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Showbiz Tonight
Is it Too Soon for Shows Featuring Hurricanes?; Celebs Pay Tribute to Rosa Parks; School Children Act Out Rosa Parks Protest; Book Features Celebrity Homes; Santana Dishes about New Album; Royal Trip Dubbed a Royal Bore
Aired November 02, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CO-HOST: I`m David Haffenreffer.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And I`m Brooke Anderson. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, deadly hurricanes. The plot lines in some of primetime`s biggest TV shows, even as Americans across the country still struggle to recover from the real-life devastation of storms like Katrina and Rita. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the tough question: are the networks being insensitive?
ANDERSON: Also, the startling way some single women are planning to punt to Plan B. What`s a girl to do if she just can`t snatch that Prince Charming? Tonight a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report on backup spouses, how keeping a friend on hold has become the new Plan B.
HAFFENREFFER: And Hollywood at home. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is given the keys for your favorite stars` homes, and we`ve the juicy stories of what happened behind closed doors. It`s a behind-the-scenes tour like no other.
ELTON JOHN, MUSICIAN: Hi, I`m Elton John. If it happens today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Hello there, I`m Brooke Anderson.
HAFFENREFFER: And I`m David Haffenreffer, in for A.J. Hammer.
Tonight...
ANDERSON: Hurricane stories are raging in primetime. But is it the wrong time?
HAFFENREFFER: Yes, Americans devastated by one of the worst hurricane seasons ever are now finding themselves living through hurricane nightmares once again in primetime dramas with plotlines about the terrible storms. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the question: do the TV networks need to dial up their sensitivity meters?
ANDERSON: Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas is live in Hollywood with that story. Hi there, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi guys.
Well, primetime shows like "Commander in Chief" and "Invasion" have made hurricanes central to their plotlines. And a new miniseries focusing on the biggest disaster imaginable is about to air on CBS. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes a look at whether it`s the right time for hurricanes in primetime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATS: I`ve come down here, wanted to look at the damage firsthand. And I`m telling you, it`s worse than imaginable.
VARGAS (voice-over): These are what the devastating and horrifying images of a real-life hurricane look like on TV.
GEENA DAVIS, ACTRESS: You know, we`re going to do all we can.
VARGAS: And this is what it also looks like on TV, but this is fiction. Millions watched last night`s episode of ABC`s new White House drama, "Commander in Chief," but that`s not all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times did you call today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russell, there`s a hurricane coming. I have a right to know that my children are safe.
VARGAS: Another primetime hit, ABC`s drama, "Invasion," a hurricane is central to this primetime plot. Critics are asking, is it too much too soon?
"Newsweek`s" Marc Peyser told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s a fine line between sensitivity and reality.
MARC PEYSER, "NEWSWEEK": You have to be careful about freaking people out, because you`re scaring them and they don`t want to have that in their life. So it is a balancing act.
VARGAS: But in the year when we saw the most devastating hurricane in a century, Katrina`s Category 5, CBS takes it up two notches. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your first look at CBS`s upcoming mini series, "Category 7: The End of the World."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a global crisis. Unless we find out what`s causing it, the entire planet could be doomed sooner than you think.
VARGAS: This catastrophe flick shows a series of massive cyclones wreaking havoc across the globe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got to get out of here right now.
Right now what some viewers need is an escape from reality.
MATT LEBLANC, ACTOR: I came to say good-bye.
VARGAS: After 9/11, sitcom "Friends`" ratings went through the roof, and movies and television shows with even the slightest reference to terrorism were delayed or pulled altogether.
ABC did pull some "Invasion" promos right after Katrina, but "Television Week`s" Chris Lisotta told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT weather stories are very different than terrorism.
CHRIS LISOTTA, "TELEVISION WEEK": Stories that have weather in it like the pilot of "Invasion" of "Category 7," they`re quite different from stories which are based on terrorists, because terrorists are real people. There`s -- there`s a lot more emotion involved. It`s not like anyone can blame the storm for killing people.
So they don`t have that emotional edge that the other stories do, but ultimately what it comes down to is a balance to make sure that stories are sensitive or thoughtful or aren`t crass or making fun or taking advantage of victims of storms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: And Chris said how the shows are promoted is also very important, Brooke. He says promotion needs to be done in good taste and with sensitivity.
ANDERSON: All right, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas. Thanks so much.
So what do you think? It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Hurricane plotlines: are the TV networks being insensitive? Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Send us some e-mail at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
HAFFENREFFER: Well, celebrities, big-name politicians and leaders both black and white came out today to say goodbye to Rosa Parks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARETHA FRANKLIN, SINGER (singing): Thank you for her quiet, her quiet strength and determination. Oh, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: At her funeral this afternoon in Detroit, soul superstar Aretha Franklin gave a stirring gospel tribute to the woman who became a symbol of the civil rights struggle. The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, all remembered the small lady who made a big contribution to U.S. history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now that she has gone home and left us behind, let us never forget that in that simple act and a lifetime of grace and dignity, she showed us every single day what it means to be free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAFFENREFFER: Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man 50 years ago in Montgomery, Alabama. She died last week at the age of 92.
