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Showbiz Tonight
The Incredible Shrinking Anchor; Karr`s Con
Aired August 30, 2006 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Nancy Grace has a lot to say on why John Mark Karr has become a sicko celebrity.
I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And is Jessica Simpson ready to step out with a new man?
I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Katie Couric`s photo finish. Katie gets a controversial makeover.
Tonight, how a digital doctor cut 20 pounds off Katie.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a heavyweight debate on whether women face a double standard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There she is.
HAMMER: Chasing down Hollywood`s biggest secret.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want to get too closer to her. And I don`t want to look at her either.
HAMMER: Tonight, we`re revealing the wacky and wild story behind who decides how the movies you see get rated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this was rated R, and that`s what made me so furious.
HAMMER: Tonight, blowing the lid off the secrets behind the ratings. You may never watch a movie the same way again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
A.J., what a Couric controversy we have got tonight.
HAMMER: That`s right, Brooke, because Katie Couric lost 20 pounds, but on a digital diet. Just days before Couric sits down in the CBS News anchor chair, a doctored photo has got SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asking, what`s the deal? Is there a double standard for newswomen on TV?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice over): Call it the incredible shrinking anchor. Just days before Katie Couric is supposed to make her historic debut as anchor for the "CBS Evening News," she`s finding herself in the middle of an embarrassing oops, courtesy of her new co-workers at CBS. The furor began after TV news blog site tvnewser.com noticed that a CBS promotional magazine called "Watch!" took this photo of the new CBS anchor and then made some controversial changes.
MARY MURPHY, "TV GUIDE": It was republished in the CBS magazine that goes out to local CBS people and people in the corporation, and it was retouched to make her look 20 pounds lighter.
HAMMER: CBS tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "The editorial staff of `Watch!` magazine retouched the photo without the knowledge of Katie Couric or CBS News management.
MURPHY: This is a big mistake. It`s a silly mistake, but it`s a big mistake.
HAMMER: It certainly is. Retouching a photo of a major anchorwoman to make her look skinnier? Imagine if ABC took a photo of its anchor, Charlie Gibson, and buffed it up a little? Or if NBC took a photo of Brian Williams and spiced that up a little.
MURPHY: I wouldn`t mind seeing a doctored photograph of Brian Williams myself.
HAMMER: Actually, these kinds of photos are doctored all the time. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT graphic artist Valerie Vitko shows us just how easy it is to change me.
VALERIE VITKO, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT GRAPHIC ARTIST: I`m just going to select an area. Once I do that, I`m just going to color the background so it appears that he`s thinner.
There`s a thinner A.J.
HAMMER: OK. Still, the Couric photo flap is not exactly a dignified debut for the woman who will soon sit in the prestigious anchor chair once held by Dan Rather and Walter Cronkite. But as this Katie story continues to make news, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask... is Katie Couric getting more scrutiny for her looks than those other male anchors?
MURPHY: At the press tour this summer, Katie was asked about what she was going to wear the first day, and she said, you know, "Did you ask Charlie Gibson the same question?"
HAMMER: "TV Guide`s" Mary Murphy tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Couric is facing the same kind of weight and beauty pressure that women face every day.
MURPHY: I think Katie is being held up to the same scrutiny that every woman is held up to, especially a woman approaching 50. She is held up to the scrutiny that no male anchor has been held up to, what she`s going to wear, you know, what shade is her hair, is she going to wear Manolo Blahnik.
HAMMER: Even on her day on the "Today" show, Katie Couric took some ribbing over the years from Joan Rivers.
JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIENNE: Whoever put her in those table cloth jackets should really be shot.
HAMMER: And it appears Couric has a sense of humor about this latest photo controversy. She tells "The Daily News," "I like the first picture better because there is more of me to love." But "TV Guide`s" Murphy sees the whole photo flap as an unfortunate distraction from Katie`s groundbreaking role as the first woman to be the solo anchor of a network newscast.
MURPHY: It just fuels the fire of men who want to talk about what she is wearing or this doctored photograph, instead of the fact that she has the chops to do the job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: This is all very unbelievable to me.
Joining me tonight, two women who have anchored newscasts. Here in New York with me is Court TV news anchor Ashleigh Banfield, and from Hollywood, investigative journalist Pat Lalama.
Welcome back, ladies. Good to see you.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV: Thanks.
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Thanks.
HAMMER: All right, Pat. I`m guessing you have a thing or two to say about this. When you opened the paper this morning, you saw this picture of Katie Couric side by side with the one that had been doctored.
What were you thinking? Were you just out of your mind?
LALAMA: I actually -- yes, and I still am, A.J., as you can imagine. I`m not shy about this one. I actually saw it last night on the Web site tvnewser. It`s sort of an industry Web site. They had...
HAMMER: Which broke -- which should get credit for breaking the story.
LALAMA: They should get credit. Let`s make that clear. And you know what? Can I just tell you something? I -- this is rare for me. I don`t even know what words to use, I am so upset.
2006 -- I hope they asked her if she has facial hair and would she wear a push-up bra, too. I mean, it`s really so -- it`s just -- I`ll tell you what, A.J.
