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Showbiz Tonight
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills Face to Face in Court for Very First Time; Anna Nicole Smith Funeral Frenzy
Aired March 01, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Paul McCartney and Heather Mills face to face in court for the very first time. And Partridge Family star David Cassidy right tonight. How he dealt with the enormous pressure of being a young star, and his take on today`s Lindsey`s Paris` and Britney`s. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show start right now.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the Anna Nicole Smith funeral frenzy. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT uncovers the startling and bizarre details of her burial. Who will be there? How will Anna be dressed? Will a big star sing? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT in the Bahamas with the latest on the over the top, outrageous goodbye to Anna Nicole.
Jail time in Paris? Tonight, could Paris Hilton be trading her designer duds for prison stripes? The shocking thing that could land her behind bars.
Plus, Paris and her pals know just what it takes to land on the front page, steamy relationships, putting on or taking off the pounds. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your 100 percent, money back guaranteed recipe, the magic ingredients to being a tabloid star.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight, the big question, could Paris Hilton actually be facing some jail time? We could only dream. Well that`s coming up in just a few minutes, but first tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that the spectacle that has surrounded the Anna Nicole Smith drama may actually be topped by her funeral. More than three weeks after her death, Anna Nicole will finally be buried in the Bahamas tomorrow.
Today, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned the inside story of exactly what we can expect and, if all goes as planned, the tribute to Anna Nicole will be as over the top as the life she led.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): After Anna Nicole Smith`s body spent weeks in legal limbo and court hearings --
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, FAMILY COURT JUDGE: We want to give respect and peace to Miss Smith`s body.
HAMMER -- after court hearing --
VIRGIE ARTHUR, MOTHER OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: It`s not Vickie`s home.
HAMMER: -- after bitter court hearing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really dispute that that was her last intent, to be buried in the Bahamas?
HAMMER: Anna Nicole Smith will finally be laid to rest next to her son in the Bahamas. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Anna Nicole Smith`s funeral will be consistent with the wild and out there life she led.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, MODEL/ACTRESS: I know. I`m not writer. I don`t even know how to spell.
HAMMER: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has for you all of the behind the scenes details of the over the top service Anna Nicole`s loved ones are planning. And we`ll show you that even though Anna Nicole is being laid to rest, the bitterness from the fight over her body and her baby lives on.
HOWARD K. STERN, LAWYER FOR ANNA NICOLE SMITH: She wanted to be in the Bahamas with Daniel, and that`s what`s going to be carried out.
HAMMER: Anna Nicole`s companion, Howard K. Stern, tells "Entertainment Tonight" he`s relieved the battle over Anna Nicole is over. His bitter court fight with her Anna Nicole`s mother, Virgie Arthur, who wanted Anna Nicole buried in Texas, ended with a Florida appeals court ruling.
STERN: I feel like the court got it right, because they didn`t focus on me and they didn`t focus on Virgie Arthur, but they focused on what Anna`s intent was.
HAMMER: As her loved ones bickered over her burial, Anna Nicole`s body was locked in this morgue for three whole weeks after her death. Now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has for you the inside details of Anna Nicole`s final journey. At dawn on Friday morning a hearse will take her body from the morgue to Miami International Airport.
From there, she will be flown to her final resting place in Nassau.
PATRICK SIMPSON, FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: It`s going to be a beautiful, beautiful funeral.
HAMMER: Anna Nicole`s friend, Patrick Simpson, talked to "Larry King Live" about the funeral.
SIMPSON: It`s going to be an intimate gathering of friends and family and it`s going to be a perfect send off.
HAMMER: And what a send off it will be. Simpson tells the Associated Press that Anna Nicole`s funeral will feature lots of pink flowers, Anna Nicole`s favorite color. Simpson`s partner, celebrity fashion designer Pol Atteu (ph), who has designed many of Anna Nicole`s dresses, has designed the one she will be buried in.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that country singer Joe Nickels has been tapped to sing at the funeral. Three hundred people are expected, including Stern, Virgie Arthur and Larry Birkhead, Anna Nicole`s ex boyfriend, who is now fighting Stern for paternity rights to Anna Nicole`s baby, Dannielynn.
After the funeral service, at about noon, Anna Nicole will be buried at this cemetery, where her son Daniel, who died last year, lies in an unmarked grave. The cemetery has already become a tourist site.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basically, we told Daniel his mom will be here soon. Mommy will be here soon.
HAMMER: But as Anna Nicole is laid to rest, some battles remain. Birkhead, Arthur and Stern are fighting each other for custody of little Dannielynn, and Virgie Arthur`s first visit with her new granddaughter, at the house in the Bahamas, where Stern lives with the child, ended in tears and bitterness, because Stern wouldn`t let Virgie touch or hold Dannielynne. A defiant Stern talked about it on "Entertainment Tonight."
