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Showbiz Tonight
Ving Rhames` Dog Handler Mauled to Death; Nicole Richie Speaks Out about Weight Problem; Showbiz special report, celebrities who "Lose Weight, Gain Fame"
Aired August 03, 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: Shocking news tonight, Ving Rhames` assistant found dead and mauled by dogs at the actor`s home. And Lindsay Lohan`s explosive comments about partying just hours before her first DUI arrest. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Nicole Richie finally speaks out about being scary skinny. Tonight, Nicole answers the question once and for all; does she now or has she ever had an eating disorder? You`re not going to believe what she said about her painfully thin days when some were afraid she was going to die. Tonight, the pregnant Richie`s startling claims about was really going on.
Stars losing weight to regain fame. Why do so many stars desperately try to hold on to fame by getting painfully thin? Are they sending a wrong and very dangerous message? Tonight, we`re investigating a disturbing obsession in a SHOWBIZ special report, lose weight, gain fame.
Friday night is on. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And tonight, at long last, Nicole Richie is finally fessing up about what`s the deal with her getting so ridiculously skinny. Nicole tells all in just a moment.
First, a shocking story tonight, a disturbing death at the home of one of Hollywood`s best known actors. Police say a man was mauled by as many as four dogs belonging to Ving Rhames. We all, of course, know Rhames from dozens of movies, including all three "Mission Impossible" films with Tom Cruise. And, of course, he will forever be known as big bad Marcelus Wallace in John Travolta`s classic come back movie "Pulp Fiction."
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas in Hollywood tonight with this still developing story. Sibila, what do we know?
SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Well, A.J., of course this is a very tragic and disturbing story. Let me bring you up to date on the latest in Hollywood. Police tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT they got a call this morning, shortly after 7:00 a.m., from someone saying there was a dead body on the front lawn of the home of actor Ving Rhames. Now when they got there, they found the dead man, who they say was actually responsible for caring for Ving`s dogs and had done so for the past two years.
We`re told that the four dogs may have all been involved in the mauling of this 40-year-old man. Very tragic.
HAMMER: Tragic, truly shocking. Was Ving home at the time this happened?
VARGAS: No, actually, he wasn`t. We`re told that Ving isn`t even in the country. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned that Ving is currently in Bulgaria shooting his latest movie called "The Tournament." A spokesperson for the company making the movie tells us the film, in which Ving participates in a battle royal between 40 of the world`s deadliest assassins, started shooting in Bulgaria three weeks ago.
When we last spoke with them, he had not heard about this tragic death at his home, but imagine getting that phone call.
HAMMER: That`s not exactly the kind of news you want to get when you`re off doing your job on a movie set halfway around the world. Where exactly is Ving Rhames` home? Do we know that and do we know anything else about the dogs that mauled the man there?
VARGAS: Well, Rhames` home is in Brentwood, California. And the dogs were taken away by animal service control officials there. Police say three of the four dogs were Mastiffs and one was a Pit Bull. They are under quarantine and if deemed to be dangerous, A.J., they are going to be euthanized.
HAMMER: Wow, Sibila, I should also add that People.com is reporting the man`s body was found outside a fence next door to Rhames` home after being mauled. Have the police clarified that report at all?
VARGAS: Not really. It is all speculation at this point, given that this happened shortly after 7:00 a.m. And apparently no one was around when it happened. Since the body was later found, it may be difficult to determine exactly what happened.
HAMMER: Any sense of when we`re going to find out exactly how he died? I`m sure people are going to want to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.
VARGAS: We heard that an autopsy may not take place until late as Sunday and may not even find out the cause of death until Monday. A.j., right now it remains unclear whether Ving Rhames` dogs handler died and was mauled or whether he died as a result of being attacked by the dogs. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, of course, is going to be all over this. And as soon as we get more, we`ll have more information for you and bring it to you, of course.
HAMMER: Just a bizarre story, especially considering this is the guy that was taking care of the dogs. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, thanks so much.
Nicole Richie is finally opening up about her scary skinny body. And she`s denying that an eating disorder had anything to do with her dramatic and shocking weight loss. All this is part of Richie`s revealing sit-down with ABC`s Diane Sawyer, her only TV interview since being sent to jail last week for her December DUI.
