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Showbiz Tonight
Hollywood Taking Potshots at Bush; New Film Shows Soldiers` View of War; Documentary Looks at African-American Views of Plastic Surgery; Children and Self-Mutilation
Aired April 21, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: The Michael Jackson effect. The raging controversy in the African-American community over who should and shouldn`t have plastic surgery. I`m A.J. Hammer New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And late-breaking news. Denise Richards asks for a restraining order against Charlie Sheen. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, girls who are slicing and mutilating their own bodies. Tonight, the shocking way some young women are dealing with the pressures of young life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It made me feel like all my troubles were flowing out, and it wasn`t blood.
HAMMER: Why this startling trend of self-abuse is growing. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a disturbing look at cutting.
Hollywood Bush bashing, why the president may not like what`s opening in movie theaters this weekend.
DENNIS QUAID, ACTOR: Did you know that there are two kinds of Iraqistanis (sic)?
HAMMER: How Hollywood is pummeling the president on everything from terrorism to the war in Iraq.
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: The war is a disaster. I think it`s only going to get worse.
HAMMER: But will all this Bushwhacking backfire? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the heat in Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Hi there, I`m Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer live in New York. Welcome to a Friday night.
Brooke, President Bush just can`t catch a break from Hollywood. Even Donald Trump is talking about the president in a remarkable interview. We`ll show you that in just a minute right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: That`s right, A.J. And anyone going to the movies this weekend will also get an in-your-face reminder of a president whose popularity is, shall we say, not the greatest these days. It`s something you could call Hollywood potshots.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): As if sagging poll numbers weren`t enough for President Bush, he`s also taking a beating at the box office.
WILLEM DAFOE, ACTOR: The only demo where you have an approval rating above 30 percent is with children under the age of 5.
ANDERSON: Two more comedies lampoon the president, including "American Dreamz", opening this weekend.
QUAID: Did you know that there are two kinds of Iraqistanis (sic). I mean, actually three.
ANDERSON: And in a scene evoking the documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11", "Scary Movie 4" parodies the president`s immediate reaction to the 9/11 attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A girl had a pet duck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, the planet is under attack by aliens.
LESLIE NIELSEN, ACTOR: I`ll handle that in a minute. Right now, I want to see what happens with the duck.
KURT LODER, MTV NEWS: The more vulnerable George Bush becomes and the lower his ratings sink, I think the easier it is to come out and sort of attack him.
ANDERSON: But conservative blogger Jason Apuzzo say Hollywood`s presidential potshots could backfire by alienating some moviegoers.
JASON APUZZO, CO-DIRECTOR, LIBERTY FILM FESTIVAL: It`s, in effect, just alienating half your audience. And I don`t, frankly, see the compelling reason to do that, unless you`re just trying to make it a cheap political message.
ANDERSON: Besides moviemakers, some recording artists also are taking aim at President Bush.
New music from the Dixie Chicks and Neil young take the president to task.
It`s enough to leave a president, fictional or otherwise, confused about why his popularity has slipped.
QUAID: There are some things that kind of seem pretty black and white, and now they`re kind of becoming a little gray seeming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You just saw that "American Dreamz" is one of the movies poking fun at President Bush. Well, you`ll want to stay with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for our revealing interview with one of the stars of that movie, Hugh Grant. He`ll tell us why he thinks "American Idol" is more popular than the war in Iraq.
HAMMER: Well, President Bush not the only one in Washington taking his lumps. Many people, as you probably have heard, have been calling for the head of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
So you got to see what happened when CNN`s Wolf Blitzer spoke with "The Apprentice`s" Donald Trump. Trump fires someone on his show each week, as we all know, and Wolf asked president -- if President Bush should can Rumsfeld. Well, here`s what the Donald would do about Donald.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": All right, now, here`s the question: if Don Rumsfeld worked for you, what would you say to him?
TRUMP: Well, I know what you want me to say. You want me to say, "You`re fired," but I wouldn`t necessarily say that. Look, he`s worked very hard. He`s good man. I`ve been watching him for years. And you know, three or four years ago, he was a rock star. He would go on and your ratings would double. Everybody loved him. Today it`s just the opposite.
BLITZER: Why wouldn`t you fire Donald Rumsfeld if he worked for you and helped get you into this mess, as you described it, in Iraq?
TRUMP: Well, I`m not saying I wouldn`t fire him. I`m saying I don`t think the president will, and based on what`s been said over the last couple of days, he certainly doesn`t seem like he`s going to fire Rumsfeld.
But the war is a disaster. I think it`s only going to get worse. And it`s a shame. We have these great, great soldiers, these unbelievable soldiers over there. And you know what`s happening, you know what`s happening better than I do. It`s a very sad situation.