ANDERSON: And though Parks` heroic deed happened 50 years ago, one school teacher in Georgia wants to make sure the younger generation does not forget about her legacy.
Here is WXIA`s Donna Lowry for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, are you ready?
DONNA LOWRY, CORRESPONDENT, WXIA (voice-over): As any actors, they get in character. In this case, 1955, Montgomery, Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This lady won`t get up. I need you to give it more energy.
LOWRY: Teacher Tyree Thornton (ph) directs these kindergarteners through their scenes. They`ve read the Rosa Parks story in their class at Randolph Elementary. Now it`s time for action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black people were not allowed to sit in the front seat of buses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me have this seat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then one day a lady named Rosa Parks had enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m tired, and my feet hurt. Why do you treat black people like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She won`t get out of her seat.
LOWRY: The teacher decided on the skit after Rosa Parks died and most of the children didn`t know about her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think one child raised his hand and said Rosa Parks was Martin Luther King`s friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m going to have to call the police on you.
LOWRY: It`s not easy getting 5- and 6-year-olds to focus, but then again, this sometimes happens to veteran actors, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you to get up. I need you to get up and leave the seat when they tell you to.
LOWRY: Through the stops and starts, the jail visit and fingerprinting, Dr. King`s declaration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are gathered here today because of injustice.
LOWRY: And the actual boycott and picketing, these pint-sized actors come to their own conclusions on why they should remember Ms. Parks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we love her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can sit wherever you want to since Rosa Parks helped us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to take you to jail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Rosa Parks was a hero!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Rosa Parks was a hero!
LOWRY: They now know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: How cute. That was WXIA`s Donna Lowry for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Well, Brooke Shields` second baby is on the way. So, is she scared about another bout of post-partum depression? We`ll hear from her, next.
HAFFENREFFER: And secrets of stars` homes revealed. Come along as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes you for a special tour of your favorite celebrities` homes. Cher, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and more, next.
ANDERSON: Plus, Carlos Santana. He`s "Branching" out again. Find out which superstar songstress he`s working with this time, after winning a Grammy with her last time. Carlos Santana in the interview you`re going to see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAFFENREFFER: Now, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Members of which band sang on Randy Newman`s hit 19 -- 1977 single, "Short People"? Remember that sensitive song? Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, The Bee Gees or the Beach Boys are your options. We`ll be right back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAFFENREFFER: All right. Tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Members of which band sang on Randy Newman`s hit 1977 single, "Short People"? Was it Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, The Bee Gees or the Beach Boys? The answer is "B," and I did not know this -- the Eagles.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
Tonight Brooke Shields is expecting her second baby, and she says she`s ready. After a public war of words with Tom Cruise about how she fought post-partum depression with anti-depressants, Shields says she only knows what worked for her.
And on the "Today" show this morning, she said she`s not worried about post-partum depression this time around, because she`s informed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE SHIELDS, ACTRESS: Information really is power. So I think nothing will be a shock to me anymore. If it does occur again, I will see the symptoms early. I will understand what it is. I won`t fight it. I won`t be ashamed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Good for her. Brooke is finishing up a Broadway run in "Chicago." Be sure to watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow, for my one-on-one interview with Brooke Shields.
HAFFENREFFER: And some more baby news. Tonight, "People" magazine has an exclusive first look at Heidi Klum and Seal`s brand new baby boy. His name is Henry, and he was born on September 12 to the supermodel and singer-songwriter.
The married couple says everything is pretty much the same as before, well, except of course they`re getting less sleep, dealing with feedings and burpings, diaper changings, what not.
Klum has a 18-month-old daughter, Leni, from a previous relationship. She plans to walk the runway next week at the Victoria`s Secret fashion show. And you can read all about Heidi and Seal`s baby in the new edition of "People" magazine, out this Friday.
ANDERSON: Back on the runway already.
Tonight your first look inside some of the homes of Hollywood`s biggest celebrities. "Architectural Digest" has just released "Hollywood at Home." The book is jam-packed with never before seen photos of homes of over 30 stars.
And joining us live tonight from Hollywood is the editor-in-chief of "Architectural Digest," Paige Rense.
Hi, Page.
PAIGE RENSE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST": Hello.
ANDERSON: Well, this book, I have to say, is absolutely beautiful. And I want to kick it off with Cher`s homes -- one of Cher`s homes, one of 19 homes that she owns. That fact in itself is mind-boggling, but then you look at this house. It`s so grand. It seems like you`re in Italy instead of Malibu. She really helped design this herself, didn`t she?
