Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
What about the DUI?; First Look at Brad Pitt`s New Movie
Aired August 03, 2006 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Your first look at Brad Pitt`s new movie, ripped from the headlines.
I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And the growing outrage against Mel Gibson from some of the most powerful people in Hollywood.
I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Mel on wheels. Sure, everyone`s focusing on his outrageous anti-Semitic comments. But, hey, what about the horrific charges Mel was stone-cold drunk while driving? Which is worse?
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates and asks some very tough questions.
Stars behind bars. The biggest stars, the crimes, the punishment... the pictures. We got them all: the bad, the worse and the unbelievably ugly.
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the celebrity mug shot hall of shame.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Hi, there. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
All right. I want you to forget for just one second everything you`ve heard about Mel Gibson`s sickening anti- Semitic ranting and raving, because tonight, we want to tell you that there`s a side of the Mel Gibson story that`s just as important.
ANDERSON: Right, A.J. Something else happened that fateful night he was arrested a week ago, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is wondering why the reason he got arrested seems to be fading into the background.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This man is anti-Semite.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he`s a -- he`s a jerk.
BARBARA WALTERS, "THE VIEW": I don`t think I want to see any more Mel Gibson movies.
ANDERSON (voice over): From Barbara Walters on "The View," to the man on the street, people are mad at Mel Gibson. The anti-Semitic comments he made during his drunk driving arrest have much of Hollywood, if not the country, rightly lining up to criticize him.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, TV JOURNALIST: He suffered the terrible public embarrassment. This is a public relations nightmare for him.
ANDERSON: But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has noticed that amid all the criticism, the backlash and boycott talk over Mel`s disturbing anti-Semitic comments...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope that, you know, this will affect his career.
ANDERSON: ... one fact is all but lost in the dim. Gibson has been charged with a serious crime, driving under the influence. He`s been charged with having a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of .08. Some reports put it as 50 percent higher, .12.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is wondering, where`s the outrage over that?
GLYNN BIRCH, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, MADD: This is beyond social drinking, and so it is an outrage and it`s a wakeup call.
ANDERSON: Glynn Birch, the national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that the issue of DUI can`t be ignored in the Gibson case.
BIRCH: We can`t look at this lightly. You know, 13,000 people are still dying every single year due to drunk driving. Over a half a million are injured. It`s -- it`s something that`s 100 percent preventable.
ANDERSON: DUI is a serious crime, and it`s been committed by more than its share of big names. Two stars of the ABC powerhouse show "Lost," Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, were arrested on drunk driving charges on the same night last year. Watros was fined and her license temporarily suspended. And Michelle Rodriguez, who also had a 2004 DUI conviction, was sentenced to five days in jail.
MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ, ACTRESS: I`ve worked six years of my life to gain what I`ve gained. I come from nothing. And I`ve lost it all.
ANDERSON: Country singer Glen Campbell, actor Nick Nolte, former "Growing Pains" star Tracy Gold and country singer Wynowna Judd, who was stopped for DUI in this police cam video...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re under arrest for DUI.
ANDERSON: ... all have DUIs in their past. Even the president of the United States has one. He was fined 30 years ago on a misdemeanor DUI charge in Maine, a fact that came out during his 2000 campaign for president.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I oftentimes said that years ago I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much. And I did on that night.
ANDERSON: And now that Mel Gibson`s been charged with DUI, what awaits him?
Harvey Levin, a former attorney whose Web site, TMZ.com, first broke the Gibson story, says, don`t expect to see Mel in jail.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: Mel Gibson will not see a jail cell. This is a classic case where he will get probation. He will get his license suspended. And he will have to take an alcohol education course. That`s normally the way these cases are treated. It will be treated that way here.
ANDERSON: Even though Gibson or most other first-time DUI suspects likely don`t face possible serious jail time, it`s still a serious charge. Gibson seems to have acknowledged that, saying in a recent statement, "I drove a car when I should not have and was stopped by the L.A. County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I felt fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person."
And as Gibson continues to take heat for what he said during his arrest, he will also contend with the consequences of a DUI charge.
BIRCH: Celebrities shouldn`t have a pass, and we should make efforts to make sure that America understands that this is a serious crime that we need to change.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Now, in addition to the misdemeanor DUI charge, Gibson also has been charged with driving with an open container of alcohol.
Now, at first, Hollywood was silent, but now just a week after Mel Gibson was arrested for driving under the influence, there`s been a sudden explosion of outrage with some of the most influential people in Hollywood now saying they will never work with Mel Gibson again.
With us tonight in Hollywood is Howard Bragman, one of the most powerful publicists in Hollywood. And from New York is Rachel Sklar, media editor of the opinion blog site huffingtonpost.com.
Howard, Rachel, thanks to you both for being here.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PR: Thanks.
RACHEL SKLAR, HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: Of course.
Now, Howard, I want to begin with you. We`re hearing from some big- name people now, producers, agents, the Sony Pictures movie chairwoman, all speaking out against Mel Gibson`s anti-Semitic comments.
