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Showbiz Tonight
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Wed in Sidney, Australia; Actress Marsha Cross Married Stockbroker Tom Mahoney in California; Anna Nicole Smith`s Lawsuit for Husband`s Estate Get Stranger; Beyonce`s Boyfriend, Jay-Z, says the Way PETA Went After Her Was all Wrong; Aaron Spelling Died Friday from Complications From Stroke; `Superman Returns` Opens Nationwide on Wednesday
Aired June 26, 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: A startling development that could affect will get her late husband`s fortune. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And a death in Jonbenet Ramsey`s family. We look into why the public is so fascinate with the case. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," Nicole in charge. Tonight, new details on the Nicole Kidman/Keith Urban wedding Down Under. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals how and why Nicole did the unthinkable with the paparazzi. Tonight, how Nicole turned a six-pack and more into a remarkable peace pack.
Donald trump does it all the time, but has it ever happened to you? Fired, outsourced, downsized, laid off, whatever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sucked, because they did it on -- they said this is your last day.
HAMMER: Tonight, if you`ve ever been fired, why you have a lot in common with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. We are here to tell you tonight that not only does Nicole Kidman know how to throw a wedding, but A.J., she is the master of being in control.
HAMMER: Yeah, it was the wedding of the year. Nicole Kidman and country music superstar Keith Urban tying the knot in her native Australia, well, her native Australia in any event, and sure, we`ve got all the details on the wedding, but we also have something to tell you that you might not have heard, that Nicole really knows how to tie the paparazzi around her finger. Let`s get right to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas who is in Hollywood with the story tonight.
Hey Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey A.J. Well, the Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban wedding has the whole world marveling and not because it was an all-star affair, and it was, believe me. Russell Crowe was there, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, just to name a few. Everyone was surprised at just how open to the media Nicole and Keith in the era of press shy celebs, no fly zones and secrecy shrouded weddings, Nicole and Keith may have taught celebrities everywhere how to get married amid a media swarm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Love Down Under, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings you some of the first pictures of the newlyweds of the week, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban in Sidney, Australia. Hours after their star-studded wedding. "People" magazine`s Jess Cagle says the wedding was a romantic and emotional affair.
JESS CAGLE, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: We`re told that Nicole Kidman cried all the way to the church. She went there in a vintage Rolls Royce. And when Keith Urban saw her come in and come up the aisle, he started crying, too.
VARGAS: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that the Kidman/Keith wedding is winning praise, not only for being romantic, that`s because it`s showing celebrities everywhere how to handle the media without the media handling them.
I think that this wedding was really a Hollywood wedding at its finest.
VARGAS: Publicist, Ronn Torossian of 5W Public Relations in New York, has worked with celebrities including Sean Ditty Combes. He said Kidman and Urban were very smart in being open and honest with the press at every stage of their wedding.
RONN TOROSSIAN, 5W PUBLIC RELATIONS: This wedding was really done in a smart manner. They gave enough to the media that the media was satisfied and the public was satisfied and yet they had their wedding in an undisturbed manner.
VARGAS: The Kidman/Keith wedding could provide the celebrity textbook on "How To Win Friends and Influence Press Coverage." Step one, be open. Instead of keeping their wedding a secret, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban announced the date and time of their nuptial weeks in advance. "Variety" magazine`s Peter Bart tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Kidman and Urban removed the mystery that can send the media into a frenzy.
PETER BART, "VARIETY" MAGAZINE: You can`t fight it, so basically you might as well join it.
VARGAS: In being so open, Keith and Kidman avoided the media frenzy that helped doom a previous celebrity couple, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
CAGLE: A few years ago, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez They were scheduled to get married just north of Los Angeles. They were being very quiet about it. They tried not to let anyone know. Of course a lot of people had been invited, word got out, and the media became just frenzied trying to the a piece of this and ultimately the ceremony was called off. As we now know it was called off for maybe other reasons, but, at the time, the media frenzy was one of the reasons it had to be canceled.
VARGAS: The second lesson Nicole and Keith taught? Schmooze the media. That`s a new tactic Nicole Kidman, the who`s press dealings haven`t always been stellar. At a 2005 premiere for her movie, "Bewitched" we see the poised star actually get into it with a photographer. And at the premiere of "The Interpreter," right in front of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT cameras, Nicole loudly shushed the screaming paparazzi.
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: They`re so distracting me. Shush, too loud.
VARGAS: But it`s a new more media friendly Nicole Kidman we saw Down Under. She and Keith Urban actually sent a case of beer to the paparazzi parked outside her mansion the week before the wedding.
Step three, give the media what they need. Unlike Nicole`s ultra private 1990 to know ex-husband Tom Cruise, Kidman went out of her way to give paparazzi outside of her house the pre-wedding pictures they craved. At one point she stepped outside her mansion as the grateful photog snapped away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Nicole.
KIDMAN: Thank you.