I think probably something would be done by most people. I don`t think this president will fire Secretary Rumsfeld.
BLITZER: Well, let me press you, would you?
TRUMP: Well, I would make a change. I would do something to get out of that war as quickly as possible, because I think the inevitable result - - and this has nothing to do with our fighting men, this has nothing to do with anything -- the inevitable result is disaster. The inevitable result is civil war. It`s happening now. It`s happening all around us despite the soldiers, and I think that probably sometimes, can you just say, let`s declare victory and leave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Wolf also asked Trump about a movement that`s out there -- you may have heard of it -- to draft Trump to run for president. The Donald says he`s not interested.
ANDERSON: Tonight, an actor who plays a hijacker in "United 93" has reportedly been told to stay home. Lewis Alsamari says the U.S. won`t let him into the country for the 9/11 film`s premiere next week. He`s an Iraqi citizen and had served in the Iraqi army but claims he was forced to.
The U.S. embassy says he didn`t give them enough notice about his trip and they are trying to help out, but won`t make him any promises.
HAMMER: it`s unbelievable.
Well, I had the chance to speak with Paul Greengrass. He`s the director of "United 93", the movie about the hijacking, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11.
Now at one point during the interview, he really opened up to me about CNN`s coverage of September 11, and he also talked about how that experience should teach us all how important good communication is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL GREENGRASS, DIRECTOR, "UNITED 93": Interesting the role of CNN, I think, in that film.
HAMMER: Really interesting.
GREENGRASS: But I mean, you know, what was absolutely extraordinary to me, and I`m not just saying this but it`s absolutely true, how CNN was absolutely at the heart of that event, both in the military command center and in the civilian air traffic control center.
And the way you could see how people absolutely, at the sharp end of this experience were watching CNN because CNN knew more than what they knew at that moment in time.
It was the most extraordinary insight into the way we believe. So much of our lives we believe that there`s this safety net, this can cocoon, that there`s somewhere, our systems, our governments, our security situations, our air traffic control systems, our military, see far and protect us.
And then you look at it and you realize that, actually, they, in these situations, end up knowing less than CNN did, you know?
HAMMER: Remarkable, isn`t it?
GREENGRASS: It`s amazing. And frightening. But also, I think it goes to the heart of "United 93", because when you study it closely, you get to a place of realizing that, in the end, you can`t rely on governments to fix this thing.
And that`s what those people realized. They came to realize that they could only rely on themselves. And somewhere, that courage, that inspiring bravery, is really what we need to take and move forward.
To solve this problem, we as citizens have got to speak about it. And communications is at the heart of finding a solution. I do believe that that`s one of the things that you can see at the heart of this film. We`d like to thank CNN for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: "United 93" opens at the Tribeca Film Festival one week from tonight here in New York.
Also at that same film festival, another topic that`s just as controversial, the war in Iraq. CNN`s Mary Snow is live here in New York for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with more -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.
These movies set out to show firsthand what it`s like for soldiers on the front lines and at home, and technology is changing the way it`s being done.
One of the films gaining attention comes from some unlikely filmmakers, the soldiers themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): The Iraq war from the front lines. "The War Tapes" documents the real-life experiences of a New Hampshire National Guard unit. Members were given digital video cameras.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (expletive deleted) Not worth it. I`ll walk everywhere in the U.S. I`ll recycle everything, damn it.
PETER SCARLET, TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: Filmmakers have taken advantage of this incredible new digital equipment we now have and have been able to go places and see things that filmmakers couldn`t go before.
SNOW: Film critics say it tells the story of the restricted areas where media cameras can`t go.
RICHARD SCHICKEL, FILM CRITIC, "TIME" MAGAZINE: This kind of thing is a sort of the answer to the military`s attempts to kind of censor the imagery coming out of a current war zone.
SNOW: But the battlefield is not the only place dealing with the Iraq war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to see my home? You want to see my home? My home is right there. You understand? That`s my home.
SNOW: "When I Came Home" is a documentary that looks at Iraq war veterans who returned to find themselves homeless.
DAN LOHAUS, DIRECTOR, "WHEN I CAME HOME": I hope people walk out angry. You know, when I tell people I`m working on a film about homeless Iraq war vets, they go, "What? From this war? You mean the last one, not this one." Yes, this war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I fought for my country, man. The country shouldn`t be doing this to me.
SNOW: Director Dan Lohaus hopes his film will shed light on what he says is a growing problem.
LOHAUS: I think this is just one more piece of this war that we`re finding out about.
SNOW: Critics say mass appeal is difficult.
SCHICKEL: I think these are very tough sells to the general movie- going public.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: While these films may be tough sells, the organizers of The Tribeca Film Festival say there were dozens of films about Iraq to choose from for the festival, and they expect that trend to continue -- Brooke.