BRAGMAN: Right.
ANDERSON: I want to take a look at what Larry Gelbart -- Larry Gelbart, the creator of "MASH," the guy who brought us "Tootsie," I want to take a look at what he had to say on one blog, and it is this: "To Mel: You managed to con everyone, sir, including those of your own faith." Gelbart goes on to say that Gibson is "a man who so stokes the bonfires of bigotry."
Howard, there is genuine outrage in Hollywood right now against Gibson, isn`t there?
BRAGMAN: And rightly so. I mean, Mel Gibson has been accused of anti-Semitism and homophobia in the past. He`s denied it, and everybody`s let him go.
And then this happens and we feel like, as Larry said, we`ve been fooled. And there`s a lot of anger. More anger than there would if it was the first time something like this had happened.
ANDERSON: Rachel, speaking of anger, Ari Emanuel, he was the first one who publicly spoke out. He`s a very powerful agent in Hollywood. He, in fact, was the inspiration for the Ari character on HBO`s "Entourage."
He wrote on your Web site -- let`s take a look at this "People in the entertainment community, whether Jew or Gentile, need to demonstrate that they understand how much is at stake in this by professionally shunning Mel Gibson and refusing to work with him, even if it means a sacrifice to their bottom line."
Now, a sacrifice to the bottom line in Hollywood, Rachel, that`s really saying something. This really struck a chord.
SKLAR: It really did. And Ari was the first person to come out and say so on "The Huffington Post." And who knows what might have happened had he not done so, had he not been the first person to take that stand.
The bottom line is important. Ethics, morals, those are more important than even the bottom line. And even in Hollywood, this is -- whoops. Got to get that back.
ANDERSON: You OK?
SKLAR: Yes. Got it. I mean, even in Hollywood, you know, there`s got to be a limit.
ANDERSON: That`s right. It`s also some actors who were speaking out, Rachel.
Rob Schneider took out an ad in the Hollywood trade today, "Daily Variety," and although it was a little bit tongue in cheek, he was still sending a message. Rob Schneider, wrote, "I, Rob Schneider, a half Jew, pledge from this day forth to never work with Mel Gibson, actor, director, producer and anti-Semite. Even if Mr. Gibson offered me the lead role in `Passion of the Christ 2,` I would have to say NO!"
Howard, is Mel such damaged goods? Are there going to be actors who just won`t work with him?
BRAGMAN: There`s going to be a lot of people who said they don`t want to work with him. Big studios have already said no thank you. Producers have said no thank you.
And if somebody does cast Mel Gibson in a project, then they have to deal with a lot of people on the set who are going to be awfully uncomfortable. There`s a lot of people in this town who rebel against hatred.
ANDERSON: In Hollywood, inside Hollywood it`s all about relationships. And Mel Gibson had a lot of relationships, a lot of friends, has worked closely with so many actors over the years. But the silence is deafening in terms of the support.
Rachel, where is it?
SKLAR: Well, the silence is deafening because you can`t support these kinds of statements. Mel Gibson really went over the line.
This is not your garden variety DUI. This is not Robert Downey Jr. or Nick Nolte. I mean, those were bad, but this is a sustained verbal assault, a barrage of hatred, of anti-Semitism, of racism that was captured. And the world has gotten to read in a play by play.
Everybody is aware, and it`s just something that you can`t tacitly ignore and it`s something that you can`t support by virtue of tacitly ignoring it. I think any kind of support that Mel Gibson is getting now are from people who are saying, OK, he`s apologized, let`s look ahead now. And really, the only -- the only way we are going to see whether or not Mel Gibson can come back is if he`s able to shore up his reputation and his credibility through his actions in the future.
ANDERSON: Howard, very quickly, do you think Mel is done in Hollywood?
BRAGMAN: No. Mel is far too successful and far too wealthy. His last two movies he`s funded himself. So he always has the options of creating his own projects, which I think he`s going to go back on more, because I think others aren`t going to want to work with him. So he should be fortunate he has that little -- little fund of a few hundred million dollars to take charge of these projects.
ANDERSON: He`s got quite a cushion.
OK. Howard Bragman, Rachel Sklar, we`re going to leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us with your insight on this.
BRAGMAN: Thanks.
SKLAR: Thanks.
ANDERSON: OK. Now we want to hear from you on this. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day."
Mel`s mistake: Is his alleged DUI worse than his anti-Semitic comments?
Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight. Send us an e-mail -- showbiztonight@cnn.com.
HAMMER: The explosive videotape that police shot of Mel Gibson the night he was arrested. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the story that really could just blow the lid off the case.
That`s coming up.
ANDERSON: Plus, stars behind bars. We`re getting out the photo album of the most unforgettable mug shots ever. The biggest stars in the biggest trouble coming up.
We`ll also have this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BABEL")
BRAD PITT, ACTOR, "BABEL": I need to call my embassy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you?
PITT: Where are we?