HAMMER: Yes?
LALAMA: Here`s what I`m going to tell you.
HAMMER: OK.
LALAMA: I am right now going to issue a challenge, OK -- write this down -- to the person who made this decision to please contact me, call anybody at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, they will put you in touch with me. I would like to sit down. I want that person have the guts to come forward and say why Katie has to be thin for people to listen to her talk about Iraq.
HAMMER: And to be clear, Pat, just so we`re very clear about this, CBS management has come out saying, "This was not a decision we made. Katie didn`t know anything about this. This was some overzealous person in the photo department."
Ashleigh, I wanted to ask you because...
LALAMA: Wait. A.J., do you believe that?
HAMMER: You know what, Pat? I`m going to -- I`m going to defer to what CBS said here.
LALAMA: OK. OK.
HAMMER: I am, because we know photos do get doctored all the time. I know that my publicity photo, while it wasn`t trimming any weight or doing anything else, you know, they take out, you know, any creases under your eyes. It is part of what goes on in publicity. And this was a publicity shot.
So this person may have thought that was the right thing to do. And I was thinking that this must have struck a chord with you, because I remember when you were covering 9/11 and you were covered in dust, and when you returned to Pakistan post-9/11 talking about what was going on over there, among what people were writing about you was what you were wearing and how pretty you looked.
BANFIELD: It was a little weird.
HAMMER: It must have been very odd.
BANFIELD: Very weird to be in that environment and to have Pakistani soldiers surrounding your hotel with concrete barricades to keep you safe from, you know, whoever might be inclined to blow you up, and to hear that people are commenting on that you are fine-boned, which I`m not, and that you have a certain color of hair. It was a little odd.
HAMMER: But you had mentioned to me before we went on you actually had colored your hair specifically when you were over there because it was actually for work because you stuck out like a beacon.
BANFIELD: Yes, I had been there years before, and I remember traipsing around the subcontinent in the Middle East with blonde hair and really stood out. And at that time it was a nuisance.
This was just two weeks after 9/11 when, you know, the apocalypse had hit...
HAMMER: Yes.
BANFIELD: ... and everyone wanted to kill Americans. And I was -- I`m embarrassed to say it -- I was just scared, plum scared, and tried to blend in a little bit better.
HAMMER: And we`re looking at a picture of you right now. And I remember the journalists were writing -- and in credible newspapers, too -- "Doesn`t she look good?"
Pat, you know, clearly this draws attention to a double standard that we know has to exist. When Charlie Gibson was named the anchor of ABC News, I don`t think anybody was writing about him needing a makeover or speculating what he was going to do with his hair or what he was going to wear.
LALAMA: You know, A.J., it`s absolutely the truth. It doesn`t even cross anyone`s mind. But you know what? Since -- since it was announced, I have seen articles about whether her tanned, muscular legs will be shown beneath -- underneath the desk, whether she will wear stilettos, whether they will keep her sexed up because she`s blonde now, blonder than she was. And it -- it just -- it`s so -- what kind of a message does this send?
It sends to young women, you want to be a journalist? Just make sure you`re hot, baby. I mean, the next thing you know they will ask her to be a lollipop head like all these stars in Hollywood, Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan.
It`s just -- it really is so -- it makes me want to cry. Of course, if I did that, they would say that was a very girl thing to do, wouldn`t they? I mean, it`s very upsetting.
BANFIELD: I think what`s worst, though, honestly, is -- I mean, it`s offensive and it`s frustrating, but I make my bed and I lie in it. I work in television news. I wear baubles like this. But what I find more offensive is when the criticism of your look transcends into your journalism.
I remember a lot of people, particularly "The Wall Street Journal," a credible newspaper, attacked my abilities in the same sentence where they had called me pretty and lovely. And it just made me very frustrated because I knew a lot of reporters who had parachuted into the war and continue to now who had no idea what they were doing, had never been to the region before, didn`t speak the language, the language that I was learning, and didn`t face that same criticism because they were men.
HAMMER: Bigger picture, as an attractive woman, have you had -- have you found yourself having to fight harder to prove your credibility?
BANFIELD: Well, first of all, thank you.
HAMMER: But is that a conscious thing? Is that something that you actually think about?
BANFIELD: It is. I just lost 60 pounds, you know, and it`s been hell, knowing that I work in television, having a baby, and being way too heavy. It`s been very frustrating. It`s been ver difficult.
But all the way along, yes, I have -- I`ve been 18 years in television news and haven`t felt secure enough because of the outside criticism of the look and all the rest to feel as though, you know what? I`m going to be accepted for what I do and for what I report and where I`ve been and what I`ve been able to do. It`s really only been recently.
HAMMER: It comes with the territory.
Pat, you mentioned the message that it`s got to be sending. It`s got to infuriate women all over the country who are looking at Katie Couric and saying, "Man, I`d love to look like that when I`m 49."
LALAMA: You know what? It`s -- I think it`s very upsetting to me that for women such as myself who thought we were making inroads -- and I`ve been in the business much longer than Ashleigh. And, by the way, I think she`s terrific, so smart and so talented and good looking as well.
