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Showbiz Tonight
Sheen 9/11 Comments Spark Controversy; Investigators Unraveling Mystery of Princess Diana`s Death; Students Spend Spring Break Helping Out ; ABC`s "Extreme Makeover" Remakes Town Devastated by Katrina; "Rolling Stone" Goes Behind The Scenes with "American Idol"; Growing Phenomenon of the Office Spouse
Aired March 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: New information about the death of Princess Diana. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And a look at a workplace phenomenon, the office spouse. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Charlie Sheen speaks out on a controversial theory that the government covered up what really happened on 9/11.
CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: Taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 percent of their targets. That feels like a conspiracy theory.
HAMMER: Tonight, we dig even deeper. The host of the radio show on which Sheen leveled his startling allegations joins us live right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Plus, the overwhelming response from you, the viewers.
Rebuilding communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Tonight, how a TV reality show is going in to fix what some say the government could not.
HARRY CONNICK JR., SINGER/ACTOR: I`m Harry Connick Jr. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer, live in New York City.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson, live in Hollywood.
A.J., it`s been incredible. Pretty hard to believe, actually, the response we got today to the incredible story SHOWBIZ TONIGHT broke last night. Actor Charlie Sheen`s startling claims that the government may be covering up what really happened on September 11.
HAMMER: So many e-mails coming in. We`ve been really overwhelmed today. Between the e-mails, the blogs, the web sites, everybody is writing and talking about it.
Charlie Sheen made the comments during a hard-to-believe interview on a radio show. And don`t move because in just a moment the host of the radio show, the guy who actually spoke with Sheen, is going to join me live here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. But first let`s get you up to speed on the latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEEN: The more you look at stuff, especially specific incidents, specific events, in or around the fateful day, it just-- it just raises a lot of questions.
HAMMER: The questions Charlie Sheen is raising about the 9/11 attacks are raising a lot of eyebrows. Our e-mail inbox immediately started to overflow. And the coverage on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is getting a lot of attention.
The web site 9/11 Blogger calls SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s coverage, quote, "The first time a major news station has covered 9/11 questions in any reasonable format."
It all started with a radio interview Sheen gave to GCN Radio Network host Alex Jones, a cult hero of sorts to 9/11 conspiracy theorists. During the interview, Sheen made clear that he backs Jones` views.
SHEEN: We`re not the conspiracy theorists on this particular issue. It seems to me like, you know, 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 percent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory.
HAMMER: Sheen also made another shocking suggestion: that we may not know the full story about the collapse of the World Trade Center.
SHEEN: I have a hard time believing that a fireball traveled down the elevator over 110 feet and still had the explosive energy to destroy the lobby like it was described.
I said, "Hey, call me insane. But did it sort of look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition?"
If I was your age, I could only dream about my parents splitting up.
HAMMER: As the star of the sitcom "Two and a Half Men," Sheen is seen weekly by about 10 million people. And many of them may end up paying attention to his controversial comments about 9/11.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: As I mentioned the radio host who interviewed Sheen is Alex Jones of the Genesis Communications Network. Alex joins me live from Austin, Texas, to talk about Sheen`s riveting comments.
Alex, as I mentioned, the response that we got from doing this story last night absolutely shocking. So I want to know how it actually all came about. How did the interview with Charlie Sheen actually happen? Did you guys reach out to him? Did he call you? What was the deal?
ALEX JONES, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, just to make something clear, Mr. Sheen has amazing courage to do what he`s done. And he contacted me. He`s been watching my documentaries for years. He`s one of the most informed people that I`ve talked to in Hollywood on this subject.
Listen, for years Hollywood`s been on fire with people knowing the truth about 9/11. And I was the first to expose 9/11 on the day. In fact two months before I had intel that elements of the military industrial complex were going to carry out the attack. I said they`ll use bin Laden, the known CIS. That is their patsy to take the blame for attacking the towers.
So Mr. Sheen is only exceptional in that he has courage in going public. Courage that no one else in Hollywood had.
I mean, here`s a CNN poll from Anderson Cooper a year and a half ago where they said is the government covering up 9/11? Could they be involved? Ninety percent when the poll closed on CNN said this.
So listen I have my own syndicated show. I`ve done 4,000 radio interviews in the last 4 1/2 years. Almost no one calls in and disagrees now. We have the majority view and we have the evidence.
And bottom line, there are declassified U.S. government documents like Operation Northwoods that ABC News reported on back in 2000. Operation Northwoods. Google it.
And in there the U.S. government -- an element of it -- said we want to hi-jack jets by remote control, crash them and blame it on the Soviet Union in Cuba. Now that was decades ago. This is why we believe this.
Then you look at the official story. The firefighters, the police, hundreds of them saying there were bomb in the buildings. They were told to shut up. You look at building seven, detonators going off. You can see the explosion.
HAMMER: And Alex, a lot of this is what Charlie Sheen was covering. I`m actually just curious. Did he reach out to you guys? Is he the one who put the call into you and how he wound up on your show?