VARGAS: But all of the schmoozing and openness would have meant nothing if Nicole and Keith hadn`t followed the final rule -- be fabulous. Kidman and Urban`s wedding was a regal and touching affair. It allowed a public who watched Nicole`s heartbreaking split with Tom Cruise, to the light and the sight of a radiant bride moved to tears as she waved to well- wishers. Maybe that`s what Nicole and Keith media openness is all about -- sharing with the world their own personal joy.
CAGLE: Celebrities are like anyone, when they get married or they have a baby, it`s like anyone, they want to tell all their friends. Celebrities also have the ability to tell the entire world, so part of it comes from, I`m really happy right now and I want to share this with everyone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: And while Kidman and Urban were relatively open about their wedding plans, they`ve been somewhat more secretive about their honeymoon plans. All we know is that it`s somewhere in the South Pacific, but smart money says it is probably somewhere sandy and beautiful. And you know, Brooke, no expense will be spared.
ANDERSON: No it won`t and they should be able to enjoy it in relative peace and quiet. No surprises they`re not sharing that information. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Thanks so much.
Nicole Kidman wasn`t the only one who heard wedding bells over the weekend. "Desperate Housewives" star Marsha Cross also tied the knot. She married stockbroker Tom Mahoney in California on Saturday. There`s a picture of them. "People" magazine confirms an interesting part about the wedding -- instead of bridesmaids, Cross had seven flower girls, the children of some of her closest friends. Cross and Mahoney were first spotted together in March of 2005 on a ski trip in Utah. This is the first marriage for both of them.
HAMMER: As if Anna Nicole Smith`s lawsuit for part of her late husband, J. Howard Marshall`s estate couldn`t get any stranger, in a sad twist, the man fighting the hardest against the former playmate, Howard Marshall`s son, E. Pierce Marshal, died unexpectedly. So, the question is, what does this mean for Anna Nicole and her lawsuit and the billion dollars plus that are at stake.
Harvey Levin, managing editor of the entertainment website, tmz.com joining us from Glen Dale, California.
Hello Harvey.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: Hi A.J.
HAMMER: For everybody keeping score, here, I want to set the stage, quickly of the events that have thus far transpired. Back in 1994 we all remember Anna Nicole, 26, she married J. Howard Marshall, he was 89, died about a year later leaving his estate in question. Anna Nicole was awarded $474 million, which was eventually reduced to nothing because Marshall`s son, E. Pierce, put up this bitter fight. She goes to the U.S. Supreme court, which is still unbelievable to me, and they gave her the right to continue her suit and now the man fighting her, E. Pierce Marshall, as I mentioned, dead. Everybody wants to know now, Harvey, if Anna Nicole basically wins by default because this guy has died.
LEVIN: No, she doesn`t A.J. basically the estate takes over the rights that Pierce Marshall had and ultimately that may be his kids end up basically carrying the banner. My sense of this is that it will probably, more likely, settle now because these two people hated each other. I mean, they were just accusing each other of the worst things. Well, now half of that equation is dead. So it`s hard for Anna Nicole Smith to start, you know, finding that lightning rod because he`s no longer there. The kids, I don`t think it`s as personal for them as it is -- we`re talking cash. So, I`m guessing that it is more likely to settle.
HAMMER: You mentioned that they hated each other. It really did get ugly. Give us a sense, for people who might have missed out on exactly how ugly it was getting.
LEVIN: Well, gee, this just in, he thought she was a gold-digger and, for her part, she was saying that he forged documents, that he defrauded her. Now, the problem Anna Nicole has is that, if this end up going to trial again, she can`t put Pierce Marshall on the stand and make the allegations directly against him that he defrauded her and did all of these other things, because obviously he can`t take the stand. So, I think it`s problematic on both sides, and it`s one of the reasons I think this thing is probably going to settle.
HAMMER: But it sounds like if it does go to trial, it helps their case more than it helps her case.
LEVIN: Yeah. I mean, to some extent it`s a mixed bag because Pierce Marshall was really carrying that banner accusing her of all of those things and now he can`t make those accusation on the stand anymore. So, in a sense, she gets a free pass. But look, as she once put it so well, it`s expensive to be her. And I think she`s going to want to settle. And, for the kids, you know, they`re going to want that cash pretty quick, so I think they`re going to want to settle.
HAMMER: Well, she hasn`t kept completely silent, but she did release what seems to be thoughtful statement. She put this on her website. She said this about E. Pierce`s death, "I am aware that my late husband`s son, E. Pierce Marshall has died. The media has been contacting my attorneys in an attempt to get my reaction. Out of respect for his family`s request for privacy, neither my attorneys nor I will be making any comments."
As I mentioned, this was a really, really ugly fight. If it does settle, do you think they are trying to try to wrap this up quickly now that he`s passed away, and could she really still potentially walk away with a bundle?
LEVIN: Well, here`s the -- you know, it`s kind of like deal no deal, and the judge is Howie Mandel, and ultimately, Anna Nicole Smith could either end up a billionaires or she could end up with nothing and those are the stakes in a case like this. I mean, it`s great Vegas kind of scenario.
HAMMER: Yeah, my guess is -- I`m sorry, Harvey.