BANFIELD: God bless you.
LALAMA: She`s the package. But, I mean, I thought, gee, after all these years, things would be different. We would lay the groundwork for our daughters, for the next generation. Instead, we`ve gone backwards.
HAMMER: Yes.
LALAMA: I mean -- look -- but, A.J., look at the movies. It isn`t just in the news business. I mean, this shouldn`t be anywhere near the news business. But look at all of culture.
HAMMER: It goes on.
LALAMA: You go to the movies, the leading man always has a leading woman who is 30 years younger. I mean...
HAMMER: It goes on everywhere. And that`s something that we talk about a lot.
We`re going to have to wrap it up there. But, yes, here we are, 2006, let`s only hope that talking about this story reminds people, hey, it`s 2006, move forward.
BANFIELD: Hey, god bless Barbara Walters for breaking some ground for us.
LALAMA: Yes.
HAMMER: Exactly.
Ashleigh Banfield, Pat Lalama, thanks, as always, for joining us.
BANFIELD: Thank you.
LALAMA: OK. Thanks.
ANDERSON: We want to hear what you think about it. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day."
Katie Couric: Is this too much focus on how she looks?
Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight, send us an e-mail. There`s the address, showbiztonight@cnn.com.
Why is the country so obsessed with the JonBenet Ramsey case? And what`s the real story behind the man who claimed to have killed her?
Coming up, CNN`s Nancy Grace joins us with some surprising answers.
We`ll also have this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There she is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Hollywood`s biggest secrets revealed.
Coming up, see the chase that really blew the lid off Hollywood`s ratings system.
ANDERSON: Also head, Jessica Simpson may be ready to make her new relationship a public affair.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
Well, it`s time now for a story that made us all say, "That`s ridiculous!"
All right. We haven`t seen a glimpse of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes` baby, Suri, yet, but there may be a little less mystery about her now. Listen to this.
A sculpture entitled "Suri`s Bronze Baby Poop" is on display in a Brooklyn, New York, gallery. Yes, you heard me.
The artist says it`s a nice memento now that Suri is eating solid foods. If you can`t make it to Brooklyn to see it, don`t worry. The sculpture will be auctioned off on eBay next month.
There is one redeeming point to this story. Proceeds go to the March of Dimes.
HAMMER: Just two weeks ago no one had even heard of John Mark Karr. Tonight he is one of the most famous people in America -- or perhaps we should say infamous -- because Karr pulled a major con job, perhaps one of the biggest hoaxes ever, claiming he was the one who murdered 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey nearly 10 years ago in her Colorado home.
But as we all know now, there is no proof of that.
Joining us tonight, our dear friend Nancy Grace, who has just finished coverage of this bizarre story on her show here on "Headline Prime."
Nancy, it`s always a pleasure to see you.
NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": Hi, dear.
HAMMER: So the media has certainly taken a lot of heat for its coverage of all of this. A lot of critics are basically claiming that the coverage wasn`t skeptical enough.
Do you buy that at all?
GRACE: Well, I don`t know, they must not have been watching my show, because I said on day one, this guy has got holes so big in his story you could drive a tractor through them. A lot of what he said did not jive with my reading of the autopsy report.
For instance, saying that he drugged and raped the child. Absolutely not. There was a toxicology report that showed no drugs, and the child had a hymen, which means she was not raped.
Long story short, even his own family, day one, not just his mother -- who always shows up at a criminal trial testifying on behalf of her son, the defendant -- not just a mom, but the ex-wife, the brother, the father, the next-door neighbor down the street, they all remembered Christmas of 1996. He was there with them, not in Colorado.
And it`s just a shame that the district attorney did not do even the most rudimentary investigation before a formal announcement of his arrest.
HAMMER: So, then, we obviously have seen the fallout, Nancy. Who is really to blame here? Because a lot of people were pretty quick to be pointing their fingers at the Boulder prosecutors, but it seems to me, they were just doing their jobs. I don`t know.
GRACE: Well, it`s a very fine line. And here`s the reality.
I recall many times as a prosecutor going to the elected district attorney and saying, "I think I can prove this case. I know I can prove this case." And he would look at it and say, "It`s not time yet. We need more evidence."
And, sure enough, every time -- sometimes months, sometimes years would pass -- but ultimately that case would be prosecuted when it was the right time. You absolutely cannot go forward and make a public arrest like this, forever tainting a future prosecution.
I mean, think about it. What are they going to say five years down the road to a jury, "Yes, I know the parents were under suspicion and we were wrong. I know we thought Santa Claus did it. We were wrong. I know we thought a guy named Helgarth (ph) did it. We were wrong"?
"John Mark Karr, I`m so sorry we brought him home from Thailand. But, believe me, jury, this time we`re sure we`ve got the right guy."
Oh, please.
HAMMER: Yes. A lot of ammo for the defense, I guess, in a future case.
GRACE: And look, don`t get me wrong. I think Mary Lacy, the elected district attorney is a very nice lady. But you know what? When you are prosecuting rapes and murders and child molestations, you`ve got to have more on your side than just nice.