JONES: Sure. Sure. He called me a few weeks ago and said that -- said that he loves this country. He has nothing to gain from this. In fact it`s dangerous for him to do.
HAMMER: Sure, sure.
JONES: He said, "I love this country and my kids so much that I`m going to do this, Alex."
And I said, "God bless you" because now it makes for other Hollywood people who`ve got major pull who know the truth to start going public.
HAMMER: And dangerous indeed to do. Because a lot of what he said makes a lot of people sort of sit back and say, "Whoa, I don`t know about that."
And what`s really important here. You may not agree with everything that Charlie Sheen had to say. I personally think it`s a good thing that he did go on your show, so he could go public with his point of view. Because it does get people talking.
You know, there are a lot of people who may look at this, however, and say there just goes another Hollywood nut job shooting off his mouth.
JONES: Listen -- listen...
HAMMER: I imagine that you think, though, having a Hollywood actor on your side is a good thing and, as you mention, may bring some more people to the table talking about this.
JONES: Sure, sure. If you knew some of the Hollywood names that are aware of 9/11. We`re talking some of the biggest people.
HAMMER: Any you can tell us about that you`ve been in contact with?
JONES: No, I can`t. Because -- because people in Hollywood contact me because I have integrity, and I`ve been in a few films and they know me. And they know I keep my mouth shut.
You know, it was kind of like back in high school. I learned to keep my mouth shut about girls I was dating and all the girls started liking you.
Look, it`s really simple. Let`s understand this, OK? Nine-eleven was an inside job. It was a self-inflicted wound. And -- and what Charlie Sheen is doing is just amazing, and he can only be commended for it. And all he`s calling for is a real investigation.
I go further at InfoWars.com and PrisonPlanet.com. We lay out how it happened and what took place.
And it`s not just Charlie Sheen I`ve interviewed. CNN has interviewed some of these people, the only network that I`ve seen doing it. You guys have interviewed. There have been physics professors that have gone public. There have been the heads of mining colleges that have gone public.
George Bush Sr.`s top CIA adviser who briefed him and Ronald Reagan, one of the highest little guys at the CIA, says our government is clearly involved in carrying out terror to blame it on foreign enemies.
Did you know that on CIA.gov they admit that they carried out terror attacks in 1953 to blame it on Mohammed Mozadek (ph) in Iran as a pretext to overthrow Iran?
HAMMER: Alex -- I`m going to rein -- all good stuff and all stuff that needs to be talked about. But I`m going to rein you back in here to the topic at hand.
JONES: Sure.
HAMMER: One thing that I think is interesting. You know, as I mentioned we`ve gotten this overwhelming response. The e-mail has not stopped coming in. Most of the e-mail I`ve been getting has been supporting the fact that we are bringing attention to something that is rarely talked about in mainstream media.
JONES: Yes, sir. You have courage. No one else has done what you`re doing.
HAMMER: And I appreciate you saying that. So the question is why? Why have so many of the major media outlets not talked about these alternative theories that exist behind 9/11? Why is that?
JONES: Mark Twain said that, "In the beginning a patriot is a scarce man, hated and feared and scorned. But in time when his cause succeeds, the timid join him, because then it costs nothing to be patriot."
A lot of people don`t have the courage that you have, A.J. A lot of people don`t have the courage of Charlie Sheen. They don`t have the courage of the German defense minister, Andre Van Bulow (ph), who two years ago went public...
HAMMER: What do you think is afraid of that`s going to happen to them?
JONES: They`re afraid of being beaten up by the hordes of neocon intimidators who try to go out there with their Gestapo Nazi tactics to try to bludgeon everybody with their blogs and radio shows to shut up.
But they`ve lost, pal, because people have learned that they`re a bunch of liars. They lied about WMDs. They lied about everything. And now their credibility is totally blown.
The new White House memo just came out where Bush is talking about staging the shoot down of American planes to get -- to blame it on Saddam. That`s public. That`s admitted.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about some public documents. Because obviously experts, government commissions, countless officials have all come out and supported what is the official line.
JONES: Yes, they call it Henry Kissinger independent.
HAMMER: Right. Well, we know that those documents are out there and that people are supporting them. So I guess what some people watching us tonight may be thinking is, well, why the heck should I be listening to Charlie Sheen or to Alex Jones and his web site on this matter?
JONES: They shouldn`t. They shouldn`t. They shouldn`t believe me. They shouldn`t believe you. They shouldn`t believe George Bush. They shouldn`t believe the Keane Commission where almost the entire commission has conflicts of interest and was appointed by Bush. You`ve got to love this. He appoints his own commission, and then the media calls it independent.
Did you know that the "9/11 Whitewash Commission" claims there were no columns in tower one and two when they had 47 of the biggest columns in the world up until that time? They won`t say why building seven had blast points going off down the side.
HAMMER: Well, Alex -- Alex, I`m afraid I`ve got to cut you off because we`re out of time. But as I said, it`s sparking debate. It`s getting people talking. And I appreciate you help bringing it up.