STERN: I would not let Virgie alone with Dannielynn. No, that`s not going to happen. That you would need a court order for.
HAMMER: So while it appears that the people in Anna Nicole`s life won`t be making peace anytime soon, it`s hoped that at least finally Anna Nicole can rest in peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: It really is a relief that at least this chapter of a truly tragic story is about to come to an end, or will it? While Anna Nicole`s body is about to be laid to rest, the fight may not over. All of the players could be gearing up for another court battle over her body. Will it never end?
With me tonight from New York, to help us figure it out, Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat, and from Los Angeles, investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell. She is also the author of the soon to be released book "Secrets Can Be Murder."
Ladies, it`s good to see you, as always. Let`s get right to it. We thought that with this funeral tomorrow finally taking place, all the plans were in place, the thing was over. But not so fast. Hang on just a second. Ashleigh, I know Court TV has some exclusive information. This still may not be over. I`m going to start banging my head against the table while you tell us what is going on here.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: I know, I start every segment with you with I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Court TV`s Jean Kasaras (ph) bumped into Virgie Arthur in the airport in West Palm today, and asked her specifically, you`re headed over to bury your daughter, is this it? And she said no. Her plan now, A.J., is apparently to launch efforts in the Bahamas to go through guardianship of Dannielynn, to establish next of kin to Daniel, and then exhume Daniel, bring him to Texas, and then exhume who she called Vickie Lynne, obviously Anna Nicole Smith, presumably based on the fact that because the last wishes of Anna Nicole Smith were to be buried beside her son, that could be in the Bahamas or Texas.
So Virgie is thinking at this point, if she gets to exhume Daniel`s body and bring Daniel back to Texas, then she can bring Vickie Lynn, AKA Anna Nicole Smith, back to Texas too.
HAMMER: May I say now in one word what I think is on everyone`s mind right now? Yuck. I mean, Jane, I don`t know about you, but it seems to me, it`s just time for Virgie Arthur to give this thing a rest. No pun intended of course. Why would she keep fighting like this? Everybody seems to agree that at least this chapter in this whole bizarre thing should be over.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Ego and a sense of righteousness. All three parties do feel that they are doing the right thing for Anna Nicole, and they are coming to a head. But the good news is that this funeral service is going to try to be very equitable and give each party a chance to speak, Virgie Arthur, Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead, all allowed to bring the same number of people. All are expected to speak.
My big question, are we going to see little Dannielynn tomorrow? This 5 1/2-month-old baby girl, who has been under wraps for so long, because there are growing concerns about her health. I just spoke to a woman who said she saw a videotape, which has not been shown to the public, of a nine-month-pregnant Anna Nicole Smith, and this tape shows her appearing completely intoxicated, and about to go to the hospital to deliver this little girl, and this woman said that if she is as intoxicated as she appears to be, this child could have neurological damage, and that something should be done to check out this baby`s health.
HAMMER: Yes, we will all be looking out for Dannielynn tomorrow. We have been hearing lots of stories like this over the past several weeks. You mention that it`s going to be an equitable funeral. If it actually takes place, Ashleigh, just like everything else in this crazy story, do you think that the funeral tomorrow is going to be another example of a big gaudy display of bad taste?
BANFIELD: It depends on what your impression of gaudy is. Yours and mine may differ from other people`s. However, I will tell you this, perhaps the least gaudy aspect of it is that it is supposed to be private, except for the 300 invited guests. Apart from that, pink flowers, fine, that`s her favorite color. And then what I found very interesting was this report floating out there, unconfirmed at this point, that she`s going to be buried with the ashes of her late husband, J. Howard Marshall. I would have to tell you those would be half of his ashes, because she battled over his body with the Marshals, and she lost. And then she battled for the ashes. And the judge split them in two.
She left them in the funeral home for five years before going to bother to pick them up. So she`s only got half of his ashes. So if she is being buried with any ashes, it would only be half.
HAMMER: We`re going to spell the whole word bizarre with capital letters. So, real quickly now, Jane, it took three weeks just to figure out how to get her buried, which may or may not actually happen tomorrow. It`s looking like it probably will. Now we have to turn the focus to who is going to be named the father of her baby. So, you figure on one hand, three weeks to bury a body. Are we looking at three months, three years to settle this paternity battle?
