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Showbiz Tonight
`American Idol`s Journey to Small Screen; Interview With Julia Roberts
Aired May 05, 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, CNN HN HOST: Imagine a world without "American Idol." The stunning story of how the hit show almost didn`t make it on TV. I`m A.J. Hammer.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN HN HOST: And my revealing interview with Julia Roberts about her Broadway play that everyone`s talking about.
I`m Brooke Anderson. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, does she or doesn`t she? Nicole Richie`s strange confession about her extreme weight loss. Does the star of "The Simple Life" have anorexia? Tonight, why the answer is not so simple. And why what she revealed may be revealing about eating disorders. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates.
Also on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, inside the dark world of OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. The obsessive cleaning, the bizarre rituals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Open my shower curtain, start with my foot. Then I go like this and I can lift it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, the life of a woman that is so strange, you have to see it to believe it. And you will on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
ANDERSON: Hi there and welcome to a Friday. I`m Brooke Anderson.
HAMMER: And I`m A.J. Hammer. Brooke, I know this may sound like a bit of a trick question, when is anorexia really anorexia and when is it not?
ANDERSON: A.J., that`s the question, the exact question everybody`s asking tonight about one of Hollywood`s skinniest stars. "The Simple Life`s" Nicole Richie has now said out loud what everybody`s been saying for a long time, she`s too thin, way too thin. But Nicole`s confession in a startling interview has left us with more questions than answers on what exactly is anorexia, who has it and who doesn`t?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Wrestling with a snake with former friend Paris Hilton is just one of the indignities she endured. But the famous socialite and adoptive daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie continues to wrestle with weight issues and now for the first time, Nicole is admitting what many star watchers have said for years, that she has gotten way, way too skinny.
In the latest issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine, Nicole Richie poses in a photo spread where we see exactly how thin she`s become. She tells the magazine, quote, "It upsets me. I know I`m to thin right now. So I wouldn`t want any young girl looking at me and saying, that`s what I want to look like. I do know that they will, which is another reason I really do need to do something about it. I`m not happy with the way I look right now."
Nicole partly blames her dramatic weight loss on the stress from her breakup with deejay Adam Goldstein last year. Author and former eating disorder patient Jessica Weiner tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that stress can definitely trigger an eating disorder.
JESSICA WEINER, AUTHOR: Those events, a breakup, a divorce, death, can really spiral somebody towards wanting to control their body because they can`t control their life and that`s really what the beginning genesis of an eating disorder is really all about.
ANDERSON: Here`s where it gets interesting. Nicole still says she does not, repeat, not have anorexia and one of Nicole`s medical caregivers tells "Vanity Fair" that Nicole`s weight, quote, "is in the realm of anorexia."
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT had to ask, what`s the difference between in the realm of anorexia and anorexia?
WEINER: Just because you see somebody who`s an underweight person doesn`t necessarily mean that they have full blown anorexia, so the comment about her weight being in the realm of anorexia may mean that her team and clinicians are taking their time to address and isolate what is her problem and does it fall into the direct realms of anorexia.
ANDERSON: For Nicole, getting a handle on whatever eating disorder she may or may not have is a serious task. The countless Web sites that promote anorexia and other eating disorders show us how widespread the problem has become. Between eight and 10 million people have some kind of eating disorder and anorexia kills up to 25 percent of the people who have it.
DR. WAGUIH ISHAK, CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: There is a one major danger in anorexia which is basically because there is, because of food restriction, there is significant electrolyte imbalance, like people`s potassium drops significantly, they could get cardio problems, up to cardiac arrest.
ANDERSON: Nicole Richie tells "Vanity Fair" that she`s seeing a nutritionist, doctor, psychiatrist and personal trainers to deal with her weight issue. Whether she`s anorexic or not, she may be in for a battle that is mental as well as physical.
WEINER: When you start to talk about anorexia and eating disorders, you really have to point to the fact that they are mental health diseases. They are not vanity issues. This isn`t about some girl who just wants to be skinny and pretty. This is really about a significant mental health issue and I hope that if this is what she`s struggling with that she finds the proper outlets for health and treatment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (on camera): Now, there are specific symptoms of anorexia in women. They include dropping below 85 percent of one`s ideal body weight, 85 percent, having a distorted body image and missing menstrual periods. The issue of "Vanity Fair" is on newsstands now.
HAMMER: And now we would like to hear from you. Tonight, for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day we`re asking skinny Hollywood, do you feel pressured to be thin? You can vote online by going to cnn.com/showbiztonight. You can also email us more of what you have to say at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll get into your thoughts a litter later in the show.
ANDERSON: More than two weeks after she had Tom Cruise`s baby, guess who we can finally show you tonight. Katie Holmes. Mama Holmes showed up at last night`s premiere of "Mission Impossible III" in L.A. And of course, we should mention that Tom Cruise was there too.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there for Katie`s first appearance since she gave birth to the couple`s baby girl, Suri. Cruise said he and Katie were looking forward to seeing the film together and the baby was with some, quote, "very good friends."
