Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Anna Nicole Smith Update; Larry Birkhead`s Lawyer Out of Case; Jolie`s New Baby Boy Revealed
Aired March 16, 2007 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Your first look at Angelina Jolie`s new baby boy. Plus, why Jolie may actually give up acting. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And Anna Nicole Smith`s shocking death still unsolved, but already a TV show. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, an Anna Nicole Smith bombshell. Tonight, Larry Birkhead`s lawyer suddenly gone. The shocking split with the woman who has been by his side from the very beginning of his battle for Anna Nicole`s daughter. Tonight, what happened. Was she fired? Did she quit? And is there a secret deal for the baby in the works? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the late-breaking developments.
Tonight, a wake-up call for Hollywood on weight and body image. Why we`ve absolutely had it. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes on Hollywood`s ridiculous and dangerous obsession with perfection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has gotten very skinny in Hollywood lately. It is slightly worrying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is sounding the alarm. And Hollywood better listen.
Friday night is on. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
VARGAS: I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is issuing a challenge to Hollywood: we are demanding that it`s time to stop the obsession with perfection, from weight to age. We`ve got a special report coming up.
HAMMER: But first tonight, bombshell doesn`t even begin to describe what happened today in the unbelievable Anna Nicole drama. Out of nowhere, the lawyer who has passionately and angrily been fighting to get Larry Birkhead declared the father of Anna Nicole`s baby announced she was no longer representing him. And the stunning about-face came just hours before Birkhead was heading into another day of the paternity showdown, this time in a Bohemian courtroom.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that, as far as Larry Birkhead is concerned, there is no longer a grand old Opri.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): If the weird, surreal Anna Nicole Smith case resembles a three-ring circus, this lawyer was the lion.
DEBRA OPRI, ATTORNEY: Howard K. Stern, he better duck.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s viewers know Debra Opri as a tough, sometimes ferocious --
OPRI: Put up or shut up.
HAMMER: -- advocate, the public face of Birkhead`s quest to be acknowledged as the father of the baby girl. No one was safe from her bite, not judges.
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, FAMILY COURT JUDGE: Don`t test me.
OPRI: I`m not, your honor.
SEIDLIN: All right, so don`t test me.
OPRI: I`m not.
HAMMER: Not opposing attorneys.
OPRI: They can talk and spin and spin all they want.
HAMMER: Definitely not Howard K. Stern.
OPRI: Mr. Stern, you can laugh at me all you want. Are you or are you not the biological father of Dannielynn, under the laws of this state?
HAMMER: And before her death, not even Anna Nicole herself.
OPRI: Anna, you know, you dance all you want, but you have to pay the piper.
HAMMER: But now Opri and Birkhead have parted ways. Friday morning, Opri released a statement saying that, quote, Larry Birkhead and I have terminated our attorney-client relationship, effective immediately. Meanwhile Birkhead, who is now in the Bahamas pursuing his effort to get Dannielynn, talked to "Access Hollywood" about the split.
LARRY BIRKHEAD, EX-BOYFRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE: I`m going in a different direction. I wish her luck.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, what led to this high profile breakup? And how does this split affect this legal drama that has captivated the world?
From the beginning, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was the place Opri came to talk about this wild case and her personal commitment to it.
OPRI: Larry Birkhead is an incredible human being. He wants to be the father of that child.
If this is the last good deed I ever do, it will have been something very wonderful, fighting this fight for Larry Birkhead, because Dannielynn, in many years to come, will turn around and say somebody cared about me.
HAMMER: That was then. Now, as is often the case after public breakups, we`re left asking, where did it all go wrong? Opri gave me a hint of trouble on the Birkhead front the last time I talked with her on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
OPRI: Another thing that really upset me was when I was last in the Bahamas, Howard K. Stern started an accelerated contact agenda with my client.
HAMMER: She suggested that Stern and his attorneys were doing an end run around Opri to get to an emotionally vulnerable Birkhead.
HAMMER: I have warned my client that I do not want them talking. All I can tell you is that is the most egregious conduct of attorneys and Mr. Howard K. Stern.
HAMMER: Opri might have a point. Watch the fireworks from just the other day from Ron Rale, who technically represents Anna Nicole`s estate, but is still a close ally of Stern`s. With live TV coverage, and Debra Opri standing right next to him, Rale suggested that Birkhead dump his attorney.
RON RALE, ATTORNEY FOR ANNA NICOLE`S ESTATE: It would be great if the lawyers just exited and got out of here, but apparently it`s not happening.
HAMMER: And Opri all but shot lasers out of her eyes as Rale announced that Birkhead had been talking to Stern without her.
RALE: In Florida, there was a knock on my door, she lets Larry Birkhead talk about it, he`ll tell you. There was a knock on my hotel room. And in filed Howard Stern, Larry Birkhead and poor Shelley. And they proceeded to discuss whatever they were going to discuss, private, without the lawyers.