RENSE: She was very involved in it. It`s Italian renaissance, via Malibu. And it`s about 18,000 square feet. She and her designer, Ron Wilson have worked -- they`ve known each other since they were kids in their teens, and they have done 19 houses together. She said this one, it makes her feel sheltered, puts her -- puts its arms around her. It may be her last house, but we hope not.
ANDERSON: May be her last house. She could move on to 30, 40, who knows?
RENSE: Right.
ANDERSON: But let`s move on to Judy Garland`s home that is featured in the magazine. This one is terrific, on a picturesque Bel Air street, right? Traditional?
RENSE: Very traditional. And she was only 19 at the time she bought the house. It was the first house she ever bought, the first house she ever owned. And even though she was 19, she was very involved in planning the house, along with her mother, and this was just before she announced her engagement to David Rose.
ANDERSON: And there`s a picture in the book of her painting a fence. Here it is. She didn`t actually paint her fence, did she?
RENSE: You know, in those days, movie stars were photographed with little aprons in the kitchens stirring pots and in this case painting fences. I don`t believe she really did paint the fence.
ANDERSON: The secret`s out.
Marilyn Monroe, it`s not one home featured, but several of her homes, including a number of apartments. She enjoyed reading a lot. And you can see here she used that in her style of decorating, didn`t she?
RENSE: Yes, she did. There wasn`t really much style of decorating involved. She never really had a home, even when she was married to Arthur Miller. It was really his home, and then they had an apartment in New York.
But shortly -- just a few months before her death, she had bought her first home that was -- it was going to be her very own. And she had bought furniture for the house, but she died before the furniture had arrived. So she never saw he final home.
ANDERSON: Very unfortunate. And we only have a few moments left, but Frank Sinatra, I love this one, very modest, Palm Springs home.
RENSE: Yes, the surprise was the caboose in which he had a massage table, a spa, and a full-service hair salon. And also, he had a collection of trains. And he had built a replica of his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, as the centerpiece of the train collection.
ANDERSON: Very fascinating. And a lot of orange in that home.
RENSE: He loved orange.
ANDERSON: Paige Rense, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. Frank said that orange was the happiest color. It was his favorite.
You can pick up your copy of "Hollywood at Home." It`s out in book stores everywhere.
HAFFENREFFER: And tonight, a very special chat with Carlos Santana. With ten Grammys under his belt, it`s probably fair to say he`s a music legend. You know his songs, "Black Magic Woman," "Oye Como Va," just to name a couple.
Well, believe it or not, Santana is out with his 38th album, and this time, a star-studded list of artists like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Big Boi from the rap group Outkast all help him out.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went one on one with Santana and talked to him about his amazing career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: Carlos Santana has been entertaining millions of fans for more than three decades, and at age 58, there`s no end in sight.
CARLOS SANTANA, MUSICIAN: I think it`s -- everything is getting better and better. We truly are consistent with transcending and just like wine, just becoming better and better.
HAFFENREFFER: Carlos Santana just released his 38th album, "All That I Am," and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s A.J. Hammer was right there with him in New York City.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Is there any part of you that feels like you`ve had 38 kids?
SANTANA: Yes, and I`m really grateful that I get to participate in transforming -- transmuting people`s lives and giving them a reason to find another way to be passionate about life again.
HAMMER: You say that`s one of the most gratifying parts of what you do?
SANTANA: I believe so. Yes. You know, to touch people`s hearts is the highest.
HAFFENREFFER: "All That I Am" isn`t a retrospective album, but it`s about what Carlos is today, an icon of music.
Born in Mexico, he moved with his family to San Francisco in the early `60s. At the time he was playing guitar and was pretty much an unknown. That all changed in 1969 after Santana performed at Woodstock.
SANTANA: It`s the biggest door I ever walked in. I was able to go from high school washing dishes to all of a sudden being onstage with all of these incredible musicians and walking on stage and seeing 550,000 people, and we`re getting it across. I mean, you know, when we play, they connected, and it`s just -- it just changed my whole existence.
We thought we could change the world and we could make a difference, and we did. We got people out of Vietnam, and we got Nixon out of power.
HAFFENREFFER: Woodstock made him a superstar. He was 22 at the time.
Still, it wasn`t until age 52 that Carlos Santana landed his first No. 1 album, 1999`s "Supernatural." It sold more than 23 million copies and went on to win a whopping nine Grammys, including album of the year.
One breakout hit, "Game of Love" with Michelle branch.
(MUSIC)
HAFFENREFFER: Santana told A.J. he asked Branch back for his new album, too.
SANTANA: I love the vibrancy of her spirit. I always tell her she has the quality that all of us need to project more, which is purity and innocence.