JONES: Thank you. Go to InfoWars.com, sir. Find out the truth at PrisonPlanet.com.
HAMMER: Alex Jones, live from Austin.
And as I mentioned we`ve gotten so many e-mails on the subject. We`ll read what some of you have to say coming up a bit later in the show.
Nine eleven also happens to be the subject of a new movie that`s coming out in theaters soon. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your first look at "United 93." That`s coming up in a bit in the "SHOWBIZ Showcase."
ANDERSON: Plus, rebuilding communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Tonight how a TV reality show is going in to fix what some say the government could not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m going to get the door for you, like I always do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Office spouses. Until desks do us part. In sickness and in health plans. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the phenomenon that`s all the buzz in the media. Is it OK to have a real wife and a work wife?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I am A.J. Hammer. You are watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
We have gotten a tremendous response to the story that we brought you on Charlie Sheen`s comments about 9/11. We do want to keep hearing from you. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Charlie Sheen speaks out. Do you agree there is a government cover-up of 9/11?
Let`s see the votes so far: 65 percent of you say yes; 35 percent of you say no, you don`t.
A couple of the e-mails we`ve received include one from Dylan in Texas, who writes, "There are so many unanswered questions, and all attempts at an investigation have been stonewalled by the government."
We also heard from Mike in Hawaii, who writes, "How could any sane person believe that our government attacked our own people?"
Do keep voting at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. You want to e-mail us more of your thoughts, we want to hear from you at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. Those e-mails coming up later in the show.
ANDERSON: In tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Showcase" we`ve got your first look at the movie "United 93." The film is a real-time account of what happened on the fourth plane to be hijacked on September 11.
Heroic passengers fought back against the terrorists and spared what might have been the intended target, the White House. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome aboard United Flight 93. We`re flying to San Francisco.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Runway is clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Runway clear for take-off.
United 93. United 93. United 93.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey, it`s me. My flight has been hi-jacked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two planes into the World Trade Center. We have to shoot that thing down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God. I think we`re heading to Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to do something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re running out of time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s going to do something stupid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a bunch of us here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take him down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to take back the cockpit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to go. They`re about to storm the cockpit. I love you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: "United 93" will be in theaters next month.
HAMMER: So just when you thought the case might have been closed on Princess Diana`s fatal car crash, there are some surprising new revelations and shocking questions surrounding her death. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT now goes around the world to get you the very latest.
CNN`s Fionnuala Sweeney is in London -- Fionnuala.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A.J., it has been almost nine years since Princess Diana was killed. But that doesn`t stop the public fascination with the circumstances surrounding her death.
In recent months, long standing questions are emerging: did Buckingham Palace want Diana dead? Was she pregnant at the time of her death? And just what is the deal with the man driving the car that killed Diana and boyfriend Dodi al-Fayed?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY (voice-over): Conflicting reports, stray plot lines, new questions. What really happened the night of Princess Diana`s death?
BETSY GLEICK, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: There have been some leaks from the investigation.
SWEENEY: "People" magazine has shocking new evidence about why, almost nine years after the fatal crash, British authorities still can`t close their case.
GLEICK: A lot of people thought that Diana`s death had been settled long ago. But in fact there are some genuine questions about the circumstances surrounding it.
SWEENEY: Many conspiracies revolve around Henri Paul, the chauffeur on that fateful night. He, too, died in the car crash that killed Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi al-Fayed. French officials say he was drunk.
But now...
GLEICK: It is now unclear. The French had come back and said, well, actually there may have been some confusion and some sort of mistake with the blood tests.
SWEENEY: What we do know, Paul was an informant for French intelligence.
GLEICK: He seems to have been a French secret agent of some kind, and he had extra money in his account. He had received a payment of approximately $120,000 in the week or so before Diana`s death. And it`s unclear at this point where that money came from.
SWEENEY: Conspiracy theorists say it came from a plot to kill the princess, a directive from Buckingham Palace.
GLEICK: Well, the one person who`s saying that the palace orchestrated it is Dodi al-Fayed`s father, Mohammed al-Fayed, the sort of outspoken owner of Harrod`s, a businessman. And he has been claiming all along that this was murder, not an accident.
He`s the one who is fanning the flame. But now, people from the side of the investigation have come out and said it turns out that this is a far more complex matter than we had originally thought.
SWEENEY: And the reason behind this so-called plot, an impending engagement.
GLEICK: One of the reasons that this controversy continued is because Mohammed al-Fayed believed that the palace did not want Diana to have anything to do with a Muslim.
SWEENEY: "People" magazine says Dodi had bought a $200,000 ring just before the pair died.
Another lingering mystery, Diana`s body was partially embalmed just hours after she died and before a French autopsy could be done. Some people think that was done to throw off signs Diana was pregnant with Dodi`s child.