LEVIN: I mean, both sides have so much to gain if they win and so much to lose if they don`t, that`s why I think they`re going to kind of meet in the middle.
HAMMER: And sadly, we as the viewing public, will have a lot of wackiness still to watch as it continues to unfold. Tmz.com`s Harvey Levin. Thanks as always.
LEVIN: See you A.J.
HAMMER: And now we want to hear from you on this what do you think. Our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day" we`re asking you: Anna Nicole Smith: Does she deserve her late husband`s fortune? Let us know. Cnn.com/showbiztonight`s where you go on the web or you can e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com
ANDERSON: Don`t forget SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is now on seven days a week. We are bringing TV`s most provocative entertainment news show to your weekends, every weekend. Be sure to tune in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Saturday and Sunday that at 11 p.m. Eastern, that`s 8:00 Pacific.
HAMMER: A death in Jonbenet Ramsey`s family bring the 10-year-old case into the spotlight once again. Coming up, "Court TV`s" Ashley Banfield`s going to join me as we look into why people are still so fascinated with this case all these years later.
ANDERSON: Plus, talk about asleep at the wheel, we`re going to introduce you to the cable guy who was caught on tape sacked out in a customer`s apartment. That`s coming up, you don`t want to miss is. We`ll also have this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sucked because they did it on -- they said this is your last day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Fired, downsized, outsourced. Has this ever happened to you? Well coming up, if you`ve ever been canned, why you have a lot in common with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
ANDERSON: But first tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly" "Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Which actor was not part of the "Saving Private Ryan" crew? A. Berry Pepper, B. Vin Diesel, C. Henry Thomas, or D. Ed Burns. Think about it. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Thanks Charlie. So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly" "Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Which actor was not part of the "Saving Private Ryan" crew? The answer is C. Henry Thomas.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York and it`s time now for a story that made us say "That`s ridiculous." A guy in Washington caught his cable guy on tape sleeping in the customer`s apartment. Yes, a Comcast repairman fell asleep in the customer`s home while he was on hold trying to get through to the repair office. The customer put the video on the internet and the rest is, as they say, history. The next day a Comcast vice-president actually called the customer personally and sent a team of repairman to the guy`s house to get the job done. Nobody fell asleep, and I don`t know, Brook, if there`s any truth to the rumor that the theme from "A Summer Place" was the music on hold while the guy was calling it.
ANDERSON: It was actually the song from the Eels, "I need some sleep," a ballad, it was great. Actually, great. But, A.J., this guy actually doesn`t work for Comcast anymore, they`ve let him go, and hundreds of thousands of people have viewed this video online. There you have it.
HAMMER: Not good P.R. for them.
ANDERSON: No, but a cable guy falling asleep in a customer`s apartment? Now, "That`s Ridiculous."
OK, Beyonce`s boyfriend, Jay-Z, says the way PETA went after her was all wrong. Members of the group ambushed Beyonce when She thought she was sitting down with winners of an e-Bay auction for charity. The PETA members took Beyonce to task for wearing fur, but in an interview with CNN, Jay-Z says it wasn`t the time or the place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY-Z, BEYONCE`S BOYFRIEND: I believe that PETA, they have a noble and a good cause, but their tactics are lacking in sensitivity. So, it`s hard to -- it`s hard to -- it`s hard to side with them. It`s hard to join their cause because of what they do. If you bum rush somebody who has a charity dinner, who takes time out of they schedule to have a charity dinner and you rig the -- you stood up, you won the auction, so you can, you know, you can come forth with your own agenda, you know, that`s not what you do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: He went on to say that the PETA ambush was in bad taste. The music mogul is on a new tour and is coming out of retirement.
HAMMER: Well tonight, actress Tori Spelling is speaking out about the death of her father, TV giant, Aaron Spelling who died Friday from complications from a stroke. Tori Spelling says she is grateful that she recently had the opportunity to reconcile with her dad, although she doesn`t elaborate on what caused any estrangement. She tells "People" magazine "I`m grateful we had the chance to tell one another we loved one other before he passed away. It was a true blessing to have a parent who loved me unconditionally. He was a great man and an even better father."
ANDERSON: Of course, Tori knew Aaron Spelling, the father, most of us knew him as the creator of so many great TV show. If you can`t name a Spelling television show, you probably never had a TV. His career spanned decades and earned him a place in television history and in the hearts of all those who were entertained by his many, many shows.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): "Charlie`s Angels," "Beverly Hills 90210," "Melrose Place," the "Guinness Book of World Records" cites Aaron Spelling as the most prolific TV producer, ever. With more than 200 television series and movies to his credit during his 50 years in the business.
AARON SPELLING, DIRECTOR: I used to think I really wanted to do movies and we did 11 movies that was from "Mr. Mom," to "Night (INAUDIBLE)" I thought wow! Movies, and "Soap Dish" was our last. I just want to do movies, I`m tired of television. Boy, when it takes so long to do movies, I couldn`t wait to get back to television. I love television.
ANDERSON: And television loved him. He was nominated for seven Emmy Awards and won two. Spelling`s own story went from rags to riches, Texas to Tinseltown, where he lived in a sprawling mansion with his wife Candy, daughter Tori, son Randy, 123 rooms and a bowling alley.