HAMMER: Absolutely.
Well, you know, a lot of people aren`t happy about the fact that this guy, John Mark Karr, is going to be a public face for a long time to come. We know he is facing those child porn charges in California. He will probably do some jail time, as I`ve been told. But he is going to be back out on the street again.
We haven`t heard the last from this guy, have we?
GRACE: Oh, no, A.J., we haven`t heard the last of him. And he has gotten exactly what he wanted. He is forever linked in the history of JonBenet Ramsey and her murder.
He`s looking at about five years in California currently. If each charge has a guilty plea, and runs consecutively, one after the other, each one carries a 12-month sentence. But, wait a minute, hold on. Before you sign those papers on the guilty plea, today the sheriff is trying to get a new search warrant to look further into his computer and his activities.
There may be more charges coming.
HAMMER: And we`re going to see coverage of it, aren`t we, whereas this stuff probably goes on every day with characters that we never hear about.
GRACE: Well, that`s true. But there are two ways to look at that.
I think that it`s a good thing any time that crime against children, be it molestation in JonBenet`s case, or child porn, is publicized. So many people don`t want to hear about it, and I understand that. But in order to protect our children, to protect our future, we have to publicize it and let the world know what`s really going on.
And he is symbolic of cases just like this all over the country. So why not publicize it? Why not report on it?
HAMMER: Sum it up for me, 20 seconds, Nancy. The biggest part of this case that makes your blood just boil?
GRACE: Well, of course the fact that there is an unsolved murder of a little 6-year-old girl. But right now I`m very distraught at a miscarriage of justice that may preclude a future prosecution of the real killer.
I want justice, don`t you?
HAMMER: I do. And I think all of America does as well. And we`re going to continue to watch. And I think there is a heightened interest in a case that has captured our attention for 10 years now.
Nancy, always a pleasure to see you. Love having you on.
GRACE: Bye, friend.
ANDERSON: Other news making a lot of buzz tonight, Jessica Simpson may be ready to go public with her new relationship.
(MUSIC)
ANDERSON: Simpson`s latest CD, "A Public Affair," is a hit, and now friends of the star tell "People" magazine that she`s hoping her new relationship is, too. Until now, Jessica Simpson has kept quiet about her romantic life. Now friends of the newlywed-turned-divorcee tell "People" magazine that Simpson is dating musician John Mayer. There he is.
"People" says that Simpson and Mayer actually met while she was still married, but their flirtation didn`t begin until the summer. The new couple bumped into each other at a pre-Grammy party. Since then, Mayer has been sending flowers, notes, and having private dates away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi.
But now Simpson seems ready to step out with her new man. And you can read the whole story in "People" magazine, which hits newsstands on Friday.
HAMMER: The Dixie Chicks let down. The group left out in the cold from one of Country music`s biggest honors. But who made the cut?
We`re going to have the story coming up.
ANDERSON: Also ahead, the world`s largest food fight? What`s behind this dirty street festival? We`ll tell you why it made us say, "That`s ridiculous!"
We`ll also have this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is controlling this thing and how are they controlling it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one knows. That`s the whole point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Coming up, the secrets some Hollywood heavy-hitters don`t want you to know. Find out who really decides the ratings of the movies you are watching.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the inside story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Coming up tomorrow, when you hear, "What you talkin` `bout, Willis?" you think "Different Strokes," right? Right, everybody?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yes!
HAMMER: Yes, of course.
Willis himself, Todd Bridges, stopping by. What happened when the cameras stopped rolling on the popular `80s sitcom? The secrets and the tragedies of his life and that of his child co-stars.
That`s tomorrow.
ANDERSON: Brooks & Dunn and Brad Paisley dominated the field with six nominations each for the 40th annual Country Music Association Awards. Former "American Idol" winner, Carrie Underwood, also received a strong showing, receiving four nominations. One of her nominations is for female vocalist of the year.
Her first single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel," spent six weeks at number one. Underwood tied as second most nominated performer with Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. Urban, Nicole Kidman`s husband, was last year`s entertainer of the year.
The Dixie Chicks, whose anti-Bush, antiwar lyrics caused a furor in the country music world, did not receive any nominations. Their latest album, "Taking the Long Way," is currently number six on the country music charts. Still, it`s a shutout for the group.
The CMAs air November 6th on ABC.
HAMMER: Well, star TV chef Emeril Lagasse says he is not giving up on his hometown. Coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, what he is doing to help rebuild New Orleans one year after Katrina.
ANDERSON: Also ahead, the tomatoes are flying. But why? Tune in for the details of this food fight. It is a story that made us say, "That`s ridiculous!"
We`ve also got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There she is!
Look at the plates. Make sure -- make sure it`s her. She`s the only one that has...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Hollywood`s biggest secrets revealed ahead. See the chase that blew the lid off the Hollywood rating system.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer. We are in New York.
ANDERSON: Yes, we are. Welcome to the weekend. I am Brooke Anderson. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
All right. If you think your spouse is cheating on you, you better listen up to this: we have a private investigator who is so good, he`s got his own television show now. Vinnie Parco joins us coming up.