GLEICK: The investigators are trying to determine who gave the order for that embalming? However, other medical experts that say embalmed, not embalmed, she was not pregnant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SWEENEY: Well, here in London we`re expecting the final British report on the crash to come out next month. It`s said to dismiss these conspiracy theories, and simply put, the report will reportedly say there was no foul play.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be on top of the controversy which will no doubt arise from it. A.J., back to you in New York.
HAMMER: And conspiracy theories will no doubt live on. Thanks very much, Fionnuala. CNN`s Fionnuala Sweeney, joining us from London for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Well, when you think of MTV and spring break, charity work is probably not what springs to mind. But MTV`s Gideon Yago is going to be joining me live in a few moments to tell us how it`s not all about beer and bikinis this year for some spring breakers.
ANDERSON: Plus, rebuilding communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Tonight, how a TV reality show is going in to fix what some say the government could not.
HAMMER: And do you have an office spouse in your office space? Lots of people do these days. We`re going to take a look at relationships forged around the conference table rather than the dinner table. That`s coming up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And dissolve. Let`s get Gideon Yago from MTV stated. Master. Roll the tape and then black.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Jared Leto, actor, front man of his own band. Now a role that`s been 25 years in the making. He`s playing Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon. We`ll ask him about the amazing transformation he underwent for that role. That is tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Well, it`s here: spring break season, and for legions of college students across the country, that means beaches, beer, tequila shots and of course, lots of unsupervised partying.
Well, now a new MTV series called "The Amazing Break". It`s showcasing how some students decided to spend their time off working to help rebuild communities and improve the lives of those in need.
Joining us live, MTV News reporter Gideon Yago.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
GIDEON YAGO, MTV NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much.
HAMMER: I think of the -- you know, the beer guzzling and the partying going on.
YAGO: Right. Funnels and foam parties, students in decadence.
HAMMER: But not in this particular documentary. In fact you have some students who went to South Africa. Why?
YAGO: Well, these were students from San Diego State who had done a drive to raise money and supplies for an orphanage right outside of Johannesburg. And they got a chance, because the amount of stuff that they raised, to actually fly and deliver this stuff themselves and take a look at some of the living conditions and some of the effects of AIDS, AIDS and poverty that have really ravaged that country.
So you know, that`s just one of five very interesting alternative spring breaks that we showcase in our program.
HAMMER: The Gulf Coast another place. That was a destination. You know, we saw, finally, with Fat Tuesday and with the Mardi Gras, we saw the partying going on. But we have students there also doing good.
YAGO: Absolutely. You know, and I think that`s one of the things, that you look at Katrina. And especially in the last year with all of the natural disasters, with the tsunami and, obviously, with what hit the Gulf Coast. And it had a galvanizing effect on campuses across the country. And we felt that that deserved recognition. And that deserved support.
So we paired up with the United Way and Home Depot and FedEx. We sent 100 kids down there to actually do work in Biloxi. And you know, as you can probably see with some of the footage that`s being rolled right now, you know, they had an incredible week.
HAMMER: What types of things were they -- I mean they were getting in down and dirty, getting their hands dirty.
YAGO: You know, demolition; cleaning houses for, you know, to get sprayed for mold; doing roof repair; just lifting debris. I mean, we forget that, you know, there`s still so much damage. All the way on that belt from Pensacola all the way, you know, past the lower Ninth Ward. That, you know, with three months away towards the next hurricane season, just needs to get out, get out somehow.
HAMMER: You mention the fact that, you know, people seeing all of this going on in the Gulf Coast on television galvanized the community to help out. Is that really what motivated a lot of these kids to get involved to get down there instead of hitting the beach?
YAGO: You know, I think so. I mean you -- look, you`re going to have body shots and banana hammocks galore going on all throughout the U.S. during spring breaks. But you know, more and more there`s an increasing number of kids that volunteer. And, you know, we wanted to give that a platform.
HAMMER: I know the very first time I had the opportunity to volunteer, I did it not so much because, oh, I thought it is going to effect my life in some drastic way. It just seemed like a cool thing to do. It radically changed my life. Do you see a lot of that happening with these kids?
YAGO: I think you do. And it`s really funny that, you know, we were watching these things go through the edit. We were like wow, how many times do you have somebody say that this was a life-changing experience? Or this was, you know, amazing and it changed my outlook on things.
But you actually see what these -- you know, these young volunteers go through. And seeing the stuff firsthand, whether it`s the damage in, you know, in the Gulf Coast or helping out in a homeless shelter or going to South Africa or doing equality rides and how it affects them.
HAMMER: You watch this transformation.
YAGO: Yes. And we hope that in the future more people might make that decision that we can facilitate.
HAMMER: Thanks very much for sharing this with us.
YAGO: Thank you for having me on.
HAMMER: Gideon Yago from MTV.
And you can catch "The Amazing Break" this Saturday on MTV.
ANDERSON: Spring breakers aren`t the only ones lending their time for a good cause. Coming up, how a TV reality show is helping Katrina- devastated communities rebuild.