While Richie denies starving herself, she does get pretty candid about some of the other pressures that factored into her extreme weight loss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE RICHIE, "THE SIMPLE LIFE": No, I do not have an eating disorder. I`ve never had an eating disorder.
HAMMER (voice-over): Nicole Richie finally opening up about being scary skinny and final addressing some pretty blunt questions by ABC`s Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America" about whether or not her emaciated frame had anything to do with starving herself.
DIANE SAWYER, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": Do you have an eating disorder?
RICHIE: No, I do not have an eating disorder. I`ve never had an eating disorder, ever. It is anxiety. It is stress. It is just -- it is just not being careful.
SAWYER: Was that drug related?
RICHIE: I think it possibly could have played a part.
HAMMER: This is the first time Richie, who has a history of cocaine and heroin abuse, has spoken extensively on camera about all the rumors she had a serious eating disorder. This was Nicole way back then, a lot chubbier. And shockingly, this became the incredibly shrinking Nicole. While she didn`t go into detail about what was happening in her life to cause her stress and anxiety, she did acknowledge that her weight was sending the wrong message to girls who look up to her.
SAWYER: Impressionistic girls are going to do what they see you do.
RICHIE: I`m really sorry for not accepting that earlier. It took me a while.
SAWYER: Do you see to most people how close you looked to death?
RICHIE: Yes. Yes.
HAMMER: Even though the pictures speak a thousand words, the once skeletal socialite wants everyone to know that that Nicole is part of her past. Now she says she is getting healthy.
RICHIE: I plan to live a very healthy and respectable life.
HAMMER: A respectable life for her baby. She`s due in January. Like most people out there, Diane Sawyer wanted to know how someone so super skinny can even maintain a pregnancy. Richie, it seemed, was ready for the question.
SAWYER: Is she eating? Is this baby in danger from how thin she has been and from their fears about simple nutrition?
RICHIE: Yes. Well, do I eat is kind of an understatement.
HAMMER: Richie says she`s constantly hungry. She eats at least every hour.
RICHIE: I`m doing everything, really, playing by the rules. I do not drink caffeine at all. Cut out sushi.
HAMMER: Sushi is not the only thing she cut out. Richie says she`s clean and sober. No alcohol, marijuana or pills. She won`t even allow smoking in her presence. She says her healthier lifestyle has helped her put on ten pounds.
SAWYER: If you gain 40 pounds in pregnancy, is that OK with you?
RICHIE: It is what the baby needs. And to me numbers don`t mean anything. If I gain 40 pounds, if I gain 50 pounds, then that`s obviously what my body needs to do. I`m totally OK with that.
HAMMER: This Nicole, far different than the Nicole in this picture, a girl who told cops and Diane Sawyer that she was high on marijuana and had taken vicodin before getting behind the wheel and ending up driving on the wrong side of the freeway.
JULIA ALLISON, "STAR MAGAZINE": In the past we have seen that various stars have really changed by having a child. Look at Angelina Jolie. Very irresponsible prior to having a child. After having Maddux, totally different woman.
HAMMER: Before she can completely repair her image, Richie must do 90 hours behind bars. She`s going to the same county jail that Paris Hilton called home.
PARIS HILTON, "THE SIMPLE LIFE": I`ve been a little immature in the past and made some wrong choices.
HAMMER: And as we know, soon after Paris Hilton got out of jail, she sat down for this tell-all with CNN`s Larry King. She promised she would never drink and drive again. That`s exactly what Nicole is now saying.
SAWYER: Can you be absolutely confident you won`t do it again?
RICHIE: Absolutely.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking whose tell all was more believable? Nicole`s or Paris`?
TERRY ANZUR, TV TALENT COACH: Hands down, Nicole Richie is the big winner here and the reason is she was very, very specific.
RICHIE: I had smoked marijuana that night.
KEN BACKER, "US WEEKLY MAGAZINE": She succeeded in every place that Paris Hilton failed. She admitted to doing drugs. She admitted to being under the influence. She admitted to her crime.
RICHIE: I plan to be a good example for little girls that are looking up to me.
HAMMER: Even though Nicole Richie plays a ditz on "The Simple Life," this real life interview is making a lot of people think she isn`t as dumb as she sometimes pretends to be.