HAMMER: Maybe Vinnie Parco could have been of some help to Carmen Electra. I don`t know.
ANDERSON: Maybe so.
HAMMER: If you haven`t heard, Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro, the rocker, are splitting up.
ANDERSON: It`s so sad.
HAMMER: They`re getting a divorce.
Now, Carmen is citing "irreconcilable difference." Dave Navarro now says he is involved with porn star Jenna Jameson. "Irreconcilable differences" indeed. We get to the nitty gritty of that story coming up in just a few minutes.
But first tonight, some experts that this week`s terrifying terror plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic Ocean points to just one man: Osama bin Laden. Nearly five years after 9/11 and despite a worldwide hunt to take down public enemy No. 1, we really don`t know much about him still.
I had the chance to speak with CNN`s chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, who got never-before-heard-of access to bin Laden`s friends, family and people who fought with him for an upcoming CNN special.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: In doing this special, all that you learned about Osama bin Laden - does it shock you that this man still has not been caught?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does shock me, because there was an opportunity, and this comes quite - quite clearly in the documentary. And we know this, that at the Battle of Tora Bora, December 2001, basically Osama was allowed to get away and fight another day.
Now that is the background to the fact that he`s still out there, he`s still a threat. And that`s we`ve done this documentary, because we need to know as much about the enemy as possible.
Clearly he`s aligned himself as an enemy of the West, of certain policies, of certain countries and their citizens and their government. And this is becoming a bigger and bigger threat, and we`ve seen it not just against America, but against other parts of the world.
So to know more about this person we thought really important. And that`s why we did it.
HAMMER: And it really seems that you do have us better understand exactly who this man is, exactly what makes him tick.
And I`m curious, walking away from it - because certainly you uncovered some things we may not have known before. What surprised you the most? What really made you say, I never know that about this man?
AMANPOUR: Well, look, I am still very much open to surprise, because I`ve never met him. And very few people have had a huge amount of time with him.
So what I thought was good about the fact that we talked to so many people who knew him at certain points in his life was to be able to put pieces of the puzzle together from those who knew him. And what surprises, I think, me, is just the arc of his life. I mean, he was a pretty unassuming sort of shy, reticent young boy of a wealthy, privileged family. And suddenly he becomes this virulent person with a virulent ideology, and with huge amount of power. Because it`s not just the killing that he`s done - doing, but it`s the - the recruiting, the - the - the sort of rallying of - of certain masses in the Islamic world.
And I thought that, you know, some of the things that we saw, for instance, for the first time on television, we had - we had obtained the minute of the actual meeting in which al-Qaida was formed in Pakistan all those years ago. And I think, you know, little details like that that come out, plus just the - the story of his life through the eyes of the people who knew him, I think, was interesting.
HAMMER: One of the things that always strikes me when I`m watching you work, and particularly in this particular documentary, in uncovering all of this information, you`re dealing with some characters whom some would consider to be very nefarious, very shady.
And I told you this when I saw you last time here in New York, I worry about you when you`re out there. You`re always in the most dangerous parts of the world.
So what`s going through your head when you`re approaching and sitting down with these shadowy people?
AMANPOUR: Well, I will just say that, you know, Daniel Pearl, "The Wall Street Journal" journalist who was beheaded, was with the - one of the first journalists to be a victim of this - this absolute brutality. That always does go through your head when you`re following this kind of story.
Now, not to say that we put ourselves in that kind of situation. We weren`t going down back alleys investigating, you know, these kinds of terrible people. But you always think about, you know, Are you knocking on too many doors? Are you causing too many waves?
But, you know, luckily, luckily everything was fine, and we talked to people who are talk to us, even though some of them had not talked before on - on - certainly not on America television. And I think that, you know, the danger level was luckily less than it could have been had we been following a - a news story.
HAMMER: And the tagline to the show is, "Know Your Enemy." And that`s really what it`s all about it, isn`t it?
AMANPOUR: That`s what I think.
You know, some people might say, Well, are you trying to put a human face on him? And my answer is, It`s not about putting a human face on him. It`s about knowing this human being, knowing this person who has declared himself an enemy. And you have to be equipped with knowledge while you try to deal with that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You`ve just got to watch this exclusive special; it is fascinating. Never before has a television documentary put together so many people who know bin Laden - 21 people to be exact. Christiane Amanpour`s two-hour documentary, called "CNN PRESENTS: In the Footsteps of Bin Laden" will air on August 23 on CNN.
ANDERSON: While new fears of terrorism are on the minds of everyone tonight, there are still plenty of questions about the 9/11 attacks. A new documentary narrated by Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank and Kevin Costner called "On Native Soil" puts shocking new information out there from the families who helped to launch the 9/11 investigation commission.
Joining us now, Mary Schiavo, a former Department of Transportation inspector general and contributor to the film.
Mary, good to see you. Thanks for being here.
MARY SCHIAVO, CONTRIBUTED TO DOCUMENTARY "ON NATIVE SOIL": Thank you. My pleasure.