HAMMER: As famous TV attorneys from Perry Mason to Matlock to Boston Legal`s Alan Schor (ph) would tell you, nothing poisons an attorney-client relationship faster than back channel communications with the enemy. None of them was available, so SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went to "Inside Edition`s" Jim Moret, an attorney himself.
JIM MORET, "INSIDE EDITION": If you represent a client who isn`t listening to you, as their attorney, I think you have a big problem. If Larry Birkhead was independently talking to Howard Stern or his representatives and Debra Opri wasn`t privy to those conversations or didn`t agree with what was going on, she would have every reason to leave as his representative.
HAMMER: Meanwhile, Larry Birkhead and Anna Nicole Smith`s estranged mother Virgie Arthur are in the Bahamas. Each is challenging Howard K. Stern for custody of Dannielynn. And Birkhead is still trying to get that DNA test that would help clear up this whole who`s the daddy mess. But Birkhead is doing all of this without the sure handed guide that`s led him through this difficult and public fight.
MORET: When you look at Larry Birkhead, he`s very mild mannered. He seems to be a very nice, likable guy. Debra Opri is the perfect attorney. She`s a pitbull. So he`s losing a very powerful advocate here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: All right, let`s try to clear up some of today`s stunning developments. With me tonight, from Los Angeles, investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell, who is also the author of this soon to be released book, "Secrets Can Be Murder." Here in New York, the host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat," Ashleigh Banfield.
Hi ladies. Let`s get right to it. Jane, what do you think`s going on here? Debra Opri get fired or did she quit?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, you can argue all night about who dumped who, however, the bottom line is there is friction between these two. I spoke with Debra Opri today, and she insisted she was increasingly upset by Howard K. Stern`s growing influence over Larry Birkhead, calling Howard Stern a middleman. I cannot imagine that Debra Opri, the attorney, would simply make that up out of whole cloth.
To me, it implies that Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern are, at the very least, communicating, and possibly negotiating. And, of course, the first thing that comes to mind when you`re negotiating is they`re talking about the baby.
HAMMER: Yes, and I want to get to that in just a moment. Debra Opri, on the other hand, is claiming that there were things she was asked to do that she wasn`t comfortable with. While Birkhead says it was the other way around. Ashleigh, which do you believe to be true?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: I will never know unless I was sitting in that room. You can only surmise. Maybe it`s just a case of Larry Birkhead wants to settle this out of court and Debra Opri not wanting to settle this out of court, wanting to take this right through. If that`s the case, I still can`t understand why there would be any interest at all in her leaving, other than maybe she`s doesn`t think she`s going to get paid.
But, again, unless you are in that room and you`re listening to those very privy conversations, it is hard to guess.
HAMMER: Let`s get to the reality of whether or not maybe there is a deal going on. Because, as you mentioned Jane and Ashleigh both, there`s a lot of speculation that all this behind the scenes wheeling and dealing is going on, with Birkhead trying to work out this deal with Howard K. Stern, saying perhaps Birkhead will get the baby, Stern will get all the future rights to Anna Nicole`s estate.
Jane, do you think there`s anything to that?
MITCHELL: Well, you know, TMZ reported a while back, around the time of Anna Nicole Smith`s funeral, that there were such negotiations going on, and they headlined their story, what will it take for Howard K. Stern to go away? They said everything was up for grabs, including the boat that Anna Nicole Smith bought around the time of her death, as well as a second house she reportedly Owned in the Bahamas.
To me, it all seems very premature. Her will had not been probated. It was written before Dannielynn was born. There are so many questions. It seems very premature for anybody to be talking about trading anything.
HAMMER: I know that everybody hopes to settle out of court when there are courtroom battles going on. But, Ashleigh, would you be surprised if, in this case, when we`re talking about the custody of a child, it ends with a deal being struck between these two, Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern?
BANFIELD: I hate to say this, everyone but me. Because I work for Court TV. So I always hope things go to court and that they`re not settled out of court. No, I don`t think I would be surprised at all. Because there will be a lot of egg on a lot of people`s faces, coming out of this. But if they can settle it amicably and not have to give out some of the dirty details, like who`s your daddy, I don`t know, maybe that would be something that both parties would be interested in.
HAMMER: Who knows? Yes, and for your sake, I hope it goes to court too and stays in the courtrooms. Jane, we keep hearing that Howard K. Stern is the guy pulling all the strings in all cases here. He supposedly did it with Anna Nicole while she was alive. He supposedly has been trying to manipulate Larry Birkhead. We even heard Debra Opri saying that Stern`s the whole reason that she no longer represents Larry Birkhead. As incredible as it might seem to try to grasp, do you think, Jane, that Howard K. Stern is really the great puppet master in all this, pulling all the strings?
