s been in a number of cases. He says people may enjoy watching them on TV, but for officers involved it is very dangerous.
OFFICER JOE ZIZI, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: Who knows? You could be chasing after America`s most wanted suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at the smoke coming off his tires as he brakes. Oh, he hit that car, hits that car. But he`s still in -- no, he jumps out the window.
ZIZI: About 60 to 70 percent of people that flee are either driving a stole vehicle, are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or are wanted by the police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who knows what is going through his mind...
ROWLANDS: Some of these chases go on for hours. Some become standoffs, leaving television anchors to speculate about anything so they can fill time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s probably so blotto -- you know, he`s just belligerent as all get-out.
GRAFFE: I`m fascinated at how the anchor call the car chase. I mean, it`s a little bit like a play-by-play in a sports event.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s going off the road. He`s spinning out, spinning out. Whoa, he`s going down the hill, spinning out. It`s rolling over. One, two, three...
ROWLANDS: Sometimes drivers know they are on TV and play to the audience. This guy made the time to show everyone his softer side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just mooned him.
ROWLANDS: This woman being pursued even stopped to talk to bystanders who had come outside after watching the pursuit on TV.
ZIZI: We`ve had several citizens watch it on television, see that it`s approaching their house, and get outside to either try and cheer the suspect on or try and get involved to stop the suspect vehicle.
ROWLANDS: In this chase, police got some help from a couple of truckers who saw the chase coming...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it looks like these big rigs are doing it on purpose. This is great.
ROWLANDS: ... and sandwiched the suspect between them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s stuck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure did.
ROWLANDS: Police don`t encourage the general public to intervene. They have their own tactics to try to but brakes on chases.
GRAFFE: You`ve got the spike strip. You`ve got the pit maneuver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, they`re putting down another spike strip to blow out the rear tires.
ROWLANDS: The spike strip flattens tires but doesn`t stop cars cold, like this driver who continued for miles until the SUV actually started to fall to pieces. This is what`s called a pit maneuver, which is used to disable a vehicle.
ZIZI: We`re going to get up alongside that vehicle, bump it, push it to a side, make it spin out, and hopefully incapacitate, stall out the engine.
ROWLANDS: But it`s not always an immediate success. The newest weapon for police is a satellite tracking device they can actually shoot on to a vehicle, which allows them to back off a bit and keep officers out of danger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s getting out. He`s starting to run.
ROWLANDS: Many times the suspects are armed. When they are, the chase can have a violent ending.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s going to run. Oh, he just got shot. Oh, my god.
ROWLANDS: As for the question of why so many chases here? Many people think California is unique because there are more freeways and more cars. But Los Angeles police chief William Bratton points to the people.
CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: You got a lot of nuts here, that`s what makes it so unique, quite frankly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: That`s some crazy video there. That was CNN`s Ted Rowlands for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
By the way, that 1994 O.J. Simpson chase lasted 50 miles.
HAMMER: Well, tonight, can you imagine spending $100,000 for two shirts? Well, that`s what one guy did. He bought the shirts worn by "Brokeback Mountain" stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in the movie "Brokeback Mountain."
And joining us live from Hollywood for a "Showbiz Newsmaker Interview" is Tom Gregory. So, Tom, I appreciate you coming on the program. Did you bring the shirts with you? Any chance these $100,000 shirts made it?
TOM GREGORY, BOUGHT TWO SHIRTS FROM "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN": They made it. They`re right here. They`re right here on my lap.
HAMMER: Well, I want to see them, man! Take them off your lap.
GREGORY: You want to see them? All right.
HAMMER: Yes, absolutely.
GREGORY: There`s no sparkle. I mean, they`re just shirts.
HAMMER: They`re just shirts. But I should point out, for people who have seen the movie, they will recognize those as shifts worn by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in the film. And if you`ve seen the movie, you`ll recognize them from one particular scene towards the end of the movie. In fact, I believe they were on that hanger just like that, weren`t they?
GREGORY: Yes. When I received the shirts yesterday, a gentleman from Focus Features brought them by my house. And the one request I had was that they be on the hanger and they remain entwined like they were in the final scene of the film.
You know, the sleeves are in each other. And this is how I intend to keep them forever. I think it`s a poetic description of the relationship these two gentlemen had.
You know, as you know from the film, or don`t know from the film, when the one gentleman is, in effect, gay-bashed, the Heath Ledger character goes to his home. And, in his closet, he finds these two shirts. But when he finds them, in the Gyllenhaal character`s closet, the denim shirt is on top of his khaki plaid shirt.
