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Showbiz Tonight
To Hell and Back; Celebrity Divorces; YouTube Craze; What`s New in the Movies; Jason Mewes Discusses Addiction
Aired July 21, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE ANDERSON, HOST: Naomi Campbell in handcuffs again. And the online details about celebrities and you.
I`m Brooke Anderson in new York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, stars battling addiction. The drugs, the alcohol. How the stars get hooked, and why it may be harder for them to kick the habit.
JASON MEWES, ACTOR: Either they`re going to put me in jail or rehab.
ANDERSON: Tonight, the remarkable stories of stars beating the deadly odds in a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report.
And what would you do if you had just seven days to save your marriage?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Romance is completely dead in this relationship.
ANDERSON: Tonight, how one TV show is trying something that seems impossible, fixing the relationships of couples in just one week. But will they make it?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, with "One Week to Save Your marriage."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Hi there. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York.
Tonight, a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report. Some of Hollywood`s biggest stars who have been to hell and back, addicted to drugs and alcohol, in and out of rehab and jail over and over again. And something else they have in common, they are all currently starring in major new movies.
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, with their remarkable stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Hollywood, where high stakes and big bucks often lead to crippling addictions. It`s a tale we hear all too often. But this isn`t one of those tales.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that this summer, the big screen is filled with addiction success stories.
MEWES: Sometimes I wish I`d done a little more with my life instead of hanging out in front of places.
ANDERSON: Jason Mewes in ""Clerks II""; Robert Downey Jr. in ""A Scanner Darkly""; and Colin Farrell in "Miami Vice"...
COLIN FARRELL, ACTOR, "MIAMI VICE": Oh, you think I`m in so deep I forgot?
ANDERSON: ... each conquered addiction. Each lived to tell about it.
MEWES: Now that I`m sober, I can really talk about it.
ANDERSON: Jason Mewes from ""Clerks II"" talked to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about his battles with drugs, including heroin, which raged as he was a frequent star in Kevin Smith films such as "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
Jason tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that that all changed when his drug problems caused his friend, director Kevin Smith, to leave him out of a movie, "Jersey Girl," which starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.
MEWES: You know, Kevin`s family wasn`t talking to me, a lot of my friends stopped answering my calls, and all that. It was sort of an eye- opener. I was, like, all right, I`m not going to be able to work, I have no friends pretty much. I`m in a house with no heat and electric, on the couch.
ANDERSON (on camera): And you made the decision to straighten out your life?
MEWES: Yes. So then I just -- yes, I woke up and I was like, "I`ve got to stop."
ANDERSON (voice-over): But someone who could not stop for the longest time was Robert Downey Jr., who spent most of the 1990s in and out of court, and even jail, on various drug and alcohol-related charges. Now Downey is working steadily in movies like "A Scanner Darkly".
ROBERT DOWNEY JR., ACTOR, "A SCANNER DARKLY": I mean, come on, this is just awe-inspiring stuff.
You know, there`s a reason it`s listed in American medical, you know, books as a disease.
ANDERSON: On "LARRY KING LIVE," Downey talked about the second chance he`s been given at sobriety.
DOWNEY: I think once you have an opportunity to get the help you need to get out of it, you just have to remember that sometimes that train doesn`t come back around for seven years. You know? It`s very specific how many chances you get.
FARRELL, "MIAMI VICE": This is Detective Crockett, Miami-Dade PD.
ANDERSON: Right after he finished shooting his role as Sonny Crockett in the "Miami Vice" movie, hard-partying actor Colin Farrell reportedly went straight to an addiction facility. His co-star, Jamie Foxx, told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Colin`s been doing great.
JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: I speak with him all the time. He`s all good.
ANDERSON: Celebrity entertainment reporter Jane Velez-Mitchell tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that stars like model Kate Moss find that fighting a drug problem is especially hard when you`re a celebrity.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: These stars have all the character defects that you and I have. The difference is that when they go down, they go down very publicly. It`s especially humiliating.
ANDERSON: But as we hear from the stars themselves, nothing beats a public humiliation more than a public recovery.
DOWNEY: Who figured out what makes the souffle not drop in the oven?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": I know.
DOWNEY: But once you figure it out, you don`t throw away the recipe. So, I`m just really fortunate right now.
ANDERSON: Metallica lead singer James Hetfield, who`s battled his own problems with alcohol addiction, tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that staying sober is a constant fight.
JAMES HETFIELD, METALLICA: Some day you`re on vacation, and all of a sudden, there`s some guy drinking a nice cold beer. And you go, "Man, that would be nice," but, you know, not for me. I`ve abused it. And I have consequences around it.
And it`s not a good trade to me. I have things that are more important to me. And -- so some days are tough. Most of the time, I have a lot of good support.
ANDERSON: As celebrity reporter Jane Velez-Mitchell, who`s had her own battle with addiction tells us, it`s a lifelong fight.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So I`ve been sober more than 11 years, and so it`s a daily struggle. You get a daily reprieve. It`s a spiritual work that you`ve got to do, and you`ve got to stay on target.