ANDERSON: And the controversy will most likely continue with that trend.
OK, Mary, thanks so much. CNN`s Mary Snow live for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT in New York.
HAMMER: So what do Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Brooke Shields and Kenny Rogers all have in common? Stick around, that`s coming up in just a bit.
ANDERSON: Also, Michael Jackson did it. Queen Latifah did it. But what about others? Tonight, the heated debate in the African-American community of who should and shouldn`t get plastic surgery.
Plus, we`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It made me feel like all my troubles were flowing out. And it wasn`t blood. It was, you know, it was my troubles with my mom and my problems at school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The shocking way some young people are dealing with the pressures of life. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a disturbing look at cutting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fade up music under. More allegations in the shocking Charlie Sheen story, but first to A.J. with our favorite video of the day. Dissolve cue.
HAMMER: I don`t know if it`s my favorite video of the day, but let`s get into it. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re TV`s only live entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer.
This is the video of the day that`s been making everybody around the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT offices say, "That`s ridiculous!"
OK, these are extraordinary little piggies. Look at them. They`re really hamming it up for the cameras.
You`re looking at the third annual pig Olympics that`s going on in Moscow. Twelve piglets from seven countries competing to be the prince of porkdom. They swam. They played soccer, as you`re seeing, but these pigs did not fly.
The pig Olympics did get us squealing, however, and that`s why we say, "That`s ridiculous!"
ANDERSON: That is ridiculous, A.J., but you know what, no harm comes to these piggies, apparently...
HAMMER: Well, I don`t know about that.
ANDERSON: ... because the vice president...
HAMMER: Charlie, can we rerack that tape? Play this again. OK, let`s get past. Watch this pig being put in the water. Their head is totally submerged. There`s nothing right about that.
ANDERSON: That`s not very nice, but the vice president of the Sport Pig Federation says these pigs go onto a happy life. They don`t get eaten. They go on to produce a new generation of sport pigs.
HAMMER: You know what would make me happy? Moving right along. And here we go.
ANDERSON: Let`s do that.
HAMMER: Tonight, there are shocking allegations we have to tell you about, made by Denise Richards against her estranged husband, Charlie Sheen.
Late today, Richards` lawyer asked for a restraining order against him in a Los Angeles County court, and here`s the reason for that. Richards says that Sheen threatened to kill her and threatened her parents. She also claims that he was surfing porn sites that featured young girls, even gay porn sites. Richards thinks all this stuff puts their two young daughters in danger.
A publicist told us this afternoon that she asked for the restraining order to ensure her kids` safety.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT also contacted Sheen`s publicist, who says Charlie denies everything. We`re going to have much more on this late-breaking story coming up live just a little later.
ANDERSON: Tonight, a heated debate within the African-American community. Should blacks get plastic surgery?
It was once a big no-no. But then came along a pop star named Michael Jackson, who literally transformed himself before our very eyes. And later celebs like Queen Latifah and L`il Kim had some work done.
The controversial topic is part of a new documentary called "Black Don`t Crack", and joining me live from Washington, D.C, Dr. Monty Harris, one of the cosmetic surgeons featured in the special.
Monty, welcome.
MONTY HARRIS, COSMETIC SURGEON: Welcome. Thank you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: Thank you for being here.
First of all, explain to us what the expression, "Black Don`t Crack" actually means. A lot of people may not know.
HARRIS: Well, it`s actually a popular saying amongst the black community that black doesn`t crack. And it basically means that the skin itself doesn`t age in the same way that typically Caucasian skin ages. So we don`t get the wrinkles that are common to sun damage. So it`s a common thing, black doesn`t crack. But we -- black skin does age. But the age is a different manner.
ANDERSON; Yes, it does. It`s smooth, it`s beautiful, it`s different from my skin.
But the poster boy for an African-American having plastic surgery, of courses, is Michael Jackson.
In fact, Charles, can we take a look at how Michael has changed his appearance over the years? Now, Monty, do you think that what Michael did made it OK in the African-American community to have plastic surgery, where it was once really a great taboo? Look at these pictures.
HARRIS: You know -- well, you know, the interesting thing is that I can say that what has really sort of catapulted plastic surgery amongst African-Americans has really gone beyond Michael Jackson as a poster child.
My honest opinion is that probably Michael Jackson took plastic surgery in regards to African Americans back, you know. We`d finally gotten to the point where people can look beyond, you know, his result, which is obviously not ideal and say that, hey, there is a way to get good results with plastic surgery.
So, you know, we`ve moved really beyond that poster child Michael Jackson and look at sort of the everyday real people that are undergoing cosmetic surgery.
ANDERSON: So an example of what not to do, possibly.
HARRIS: Right.