ALLISON: Nicole trounced Paris by coming out and saying that she had a problem with alcohol. She had a problem with drugs. She didn`t admit to the eating disorder, but I think on the whom, she came up looking really good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: I certainly appreciate the candor it appears Nicole brought to that interview with Diane Sawyer. We want to know what you think about her performance and what the reality of the situation was for our question of the day, here is what we want to know; Nicole Richie denies ever having an eating disorder, do you believe her.
Easy to let us know what you think, you just go to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. If you have more thoughts, we want to hear them from you. You can send us email. The email address is SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
You can always stay on top of the latest and the most provocative entertainment news stories by signing up for our fabulous SHOWBIZ TONIGHT news letter. That`s easy to get too. Go to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. There is a news letter button on the bottom left-hand side of the screen. Click on that bad boy and we`ll send you an e-mail every day.
Just hours before Lindsay Lohan`s memorial day meltdown, you remember that, was her first DUI arrest, just before that happened, she gave what I can only characterize as a rather explosive interview. Wait until you hear what she said about drinking and driving right before that happened. And believe it or not, wait until you hear what she says about the war in Iraq, maybe keeping her up at night for. That`s coming up next.
Also this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I wish we wouldn`t see is a woman feeling good about herself only because she`s losing weight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Got to tell you, I have noticed this trend in Hollywood; stars lose weight, they get press. Why do so many celebs desperately try to hold on to fame by dropping the pounds? And are they sending a very wrong and dangerous message? I got to know. It is coming up, a SHOWBIZ special report, lose weight, gain fame.
And I could not believe this video. A skate boarder falls 50 feet and crashes to the floor. That`s no good. A truly amazing video to see. Wait until you hear what happened next. And that is next in our SHOWBIZ video of the day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Time for the SHOWBIZ video of the day. This comes from what`s called the Big Air Competition at the ESPN X Games. This skate boarder, Jake Brown, made a big error in judgment, as you`re about to see. He fell 50 feet crashing hard on to the floor.
Now, he didn`t move for several minutes as the medical staff rushed to help him out. But eventually he was able to walk off the ramp with little help from some other people. Amazingly the report is this guy is doing fine despite that big fall. He didn`t even want to go to the hospital. But they took him there anywhere of course for observation. Brown ended up finishing second in the competition. Nice going.
Tonight a new and very explosive interview with Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay goes off on the paparazzi. She even talks about, don`t laugh here, her concern for our troops. "Elle Magazine`s" Holly Millea got the interview and she is with us tonight in New York. Holly, good to see you and good get here, the very last interview with Lindsay right before that now infamous car crash on Sunset Boulevard on Memorial Day weekend.
I got to tell you, I can hardly get over what she told you when you consider what happened on that Memorial Day weekend. You asked her about the paparazzi and she told you, quote, they`re looking for me to, like, trip, so they can be, like, oh, Lindsay is wasted and driving drunk and that`s not it. I wouldn`t violate. I`m much more responsible than that."
Well, Holly, we all know how that turned out. She got arrested then and, of course, again recently for DUI. Do you really think that Lindsay believed what she was saying to you about that?
HOLLY MILLEA, "ELLE MAGAZINE": I actually do think she believed what she was saying at the time. I don`t think that anybody plans what Lindsay went through, least of all Lindsay. I think she`s incredibly young and has made some seriously bad choices. At the same time, I think she`s surrounded by people who don`t look out for her best interests.
And, you know, when we saw that picture of her passed out in the car, with her friend Samantha Ronsen (ph) sitting next to her behind the wheel, you know, with friends like that, who needs enemies, frankly.
HAMMER: Yes, but I have to say, you know, when she says to you that she`s much more responsible than that, and then, you know, within days she goes off and does what she does, I don`t know, doesn`t quite compute to me. Something else that I found really disturbing, and it would seem to me that Lindsay and her assistant actually seem to think -- and this is based on what I read -- that sobriety is a bit of a joke.
At one point, when they were talking to you, they were joking about a text message her assistant sent. It was during another interview, not during this one. The text read -- and this is referring to the Mercer hotel -- quote, a cab to the Mercer, 20 dollars. A room at the Mercer, 500 dollars. Listening to Lindsay Lohan say she`s sober? Priceless.