MITCHELL: Well, the Bohemian courts have a hearing coming up in a couple of weeks. I wonder why wait a couple of weeks for the next hearing? Why such a delay, when there are these concern about the health of the child? I think they should move with alacrity and really hold a quick hearing and get it scheduled, but I don`t believe the Bohemian courts are known for that. So I believe it could drag on for quite some time.
HAMMER: But they were able to fast track her citizenship and the word of the day, by the way, from Jane Velez Mitchell, alacrity. Let`s put this on the fast track. Jane Velez Mitchell, Ashleigh Banfield, I thank you as always.
We have lots more of this coming up at 31 minutes past the hour. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT heading right to the Bahamas for the already out of control media frenzy going on there.
And now, we would like to hear from you for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, Anna Nicole`s funeral, if televised, would you watch? Would you be tuning? Let us know, CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. E-mail us at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
You know, you can also vote on the question of the day by grabbing your cell phone and sending a text message to 45688. If you want to vote yes, you type SHOWBIZ Yes; to vote no, type SHOWBIZ No. Once again, the number to text to is 45688.
Paris Hilton arrested. Will she be behind bars? And by that I don`t mean bars like the ones Paris dances on. I mean, you know, bars, jail cells. Coming up, why this hotel heiress could be checking into the local lockup. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest joke in celebrity journalism is for celebrities to complain, oh, I don`t want to be covered by the press. I don`t want to be in magazines. And then you see them appear at restaurants like the Ivy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Paris and her pals know just what it takes to land on the front page of all those magazine. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your 100 percent, money back guaranteed recipe, the magic ingredients to being a tabloid star.
Just look how cute these babies are. It`s the amazing story. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Orangutans and tigers, best friends, get ready to say, ah, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. hammer in New York. Time now for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video of the day. Take a look at this and say, awe.
Yes, look at these oh so cute baby tigers and orangutans just hanging out. Talk about odd couples, they`re actually best friends at this zoo in Indonesia. They`ve been hanging out, side by side, for about a month now. No hostility at all. It kind of reminds me of when we were all kids, playing together in the sandbox, and getting along.
Now zoo people say that this would never actually happen in the wild, and sadly, pretty soon they are going to have to separate the orangutans and the tigers. But for now, we`re cuddling up to this really cute video of the day.
Well, if Paris Hilton is out hitting the clubs tonight, which of course would be no big surprise, you have got to wonder whether she`s also thinking about the fact she could actually be going to jail. That`s not hot. As SHOWBIZ TONIGHT first told you, Paris Hilton was pulled over on Tuesday night and arrested for driving with a suspended driver`s license. Here we have the pictures to prove it. And it turns out she might have violated her probation from when she pleaded no contest to alcohol-related reckless driving. That means Paris could face jail time.
As I have said before, we can only dream. With us tonight from Hollywood, Howard Bragman, founder of 15 Minutes Public Relations, in New York, Jill Dobson, news and style editor at large for "Star Magazine." Good to see you both. Howard, the second time that Paris has been arrested in a year. She knew that driving could get her in trouble. Is she delusional in thinking that nothing could happen to her, because it sure seems that way.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, 15 MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: A.J., make no mistake, it`s Paris`s world and we are just spectators in this whole thing. I think she lives a little different life than the average person, and I think some of the rules don`t always apply to her. So I don`t think she is thinking exactly like we are, but this is something that may come back and bite her in the butt, unfortunately.
HAMMER: Real sense of invincibility, Howard, huh?
BRAGMAN: Absolutely.
HAMMER: Jill, everybody talks about they`ve had it with Paris. They don`t want to talk about her. They don`t want to hear about her. And something extraordinary is taking place now. The Associated Press, which is certainly one of the world`s biggest and most respected news agencies, said this week that they are not going to put out a single word about Paris on the Associated Press wire, because so many people can`t stand her. If that`s the case, why is it that everyone else keeps writing about her?
JILL DOBSON, "STAR MAGAZINE": I think that is a Paris phenomenon, where she is really the first of her kind, to be so famous just for being famous. And I think we are always going to keep hearing about her, as we complain about reality shows and complain about other people who we don`t think have really earned their fame, based on talent. We are always going to reference Paris Hilton.
And the other thing is, we`ve seen it here, one New York City nightclub made a rule that they will have no more Paris Hilton types and when Paris tried to show up herself, they said, no, you can`t come in. But it didn`t catch on with the other nightclubs. And I think the AP may be standing alone on this one, because I think the rest of the media will keep reporting on her.
HAMMER: And again, they are a hard core organization. You know, and it does come down to, for a magazine like your own, it`s a guilty pleasure and people will want to keep reading it. Won`t they?