ANDERSON: And as these stars who have stayed on target have proven, staying clean is a good way to stay on top.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And you`ll definitely want to see what we have for you a little later in the show. More of my fascinating interview with "Clerks II" star Jason Mewes, who told me all about his startling battle with addiction. Believe me, you don`t want to miss that.
Again, we`ll have that for you a little later on in the show.
Now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." Stars battling addiction, do you have sympathy for them?
Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. And send us an e-mail. There`s the address, ShowbizTonight@CNN.com.
Get ready for one of the nastiest divorce battles. It`s the story America just can`t get enough of: supermodel Christie Brinkley`s marriage meltdown. Another woman, a reported love shack, all making headlines. And now, the multimillion-dollar legal fight is about to begin.
Someone who knows all too well about celebrity "War of the Roses," celebrity divorce attorney Raoul Felder, who joins me now here in New York.
Raoul, good to see you. Welcome.
RAOUL FELDER, CELEBRITY DIVORCE ATTORNEY: Good to see you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: OK. You`ve handled hundreds of divorce cases. Many of them...
FELDER: Maybe thousands.
ANDERSON: Maybe thousands.
FELDER: Yes.
ANDERSON: Many of them involving famous people. In fact, you represented Christie`s third husband. This is her fourth husband.
FELDER: Yes.
ANDERSON: But she actually rehired the man you went up against. This could get nasty.
FELDER: Well, I mean, it has all the ingredients of it. And the sad part is, it looks as if they`re both victims, because he was foolish, but they`re both victims.
He fussed around with a girl who wants to have her name in the paper, and she poses in the lawyer`s office and so forth. And another girl comes out of the woodwork who had dated him before he was married.
Hey, what`s wrong with that, dated him before he was married? But she`s out of the woodwork and she wants a singing career. And so, both of them are suffering. And, of course, there are two kids now suffering also.
ANDERSON: A lot of people might not see Peter Cook as any kind of victim, though.
FELDER: Well, he`s less of a victim, obviously, than the wife here. But I think he`s a victim of what is going on here.
ANDERSON: I see.
FELDER: Totally out of his control. I mean, when he did whatever foolish thing he did, he didn`t do it with the idea he`s going to humiliate Christie and everybody is going to know. I mean, he wanted to make whoopee very quietly. And, of course, it all backfired.
My grandfather said, "Never go with a woman who is crazier or poorer than you are." And he violated both rules.
ANDERSON: Good advice from your grandfather.
Now, there`s a lot of money at stake here, of course. They have a $26 million house on the market. He has the architectural firm. She`s one of the most famous models in the world, the modeling contracts.
How do you see all of this playing out?
FELDER: Well, you know, there`s a certain other mysterious something in divorce cases, and that is the celebrity status. They put a value on it.
Now, he`s going to forever be Mr. Christie Brinkley. And maybe it hurt -- it helped his practice, maybe it hurt his practice. You don`t know. My guess is it helped his practice. And so they`ll put a value on this.
Her career was sort of down and up, and then it`s up again. So somebody is going to value her career. So, this is going to keep legions of lawyers and armies of accountants busy if they want to keep busy doing this.
ANDERSON: Maybe for a long time to come.
FELDER: Yes.
ANDERSON: Now, the other woman in this situation turns out to be a teenager, as we admitted -- as we said earlier, a very young woman, 19- year-old Diana Bianchi, who claims she had an affair with Peter Cook.
If that, indeed, does turn out to be true, this turns into a divorce case -- say it does -- how much of that could a judge take into account in deciding who gets what, who is the victor?
FELDER: Well, you know, all -- there`s not a Richter scale of misconduct, and if it`s higher you get more money. But, for instance, the case in New Jersey with the football player, nothing to do with any misconduct, and yet it played itself out. And it has a way to -- that happened, and I guess people feel better when it all comes out. It doesn`t affect the end result, though.
ANDERSON: We haven`t heard from Peter Cook or Christie Brinkley on this. You know, you can`t pick up a paper without seeing more and more about it. Talk about the need for damage control. Would it be better for Peter to come out and say, hey, here is what happened, I`m sorry, or here`s what didn`t happen?
FELDER: Well, I`ve been in that situation with Mike Tyson, Elizabeth Taylor, many cases over the years, even the Mayor Giuliani case. The best thing you do is say nothing.
You don`t give a bad story legs. There`s no redeeming quality about this story for Christie or for the husband. So they ought to shut up. And that`s what they`re doing now.
ANDERSON: So they`re doing the right thing by keeping quiet?
FELDER: Yes.
ANDERSON: OK. Raoul Felder, divorce attorney, thanks so much for being here.
FELDER: Thank you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: Nice to see you.
"One Week to Save your Marriage," and all of it captured on camera.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, with a new TV show trying to help couples stay couples.
And a supermodel`s super temper seems to have gotten her in hot water. We`re going to tell you why Naomi Campbell was arrested... again.
Plus, we`ve also got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they`re public, but there`s a huge difference from driving to the courthouse and looking at it right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Other people`s personal information right at your fingertips. The shocking online information about celebrities and you. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates online privacy coming up.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
I`m Brooke Anderson in New York.