MITCHELL: Well that`s what everybody has been saying, that he`s a Svengali. In fact, the private investigator, who says he met with Daniel before Daniel`s death, said Daniel called Howard K. Stern a Svengali. But Howard K. Stern`s attorneys say that`s nonsense, that Stern had Anna Nicole`s best interests at heart. Judge Larry Seidlin said, at the very least, he`s an enabler, and I think we can say that for sure.
HAMMER: All right, Ashleigh, I`m going to ask you this carefully, and I only have about 25 seconds. Within a week, we should be finding out what really did kill Anna Nicole Smith. The police are heavily involved at this point. Would it surprise you if Stern somehow is implicated in her death?
BANFIELD: Nothing surprises me in this story at all. In fact, I wouldn`t even be surprised to hear that Larry Birkhead had something to do with it. But I am not going to do any surmising until I get the facts from Josh Perper and from the police.
HAMMER: I think Next week will be action packed. Ashleigh Banfield, Jane Velez-Mitchell, thank you both for joining me tonight.
BANFIELD: Thanks, A.J.
VARGAS: Now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, Anna Nicole Smith`s baby battle, do you think that a secret deal is in the works? Go to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us e-mail at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. And remember, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. Send us a video e-mail. Go to our website, CNN.com/SHWOBIZTONIGHT.
HAMMER: Of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is all over these late-breaking Anna Nicole developments. Coming up at 31 past the hour, we`re heading right to the Bahamas to get the latest in the courtroom battle for Anna Nicole`s baby, Dannielynn. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It` completely out of control. I really do. And do you know what sad thing is? There isn`t anything anyone can do about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Tonight, a wake-up call for Hollywood on weight and body image. Why we`ve absolutely had it. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes on Hollywood`s ridiculous and dangerous obsession with perfection.
HAMMER: Plus, we`ve got your very first look at Angelina Jolie`s new baby boy. And why you may not see Angelina on the screen any time soon. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VARGAS: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Now a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, Hollywood`s wake-up call. We`re sick and tired of the way that Hollywood sends out dangerous messages about weight and body image, because the super skinny stars, the always perfect look, come on, who really looks like that?
So tonight, right here, right now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is sounding up the wake-up alarm and telling Hollywood to get real.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (voice-over): Hollywood, consider this your wake-up call. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has had it with the ridiculous obsession with perfection and the idea that beauty is just for those under 40. From cat walks to red carpets, we`re declaring an end to the unrealistic, unhealthy obsession with weight and body image. And the stars are right there with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s gotten very skinny in Hollywood lately. It`s slightly worrying.
VARGAS: The idea that Bony is beautiful seems to be everywhere in Hollywood. Look at Nicole Richie, who at just over five feet tall, admitted not to long ago to weighing an alarming 85 pounds. Then there`s the incredibly shrinking Kate Bosworth and Mary Kate Olson, stars young girls look up to, and even praise on pro-anorexia websites.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s completely out of control. I really do. And do you know what the sad thing is? That there`s not anything anyone can do about it.
VARGAS: Well SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is trying to do something about it. Going coast to coast, speaking with the biggest stars about Hollywood`s perfection obsession. And perhaps no one has been more outspoken about this than Kate Winslet.
KATE WINSLETT, ACTRESS: I think it`s just a lot to do with the way the media obsess over this and keep talking about it and keep putting it in magazines. That`s the thing that young girls look at. We do not have magazines in our house, because, you know, this is the stuff that children -- children are being exposed to.
VARGAS: Right with Kate Winslett is "Dreamgirl" Jennifer Hudson. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Hudson`s Oscar win wasn`t just a personal victory for the one-time "American Idol" contestant. It was a win for curvy women everywhere.
KATE HUDSON, "DREAMGIRLS": It`s about feeling good about yourself. Not about -- I mean if it feels good to be a size zero, then be that size zero. Whatever makes you feel good. But don`t do it for somebody else.
VARGAS: Hudson`s bringing her full figure to the mainstream. She even landed the March cover of "Vogue," sharing the news stands with bootylicious Beyonce, in the great "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue."
So is this the beginning of the end of stick thin role models? We sure hope so. After all, a recent study shows that more than 60 percent of American women wear a size 14. That means they look more like Jennifer and Beyonce than Nicole Richie and Lindsey Lohan.
SUSIE CASTILLO, FORMER MISS USA: You know, the people losing weight and being super skinny in Hollywood, you don`t have to be that way to work in Hollywood.
VARGAS: Suzie Castillo was crowned Miss USA in 2003. She`s now the new face of Neutrogena. She tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, you don`t have to be stick thin to be successful.
CASTILLO: You don`t have to do those things and take it there, to that level, in order to work in this business.
VARGAS: But as Tyra Banks showed us, having a healthy body image doesn`t mean you`re safe from criticism.