ANDERSON: OK. Kevin Costner and Hilary Swank narrate this film. They had very specific reasons for wanting to take part: Kevin because he believes it`s a story that all Americans should know; Hilary because she wanted to help the families` voices be heard.
Why did you want to do it?
SCHIAVO: Because I don`t want anyone to ever forget the facts. And when the next terrorist attack comes, or the next threat that was foiled this week, I don`t ever want to hear those words again - "Who would have thought?" And it`s important to capture this, and it`s important not to lose it, but to do it in a way that`s factual, that`s accurate. It`s a documentary.
ANDERSON: Well, this documentary dates all the way back to 1997, in fact. It begins - Osama bin Laden tells former CNN correspondent Peter Arnett that he`s launching a jihad against the U.S.
All right. And then it goes up to that fateful day, of course, 9/11.
But are people going to be outraged when they learn the details of the 9/11 report, if they didn`t already know them when they see this? Are they going to be outraged about how the ball was dropped so many times?
SCHIAVO: Yes, there will be some outrage.
But it`s not outrage about, it`s just coming out now. It`s outrage about how many people had responsibility, and they failed to live up to those responsibilities. And that`s what`s really important to capture in a - in a documentary, going forward in the future. It`s all about responsibility and who should have done things that - that they didn`t. And this will be shocking.
ANDERSON: Another thing that is truly shocking to me, and you shed light on this in the documentary - that fateful moment when the terrorists passed through security at the airport, setting off the alarms, they were still allowed to pass through.
It`s unbelievable to me. What will see in this documentary about that?
SCHIAVO: Well, we will see who`s job it was; it was the airlines` job. It was a security company`s job. But also how they didn`t do what they were supposed to do. They were supposed to screen them; they were supposed to do random screening. One of them had a packet affixed to the back of his pants, very clearly visible in the tapes that the 9/11 commission had and wrote about. And we will see how they didn`t do any of the screening in the proper ways, and they didn`t even do random searches, which they were required to do. Just a shocking, literally dereliction of duties of the airlines and security companies.
ANDERSON: And this is about the state of security five years ago.
But talking about what`s going on today, what`s happening with the terror alerts, what`s happening in the airports. Nearly five years later, do you think we`ve really come that far?
SCHIAVO: Well, we haven`t come that far, and we haven`t come as far as we need to. But we have made some important changes. We now know who (INAUDIBLE) are, passenger-screening departure lounges. We know they`re citizens. At least it`s run by government agencies, so they`ve had background checks.
But the attacks of this week - we were very fortunate - or the planned attacks. And had it not been for the British and Pakistani and other authorities, they couldn`t have been thwarted at the airport, because they found another loophole in security. And so it`s important every time to close that loophole and look for the next. And then we`ll - finally, we`ll get there.
ANDERSON: What else will we see in this documentary that will be extremely eye-opening to many Americans?
SCHIAVO: Well, what`s going to be eye-opening - of course, it`s in - it`s in the documents, it`s in the papers of our country, but it`s not compiled in a watchable documentary that will really have an impact on people - and that is, the path leading up to this, how much was known in 97; how much was known in 1990, 91, 92. We had Pan Am, then we had the Bojinka plot, which was uncovered. And I was the inspector general at DOT after both of those, and we had these massive security reviews. And we pronounced the security was far - far inadequate, and they needed to improve.
But there were objections by the carriers; there were objections by the government because of cost. And we seem to repeat the same mistakes.
ANDERSON: Sounds like a very revealing documentary.
Mary Schiavo, thanks for being here and for sharing it with us. We appreciate it.
SCHIAVO: Thank you.
ANDERSON: "On Native Soil," the documentary of the 9/11 commission report, premieres on CourtTV August 21.
All right. Coming up, a big Hollywood couple breaks up, and you won`t believe who is at the center of it all. It`s absolutely shocking.
HAMMER: And is someone stalking Lindsay Lohan? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates in tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
We`ve also got this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
You expect me to leave him because you thought he was broke, when in reality (INAUDIBLE) to leave with his mistress and your cash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Meet the PI who may have his eye on you. He`s so good at busting cheating spouses he got his own TV show, "Vinnie Parco, Private Investigator." It`s the interview you will see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Right now it`s time for the "Entertainment Weekly Must List," five things "EW" says you have to check out this weekend.
First, see "The Descent." A group of girlfriends encounter blood- thirsty creatures when they get trapped in a mountain cave.
Next, "EW" says to check out the Heartless Bastards` second album, "All This Time." It`s a melody of sweetness from this hot Cincinnati trio.
Then, curl up with "The Ruins" by Scott Smith. It`s a thriller all about two couples traveling in Mexico who stumble across a nightmare in the jungle.
"EW" also says to catch Marvel`s warrior Blade on Spike TV.
And finally, check out the all-time classic "To Kill a Mockingbird." It`s out as an unabridged audio book.
And for more on the "Must List," pick up your copy of "Entertainment Weekly." You`ll find it out newsstands now.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by, A.J. Pre-set Camera 1. Open his mike, dissolve 1, go.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show is on.