She`s a mother now. It`s mind-boggling to see someone transform in less than a year into something that is even more complete.
HAFFENREFFER: Branch wasn`t even born when Santana became a star at Woodstock, a time of war and peace protests, something he sees a parallel to today.
HAMMER: You`ve always been a man of peace. A lot of people see this as a very dark time. We just passed a milestone in Iraq with 2,000 service people having been killed. Where do you think we`re going now?
SANTANA: It`s very insulting to me as a human being that we only count Americans. We don`t count the children and women and men who died over there also. So that`s not fair. Nor correct.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: All in all, Carlos Santana has sold 90 million albums. His new one, "All That I Am," is on sale now.
ANDERSON: Coming up, what single women everywhere have been doing in case they don`t find that perfect partner to marry. A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report on your Plan B.
HAFFENREFFER: Also, they say, "We`re here." We say, "So what?" Up next, why many say the royal American trip of Prince Charles and Camilla is a royal bore.
ANDERSON: And the life of a spy: fancy cars, cool gadgets, exotic locations, right? Well, try painstaking research, lots of waiting around, mounds of paperwork. Tonight the real-life secret agents. Are spies on screen spies like them?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It`s dinner fit for a prince at the White House. Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in Washington today after beginning their cross-country U.S. trip in New York yesterday.
Tonight, they`re attending a formal black tie dinner at the White House. About 130 people are on the guest list, but not everything about their welcome has been royal.
Here`s CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What a difference two decades make. Charles and Diana visited a JCPenney`s on the prince`s last official U.S. tour.
Twenty years later, here`s the prince with his new wife attending a party at the Museum of Modern Art, along with Yoko Ono, Diane Sawyer, Henry Kissinger, Donald Trump, Joan Collins, and even Sting.
But it`s still stings some Diana fans to see those old shots of glamorous Princess Di dancing with John Travolta at the White House, but when it comes to Camilla, gossip columnists can get pretty catty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re all welcoming the prince and the duchess or mistress, or whatever she is this week.
MOOS: A lone protester parked herself outside the U.N., where Charles would later visit. "Camilla, you are no princess," said her sign, with a horse on it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The horse is basically Camilla. We all know that6 she`s a horse. She doesn`t belong here, and she`ll never be able to take Diana`s place, ever.
MOOS: At least the horse is pretty.
The royals flew in amid headlines declaring their visit a role bore. Only 19 percent of Americans polled said they were interested in the visit. Eighty-one percent said they were not.
(on camera) Prince Charles and Camilla are in town. Do you care?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not a whit.
MOOS: Royal watching is not for you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven`t watched it yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I loved Princess Diana. I don`t care for this new chick in town. Sorry.
MOOS (voice-over): The new chick and her prince started the day with a visit to Ground Zero. They then unveiled a memorial to British victims of 9/11. Everywhere they went, there were curtsies, and the always curt, screaming press.
But Prince Charles was unflappable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prince Charles, what do you think of New York?
MOOS: What does New York think of him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome, Prince Charles, to New York City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he`s a Prince Charming.
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: People like him really a lot, and they`ve taken New York by storm.
MOOS: Oh, yes? This gentleman mentioned royal burping to explain his disinterest.
(on camera) Just because a royal burps doesn`t mean what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My stomach has to growl.
MOOS (voice-over): As for the woman Charles referred to as...
PRINCE CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: My darling wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She looks like Seabiscuit.
MOOS (on camera): Seabiscuit?
He`s tough. Is he yours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he`s part of the family.
MOOS (voice-over): But not the royal family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN`s Jeanne Moos reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Next month, Prince Charles and Camilla will have a very attentive audience, the world premiere of the upcoming Disney movie, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" takes place in their royal presence in London.
HAFFENREFFER: Well, a British guy many still get excited about is James Bond, of course. But how closely does real spy life match what 007 does? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates spy versus spy.
ANDERSON: And, a Jessica Simpson shocker. Her latest response to all those breakup rumors, and why she saw a therapist. Her emotional and revealing words, next.
HAFFENREFFER: Plus, a woman who has literally been to hell and back, and a whole lot of places in between. "Days of Our Lives" star Deidre Hall, live. She stops by to celebrate a very special milestone. It`s an interview you`ll only see on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues in just a minute. Hello, I`m Sophia Choi with your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
Well, President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush are welcoming Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to the White House for dinner this evening. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is the after-dinner entertainment.
U.S. Defense officials say one of Al Qaeda`s most senior operatives in Southeast Asia escaped from a U.S. military prison in Afghanistan in July. The Kuwaiti suspect was captured in Indonesia in 2002 and then turned over to U.S. officials.
And the procession carrying the body of Rosa Parks made its way tonight to her final resting place. Thousands of mourners gathered in a Detroit church today to pay tribute to the late civil rights icon. The service was marked by music and speeches from the likes of Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and former President Bill Clinton. Parks was 92.