HAMMER: OK. So would you believe me that I told you the following hit shows almost didn`t make it onto television. "American Idol," "Desperate Housewives," "Survivor." Well, TV writer Bill Carter has just written a book called "Desperate Networks." He`s got all the amazing stories about how these series and bunch of others were almost tossed in the trash can.
Bill Carter joins me here in New York. It`s nice to see you.
BILL CARTER, AUTHOR: Nice to see you.
HAMMER: Thanks for being onboard. Let`s get right to it with easily the biggest show on television in a long time in addition to being a big TV show, a cottage industry. "American Idol."
CARTER: Yes.
HAMMER: Pitched to NBC, pitched to CBS, pitched to ABC, pass, pass, pass.
CARTER: All pass.
HAMMER: Fox took it, but reluctantly.
CARTER: Very reluctant. They only wanted to throw it on in the summer if they could put it on for no money at all. They didn`t want to pay a nickel for it. They didn`t want to have anything but a fully sponsored show. So that they wouldn`t have to pay a cent. So they`re basically within 48 hours saying, no deal at all, let`s just drop it when Elizabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch is in England and seeing how great it`s doing in England and she calls her father and says, boy, this is a great show. And he calls up his people and says, you know this show "Idol"? And they said, yeah we`ve been talking to these people but we were just kind of thinking about it and he says you know, stop thinking about it, go out and buy that thing. Without him doing that, that show would never be on Fox, transforming that network.
HAMMER: Transforming that network and television because you look at all the copycats and you look at the industry that "Idol" has become. Clearly, it has made so much money for Fox. Obviously, the people who passed on the show before it got to Fox have to have been kicking themselves. Do people actually lose their jobs over bad decisions like that?
CARTER: Yes, occasionally they do. I don`t think anybody specifically on that show did, but it`s hard to blame people. They get so many ideas and it`s hard to pick out, that one I think if somebody came to you and said, we`re going to do a reality show based in music, at that point in time, nobody thought that would work because music, tastes are so different, how is it going to work? There`s a lot of reluctance for that reason.
HAMMER: Let`s move to "Desperate Housewives," sort of the same thing and obviously, the show that unquestionably helped resurrect ABC.
CARTER: No doubt about it.
HAMMER: Again, the networks passed on it except for ABC. Finally took it on. Were people passing on it because Mark Cherry, the show`s creator, wasn`t a young, hotshot Hollywood producer?
CARTER: That was a big reason. He had turned forty and he thought, that`s death in Hollywood. He also hadn`t had a job on a network show in seven years. So he sat out to right a really great script that would knock people`s eyes out and he did do that.
And even early on, some producers saw it and thought it was great, but the networks said, who is this guy? He`s not a hot writer. And there were even people who wanted him to change the title, believe it or not, which is really an unbelievable thing. But he finally got a champion in ABC, and that`s one of the threads that runs through the book. Until somebody says, it`s different, it`s not like anything, but that`s good. That`s what we really need and stands and fights for the it, it was a guy named Tom Sherman at ABC who said, I love this. Let`s put it on.
HAMMER: Well, a lot of the network executives would have us believe they know everything that we want to see and they make all the right decisions, which is obviously not true, so is a lot of what we end up seeing the result of just dumb luck?
CARTER: Unfortunately, it is. Or maybe it isn`t because actually, I think that is key to television is being lucky. Be flexible, be open and embrace an idea that`s new but don`t think you`re a genius because nobody is a genius in this business.
HAMMER: And obviously embrace new people because obviously they spend millions of dollars with these development deals, with known Hollywood producers but then you take a guy like Mark Burnett you talk about, in the book before he launched arguably the biggest original reality show, "Survivor" he was a nanny in Beverly Hills.
CARTER: That`s right and then he told t-shirts on a beach in Venice, California and he really was - he produced his first television show without having ever done any television before. He had a lot of chutzpah and nerve and a lot of talent, obviously.
HAMMER: And he pulled it off. He pulled it off with "Survivor" and he pulled it off with "The Apprentice" and I`m sure he`ll be pulling it off with a lot of shows for some time to come.
CARTER: Right.
HAMMER: Thank you, Bill Carter, for joining us.
CARTER: Nice to be with you.
HAMMER: Sharing the secrets of the shows that wouldn`t have made it on the air were it not for some smart decision somewhere along the line, the new book is called "Desperate Networks" and Bill, of course, is a TV writer from the "New York Times." You`ll find that book in stores now.
ANDERSON: Coming up, everybody`s talking about Julia Roberts on Broadway. Well, I got a chance to get up close and personal with her and found and asked her straight up, would you do Broadway again? Find out what she told me next.
HAMMER: Plus, voices from the frontlines. How former Iraq War soldiers have turned their battle scars into battle songs.