Spelling was born in Dallas, in April, 1923, the son of polish and Russia immigrants. The former roadie for a band started in show business by writing and producing plays. He even worked briefly as an actor, appearing on "Gunsmoke" in 1955.
While Spelling often joked about his acting, he got serious with producing. In 1968 he scored his first hit as a producer with "The Mod Squad," three hip cops who lasted five years. Spelling shows often seem to jump from picture tube favorites to pop culture phenomenon. "Charlie`s Angels," at first passed on by ABC, brought sex appeal to primetime and made stars of Farrah Fawcett, Jacqueline Smith, among others.
TV viewers worldwide cruised on Spelling`s "Love Boat." Cheered and jeered at the rich and infamous "Dynasty," road along with "Starky and Hutch," and escaped to "Fantasy Island." "Beverly Hills 90210" seemed to find exactly the right time slot and demographic -- young viewers. Spelling lunched the popular high school drama in the earl `90s, it was partly inspired by his daughter Tori, who also starred in the show.
SPELLING: The most exciting is to have a hit, I guess it`s like hitting a homerun in a baseball game. I don`t think you ever get used to it.
VARGAS: Spelling routinely hit the type of primetime grand slam that set trends both on and of screen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: In 1986 interview, Aaron Spelling told the "Associated Press" that the knocks from the critics did bother him, but he either had a choice to prove himself to 300 critics or 30 million fans. He will be missed.
HAMMER: A big loss for Hollywood.
Well, we want to remind you that SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is now on seven nights a week. We are bringing TV`s most provocative entertainment news show to your weekend. So, make sure you tune in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 Pacific.
ANDERSON: "Superman Returns" to his hometown. Brandon Routh is a hometown hero in Iowa where he screened the movie for kids. We`ll tell you what he has to say about his Midwestern roots coming up. We`ll also have this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILBERT GOTTFRIED, COMEDIAN: Yes, I was fired. I used to have a job as a brain surgeon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Fired, downsized, outsourced. Has this ever happened to you? Coming up, if you`ve ever been canned, why you have a lot in common with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
ANDERSON: Plus, a minor league coach has a major league meltdown. Coming up, we`ll you the coach who went so crazy he got kicked out of the game and that`s when things really started getting interesting. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Well, tomorrow the man of steel flies right on to our set. Brandon Routh plays Superman in "Superman Returns," certainly one of the most talked about film of the year. We`re going to ask him about taking over the role nearly 20 years after the last Superman film. Brandon Routh tomorrow, in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Speaking of Brandon, he has been very busy, of course, lead -- in the days leading up to the release of "Superman Returns." Over the weekend he attended a special screening of the movie for friends, family, and children in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. The screening was for Variety Children`s Charity, which helps children in hospitals, at risk kids, and disabled and under privileged kids across Iowa. So Routh is indeed a hometown hero. Routh said even though he is flying off into superstardom as the new Superman, he will always be a boy from Iowa at heart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON ROUTH, PLAYS SUPERMAN: You know, a lot of people say don`t change, but, in my opinion, you have to change, in good ways. I mean, this change doesn`t have to be bad, it`s going to be good and I`ve changed in a lot of great way. But certainly the small town Iowa little boy presence is still, you know, a core part of my values and my characteristics. So that`ll always be with me, yeah. I`m very proud of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Good for him. "Superman Returns" opens nationwide on Wednesday.
HAMMER: A death in Jonbenet Ramsey`s family brings the 10-year-old case back into the spotlight once again. Coming up, "Court TV`s" Ashley Banfield`s going to be here and we`re going to take a look into why people are still so fascinate with this case all these years later. We`ll also have this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sucked because they did it on -- they said this is your last day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Fired, downsized, outsourced. Has this ever happened to you? Coming up, if you`ve ever been canned, why you have a lot in common with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
HAMMER: Plus, your first look at behind the scenes at the shoot for Jessica Simpson`s new music video and the big stars who make guest appearances. That`s coming up. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Monday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I am A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: We hope you had a great weekend. I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
HAMMER: All right, Brooke, anybody who`s ever been fired, I want you to pay close attention now: don`t feel so bad. Out there in Hollywood - where Brooke is right now as a matter of fact - people are getting fired all the time. And I mean nothing by that particular to you, Brooke. So you shouldn`t feel so bad about your own plight. Coming up, we`re going to talk about some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood and some of the ways they`ve gotten the ax. And it`s not from Donald Trump.
ANDERSON: No, it`s not. I`m going to knock on wood here, A.J. I haven`t been fired before, knock on wood.
But also, A.J., we have the video of a minor league manager who goes absolutely nuts when he doesn`t agree with a call. He picks a base, he throws it. He picks up the resin from the mound, he throws it and he screams at the umpires. But he doesn`t stop there. We have everything he did. We`ve got it for you, coming up.
HAMMER: Yes, that guy goes berserk and we`ve got it all on tape.