TYRA BANKS, TALK SHOW HOST: Kiss my fat ass!
VARGAS: Tyra used her talk show to fire back at the tabloids, who ran this picture in their magazine, declaring all too happily that she had gotten fat. Tyra then talked to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson about her decision to speak up.
BANKS: It was my message for young women, my message for young women everywhere to stay strong, because it`s going to exist. You know, the people saying that super skinny is better; it`s always going to be here. So I`m trying to empower women to be strong in that storm, to be able to look in the mirror and say, oh my god, I`m beautiful.
VARGAS: One woman who most definitely agrees, America Ferrara, the beautiful star of "Ugly Betty."
AMERICA FERRARA, "UGLY BETTY": I think that the important thing is to show the differences in life and the different definitions of what beautiful is.
VARGAS: And speaking of beautiful images, we at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT want Hollywood to wake up and start recognizing the beauty in older actresses. We all applauded when 61-year-old Helen Mirren won the Oscar for her role in "The Queen."
LEEZA GIBBONS, "DANCING WITH THE STARS": Look at Helen Mirren. She had this incredible role as "The Queen," that was not a sexy role. She dared to be sexy and 60 and people bought it.
VARGAS: But one good role doesn`t a trend make. We`re just hoping Hollywood hears our wake-up call when it comes to women in Hollywood. Because nothing`s more attractive than a confident, healthy woman, no matter what her age is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, former "American Idol" final finalist and singing star Kimberly Locke definitely thinks Hollywood needs a wake-up call. She is very comfortable with the way she looks. When she sat down with me, she didn`t hold back one bit when it came to talking about her own body image and how others shouldn`t care at all about trying to fit into Hollywood`s ridiculous images.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMBERLY LOCKE, FORMER "AMERICAN IDOL" FINALIST: It`s important that you love yourself the way that you are right now. In this moment, love yourself, because you`re not going to change it over night. You won`t going to wake up in the morning and be 30 pounds lighter. You`re just not. You have to work at it. So it is like, accept yourself the way you are and have a healthy relationship with your body and a healthy relationship with yourself mentally about the issue.
And then if you want to change it, then go forward from there. But don`t do it because it`s the Hollywood thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Extremely positive messages from Kimberly Locke that everybody, especially those in Hollywood could certainly learn from. And Hollywood certainly is way out of touch when it comes to weight and body image in so many ways. And at 41 past the hour, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT sending Hollywood a wake-up call to stop dissing women over 40.
VARGAS: And up next, your very first look at Angelina Jolie`s brand new baby boy. Plus why you may not see her on screen any time soon.
HAMMER: Plus, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT covering the Anna Nicole Smith saga like no other entertainment news show. We`re leaving snowy New York and heading right to the sunny Bahamas for today`s dramatic court room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Angelina Jolie says, I`m going to be a stay at home mom. That`s right. Angelina is in Vietnam right now, where she adopted a the- year-old orphan boy, she renamed Pax Tien (ph). It was an emotional ceremony yesterday.
Here now, it`s your first look at him from his new passport photo. Jolie says priority number one is now to focus on her family, saying, quote, I will stay at home to help Pax adjust to his new life. I have four children and caring for them is the most important thing for me at the moment.
Angelina lashed out at critics who have ripped into her for this latest adoption. Some think she`s got too many kids or that Pax may be better off where he is. She said, quote, everyone would agree that children need to have a family. I have the ability to help children fulfill that desire. Why should I say no? Jolie and Brad Pitt`s three other kids are adopted Zahara and Maddox, and Shiloh, who was born to them last May.
VARGAS: Well yesterday we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, Anna Nicole smith`s death; Do you think foul play was involved. Fifty seven percent of you say yes; 43 percent of you say no.
The e-mails? Betty from Illinois writes, "Anna`s death and her son`s were intentional. Stern should be given a lie detector test. He`s the one responsible."
But Shannon from New Mexico thinks that if Anna`s death was a crime, "there wouldn`t be so many unanswered questions. No, I don`t think that foul play was involved. He, Stern, would have had it all planned out if he meant to cause harm to Anna."
HAMMER: Well so many questions, still very few answers in the ongoing, shocking Anna Nicole Smith saga. Coming up next, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is heading right to the Bahamas. We`re going to fill you in on the very latest in today`s dramatic court battle over Anna Nicole`s baby, Dannieylnn.
VARGAS: And A.J., you just knew it was a matter of time before someone put the stunning story on TV, right? Well, tonight, the first TV show about Anna`s tragic death. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women over 40 look better now than they ever did in their 20s and 30s. I think companies are really jumping on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Also tonight, more of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s wake-up call for Hollywood on weight, body image and age. We`ve absolutely had it. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes on Hollywood`s ridiculous and dangerous obsession with perfection. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night will be right back.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT as we get into the weekend. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
And tonight, we have another Hollywood wake-up call. And I got to tell you, these ads with women over 40, these campaigns - I`m starting to like them. Especially that Dove campaign. Did you see it A.J.?