DOBSON: Oh yes. Everybody wants to hear about Paris Hilton. I actually looked back, and in 2006, she didn`t get many covers. Her most recent one was at the end of the year, in our 50 Most Annoying People Special. But she doesn`t get too many cover stories, but you flip open the pages and there`s always something that Paris has done that`s outrageous that gets in there.
HAMMER: Oh yes. Do a word count on how many times her name is mentioned. I have a feeling it will be a big number. Howard, Paris keeps on getting into one mess after another. Before this latest arrest there was that videotape that came out a little while back, with her making racial and anti-gay comments. Everybody got all upset. We were talking about it here, talking about how this is just unacceptable, but then it kind of fades away. It`s kind of like she`s made of teflon. How does she do it?
BRAGMAN: You know, let`s think of what Paris stands for. She is not Mother Teresa. She is not the moral center. Paris is about fun and boys and partying. And these kind of things really reinforce what she is. They don`t detract from her image. That`s why she`s pretty much gotten a free pass from the public.
HAMMER: What`s your take on that, Jill?
DOBSON: Well, Paris has money. She has fame and, of course, she`s beautiful. So she`s always going to get tons of attention. And I am surprised that some of these -- you know, when Mel Gibson uttered similar statements, of course, it was a huge scandal. But I think people look at Paris a little differently. They realize you can`t boycott Paris Hilton the way you can boycott Mel Gibson`s movies, so you just ignore her and hope that she will behave better.
HAMMER: So, a lot of people, I think, would love to see Paris Hilton get thrown in jail, Howard. And I`m thinking, you know, could that perhaps be the best thing for her from two standpoints? One, for her it will get her more publicity, of course. And for the rest of with us, maybe it will kind of put things into perspective a little bit for her.
BRAGMAN: I think your fears are real because my experience is a lot of times the courts like to be extra hard on celebrities, to show that they are not giving them special treatment. I think that`s where her real risk runs. But knowing it`s Paris, she will show up in court. She will look fabulous. She will turn it into a photo spread. And she will get even more attention out of it. She will come out. She`ll develop a new line of Ponchos, ala Martha Stewart. Paris is going to be fine. But I don`t think she would be happy in jail with the clothing at all.
HAMMER: No, she wouldn`t be happy with the fashion. And please, Howard, don`t mischaracterize my feelings about her going to jail as a fear. It is not a fear. At this point, I can safely say it`s a hope. Howard Bragman from 15 Minutes Public Relations, Jill Dobson from "Star Magazine", thanks as always.
Paris Hilton, of course, no stranger to the tabloids, as we have been talking about. So what does it take for you to be splashed all over these magazines day after day? Well, coming up at 35 past the hour, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the secret to being a star.
Well, Partridge Family star David Cassidy was certainly all over the magazines back in the day. Tonight, he`s right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to talk about the non-stop pressure of growing up a teen star. What life was like for him. That`s on the way.
Also, Paul McCartney, and his soon to be ex-wife, Heather Mills, come face-to-face for the first time in divorce court. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is right there with all the details.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is right there in the Bahamas, the bizarre details of Anna Nicole Smith`s burial. We`ve got the very latest on the over the top, simply outrageous good bye that is planned, and the media frenzy surrounding it. That`s next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. Well Paul McCartney and his estranged wife, Heather Mills, faced off in their first divorce court battle today. It was a preliminary hearing in London. Mills said nothing when she showed up. The former Beetle flashed a peace sign when he left. They separated in May of last year and they have a three-year-old daughter, Beatrice, together.
Mills, by the way, is all set to star in the new season of "Dancing With The Stars," which starts up in just a couple of weeks. It should be interesting, because since she`s got a prosthetic leg.
Well, yesterday we asked you to vote online in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Here`s what we were asking: Anna Nicole Smith`s battle, is money the real motivation? This is what we call the one sided vote. Look at that, 96 percent of you say yes; four percent of you say no.
Among the e-mails we received, we hear from Jackie in Illinois, who writes, "Howard loved Anna and her son and now wants to care for their baby. Virgie is definitely fighting over the money."
We also heard from Leo in Kansas, who writes, "What goes around comes around. Anna married a millionaire for money. Now her associates are after the money she left."
Well, lots more on Anna Nicole Smith`s burial on the way. In fact, coming up in just five minutes, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is right there in the Bahamas. The outrageous media frenzy, and more bizarre details of Anna Nicole`s over the top funeral. We`ve also got this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest joke in celebrity journalist is for celebrities to claim, oh, I don`t want to be covered by the press. I don`t want to be in magazines. And then you see them appear in restaurants like the Ivy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Anna Nicole was a big tabloid star. Well tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your recipe to landing on magazine covers. Try a steamy love affair or dramatic weight gain or loss. And Partridge Family star David Cassidy was a big tabloid target in the day. Coming up, David Cassidy right here his story of what life was like for him growing up a teen star. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Thursday night is coming right back. Don`t go anywhere.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Thursday night. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Still to come tonight, lose lots of weight real fast, maybe get involved in a celebrity love triangle, and you, too, can land on magazine covers everywhere. Coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your 100-percent-money- back-guaranteed secret checklist for exactly what it takes to be a tabloid star.