But first tonight, Patsy Ramsey, mother of Jon-Benet Ramsey, has died after a long battle with ovarian cancer. It`s been almost 10 years - hard to believe - since the mysterious, still-unsolved death of her 6-year-old daughter, Jon-Benet, seen here performing in a pageant in an old home video. And it`s (INAUDIBLE) stories like this one and countless others that continue to grip the nation and the media.
But why are we so into them?
Joining me here in New York, CourtTV news anchor Ashleigh Banfield.
It is a pleasure to see you, Ashleigh.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURTTV ANCHOR: A pleasure to be here. Thank you.
HAMMER: It - it is amazing. You know, I say it`s 10 years ago, it doesn`t seem like it because it`s remained a part of our public consciousness. Television, tabloids, newspapers, magazine - it - it is constant coverage. This case in particular.
Why are we still so fascinated?
BANFIELD: Didn`t this seem to be the one that sort of kicked it all off, too?
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: It really did, when you think about it.
BANFIELD: We glommed on to it. She would be 16 right now.
HAMMER: Oh, that`s amazing.
BANFIELD: I know. It`s hard to believe.
And I think, A.J, it`s because of the pictures. It was so hard to turn away from those very strange pictures of a little girl dressed up like a mature woman. And there were - there was such abundance of these - of these shots. And not only that, it was a mystery. It was a mystery that happened in a place where it shouldn`t have.
HAMMER: Yes, but images though - that`s really what stuck with us. And I remember when we saw pictures like this for the very first time, it just seems kind of odd. And we got very invested in the family at the time.
But it also points out, or adds to one common denominator: the race and gender denominator that seems to exist in all these cases that we stay with: Laci Peterson, Natalee Holloway. They`re all white females.
Would you say there is a real reason why the media pays more attention to that?
BANFIELD: I think you can add one more to that: socioeconomic level, how much money do they have.
HAMMER: Sure.
BANFIELD: You know, did they come from an area, town where there was a lot of crime? And I think for a lot of these cases that stuck out in the press, they didn`t. It was one of those stories that happened in a place where it shouldn`t have.
And - and then when you get to Jon-Benet`s story, it was one extra level: she was so young. And little girls like this aren`t supposed to die in such heinous, vile ways. I mean, we knew she was sexually assaulted; she was strangled with ligature. These are stories that we`re not just used to hearing. And I think when they - when they happen, it makes us turn our heads sideways and wonder, Oh God, could that happen to us? It is possible?
HAMMER: Yes, the uniqueness of the cases. Certainly, you know, you look at - at the case of Laci Peterson, a pregnant woman who is murdered right at the holidays. You look at Natalee Holloway - you know, every mother`s nightmare, every parent`s nightmare: their child goes away on vacation. So the uniqueness really does - does keep our attention.
BANFIELD: But it`s that perfectness of their lives, too. All of these people you mentioned, they were affluent, they were pretty, they were in places that seemed to be safe. And then all of a sudden, something shattered the perfectness of it all. And this crime that we hear about all the time, but we just didn`t expect to hear about in these circumstances.
And then you add the pictures.
HAMMER: Yes.
BANFIELD: Laci Peterson`s million-dollar smile. You know, Chandra Levy and she worked on Capitol Hill - how could this happen to her? Natalee Holloway, a beautiful blonde, spring break-style vacation. These things aren`t supposed to happen, and they do surprise.
And then, of course, you have cable television, with 24 hours to fill.
HAMMER: Yes, we - we - we are, you know - I don`t want to say to blame for it, because there is the hunger for it. But - but in a way that it unfolds on cable television, is much the same way that television crime dramas, the most popular genre of - of television and drama that there is, it unfolds the same way. I mean, it really is like flipping on an episode of "CSI" or "Cold Case."
BANFIELD: Or "Forensic Files," for that matter.
And you know what? You`re right; these are the most popular shows on TV right now. And they are fictional mysteries. So you add these stories to the mix, and they are true mysteries and they are real drama, real-life drama. I - I think that Americans can`t get enough of this stuff.
HAMMER: It`s funny you mention the socioeconomic element of it. I remember going to Boulder, Colorado, and somebody says, We got to drive by "the house." And this was about eight years ago, and everybody knew "the house" was, of course, the Ramsey house. And when you drive through the suburban neighborhood, you`re like, Wow, that was going on right here in this wealthy part of town.
Ashleigh, I got to wrap it up there. I really appreciate you joining us tonight.
BANFIELD: Nice to see you. Thanks for having me.
HAMMER: Giving us some insight. Nice to see you as well.
CourtTV`s Ashleigh Banfield. And you can see a very special report on the Jon-Benet Ramsey case this Thursday night on CourtTV.
ANDERSON: It`s time now for tonight`s "Hot Headlines." For that, we got to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas. She joins us again from Hollywood.
VARGAS: Thanks, Brooke.
Well, Brad Pitt gets some kudos for his charity work. "Newsweek" magazine picked Pitt as one of the 15 people who make America great, for using his starpower to help others. Now they chose him because he and girlfriend Angelina Jolie drew attention to the problems in Africa. Now remember, they just had their baby in Namibia. CNN`s Soledad O`Brien was also on the list for her heartfelt reporting on Hurricane Katrina. Congratulations to all of them.