HAMMER: Loved the Dove campaign and the women in it.
VARGAS: You know what? You know - it`s about time that Hollywood kept it real, right? Well, we have a special report coming up.
HAMMER: Also, Sibila, it was only a matter of time between the very real-life saga of Anna Nicole Smith became the subject of a television show. We`re going to tell you which TV show is taking it on, and who`s playing what role. That`s coming up in just a couple of minutes.
But first, let us get you up to date with the very latest in the Anna Nicole Smith saga. A major bombshell in the case today. Debra Opri is out as Larry Birkhead`s attorney. She has been with him since the beginning in his fame for paternity of baby Dannielynn. But today, Opri announced that they have ended their attorney-client relationship.
In a statement, she says she wishes him the best and that her prayers are with Birkhead and Dannielynn.
One woman who faced off with Opri in court in Florida during the battle over where Anna Nicole would be buried, Krista Barth, Howard K. Stern`s attorney. Late today, I spoke with Krista by phone, and I asked her whether she was as surprised as the rest of us to hear that Opri was out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTA BARTH, HOWARD K. STERN`S ATTORNEY: I am surprised. I - I did see, you know, some deviation of late in their strategy (ph). I know that she was very concerned that he have any communication with my client, which I found to be very unusual. I mean, usually as attorneys, we encourage the parties to talk between themselves, and, you know, to cultivate any sort of settlement.
I mean, we`re not the ones that are supposed to be driving the train. So I`m surprised that it happened. But, you know, on the other hand, it - you know, these things do happen between clients and attorneys.
HAMMER: Can you pinpoint on any one thing in particular that you think is actually what was the reason that this relationship ended?
BARTH: You know, I`m really not privy to the - the relationship between Miss Opri and her client, Mr. Birkhead. I mean, it is - he seems like a nice person, and, you know, I think that it was a - a - seemed like a good relationship. I mean, it seemed like a very personal relationship, and, you know, she had actually escorted him to the funeral, which I thought was highly unusual. That seemed to be something I would think that she did out of friendship with him, and not as an attorney, because obviously it`s really not a place for attorneys to be.
So on that side, I find it kind of unusual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Krista Barth also told me that she felt that Opri was trying to break her in the Florida court hearing, and that she was surprised by all of the personal attacks.
Well, this bombshell happened just hours before yet another court hearing got under way in the Bahamas in the battle over who`s going to get custody of baby Dannielynn.
Joining me tonight from the Bahamas, Court TV correspondent Jean Casarez.
Jean, I appreciate you being with us. And as I mentioned, the big surprised today, as we just heard, Birkhead`s attorney, Debra Opri, suddenly no longer with him.
Now you are privy to what`s going on because I know you spoke with Larry Birkhead today. What did he tell you about all this?
JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, COURT TV: Well, I spoke with Larry Birkhead; I also spoke with Debra Opri though before that. And Debra Opri specifically told me that she had been asked to do things that were unethically, and that is why she was stepping down.
She told me that it has to do with the continuing, growing influence of Howard K. Stern, and that she just couldn`t do those things, because in her book, they were unethically. And that is why she parted ways with her client Larry Birkhead.
Now I asked Larry Birkhead today as he came out of the courthouse here in the Bahamas if he was going to get another California lawyer. He told me he didn`t know if he was going to get another California lawyer, that he was really focused right now on the Bahamas and his Bahamian lawyer.
HAMMER: Did he indicate though that he was asking her to do things that she was not comfortable with, as she was claiming?
CASAREZ: He didn`t respond to that. Beyond that, he wouldn`t really say anything.
I asked him if he had seen his daughter since he had been in the Bahamas yet. He said, `No, he hadn`t.` And I asked him, `Well, when do you expect to see her? You`re here.` And he said, `I don`t know. I really don`t know.`
As far as the legal issues, of course there is a gag order, so they can`t really say anything. But Larry Birkhead said that he was very happy that there were various moods in that courtroom, depending on what side you were on. But he was one that was happy with the result today. And there will be another hearing on Tuesday, right here at the Supreme Court in Nassau.
HAMMER: Good - good to hear he was happy. Despite that gag order, are you able to give us any sense of what happened in the courtroom down in the Bahamas? Is this fight coming to an end anytime soon?
CASAREZ: I can tell you one thing. You know, Virgie Arthur was in the courtroom, and she had her two U.S. lawyers with her, John O`Quinn (ph) and Tom Perdle (ph). Well, there was a motion before the court by Howard K. Stern`s attorney for the hearing to become closed, so it only involved the attorneys - literally involved in the action. So that meant the American lawyers had to get out. And they did leave.