ANDERSON: Plus a reality check for the reality show that Americans love. Coming up, a revealing new look at the "American Idol" judges.
HAMMER: And when you see your co-workers more than your family, it`s bound to happen. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes a look at the phenomenon of office spouses. That`s coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 31 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And you`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
HAMMER: Well, Brooke, one of America`s favorite reality shows that is well-known for doing good things for people one house at a time is now getting set to showcase how they`re doing good things down in the Gulf Coast, in the devastated region, one community at a time. I will speak with one of the stars of that show, find out exactly what they`re up to, coming up in just a couple of minutes.
ANDERSON: It`s heart-warming to watch that.
Another reality show garnering still unbelievable ratings, "American Idol," A.J. But sometimes the judges put on a bigger show than the contestants. And coming up in just a few minute, we will have an inside look at Paula, Simon, Randy and also host Ryan Seacrest.
But first, home may be where the heart is, but for lots of people, it`s their co-workers, not their families, who get the majority of their time. And that has led one magazine to look into the growing phenomenon of the office spouse. Here`s CNN`s Rusty Dornin for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LORRAINE WILDERMAN, "OFFICE SPOUSE": I`m hungry. I want to eat.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They like the same things...
MIKE O`REAR, "OFFICE SPOUSE": Let`s go to the Chinese restaurant.
WILDERMAN: OK!
DORNIN: ... like where to eat...
M. O`REAR: Let me get the door for you, like I always do.
WILDERMAN: Thank you.
DORNIN: Mike and Lorraine have built a close relationship on banter.
WILDERMAN: Mikey, Mikey, Mikey, you know the routine. You`ve got to let the teabags set in there for a while.
DORNIN: A longtime married couple out for lunch? Hardly. How about co-workers? Mike O`Rear and Lorraine Wilderman met when she joined the faculty at Chattahoochee Technical College in Georgia. Over eight years, they`ve become part of a new phenomenon: office spouses.
WILDERMAN: Mike has a lot of the same traits as my husband does. And when I`m at work, it`s like, "Where`s Mike? Help, I need something."
DORNIN: In a national survey by the research company Vault, Inc., 32 percent of workers say they have an office spouse. Advertising executive Tina Chadwick recently wrote a magazine article defining this new kind of relationship.
TINA CHADWICK, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MATCH, INC.: When you get particularly close to someone and in terms click with them, that starts to develop a spouse relationship, where you rely on them, you ask for their advice.
WILDERMAN: Mike, do you have a pocket knife or a pair of scissors?
M. O`REAR: No, I got some scissors.
WILDERMAN: Can you open that for me?
CHADWICK: There`s a synergy that develops that can be quite energetic, you know, and quite enlivening, rather than just the drudgery of work.
WILDERMAN: You can hand these two at a time, if you want.
M. O`REAR: My other hand`s busy.
WILDERMAN: Put your water down, and hand me some, or we`re going to be here until the cows come in.
M. O`REAR: Yes, ma`am.
DORNIN: As they grew closer over the years, Mike and Lorraine started relying on each other for much more than business.
WILDERMAN: If he`s even had a bad weekend or something`s happened to one of his grandchildren, I can almost tell by the expression on his face.
M. O`REAR: There`s always problems you`re going to have. That`s just part of life. But if you have someone you can share it with, it makes it a little bit better.
DORNIN: Tina Chadwick says she`s had several office spouses over the years. Her colleagues, Jason Turner (ph) and Jeff Stewart (ph), say that long hours and business trips with co-workers make it part of modern life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, they become your best friends, basically, because you`re spending, you know, every day with them. And you`re with them longer than you`re with, like, your wife, our your spouse, or whoever. So, yes, it kind of -- a line could possibly get crossed, mentally, but not really physically.
DORNIN: But whether it`s 9:00 to 5:00 or 9:00 to midnight, if things begin to border on the inappropriate, business experts say, "Step back."
CHADWICK: You have to decide, "OK, I`m at my boundary with this person, and I need to kind of start drawing that line in what I say and what I divulge."
DORNIN (on camera): How important is it to take your relationship home and tell your spouse about this other person?
M. O`REAR: I tell Dianne everything. If you don`t lie, you don`t have to remember what you told, so you don`t get caught.
DORNIN (voice-over): Mike is open, not only with his wife. He likes to shock people by introducing his "wives."
M. O`REAR: This is my first wife, Dianne...
(LAUGHTER)
... and this Lorraine Wilderman, my office spouse.
JESSICA NETTLES, "OFFICE SPOUSE": We don`t know which one I am, two or three.
M. O`REAR: And this is Jessica Nettles, my second office wife.
DORNIN: Oh, yes, there can be multiple office spouses. Jessica Nettles is Mike`s other "other woman." He befriended her four years ago when she was new to the college.
NETTLES: I can`t finish his sentences yet; I haven`t know him that long. But I can walk by on the phone and know what he`s thinking.
DORNIN: Business management expert Chris Riordan says close relationships in the workplace can make people happier on the job, but she doesn`t like the word "spouse."