We also have this .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I opened the door with my foot, literally, I`m pretty good at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Her extreme rituals and obsessive cleaning have nearly ruined her life. Tonight, the startling story and confessions of a woman with an extreme case of obsessive compulsive disorder. That`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And standby, A.J. A.J. left with "That`s Ridiculous" and (inaudible)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer. It`s time now for the story today that made us say, "That`s Ridiculous." And we`re going to call this story, poppin` fresh, uh-oh. Somebody actually stole the Pillsbury Doughboy mascot from a New Hampshire supermarket. Can you believe it?
You see, the store was about to go out of business and the thief was sending ransom photos of the doughboy from different cities. He was threatening to bake the doughboy if the store really shuts down. Apparently doesn`t want the store to close up.
Well, this half-baked scheme may not work or will it work? We don`t know. But either way, we say, "That`s Ridiculous." And personally, Brooke, I say, bake the doughboy.
ANDERSON: I say don`t bake the doughboy. This had to take a lot of planning, A.J. That doughboy was perched high above the dairy section.
HAMMER: I don`t care. If it was the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, it would have been a whole different story. All right, Let`s move on.
Here is something that is a little out there as well. Actor Gary Sinise playing rock `n` roll at the Pentagon. That`s right. Even got a standing ovation from defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Of course, Sinise played Lieutenant Dan in the movie "Forrest Gump" and he started in his band named "Lieutenant Dan" so he could tour with the USO. They have been performing at military bases across the U.S. and throughout Europe. Recently they`ve recently returned from visiting troops in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY SINISE, ACTOR: Everywhere I went, we covered a lot of territory there. We talked to, I mean literally, thousands of people. I shook thousands of hands, took thousands of pictures, signed thousands of autographs. And everywhere I went, I asked people how the morale was over there and they -- I didn`t meet anybody who was down. Everybody was dedicated. Everybody felt that the mission was important. And everybody was happy to be there doing their job. So you should know that about our troops over in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Rocking out was part of the "America Supports You" campaign, a program to keep the troops` morale up.
Well, it isn`t every day you see Gary Sinise rocking out on stage. It also isn`t very often you hear about a hip-hop album recorded by soldiers who are literally at war. But here it is, active soldiers whose rap and singing talents are now on a record. Their new CD is called "Voices from the Front Line."
On it, the soldiers tell very personal tales of what it`s like to live, work and fight the war in Iraq. Joining us tonight in Hollywood are two marines who sing on the CD, Michael Watts, Jr. and Michelle Rae Johnston. Michael, Michelle, thanks for being here. We appreciate it.
CPL. MICHAEL WATTS, JR., MARINE: Thanks for having us on.
CPL. MICHELLE RAE JOHNSTON, MARINE: Thanks for having us.
ANDERSON: Of course, as pleasure. Michael, I`ll begin with you, on this album you express your support for fellow troops but really you`re giving a people a sense of what you went through in Iraq and what you are going through now. Tell us how this is kind of like a diary for you.
WATTS: Well, like I say, last time up a on, it`s just the CD, we`re just talking about everything that, you know, all our feelings that we`ve had, like, people out there really don`t understand. Like, it`s always two sides of stuff. And we`re pretty much telling the other side of the story for, like, the troops side of the story, you know, the military side of the story instead of the news side of the story, because everyone always has their different opinions and their beliefs about war and all that. And we`re just here to tell everyone how we feel about it and our experiences.
ANDERSON: I want to take a listen to part of the CD right now. Michelle, let`s briefly listen to your song, "Desert Vacation."
(MUSIC)
ANDERSON: Different pace than a lot of the songs, a lot of rap songs, but some of your songs are more R&B and ballad and you call this "Desert Vacation" but Michelle, the experiences you probably had are anything but a vacation. What was it like to wake up every morning and know you could be shot, you could be hit by a bomb, you could die? Are those feelings reflected in your songs?
JOHNSTON: Wow, yeah, you do have those feelings when you`re over there because it`s reality when you`re there. But I didn`t really try to express that in my song too much. More or less, just me missing home, me missing, like, what I was used to. But, yeah, every morning, you didn`t know if you were going to wake up and be there. But I`m glad I made it.
ANDERSON: We are, too, for both of you. We are so just relieved that you`re here and that you`ve done this. The war was going on around you.
Michael, how in the world did you have time to do this and was it in some way a way to relieve stress?
WATTS: Oh, yeah. Time, never really had time to really sit down and write music, but every little chance I had, like, we would be on patrol or something and come back right after it and, like, whatever time you had, I just sat down, kept to myself and wrote my music or wrote some lyrics about whatever was on my mind and, like I said, I mean, it`s relief for me, like everyone has their, the way that they relax and mine is just listening to music and making my own music and just keeping to myself and writing my music because, without that, I think I probably would have went nuts. So it`s good that I had that.
ANDERSON: Way to keep yourselves sane. And it`s interesting you guys are putting this album out because recently, Neil Young released an album, "Living With War," protesting Bush, President Bush and the war in Iraq. Just this week, Pearl Jam released a new album with a song, it`s called "Worldwide Suicide" protesting the war. Now your CD is clearly meant to support your fellow troops backup does it also mean you`re supporting the war or is it just the troops? Michelle?