Also tonight, if anybody knows the price of fame coming fast and furious, it is certainly David Cassidy of the Partridge Family. The sex, the drugs, the rock and roll - David Cassidy tells all to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT when he joins me in just a few minutes.
But first tonight, finally, if all goes as planned, Anna Nicole Smith`s body will be laid to rest tomorrow in the Bahamas. There is an exclusive guest list of about 300 people invited to the funeral, which as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been telling you, is expected to be quite over the top.
Joining me tonight from the Bahamas, Paul Boyd, correspondent for "Inside Edition."
Paul, thanks for being with us.
PAUL BOYD, "INSIDE EDITION": Good evening, A.J.
HAMMER: So this funeral is scheduled for tomorrow morning in the Bahamas. Anna Nicole`s body is going to be flown from Florida on a private jet very early morning. And - and we`re hearing that it`s already just getting nuts down there.
What`s the day been like?
BOYD: Yes, you know, there`s no question tomorrow is going to be a big media spectacle. Camera crews from around the world have descended here on the Bahamas, and it`s a big story. Everyone`s been covering it.
But at the time, I really get the sense that officials here are trying to say, `All right, the media stand back, and let`s remember that this is about burying a woman, and try and maintain some level of dignity.`
HAMMER: Which is kind of hard to remember when you think of the planning that`s going into this thing. I mean, we know that Anna Nicole is being buried in a - a very specially designed gown. You have country music superstar Joe Nichols performing at the funeral.
What - what else can we expect is going to take place?
BOYD: Yes, I mean, it sounds like 300 people, as you say, are going to go into this Baptist church just up the road from where I am right now, and they`re just going to celebrate the life of Anna Nicole. I got some information today that there`s going to be hymns sung, scripture read, a eulogy will be delivered. And once they get graveside, apparently all three parties in connection to Anna Nicole - Howard K. Stern; Larry Birkhead; and her mother, Virgie Arthur, will speak before she`s put to rest in the ground.
HAMMER: But it does sound like the vibe at least is going to be very much in keeping with this over-the-top life that she left, no?
BOYD: Yes, no, I think so. I mean, there are going to be helicopters overhead, camera crews lining the streets.
But again, my sense from officials here, they are going to try and keep things under control. But we`ve seen how things have been so far for three weeks straight, and it`s hard to imagine that this won`t just become larger than life again.
HAMMER: A bit of a delicate part of this story that I`m - I`m curious if you know the answer to, because of course a lot was made of Anna Nicole`s quickly deteriorating body while this three-week fight over who got to bury her was going on.
Is this actually going to be a closed-casket ceremony tomorrow?
BOYD: Here`s what I understand is going to happen: at the public ceremony for 300 people by invitation only, the casket will be closed.
However, when Anna Nicole`s casket gets graveside, the casket lid will be opened, and the 30 or so family members and close friends will be able to view her one last time before she`s laid to rest.
HAMMER: There has been a circus going along - going along with the whole court battle, and of course there has been incredibly intense competition among the media in Florida, down there in the Bahamas. Of course, everybody is fighting to get the best interviews, trying to get the best pictures, of course.
Tell me what you`re hearing about - I don`t know, hidden cameras, people being paid off for interviews, things like that.
BOYD: Yes, those type of rumors swirl around everywhere. As far as "Inside Edition"`s concerned - I mean, this is a news story. I mean, underneath all the hype and hoopla, A.J. you have some serious legal questions that have been debated out here. And you have a 5-month-old baby girl whose mother is dead, and the identity of her father is in question.
So, yes, there`s lots of hype and hoopla and who`s going to get this shot and who won`t, but as far as I`m concerned, you know, we`re focused on the news of what`s unfolding here as much as we possibly can.
HAMMER: Well, Paul, I do appreciate you giving us the inside track on exactly what`s going on down there.
Paul Boyd of "Inside Edition," and - and good luck dealing with what is sure to be a huge media frenzy tomorrow, Paul.
BOYD: Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: And we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Here is the question: "Anna Nicole`s Funeral: If televised, would you watch?"
Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight if you`d like to vote. If you have more to say, well, by all means, send us an e-mail at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll read some of your e-mails coming up tomorrow.