CHRIS RIORDAN, NEELEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, TEXAS: It`s a sexy term, you know, even in the idea of having a spouse in a work environment, but...
DORNIN (on camera): But that`s a negative?
RIORDAN: It is. It`s absolutely a negative. Friendships are very powerful, and you don`t want to the diminish the power of those friendships by coining it or calling it an office spouse.
DORNIN (voice-over): And there is always the very real danger of an office relationship going too far.
RIORDAN: If you engage in flirting-type behavior, that`s going to make other people uncomfortable. If you become so interdependent that you`re not necessarily thinking on your own, if you`re making decisions because of the other person rather than for yourself, those might be danger signs.
DORNIN (on camera): Could you ever see a relationship like this, though, maybe negatively affecting people in an office?
M. O`REAR: I guess, if it crossed the line, it probably could.
DORNIN: But what is crossing the line?
M. O`REAR: I don`t know; I`ve never been there.
(LAUGHTER)
DORNIN (voice-over): In fact, these three don`t even socialize outside the office. And Mike`s real wife, Dianne O`Rear, doesn`t worry about her husband`s professional polygamy.
DIANNE O`REAR, WIFE OF AN "OFFICE SPOUSE": A spouse is someone you share things with, you discuss things with, and you share a bond with. And there`s a bond they have that does not infringe on what Michael and I have.
DORNIN: This daytime husband and his office wives appear to have found the right balance.
WILDERMAN: You asked him if you could talk about your haircut.
NETTLES: And you said no.
M. O`REAR: And I assumed yes.
WILDERMAN: But we both said no.
M. O`REAR: That means yes.
(LAUGHTER)
DORNIN: Comfortable, familiar, but within very well-defined limits.
NETTLES: OK. I`ll see you there. Bye.
M. O`REAR: I`ll see you then. Bye.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Professional polygamy, interesting way to phrase it. That was CNN`s Rusty Dornin for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Well, tonight a rare and revealing look at TV`s most watched show, "American Idol." Now, aside from the thrill of seeing which contestants is going to be made into an instant star, the show has become super-popular because of its judges.
Randy, of course, the energetic guy that always says, "Yo, dawg." Paula, of course, the former pop star who brings that sugary sweet balance to the program. And then, of course, crusty, old Simon, the blunt Brit.
Well, the new issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine that you`re seeing right here has an inside look at the trio and host Ryan Seacrest. Joining us live here in New York to spill the beans, senior editor from "Rolling Stone," Nathan Brackett.
So, Nathan, I appreciate you coming in here...
NATHAN BRACKETT, SENIOR EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": Good to be here.
HAMMER: ... to talk about this with us. We see the very public personas of Randy, Simon and Paula every week. Thirty million of us were tuning in to see them, and that`s the bit that we get on TV. But you guys got to dig into their personal side. What private part of their lives would really shock us?
BRACKETT: Well, I think we went into this thinking, well, these guys must be -- they`re professionals, right? This must be kind of an act. They must kind of like each other.
The fact is, it looks they really don`t. That was a big revelation. They have a long history of tension on the set. Simon Cowell just, in real life, doesn`t seem like that nice a person. He doesn`t tell his girlfriend that he loves him. He started calling his mom names when he was, like, three years old. I think in one part of the story he says that he told his mom that she looked like a poodle when he was three.
HAMMER: He was just a kid.
BRACKETT: Yes, he was just a kid. He almost burned down his parent`s house once. So stuff like that.
HAMMER: Nice guy. So based on that, the drama that we`re seeing isn`t drama for drama`s sake. In fact, I remember at the beginning of this season, Simon actually stormed off from the San Francisco auditions and apparently hired a jet to fly back to L.A. because he was so unhappy and angry at the rest of the judges.
BRACKETT: I mean, we can`t be sure that they don`t amplify it a little bit...
HAMMER: Yes, play it up a little.
BRACKETT: ... but there seems to be some underlying tension, which is the root of it.
HAMMER: OK, so let`s talk about Simon. Let`s talk about more the fact that this is not really an act for him, there are a lot of other aspects in his life. I mean, one of the shocking revelations I thought was the fact that he may not always wear underwear, but you guys...
BRACKETT: I try not to think about that, yes.
HAMMER: But it was in the article, but you guys really show that this goes on in all aspects of his life, the sort of rude and crude.
BRACKETT: Yes, he seems like just kind of a difficult person. You know, he`s had an interesting life. He used to be the owner of this label called Fanfare. It was worth a couple of million dollars in the early `80s, kind of made some bad steps, lost all of his money. And now he`s a very wealthy man.
HAMMER: And speaking about the money, in the article, "Rolling Stone" asks of Simon: What do you want more than anything else in the world? And Cowell responds by saying, "Money, as much money as I can get my hands on. It`s as simple as that." So what is this guy worth and what`s he making?