That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi. Now back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Brooke Anderson.
HAFFENREFFER: And I`m David Haffenreffer in for A.J. Hammer. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
Tonight, we`re going to take a really cool look at the difference between the spies that we see in movies and on TV, and the lives that they lead on a daily basis, versus what really happens. And we talk about it -- we just talked about it a moment ago, all the waiting they do, all the paperwork, all the research they have to. Really cool piece coming up in just a moment.
ANDERSON: Not as exciting as some might think the job is.
HAFFENREFFER: Not nearly.
ANDERSON: Well, David, did you ever have a plan B? You know, when you and a friend make a pact that, if you`re not married by a certain age, you`ll marry each other?
HAFFENREFFER: I barely had a plan A, never mind a plan B.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: So you`ve made the plan A work, fortunately. Plan B, that concept, has been featured in many television shows and movies. And coming up, we`ll have a special report on a whole generation that is working on plan B and has that in mind if plan A, so to speak, does not work out.
But first, we`re going tonight`s "Hot Headlines." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas joins us live from Hollywood.
Hey, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke. Well, people going to see the Rockettes Christmas show may be out of luck. Tonight, one day before it was set to open, the show`s musicians have gone on strike and the Rockettes have walked out -- or high-kicked it out, as the case may be -- in support of the strike.
Well, it`s going to be all about Edie on "Desperate Housewives" this month. Today, we learned that Nicollette Sheridan`s character, Edie, the bad girl of Wisteria Lane, will gets lots of screen time during the November sweeps. Oddly enough, the show`s creator says Edie was never meant to be a central character, but proved to be so popular that ABC execs demanded that she be written in as a regular.
Well, the paparazzi finally hit too close to home for Brad Pitt. Today we learned that Pitt called police after shooting a photographer -- or spotting a photographer peeking into his Malibu home trying to take pictures of his living room. When the photographer realized he`d been spotted, he took off.
Well, tonight 50 Cent is defending President Bush. 50 says he doesn`t agree with Kanye West`s now-infamous statement after Hurricane Katrina that, quote, "George Bush doesn`t care about black people." 50 tells ContactMusic.com that he doesn`t know where West got that feeling. He says, quote, "People responded to it the best way they can."
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines." Brooke, back to you in New York.
ANDERSON: 50 never holds back. Very forthcoming. All right, Sibila.
VARGAS: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: Thank you so much.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: No, it`s not.
And earlier, we reported on TV movies and drama series that are using hurricanes as story backdrops, which leads to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Hurricane plotlines: Are the TV networks being insensitive?
Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight and write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Your e-mails are coming up at 55 past the hour.
HAFFENREFFER: Tonight, spy versus spy. The unmasking of Valerie Plame in the CIA leak case scandal has got a lot of people wondering, "What does a spy do, anyway?"
In the movies, the life of a spy conjures up images, of course, of Concorde flights, martinis shaken -- not stirred, of course -- and a bevy of beautiful babes. But tonight, one real-life spy tells a different story. Here`s CNN`s Tom Foreman for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beneath the inky blackness of a rainy Washington night, the world`s spy capital is waiting to see what will happen in the CIA leak case. While only an hour away in a quiet suburb, it`s business as usual for this man. He`s a spy from the National Security Agency.
IRA WINKLER, AUTHOR, "SPIES AMONG US": My expertise is performing espionage simulations against commercial organizations.
FOREMAN (on-screen): Hold on a second. Let me just turn this light on, because we really can`t see you. Yes, that`s much better.
(voice-over): Well, he used to be with the NSA. Now, Ira Winkler writes books about the often misunderstood and murky world of spies.
WINKLER: In most of the espionage business, if you`re talking about human intelligence, involves getting somebody who, frankly, is a dupe to go in there and steal information on your behalf. You know, in the ideal world, a spy is somebody who can`t get a waitress`s attention in an empty restaurant.
SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR AS JAMES BOND: The wine is quite excellent.
WINKLER: I write that the espionage business is more the land of Dilbert than the land of Bond.
FOREMAN: Really? So if they`re not doing this stuff, then what are most spies doing most of the time?
They`re spending endless hours sifting through information, bank records, phone logs, newspapers, business contracts, transcripts of conversations, oceans of collected data from the Internet, spy satellites, informants, foreign and domestic.
Sure, at the International Spy Museum, Director Peter Earnest knows the mythology of espionage.
(on-screen): Maxwell Smart`s shoes. This is, like, the best.
PETER EARNEST, INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM: Well, you and I are both wearing cell phones.
FOREMAN (voice-over): He spent 36 years in the CIA and did wind up in a car chase or two.