JOHNSTON: This is in no way is meant to be anything political. It`s just to support the troops. I just want to say, it`s definitely to support our fellow marines that we have to see every day and the ones that have to be sent out into deployments and the ones that are here on the shores of U.S., so it`s for the troops. And no way to promote or not promote the war.
ANDERSON: Michael, what do you say about that? Is in a message in your lyrics?
WATTS: Not really. Like Michelle was saying, we`re not trying to, it`s not a political thing. It`s just that we`re just trying to express ourselves and tell our stories and tell everybody what went on while we were over there, what we saw, how it felt for us, how it was for our family, how it hurt our family while we were over there and stuff like that. We`re not trying to promote the war or talk about the war or anything like that.
ANDERSON: Well, Michael Watts, Michelle Johnston, thank you for your service to this country and thanks for being with us tonight and sharing this album with us. We appreciate it.
WATTS: All right. Thank you.
JOHNSTON: Thanks for having us.
ANDERSON: Of course, the CD "Voices from the Frontline" is available. It`s in stores now.
HAMMER: Outspoken rock star Jon Bon Jovi not afraid to mix music with politics. Coming up, my revealing interview with him and his comments about band mate Richie Sambora`s divorce mess with Heather Locklear. It`s an interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Plus, we have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m up until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, washing my hands back and forth, washing my hair, washing my ears.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: It is a disorder that has affected some Hollywood heavy hitters. The unbelievable story of a woman who is convinced everything she touches is contaminated. One woman`s disturbing battle with obsessive compulsive disorder.
HAMMER: Also, they say three times a charm, but will it be a "Mission Impossible" for "MI:III" at the box office and should you see it? We`ve got the reviews you`ve got to see in the "Showbiz Guide."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Coming up Monday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the man behind the hit reality show "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and so many more, Mark Burnett opens up about starting the reality wave that changed the face of prime- time TV. Plus, the on-set secrets that didn`t make it past network censors. That`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: The weekend has finally arrived, that means time now to check out the "Showbiz Guide" with "People`s" "Picks and Pans" new movies. Talking about three films out today, Tom Cruise of course, you may have heard "Mission Impossible III" has arrived in theaters. Also a family film called "Hoot" and Edward Norton has returned in "Down in the Valley."
Joining me now here in New York, "People Magazine" film critic, Leah Rozen, little bit of hype surrounding Tom Cruise over the last year. Finally we`re hearing stuff about this movie, "Mission: Impossible: III." J.J. Abrams at the helm this time, the guy we know from "Lost."
LEAH ROZEN, FILM CRITIC, "PEOPLE MAGAZINE": Right, J.J. Abrams who created "Alias" and "Lost." And "Alias" fans will recognize certain elements of his work in "Mission: Impossible III." The movie is all action. I mean all action. They blow up anything that he can blow. They drive as fast as they can. It`s really a series of action set pieces. J.J. Abrams and all the publicity has been talking about sort of the emotional payoffs.
HAMMER: It has heart and emotion and humor and all of that.
ROZEN: No, it has action, lots and lots of action. What you have is the Tom Cruise character, Ethan Hunt. He is this time for the first time, he`s engaged. He`s going to marry a very nice nurse played by Michelle Monaghan and then, of course, he gets dragged back into the morass that is "Mission: Impossible" and is off to various capitals, world capitals in just a few days to pursue the bad guy played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Seymour Hoffman is -- It`s a lot of fun to see him doing this. He`s playing the villain but he`s underused. He never gets the big scene where the villain gets to go completely bonkers that you kind of want and expect in this kind of movie.
HAMMER: It will still open at number one whatever you say about it Leah. Let`s move on to "Hoot." Based on the children`s book. Jimmy Buffett in this film.
ROZEN: Yes, Jimmy Buffett plays a science teacher who wears shorts to the classroom. I don`t know. I was a little taken aback. And Birkenstocks. This is about three middle school kids, though, who essentially become eco activists. They want to save a lot from a pancake house that wants to build there because some owls live there. It`s a cute movie for kids. It is based on good material but the execution is fairly pedestrian. Kids will like it, adults with sit there and go, well, the message is nice.
HAMMER: Quickly, let`s get to "Down in the Valley," an art house film with Ed Norton.
ROZEN: Yeah. Ed Norton coproduced this. He plays a sort of drifter. Guy who wears cowboys hats, speaks with a twang. Has an affair with a teenage girl who sort of can`t realize for a while what a loser and how troubled he is. Bad stuff starts happening. Fascinating film, maybe has too many ideas going on but it`s really kind of about the myth of the Old West and the contemporary San Fernando Valley today.
HAMMER: Thanks for telling us all about them, Leah Rozen, film critic from "People Magazine", as always your copy of "People Magazine" is available on newsstands now.
ANDERSON: Coming up, everybody`s talking about Julia Roberts on Broadway. I got a chance to get up close and personal with her and found out will she be doing more shows? That`s ahead.