BRACKETT: Well, the writer, Eric Hedegaard, suspected that he was probably worth in excess of $90 million. Simon wouldn`t give us a real answer. And he probably makes over $25 million a year.
HAMMER: Well, a lot of people -- it uncovered in the article, and I thought this was interesting. A lot of other networks tried to hire him away to sort of put an end to the juggernaut that is "American Idol."
BRACKETT: Yes, well, I mean, it just can`t be overstated what a juggernaut "American Idol" is now. I mean, it`s kind of like a throwback to the days where there were only three networks and things would get these amazing 40 shares. I mean it`s one of the few things that, like, zillions and zillions of people really tune into every night.
HAMMER: Well, it`s a real interesting read with some great insight, and I appreciate you stopping by, Nathan.
BRACKETT: Thanks.
HAMMER: Nathan Brackett, senior editor from "Rolling Stone." You can grab your copy of "Rolling Stone" magazine on newsstands now.
ANDERSON: The Heather Locklear-Richie Sambora divorce could be getting ugly. We will explain why, next.
HAMMER: Plus, our inbox absolutely flooded with your e-mails about Charlie Sheen, saying there`s been a government cover-up of what actually happened on 9/11. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reads your fired-up responses, coming up next.
Plus, we`ve also got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like a ghost town. I mean, there`s nothing here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a war zone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Tonight, bringing hope after the storm. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT shows you how one TV reality show is fixing Hurricane Katrina-devastated areas in ways some say the government has not.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. This is TV`s only live entertainment news show.
We have been getting an overwhelming response to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." We`ve been asking: Charlie Sheen speaks out: Do you agree there is a government cover-up of 9/11?
Here`s the vote so far: 67 percent of you say yes; 33 percent of you say no.
Some of the e-mails we`ve received includes one from Jennifer in North Dakota. She writes, "Charlie Sheen has no evidence, and it is a shame that celebs get their voice and opinions heard because of their status."
We also heard from Dan. He lives in Kentucky. Danny says, "God bless Charlie Sheen for standing up and speaking his mind on what is the most devastating event to hit our nation, 9/11."
We also heard from Chris in Ohio. Chris writes, "This is a very important issue that must be brought into the mainstream. It is our patriotic duty to make sure we find out why and how 9/11 happened."
There is the address to keep voting, CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT.
ANDERSON: It is time now for tonight`s "Hot Headlines." And for that, we go to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, who is joining us live here in Hollywood.
Hi, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.
Well, tonight Richie Sambora borrowing a line from Kanye West`s "Gold Digger" song. He says he wants pre-nup. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned that the Bon Jovi guitarist wants a prenuptial agreement he signed with his wife, Heather Locklear, quote, "enforced."
He`s also seeking joint custody of the couple`s 8-year-old daughter. Locklear filed for divorce after 11 years last month.
Well, your friendly neighborhood Spiderman is about to say, "Hello, Cleveland." (INAUDIBLE) The greater Cleveland film council says "Spiderman 3" will shoot exterior scenes in the Ohio city next month. Cleveland beat out the Big Apple, New York, where production costs are higher. It`s doubtful, though, that the movie stars, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, will be involved. Just a crew will be shooting.
And "60 Minutes" is heading online. CBS said today the long-running TV news magazine will put segments up on the Web portal, Yahoo. Starting this fall, "60 Minutes" will stream content and offer exclusive video. Now, we wonder what Andy Rooney, who still likes his typewriter, will think about all that.
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
ANDERSON: Sibila, Andy Rooney might not be too keen on using that service. Thank you so much.
VARGAS: No, you know, he`s always considered himself a writer who has been on television. Now he`ll be on the Internet.
ANDERSON: That`s right. Sibila Vargas, live here with me in Hollywood. Thanks.
HAMMER: Well, tonight a popular TV reality show rebuilds towns devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Normally, ABC`s "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" remakes one deserving family`s home per episode. But after Katrina leveled the Gulf Coast last summer, the designers and builders decided it was more helpful to rebuild town infrastructure, like medical clinics, firehouses, and movie theaters.
Well, I had the chance to sit down with Paul DiMeo. He`s the show`s carpenter and one of the designers, and we chatted about their show`s amazing efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You guys have been so helpful to so many for so long. Now you have the chance to spend some time down on the Gulf Coast. It`s been seven months since the hurricanes.
PAUL DIMEO, DESIGNER, "EXTREME MAKEOVER": Yes.
HAMMER: Were you just shocked by what you saw?
DIMEO: Unbelievable, A.J. I mean, you get down there. And, you know, I watched it on TV. You know, I watched the news and saw it on the TV. But when...
HAMMER: Doesn`t represent, though.
DIMEO: Not at all. I mean, we got off the bus, and it`s just mile after mile, just gone, just like somebody wiped their hand right across and it`s no longer there.
HAMMER: And any particular things that struck you, that said, "You know, I couldn`t have imagined it was this bad"?
DIMEO: Yes, one, no life at all, no bird life. You don`t see any animals at all. I mean, we saw some wild dogs running around, but, for the most part, silence.