Time now for a story that made us say, "That`s Ridiculous!"
Have you ever heard of having eyes that are bigger than your stomach? Well, meet a snake with that very problem, amplified.
A 12-foot-long Burmese python needed surgery after it swallowed an entire queen-size electric blanket that including the electrical cord and the control box. Can you believe it?
The blanket, which was in the snake`s tank to keep him warm, somehow got caught up in his rabbit diner. It took two hours to remove the blanket from the snake`s digestive tract.
We all like a hot meal, but a snake swallowing an electric blanket? Now, "That`s ridiculous!"
Also, an electric blanket in the snake`s tank, that`s also a little ridiculous, I think.
OK. YouTube is the biggest phenomenon to hit the Internet in quite some time. I`m talking about the viral video Web site which is changing the way we are exposed to video content. It`s even changing how the TV and film industries are doing business.
YouTube is to viral video what Google is to search engines.
In June, 2.5 billion videos were watched on YouTube. Any given day, more than 100 million videos are watched and more than 60,000 videos uploaded.
Wow.
Joining me from San Francisco is Julie Supan, senior director of marketing at YouTube.com.
Julie, welcome.
JULIE SUPAN, SR. DIRECTOR MARKETING, YOUTUBE.COM: Thank you. Happy to be here.
ANDERSON: Oh, we`re happy to have you.
Now, as I said, more than 100 million videos watched on any given day. That`s three times the audience "American Idol" gets on any given night. When you put something on you YouTube, it is everywhere.
An example, Julie, the video of President Bush giving the German chancellor a shoulder massage. More than 30,000 people watched it. And the very first day, it was on YouTube.
Are you amazed at just how fast this and everything else spreads on YouTube?
SUPAN: I think we`re astonished by the growth of YouTube from the day we started it, really, and the day that we launched the company in December. The whole -- the whole experience has been astonishing. And I think that there was obviously -- and even the market, people wanted to find a new way to be entertained. They wanted to be able to be entertained in short -- in a short-form way, where they could -- they didn`t have timeslots and they can, you know, come to the site and watch 10 clips at a time when they had 15 minutes to be entertained.
ANDERSON: It`s truly incredible that YouTube has only been around for eight months, like you said, and already is this popular. You`ve really become star makers.
People post themselves on YouTube and become a celebrity, sometimes instantly. Just recently, Carson Daly signed someone who posted performances on YouTube.
It`s crazy. It`s wild.
Now, I want to take a look at one of your most popular YouTube performers now, "Ask a Ninja." Now, in this clip, the Ninja reviews "Pirates of the Caribbean."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "ASK A NINJA": Here goes the Ninja with the Ninja review of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man`s Chest."
OK. I don`t want to spoil it for anybody who might not have seen it yet. So I`ll just -- I`ll tell you this one little thing just to give you some context. It`s a horrible movie.
I went and did the research on, like, how they came up with this movie. And basically, it was inspired by old-school robot pirates. Tike I`m talking Chuck E. Cheese style, like sub Chuck E. Cheese style.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The Ninja movie reviewer.
But Julie, this isn`t just for fun for some people. There are those who are really taking it seriously to advance their careers. Take the band Patent Pending. I want to take a quick look at their real-world spoof where a whale actually moves in with the band.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Band World.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know he`s a whale, but Benny`s been in the bath for like four hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benny`s drinking is really starting to become a problem for us all in the house. Today we tried to play kickball, and it was just an embarrassment to the team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Just bizarre.
Now, Julie, this group has gotten some attention, some publicity in the music world thanks to this, right?
SUPAN: I think both of them -- when you look at "Ask a Ninja, "who is, in fact, a filmmaker, you know, he -- what`s incredible about him is that he is actually taking direct feedback from his audience, and he`s responding to all of these questions.
So, there`s "Ask a Ninja," "What is love?" You know, "Ask a Ninja," about "Pirates of the Caribbean." So he`s actually reaching out to his fan base, but there`s a two-way conversation happening between he and his audience. And he`s responding through video.
With Patent Pending, what`s interesting about that band is they didn`t have to produce a slick music video in order to get noticed. They`ve created a film that`s creative and humorous, and it appeals to their fans in a way that maybe a music video may not.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: It actually got them a big...
SUPAN: Sorry.
ANDERSON: It got them a big magazine interview, right?
SUPAN: Yes. Actually, Benny the Whale was interviewed by "Spin" magazine recently.
ANDERSON: Well, there you go.
And, Julie, one of the more incredible stories, the show "Nobody is Watching." A TV pilot which all the networks turned down, said, hey, we don`t want this. OK. Then it`s posted on YouTube.
Created such a viral buzz, the network said, hey, maybe it`s not so bad. Just this week, NBC ordered six scripts from the show`s creators taking a second look.
It`s amazing.
SUPAN: Well, I think what`s really exciting about this phenomenon is that a script that might have been turned down by the actual network itself, once it was put up on YouTube, and put into the audience`s hands, the audience now could decide whether it was something they wanted to watch.