HAMMER: Also ahead, a candid chat with rocker Jon Bon Jovi, music, politics and the rumors about the divorce mess involving guitarist Richie Sambora. The interview you`ll see here only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Plus, we have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I open the door with my foot. Literally. Pretty good at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: She`s the face of OCD. Her extreme rituals and obsessive cleaning nearly have ruined her life. We go inside the mind of obsessive compulsive disorder. Coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Friday night. It is 31 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: Welcome to the weekend. I`m Brooke Anderson. We are here live in New York.
OK, A.J., tonight, Julia Roberts, of course, starring on Broadway for the very first time. Her show is called "Three Days of Rain." I caught up with her today. We talked about how the show is going, how she feels performing so close to a live audience, and if she ever wants to do this sort of thing again.
HAMMER: And how did she look? I know the answer.
ANDERSON: She looks great, of course, always.
HAMMER: Of course, she did.
ANDERSON: Julia Roberts looks beautiful. And we have a chat, coming up.
HAMMER: You and I had the chance to speak with arguably two of the biggest stars in the world...
ANDERSON: We did.
HAMMER: ... because I spoke with Jon Bon Jovi. He was very candid. Jon is one of the nicest guys in rock `n` roll. He spoke very openly about his take on the current spate of political songs that are out there, his amazing charitable work. We get into that, as well as his take on the whole mess with Richie Sambora and how that affects Bon Jovi, so we`ll see that in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT in just a few minutes.
ANDERSON: Very talented guy. Seems to be very genuine, as well.
HAMMER: OK, A.J., we all have our little obsessions, but for so many people, obsession becomes a way of life. It is called obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD. One of the more famous people with OCD is Howie Mandel. Millions of people watch him every week host the wildly successful TV game show "Deal or no Deal," but one thing you will never see him do is shake anybody`s hand. That`s part of his phobia.
Mandel is very open about the fact that he has OCD. So is a woman named Elizabeth McIngvale. She`s the new face of an OCD awareness campaign. But let me tell you, what we are about to show you might be hard to comprehend. Take a look. Here`s CNN`s Ed Lavandera for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH MCINGVALE, OCD AWARENESS CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: ... is a form of OCD which is, like, your religious form.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you`re expecting to understand what makes Elizabeth McIngvale tick after these next few minutes, you should know: Even doctors struggle to understand her.
E. MCINGVALE: I open the door with my foot. I literally -- I`m pretty good at it. Sometimes it can take 45 minutes just to pick out a shirt and pants.
LAVANDERA: Elizabeth suffers from a severe form of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, and it affects everything she does from the moment she wakes up. Getting dressed is a chore.
E. MCINGVALE: If I actually were to wear this shirt, it`s going to pretty much ruin my day. My anxiety will be so high, I can`t focus. I probably can`t drive. I can`t probably leave the house. I won`t touch anything.
LAVANDERA: Elizabeth is convinced most things in her closet are dirty or contaminated, as she says, even though everything`s been washed and hung up nicely.
E. MCINGVALE: You know, I had worn, like, this orange shirt on a vacation once. There is a pink shirt that one day, when I was getting ready for work, I touched with one of my work shoes, which all my shoes are pretty much contaminated just from being on the floor...
LAVANDERA: She can`t really explain what has contaminated her clothing.
E. MCINGVALE: Every shirt in here is clean.
LAVANDERA (on camera): I noticed you haven`t touched anything.
E. MCINGVALE: Right, because everything`s contaminated.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The compulsive behavior doesn`t end there. There`s a constant need to wash.
E. MCINGVALE: ... open my shower curtain, start with my foot. Now, I go like this, and I can lift it up until it starts, turn it off.
It`s OK to touch everything else with my feet and get them dirty, because they`re already dirty. It doesn`t make sense, because it doesn`t even make sense to us. You know, we know what we`re doing is stupid, and we shouldn`t have to do it, but we still feel like we have to.
LAVANDERA: All of this does drive Elizabeth crazy at times. There`s a whole in the bathroom wall to prove it.
E. MCINGVALE: ... I`m up until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning just washing my hands, back and forth, washing my hair, washing my ears. You know, I get I so frustrated. I know what I`m doing is stupid, it`s irrational. I don`t want to do it, and I take my anger out on my wall.
LAVANDERA: 19-year-old Elizabeth McIngvale has opened up her world to us because she is the face of OCD, the first spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation.
Her family first noticed the symptoms at age 12. She started losing weight, secretly washing her hands, and constantly asking for reassurance. A year later, she was officially diagnosed with OCD.
When most high school kids were having fun, she was in and out of hospitals for treatment. Doctors don`t know what causes OCD, and no one in her immediate family suffers from it. There`s no cure, so she`s left to treat the symptoms.
Now, she`s a college student and going public to let other young people know they`re not alone.
E. MCINGVALE: You have two choices: I can either wake up and hate my life, which I sometimes do, you know, and wish I didn`t have OCD, and regret everything, and, you know, wish it wasn`t me. Or I can say, "Hey, I`m Liz, I have OCD." You know, I`ve got to go on with my life, and I`m going to make the best of it.