You know, it`s like you`re looking at a black-and-white photograph, you know, and it was meant to be in color. So it`s just been -- it really opened my eyes to what was happening down there.
And, you know, we came down. We would look at it. Right after Katrina hit and Rita hit, we said, "Well, we got to get down there. What are we going to do?"
So, you know, right away, you say, well, we`re just a bunch of guys who know how to build a home. You know, what are we going to do down there? But we thought about it and said, "You know what? Let`s hit, you know, churches, firehouses, schools, parks, that kind of thing, that a community then could build itself around those."
HAMMER: So for this whole series, you`re not building homes and you`re not helping specifically families that need your help and communities at large with these other buildings?
DIMEO: Exactly, health clinic. Preston did a great memorial there in Biloxi. I was in Sabine Pass doing a firehouse, a great bunch of firemen who waited until the last hour to get out, and they were the first ones back when they came back.
The little town of Sabine Pass was pretty much gone. So, you know, it`s hard for families to come back and kind of rebuild, knowing that there`s no paramedics or no one to help them if they were in trouble, so...
HAMMER: You have to have some basic infrastructure.
DIMEO: Exactly.
HAMMER: And people probably would be shocked to learn a lot of that still doesn`t exist.
DIMEO: Still does not exist. I mean, the needs down there are -- you know, you say to yourself, you know, "When will it be back to normal?" And I don`t know when; I just don`t know when.
I mean, the people have left. Some will never come back. Some will come back. So it`s a tough -- you know, here it is right here in our own backyard. You know, the size of Great Britain, that`s what`s gone, so it`s big.
HAMMER: So you`re down there working on, let`s say, a clinic. Of course, it`s work that needs to get done. But at any point during the project, are you saying to yourself or maybe amongst each other saying, "OK, it`s great that we`re doing this. But, you know, the government really should be doing this"?
DIMEO: You know, a government of the people, so we are the people. And that`s who`s doing the work. I mean, I met so many volunteers down there, people from all over the country, people from New York, New York firefighters that have come down and helped out.
So, you know, I mean, we can do that. We can wash our hands and say, "Hey, this is a government thing; let`s let them do it." But, you know, that`s a real easy answer, you know? We got to take the bull by its horns and go down and do what we need to do to bring these people back home, and that`s what we`re doing.
HAMMER: But was it still clear to you, though, through what you saw, whether it was work you were personally engaged with it or not, that this is something -- you know, the government messed up here, and it`s not getting done because they didn`t do the right thing?
DIMEO: Yes, I mean, there`s certainly -- we can put blame in a lot of places. Yes, I mean, I know that we can deploy people very quickly. Why we can`t get people out of the Superdome, I can`t figure that out.
But that`s the way it happened. And we`ll learn -- hopefully, we will learn from that. And in the future, you know, we`ll try to be ahead of the ballgame on that. I`m sure no one knew the devastation that Katrina and Rita were going to bring when they came through. So you know, now we do. So if this were to ever happen again, well, then, yes, then I`m pointing my finger.
HAMMER: You guys have had such great success over the few years you`ve been on the air. This is another great success story. What does it come down to for you, as why this show strikes such a chord with people?
DIMEO: Boy, you know, it`s funny, because being in it for -- now we`re going into our fourth season. And I just think it`s a need of -- how can helping others be entertaining?
And how can it be -- I think we all have that need. We want to do that. We want to lend a hand out to our neighbor. We want to help out the person who`s down and bring them up.
And, you know, all we`re doing is sharing the events of a week with the viewers at home, and it shows. I think it shows how genuine we are, and what we want, and how the community rises with us to do this. It`s one of the greatest experiences of my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: They should be very proud of themselves. The "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," after the storm four-part series begins tonight on ABC. Paul also wants to let you know about a health campaign that he`s working on. You can learn more about that at GoalStandard.com.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It is time now for a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT birthday shoutout, and this is where we give fans a chance to wish their favorite stars a happy birthday. Tonight, we`re sending one out to singer Chaka Khan. You remember the `80s song, "I Feel For You"? Well, Chaka is celebrating her 53rd birthday today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is Michael Zurich (ph) in New York. And I just want to wish Chaka Khan a happy, rockin`, happy birthday. You`re a terrific singer. I enjoy your work, and I wish you all the best, and many, many happy returns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Let out a long sigh, if you want to. Tomorrow is Friday. And to find out what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, here comes your "Showbiz Marquee."
Tomorrow, we will take an inside look at "Inside Man" star Jodie Foster. The Oscar-winner dishes with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about her new movie, motherhood and the secrets behind her four decades of success. It`s Jodie Foster in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, Jared Leto, versatile actor, frontman of his very own rock band, and now he`s in a role that`s 25 years in the making. Jared Leto is going to be playing Mark David Chapman, the guy that shot and killed John Lennon. We`ll ask him about the amazing transformation he underwent for that role, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News. Good night, everybody.
END
