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Showbiz Tonight
Owen Wilson Mysteriously Hospitalized; Child Abuse Alleged Against Britney Spears
Aired August 27, 2007 - 23:00 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: Big breaking news, "Wedding Crasher" star Owen Wilson rushed to the hospital. We`ve got the latest on his condition and it is a major Hollywood mystery. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And Hulk Hogan`s son hospitalized after a horrific car crash. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT a Britney baby battle shocker. Tonight someone is dangling the word abuse. Who is making the disturbing allegations? Is her ex, Kevin Federline, involved? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the latest on the bitter battle for Britney`s babies.
Good Hollywood on bad Hollywood. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes right to the good stars, the young celebrities who are staying out of trouble, and they`ve got some darn good advice for out of control young Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My motto is you can`t live a positive life with a negative mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with good Hollywood secrets to staying good.
Hello, I`m AJ Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And the hits, boy, they just keep coming with Britney Spears. Don`t they, AJ?
HAMMER: You are so right, Brooke. Tonight the star is reportedly facing new jaw-dropping allegations of possible child abuse. We will tell you everything about Britney`s latest problem. Believe me, you`ll want to stick around for that.
First tonight, it`s the story that all of America is talking about. A big Hollywood mystery around one of its biggest stars. Actor Owen Wilson hospitalized after paramedics were called to his house.
ANDERSON: The thing is, no one -- and I mean no one -- is publicly saying what emergency landed him in the hospital. Hollywood and the tabloids are on fire with speculation as everybody asks what happened to Owen Wilson?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s our back story?
OWEN WILSON, ACTOR: We`re brothers from New Hampshire. We`re venture capitalists.
ANDERSON (voice-over): He may have been a less than scrupulous wedding crasher, but Owen Wilson is still one of the most popular comedy actors in Hollywood. But his hospitalization over the weekend is playing out like a tragic drama and a real life Hollywood mystery.
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE MAGAZINE": It`s been crazy. The paparazzi are camped out in front of his house. The blogs are lit up like a Christmas tree.
ANDERSON: In the hours after his hospitalization, those in Wilson`s circle are saying very little about what`s wrong with the superstar. So tabloids are rushing to fill the vacuum with shocking and unconfirmed reports of what landed Wilson in the hospital.
FLEEMAN: Nobody seems to have a real strong handle on exactly what happened, but a strong sense that something did happen and probably not very good.
ANDERSON: Forget what you have been hearing elsewhere. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings you the facts about the dark times surrounding one of Hollywood`s most beloved funny men. It all began Sunday afternoon when the 911 call to Santa Monica police.
FLEEMAN: A little bit after noon paramedics, fire departments, police responded to Owen Wilson`s house and took him to the hospital.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Wilson was first taken here to St. John`s in Santa Monica. He later ended up here at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where he reportedly got a visit from his brothers, actor Luke Wilson, and Andrew Wilson.
FLEEMAN: He is from a very close-knit, loving family. They want to be very careful about how they handle this and what they say.
ANDERSON: Owen Wilson is the last person you would expect to find in such a sad situation.
WILSON: Well, everyone knows Custer died at Little Big Horn. What this book presupposes is maybe he didn`t.
ANDERSON: Wilson`s boyish good looks and slacker like demeanor have made him one of the most bankable comedic actors, with movies like "The Royal Tannenbams," and "You, Me, and Duprey."
WILSON: I don`t live to work. It`s more the other way around. I work to live. Incidentally, what`s your policy on Columbus Day?
ANDERSON: Altogether, his movies have grossed more than one billion dollars. And along with his frequent collaborator, Ben Stiller, he is considered a key member of Hollywood`s new fraternity of funny men.
FLEEMAN: He is at the peak of his career. He can`t get any hotter as a comic actor. He can do pretty much anything he wants.
ANDERSON: But Wilson isn`t immune to the hardships of fame.
FLEEMAN: Owen Wilson became a tabloid darling when he started dating Kate Hudson.
ANDERSON: That high-profile relationship with the Oscar nominated actress ended with a high profile breakup that was no doubt painful. Owen`s famous friends were saying he seemed to be recovering.
FLEEMAN: We caught up with Bruce Willis not too long ago. Bruce Willis told us, hey, he is fine.
ANDERSON: But now Owen Wilson is very clearly not fine. He is acknowledging that much. He has released a statement to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT saying, "I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time."
So when or if Owen Wilson will ever decide to open up about what happened to him remains to be seen. All we can say now is that whatever it is, it certainly is not very funny.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: No, it`s not, and a spokeswoman at Cedar Sinai Hospital is saying that Owen Wilson is in good condition. But she, like everybody else involved in this sad story, is not saying much more. Now, Owen Wilson isn`t the first funny star to have some very serious problems. Robin Williams, Jim Carey, Rosie O`Donnell, they all have disturbing secrets. And at 30 past the hour, I have a revealing SHOWBIZ special report, the dark side of comedy. That`s coming up.