And they, in fact, did. And I think that what`s exciting about that is that they had the taste of this content and now they might be willing to go back to their living rooms and watch it on television.
ANDERSON: Saw how popular it was on YouTube and thought maybe there`s something there.
SUPAN: Exactly.
ANDERSON: Now, is the viral video Internet sensation going to hurt or complement television and film? Because so may people are just getting it from the Internet now.
SUPAN: Now, that`s a good question. And I want to explain that YouTube has really become another distribution channel for television, for movie studios, and for record labels.
So, we actually are focused on short-form content. You can only have content that`s 10 minutes or under. And that means that you can only provide a taste to your audience of the content that you want them to see, and in order to drive them back to buying a ticket to see that movie, or in order to drive them back into their living rooms to watch the program.
At the end of the day, we believe the best experience is still in the movie theaters and buying the albums and in watching television in your living room.
ANDERSON: So maybe little tease of what else is out there.
SUPAN: Exactly. And it`s a way to -- it`s a way to engage with the audience and make it personal and emotional, which is, I think, something that the world is telling us they wanted.
ANDERSON: All right.
Julie Supan of YouTube.com, thanks so much for joining us. It was fun.
SUPAN: Thanks so much for having me.
ANDERSON: Of course.
OK. We want to spend some time with you on the weekends now. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is now on seven nights a week. We are bringing TV`s most provocative entertainment news show to your weekends.
Be sure to tune in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow and Sunday, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. That`s 8:00 Pacific.
Kim Cattrall`s new TV commercial is so hot, it`s been banned. We`re going to tell you what made the company pull the plug.
Plus, we`ve got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very stupid in this country. Very stupid. This is spoon feeding criminals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Shocking details that anyone can find out online about the stars and about you. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates online privacy.
And movie giants Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis have teamed up for "Monster House," but is the animated movie too scary for the kids? We`ve got your "SHOWBIZ Guide," pics and pans.
That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: It`s time now for the "SHOWBIZ Guide."
And tonight in people`s pics and pans, a bit of a surreal theme. We`re talking about M. Night Shyamalan`s "Lady in the Water," Uma Thurman in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," and an animated family film called "Monster House."
Joining me here in New York is "People" magazine film critic Leah Rozen.
Leah, great to see you.
LEAH ROZEN, FILM CRITIC, "PEOPLE": Hi.
ANDERSON: Hi there.
The first one I want to start with is the one from M. Night Shyamalan, "Lady in the Water." Now Shyamalan has always bizarrely creative, quite successful in the past.
This one, what do you think? Centers around a bedtime story?
ROZEN: This one is sort of a fairytale for adults. And I think it`s a disappointment.
You`ve got to give the guy credit for trying something different. He does not, in any way, make formulaic movies. But this one just kind of sits on the screen as soggy as the title character.
ANDERSON: Yes, it`s a far-fetched premise.
ROZEN: This woman is found in the water, and then all the residents in the apartment -- she`s a nymph, a water nymph, and all the residents in the apartment protect her from the forces of evil. It just doesn`t work. It`s not compelling. You`re not really drawn in. So you have to score it as a disappointment.
ANDERSON: OK. "Lady in the Water" leaves you a little bit wet and soggy.
OK. Moving on now to the comedy "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson, a bit of a comedic twist on the superhero theme here.
ROZEN: Easy premise. He starts dating a woman, he then dumps her. It turns out she`s a superhero, and her anger is super-sized.
This is essentially -- there`s a smart comedy in there somewhere, but it`s given such a sort of schlocky presentation that it loses much of its power. So it`s one of those movies -- I mean, there`s no reason to hate it, and you don`t. You even laugh some of the time. But you are aware, this one is pretty lightweight.
ANDERSON: And the axiom hell hath no fury like a woman scorned applies here a little bit?
ROZEN: To the tenth power.
ANDERSON: OK. The last film we`ve got is "Monster House," produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg.
ROZEN: Right.
ANDERSON: PG, so it`s not really scary, scary is it?
ROZEN: It`s animated. If this film was done live action, it would be so scary, because there`s this really nasty haunted house that these three kids are sort of looking at. But because it becomes far less scary and is a lot of fun.
I took my little 6-year-old nephew before the movie. I go, "Gee, the screening is crowded." He goes, "Of course, it`s `Monster House.` Everyone wants to see this. It`s a good movie."
He felt the same way when the movie was over.
ANDERSON: Animation takes the edge off a little bit?
ROZEN: Yes.
ANDERSON: All right.
Leah Rozen, as always, thanks so much. Great to see you.
ROZEN: You`re welcome.
ANDERSON: Leah Rozen from "People" magazine.
And for more pics and pans, you can pick up your copy of "People" magazine. It`s on newsstands now.
Naomi Campbell has another run-in with the law. The details coming up.
We`ve also got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they`re public, but there is a huge difference from driving to the courthouse and looking at it right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Other people`s personal information right at your fingertips. The shocking online information about celebrities and you.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates online privacy coming up.