LAVANDERA: For Elizabeth, it`s a personal campaign to help others. She leads an OCD support group and invited us to go along, but getting there wasn`t easy.
E. MCINGVALE: I get ready in my sister`s room. I do my makeup in here, because mine`s pretty much contaminated in my room.
LAVANDERA: She starts and then has to stop to wash her hands.
E. MCINGVALE: ... wash my hands...
LAVANDERA: She washes her hands twice in 10 minutes in the bathroom. And while talking to me in the kitchen, she washes again.
E. MCINGVALE: I wash my hands the exact same way every time. I literally, like, get it all over my hands, and then I`ll clean under my nails, and then I`ll wash every part of my hands for at least 20 seconds, because that`s just my real...
LAVANDERA: Now that Elizabeth is clean, we make our way to the car, which I thought was this black SUV.
(on camera): What`s the story behind this car?
E. MCINGVALE: It`s my old car.
LAVANDERA: It`s your old car. Why is it your old car?
E. MCINGVALE: It`s contaminated. A lot of my stuff gets contaminated.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The car is a year old and in perfect condition, but Elizabeth won`t use it, so now she`s driving a new car. But before we drive off, she must clean the seat.
E. MCINGVALE: I`m only using my left hand now, I`ve just realized, because I touched the sunglasses.
My name`s Liz. I run the support group. And I`ve had everything on the spectrum of OCD except for trickleclymania (ph) and BDD.
LAVANDERA: Elizabeth seems more at ease here, where others understand her better and they can openly share what they`re going through.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Except from hording and checking, counting, washing my hands all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t like walking on cracks, and I count my steps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, I knew I had to get it symmetrical. If I pulled out two hairs from one side, I had to pull out two hairs from the other side, so...
LAVANDERA: Elizabeth`s sister, Laura, is by her side at these meetings. The two sisters live together, but Laura admits it`s not easy at times.
LAURA MCINGVALE, ELIZABETH`S SISTER: She`s such a selfless person. I mean, she knows that she might not ever see a cure and she might ever have a normal life. Her entire, you know, life, career, whatever she`s doing, you know, she might never see a real light at the end of all this. But, you know, she hopes it will come to somebody else.
E. MCINGVALE: Although I wish sometimes, you know, I could still be a teenager and not do what I am, I know what I`m doing is going to make a difference, and there`s nothing else I`d rather be doing.
LAVANDERA: On the surface, Elizabeth McIngvale appears like a confident, beautiful teenager, but her compulsive behaviors are getting worse. She says it won`t be long before the face of OCD checks herself back into the hospital for weeks of treatment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN`s Ed Lavandera for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. For more information on OCD, you can log onto OCFoundation.org.
HAMMER: Well, earlier we told you that Nicole Richie admits she has a weight problem. The "Simple Life" star tells "Vanity Fair" magazine, quote, "I know I`m too thin right now, so I wouldn`t want any young girl looking at me and saying, `That`s what I want to look like.`"
Well, this leads to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." What we`re asking is: Skinny Hollywood: Do you feel pressured to be thin?
Hop online to vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight or write to us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e-mails coming up in just a bit.
ANDERSON: So will we be seeing more of Julia Roberts on Broadway? I caught up with the actress in New York just this afternoon at the annual Drama League Luncheon. It`s an event to celebrate the best of Broadway.
Everyone`s been talking about Julia`s debut on the great white way. She`s in "Three Days of Rain." It`s about a family who comes together for the reading of their dad`s will. I asked her how the play has been going and whether she`ll be taking any more theater gigs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: How`s the show going so far?
JULIA ROBERTS, ACTRESS: It`s going really well, I think.
ANDERSON: What`s the experience been like for you, your first time doing this?
ROBERTS: It`s a thrill and a joy every -- everyday, I just walk into my little dressing room to get ready, and I just -- it`s so exciting.
ANDERSON: I`ve heard you do your own makeup, and hair, and...
ROBERTS: Well, I don`t do my own hair. There`s a fantastic woman who does all of our hair, Lynn Bayou (ph). She runs up and down the stairs and does everybody`s so...
ANDERSON: What`s it looking being so close to an audience, live like that? Are they distracting? Do you hear them?
ROBERTS: You do. Well, it`s just a different kind of focus you have to have, really, to not be distracted or not worry too much about them, I guess.
ANDERSON: Yes. Is this something you want to do again?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I also asked her, A.J., if she ever goofs up, you know, if she trips and falls or laughs at the wrong time, and she said, "That happens a lot."
HAMMER: You did ask -- we just heard, it got cut off, is this something she would do again. Is it?
ANDERSON: Oh, I did. It did get cut off. She said, yes, possibly.
HAMMER: OK, good to know. Good to know.
Moving on, neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail can stop the U.S. mail, but there is one thing that can stop the U.S. mail: burning it.
ANDERSON: That will do it.
HAMMER: Coming up, the story that made us say, "That`s ridiculous!"