ANDERSON: But another example, I want to talk about Queen Latifah for a second. She`s been open about having had breast reduction surgery.
How has that been received in the black community? And how has it influenced black women in terms of them having plastic surgery and augmentations or reductions or whatever it may be?
HARRIS: I mean -- I mean, looking at Queen Latifah and her openness about her procedure has really been sort of a refreshing standpoint with regards to how blacks or people of color are looking at cosmetic surgery.
It used to be that -- it used to be the common thing that if you had something done, it was hush-hush. Or one of my colleagues talks about the no-tell nose job.
And I have patients that are very excited about saying, "Hey, I had rhinoplasty," or "I had some particular procedure to enhance my face." And they`re excited about telling their friends and telling some of their peers.
So we`re really at a new day with regards to how we are approaching cosmetic surgery and our ability to be open about it.
ANDERSON: That`s right. Dr. Harris, we`ve covered this topic, body image, extensively on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. And I want to ask you, do you think that what`s been thought of and accepted as the ideal beauty for so long has -- do you think it`s changed?
Jennifer Lopez comes to mind as someone who`s beautiful but wouldn`t have been what everyone thought would be the ideal beauty years ago.
HARRIS: Yes, you know, you know, the platform for beauty has truly evolved, and I`d say it`s evolved over a minimum of a 10-year period with regards to us now embracing more of a global beauty perspective.
When we think about Halle Berry, Gabrielle Union, you know, Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah, you know, the quote/unquote, "Eurocentric platform" for beauty has truly changed in recent years. And that`s making it, you know, more acceptable for people of different skin tones and darker skin tones to sort of embrace change.
ANDERSON: That`s right. Those are all gorgeous women. It`s an interesting topic to talk about. Dr. Monty Harris, thanks so much for joining us.
HARRIS: Great. Thank you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: Of course.
And the one-hour special documentary, "Black Don`t Crack", is set to premiere this Sunday on TV1.
HAMMER: Now we`d like to hear from you with our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, asking plastic surgery in Hollywood, does it set a bad example? Go to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT to vote or send us an e-mail at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
Coming up, we`re going to tell you why Kenny Rogers isn`t happy about his recent plastic surgery.
ANDERSON: Also, does Hugh Grant think "American Idol" is more popular than the war in Iraq? Find out in the interview you will see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. That`s coming up.
Plus, we`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s like -- it`s like it`s competition. See who can leave the biggest mark and lose the most blood. It was -- it was very, very dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP0
HAMMER: Girls who are slicing and mutilating their own bodies. Tonight, the shocking way some young women are dealing with the pressures of life. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a disturbing look at something called cutting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got your weekend movie picks right after the break. Master roll it, effect one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Well, it`s Friday. That means it`s time to check out what`s new in the "SHOWBIZ Guide." Tonight, it`s "People`s Picks and Pans: New Movies." Two big films out this weekend with a bit of a political theme. Hugh Grant`s "American Dreamz" and Michael Douglas in "The Sentinel".
And joining me here in New York with all the details, "People" magazine film critic Leah Rozen is here.
Leah, let`s get right to "American Dreamz". Not even a thinly veiled commentary on what`s going on in our culture and quite frankly, our president.
LEAH ROZEN, FILM CRITIC, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well, this one is a satire, and it`s basically how the worlds of show business, politics and terrorism collide.
I like the movie. I think it`s going to get really mixed reviews, but I like it. I like audacious comedies. And this thing is audacious.
Essentially, it`s saying a president very like the president we have now, whose popularity is plummeting few to an unpopular war, decides to be a guest judge on a show called "American Dreamz", which is basically "American Idol", with Hugh Grant doing a very funny Simon Cowell.
Unbeknownst to the Hugh Grant character and the president, played by Dennis Quaid, there`s a terrorist among the contestants, a terrorist who just loves belting out show tunes.
I think it works. It`s pretty scattershot. Not everything works. Characters aren`t always as fully developed as you`d wish they would be but, boy, it hits some of its targets.
HAMMER: And not only the president of the country taking a beating here, but Tom Cruise as well and a bunch of other things we`ve seen throughout pop culture recently.
ROZEN: Absolutely, it`s an up to the second kind of satire. I think -- I think it`s worth going to. I think you`ll laugh at enough of it.
HAMMER: Well, the trailer looks terrific. I`m looking forward to seeing that.
Let`s move on to "The Sentinel." We`ve have Kiefer -- Kiefer Sutherland and Michael Douglas. Kiefer Sutherland looks like almost sort of reprising his "24" role here.
ROZEN: Yes, you`re going what`s the stretch? You`re playing a Secret Service agent who`s intense and runs around a lot and pulls his gun. Yes, like I don`t see that every week on TV?