And you can also vote on the "Question of the Day" by zipping off a text to 45688. If you want to vote yes, write "SHOWBIZ Yes." If you want to vote no, write "SHOWBIZ No." Once again, the text should be send to 45688.
Anna Nicole, of course, just one example of a celebrity who just lived their life in the tantalizing pages of the tabloid magazines. But how did these celebrities become tabloid fodder in the first place?
Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is about to unveil something that we have kept quiet. We`ve kept it secret for years now. It`s your ultimate "how to" in becoming a tabloid star.
And just before we begin, we got to let you in on a little secret: when it comes to being a great tabloid star, Britney Spears doing everything right.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Perhaps there is no one better who earned the title "tabloid star" than Anna Nicole Smith. In life, she wasn`t only on the outside covers week after week, she was on the inside.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT talked with Anna Nicole when she launched her own column for "The National Enquirer."
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, ENTERTAINER: What better way to get my - my - my (INAUDIBLE) out there, and what better way to get an education?
ANDERSON: Both her life and her career as a tabloid columnist were cut short when she died mysteriously in a Florida hotel room.
HAMMER: Breaking news: Anna Nicole Smith, dead.
ANDERSON: But in life, Anna Nicole lived on the edge, losing weight, gaining weight, making headlines - always making headlines.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you there are still plenty of other tabloid stars who won`t let readers down. So let SHOWBIZ TONIGHT give you our secret checklist on what makes a good tabloid star.
First, get yourself into a magazine like "Star" magazine, whose readership has soared in the past year. The magazine`s deputy New York bureau chief, David Caplan, tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s a certain something that keeps people reading the tabloids week after week.
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: It needs to be someone who, when you read about them or you see photos of video of them, your jaw drops, and you`re like, `Oh my God, I can`t believe they did that.` There`s really that factor. And that really is the X factor.
ANDERSON: Even "Sex and the City"`s Miranda couldn`t escape the lure of a juicy, jaw-dropping headline once in awhile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miranda, I don`t know how to tell you this, but I was reading my "Tattle Tale" and there`s a picture of Smith.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miranda! What in the world are you doing reading something like that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it. It`s my thing. Let it go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, Smith is always in that rag.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but this time, he`s gay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
ANDERSON: Next on the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT secret list: hookup or breakup. It`s always a great headline.
CAPLAN: When we have, say, Angelina and Brad hooking up, breaking up, readers like to feel that they`re a part of the story.
ANDERSON: And whose breakup story is getting the most press as of late? Britney Spears?
Oh, Britney, the tabloids loved it when you dropped your husband. They followed your hard-partying ways, detailing how you look, even down to the latest shaved head and trips to rehab.
And while SHOWBIZ TONIGHT might beg you to change your ways, it`s another way to keep your name in print.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES P.R.: People whose looks change, be it extreme weight loss or gain, be it having a little surgical enhancement, dating somebody new every week, consuming too many libations - these are the things that make you a tabloid star.
ANDERSON: Oh, but the tabloid stars know how to take a step further. Britney`s late-night antics, Lindsay`s less-than-stellar public appearances - they`re working the cameras that follow their every move.
Public relations expert Howard Bragman tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT those candid moments - um, not so candid.
BRAGMAN: People like - like Britney and Lindsay and - and Nicole, these are not stupid people. They know that showing up at certain places, wearing certain outfits, they`re going to get people buzzing, and they`re sort of attracted to that buzz the way a moth is to the light.
ANDERSON: Ain`t that the truth. And we`ve got the proof. When Lindsay, Britney and Paris got together, it was a tabloid dream.
And so our next check-off on our list: join forces. The newest superhero tabloid stars joining forces: Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham. Hollywood`s new best friends know how to use the press to their advantage.
CAPLAN: I mean, the biggest joke in celebrity journalist is for celebrities who complain, `Oh, I don`t want to be covered by the press, I don`t want to be in magazines.` And then you see them appear at restaurants like the Ivy, like Coy.
ANDERSON: And playing coy with the cameras in public places like so many stars do is what will keep those tabloid stars on the covers for a long, long time to come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anna Nicole Smith left - left life in the same way she lived it, and it was on the - on the cover of a tabloid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And no doubt Anna Nicole Smith`s funeral tomorrow will be on the covers of all the tabloid magazines coming up next.
Well, David Cassidy, the teen idol from "The Partridge Family," was certainly one of the very first tabloid stars. He was like the Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan of his day - the male version, of course. And he has some choice words for those tabloid tarts coming up.
The teen idol is going to come clean right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m talking the parties, the sex, the sacrifices. It`s the tell-all that will shock you.