What if you had just seven days to save your marriage, and all the while TV cameras are rolling? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the new TV show trying to help couples.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York. A.J. Hammer has the night off. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Tonight, a TV show is attempting to do what seems to be impossible: saving a marriage that`s on the brink of falling apart in just seven days. The marriage mender, Dr. Robi Ludwig, will join us coming up to tell us about this show.
Also, Jason Mewes, one of the actors in "Clerks II" shares his incredible, unbelievable story about addiction. How he got hooked on drugs, how he hit rock bottom, and how he`s doing now. My very candid interview with Jason Mewes coming up in just a bit.
But first, what if, with just a few clicks of your mouse, you could find some very personal information about a total stranger. We`re talking Social Security numbers, addresses, even more. It`s even happened to some big-time celebrities, and it`s got us worried. Now the scary thing is, there may not be much you can do to protect yourself.
Here`s CNN`s Drew Griffin for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BJ OSTERGREN, "THE VIRGINIA WATCHDOG": Let`s see if anyone else`s is there.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What this woman knows about you -- or more accurately, could know about you -- is frightening.
OSTERGREN: Yes, and it is so easy, it is so quick, and -- and let me show you.
GRIFFIN: BJ Ostergren, also known as the Virginia Watchdog, is infuriated about how easy it is for her to find your name, Social Security number, date of birth and even your signature.
OSTERGREN: Look, here`s a Bank of American loan number.
GRIFFIN: Anything anyone would need to steal your identity, right online, and put there by the government.
OSTERGREN: This is another divorce I printed out this morning. The father was in the Air Force, and there`s his Social Security number.
GRIFFIN (on camera): He would die if he knew this.
OSTERGREN: They have no clue.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): How did it happen? Ostergren says there was a big push in the last decade to push the access of government records into the 21st century, a paperless society -- everything accessible at your fingertips via the Internet. Including government records, historically kept inside courthouses, inside clerks` offices, behind government counters.
Now many of those government records, across the country, can all be accessed by BJ Ostergren right here in the crowded office of her rural Virginia home.
OSTERGREN: But are they public records? Yes, they`re public. But there is a huge difference from driving to the courthouse and looking at it right here. Would I drive there to look at this and go through the records? No. Would I have driven to Miami-Dade to get Jeb Bush`s? No.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This meeting was a very productive one.
GRIFFIN: Did she say Jeb Bush? Yes, the president`s brother. To prove her point, she has drawn on celebrity-style identity hunts. The governor of Florida`s Social Security number, posted along with other Floridians.
OSTERGREN: I sat right at this very computer and got that record off the Florida Web site.
GRIFFIN: Jeb Bush has since had his Social blacked out, but plenty of records in Florida are still there for the taking.
OSTERGREN: Well, let`s see. Here is Brevard County.
GRIFFIN: With information like your Social Security number, your signature, even your date of birth, a thief can pretend he`s you. And it could cost you dearly.
OSTERGREN: Oh, you could get bank loans. You could get fake papers. You could come into this country using this man`s information. You could have -- look, document fraud is a big thing. Mortgage fraud is a huge thing.
GRIFFIN (on camera): She can access almost any record on anyone anywhere, even perfect strangers here in New York City -- many who would be shocked to learn that a retired woman in rural Virginia can learn so much about them from Web sites provided by the government that she could easily steal their identity.
(voice-over): Upon searching further, we also found talk show host Kelly Ripa and her husband.
OSTERGREN: Yes, and with their home addresses. They own, apparently, two places.
GRIFFIN: Ostergren made exposing this electronic privacy gap her mission four years ago, when a concerned stranger warned her that her personal information was about to go online. Now she wants everyone to be warned.
She has set up a Web site to lobby governments and financial institutions to stop posting this information. And she now takes the time to call strangers herself and let them know the risks.
OSTERGREN: It infuriates me no end. But what can I do? I -- I just think that people should see what I`m showing you. And people should see, you know, what -- you wanted to see Colin Powell`s.
GRIFFIN: On a Virginia Web site she found the former secretary of state`s Social Security number, his wife`s, their Virginia address, even signatures.
OSTERGREN: Yes, and you can get that record. And on the first page of that document -- here it is right here -- you can see Page 1 with his home address here.
GRIFFIN: We decided to check for ourselves. Ostergren suggested we look at Phoenix, Arizona -- Maricopa County. Per capita, it has the highest rate of identity-theft fraud in the country. Sitting at a computer in Atlanta, we were a bit taken back when we went to the Maricopa County Recorder`s Office Web site and found just about every document you could imagine, and personal information that you would never want others to get.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And his Social Security number right there.
GRIFFIN: So we physically went to the Maricopa County Recorder`s Office, and ran into a local resident, Phyllis Montgomery (ph), who was shocked when we showed her all of her personal information.
(on camera): A little surprising?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very surprising. Very scary. Very scary, because this is private information. Everybody should not have information knowing exactly where to come and murder me or pick me up or.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): The Recorder`s Office here posts a sign warning people their information will be made available on the Internet.