Did you get the sense that Lindsay thought her getting drunk all the time was just kind of a big joke, maybe that had something to do with her age?
MILLEA: I think there is a larger issue here. There are a couple of things going on, one of which is Lindsay`s at the age that a lot of young people are -- they`re generally at college. And, you know, from personal experience, I have to admit, I partied a lot when I was in college. That`s not to make an excuse for her. But essentially what is happening is that she -- Hollywood is her campus in a sense. And her biggest mistake is getting behind the wheel of a car and being around people who are using her and not looking out for her best interests.
By the way, that includes her parents. You know, first and foremost.
HAMMER: I don`t think anybody here is going to argue with you about that because there is a clearly a disconnect and nobody has been able to make that connection for her. Like a lot of other starlets, Lindsay complains that we, in the media -- we all have our priorities wrong and everybody who is out there either bashing her or talking about her in some negative way, we have the priorities all mixed up.
She talks about this t-shirt that says, quote, leave Lindsay alone and says how about bring our soldiers back. I feel like the expletive she used here, the idiot because I feel like I`m distracting from the other things that are important like global warming and that kind of stuff. I genuinely mean that. And I don`t know what to do. I`ve got to tell you something here; I`m having a bit of a Paris Hilton flashback.
When she was in jail, she had that conversation with Barbara Walters and told Barbara how much she wanted to do for our soldiers, talking about Paris here. Did you get the impression that the war in Iraq was really keeping Lindsay up at night or maybe just going to the clubs?
MILLEA: Well, probably, you know, more of one than the other. I`m not in her head. So I can`t answer that question fairly. But I will say that, you know, she`s been on screen, on the big screen since she was 11. And it is a really complicated thing when you`re a child star and you`re supporting your family. And I don`t think you grow up in a normal way, because the environment itself is surreal.
It is abnormal. And she needs some people in her life, you know, to guide her. Her mother is quote/unquote her manager. But her mother can`t manage her. So, you know, where is the help?
HAMMER: I got wrap it up there. But her mother and her parents do need to get involved. Holly Millea, I do appreciate you sharing your article with us so much. You can read much more about this interview in the September issue of "Elle." It hits new stands on Tuesday, August 7th.
I`ll admit it; I`ve always wondered what really goes on when stars like Lindsay and Britney check into rehab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new trend for young Hollywood seems to be going to rehab facilities that are more like spas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Coming up, we`re taking you on an exclusive look behind closed doors at rehab for the rich and famous. Also, stars losing weight to regain fame. Why do so many stars try to hold on to fame by dieting? Are they sending a wrong and dangerous message? Coming up, we`re investigating a disturbing obsession in a SHOWBIZ special report, lose weight, gain fame.
And it looks like the baby drama between Scary Spice and Eddie Murphy has a new character in the cast. I`ll tell you who that is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Scary Spice, Melanie Brown, has filed a lawsuit against Eddie Murphy asking for child support for their four-month-old daughter. A DNA test confirmed that he is the father, but he hasn`t even seen the baby yet. And he`s reportedly engaged to someone else. Tough times for Melanie.
But it looks like she got some comfort by going out to lunch with Eddie`s ex-wife. Yes, you heard me right. Melanie was spotted meeting up with Nicole Murphy, mother of five of Eddie`s children, at the Beverly Hills hot spot The Ivy. Now this was just a day after Melanie and her lawyer, Gloria Allred, held a press conference saying Murphy hasn`t paid a penny of child support. And Allred told me on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT last night, that`s not going to fly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: He can have as many girlfriends as he wants. But his priority has to be his own child. And the reason that Melanie is speaking out is because she realizes, A.J., that there are millions of single mothers out there and millions of single dads. And no matter what happens between the two parents, that child needs to have two parents in her life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Gloria Allred, I got to say, I believe you 100 percent.
All right, would you vote for Tom Cruise for president? Of course he`s not actually running, but that is just one of the controversial things his new movie is going to make you think about. Everything from politics, to war and journalism, all covered in "Lions for Lambs." We have you first look coming up. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I wish we wouldn`t see is a woman feeling good about herself only because she is losing weight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: There is this little trend going on that I noticed in Hollywood, you lose weight, you get press. Why do so many stars desperately try to hold on to fame by dropping pounds? Are they sending a wrong and very dangerous message? Coming up, a SHOWBIZ special report, lose weight, gain fame.