Well, there is one less boy in the Backstreet Boys. Kevin Richardson says he`s leaving to pursue other interests. The group has sold more than 35 million albums and was part of the boy-band craze of the 90s. Remember 98 Degrees and N*Sync? Who could forget?
And this just in: Jessica Simpson has a very public affair. Gotcha! That`s just the title of her new song and video. Here`s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of it. Lots of stars in this one, like Eva Longoria and Christina Applegate. Got a lot of retro-roller skating thing going on on this one, too. The single is out tomorrow.
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
Back to you.
ANDERSON: Jessica Simpson staying busy. OK, Sibila, thanks so much.
HAMMER: We want to remind you that SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can now be seen seven nights a week. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show is on your weekends now. So make you sure you tune in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Saturday and Sunday, 11 p.m. Eastern. That`s 8 Pacific.
ANDERSON: Coming up, one of daytime`s biggest stars sees his real- life battle with bipolar disorder play out on TV. "General Hospital"`s Sonny, Maurice Benard, in the interview you will see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Plus, the baseball manager who completely lost it. You are not going to believe what he did after getting booted. "That`s Ridiculous!," in fact, and it`s way beyond ridiculous. That`s next.
We`ve got this as well:
ANDERSON: Stars, they are just like us - at least when it comes to getting fired. The stories of your favorite celebrities who got the ax and how they bounced back. That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Camera 3. Fade up music, under. Stand by, Brooke. Pre-set 7, and dissolve L.A. Go, Brooke.
ANDERSON: All right. Tomorrow, the Man of Steel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: .roll (UNIDENTIFIED)
ANDERSON: .flies onto our sets. Brandon Routh plays Superman in "Superman Returns." It is one of the most talked-about films of the year. We`re going to ask him about taking over the role nearly 20 years after the last Superman film. Brandon Routh tomorrow, in the interview you will see right here, only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Believe the hype; it is such a good movie.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I am A.J. Hammer in New York. And it`s time now for another story that made us say "That`s Ridiculous!"
Now we`ve all seen baseball managers getting ejected from a game or arguing a call and getting tossed for that. But we bet you`ve never seen anyone lose it quite like this. Check out Joe McColloch (ph) of the Asheville, North Carolina, (INAUDIBLE), throwing a tantrum at a game in Lexington, Kentucky, this weekend. We`ve actually sped up this video because we wanted to show you everything, and quite frankly, we only have a one-hour show. So here`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT manager meltdown play-by-play.
He gets tossed, and then he tosses second bases. And then the resin bag from the pitching mound. He`s going to get a little down and dirty at home plate, and then really get batty - watch this now - the bats go flying. He`s going to head over to the dugout and just go berserk. And then finally, he`s going to come back to clean up home plate. But he`s got to get the bats out of there first, of course. And after - all right, go back, clean the home plate, come on in, hurry up, hurry up, there he goes. All right. Brush it off. OK. Yes, that`s real nice.
Then finally, "Hit the Road, Jack" starts playing in the background, and he heads off to the sunset off in right field after getting one little gab (ph) in at the guy who tossed him out.
ANDERSON: You know, they also played some Righteous Brothers, "You`ve Lost That Lovin` Feeling," A.J. How appropriate.
But he didn`t stop once he got to the clubhouse. No. According to team officials, he pushed over a couple of water coolers, a chair, a batting practice screen in front of the umpires` locker room. And get at what he said. He said - quote - "I could get two mannequins at Sears and umpire better than what I saw."
HAMMER: Buh-bye.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HAMMER: Have a nice day. This is all the reason we say, minor league manager - major league meltdown - "That`s Ridiculous!"
ANDERSON: "That`s Ridiculous!"
HAMMER: Well, we certainly heard Donald Trump say it on "The Apprentice" many times. Chances are, you may have heard it, too: you`re fired.
Well now there`s a new book that tells some absolutely great stories about stars who have been fired. We`ll be speaking with the author in just a moment. But first, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT hit the streets to find people who have been canned. And let`s just say, we got a little more than we bargained for here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): The gazallionaire Donald Trump loves to say it on his reality show, "The Apprentice."
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": Theresa (ph), you`re fired.
HAMMER: And in Jerry Maguire, when Tom Cruise`s character.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came here to fire you, Jerry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s real. You should say something (ph)
HAMMER: Leaving quietly is not the way he chooses to go out.
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Who`s coming with me besides Flipper here?
HAMMER: It`s highly doubtful Tom Cruise would ever be canned today. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT found some celebs who`ve been the recipient of a pink slip in real life. Well, sort of.
GILBERT GOTTFRIED, ENTERTAINER: Yes. I - I was fired. I used to have a job as a brain surgeon. But I used to, like, drop stuff a lot. I was very clumsy. And unfairly they fired me.
STACY LONDON, CO-HOST, "WHAT NOT TO WEAR": Yes, I was. I mean, it was - the first and only time - well, so far - that I`ve been fired. And, you know, it took me a little while to recover because, frankly, I was shocked.