I don`t know. I don`t know.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "BABEL")
HAMMER: Brad Pitt back on the big screen in a movie that`s ripped from the headlines. We have your very first look just ahead in the "Showbiz Showcase."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Time now for a story that just made us say "That`s ridiculous!"
We all know that Elvis sang a song about a hound dog, right? And he sang another song about a teddy bear.
Well, look at that dog and look at that bear. He had no way of knowing that these two worlds would converge all these years later and spell disaster.
Yes, in England, that guard dog you were looking at ripped the stuffing out of Elvis`s teddy bear, Mabel, as you see splattered all over the floor. Look at that sweet dog. I can`t believe he would do something like that.
And this bear, on display with a thousand other teddy bears, a very valuable collection. So valuable, in fact, an insurance company insisted on having guard dogs there. Not such a good move, because the guard dog went berserk, shredding Mabel and dozens of other bears.
The dog is now being sent into early retirement at a farm where he can chase chickens.
Wouldn`t want to be one of those chickens -- Brooke.
ANDERSON: No. Let`s hope he doesn`t maul any of the chickens, A.J.
All right. A guard dog ripping Mabel apart, now, "That`s ridiculous!"
Moving now to tonight`s "Showbiz Showcase," "Babel," tarring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as an American couple struggling to survive deep within the Moroccan desert, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your first look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BABEL")
CATE BLANCHETT, ACTRESS, "BABEL": Richard, why did we come here?
PITT: To be alone.
BLANCHETT: Alone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the beginning, all the lord`s people from all parts of the world spoke one language. Nothing they proposed was impossible for them.
PITT: What`s wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your wife`s been hurt.
PITT: Is anybody a doctor? Is there a doctor?
I need your help. Wait! Stop!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fearing what the spirit of man could accomplish, the lord said, "Let us go down and confuse their language so that they may not understand one another`s speech."
PITT: I need to call my embassy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you?
PITT: Where are we?
I don`t know. I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shooting of an American tourist as sparked an international incident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s all over the news. Everybody is paying attention. We will do everything we can.
BLANCHETT: I want to talk to the kids. I want to talk to them.
PITT: This is an emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can anyone come to take care of the kids?
PITT: Listen, this is urgent, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where you headed today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mexico.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are they?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m in charge of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I`m going to ask you to step out of the vehicle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will step out of the vehicle!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can explain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They refuse to acknowledge this is an act of terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will find these people. Wherever they are, we will find them.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "BABEL")
ANDERSON: "Babel" comes to theaters October 27th.
HAMMER: Of course everyone knows Alan Thicke as one of America`s favorite TV dads on the hit `80s sitcom "Growing Pains." But did you know that because of that show he actually writes books on parenting?
And this is his latest. It`s called, "How to Raise Kids Who Won`t Hate You."
Before he and I talked about disciplining kids, we talked about the kind of discipline Mel Gibson is getting from the public for his anti- Semitic comments and if he thinks that the Los Angeles County Sheriff`s Department gave Gibson special treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN THICKE, ACTOR, WRITER: Well, I saw that mug shot of his which was gorgeous. So I know he got special treatment. He got hair and makeup.
HAMMER: Do they have that in Malibu? Is that the deal?
THICKE: I think they must have so much traffic down in Malibu at the police station that now they have to have a makeup trailer there.
He looked great. You know, Nick Nolte looked like Yoda. And Mel Gibson looked like Mel Gibson.
HAMMER: When you first, you know, opened up the paper or read it on line, however it came to you, what did you think?
THICKE: I thought, oops, poor Mel. That`s what I -- my original thought, because I don`t know the man, so I don`t know that he has bias, bigotry, prejudice that -- that he deserved to be exposed for. But I do know that he will pay the price now, because whatever those thoughts and feelings are, he`s too much of a public person to get away with that.
We are, all of us on television, too influential to be so irresponsible.
HAMMER: And you think by that he should be accountable?
THICKE: I like the way some of the leaders in the Jewish community that I`ve been reading about have responded to him, which is basically to reprimand him, but to also say, OK, well, you know, if you`re serious about sadness over this whole issue, and you`re willing to pay the price and go through the steps of your rehabilitation, we`ll work with you and we`ll teach you why from the eons of experience that we have, why we know how damaging those kind of remarks can be and how -- and how and why those have to be controlled and, for that matter, eliminated.
HAMMER: And it`s not just the adults that are getting into trouble. You particularly, as a parenting expert, so to speak, are you wondering where the parents are when you see people like Lindsay and Paris Hilton running around?
THICKE: You know, there`s an assumption that we only have those kind of parenting challenges in Hollywood. And part of the point of my book is to say that we have Lindsay Lohan in every neighborhood in America.
And that`s not to be judgmental about Lindsay Lohan or draw any conclusions, but she`s right down the street with those kind of values or needs or desires or transitional periods in her teenage life. She happens to have more money and opportunity, maybe, but I think the globalization of our world now is what makes the challenge of parenting so much more pronounced than it was a generation ago.