Plus, we`ve got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON BON JOVI, MUSICIAN: The greatest rave I ever give a song, period, is when I say, "I wish I wrote it."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Jon Bon Jovi, the unapologetic song he wished were his own. The singer on music, protest, charity, and bandmate Richie Sambora`s divorce with Heather Locklear. It`s the revealing interview you will see only here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Plus, they`re the hottest 25 under 25. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with "Teen People`s" list of the best and brightest, Hollywood`s rising young stars. That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Friday night. I`m A.J. Hammer.
It`s time now for another story today that made us say, "That`s ridiculous!" A mailman burning the mail because, quite frankly, it was just too much for him to carry, he was overwhelmed. It`s kind of like something out of a sitcom. Wait a second: It is something out of a sitcom.
You remember that episode of "Seinfeld" where Newman was griping about his mail carrier job?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE KNIGHT, ACTING AS "NEWMAN": Because the mail never stops and just keeps coming, and coming, and coming. There`s never a letup; it`s relentless. Every day it piles up more, and more, and more, and you`ve got to get it out, but the more you get out, the more it keeps coming in. And then the bar code reader breaks, and it`s Publisher`s Clearinghouse Day!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Newman!
Now back to the real-life story, investigators say New York mailman Gregory Mewborn stored sacks full of mail in his Brooklyn basement. And then he set fire to some of it. Why did he do that? Well, apparently, he told investigators that he would deliver what mail he could handle and then he`d just bring the rest home. We say that`s ridiculous!
ANDERSON: That`s ridiculous, A.J. They actually tracked him down on his mail route and arrested him. Guess what? He now faces federal charges of mail theft, pretty serious stuff.
HAMMER: You can`t steal the mail, and you can`t burn it.
ANDERSON: No, you can`t.
HAMMER: Well, who says you can`t go home? Certainly not Jon Bon Jovi. He is just back from the Japan leg of the band`s massive world tour, a bittersweet homecoming, given the nasty divorce mess surrounding guitarist Richie Sambora.
I asked Jon how that`s affecting the band, and I also tapped into Jon`s political side and the protest music that`s hitting the airwaves these days. Jon gave me his take on the Dixie Chick`s latest single, "Not Ready to Make Nice."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BON JOVI: It is yet to be determined how the Dixie Chicks song will be received.
HAMMER: True.
BON JOVI: That said, I love it. The greatest rave ever I give a song, period, is when I say, "I wish I wrote it." I wish I wrote that.
HAMMER: That`s quite something for you to say.
BON JOVI: I haven`t heard the Neil Young record. I would expect him to write a protest song that`s fabulous. But is the tide turning in America? Is it going back the other way? Depends on who you ask.
Look, a lot of my fellow Americans, you know, are living in the land of sound bites and reality television, and they`re not reading the newspaper, and they`re not reading books, and they haven`t traveled abroad, and they haven`t seen Africa, Asia, India, North America, South America, and Europe. So they`re opinionated from what they`re fed here by a right- or left-wing media.
HAMMER: And often in very small doses, as you say.
BON JOVI: Sound bites.
HAMMER: Well, congratulations on "Who Says You Can`t Go Home?" Number one on the country charts, Jon Bon Jovi with the band. Not too bad, man. It`s a nice record to have, I suppose.
BON JOVI: It is. It`s very nice, as a matter of fact. You know, and it just goes to show you that a song is a song and formats don`t really matter.
HAMMER: And one of the cool things this song has done is it`s forged a relationship between you and Habitat for Humanity. Right now, why are you choosing to focus or why did you decide to focus so much energy on Habitat?
BON JOVI: Well, I`ve gotten involved with Habitat prior to the video. All these Father Flanagan situations I was in down in Philly, I realized, you know, a little bit here, a little bit there, it helps. But then I got into North Philly and saw, much like Asbury Park and so many other places that are suffering from the urban blight, they`re run down.
The cities even may be brought back up, but the outskirts are run down. And so we got involved and said, "OK, our focus is going to go to homelessness." We`re going to take everything that we do with this playground and these beds and this, you know, help lines to AIDS houses. Let`s take all our money and get into building homes for people that need them.
HAMMER: You know, you`re being pulled at from all ends all the time. You`ve sold over 100 million albums; you`ve played over 2,500 shows. People are always grabbing at you. Yet, somehow, you keep it cool and you keep it together. Is that something you have to work at or that really just...
BON JOVI: I think the simplicity, A.J., is that I live in Jersey. That`s the simple way to answer that question, is there aren`t any Joneses to keep up with. We don`t know any better.
You go out of your house. Those folks have nothing in common with what, you know, I do for a living, so they don`t care about chart positions, or talk shows, or anything that has to do with touring. They`re worrying about putting food on the table; they`re worried about, you know, the place they are in their own lives. And that, to me, is the easiest answer for you.
HAMMER: One of the closest people in your life, arguably, Richie Sambora, who you`ve worked with and have known for as long as you`ve known, as you know is sort of in the middle of this very public thing that`s going on between his ex-wife and the woman that he is now dating, Heather Locklear and Denise Richards.