And, come on, admit it, you wondered what really goes on behind the closed doors when the stars check into fancy rehab centers. It is your lucky day. We`re taking you on an exclusive look inside a rehab center for the rich and famous.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: It is a new formula for a Hollywood comeback.
JESSICA: If you go ahead and repent for your sins of overeating and being larger than the average bear in Hollywood, then you get a chance at redemption and a new career.
HAMMER: Lose weight, gain fame. More and more stars are tapping into a trend that is taking them on a fast track back into the spotlight. But does it send the wrong message? It is our SHOWBIZ special report, "Lose Weight, Gain Fame".
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. Tonight, a SHOWBIZ special report, "Lose Weight, Gain Fame".
It is the latest shocking trend that is putting Hollywood stars on notice. The price of fame may include a dramatic diet. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask, what kind of message does that send? Which stars are making it work for them? And are there some people actually saying there is a silver ling behind all this madness? Here is our SHOWBIZ special report, "Lose Weight, Gain Fame".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRSTIE ALLEY, ACTRESS: I`m not fat anymore but my friend Valerie Bertinelli is.
VALERIE BERTINELLI, ACTRES: Hello, standing right here.
HAMMER: Whether it is Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli for Jenny Craig --
ANNOUNCER: Eight chubby celebrities fighting to get down to their perfect weight --
HAMMER: Or an in your face reality show like "Celebrity Fit Club," the message is clear, lose weight and you can regain long, lost fame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Glad you`re having a good time in here.
WEINER: I think what we`re seeing is a formula for a comeback in Hollywood.
HAMMER: Jessica Weiner, author of "Do I Look Fat In This?", tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this is a trend washed up stars have been praying for.
WEINER: If you go ahead and repent for your sins of overeating and being larger than the average bear in Hollywood, then you get a chance at redemption and a new career.
HAMMER: Of course, dramatic weight loss in Hollywood isn`t new. From flip-flopping stars like Janet Jackson and Renee Zellweger, to Oprah Winfrey, who practically made dieting a national past time.
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Oh, I`m so excited.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you what is new is this unapologetic weight loss fast-track to fame. Besides Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli there is Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick, just to name a few.
But Kirstie definitely set the standard for riding the weight loss train back into the spotlight.
CORI MURRAY, "ESSENCE" MAGAZINE: She had this great career before with "Cheers" and a great actress. Now she put on a lot of weight, they totally trashed her in the tabloids.
HAMMER: "Essence" magazine`s Cory Murray tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Kirstie`s comeback had everything to do with weight loss and she may not have much choice.
MURRAY: Sometimes you hear about off the record conversations where a casting director is like if you lose 15 pounds, you`ll get it, or whatever the case may be. And like, no, stop that. Just embrace the stars who have fuller size, give them opportunities, and put the work out there. And we`ll come and support it.
HAMMER: Kirstie is getting a lot of support now. She`s still curvy, but she`s also 75 pounds lighter.
ALLEY: I`m not trying to lose more weight. I`m in what`s called maintenance, for Jenny Craig.
HAMMER: And thanks to Jenny, Kirstie has reached a whole new level of stardom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got to call Kirstie, tell her I lost 26 pounds. Nice girl, little chatty though.
HAMMER: "One Day At A Time" sit-com star Valerie Bertinelli went from "where are they now" to "right here, right now". She is sharing the Jenny Craig stage with Kirstie, who tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she doesn`t mind.
ALLEY: I`m having a great time with Valerie. We realize that, you know, the fun thing about watching these commercials is watching the evolution of someone losing weight. We wanted to take somebody else on a journey, so that we could watch them
(LAUGHTER)
-- humiliate themselves.
HAMMER: But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask, is there a downside to bargaining your waistline for a punch line? Best-selling author Jessica Weiner.
WEINER: What I wish we wouldn`t see is a woman feeling good about herself only because she`s losing weight. A applaud somebody like Kirstie or Valerie if they`re really taking back their life in the full and total sense of being in control, and feeling empowered.