And wait until you hear what Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen told me were the biggest risks and sacrifices they took to make it big. That`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
First, here comes tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz": "Which baseball team did George Clooney once try out for?"
Was it the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs, L.A. Dodgers or the Philadelphia Phillies?
You think about it; I am coming right back with the answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s get A.J. to desk with tracking (ph) for the E-block.
Master, roll your break, and effect black.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pre-set Camera 1. Open A.J.`s mike. Dissolve. Go.
HAMMER: Thank you, Gnarls (ph).
And welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Once again, tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz": "Which baseball team did George Clooney once try out for?" Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers or the Philadelphia Phillies?
Did you know this? Clooney actually grew up in Cincinnati, and he tried out for his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
He was once, of course, heartthrob to millions of girls. There was no bigger star in the 70s than David Cassidy, who of course starred in the classic hit show, "The Partridge Family."
But if you think you knew everything about David Cassidy, wait until you hear this, from David himself. David Cassidy, about to release his new tell-all book about what really happened back then, including wild stories about sex, drugs - and of course, rock and roll.
His experiences with his unbelievable fame are all part of his new memoir called, "Could It Be Forever? My Story."
David Cassidy joining me tonight from Miami, Florida.
It is excellent to have you with us tonight.
DAVID CASSIDY, ENTERTAINER: Thank you, A.J. Nice to be with you.
HAMMER: Well, this book, David, a true eye-opener. For those who really thought they knew exactly who you were based on the guy who was on TV and in the magazines back then. And in fact, there`s - there`s one chapter in the book called, "Reluctant American Idol."
And - and you - you write about the fact that it`s really hard for people to understand exactly how crazy the whole teen-idol phenomenon got for you. And at one point in the book, you actually described it as "hell."
Why would you say it was hell?
CASSIDY: Well, there was a certain amount of, I think, misconception that I was the character I was playing at 21, 22 years old, which I was. The character was 16, and he was an innocent.
In truth, you know, I loved working on the show and - and playing that role. Obviously, I - you know, it was so successful, and I became so successful as a result of it. But David Cassidy was different than he, and therein lies - and belies the whole image.
For me, it was very difficult. I had grown up in the very tumultuous 60s, during the social and sexual revolution. And the world was such a different place then.
And now, because people`s perception of what that time was, we forget that it was so innocent, and yet it was so, I think in many ways, shocking now to people to understand that we lived in a very freer society. Now, as a result of the 80s and the AIDS epidemic, people are much more uptight about it.
And it was not unusual in those days for people to meet openly, and to certainly if you were a rock star and experienced the kind of things that I did - it was not unusual for you to have relationships with many different women.
HAMMER: Well, and you.
CASSIDY: .or men.
HAMMER: And - and - and you wrote very openly in - in the book, you know, because you guys did have these squeaky clean images that we all knew from seeing you on camera. That`s because of "The Partridge Family." You and Bonaduce and - and, of course, Susan Day and - and Shirley Jones.
One great quote in the book, which I think sums up what you`re talking about, you write, "It`s bizarre but true that once I became really famous, the only real connection I had with people outside my immediate circle was with women who wanted to have sex with me."
CASSIDY: Right.
HAMMER: How - how - how crazy did it get, David? That was - that was going on quite a bit, wasn`t it?
CASSIDY: Well, there were people sleeping outside my home, women. There were some men, to be fair. But there were people that were - hundreds of people outside the gate, where I worked. They would follow me. I had at some point to move out of my house. There was a legitimate, through the FBI and LAPD - there was a legitimate kidnapping attempt.
And I lived in a real vacuum. I had virtually no contact with the outside world, other than the family that I worked with, the musicians I worked with. And I - I would work all day on the set, and then at night I would go and record. And on the weekends, I would go and perform and do concerts.
HAMMER: You - you wrote at.
CASSIDY: So.
HAMMER: You wrote at one point, in fact, before one of your concerts, you went back to your trailer - and this shows the extremes that some of these female fans would go to.
CASSIDY: Yes.
HAMMER: You get back to your trailer, you had about five minutes, I think you had to use the bathroom, and - and there was some young ladies who were hiding out in there. What happened?
CASSIDY: Well, it was actually in the middle of an enormous field where - like a state fair, I think there were 30,000 or 40,000 people there. And it was in the middle of the summer, and there was a trailer there without a bathroom. So they helicoptered me in there, I get into the trailer, and I`m just about to put on my jumpsuit, and I`m looking for the bathroom - there`s no toilet.
So I find a jar or something to that effect - it might have been a vase - and I began urinating in the vase.
HAMMER: Oh no.