But available where? And who is the warning for?
Using the Internet, we randomly looked up Michael Russo (ph), who lives in Phoenix. He has never used a computer and doesn`t remember ever being in the Recorder`s Office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your privacy -- lose your privacy. That was -- they come out with these computers.
GRIFFIN: Michael Russo ripped up our copies of his personal documents right in front of us. But we can easily print out another copy right on the county Web site.
Recorder Helen Purcell says she is working with the state of Arizona to figure out how to cleanse the records, like blackening out Social Security numbers. But she admits that in their rush to post the information online, they did not realize how easy they were making it for criminals intent on committing fraud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe at the outset of that, all of these things weren`t thought about.
GRIFFIN: BJ Ostergren, the Virginia Watchdog.
OSTERGREN: There it is.
GRIFFIN: .couldn`t agree more. The question now, she says, what if anything is anyone going to do about it?
OSTERGREN: We are very stupid in this country, very stupid. This is spin (ph) feeding criminals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Just frightening. That was CNN`s Drew Griffin for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Naomi Campbell reportedly got in some trouble again. Today we learned that Campbell was arrested in London July 10 outside a former boyfriend`s home. Police say she was arrested for causing a disturbance outside the house when she went there to try and get some of her belongings back. She was released several hours later, and no charges were filed.
Now last month, Campbell was in court in New York to face charges that she threw a cell phone at a maid. And in 2003, she was sued by a former assistant who said Campbell threw a phone at her as well.
OK, but this on your calendars: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is now on seven nights a week. That`s right, we are bringing TV`s most provocative entertainment news show to your weekends. Be sure to check us out: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Saturday and Sunday, 11 p.m. Eastern. That`s 8 Pacific.
What did Kim Cattrall do that made officials in New Zealand pull a commercial from the airwaves? It`s a story that made all of us say "That`s Ridiculous!" And that`s next.
Plus, can a marriage be saved in a week on television? A new reality show is trying. We have the host here coming up in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
We`ll also have this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON MEWES, ACTOR: A lot of my friends were -- stopped answering my calls and all that. It was a -- sort of an eye-opener.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "Clerks II" star Jason Mewes sits down for a candid interview about how he got on the road to sobriety and stayed there. That`s coming up. Stay with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dissolve 3, make your move (ph). Stand by to your break, Master. Ready effect black. In 3, 2 -- roll your break. Effect black.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson. A.J. Hammer has the night off.
It`s time now for another story that made us say "That`s Ridiculous!"
Nissan has pulled an ad in New Zealand starring Kim Cattrall after getting some complaints. The ad was enough to make even Cattrall`s "Sex and the City" character blush. She`s gushing over Nissan`s new sedan, and says -- quote -- "Why didn`t you tell me it was so big? I just wasn`t prepared for it." She goes on to say that the car makes her feel really, really good inside. And it just goes inside from that. In fact, I can`t believe I actually just said those things on air. But here we go. All the innuendo in there.
Here we say, Kim Cattrall`s sexy car ad? Now "That`s Ridiculous!"
All right. It`s every couple when a dream marriage comes to a screeching halt and maybe even a divorce. But what if you could turn a failing marriage around in just a week? Marriage mender Dr. Robi Ludwig, pardon -- says she can do that. Her new show on TLC is called "One Week To Save Your Marriage."
And Dr. Robi Ludwig is here with us tonight.
Sorry I stumbled on your name.
DR. ROBI LUDWIG, "ONE WEEK TO SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE": Oh, that`s OK. That`s OK.
ANDERSON: OK, some people may hear this, may hear your declaration you can do this in just one week and say, What in the world? I mean, come on. Is it really possible?
(CROSSTALK)
LUDWIG: It is. It is. And it kind of shocked me too, because I have a private practice and I work with couples. And clearly I work with them, it takes longer than a week.
But this is an intense program where I`m working with them 24/7. And the people that they are at the beginning of the week is very different than the people they turn out to be at the end of the week.
ANDERSON: So you must.
LUDWIG: So I`ve seen it.
ANDERSON: .really be doing intense work with them.
LUDWIG: It`s intense work, and I think a lot of marriages -- being in a good marriage is a skill. A lot of people don`t know that skill. Some people get good parents, and just more intuitively understand what it takes. And a lot of these couples really didn`t. And once they received a little education, a little support, they really were able to go off to the races and do great.
ANDERSON: And you know, you have to work at it.
But aren`t there.
LUDWIG: You do.
ANDERSON: .marriages, though, Robi, that are too severe. Things happen that are too severe to be saved in just one week.
Let`s take the story that`s captured everybody`s attention.
LUDWIG: OK.
ANDERSON: Christie Brinkley, her husband Peter Cook.
LUDWIG: Well, I think.
ANDERSON: It`s been claimed she had an affair with him. We`re talking infidelity here.
A week to save that?
LUDWIG: I haven`t given up on them. I think they should call me, and I -- I would love to help them.