And it`s time now for another story that made us say, "That`s Ridiculous!"
Oh, that was ridiculous.
Well, we`re going to Kansas City. Kansas City, here we come. And look what`s going on here: ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building and apparently he`s hitting the streets. He`s got the gold glasses on for the 19th annual Elvis Parade.
Now, KC claims this is the world`s largest. And as you can see, lots of sparkly polyester suits and sideburns at this particular parade. Now, Presley left the building permanently on August 16, 29 years ago.
You know, Brooke, we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, we love the King.
ANDERSON: Aw, we love the King.
HAMMER: But we don`t say, Thank you. Thank you very much.
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE)
HAMMER: Am I being - am I being cynical? Is this just too much of a celebration?
ANDERSON: It`s a big celebration, but there are so many Elvis Presley fans. That`s what really astounds me. You know, who - who - who would`ve guessed there would have been a parade like this?
HAMMER: I would like to see you in those sideburns.
ANDERSON: Oh, likewise, A.J. Maybe we could do it together. Got us all shook up.
The world`s so-called largest Elvis parade? That makes us say, "That`s Ridiculous!"
All right. It`s your worst nightmare: your husband is working late and acting strange. Or you hear your wife`s been seen around town with a strange man. Is he having an affair? Is she cheating on you?
Private eye Vinnie Parco got so good at busting cheating spouses he got his own TV show on CourtTV. It`s called "Parco, P.I."
And here with me now in New York is Vinnie Parco.
Hey, Vinnie. Good to see you.
VINNIE PARCO, "PARCO, P.I.": My pleasure.
ANDERSON: All right. You`ve been doing this a long time. You investigated and discovered a lot of cheating spouses. And while the stories are different, is there a common denominator you find among all the infidelity cases?
PARCO: Yes. There`s always some little thing that bothers the spouse: staying out late, having dinner with friends when it`s really a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Things that are ordinary.
Now let`s face it, if someone`s married for 10, 15 years, they get to know the patterns of their - their spouse. They know what they do; they know what they don`t do. And all of a sudden, something changes in the middle of the marriage or the relationship (INAUDIBLE). And that`s what causes people to get suspicious.
And 95 percent of the time, they`re right.
ANDERSON: Well probably, one of the most infamous infidelity cases recently, Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook. Peter Cook admitted he had an affair with a 19-year-old woman.
Say before all of this happened, Vinnie, that Christie called you up and said, Hey Vinnie, I`ve got a suspicion. I think might be going on.
Where do you go from there? How do you start?
PARCO: Well, first thing I would ask her is, What - what caused you to be suspicious? Well, he`s got a lot of business deals, a lot of business meetings. I think he`s an architect.
ANDERSON: Mm-hmm.
PARCO: And he`s got all these dealings with builders and developers. Well, we would check that out, see if it`s true. Maybe it is true; maybe he really is working. Maybe he`s not cheating.
In this case, we know he is.
ANDERSON: You would track his schedule.
PARCO: Right.
The other thing what would be - I think he - he met this girl in a toy store or something. She worked as a clerk or something like that. So you might want to go back and say, What`s that activity? Where - where has he been doing lately? And she probably has been doing this particular business or this particular project.
I would investigate the project. Maybe there he would see a person that he shouldn`t be with.
ANDERSON: Does it get any more difficult when it does involve celebrities?
PARCO: Yes, it - remember, celebrities go to great lengths to protect their privacy. They`re always worried about the paparazzi; they`re worried about this - fans bothering them, stalkers. So for an investigator, you have to be really, really careful on how you do the investigation and what you - and of course, you have to be greatly prepared.
ANDERSON: People picture PIs hiding in the bushes, doing things like that. Is that what goes on?
PARCO: Sometimes. Sometimes you have to do that.
But we have a lot of high-tech gadgets now.
ANDERSON: You do. That`s right.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: The tiny cameras that you can.
PARCO: Tiny cameras. We have one - one case - as a matter of fact, we were doing this in the same area of Christie Brinkley and her husband - different case, of course - where we used a helicopter with a small camera. And we were able to see - we were able to see inside the pool where the.
ANDERSON: Oh, pretty sophisticated.
PARCO: We try. We try.
You want to know something? Old-fashioned gumshoe work always works (ph).
ANDERSON: Well, a lot of people may be watching this, and think, You know what? I may have a suspicion.
What kind of information would someone need to get to you to get the case going? Or is suspicion enough?
PARCO: Well, I always ask them questions like, Well, what does your husband or your wife done - now remember, women cheat, too. I don`t want you to - we don`t want the guys.
(CROSSTALK)
PARCO: Like, 60-40 type of a thing. (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
PARCO: .well, of a sudden, my wife is going to the spa everyday. She was a chubby woman, now she`s beautiful. She`s getting her hair done all the time. She`s really fixing herself up.
Well, maybe - maybe she`s doing it for him. But all of a sudden, their sex life wanes. And all of a sudden, she`s not with him as much. And the activities that they did jointly, she`s doing alone. So all of a sudden the husband says, You know what? Maybe something is - is wrong.