This is one of those movies you wanted to like it more than you do. Sort of the setup is fine, about oh, there`s actually a mole in the White House and the Secret Service, somebody trying to assassinate the president.
But then once the plot sort of swings into motion, it just strains credulity so much. I mean, you just don`t believe it. Gaping holes. You`re always a step ahead of the movie. You know who the bad guy is.
So I think in the end, it`s kind of disappointing. It`s fine for Saturday night if you love this stuff, but when you come out, big windshield wiper of your mind.
HAMMER: Yes, it sounds kind of forgettable. All right, Leah. Well, thanks a lot. Have a nice weekend.
ROZEN: You, too, A.J.
HAMMER: And as always, for more "Picks and Pans," grab your copy of "People" magazine on newsstands now.
ANDERSON: Tom Cruise speaks out for the very first time since his baby girl was born.
HAMMER: And tonight, girls who are slicing and mutilating their own bodies. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has a disturbing look.
ANDERSON: And Hugh Grant talking about a new movie that really rips into the president and even "American Idol". SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back. Keep it here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Friday night. It is 31 minutes past the hour. I am A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson, and I am in Hollywood, and you`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
A.J., coming up, we talk to Hugh Grant. He`s one of the stars of "American Dreamz." It`s a new film which parodies the president. Hugh`s thoughts on politics and also reality TV, and he doesn`t hold back. That`s coming up in just a few minutes.
HAMMER: Well, the film looks like a whole lot of fun.
Also, we have to talk about Tom and Katie. Of course, they`ve had their baby. Already Tom Cruise is back to work, but he has come forward about the whole birthing experience. We will have his first words on exactly how he`s feeling, coming up in just a few moments.
But first tonight, it`s a shocking trend, and Hollywood is taking notice: self-mutilation or cutting in which people and, in many cases, young girls cut into their skin with knives and razors. In the 2003 movie "13," starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, Wood`s character hid scissors and a bloody rag in the bathroom so she could cut herself late at night. And even Angelina Jolie has admitted to once having a fascination with knives and self-injury.
The big question here is: Why do kids do it, and why can`t they stop? Here`s Adaora Udoji for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Driven by hope, 16- year-old Danielle and her mom traveled all the way from Tennessee here to Linden Oaks Hospital outside Chicago.
JACQUE OBENHUBER, MOTHER OF SELF-ABUSING DAUGHTER: You OK?
DANIELLE HURST, WANTS TO STOP HURTING HERSELF: I`m cold.
OBENHUBER: OK. Cold is good, better than other things.
UDOJI: Other things, dark and dangerous things brought them here in search of help.
HURST: I`m ready. I`m ready to change. I really want to do this for myself.
UDOJI: For years, Danielle, a cheerleader, a gifted student, a budding actress, has kept a secret from nearly everyone: always smiling, but battling depression and teenage stress using scissors and knives to cut herself.
HURST: It made me feel like all my troubles were flowing out. And it wasn`t blood; you know, it was my troubles with my mom, and my problems at school, and my body image.
UDOJI: Shocking to some, but experts estimate up to 6 million Americans injure or mutilate themselves, often through cutting, and that number, they say, is growing.
Danielle started at 12, when it felt like she was fighting with everyone in her life.
HURST: Now, I had this thing that made me feel better, and it wasn`t drugs, and I was ecstatic. You know, I was like, "This is perfect. Why didn`t I think of this before?" So it just got worse and worse and worse.
UDOJI: Rock bottom came when she was 16. Danielle was so depressed, she could barely leave her room. And she hurt herself so badly, she was always wearing long sleeves.
HURST: I had to do it every couple of hours to make myself feel better, and I felt like...
UDOJI (on camera): Just to get through the day?
HURST: Oh, yes.
UDOJI (voice-over): Danielle`s mother remembers the shock when her daughter first showed her the scars.
OBENHUBER: This just can`t be happening to my baby girl. We`re just going to get this fixed right now, make it go away. It`s a silly thought; things like that don`t go away.
UDOJI: Her parents sent her to therapists and treatment programs. Nothing worked.
OBENHUBER: I never have any words of wisdom.
HURST: I know.
OBENHUBER: Sweet girl.
UDOJI: Finally, they came here, to Self-Abuse Finally Ends Alternatives, a 30-day in-patient program specializing in self-injury.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Impulse control disorder.
UDOJI: Doctors say self-injury ranges from cutting, to burning, to beating one`s self, and is often symptomatic of other problems, like depression, anxiety or sexual abuse.
HURST: It`s just utter hopelessness and utter depression.
UDOJI: Right away, Danielle joined the two dozen others in the program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Julianne. I`m 30, and I`m from Toronto, Ontario.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name`s Tom. I`m 19, and I`m from Long Island, New York.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name`s Em. I am 16, and I...