We spoke with Tom Perdle, who said - who`s now not bound by a gag order - who said that one of the things the judge is ordering in the case is for them to get evidence together to show that Howard K. Stern would be unfit. So that is what they`re going to be looking at and doing this weekend, to get all the evidence they can get for Tuesday in regard to the unfitness of Howard K. Stern.
HAMMER: So it sounds like they`ll be a lot of dirty laundry that we`re probably not going to be privy to when that actually comes out in the courtroom.
What - what can you tell us about this possible deal though that we`ve been hearing so much about, something going on behind the scenes, between Birkhead and Howard K. Stern for the custody of the baby.
CASAREZ: I don`t think we know anything about that. But I think we can possibly read between the lines.
Debra Opri told me specifically several weeks ago, after the funeral - remember, when everybody was saying, `There`s a deal. There`s a deal.` Debra Opri said - I - `I wanted to wait until the funeral happened, but there`s going to be no deal. The deal is that you get a paternity test. That`s the deal.`
Now we hear her specifically today on the record say that she was bowing out because of unethical things that had been asked of her. You can put it together; I don`t know the answer.
HAMMER: Yes. Yes - Jean, how - how likely though do you think it is that - that the Bahamian court is going to force a paternity test? Because we have to all keep in mind, that under Bahamian law, the father is whomever is listed on the birth certificate. And we all know the name on that birth certificate, as the daddy as it stands now, is "Howard K. Stern."
CASAREZ: That`s exactly right, O.J. (sic). And the fact is, here in the Bahamas, a judge really can`t order a paternity test. At least that`s the precedent law. The judge can actually direct someone to take a blood test, which would be for DNA. Directing is sort of advising, requesting, acting - but not ordering. So that could become an issue in this court.
And it`s all based on common law of England here. And so that`s the basis for the - the reasoning.
HAMMER: Yes. And as I`ve mentioned before, we`re in for a big week next week, we think.
Court TV`s Jean Casarez, enjoy the weekend down there, and thank you for being with us from the Bahamas tonight.
CASAREZ: Thank you. Thank you.
VARGAS: We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Anna Nicole Smith Baby Battle: Do you think that a secret deal is in the works?"
Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight. And write us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll read some of your e-mails tomorrow.
And remember, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. Send us a video e-mail; go to our Web site, cnn.com/showbiztonight.
HAMMER Everybody listen carefully - can you hear that? That is the sound of the Anna Nicole Smith being ripped from the headlines for - what else? - an episode of "Law & Order."
NBC announced today an upcoming episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," called "Bombshell." Kristy Swanson stars as a stripper-turned- model and widow of a 90-year-old billionaire. Her son dies mysteriously, and then she meets the same fate a few days later. Sounds familiar, doesn`t it?
That episode "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will air May 8 on NBC.
VARGAS: Well coming up tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, a Hollywood wake-up call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOIS JOY JOHNSON, "MORE" MAGAZINE: Women over 40 look better than they ever did in their 20s and 30s. And I think companies are really jumping on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Next, we`ll see how advertisers are finally waking up to the fact that older, wise women have had it with teenagers hawking anti- wrinkle cream on TV.
HAMMER: Plus, Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance making it work in a Hollywood marriage. Angela told me her husband made one rule that has been absolutely key in making their marriage strong and long-lasting. Find out what it is, still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMERON DIAZ, ACTRESS: It doesn`t help that we`re bombarded with imagery constantly that says that it is a certain standard you have to live up to. But, you know, ultimately, I think that we all have to figure it out for ourselves; we have to accept what we have, who we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood.
Well, tonight, a Hollywood wake-up call. Women over 40, gather round, and let me ask you this: are you sick and tired of seeing models half your age, without a wrinkle on them, selling you age-defying makeup? Well if so, turn the volume up, because someone has been listening.
Here`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Women over 40, rejoice: there`s a whole new model in town. Clairol has fortysomething Teri Hatcher.
TERI HATCHER, ACTRESS: Do different hair colors deserve the same treatment? Nice n` Easy doesn`t think so.
ANDERSON: Covergirl is bringing back over-50 Christie Brinkley.
CHRISTIE BRINKLEY, MODEL: Who says you can`t look as young as you feel?
ANDERSON: And in her 60s, Diane Keaton dazzles for L`Oreal.
DIANE KEATON, ACTRESS: And you know what? We`re worth it.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the over-40 celebration is in full swing. The ladies are looking fantastic, and are showing it all off while pitching age-appropriate products.
JOHNSON: It`s an appealing way to look at products. And we don`t want to see women who are in their teens or 20s selling wrinkle creams or wearing expensive clothes. In a way, that`s insulting.