But weight loss and changing your body shape and size should only be a very small part of it, if that`s your choice. It shouldn`t be the predominant reason why women feel valued in this country.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the battle with weight combined with fame can equal disaster. Take Anna Nicole Smith, for example.
MURRAY: In Anna Nicole`s case, thinner did not mean happier. I think thinner brought her a lot more pain.
HAMMER: "Essence" magazine`s Cori Murray says despite Anna Nicole`s success with the TrimSpa diet plan, weight problems only added to the many demons that plagued the late starlet.
MURRAY: She was probably someone probably never meant to be a thin woman. So she had to deal with that and she never found that balance.
HAMMER: And even though Anna Nicole briefly reclaimed the spotlight, critics say Hollywood big wigs don`t acknowledge the dangers caused by unrealistic industry standards.
MURRAY: Just think it sends the wrong message that we don`t like you when you`re big, and that`s kind of painful.
HAMMER: "Brady Bunch" star Maureen McCormick went through her own painful battle but says weight gain was only part of the problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First up was Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormack.
MAUREEN MCCORMICK, ACTRESS: My mother died. I think I`ve just been eating out of depression.
HAMMER: The "Brady Bunch" star drifted far from the spotlight and fell into addiction and depression. Fast-forward more than 20 years and she`s back. This time she`s found fame by losing weight. On VH-1 "Celebrity Fit Club" and fans were happy to see her come back.
WEINER: Everybody loved Marcia Brady. Watching her succeed whether losing weight or battling addiction, or some things she was public about, what breaks my heart when I see celebrities go on shows like "Celebrity Fit Club" or redeem themselves by losing weight publicly, is that they were stars a long time ago when they were younger and had a different body shape and size.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, Kirstie, Valerie and Maureen reflect the weight loss struggle that goes beyond Hollywood. And there is a lesson in it for all of us.
WEINER: I think now is the time for them to really change that dynamic and begin to love themselves from the inside out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: And the truth is this trend may be tough to shake. Stars can make a lot of money through diet endorsements. One example, according to "Ad Week", Jenny Craig spent $40 million on its celebrity ad campaign in just one year.
What would a President Tom Cruise look like? The first movie he`s produced as head of United Artists is coming soon called "Lion For Lambs". In it Cruise plays a senator with presidential ambitions and the movie has some big names in it, Meryl Streep, and Robert Redford join Cruise.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your "First Look".
(BEGIN MOVIE TRAILER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are men. And the decisions you make are yours and yours alone, from here to the end.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me tell you about the last two kids I had that gave me hope. You two guys can choose any he graduate school in any field you want.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you`re missing the point, doc.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What that the Army is a better gig?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These events are going to define our lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I`ll tell you, right now that is a dead-on statement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six years ago, you`re the first to call me the future of my party, and this is me returning the favor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To discuss what, exactly?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To see if you would like to write an honest-to-God story again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the story?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not believe everything you read in the papers. The enemy is getting stronger. The enemy is getting uglier.
Lieutenant Finch, you and your boys good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rodriguez?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All up, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Glad to hear it.
You will introduce the enemy to the full measure of American mean, are we clear? UNIDENTIFIED MALES: We are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You already sold the war. Now I`m asking you to help me sell the solution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lock and load!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator, what have we been doing for the past six years?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is relevant is the implementation of a new strategy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Assume bayonets!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don`t you think it might be critical to examine how we got to this point?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How and why is not the issue now. We have to move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, when does it start?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They didn`t land at their objective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did they land?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crash landed three kilometers south on the plateau.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people all over the world, every day, who are fighting to make things better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it takes 10 years, that`s how long we stay. We do whatever it takes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Says the man in the air conditioned room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They bank on your empathy. They plant strategies around it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re trying to take us alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cheated (ph) on my boys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem is not with the people that started this. The problem is with us, who do nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was all right there. If we had bothered to connect the dots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to win the war on terror? Yes or no? This is the quintessential yes or no question of our time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did they see us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes or no?
(END MOVIE TRAILER)
HAMMER: "Lions For Lambs" arrives in theaters on November 9th.
We certainly have been hearing about so many stars who have been caught doing a stupid thing, drinking and driving. And now one star`s stupid decision got a boy killed. I`ll show you a powerful video message that star made hoping to convince others not to make the same idiotic mistake. I`ll show that to you next. It is so, so gripping.