CASSIDY: No, no, I had to. I mean, what else are you going to do? I`m not - I`m not about to go out and do it in front of 30,000 people.
And I hear these people sort of - these little voices kind of giggling, and the trailer starts to shake. Underneath the table, where the makeup and all that stuff was, there were two young girls, probably 15, 16, that had been in there the night before, when they brought the trailer in.
HAMMER: Oh God.
CASSIDY: They had come, and had been in there probably 12, 14 hours. And needless to say, it was a very embarrassing moment for all of us. But those were the extremes that fans would go and - and way beyond that, in fact.
HAMMER: And David, you - you write a lot about the overwhelming adult responsibilities that you had. As a teenager, you were not living a normal life.
Do you think that`s what`s going on with the Lindsays, the Britneys and the Parises today, and the pressure - not - not so much the Parises, but really Britney, when you see what she`s going through, the kinds of pressure that she`s feeling, as - as a young woman not growing up with a normal childhood or - or a normal young adulthood?
CASSIDY: I think the obsession with our culture now - because when I was really at the top of the game, and all of the fame and the success I had, the audience was much more innocent, and there weren`t all of these various media outlets. There were 25 magazines; now there`s 25,000.
And I think the media obsession and our culture is now so obsessed with fame. For me, it was about the work. It was about going and doing something that I wanted to do well and evidently I did that made me famous, as an actor, as a singer, as a songwriter.
The reason I went back and re-recorded all of these hits on my new CD that`s out at Target this week is because those people that were fans of mine grew up at a time when the work was the reason you became famous.
HAMMER: Yes.
CASSIDY: Now, it`s really all about going - I mean, your - your lead- in to all of this was really true: our culture is so obsessed with the fame, that all of these celebrities that want to be on the covers of a lot of the rags know exactly what they`re doing.
HAMMER: That`s.
CASSIDY: It`s all - it`s very, very calculated.
HAMMER: That`s exactly right.
CASSIDY: And.
HAMMER: David - David, I`m sorry, I`m out of time. But I do want to mention that the tell-all book is going to be in stores next week. The CD`s at Target.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
Thanks so much for being with us.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fade up, start your push, Camera 3. Stand by, A.J. Pre-set Camera 2. Open his mike. Dissolve. Go.
HAMMER: Two terrific actors, an Oscar winner and an Oscar nominee are teamed up together in a new movie. Billy Bob Thornton and the lovely Virginia Madsen starring together in "The Astronaut Farmer."
Billy Bob plays a man who dreams to fly his homemade rocket out into outer space, with the help of his wife, played by Virginia Madsen.
I spoke with both stars about fulfilling their own big dreams.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIRGNIA MADSEN, ACTRESS: Be my big daddy who wants to go into space. I don`t want to be responsible for killing that hope in your eyes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADSEN: I like the fact that this movie is about making dreams come true, and the importance of dreaming. And, you know, like, my rocket was Hollywood.
HAMMER: Yes.
MADSEN: And you know what? I made that come true.
HAMMER: Well, and - and inevitably, you had to make some sacrifices along the way. Of course, Billy Bob`s character, Charlie Farmer, had to make some incredible sacrifices as - as did the family for him to achieve his dream. I mean, it really was almost at any cost.
What kind of major sacrifices have you had to make?
MADSEN: Well, I think - you know, there - it depends on where you are in your career. I think now - you know, that sacrifice is always time away from my son, it`s time away from your family. That`s always the hardest. Sometimes I can bring him with, but then he`s away from his dad, you know?
And so it`s - it`s a - you have to juggle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY BOB THORNTON, ACTOR: Now this spacesuit will allow me to control the climate and the pressure that you need to be in space. It`s kind of like having your own personal weather inside here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you been to space?
THORNTON: No, not yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: What do you think the biggest risk you`ve ever had to take in - in the course of your career to - to achieve a dream has been?
THORNTON: Well, probably just the initial. You know, I mean - I - I came to California, and - oh, like 27 years ago. And I grew up in a small town in the South, and I think just doing that, just going out there and even trying it is a - probably the biggest risk, because you - you know, it`s kind of hard to leave the safety of the net.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: For my money, those are two of the nicest people in show business.
You can catch "The Astronaut Farmer" in theaters now.
A programming note: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, your one place to turn for all the latest in the Anna Nicole case - our cameras are right there in the Bahamas, and CNN Headline News will provide live coverage of Anna Nicole`s funeral service. And, of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will have comprehensive coverage of her funeral and burial.
Plus, what happens now in the paternity case that still continues? It`s all on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, as we get into the weekend tomorrow at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks a lot for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
"GLENN BECK" coming up next, after the latest from CNN Headline News.
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