Well, you know, infidelity doesn`t necessarily mean that a marriage is over. Because when somebody is unfaithful, you really want to understand what it means. And so it really depends what your level of commitment and love is. It doesn`t have to damage your relationship. Clearly it`s upsetting, and it`s going to be toxic. But it doesn`t necessarily means that it`s over.
And I think what happens in the week that I work with couples, is they feel differently about themselves and their relationship. And they say, Oh my God, I was really angry before; I didn`t want you near me. But now I really have a different feeling. It`s possible we can be in a different space.
ANDERSON: Another couple, another break-up that broke everybody`s hearts, Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe. On the outside, it -- it looked like the perfect marriage.
LUDWIG: One perfect marriage.
ANDERSON: Yes. And Hilary has swept -- has said, he had a substance- abuse problem, and that was partly to blame, was part of the problem.
How would you diagnose something like that?
LUDWIG: Well, I haven`t interviewed either one of them. But you have to remember, this is just her side of the story. And there are always two sides to the story. So I would wonder if he was having a reaction to her fame.
He had a very famous brother. I wonder if it brought up feelings of, Where am I in all of this? His mother recently died, so we don`t know if that played a role.
So there are a lot of different factors, and basically, marriage is going to bring up all of your issues. The question is, Can you heal together, or will it break you apart? It doesn`t have to break you apart. That`s what I`m here to say.
ANDERSON: Well, you watch these couples on this show, 24/7.
LUDWIG: Yes.
ANDERSON: .from an off-site location. Is there a commonality, a recurring problem that you`re seeing in these marriages?
LUDWIG: Well, one of the things that I notice is that when a couple is really angry with one another, it really dampens their ability to feel loving towards their partner. And then they begin to attack their partner. So once you start going down that road, it`s very hard to enjoy your relationship. And bashing doesn`t lead to anything good.
So I think we need to remember, no matter how angry we are, that feeling can change, and that your feelings will change throughout a marriage, and not give up too quickly. Some of these couples wanted to give up when they were feeling helpless.
ANDERSON: Some of the comments they make towards each other are so cruel, it -- it just hurts to watch them say these things. But not everybody can be on Dr. Robi Ludwig`s show and.
LUDWIG: No.
ANDERSON: .get your words of wisdom on television.
LUDWIG: But they can benefit if they watch the show, because I think there`s really advice that everybody can take away.
ANDERSON: Well, tell us that advice right now.
LUDWIG: OK.
ANDERSON: For those out there who are struggling in their marriages.
LUDWIG: I would recommend a romantic evening out. And you have to sometimes deliberately plan it. And use that time to learn something new about your partner: your partner`s dreams and aspirations. Don`t talk about the problems.
And here`s another thing that`s really easy to do: go out with your partner and only say nice things about them in the presence of other people. It`s really hard to have angry feelings towards your partner when you`re hearing them say really great things about you.
ANDERSON: Good advice for us all.
LUDWIG: Yes.
ANDERSON: Dr. Robi Ludwig, thank you so much.
LUDWIG: Thank you.
ANDERSON: We appreciate it.
And "One Week To Save Your Marriage" debuts this Monday on the TLC network.
Jason Mewes is returning to the big screen in "Clerks II." The actor who plays the tough-talking character Jay is speaking out about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction.
When I sat down with Mewes in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT studios, we talked about his very long road to recovery, and his friend director Kevin Smith`s persistence to help him overcome his addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEWES: Sometimes I`d try to hide it from certain people. But, yes, you know? But now it`s just coming out more. And now that I`m sober, I can really talk about it.
ANDERSON (voice-over): For Jason Mewes, who launched his career in the 1994 independent film "Clerks," it has been a long trip back from the depths of despair and drug addiction. His character Jay, the fast-talking, pot-smoking, foul-mouthed sidekick to Kevin Smith`s Silent Bob has become a cult-like figure.
MEWES: Now I feel good today, Silent Bob. We`re going to make some money. And you know what we`re going to do? We`re going to go out and party.
ANDERSON: Jay, who had recurring roles in almost all of Smith`s films, was often seen dealing drugs if he wasn`t smoking them.
But sadly, Jason Mewes was turning into a carbon copy of his on-screen character, Jay.
Jason told me about his nightmarish wake-up call after nearly 10 years of his life ruled by drugs and alcohol.
MEWES: I guess it was towards the end. But yes, I woke up -- we lost -- this girl I was dating, we were living in Huntington Beach. We didn`t pay the rent; we didn`t pay the electric. We used to light candles to see at night. And we left a candle on the arm of the chair -- the couch.
And we fell asleep, and woke up and it was in flames -- you know, it was on fire. And the girl I was dating went and got a bucket of water and, like, threw -- but I -- and I didn`t even -- you know what? I didn`t even -- the funny part is, I really didn`t even wake up from it because I was so hot.
ANDERSON: Let`s take you back to the beginning, right after the release of "Clerks."
MEWES: I was 21. I remember it was my 21st birthday the first time I did dope. But I was hanging out with this dude, and he started dating this girl. And she had a best friend. And, you know, they were -- we were always, all four of us were always together. And her and -- me and the other girl started dating. So all four of us were hanging out all the time. And they were doing dope.