HAMMER: It`s so interesting to me that you are out there writing these parenting books, because, of course, everybody knows you mostly as the loveable dad from "Growing Pains" for all those years. Now, there are a lot of actors that come and sit right where you are sitting and say they don`t want to be pigeonholed. They run screaming from something that they became known for. They don`t want to be known as "that guy."
You haven`t run screaming from this, Alan.
THICKE: You know, my three boys have been the love and joy of my life. So to be identified with -- with all of that, and to celebrate and have the opportunity to write a book that includes anecdotes about them and our experience together is a privilege.
And what "Growing Pains" did for me in my life has been a privilege. And I`m out at a lot of lectures and luncheons, not only speaking, but listening and hopefully learning. And the question, because of the "Growing Pains" image, that always comes up is about kids. How do I -- how do I raise them to do this or to do that? And a lot of it can be condensed into, how do you raise kids who won`t hate? Because there is so much discipline and guidance involved, and it`s usually us spoiling their dangerous fun.
You know, our job is to do that and theirs is to be young and stupid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Alan also told me that it is possible to raise good kids even in Hollywood. He says that his three sons are well behaved and they grew up with humility and confidence.
His new book, "How to Raise Kids Who Won`t Hate You," in bookstores now.
ANDERSON: The explosive videotape that police shot of Mel Gibson the night he was arrested.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the story that can blow the lid off the case coming up.
HAMMER: Plus, the biggest stars, the crimes, the punishments, those pictures. We are going to be flipping through the photo album of stars behind bars. The celebrity mug shots hall of fame is still to come.
ANDERSON: And Rosie O`Donnell gets ready to co-host "The View." And only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the scoop on who she really wants to interview.
That`s coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Tomorrow, stars and rehab. With Mel Gibson getting arrested for DUI and saying he`s getting treatment, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates stars who have checked in and out of rehab.
We get into that tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Let`s take a stroll down memory lane for a moment, shall we? Do you remember this song?
(MUSIC)
Oh, yes, you do. It`s Celine Dion singing the love theme from "Titanic." I think we all remember "My Heart Will Go On."
Now the guy who wrote that song has a new gig. The Hollywood composer has written the opening music for Katie Couric`s "CBS Evening News."
A CBS exec tells "The Hollywood Reporter" that James Horner wrote a theme that`s "memorable." Couric gets in the anchor chair September 5th, and I guess you can say near, far, wherever you are, the news will go on.
HAMMER: I`ll never let go, Brooke.
Jennifer Lopez pulls out of the much-anticipated movie version of "Dallas" at the last minute.
Details coming up.
ANDERSON: Plus, what`s on the explosive videotape the deputy shot of Mel Gibson the night he was arrested? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has that story.
HAMMER: And the biggest stars, the crimes, the punishment, those pictures. We`re flipping through the photo album of stars behind bars. We will show you the celebrity mug shot hall of fame.
That`s still to come on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Thursday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I am A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
A.J., we all know Rosie O`Donnell is gearing up to co-host "The View," to fill one of those empty seats.
HAMMER: Right.
ANDERSON: And only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the scoop on who she really wants to interview, who she just can`t wait to interview. And we have that coming up.
HAMMER: Because - well, when she had her talk show, she basically got to interview everyone and anyone. I can`t believe there`s anybody left.
ANDERSON: There is, and we have it.
HAMMER: Also still to come - you know, when Mel Gibson was arrested, the cops videotaped him.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HAMMER: And apparently, we are told, that was it on that tape are potentially explosive. We`re going to get into that and whether or not that tape could actually, possibly get out, coming up in just a few minutes.
But first tonight, of course Mel Gibson`s mug shot by now has been all around the world, and there it is again. But Mel`s mug isn`t all that bad. In fact, we heard Alan Thicke say moments ago on this program, it looked like he had hair and makeup.
So the SHOWBIZ STAFF got to wondering: what are the best celebrity mug shots out there. Who better to help us out with all of this than our friends over at SmokingGun.com. That`s a Web site dedicated to bringing it`s true - exclusive documents obtained from governments and law enforcements right to your desktop.
Joining me here in New York, Andrew Goldberg, managing editor of TheSmokingGun.com.
Always a pleasure to have you here.
ANDREW GOLDBERG, THESMOKINGGUN.COM: Thanks for inviting me.
HAMMER: Let`s get right to it and start out with a classic. I think this might be the all-time best one. Just put it up; we all know this mug shot from back in 2002, I believe it was, of Nick Nolte.
Can we see that - I mean, come on now. Come on. Arrested for DUI?
Is it that he looks so bad, or just a bad wardrobe choice that day?
GOLDBERG: This is sort of the gold standard of mug shots. When you look at it - I mean, you have the Hawaiian shirt, and then you have the hair that`s even more crazy than the shirt. Of course, what we found out later was, It was actually GHB that he was on at the time, not even alcohol.
HAMMER: Ah.
GOLDBERG: So, you know, quite a mess that mug shot is. And nobody`ll ever top it. I mean, it`s pretty much impossible.
