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CNN Live Today

Celebrity Shockers

Aired November 25, 2002 - 10:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR; A couple of the biggest names in Hollywood are in the news this morning. At issue, a reality show, wake-up call for Liza Minelli and hubby David Gest, and a controversial action by Minelli's pal, Michael Jackson.
Harvey Levin, an old friend of mine, and the executive producer of "Celebrity Justice," joins us now from L.A. with details.

Hi, Harvey.

HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE," EXEC. PROD.: Hey, Carol.

LIN: All right, we were kind of digging that picture of Liza and David in bed. I mean, what a poster for a reality TV series. What happened? They were signed on, everything was ready to go?

LEVIN: Can I use a legal term?

LIN: Please.

LEVIN: Duh.

I mean, if you think about this, they wanted two people who had a propensity for acting in a bizarre way, and they got what they wanted, and they couldn't handle it. I mean, that's really what happened with VH1. David Gest has a reputation for being an out-there guy. I mean, he was out there. He was impossible, according to VH1.

LIN: Oh, my.

LEVIN: And they had to pull the plug on this deal as they are trying to shoot this Anna Nicole-type, Ozzy Osbourne-type reality series.

LIN: You mean the couple were too racy?

LEVIN: It wasn't that they were too racy. David Gest, according to VH1, was a control freak. He made the crew wear surgical booties when they went inside the house. He followed them around with vacuum cleaners. He restricted access to her. I mean, he is an out there guy; that's why they liked them in the first place, but it just became too burdensome for them, and VH1 said, we can't do business with you, and now they are circling each other, because what they really want is to preserve their reputations, and VH1 wants to make Lisa Minelli and David Gest the bad guy, and vice versa.

LIN: Right. Do you think this is a publicity stunt by the couple, or by the network?

LEVIN: No, I think they really wanted to this show. I mean, if you look at what happened with Anna Nicole Smith, with Ozzy Osbourne, I mean, this could translate into big bucks, it resurrects careers.

What apparently brought all of this to a head, Carol, and it's kind of funny, is during a dinner party that VH1 was shooting, the producers wanted Liza to sing with Ray Charles, and VH1 wanted them to sing with Kelly from Destiny's Child. Liza wanted to sing with Ray Charles, which would be the old versus the young, and it all just blew up at the dinner table -- people screamed, and they said, we're out of here. That's how it blew up.

LIN: Maybe from too much control to, you know, what looked like out of control. I mean, Michael Jackson and this baby, the picture just unforgettable, because, you know, how anybody who has children, and even if you don't have kids, you just got to wonder, you don't sling a baby over a banister. Are their criminal going to be legal charges, criminal charges against Michael Jackson, because This happened overseas, but he's coming back to the states.

LEVIN: It happened overseas, and at "Celebrity Justice," we actually did some checking. Locally if there are people from child services who believe that certain actions make a parent unfit, or least a parent needs to be sat down and talked to, they could sit down and do that when he comes back to the states. So that's one issue.

The second issue, and more immediate, if you will, he has a trial going on in Southern California, and he's being sued for $26 million, and a jury clearly, Carol, you know this, a jury watched that video, and they said that it didn't have an impact on them. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I mean, this is not somebody who is playing with a full deck when he does something like this. And you know it would seem to me if character is an issue in that case, and it is, that this is not something that Michael Jackson is going to win with.

LIN: But He's not going to go to jail over this, he just might get a slap on the hand?

LEVIN: The way I understand it, we did some checking, German authorities have criminal jurisdiction. And apparently, they're going to do nothing, but in terms of his children, I mean, he has children, child services in California could look at this, or somebody could file a complaint, and they could sit down with him, if they believe the kids are at risk, it doesn't matter if it originated in Germany, they can follow the trail and sit with him.

LIN: This will feed your show for sometime to come, I think.

LEVIN: There is no shortage, carol.

LIN: No, there isn't.

LEVIN: Good for you, Harvey. Thanks so much for joining us. Good to see you this morning.