UDOJI: They come from all over North America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m a mother of two. And my self-injury was getting in the way of being a better parent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Self-injury was and, well, it still is a way for me to relax.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just do it because it releases the pain that I feel inside.
UDOJI: Though it`s mostly females here, experts estimate 40 percent of those who injury themselves are male. They say there`s no typical profile: People from all races, ages and economic backgrounds do it. But they all have one thing in common...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does it always hurt? I mean, is that the -- no, it`s not?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: No.
UDOJI: Hard to believe...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Box-cutters galore.
UDOJI: ... when Danielle and her new friends are talking about box- cutters, knives, razors. But the cutting`s like an anesthetic, says Wendy Lader, co-founder of SAFE Alternatives. She says they`re not trying to kill themselves; they`re trying to stop the pain.
DR. WENDY LADER, CO-FOUNDER, SAFE ALTERNATIVES: It`s sort of anti- suicide. They`re trying to survive.
UDOJI: The program aims, through group therapy up to nine hours a day, to teach them new ways to survive. Five days in, Danielle`s talking about painful memories.
HURST: And I`ll wake up, you know, out of breath because it`s just a flashback of something that I`ve done or...
UDOJI (on camera): Did it feel more out of control when you were with other people?
HURST: Oh, yes. It`s like it`s a competition to see who can leave the biggest mark and lose the most blood. It was very, very dangerous.
UDOJI (voice-over): Many can`t seem to stop, but Dr. Lader insists self-mutilators can be treated.
LADER: This is a coping strategy. And I definitely believe that, when kids learn to handle their emotions and to be able to face their fears directly, that they can, in fact, get better.
UDOJI: Here, doctors believe everything should be in the open, including sharp objects, so Danielle and the others learn to control their impulses.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Danielle, congratulations on graduating from SAFE.
UDOJI: After four tough weeks...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How does it feel, baby, to be graduated?
HURST: Liberating.
UDOJI: After two weeks at home, she`s still feeling optimistic.
HURST: My whole world doesn`t change because I went through SAFE. But I`m the one that changed, and I know how to fight the feelings now.
UDOJI: And Danielle knows that every day she`ll be tested.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Things are looking up. That was Adaora Udoji for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: A bombshell tonight rocking Hollywood. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has news breaking on one of Hollywood`s messiest divorces. Actor Charlie Sheen slapped with a restraining order by his ex-wife.
Let`s get the latest from TMZ.com`s Harvey Levin who broke the story, and he is live for us tonight.
Harvey, OK, I was reading the court report. And, wow, these are some serious allegations that Denise is lodging here against Charlie. Walk us through what`s going on.
HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: Well, this is truly, Brooke, about as bitter as I`ve ever seen in my career doing this.
Denise Richards essentially is saying that Charlie Sheen is out of control, alleging things from: accessing gay porn; to accessing pornography on the Web site, involving girls who she thought might be underage; to hiring prostitutes; to having a madam; to even being coy about the death of one of these prostitutes; to asking her to have an abortion when she was pregnant with her first child; to allegedly pushing and shoving her.
I mean, she threw everything in this, including the kitchen sink, basically trying to get a restraining order against Charlie Sheen, which she did get this morning, as well as getting an order so that Charlie Sheen could visit his children only in the presence of a court monitor.
And let me just add real quickly that Charlie Sheen has denied many of the allegations, certainly denied allegedly threatening to kill her, denied any kind of force, but says that he will not dignify some of the other allegations that she made in her declaration.
ANDERSON: Right, he says he doesn`t want to reciprocate. In fact, he did make a statement through his publicist, Stan Rosenfeld.
I want to read some of that now: "This is a most obvious, immature and transparent smear campaign designed to hurt, embarrass and ultimately extort me. I deeply regret her response to my request for the court to decide what`s best for our children. It`s taken the form of baseless allegations that I deny."
And then he goes on to say, "For the sake of my children, I am electing not to reciprocate in any kind."
How difficult is it going to be for Denise to prove her case here?
LEVIN: Well, you know, this is a kind of interesting one, because Charlie Sheen is not being prosecuted for anything; this is ultimately a child custody case.
And in the end, it`s not so much about whether Charlie did it or not. The issue is: What is in the best interest of the children? And the judge doesn`t have to find that he did it beyond a reasonable doubt or any such thing. The judge has to decide, you know, what is a savory environment for these children?
So Denise Richards, obviously, is willing here, at least, to put Charlie Sheen`s life in the middle of this case. In the process, we know that she has gotten -- she has body guards right now. And she says she feels like her life is in danger. So this has just completely deteriorated.
And, remember -- Brooke, I`m sure you do -- that, last fall, the couple actually reconciled and they went to the Bahamas together.