EARNEST: Four guys took me for a ride. I suppose that`s not really a car chase.
FOREMAN (on-screen): Just like real spy stuff.
EARNEST: Yes.
FOREMAN: Were you ever in a shoot-out?
EARNEST: No.
FOREMAN: Did you ever go off to Monaco with a leggy European model?
EARNEST: No, but I put it down on my list of preferences.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But he confirms much spy work involves convincing or paying local people in communities worldwide to gather information and then painstakingly analyzing it all.
EARNEST: You may get very critical intelligence from an operation, covert operation, but unless you can fit that nugget of information into a larger context, which is what the role of the analyst is and the others connected with that, then it may be wasted.
FOREMAN: Maybe espionage has grown less romantic since the end of the Cold War because the focus has shifted. Despite the war on terror, many spies now spend their time looking at the financial fight for world standing, the struggle of places like China for an economic edge.
WINKLER: We`re worried about the next generation of communication technology, because, these days, espionage is about money.
FOREMAN: Private spying has become such a big thing between American businesses an Economic Espionage Act was passed in 1996 to step up prosecutions over the theft of pizza recipes, drug formulas, technology designs.
Companies now hire Winkler to help them stop industrial spies. And it`s a challenge. He says the Internet has made spies of us all.
WINKLER: The term "googling" somebody -- if you actually stop and think about what that is, that`s the average person spying on the average person.
FOREMAN (on-screen): So spying is that easy now?
WINKLER: Spying is incredibly easy.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Well, maybe not that easy. Events at the White House have shown the work of the top spy agencies is still remarkable valuable and sensitive and, like a good spy, best kept secret.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: All those secrets. That was CNN`s Tom Foreman reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Tonight, a Jessica Simpson stunner. She says rumors about her marriage drove her to see a therapist. Appearing on the cover of this month`s "Teen People" with her sister Ashlee, Jessica talks about the ever- prying paparazzi and how the stress of non-stop gossip about a split with husband Nick Lachey sent her into therapy.
She says, "I respect knowledge of the psyche. I would be a therapist if I weren`t an entertainer."
And about her marriage: "Hopefully our story will continue for the rest of our lives. At the end of the day, you`ve got to find happiness, believe that we`ll achieve it."
You can read the rest of the revealing interview with Ashlee and Jessica Simpson in the December-January issue of "Teen People," on newsstands this Friday.
HAFFENREFFER: All right. It`s called plan B, you know, when you make a pact with a friend to get married if neither one of you finds anyone by the time you`re 40. Well, it showed up on "Friends" and other shows and movies. But is the backup a good idea? We`re going to find out, coming up.
ANDERSON: Plus, as Marlena on "Days of our Lives," she has been all the way up to plan Z, and back again. Deidre Hall is coming up live, in the interview you`re going to see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
But first, let`s take a look at what`s new in music. And there`s something for everybody this week.
Earlier, we reported on Santana`s new album. It`s called "All that I Am." Burt Bacharach has a new one out called "At This Time." John Fogerty`s "The Long Road Home: Ultimate John Fogerty Creedence Collection" is also in stores now.
To get you in the holiday spirit, you can pick up Diana Krall`s "Christmas Songs." And Sun Kil Moon is out with an album called "Tiny Cities," all covers of Modest Mouse songs. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAFFENREFFER: And welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
If you don`t find a wife or a hubby by a certain age, do you have a backup spouse in mind? It happens all the time in the movies, and it turns out in real life, as well, but is it a good idea? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas is live in Hollywood with the story -- Sibila?
VARGAS: Well, David, as the national age for marriage increases, people are getting more and more worried about if they`re going to find that special someone to spend the rest of their life with. But does having a backup spouse really mean that you`ll have a shot at living happily ever after?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came into work a little bit late. I saw this beautiful blonde sitting down there. And there was an empty seat beside her. And I dated her for about 10 months, and I asked her to marry me. And she accepted. And it`s been 50 years ago.
VARGAS (voice-over): Not everyone has a fairy tale story like theirs. And that`s why many have the mighty backup plan.
JULIA ROBERTS, ACTRESS: You just swear, when we`re 28, if we`ve never married, we marry each other.
VARGAS: She just may have inspired a generation. In the last few decades, a new phenomenon called plan B. What`s the plan?
JENNIFER ANISTON, ACTRESS, "FRIENDS": So if neither of you are married by the time you`re 40, you`re going to marry Joey?
LISA KUDROW, ACTRESS, "FRIENDS": Yes, we shook on it. But believe me, that is not how he wanted to seal the deal.
ANISTON: Oh, seriously?
KUDROW: Yes, I think his exact words were...
(LAUGHTER)
VARGAS: It`s a real phenomenon, having a backup spouse if you can`t find the one. And it could be because Americans are waiting longer and longer to get hitched. Back in the olden days, people generally got married in their early 20s.