HAMMER: Hence - hence the reason, as Alan Thicke said moments ago, he looked like Yoda. Perhaps that was the GHB.
OK, let`s - let`s show a couple more here from Bobby Brown, who has really given us plenty to choose from over the last 10 years. These two mug shots are from two separate arrests on the same day?
GOLDBERG: Right. I think we have 500 Bobby Brown mug shots. I mean, we may not even actually all of them. And it`s interesting, the white T- shirt was worn both of them - first he was stopped for speeding and having some pot. They realized he had a warrant out, an old one, so they took him across to the next county and photographed again, where he put on a basketball jersey for the second one.
It`s nice to have a wardrobe change if you`re going to have two mug shots in one day.
HAMMER: I was going to say - a little costume change. You know, I wonder if that - he knew actually what he was doing, that we`d be looking at this one day.
Let`s bring up the one from Hugh Grant. Now this is already 11 years old, this shot, from 1995. And when you look at him, he looks kind of sheepish, kind of has that, I-just-got-caught-with-a-hooker-and-I`m-a-star look on his face.
GOLDBERG: Right, he`s doing the falling-out-of-the-frame-a-little-bit thing. Like, I`d like to get out of here, but I have to stand still for the photo. Mel Gibson seems to be doing the leaning-out-of-the-frame as well. But it`s the little-boy-oops-I`ve-been-caught thing going on there.
HAMMER: And we all remember, you know, how - how conciliatory he was after that.
GOLDBERG: Right. He did the right thing. He went on, you know, the late-night TV shows and apologized.
HAMMER: Now we`re showing all the guys, Andrew, who have been busted, and their mug shots. But it`s not just the men. Some women have been arrested as well.
And one mug shot that caught our eye, that of Tracey Gold. This was for a 2004 drunk-driving arrest. Doesn`t look all that happy, and she probably shouldn`t, because she rolled her SUV with a family inside.
GOLDBERG: Right, and drunk driving is a very serious thing. I mean, we`re looking at the mug shots. And some of them crazy because we`re not used to seeing celebrities this way. But she did it roll it. She - one of her kids was hurt in the incident. And, you know, I mean, it`s a terrible thing. But she clearly has been crying, and should be crying. Look it, she put her family in danger while doing this.
HAMMER: Yes, clearly remorseful in that particular shot.
All right. I love this next particular shot because one of our all- time biggest stars in the world, featured in this particular picture. Looks like he has no idea what the heck is going on and where he is.
GOLDBERG: See, and the beauty of this one as opposed to many of the others, like the Mel Gibson or some of the others we`ve looked at is, Michael Jackson had a chance to turn himself in. So he made himself - this is how he wanted to look in that picture..
HAMMER: Exactly.
GOLDBERG: .knowing it was going to be released. So you look at that picture and you go, Well, this is how Michael Jackson wants to be presented to the world. And we welcome that.
HAMMER: And this was when he was arrested back in 2003 on the child- molestation charges.
GOLDBERG: Right.
HAMMER: .that, you know, we all know what ended up happening here.
Let`s - let`s take another one from the you-better-think-twice-about- your-wardrobe-before-you-go-to-jail stash. This one of James Brown.
GOLDBERG: Right. Well..
HAMMER: My oh my.
GOLDBERG: Well, if you look at the on one side, he`s green and it - and that`s bad photography. It happens sometimes.
But the robe he`s wearing - this was a domestic-violence thing that ended up getting kicked out. It didn`t go anywhere; his wife decided not to press charges. But he claims, look, the water and electricity weren`t working for a couple days; I didn`t have a chance to shower. But it is - like, the robe is really amazing. It makes it with the hair.
HAMMER: You wouldn`t know he`s the Godfather of Soul.
Real quickly, I want to get to one more, which I know is a real popular choice for people who go on to your Web site, the classic shot of Glen Campbell from 2003.
GOLDBERG: Right, the Rhinestone Cowboy. This was another drunk- driving thing. He decided to elude - you know, he left the scene. And, you know, he got into it with the cops while they were booking him. So you can see, he`s snarling, he`s angry at the time.
HAMMER: Andrew Goldberg from TheSmokingGun.com, a pleasure to have you here. Thanks. That was a lot of fun.
GOLDBERG: Thanks so much.
HAMMER: Taking a look at those pictures. And of course, you can check out all of those mug shot - mug shots simply by going to the Web site, SmokingGone - SmokingGun.com is what I`m trying to say.
ANDERSON: The Mel Gibson saga is the hot topic all over the place, including all the way up to the White House press briefing room, if you can believe it. President Bush made a surprise appearance to kid around with reporters as the briefing room was closing for a nine-month renovation project. And lo and behold, the subject of Mel Gibson came up.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Should Mel Gibson be forgiven?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Is that Sam Donaldson? Forget it, you`re a has-been. We don`t have to answer has-been`s questions.