ANDERSON: That is just amazing to me, but we do have to leave it right there, Harvey. We`re out of time. Very, very bitter battle between those two, but thanks so much for your insight. TMZ.com`s Harvey Levin.
LEVIN: Sure, Brooke.
HAMMER: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s only live entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
So a certain president`s numbers are at an all-time low. Imagine he goes on America`s number-one TV show where people sing and it`s judged by a nasty British guy. Can you imagine that?
Well, that`s the plot behind "American Dreamz." And in tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Sitdown," SHOWBIZ TONIGHT producer Jenny D`Attoma sat down with star Hugh Grant, who made no bones about the movie`s satirical tone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNY D`ATTOMA, CNN SHOWBIZ TONIGHT PRODUCER: Are we in a sad state of affairs, you know, that the number-one show is more popular than what`s going on in Iraq? Do you think that?
HUGH GRANT, ACTOR: Yes, I`d have to say it is. I don`t want to get all superior about it, because I love reality TV myself and I have an appetite for trash just as much as anyone else. But I think it is, yes, of course, it`s a sad state of affairs.
GRANT: Not another season. I beg you, don`t make me do it. Don`t make me do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone`s ready for you, sir.
GRANT: Right, terrific. OK, let`s go.
And what I think has happened is that people have worked out exactly what people`s appetites are, in terms of television and entertainment. And they`ve worked -- well, I think people have different appetites, but there is a really base one, a lowest common denominator, rather like the same appetite that identify people like, you know, Krispy Kreme doughnuts or McDonald`s.
And if you give it to them, they will take it, whether they say -- I hate this stuff, but I can`t stop myself. And I think that`s what it is with reality, and TV, and crap TV. And it has spread across the globe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know that there are two kinds of Iraqistanis? I mean, actually, three kinds of Iraqis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean Sunnis, and Shiites, and Kurds?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You knew about this?
D`ATTOMA: How did you feel, as an actor, being part of a movie like this, that is just a complete send-up of everything that`s gone on?
GRANT: I love satire, and I love negativity. I like people being nasty about things, and tearing them down, and poking fun at them. And, you know, that`s what pulls (INAUDIBLE) and the fact that he goes into these very dark places, where you`re really not supposed to go, jokes about terrorism, et cetera. I love that. I think that`s a great thing to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like the president`s going to be a guest judge on "American Dreamz."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sure that`s dignified?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, is Omar at home, please? You must get to the championship round. When you get on the stage with the president, you will have smuggled in an explosive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if I don`t make it to the final round?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks don`t call me the Torturer because I don`t like to torture people.
D`ATTOMA: Did you take any lessons watching "American Idol" and Simon Cowell? I mean, this role for you, it was like you...
GRANT: Well, I didn`t need too much Simon Cowell, apart from the fact that he`s very honest.
SIMON COWELL, HOST, "AMERICAN IDOL": I think it was a complete and utter mess. I mean, it just didn`t work. I really, really, really hated that, sorry.
You make me want to projectile vomit.
I think my ears are actually bleeding.
I`m afraid I have felt this way before, and it was just before I tried to kill myself.
GRANT: More of it is Paul Weitz, who wrote and directed the film, knows me from "About a Boy" and was always sort of amused by his impression that I was very, very bleak, and gloomy, and negative, and full of loathing for everything. And so there`s a lot more based on me than on Simon Cowell.
D`ATTOMA: At the dinner table with Hugh Grant, what`s the conversation? What`s your favorite type of conversation to have? Do you talk politics?
GRANT: Can do. I can do, but very inconsistently. If you were left- wing, I would be very right-wing. And then the next day, if it was someone else, I`d go the other way.
D`ATTOMA: You like to debate.
GRANT: I just like to -- yes, yes. And I`m also just pathetically inconsistent. Politically, I`ll agree with the last person who spoke, very often.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: I know a lot people who do that. You might remember Hugh Grant played the prime minister in the movie "Love Actually." And after that role, he won a poll that asked U.K. residents which actor should replace Prime Minister Tony Blair. So you never know.
"American Dreamz" opens today.
ANDERSON: Tom Cruise says the birth of his daughter, Suri, was everything he and Katie Holmes wanted. In an interview with Deborah Roberts of ABC`s "20/20," Cruise said he`s still reliving the birth, which happened on Tuesday, and that he and Holmes are absolutely overjoyed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH ROBERTS, ABC CORRESPONDENT: How`s the baby? How`s Katie?
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Beautiful.
ROBERTS: Yes?
CRUISE: Beautiful. Beautiful. It was just so much fun, because this was spiritual; it was powerful; it was indescribable. I mean, you`re a mother of two. You know what it`s like. What words can you use? I don`t know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You can see the full interview with Tom Cruise tonight on ABC`s "20/20."