EMMA TAYLOR, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: It used to be that, you know, you went to college looking for three letters, Mrs.
VARGAS: And in the `70s, the average age for women to get married was 20 and 23 for men. These days, things are different. People wait longer, 25 for women, 27 for men. And it`s even later in the northeast for some reason. So what`s the ideal plan B age for tying the knot?
TAYLOR: The average is somewhere between 30 and 35.
VARGAS: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT took to the streets to see how long people plan wait to cash in on their plan B.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My best friend, Tom, from England. We`ve made a pact that if we`re still single and we haven`t found the love of our life by 29, then that`s it, we`re going to get married and have kids together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We both said, "If we don`t get married by the time we`re 50, we would get married," but he got married about six years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My plan B was my best friend from college. We decided, if we were 30 or 35 -- I forget what it was -- but that we`d get married.
VARGAS: It turns out they`re not the only friends making pacts.
ANISTON: So what do you say we may a pact? If you and I are both single by the time we`re 40, we get married. I mean, we know each other. We like each other. We`ve already slept together, so, you know, there will be no surprises there, you know what I mean? Not like, "What`s that?"
(LAUGHTER)
VARGAS: And that chemistry thing is a big part of relationships and, for many plan B`ers, a big dilemma.
TAYLOR: The dilemma of the backup spouse is obviously that it is kind of settling. And the reason that you`re not marrying your backup spouse earlier and that you`re putting it off for a decade is that you don`t really have chemistry with this person.
VARGAS: Chemistry is huge, and there is something to be said for waiting for the right one.
NOAH ST. JOHN, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: I found Denise when I was 35 and she was over 45. So that was...
DENISE BENARD, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: You`re being kind.
VARGAS: This happy couple happens to also be relationship experts. They say having a backup spouse is nothing but desperate.
BENARD: You never know where it`s going to happen. And to force it, you may be missing something great. I mean, it`s almost like Cinderella, you know? They tried to shove the shoe on everybody`s foot. And if it doesn`t fit, it doesn`t fit, but then when it fits, it`s perfect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: And, David, relationship expert Emma Taylor said, of all the people she interviewed about their backup spouses, very few actually married them, even if both were single at the agreed-upon age.
I`ll admit, David, I did have a plan B. But thankfully, I didn`t have to use it.
HAFFENREFFER: See, that`s the best part of plan B, right?
VARGAS: That`s the best part.
HAFFENREFFER: You don`t have to.
VARGAS: Exactly.
HAFFENREFFER: Thank you, Sibila. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas in Hollywood.
ANDERSON: It`s time now for a "Showbiz Sitdown" with Deidre Hall. Fans of "Days of our Lives" have watched Deidre Hall literally go to Hell and back as Dr. Marlena Evans.
She`s been a murderer, possessed by Satan, died and come back to life. Now she`s got amnesia. Those stunning plot lines have kept viewers coming back for decades. "Days of our Lives" turns 40 this month.
And live here in New York is Dr. Marlena Evans herself, Deidre Hall. Welcome, Deidre.
DEIDRE HALL, "DAYS OF OUR LIVES": Nice to be here, Brooke. Thank you.
ANDERSON: Forty years, happy birthday to "Days of our Lives." And so many television shows come and go. What is it about this one that has kept it going for so long, so strongly?
HALL: I think we do a million small things right. Our show is created by a family, Ted and Betty Corday. And it`s still run by the Corday family, so that gives us a face to put with a name and one person that we relate to a lot.
And we do all the things people want. There`s always a love story. There`s always a drama. There`s always a mystery. And so they just keep coming back.
ANDERSON: Let`s talk about some of those dramas, there`s crazy plot lines your character has been put through.
HALL: I don`t know why you call these things crazy. Millions who watch this show...
ANDERSON: Committed to a sanitarium -- I did -- committed to a sanitarium, kidnapped, then presumed dead, possessed by Satan at one point, thrown down the stairs. You now have amnesia. Did you ever look at a script and say, "I cannot believe they want me to do this"?
(LAUGHTER)
HALL: You`d think so, wouldn`t you? You know what? I did have one. And it wasn`t because it was alien babies or anything else. It was because there was a period where Marlena was the stalker.
And we had months on the show where we never knew who the person was, so we didn`t know who the next victim might be. And once it was revealed that I was the killer, one of the last scripts I got was that I had to kill Alice, our matriarch, Francis Reid.
And we were all just sitting there in stunned disbelief. And, as I walked out of my room that day to go and tape the scenes, I turned into the hallway and looked up. And Francis was making her way down the hallway on her cane for the last time. And it was just -- I said, "OK, I can`t do this one."
ANDERSON: Didn`t want to do it? Wow. And also had to levitate at one point when you were possessed by...