Then there is this about stars in rehab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new trend for young Hollywood le had seems to be going to rehab facilities that are more like spas.
HAMMER: If you ask me, maybe that`s part of the problem here, stars going into rehab facilities that are kind of like going on vacation. Wait until you see the luxurious places these stars go when we take you inside the "Rehab of the Rich & Famous".
And I got to tell you, I just love what former "NYPD Blue" star Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, who is fabulous at 40, told us about the secret to making her marriage work. That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANE GARRISON, ACTOR: I have relived that night every day, and I think about the bad decisions I made that evening.
(SOBBING)
And all I can say to you is I am so sorry that you lost someone, because I love people. That is my first passion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That is an emotional Lane Garrison addressing the parents of the teenager killed in a drunk driving accident that the "Prison Break" star caused.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Lane Garrison pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving in that 2006 accident. Garrison had a blood alcohol rate of .20 when he slammed into a tree. Garrison shot a rather shocking public service announcement meant to scare people straight. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the dramatic PSA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARRISON: My name is Lane Garrison. On December 2nd, 2006, my life changed forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was excellent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re graduates, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jake! Jake! Jake!
GARRISON: Drunk driving is not an accident. Every year there are over half a million alcohol-related car accidents in the United States alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m fine. I`m fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down, Lane (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at you!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!
GARRISON: Have you ever driven after having a few drinks, or gotten into a car with someone who has been drinking? If you answered yes, you were lucky. Lucky you didn`t get into an accident. Lucky you didn`t die. Lucky you didn`t kill anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going so slow!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like a submarine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Hey!
(TIRES SCREECH, CAR CRASHES, SIRENS WAILING)
GARRISON: Be smart. Make a better decision. Call a cab. Call your parents. Call a friend. Take someone`s keys away if you have to. Just do whatever it takes. Just don`t drink and drive. It is not worth it. It is just not worth it. I know because it happened to me. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: It certainly captures your attention. The father of the victim in Garrison`s crash called the PSA an attempt to get sympathy from the judge. Garrison faces a max of almost seven years in prison when he is sentenced on October 31st.
Garrison has reportedly been spotted at rehab meetings in Los Angeles over the summer. But let me tell you something, some of these rehab places that the stars go to, they are nothing more than luxury spa vacations.
These fancy schmancy places can cost tens of thousands of dollars a month. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has a showbiz special report, Brooke Anderson taking you along for an inside look at "Rehab of the Rich & Famous".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Welcome to "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You`ve heard of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," but lately, you`ve been hearing more about "Rehab of the Rich and Famous."
BRADLEY JACOBS, SR. EDITOR, "US" WEEKLY MAGAZINE: The new trend in young Hollywood seems to be going into rehab facilities that are more like spas.
ANDERSON: That`s right. Gone are the days of tough love. But when you`re rich and famous, rehab doesn`t sound all that bad.
JACOBS: It`s not like the old classic rehab days.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, when it comes to rehab, stars like Lindsay Lohan and Mike Tyson drop $40,000 a month -- $40,000 -- at treatment facilities like L.A.`s Wonderland Center, for amenities like - -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yoga. And you can go horseback riding in Runyon Canyon. And there are gourmet meals served, you can have Ahi (ph) tuna and lobster.
TARA FIELDS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: You know there is nothing wrong whether you`re a star, or you`re a non-celebrity, when you go into treatment to have body work, you should have nutritionist, you should exercise, doing yoga, meditating.
ANDERSON: It has SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asking the tough question -- is all this high-end rehab nothing more than living it up instead of living a better life?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The focus has to be on getting better, not "ooh, who`s here? Is it Mel Gibson?"
ANDERSON: He wasn`t at Beau Monde, where Nicole Richie chose to get away from her not-so-simple life. She did it by taking a page from Courtney Love and checking in there for treatment, which left a hole in their wallets at the cost of $80,000 a month.
JACOBS: Beau Monde, where Nicole Richie and Courtney Love went, is fairly swank. They have no more than five people at a time there. You can get anti-aging treatments. There`s a concierge service. People in treatment there even go whale watching.