HAMMER: Oh, OK. OK.
GREGORY: And then later, in the scene, in the final scene, the shirts are hanging like this in Heath Ledger`s closet.
HAMMER: Well, Tom, I have to ask you about the amount of money that you spend here, obviously. Now, this was done through an eBay auction. And the money went to a children`s charity in southern California. Never a bad thing. And I`m all for people buying movie memorabilia. But $100,000? Why was it so important to you to spend that amount of money on these shirts?
GREGORY: Well, I really wanted the shirts. I had seen the film about three weeks after all my friends had seen it. And they all told me about, you know, the film, and when these shirts are revealed, it`s such a pivotal moment.
And the collector in me thought, "Wow, this would be a great prop. You know, this would be lovely. I would love to see this thing. I would love to -- if it ever came up for sale, I`d love to have it.
HAMMER: But did you also say something to the effect, I believe, that you wanted to keep them from getting into somebody else`s hands?
GREGORY: Well, yes, I did. More than that, I wanted to really be the steward of them. You know, I bought them. I`m the owner of the shirts. But I feel more like the steward of the shirts.
And think that, for me and my partner, we`re -- I`ve been called a gay activist and things like that, but really what we are is we`re just sensitive people who care about other people. And these shirts mean so much. And I realized it in the last few days since I`ve own them from e- mails and whatnot to so many people. I`m so proud that I`m the one who has them and can take care of them.
HAMMER: And it really seems like you feel they are deeply symbolic in what you`re active towards. And we appreciate that.
Tom, I`m out of time, but I appreciate you showing the shirts with us. Hold them up one more time.
GREGORY: Thank you very much.
HAMMER: Tom Gregory joining us live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT from Hollywood.
GREGORY: Thank you.
VARGAS: Here`s an interesting dilemma. No matter what happens Oscar night, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman will end up losing even if he wins an Oscar. You see, he made a promise that, if he won Oscar, he`d bark like a dog in his acceptance speech, which to me is a losing situation, as well to other people, as well. So how did this double-dog-dare come about? Hoffman explains on "The Late Show."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, ACTOR: So we had this friend at that time, Steven Schub, who we made a pact, a drunken pack one night at that time, that if one of us ever won the -- or was nominated for an Academy Award and won, that we had to bark the whole acceptance speech.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW": All right, but now -- take me through that again.
HOFFMAN: Well, it was...
LETTERMAN: You`re nominated for an Academy Award.
HOFFMAN: If we were ever nominated...
LETTERMAN: And now you have been nominated.
HOFFMAN: And we were very serious about it. I mean, literally, we`re like, "I`ll do that. I will definitely commit to this." And we were -- so we were -- Ben and I went and met with Stephen in Los Angeles recently. And he said, "So remember that we made this pact. You have to bark."
And the thing is, is that you can`t just bark; you have to bark until they pull you off.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I`m going to make it my mission on Oscar night on the red carpet, when I see Philip Seymour Hoffman, to make him bark his acceptance speech, a little rehearsal that I`ll run him through.
Well, throughout our show tonight, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." We`ve been asking: Celebrity sex tapes: Should stars have the right to block their release?
Here`s how the vote`s been going so far tonight: 77 percent of you say yes; 23 percent of you say no.
Among the e-mails we got, we heard from Frances in Canada who said that, "If they are stupid enough to make them without thinking of the consequences, it is their loss."
We also heard from Kelsey who`s in Hawaii. Kelsey disagrees, saying, "Every person, celebrity or Joe Shmoe, should have the right to privacy."
If you`d like to hop online, you can continue to vote by going to CNN.com/showbiztonight.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Time to see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Here comes your "Showbiz Marquee."
Tomorrow, Cuba Gooding, Jr., he gave us one of the most popular catchphrases of all time...
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Show me the money!
HAMMER: That was terrible. Of course, that came from "Jerry Maguire." Tomorrow, he`s going to show us how winning an Oscar changed his life, and he`s going to give some advice, hopefully, for this year`s nominees. Cuba Gooding, Jr., joins us tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And get ready, because we are hitting the road to the Oscars. All next week, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your complete coverage of what should be or could be one of the most controversial Academy Awards ever, from Jon Stewart as your host, to sexually charged movies like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Transamerica." That is all next week.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
END