HAMMER: Stacy`s not the only one. Americans get fired every day.
Even Larry Brown, the head coach of the Knicks, recently got the boot.
So how do everyday people handle getting the ax? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT producer Jenny Ditoma (ph) hit the streets to find people who`ve been there before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was let go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. I`ve - I`ve heard of that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven`t been fired. I was let go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, what was that like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sucked cause they did it on - they said, This is your last day. Sorry.
HAMMER: And this man learned a valuable lesson after being fired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say don`t fall asleep at the little food stand you`re running when you`re 14 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, is that what you did?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And no one took pity on you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. I did it - the farmer came over and he said, You`re fired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not your line of work now, I take it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I`ve changed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have - are you more awake now at what you do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. I get good sleep.
HAMMER: And maybe this man was fired. We`ll let you be the judge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think you`re - are you telling me the truth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait a minute. You got fired last week?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you in denial?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I`m in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the land of denial. You can - it`s OK. You can admit it to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it didn`t happen.
HAMMER: And then, a funny thing happened in this storyline. Because the tables were turned. And producer Jenny Ditoma got some career advice she didn`t expect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should do things you want to do. Like, you probably enjoy doing what you`re doing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do. I have fun. I get to interview people like you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s - that`s the thing to do: find things you enjoy doing, do that. Chances are you`ll never be fired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But have you ever been fired?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I`ve never been fired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. But if you don`t get a good story, you might be fired from CNN. (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Yes, Jenny, pay attention.
Annabelle Gurwitch speaks from experience. She`s written the book "Fired!" And yes, she has been fired herself.
Annabelle joining me from Hollywood, California. It is lovely to see you.
ANNABELLE GURWITCH, AUTHOR, "FIRED!": Thank you. Great to see you.
HAMMER: Now you were fired by one of the most famous directors on the planet, Woody Allen.
What the heck did you do to deserve getting fired by this man?
GURWITCH: Well, I believe that I stunk (ph) in a play that he was directed.
HAMMER: And you can`t do that.
GURWITCH: No, I think it`s actually very cathartic if you get fired and it was maybe your fault that you kind of say it our loud and get it off your chest. Actually, he characterized my performance as "retarded," which it may have been. And so I was canned.
HAMMER: Sounds kind of politically incorrect.
How did he go about the canning?
GURWITCH: Well, in show business, you don`t always hear the words, "you`re fired."
HAMMER: Right.
GURWITCH: What you do is you get a phone call which says "the director is going in a different direction," which means he wants to get as far away from you as humanly possible. And then you cry, and you - and you - like most people, when you`re fired - not just by Woody Allen, but by anyone in any business - you feel alone. You feel like a loser. You feel like you`ll never work again. And that`s exactly what happened to me.
And what I ended up doing after I got really depressed was talking to friends of mine, in my community, which happens to be - you know, (INAUDIBLE) industry, and asked people if they had ever been fired. And what came back to me were these hilarious and inspiring stories. And so I collected them in this book because I thought, You know what? If someone else gets fired out there, maybe if they have this book of stories, they won`t feel like such a loser like I did when I got fired.
HAMMER: So it can be very inspiring and helpful, especially when it`s a big-time celebrity.
Among those you spoke with, Felicity Huffman - life not always Wisteria Lane for her, correct?
GURWITCH: That`s right. I mean, she`s one of my favorite actresses and someone that I know and like very much. And when I was crying and I ran into her and I said, Felicity, I was just fired. And she said, Oh, I`ve been fired. She said, You know, sometimes you`re doing a job and you think you suck and you don`t. And sometimes, you do. And she said, I was doing a pilot with Ed Asner and I actually sucked and I was fired right there. And I thought, Oh my gosh; I`m not the only one.
HAMMER: You mention that you - you think you probably did suck when you got fired by Woody Allen, and you found out through a series of - of phone calls.
Tell me about Bob Saget and how he got fired. Because it`s always interesting to find out how it happened. Sometimes, you know, actors read about it in the newspaper. What happened with Bob Saget?
GURWITCH: That`s right.
Well, Felicity Huffman also was fired once from a play, and she saw in the paper one day that her name just wasn`t in it anymore. And one day, Bob Saget - one of his early jobs in show business - was he was hosting a morning talk show. And it was one of those shows where they had three hosts, and each chair had the person`s name on it. And he gets to work one day and the "Bob" chair is just gone.
HAMMER: That`s no good. That - that and your card key not working.
I have less than 30 seconds, Annabelle. But certainly in your experience of talking people, you`ve come up with some great reasons - some great solutions, rather to comfort you if you have been fired, other than, you know, commiserating with your friends.
GURWITCH: Well, you know, that`s actually a really important thing. I think it`s a very cathartic thing to talk about your experience. Freud said that humor is a great coping mechanism when you`re facing a loss. So, you know, it also might work as a form of humor therapy.