ANDERSON: Shamu, really? Is all this gratification necessary, or is it simply about making celebrities comfortable?
FIELDS: Being comfortable does not mean that you have your cell phone and you`re doing interviews, or you`re going out to a kickboxing class in Malibu.
ANDERSON: Not all rehab treatment facilities give celebrities the spa treatment.
JACOBS: The Betty Ford Center, where Keith Urban went, is one of the holdouts of the old treatment style.
ANDERSON: Not just Keith Urban, but stars like Drew Barrymore as well.
JACOBS: There is no cell phones allowed, everybody has a bunk mate, and the food is served cafeteria style.
ANDERSON: So what works best, pampering or tough love?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need both.
ANDERSON: We`re guessing that`s what promises alumnus Britney Spears was thinking when she checked into the $48,000-a-month treatment center.
JACOBS: Now that place boasts 500-thread count sheets, a beautician, tennis, massages, and even meals prepared by what they call "recovering nutritionists."
ANDERSON: With such big stars going into rehab, we also question whether the rich and famous are really getting help, or simply hiding from media scrutiny and the paparazzi.
JACOBS: In some ways I do think it is a way to hide out for these young celebrities. They`re tired, they`re exhausted, they have been partying too much. So they just go into a rehab center, where they`re treated like kings and queens, and every need of theirs is catered to. It is really like checking into the Four Seasons.
ANDERSON: It may be posh, but it serves a purpose. It gets a star much need help.
FIELDS: When I really am close to getting the addict or alcoholic to say yes, I start telling them about you`ll have private pilates, you`ll have a nutritionist, there will be yoga, you`ll be in your own condo. I start thinking can I go there, too?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: When Lohan was recently arrested all her reps would say is she was in medical treatment. She`s been out of sight since so there`s no word if she`s back at one of these luxurious rehab centers.
I can tell you that Lindsay`s co-star in her latest movie "I Know Who Killed Me" is having a better time at life than Lindsay. Talking about Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon. That is her name -- fabulous at 40. How is she making her marriage work? She tells us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
"Making It Work", SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continuing look at star couples who are making their marriages work in Hollywood, and beyond. And tonight, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, the actress best known for her role as assistant district attorney Valerie Haywood on "NYPD Blue."
The former model absolutely looking fabulous at 40. So much so, that she posed for this month`s "Playboy" magazine. We not going to be showing you part. Sorry about that.
Garcelle, who already has a 15-year-old son, is expecting twin boys. So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT had to ask how she and her husband make it work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARCELLE BEAUVAIS-NILON, ACTRESS: You know what I, I think we, one, love each other; we respect each other. That`s again, going back to sort of respect of what you do, what you wouldn`t do. We just keep it normal. Other than going to events and work things, we`re really pretty normal in our home life. I think that`s really important.
And, you know, our marriage is too important to us to sort of throw it away for any, you know, for anything that is sort of frivolous and silly, which is what I think most of it is, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I like her. Garcelle is in the movie that Lindsay Lohan did, "I Know Who Killed Me." We`re not going to hold that against her.
Now, yesterday we did ask you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Here`s what it was: Nicole Richie`s wild life, do you think pregnancy will change her? We got a lot of responses to this question. But as you see, pretty much down the middle, with 53 percent of you saying, yes; and 47 percent of you said, no.
Among the e-mails we got, we heard from Ed in Pennsylvania. Ed writes, "Being pregnant will not change Nicole Richie`s wild ways. She will always be wild."
And Julie from Iowa wrote: "Pregnancy will change Nicole. She`ll go from an anorexic skeleton, to an anorexic skeleton with a bit of a pot belly."
Remember Nicole denies ever having an eating disorder.
Time now to tell you that is coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
We have two big special reports. First up, Saturday and Sunday, as I always say, "Forgive & Forget". Lucky that that is true for these stars after major scandals, big mistakes, they have all bounced back. How do they do it? A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Celebrity Comebacks".
We`ve got another powerful special report coming your way next week, not to be missed. Stars and drugs. Nicole Richie admits to doing them. Lindsay Lohan facing cocaine charges and epidemic in Hollywood ? Or just business as usual? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates Tuesday.
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. "Glenn Beck" coming up next right after the latest from CNN "Headline News" Have a great night.
END