ANDERSON: Hollywood has been working fast and furiously to make up for being late to the life-starts-at-40 party, with TV shows like "Desperate Housewives".
HATCHER: Not if you`re sucking my exhaust you won`t.
ANDERSON: ..moves like Diane Keaton`s "Because I Said So".
KEATON: And actually, I am taking stock of my life.
ANDERSON: ...and now the ad market.
MARY ALICE STEPHENSON, "HARPER`S BAZAAR": There`s a method to the advertising madness.
ANDERSON: Jordache to Badgley Mischka, Covergirl to Mac cosmetics - - the takeover is under way as commercial favorites look to the older, more sophisticated women to be the face for their campaigns.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went straight to "More" magazine`s Lois Joy Johnson to look into this piece of the advertising pie.
JOHNSON: The largest (INAUDIBLE) segment of the population are women over 40. And we bought over $11 billion worth of anti-aging products last year.
So this is a very powerful group of consumers out there.
ANDERSON: Acting royalty, "Queen" star Helen Mirren, tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she agrees.
HELEN MIRREN, ACTRESS: And it`s a final recognition of the fact that women are a very, very powerful economic force in the world. And they`re not to be sidelined in any way.
ANDERSON: Jordache is looking to cash in on that pot of gold. Its new campaign reads, "The look is back," and over-40 Elizabeth Hurley was the model figure they went looking for.
STEPHENSON: Jordache Jeans just signed with Elizabeth Hurley. Elizabeth Hurley is in her early 40s. She looks fantastic. She`s comfortable in front of the camera. These women want to wear the same things their daughters wear. And that includes jeans.
Badgley Mischka took a more mature approach to advertising their famous fashions this time around. Sharon Stone, who`s pushing 50, an age bracket or two older than last season`s spokesgirls, the twentysomething Olsen twins.
And Mary Alice Stephenson of "Harper`s Bazaar" tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she agrees with their move.
STEPHENSON: Badgley Mischka is now working with Sharon Stone, letting go of the Olsen twins, because now they want to speak to an older audience. A brand can`t survive now without speaking to many audiences.
ANDERSON: And if you ask SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Christie Brinkley can speak to any age group.
We remember her as the Covergirl of the `80s. But now she`s back, believe it or not, over 50, and making Covergirl look better than ever.
STEPHENSON: Historically, Covergirl had never worked with older women. But they felt the need to now, because the Boomers were demanding it. They want anti-aging products.
ANDERSON: So in honor of the graciously gray, fine-lined women who think Lionel, not Nicole, when they hear the name "Richie," advertisers are giving the gift of realistic images - with Sharon, Pantene`s Diane Lane, and Mac`s Raquel Welch.
JOHNSON: Most women over 40 look better now than they ever did in their 20s and 30s, and I think companies are really jumping on this. And it`s important to us, as we get older, not to look younger, but to just look the best that we can possibly look.
ANDERSON: And cover girl Christie Brinkley agrees.
BRINKLEY: Sure, my skin looked great in my 20s. But would I want to be 25 again? Not a chance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Well, it`s about time. That was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson.
HAMMER: What a great attitude.
And it`s not just celebrities over 40 who are celebrating their beauty. Dove has a whole new campaign using real women to show that beauty comes in all ages, shapes and sizes. The campaign shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The campaign also drives home the point that this ridiculous obsession with youth and perfection is just a whole lot of nonsense for today`s real women.
Joining me tonight in New York, one of the real women who appeared in the buff for that campaign, Mary Morris.
It`s a pleasure to meet you and have you here, Mary.
MARY MORRIS, APPEARED NAKED IN DOVE AD CAMPAIGN: Nice to meet you.
HAMMER: Do you mind my revealing how old you are?
MORRIS: No. I`m.
HAMMER: You`re - you`re 64 year old.
MORRIS: True.
HAMMER: And you got naked for Annie Leibovitz, albeit - but you got naked for this Dove campaign. That take a lot of self-confidence and courage.
What was that like?
MORRIS: Well, you would - I am a truly modest person. And I was told that this would all be done with great taste. And actually, the purpose of it all is Dove. You - the - if you look at the picture, you seem my arms and legs. It was done - I was totally covered, and felt - Annie Leibovitz is - first of all, is wonderful.
HAMMER: Absolutely.
MORRIS: Makes you feel so comfortable. Everybody was professional. I was covered, and it was kind of fun. And I - I was not embarrassed, or - I sat there, like I say, with my arms and legs and.
HAMMER: And you got nothing to be embarrassed about anyway.
MORRIS: Not, not at all.
HAMMER: And if you`ve been paying attention to the show today - and I know you have, back there in the green room - you know that we have declared a wake-up call, saying it is absolutely time that Hollywood gets real, whether it be about weight or just appearance, or age.
Do you think there are enough women in Hollywood who are out and proud of their age?