I also try to give people some perspective. You know, in this economy, people are getting fired and downsized and outsourced. And it`s really good to know that this experience is shared by many people. And so I have lots of statistics about what`s going on in the employment world. And I think just hearing these stories from really successful people about how they failed in all kinds of jobs - I mean, the stories range from being a toll booth operator to Patty Heaton was fired as a crossing guard; Andy Dick fired as a waiter.
HAMMER: Knowing that other people much bigger than you.
GURWITCH: Yes.
HAMMER: .perhaps have gone through it, it helps.
I got to wrap it up there, Annabelle. I do appreciate you being with us tonight. Thanks so much.
GURWITCH: Thanks a lot.
HAMMER: Chocolate helps, too, by the way. I believe you mentioned that.
GURWITCH: Oh, chocolate is always.
HAMMER: You can get copy of Annabelle`s book "Fired!" in book stores now.
ANDERSON: And ice cream helps.
OK, Maurice Benard`s Emmy award-winning portrayal of Sonny Corinthos on "General Hospital" has taken many dramatic turns. Now in a shocking twist, Benard`s character is battling a mental illness, bipolar disorder. And that`s something he struggles with in real life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think?
MAURICE BENARD, ACTOR: Take it off, now!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s wrong? I - I love this dress.
BENARD: You got to take it off!
(SCREAMING)
BENARD: Take it off!
(SCREAMING)
BENARD: Take it off!
(SCREAMING AND CRYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Very tough scene. And Maurice Benard is joining us now here in Hollywood.
Maurice, thanks for being here.
BENARD: Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: OK, as we just saw in the show, this is a storyline. But that`s not all it is. It hits very close to home. How close?
BENARD: Probably too close. Yes, I was diagnosed with bipolar back -- oh, a little over 20 years ago. So this is maybe too close to - to have done. But I finished it; it was great. And, you know, you move on.
ANDERSON: You move on.
You`ve said you`ve had many challenging roles in your line of work, but that this is the most challenging you`ve ever had to deal with.
BENARD: Yes, this was - this has surely been the scariest thing I`ve - I`ve done, because everyday I go in there, I have to kind of, you know, relive something that`s happened in my life. And that`s just the way I - I work.
So - you know, you do that for two months straight. It can take its toll on you.
ANDERSON: Some - some might say that talking about this, telling the world about this is really taking a risk.
Why did you want to do it? Why did you want to let everybody in on this?
BENARD: Well for me, talking about it is not the - is actually the easy part, because it`s kind of, in a way, therapy for me. But, you know, I - I - since this has happened to me, and I got - I got into acting, I always said that I was going to do what I could to help anybody who - who has this - this illness. And so I just keep doing things. And I haven`t stopped yet.
ANDERSON: What`s the response been to your storyline?
BENARD: Well, a lot of people keep asking me if I`m all right, you know? If - you know, if it`s too much or - you know, especially at "General Hospital," because - it has been wonderful because they tell me if - if - if it`s too much, they can stop. And I, of course, say, no, it`s not too much.
ANDERSON: Has it every been too much for you?
BENARD: Well, actually, this Saturday morning I had an anxiety attack. I was going to fly to Washington to do a press conference for mental illness. And I was going to fly tomorrow, and I`m not going because I can`t get on the plane. It scares me too much.
ANDERSON: And this is because of the anxiety attack?
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Are you not taking medication.
(CROSSTALK)
BENARD: Yes, I`m taking lithium every day. I`m taking it for 13.
ANDERSON: To combat the bipolar?
BENARD: Yes, for 13 years. But the anxiety attack was a culmination of maybe the storyline and thinking of having to fly. Because last time this happened to me, an anxiety attack, I had an anxiety attack on a plane. So.
ANDERSON: Just.
BENARD: .there you are.
ANDERSON: Well hopefully, it will get better and you`ll be able to hop on that plane and go speak.
Maurice, thank you for your honesty, your openness. We appreciate it, and we admire you for wanting to help others with this.
And as always, you can say Maurice as Sonny on "General Hospital" weekdays on ABC.
HAMMER: Well on Friday, we asked you to vote in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day" about shows like "24." "Terrorism: Do TV shows fuel your fears?" You didn`t think so much: 26 percent of you say yes; 74 percent of you say no.
Mickie from Pennsylvania writes, "Those types of shows don`t scare me. It`s George Bush that scares me half to death."
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We`ve been asking you to vote on tonight`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Anna Nicole`s rival, E. Pierce Marshall, who feuded for years with her over his dad`s money, died. So we`re asking, "Anna Nicole Smith: Does she deserve her late husband`s fortune?"
Keep voting: cnn.com/showbiz tonight. Write to us: showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read your e-mails tomorrow.
HAMMER: Here`s what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your "SHOWBIZ Marquee."
Tomorrow, the Man of Steel flies on to our set. Brandon Routh plays Superman in "Superman Returns," one of the most talked-about films of the year. We`re going to ask him about taking over this role nearly 20 years after the last Superman film. Plus, what of all this talk of Superman being an icon for Jews, Christians, even gays? Brandon Routh tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for watching. I am A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Have a great night, everybody. I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Stay tuned for more from CNN Headline News.
END