When stuff like that is going on, is it very distracting? I mean, you guys are about to hit the road. Does it get in the way at all of the work of Bon Jovi or the work that you`re trying to do?
BON JOVI: No. I was more concerned that he broke his shoulder. And, obviously, you know, his private life is still his private life. And the circumstances here, as they relate to Ava, his daughter, his parents, and Heather are more what would concern me.
How this all plays out makes for great Hollywood gossip, but, you know, he`s just really concerned about his daughter, first and foremost, his parents second, and Heather third, and that`s truly the pecking order.
HAMMER: So you guys have been touring for over 20 years now. Do you actually remember or have some recollection of the very first night you guys took the stage as a band in front of a really decent-sized crowd?
BON JOVI: Sure. Let`s put it this way: First album, first tour bus, that`s when we knew that we had a record deal. You know, the album was released. We were starting in New Jersey, because the bus had to come pick us up somewhere.
And we went to the bus a good five or six hours before the show, and we only ever just lived down the street, like, with our parents still. So, yes, everybody was, like, in awe because there it was: our bus.
HAMMER: And when you took it to that first show and you got on stage, you remember that feeling you had getting on stage in front of those people?
BON JOVI: It was snowing like a son of a gun. And we pulled up to the club. And it had one of those, you know, those yellow rental signs that, you know, you`d have in front of your bar, with the lights that chase all the way around it and the arrow on the end?
HAMMER: Yes, yes, exactly.
BON JOVI: And, I swear, the lights went around, and it`s snowing, and it`s like a blizzard, and it says, "99-cent beers and Bon Jovi." And my manager, Doc McGee, got off the bus and the first thing -- I just says, "Who booked me in this toilet?" He goes, "I did, but I told them it was Bon Jovi, then 99-cent beers."
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hey, you can`t complain about a 99-cent beer. Jon easily one of the nicest guys in rock `n` roll, also a very generous guy. His band, as well. They`re always giving back to the community.
Now, you might remember that he went on Oprah right after Hurricane Katrina and donated $1 million bucks to her Angel Network. Well, Jon told me they have finally found a place for that money. They`re going to help rebuild the homes of 20 families in Homa, Louisiana.
And just last night, Jon Bon Jovi was honored by Help USA for all of his charitable work and philanthropy. Bon Jovi will kick off the American leg, the next American leg of their tour, in mid-July.
ANDERSON: Great interview, A.J.
OK, "Teen People" is out with its annual list of the hottest 25 stars under 25. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT got a behind-the-scenes peek at the photo shoot. "Teen People" takes a look at the hottest stars in film, TV, and music.
Making the cut: pop singers Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, and JoJo, "American Idol`s" Carrie Underwood, the cast of "High School Musical" -- we talked to them recently -- and the teen cast members of "Desperate Housewives."
Justin Timberlake, Jake Gyllenhaal, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, and Lindsay Lohan also joined the ranks. You can pick up a copy of "Teen People`s" hottest 25 under 25 on newsstands today.
HAMMER: Well, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Asking: Skinny Hollywood: Do you feel pressured to be thin?
Here`s the vote so far: Pretty even mix, 48 percent of you saying yes; 52 percent of you saying no.
Among the e-mails we`ve received, one from Lelani. She is from Pennsylvania and writes, "The industry itself has pressured people to be thin. Most people do not care what a person weighs if they have talent."
We also heard from Kristen in South Carolina who writes, "Barbie images are everywhere. We need to instill beauty in our children, regardless of their size."
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
It`s time now for a special edition of the "Entertainment Weekly" must list. We`ve got all Web sites this week.
First, "EW" says to check out cuteoverload.com, cute, warm and fuzzy critters there.
Next, log on to TheSmokingGun.com for the down and dirty legal details of the celebrities, politicians, and much more.
Then, director Kevin Smith blogs about anything, from films to his life, on SilentBobSpeaks.com. There you go.
"EW" also says to check out Japander.com for funny clips of celebrities hawking stuff in Japanese commercials.
And finally, the Web page covers.fwis.com is worth a thousand words, elegant and provocative book jacket designs on display here.
For more on the must list, pick up your copy of "Entertainment Weekly." It`s on newsstands now.
HAMMER: And here`s what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Monday in your "Showbiz Marquee."
Monday, he`s the king of reality TV, groundbreaking producer Mark Burnett. From "Survivor" to "The Apprentice," the reality show phenomenon that`s kept America`s eyes glued to the TV, Mark Burnett, Monday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also on Monday, actress Katey Segal, who knows a thing or two about being "Married with Children," now searching for the funniest mom in America. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with Katey Segal on Monday.
Brooke Anderson, it`s been a pleasure having you here.
ANDERSON: Oh, it`s been fun.
HAMMER: And have a nice weekend.
ANDERSON: You, too.
HAMMER: That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson. Thanks for watching, everyone. Stay tuned for more from CNN Headline News.
END