ANDERSON: Until then, Mewes hated the thought of trying drugs because his mother, who died of AIDS, got it from sharing needles. But once Jason Mewes started, he couldn`t stop.
(on camera): You were hooked pretty quickly.
MEWES: Yes. Yes. I mean, I was doing it weekends and stuff. But it didn`t until, like, everyday I was sick and stuff.
ANDERSON (voice-over): And incredibly, Jason`s mother, hooked on drugs herself, would leave bottles of the highly addictive painkiller Oxycontin lying around.
(on camera): So you had access.
MEWES: I had access to them, yes.
ANDERSON: ..through her.
MEWES: And every once in awhile, like, she wouldn`t -- I`d sit there, and you`d get pretty -- you get physical -- physically sick pretty bad. And, you know, she`d go one day, like, No, no, no, I want you to stop and - - and deal with it and stuff.
But, yes, like, after, like, two days, I`d be, you know, sitting there and shivering and throwing up. And, you know, you`re just a mess. She`d feel bad and she`d be like, well, here, I`ll give you a little bit so you`re not that bad to try to get you feeling a little better. But you need to stop and stuff.
ANDERSON (voice-over): But Jason did not stop, and it got worse. In fact, during the height of Jason`s career, as he was making movies like "Dogma," "Mallrats," and "Chasing Amy," he was privately battling his drug demons.
(on camera): You said you had drugs brought to you, or -- or how -- how did you get them when you were in situations where you thought you needed them, and you were on a movie set or you were working in -- in some way, shape or form?
MEWES: Well, really it was only "Dogma" that I did it on the set. Like, "Mallrats" I didn`t. "Amy" was only one day I sort of went there high. And it was, like, one night and it lasted all night.
So -- but "Dogma" was the only one that I was doing it throughout pretty much. But, I mean, usually I`d get up the night before and bring it with me. And I mean, there was just -- it was probably only a couple of times that, you know, during lunch or whatever, I`d, you know, run to the corner to the store or something and I`d have someone meet me there.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Fast forward to 2004, and Kevin Smith`s film "Jersey Girl," starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Jason wanted a part in the film, but was a wanted man in New Jersey for violating probation on a heroin-possession charge dating back to 2000.
MEWES: He had told me before that -- that he wrote the one character for me. And I was like, you know, if I get sober, you know, can I do it? And he was like, You know what? They`re not going to let you do it, even if you got sober, because you have the warrant.
Kevin`s family wasn`t talking to me. A lot of my friends were -- stopped answering my calls and all that. It was a -- sort of an eye- opener, that I was like, All right, I`m not going to be able to work. I have no friends, pretty much. I`m in a house with no heat and electric.
ANDERSON: But it was Kevin Smith who would shuttle Jason in and out of rehab. The last time was more than three years ago, and Jason has been sober and drug free ever since.
Kevin told me he feels like a father to Jason, a very proud father.
KEVIN SMITH, DIRECTOR: He`s like my first kid, to be honest with you. I mean, we have a very tight relationship, friendship. But at the same time, like, it`s -- it`s a paternal relationship, to some degree. It was just like, raising Jason was like raising a son. You know, so much so that when I had my own kid, I was, like, this is cakewalk.
ANDERSON: Yes.
SMITH: You know, this guy, he gave me a run for my money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You can catch Jason Mewes in "Clerks II" in theaters now.
We`ve been asking you to vote on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s "Question of the Day": "Stars Battling Addiction: Do you have sympathy for them?" Keep voting: CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. And write us: ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails on Monday.
A friendly reminder now: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is on seven nights a week. We are bringing TV`s most provocative entertainment news show to your weekends. Be sure to check us out, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Saturday and Sunday. That`s at 11 p.m. Eastern, 8 Pacific.
Hang tight. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Last night, we told you about the upcoming movie in which 12-year-old actress Dakota Fanning appears in a graphic rape scene. And we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Sexually Violent Scenes: Is it OK for underage actors to appear in them?" Nineteen percent of you say yes; a whopping 81 percent of you say no.
Here`s some of the e-mails we got.
Drew from Mississippi writes, "Oscar or not, a child`s pain of rape shouldn`t be exploited for entertainment purposes."
Kevin from Missouri says, "I see no harm in it. They shoot the scene with actors and add effects later to make it look really horrific."
We appreciate your e-mails.
OK, it`s time now to see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Ali (ph), put up that "SHOWBIZ Marquee."
On Monday, unlucky in love. From Halle Berry to Christie Brinkley, some of the most beautiful women in the world have a hard time in the romance department. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes a look at why some rich, talented, beautiful women are unlucky in love. That`s Monday.
Also Monday, Diahann Carroll is here. You remember here as Dominique Deveraux on "Dynasty." How this legendary actress is coming back to TV. Diahann Carroll, that`s Monday in the interview you`re going to see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
That is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for watching. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York. Join us here for more of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this weekend.
All right, but first, Glenn Beck is next, right after the latest from headlines -- latest headlines from CNN Headline News.
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