(BOOING)
QUESTION: Mr. President, do you want to say anything a little about the White House press corps, please?
BUSH: Say something about the White House press corps?
QUESTION: Yes, sir.
BUSH: It`s a beautiful bunch of people.
QUESTION: How about your best moment in here, sir?
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH: My moment in here was when my press conference ended.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) - about Mel Gibson?
BUSH: I can`t here you. I`m over 60, just like you.
QUESTION: Ronald Reagan could away with that, sir.
BUSH: He was over 60 as well.
Anyway, as you can tell, I`m thrilled to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Seems the president didn`t want to touch the Gibson story with a 10-foot pole.
By the way, reporters are working out of temporary offices across from the White House while the briefing room is being renovated.
HAMMER: So Mel Gibson, as we know, has now said he is sorry for his anti-Semitic rant during a drunk-driving arrest last week. And last night we were asking you: "Mel Gibson: Do you accept his apology?" Pretty forgiving audience voting last night, with 63 percent of you saying yes; 37 percent of you saying no, you don`t accept the apology.
A lot of e-mails came in on this, including one from Betty in Maryland. She forgives him: "He has made a mistake and is sorry for having gone off the wagon. It`s a daily struggle for an addict."
But Amy from Texas cannot forgive and forget: "Until he solves his personal problems and gets educated, his apology his meaningless.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT also hit the streets to find out if people are accepting Mel Gibson`s apology. And here is some "SHOWBIZ Street Talk."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, as a Jewish person, I don`t. I don`t. I find that he only apologized because he was forced to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don`t accept his apology. I think he needs to be a better job talking about what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he`s always felt like that in the first place. So I don`t really accept his apology at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t; I think he`s a - he`s a jerk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was going to say everybody makes a mistake. He was drunk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s impossible to know what he said. It`s impossible to know what he meant. It`s impossible to know what he means when he apologized.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t. I think with consumption of alcohol comes true feelings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think it`s sincere. I know his history and his background and I don`t think it`s sincere.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t really think an apology can excuse much. Being a young person knowing that when we get drunk we tend to say what we actually believe, I don`t think an apology is really going to do much good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: As a human being, I don`t accept it.
It is time now to get into tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
Good news and some bad news for Madonna tonight. First, the bad: so the Material Girl`s out on tour, as you may have heard. And she`s going to be in Rome this weekend. Now as part of her show, she wears a crown of thorns and she hangs on a cross. Well, that`s got Catholic and even Jewish and Muslim leaders in Italy upset, especially because her concert`s going to be going on right around the corner from the Vatican. All right, now on to the good stuff: borrowing a page out of the Angelina Jolie playbook, Madonna tells "Time" magazine she`s now committed to raise at least $3 million for orphans in the African country of Malawi.
JLo has left Sofo. That`s right; SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned that Jennifer Lopez has dropped out of "Dallas." We couldn`t get Lopez`s publicist to tell us exactly why she`s leaving the South Fork ranch. She was supposed to play Sue Ellen Ewing in the big screen version of the hit 80s TV soap.
And apparently, "Die Hard" just won`t die; it is coming back. The Bruce Willis action movie series will be returning, as Willis has now signed on for a fourth one. It`s called "Live Free or Die Hard." It`s going to be out next summer.
And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."
Well, there may be four "Die Hard"s, but SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is on seven nights a week. That`s right; TV`s most provocative entertainment news show can now be seen on your weekends. So join us, won`t you? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT now on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to Monday through Friday, at 11 p.m. Eastern, 8 Pacific.
Coming up, big surprise here: Paris Hilton fails a political pop quiz. We`ll tell you why we think "That`s Ridiculous!" Actually, it`s absurd how much she makes just for being Paris Hilton. We`ll get into that next.
Also, Rosie`s return to TV. The soon-to-be "View" co-host reveals the person that she most wants to interview when she starts up with the show next month. It`s a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive, and that is next.
Also, another stunning twist in the Mel Gibson drunk-driving story: there`s reportedly an explosive videotape of Mel`s arrest. We`re going to hear what`s on it, and it will shock you. But will we ever see it? We`ll find out next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) A.J. to (INAUDIBLE) track you to the segment. Master roll your break, and effect black.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Music under. Stand by, A.J. Pre-set Camera 2. Open his mike, dissolve 2. Go.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Make no mistake about it: this is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
And it`s time now for another story, or in this case another person, that made us say, "That`s Ridiculous!"
Yes, once again, as this young lady, Paris Hilton, proves, you don`t have to have talent or even a basic knowledge of world affairs to be rich and famous. In an interview with "British GQ" magazine, she was asked about British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Not surprisingly, she said, "Who?"
But Paris did know about the late Prince Diana, saying she can totally relate to her, because she, too, has had paparazzi chase her in cars. I can`t what the Queen Mommy thinks of that.
Best of all, though, Paris says she gets paid $500,000 just to show up at parties and wave.
Which contributed, Brooke, to the $200 million that Paris said she made last year.
ANDERSON: Can you believe that, $200 million bust (ph), A.J.?