MORRIS: I think so. Look at - look at the Academy Awards, Helen Mirren. I mean, in the movie "The Queen," you see her wrinkles. You see what she`s really like. And then a little powder, lipstick, and - and voila!
HAMMER: She`s 61 years old.
MORRIS: She`s gorgeous. Yes.
HAMMER: Yes, and here - here`s a woman who was known for playing these sensuous roles all of these years. And suddenly she`s saying, `You know what? This is how I look; this is who I am. Nothing - nothing but good can come from that.`
I imagine you would agree with that.
MORRIS: I do. Look at Sophia Loren.
HAMMER: What about Sophia Loren? Why is she so appealing?
MORRIS: She`s a happy, honest person. I mean, she loves family; she loves people. She - if you`re happy with yourself, you take good care of yourself.
And look at Diane Keaton.
HAMMER: Another big Hollywood star.
MORRIS: She`s another gorgeous - right. And you`ve seen her in movies with wrinkles, and the - the story in the movies about age. And I - she`s like I am, proud of my age. And beauty really has no age limit at all.
HAMMER: All of it - all of it really comes down to just feeling good about who you are, and feeling good about your body, and embracing it, doesn`t it?
MORRIS: Totally. Totally.
If you shop in the stories, everything`s anti-aging, as if aging is our enemy. It isn`t. I embrace my age. Everyone should.
And the Dove campaign for Pro-Age is for pro-age. It`s for people - they want women, all women, to feel beautiful, no matter what time they are in their life.
HAMMER: Because the fact is, whether you`re on the big screen coming out of Hollywood, or just like you and I sitting here, we don`t really have an alternative. We are going to get older. So why not embrace it? Isn`t that a message we need to drive home to women more?
MORRIS: That is true. My husband always said when he got up, `If my name`s not in the obituaries, I`m going to have a wonderful day.`
HAMMER: Well, it - it is stupendous to see you sitting here at 64 years old. Your billboard is up in New York City.
MORRIS: It is.
HAMMER: And - and it`s a pleasure to meet you. I thank you for joining us tonight. Mary Morris.
MORRIS: Well, thank you, A.J.
HAMMER: Well coming up, Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance making it work in Hollywood. Angela told me that her husband made one rule that has been key in making their marriage strong and long-lasting. You`ll find out what it is coming up next, when SHOWBIZ TONIGHT returns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s get A.J. back to the desk for the next block.
Master, stand by to your break. Roll it now, and effect black.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Now, "Making It Work in Hollywood and Beyond." It`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of couples who are making their relationships work.
There`s no better example of a strong Hollywood couple than Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance.
Everybody remembers Angela`s Oscar-nominated role as Tina Turner in the film "What`s Love Got To Do With It." Of course, Courtney B. Vance from "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
In their new book, "Friends: A Love Story," the couple opens up in a big way about their marriage.
And when I sat down with them, they offered up their advice on how to deal with those rough patches in a relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Great chapter in here, "Lessons From the Road Less Traveled." And I`m curious if you have one great piece of advice you would dispense to somebody who is maybe going through a difficult time right now in their relationship. Because every relationship`s got its ups and downs.
ANGELA BASSETT, ACTRESS: Yes.
You have to go back to your first love. Go back to what it was that - you know, that opened your eyes and opened your heart initially. And sometimes after all the years and whatever you`ve been through and the experiences, that`s hard to - to recall, to remember. But as best you can, you know, really looking into their eyes and their face, and - you know, and try to see them, you know, perhaps as - as God sees them, if at all possible.
And when we were - when we were married, you know, and began to have the ups and downs and trials, he was the one who - who made Rule No. 1, which was.
HAMMER: Rule No. 1, Courtney.
COURTNEY B. VANCE, ACTOR: If the queen is happy, the land is happy.
HAMMER: The whole kingdom is working out some how. That`s a good rule to live by.
VANCE: And we - you know, from the very beginning, I - you know, I - I - people have, you know - there`s no perfect marriages. And, you know, we`re not purporting that we - we have one.
But we - we - and I challenged us to put - I - I challenged myself first, but to put her first. And based on that, everything else, decisions, became not easier, but clearer.
HAMMER: There are extra pressures with celebrity couples, that everyday couples may not have to deal with. You guys are a prime example of a couple able to keep it together.
What - what would you say your secret is for making it work?
VANCE: We - we`re committed to each other. We`re committed to - and that`s where we started off from the very beginning of - you know, things are going to come out. But in this circle of this ring, you can`t step out. We`re going to work out. Whatever it is, when .
(CROSSTALK)
BASSETT: Stay in the ring and duke out.
VANCE: Stay in the ring and.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Angela and Courtney`s book, "Friends: A Love Story," is in stores now.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks a lot for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
VARGAS: And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood.
"GLENN BECK" is next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News.
END