ANDERSON: So you take all that information, and then you go from there.
Well, Vinnie Parco, thanks for being here and sharing with us your techniques on busting the cheaters. We appreciate it.
PARCO: My pleasure.
ANDERSON: And you can catch "Parco, P.I." Tuesday nights on CourtTV.
Well, you don`t need a private eye to find SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show is now on seven nights a week, including weekends. Be sure to tune in; SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Saturday and Sunday each and every night, 11 p.m. Eastern. That`s 8 Pacific.
HAMMER: Lindsay Lohan may have a stalker after her, and a porn star is smack-dab in the middle of what was once Hollywood`s hottest couple.
Those are just a couple of tonight`s "Hot Headlines." Let`s get up to speed with Harvey Levin, managing editor of the entertainment Web site TMZ.com. Harvey joins us from Glendale, California.
All right, Harvey. Let`s begin with the story that is such a train wreck, it really is one of those only-in-Hollywood kind of stories.
Carmen Electra has officially filed for divorce from rock star Dave Navarro.
Now Dave confirms he is involved with one of the biggest porn stars in the world, Jenna Jameson. Carmen cites "irreconcilable differences" for the split.
I - I think you`d have a hard time reconciling this, wouldn`t you?
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: You know, it seems like a buzzkill to me when you start dating a porn star and you`re, you know, involved with somebody else. So, yes, you know, I`m - I`m - I`m guessing that there`s not a whole lot of hope.
HAMMER: And - and you got to love this too-hard-to-ignore part of this story. Their marriage, of course, was a TV series on MTV. This one was called "Til Death Do Us Part." Just recently, we had Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker split with his wife, Shanna Moakler after they starred in the reality series "Meet the Barkers." Then, of course, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, they had "The Newlyweds" on MTV.
Can we officially call it an MTV curse, Harvey?
LEVIN: Well, you could an MTV curse, but my feeling about it is is that bad if bad luck happens in threes, then people who go on VH1 have a lot to fear.
HAMMER: Yes, don`t talk about VH1 like that. I was on there for four years.
LEVIN: I know.
HAMMER: All right. Let`s move on to our next "Hot Headline" then -- a story that you guys broke at TMZ.com, in fact, that some may actually be stalking Lindsay Lohan.
What do you know about this?
LEVIN: Well, I`m - I`m hearing that it`s serious.
What happened is this: there was a notice posted at the studio where Lindsay is shooting "Georgia Rule" right now. And the notice basically says that an actress on the set has a stalker. We`ve confirmed that it was - that it is indeed Lindsay Lohan.
What happened is, this guy has been sending letters, sending flowers and doing other things that have worried some of Lindsay`s security people. And they put a notice up, this guy is persona non grata there. But it is something that has been taken seriously.
HAMMER: You know, we are always goofing around about Lindsay and the various things she`s getting involved with. But this is serious stuff; could she really be in danger here?
LEVIN: You know, I`m not told danger. But I`m told there`s concern about this for some reason. The guy - this guy who had written letters - I know his name; I`m not going to mention it - but he wrote his name on the letter and his phone number. So I know that his security staff is in the process, if they haven`t already gotten in touch with this guy.
HAMMER: And I`m sure they may be beefing up security around that set.
TMZ.com`s Harvey Levin, thanks as always for bring us up to speed with the "Hot Headlines," and having a good weekend, Harvey.
LEVIN: Bye, A.J.
ANDERSON: Last night, we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Reliving 9/11: Do the movies and TV shows make you anxious?" Forty percent of you say yes; 60 percent of you say, No they don`t make you anxious.
Here`s an e-mail got. Mary from Maine writes: "No more than murder mysteries, and I learned long ago not to attend them."
Mary, not (INAUDIBLE) those movies.
Stay right here. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And go, Carl (ph). Fade up Camera 3. Music under. Stand by, Brooke. Open her mike, dissolve Camera 1, go.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for your Friday night. We are TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson.
We`ve been asking you to vote on tonight`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "War on Terror: Do you really Hollywood plots give terrorists ideas?" Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us; there`s the address: showbiztonight@cnn.com. We will read some of those e-mails on Monday.
HAMMER: That`s right; we`re getting into the weekend. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is on all weekend long. But let`s find out what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your "SHOWBIZ Marquee."
And on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, shocking new O.J. Simpson videos. Why so many are so angry that these new tapes are out there. There`s even one of him getting a lap dance. Is O.J. himself upset about these tapes? That`s on Saturday and Sunday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this weekend.
And on Monday, stars who say "I`m not gay." Jake Gyllenhaal, Oprah Winfrey, Superman himself Brandon Routh. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates how the gay rumors start, and why stars come out so strongly against the fact that they are not gay.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: That`s coming up on Monday.
And it`s been so lovely having you here in New York. I wish you the best of luck flying back to Los Angeles this weekend.
ANDERSON: Oh, it`s going to be a challenge, but I`ll see if I can make it back home.
HAMMER: And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks so much for watching. I am A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: I am Brooke Anderson. Join us again this weekend.
But first, Glenn Beck is next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News.
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