LIN: Great seeing you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 25, 2002 - 10:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR; A couple of the biggest names in Hollywood are in the news this morning. At issue, a reality show, wake-up call for Liza Minelli and hubby David Gest, and a controversial action by Minelli's pal, Michael Jackson.
Harvey Levin, an old friend of mine, and the executive producer of "Celebrity Justice," joins us now from L.A. with details.

Hi, Harvey.

HARVEY LEVIN, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE," EXEC. PROD.: Hey, Carol.

LIN: All right, we were kind of digging that picture of Liza and David in bed. I mean, what a poster for a reality TV series. What happened? They were signed on, everything was ready to go?

LEVIN: Can I use a legal term?

LIN: Please.

LEVIN: Duh.

I mean, if you think about this, they wanted two people who had a propensity for acting in a bizarre way, and they got what they wanted, and they couldn't handle it. I mean, that's really what happened with VH1. David Gest has a reputation for being an out-there guy. I mean, he was out there. He was impossible, according to VH1.

LIN: Oh, my.

LEVIN: And they had to pull the plug on this deal as they are trying to shoot this Anna Nicole-type, Ozzy Osbourne-type reality series.

LIN: You mean the couple were too racy?

LEVIN: It wasn't that they were too racy. David Gest, according to VH1, was a control freak. He made the crew wear surgical booties when they went inside the house. He followed them around with vacuum cleaners. He restricted access to her. I mean, he is an out there guy; that's why they liked them in the first place, but it just became too burdensome for them, and VH1 said, we can't do business with you, and now they are circling each other, because what they really want is to preserve their reputations, and VH1 wants to make Lisa Minelli and David Gest the bad guy, and vice versa.

LIN: Right. Do you think this is a publicity stunt by the couple, or by the network?

LEVIN: No, I think they really wanted to this show. I mean, if you look at what happened with Anna Nicole Smith, with Ozzy Osbourne, I mean, this could translate into big bucks, it resurrects careers.

What apparently brought all of this to a head, Carol, and it's kind of funny, is during a dinner party that VH1 was shooting, the producers wanted Liza to sing with Ray Charles, and VH1 wanted them to sing with Kelly from Destiny's Child. Liza wanted to sing with Ray Charles, which would be the old versus the young, and it all just blew up at the dinner table -- people screamed, and they said, we're out of here. That's how it blew up.

LIN: Maybe from too much control to, you know, what looked like out of control. I mean, Michael Jackson and this baby, the picture just unforgettable, because, you know, how anybody who has children, and even if you don't have kids, you just got to wonder, you don't sling a baby over a banister. Are their criminal going to be legal charges, criminal charges against Michael Jackson, because This happened overseas, but he's coming back to the states.

LEVIN: It happened overseas, and at "Celebrity Justice," we actually did some checking. Locally if there are people from child services who believe that certain actions make a parent unfit, or least a parent needs to be sat down and talked to, they could sit down and do that when he comes back to the states. So that's one issue.

The second issue, and more immediate, if you will, he has a trial going on in Southern California, and he's being sued for $26 million, and a jury clearly, Carol, you know this, a jury watched that video, and they said that it didn't have an impact on them. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I mean, this is not somebody who is playing with a full deck when he does something like this. And you know it would seem to me if character is an issue in that case, and it is, that this is not something that Michael Jackson is going to win with.

LIN: But He's not going to go to jail over this, he just might get a slap on the hand?

LEVIN: The way I understand it, we did some checking, German authorities have criminal jurisdiction. And apparently, they're going to do nothing, but in terms of his children, I mean, he has children, child services in California could look at this, or somebody could file a complaint, and they could sit down with him, if they believe the kids are at risk, it doesn't matter if it originated in Germany, they can follow the trail and sit with him.

LIN: This will feed your show for sometime to come, I think.

LEVIN: There is no shortage, carol.

LIN: No, there isn't.

LEVIN: Good for you, Harvey. Thanks so much for joining us. Good to see you this morning.

LIN: Great seeing you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com