HALL: Oh, that was easy.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: That was easy compared to the killing.
(LAUGHTER)
HALL: Killing Alice was hard.
ANDERSON: All right. And there`s so much passion, so much drama, so much kissing, Deidre. I mean, does it ever get old? Or are there any trade secrets, like breath mints in the back pocket? Like, how do you guys do it?
HALL: Oh, you know, come on, Brooke, it`s a job. They bring you beautiful men. They write you beautiful stories, dress you wonderfully, and say, "OK, go make out and we`ll pay you for it."
ANDERSON: So not too bad?
HALL: Not too bad a job.
ANDERSON: You actually have a twin sister in real life who has played your evil twin on the show. Do you two ever -- does she get mistaken for you outside of work?
HALL: She does quite a bit, Andrea Hall-Gengler. She lives in Virginia Beach and teaches special education, so she`s very special. And she came to play my evil twin, Samantha. They killed her off after a period of time.
And then they brought her back as Hattie Adams, who was a sort of snaggle-toothed, overweight, nasty, curmudgeon waitress, who looked a little bit like Marlena in the right light.
ANDERSON: Wow. I remember that actually.
HALL: Wasn`t that fun?
ANDERSON: Yes, it was.
HALL: Oh, she was fabulous at it.
ANDERSON: And you`re signed on for the show until next August. What`s going to happen then? Are you staying for longer? Are you going to do something else? Are you going to...
HALL: I will be with "Days" as long as it`s on the air. That`s my home. And I wouldn`t dream of leaving. I love it there.
They`ve been a family. They`ve been a comfort. They`ve been a support system. They`ve been a creative outlet, and I adore every person there.
ANDERSON: Well, you`ve been there nearly 30 years. I don`t know how they could do it without you at this point. And you also do philanthropic work outside of your job.
HALL: I do. Right now, I`m involved with Alzheimer`s, the foundation. And it`s Alzheimer`s Foundation of America, it`s a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to families with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer`s.
And this month, actually November 15th, is Memory Screening Day. And it`s a 10-minute process. It`s not invasive. It`s like a little pop quiz. No hard math, nothing at all, just to pinpoint what areas might be problem. No cost at all.
ANDERSON: And on your web site, DeidreHall.com, you can go for information, right?
HALL: DeidreHall.com or Marlena.com. We link right into the Alzheimer`s Foundation of America.
ANDERSON: Well, Deidre Hall, we are out of time, but thank you for joining us. We appreciate it.
HALL: Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: And "Days of our Lives" airs on ABC and celebrates its 40th anniversary November 8th.
HAFFENREFFER: And it`s time for now "Laughter Dark," the best from late-night TV. And tonight, as Jay Leno does ever week, the worst published blunders from across the country. Here are some of the week`s headlines from "The Tonight Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": It says "Baby Wants its Bottle." "Samantha Sahaia (ph) coaxes her 9-month-old baby to cross the finish line while competing in the seventh annual baby crawl." OK, of course, you always want to use beer to get your baby...
(LAUGHTER)
This is the worse name that I`ve ever heard for a tanning salon. Look. "Blisters Tanning Salon."
(LAUGHTER)
Look at this, "Lysol: No other brand has more germ-killing power." If you`re letting your kid float boats in the toilet, OK, I mean, that`s just bad.
(LAUGHTER)
Well, explain this to me. "Man Discovers He`s Black at the Age of 26." "David Meyers (ph) holds a picture of the people he believes to be his mother and father."
(LAUGHTER)
Apparently, there are no mirrors in Orlando, Florida.
(LAUGHTER)
But I know he had to be incredibly strong. And, boy, there`s a maneuver you don`t want to try.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: No, you don`t.
And there is still time for you to sound off in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Hurricane plot lines: Are the TV networks being insensitive? Vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight. Write us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts, live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAFFENREFFER: We`ve been asking you to vote online in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Hurricane plot lines: Are the TV networks being insensitive?
The vote so far: 51 percent of you say yes; 49 percent of you say no. It`s a horse race.
Among the e-mails we`ve received, Deidre writes, "Of course they are insensitive."
Ronald from Texas writes, "I feel sorry for the people involved and the lives lost, but let`s get on with it and with life."
Keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight.
ANDERSON: Thank you for your e-mails.
And now it`s time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. Let`s take a look at the "Showbiz Marquee."
Brook Shields, after her public struggle with post-partum depression and what Tom Cruise had to say about it. Brooke has some good news. Baby number two is on the way. I`ll sit down with Brooke one-on-one tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAFFENREFFER: Also tomorrow, one of the most fascinating personalities on television, "America`s Most Wanted" host John Walsh in an interview you`ll only see here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
HAFFENREFFER: And I`m David Haffenreffer filling in for A.J. Hammer. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.