Also, asked who she would most like to be compared to.
HAMMER: Yes.
ANDERSON: .she replied, Marilyn Monroe mixed with Diana.
HAMMER: Let me mark that down.
ANDERSON: Yes. Mark that one down.
Paris, politics and being paid for parties? That`s all ridiculous.
Well, we can tell you that Paris Hilton is definitely not the person Rosie O`Donnell would most like to interview when she joins "The View" next month. Rosie`s soon-to-be-co-host Barbara Walters talked to Rosie about coming back to TV, and tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can reveal exclusively who Rosie most wants to chat with on the show. It`s not a president or even Tom Cruise who Rosie always was a fan of.
Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, "THE VIEW" CREATOR: Who would you like to have now on "The View"?
ROSIE O`DONNELL, ENTERTAINER: Eminem.
WALTERS: Really?
O`DONNELL: Yes. He`s been through a very, very, very hard time. And since I left my show, I really sort of started studying his music, and this guy, I think, is a musical genius. And he`s come - you know, faced a lot of controversy about some of the stuff that he says. But as an artist, you have to use your real life as the clay that you mold.
I don`t know that he`d ever do it; I don`t think he does daytime shows. But I would love to - I`ve never interviewed him. I would love to be able to meet him and interview him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You can see more of the Rosie-and-Barbara interview on "The View" all this month.
HAMMER: Right after police arrested Mel Gibson, they shot video of him, and the word tonight: that footage could be explosive.
Joining me now from Glendale, California, Harvey Levin, managing editor of the entertainment Web site TMZ.com.
Hello, Harvey.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: Hi, A.J.
HAMMER: All right. So you say the video from the station, the police station, much more vulgar, much more explosive than anything we`ve read up until now.
How do you know that?
LEVIN: Well, I didn`t say more explosive. I mean, the anti-Semitic comments were pretty awful. But Mel Gibson had some choice words of that station, and they really are awful. And I can`t go beyond that right now. But this is a videotape that he absolutely does not want to get out to the public.
HAMMER: And is that basically why he has hired one of the most powerful law firms in all of Hollywood, to - to keep that tape from getting to the public?
LEVIN: Well, I`m guessing he hired one of the most powerful law firms in Hollywood because he can afford it.
Blair Burke (ph) is going to be the principal lawyer. She`s a great lawyer, and very effective. And I am just positive that they are going to plea bargain this case immediately. Because if you can plea bargain it, then they can argue, Hey, it never went into evidence, so the tape should never be made public. And I think they`re going to go that route.
TMZ is going to challenge that. And we`ve already submitted a letter to the sheriff`s department saying, Forget about Mel Gibson; we want the tape because of the shenanigans of the sheriff`s department itself. Because it will shed light on why they put all of this information in a supplemental report.
HAMMER: So explain that to me: the tape actually can be released in certain circumstances to the public?
LEVIN: Well, typically what would happen is, if this case gets plea bargained - and I know it will - then the tape would never have gotten into evidence, because there never would have been a trial. So it really is just part of an investigative report, and that cannot be made public. It`s protected by law.
We`re going to make the argument that the tape goes beyond just the Mel Gibson case; it has to do with the sheriff`s department. Because, as we`ve said, we believe that the sheriff`s department was improperly trying to hide this information from the media. And that becomes critical evidence. And we`re going to ask for it as a result, and we`ve already sent a letter to the sheriff`s department.
HAMMER: OK, but in terms of image - you know, as we all know, the fallout has been terrible for Mel Gibson up to this point in the court of public opinion. If this tape does get out and is made public, how much worse do you think it will make things for him?
LEVIN: It will - it will make things worse for him.
HAMMER: No question about it?
LEVIN: No question about it.
HAMMER: Because, you know, we`ve seen tapes of celebs doing dumb things in the past, and those are the images that are forever burned in our minds, no matter what those people go on to do. Anytime somebody mentions Winona Ryder, we think of that shoplifting tape. We think of Michael Jackson dangling the baby, getting played over and over.
Do you think it could sink him?
LEVIN: Well, Winona Ryder is like watching the Disney Channel compared to this.
HAMMER: Yes. So - so this really could - could be the - the - the final straw.
And is this a tape that is made no matter who the person being arrested is, or was it made because this is such a high-profile case?
LEVIN: Neither, actually. It was made because the deputy was so concerned driving Mel Gibson driving to the station, that Mel Gibson was so out of control in the car, that he called ahead and said, Look, I want somebody to videotape this, because God knows what Mel Gibson might do once he gets to the station.
HAMMER: Now you`re talking about a plea bargain. I`ve also heard you mention that he may plead no contest, meaning no jail time. Could you explain that, and why he wouldn`t plead guilty with all this mountain of evidence against him?
LEVIN: Well, I mean, typically in these - in these DUI cases, they would plead no contest. Functionally, it`s not that different from pleading guilty. But they basically strike a deal where he accepts certain punishment. And my guess is, what`s going to happen, he will not see - he will not get any jail time. He`ll get probation; his license will be suspended and he`ll have to go to an alcohol-education program, and maybe community service.