HAMMER: All right, here`s a question for you. Are you ready? Here goes. It`s not a trick question, actually. What do Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Brooke Shields and Kenny Rogers all have in common? Doesn`t seem like anything, does it?
Well, I will tell you: They have all made Bravo programming executive Andy Cohen`s list of the "Winners This Week." Andy`s here live tonight with the picks of the winners and the losers.
It does seem kind of strange: Brooke Shields, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes. Obviously, they`re all winners this week, because they all had babies and everybody`s smiling and excited.
ANDY COHEN, BRAVO PROGRAMMING EXECUTIVE: Absolutely. You know, Tom Cruise, it`s amazing to me. I`m a little bit of a cynic, and so I`ve been watching Tom Cruise, and "War of the Worlds" came out, and he did a lot of press, and he was in love at "War of the Worlds." And now, "Mission: Impossible III" is coming out, and they`re having the baby.
And it`s really wonderful, but if "Mission: Impossible IV" comes out and that`s when the wedding happens, then I`m going to picket somewhere, and I don`t know where, but I`m going to. And it`s great.
But I don`t know, A.J. I feel like Brooke Shields having a child down the hall from them is her taunting Katie Holmes, saying, "You may get post- partum depression. I`m going to put a little treat for you in Suri`s diaper bag. There may be something in there."
So I thought it was so ironic that she had a kid the same day as Tom Cruise. It was amazing. But they`re all winners. They all had kids, and Tom Cruise is back on "20/20" tonight a week later talking about the child.
HAMMER: Which is pretty amazing...
COHEN: It is.
HAMMER: ... if you didn`t record that last week, but that`s a whole different thing.
Let`s talk about another winner. Kenny Rogers, who was a guest on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT a couple of weeks ago. To be honest with you, after he left the show -- and he was a terrific guy, such a nice guy -- but there were a few people around the office saying, "Wow, that man`s had a lot of plastic surgery."
COHEN: Right. And he was on "American Idol" last week, and he got everybody talking. There what was a lot of speculation about, "Wow, you know, what has Kenny Rogers done to himself, the gambler, man?"
And he came out this week in "People" magazine. And he said, "You know what? I did have plastic surgery, and I`m not psyched about it. I don`t like how it turned out." And I thought that was great.
You know, I mean, there he is on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on the right, and it raises questions. You know, he and Dolly Parton same many, many duets together. Dolly big admitted fan of plastic surgery, and so I just hope she`s not giving him advice about what, you know...
HAMMER: Good of him to own up to it so he`s a winner. We got to do the losers, of course, real quick.
COHEN: Yes.
HAMMER: George Michael, who`s been in a bunch of trouble lately, said on a radio interview or on a recent interview that he blames Elton John for his troubles.
COHEN: He does. Elton John apparently said 18 months ago that George Michael seems really unhappy. So George Michael says that he`s been trying to prove for 18 months that he`s not unhappy, and that`s why he`s gotten in -- it sounds like denial to me.
HAMMER: That earns a loser of the week.
COHEN: Exactly. Exactly.
HAMMER: All right. Well, finally, short amount of time to talk about, this woman who sued the show "Friends" because she said they were very lewd during the writers` meeting and she felt harassed. She took it all the way to the California Supreme Court, did not win her case.
COHEN: You can`t sue for talk about sex in a writers` room who are writing about a show that talks about sex. I mean, the lawsuit -- and what also came out is that she was a really bad transcriber, which is why she got fired from the show in the first place, so now I feel doubly bad for her.
HAMMER: So therefore...
COHEN: Loser. Sorry, loser.
HAMMER: Loser of the week. Andy Cohen, thank you very much for joining us.
And, remember, you can read Andy`s blog. It`s at BravoTV.com. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back for a Friday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT where, throughout the show, we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Tonight, it`s been plastic surgery in Hollywood: Does it set a bad example?
And the voting tonight, pretty one-sided, with 85 percent of you saying yes, 15 percent of you saying no.
Got a bunch of e-mails on the subject. Here are a couple of them. We heard from William. He`s in Arizona. And he writes, "Plastic surgery can cause permanent damage, so people should approach it very carefully."
We also heard from T. in Colorado tonight who writes, "Plastic surgery in Hollywood does set a bad example. With that said, so do a lot of things in Hollywood."
Keep voting by going to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT.
Now, we have a jam-packed week coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ve got Janice Dickinson. We`ve got Jenny McCarthy. We`ve got Joy Behar, Carnie Wilson, Ivana Trump, Rob Lowe, Tom Selleck, the list continues. You won`t want to miss a moment, so please join us.
For now, that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Have a great weekend. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Thanks for hanging out with us tonight. Stay tuned for more from CNN Headline News.
END