But that`s basically the way anybody else would be treated.
HAMMER: Harvey Levin from TMZ.com, thanks as always.
LEVIN: Bye, A.J.
ANDERSON: Listen to this: the rabbi who invited Mel Gibson to speak at his temple is telling some of his upset congregation, Chill out. Rabbi David Baron from the Temple of the Arts in Los Angeles sent around a letter to members, which TMZ.com got a hold of, clarifying things. Baron writes that he invited Gibson to deliver a public apology, not just to speak. Also the letter added that a -quote - "precondition" of Gibson coming is that he sit down with the rabbi for some one-one-one facetime, where Baron will - quote - "vet the sincerity" of his apology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RABBI DAVID BARON, INVITED MEL GIBSON TO HIS TEMPLE: (INAUDIBLE) who`s skeptical about his sincerity, and also if these are statements being made for personal correction through a publicist to improve his image and standing in that community. But I think that if he takes the other steps beyond this, and really meets one on one, and really comes and apologizes to the Jewish community at a service in a public manner, I think that could be very effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: No word yet on whether Gibson will take the rabbi up on his offer, which by the way, is for Yom Kippur, the holiest holidays for Jews, when they ask Gods to forgive their sins.
All right. Moving now to the "Question of the Day" - SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." And it is this: "Mel`s Mistake: Is his alleged DUI worse than his anti-Semitic comments?" Keep on voting: cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us: showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails tomorrow.
HAMMER: Boy, is it hot out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How hot is it?
HAMMER: That was pretty good.
It`s so hot out there that you can actually fry an egg on the sidewalk. In fact, the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT interns are going to be making breakfast for us tomorrow. Mmm, sidewalk eggs.
The nationwide heat wave has not fried the TV weather folk. Oh, no. They are doing their grammar school teachers, because they`ve used just about every `hot` word under the sun.
Here`s CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you`re a fan of heat jokes.
DAVID LETTERMAN, COMEDIAN: Let me tell you how hot it was today.
MOOS: It was so hot newscasters exhausted just about every possible word to describe the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The oppressive heat.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Blistering heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excessive heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Punishing heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scorching heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweltering heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it`s sizzling.
MOOS: It`s as if all these tortured phrases are torturing us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Painfully hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boiling hot.
MOOS: Leaving regular folks grasping for something new to say.
(on camera): It`s blistering hot. It`s steaming. Punishing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Punishing. Cool!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Manageable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Intolerable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Undreezable (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s hellish, people!
MOOS (voice-over): He ought to know; he`s a Presbyterian minister.
Judging by their language, even the most proper people are succumbing to the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (BLEEPING) hot!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh!
MOOS: As if temperatures at or above 100 weren`t enough, they rub it in with scalding-hot maps and jarring graphics.
Not to mention weird weather-related segments, like the one where the reporter swallowed a thermometer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.
MOOS: .in the form of a pill.
Or another titled, "Mission Impossible: Smell Good in the Heat."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Antiperspirant could have a deodorant in it, but if it`s just deodorant, it has nothing to stop the sweat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
MOOS: And if one more person tells me to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hydrate (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay hydrate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.
MOOS: Try hydrating this kid..
(SCREAMING)
MOOS (on camera): And talk about a heated vocabulary: "The New York Daily News" coined a new word...
(voice-over): "Sweatiquette" - sweat meets etiquette. And they offer solutions to sticky situations. For instance, if you`re trapped in a subway under someone`s arm pit, or if someone sweaty tries to hug you..
(on camera): Come at me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
MOOS: This is the forearm grab.
(voice-over): Obviously the heat is getting to the media.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re looking at the baked apple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boston is getting baked and - excuse the pun, but it`s a little like the beans they`re famous for.
MOOS: The pun we`ll pardon, but not this simile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heat like a sword.
MOOS: Blazing heat one day, sizzling the next. It`s enough to make you wish the weatherman would shoot the breeze, like in "Groundhog Day."
BILL MURRAY, ACTOR: Oh, look out; here comes trouble.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That was CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
I was checking the thesaurus. A couple of words we like: broiling words - I didn`t hear that; searing - not on the list; neither was like, Uck (ph).
ANDERSON: No, it wasn`t, A.J.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Things really do heat up on the weekends with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We are now on seven nights a week. Tune in to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT each and every night, including Saturday and Sunday, 11 p.m. Eastern, 8 Pacific.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Let`s see what`s coming up tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, as we get into the weekend.
On Friday night, stars in rehab. With Mel Gibson getting arrested for DUI and saying he`s getting treatment, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates other stars who have checked in and out of rehab. And what about all those celebs who say they`re going to seek help after they do something bad? A sincere move, or just part of a PR (INAUDIBLE). A provocative look tomorrow, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Have a great night, everybody. Glenn Beck is next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News. Keep it here.
END