HAMMER: We have big Britney news tonight. TMZ is reporting that Britney Spears is being investigated on possible child abuse charges. It is a shocking allegation which could put her in even greater danger of losing custody of her two young sons. A spokesperson for LA County Superior Court confirms to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that lawyers for Britney and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, faced off behind closed doors in an L.A. court room today.
Joining me tonight in New York, David Caplan, senior correspondent for VH1`s entertainment website 24Sizzler.com, and Ryan Smith, entertainment attorney and co-host to BET`s my two cents. Ryan, David, it`s good to see you both. We know what`s been going on the last several weeks into the last couple of months now. Camp K-Fed going after Brit pretty hard, looking to get Kevin Federline primary physical custody of the two kids. They`ve been serving subpoenas left and right, and now this.
The word abuse. Ryan, when you start hearing that word, abuse, it really does step things up to a whole new level, doesn`t it?
RYAN SMITH, BET: Absolutely, it does. It`s a shocker, and it makes you think all kinds of things. Without disclosing any information about it, it makes us think it could have been anything from physical abuse or some sort of accident that happened. Dealing with her protecting the child possibly. This is a really troublesome thing, and a lot of it seems to be tied into this whole custody thing of maybe she`s not treating the children right, maybe she doesn`t know how to take care of the children. So it`s a big shocker, and we got to see what happens with this one.
HAMMER: The sad thing here is it`s such a polarizing word that it`s going to have an impact on people`s perception no matter what comes out of it. Think about this, Ryan, the fact that she has tons of money; she has the full service staff, probably pretty safe to say that her kids are always being watched, whether it`s a nanny, or a housekeeper, somebody. How much, Ryan, would that actually help her out in a situation like this?
SMITH: It would help her just a little bit to show that she`s got the resources to take care of the kids properly. But Britney has been so erratic recently, it seems to me that it`s not far fetched for her to be taking the kids out of their custody, taking them away from people who are watching the kids, and just sort of running around with them. That`s what makes this very tricky. She`s sort of -- she needs to calm down her behavior and show that she`s treating the kids properly.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about that behavior. Obviously, things are heating up in the custody battle here. There is another hearing scheduled for September 4th. David Caplan, what do you think? If past performance is any indication, I`m thinking, no. But is there any chance of Brit actually lying low until the hearing, or can we count on some more train wreck stories in the near future?
DAVID CAPLAN, 24SIZZLER.COM: Oh, she`s definitely not laying low. In fact, on August 28th and later this week she`s hosting a party in Las Vegas at LAX Nightclub, actually, to inaugurate its opening. She definitely has a full calendar. So we`re going to be seeing Britney at nightclubs. She may be drinking. It`s unfortunate because you would think she would make an effort at least to sort of keep quiet or cancel these obligations, but she`s already planning a week of parties ahead of her.
HAMMER: I don`t get that. Everybody but Britney Spears seems to know that Brit`s best move right now would be just stay off the radar, or at least, at least, appear as mommy of the year. Ryan, you`re a lawyer. What should her lawyers be demanding she do right now?
SMITH: They should be demanding that she lay low and not do anything. She is not listening to anyone but herself. I`m sure of that, because any lawyer, any press rep would tell her she can`t be anywhere near the public right now. She is not listening. She`s saying it`s my life. I can do what I want.
She doesn`t realize that this public opinion, judges, people who are in court, they still see this. They try to insulate themselves from the process, but it`s still seen. Everyone is screaming to her please lay low, don`t do anything, but she`s not listening.
HAMMER: As accounts of her behavior continue to come out, one person who inevitably has a whole lot to say about Brit and the way she behaves is her long-time on again-off again manager Larry Rudolph. Now, Larry Rudolph told Ryan Seacrest over the weekend that he is basically hiding from K- Fed`s lawyers because he doesn`t want to have to go under oath with his stories. David, what does that say to you that he really has the dirt that could ultimately bury Britney?
CAPLAN: Yes, he definitely knows the secrets of Britney. I mean, he has been with Britney Spears since she started her career in her teen years. So he really knows where the bodies are stored. He knows every piece of information about her. He doesn`t want to bring her down. He doesn`t want to get implicated in it. And ever since he parted ways with Britney, he has not wanted to speak about her.
I spoke with Larry a few weeks ago -- I bumped into him here in New York -- and he said the one thing I won`t talk to you about is Britney Spears.
HAMMER: He should be absolutely frightened about getting served one of the subpoenas for sure. Ryan Smith, David Caplan, thanks for being with us tonight.
SMITH: Thank you.
HAMMER: Well, Britney Spears truly has had an awful year, if you look back. You know, she had the divorce. She did the rehab time, the head- shaving incidents. Now this child abuse investigation. Of course, she is just one of Hollywood`s bad girls. Tonight we`re trying to change things. We want to make the world a better place. We`re going right to the good stars in Hollywood, the ones who are staying out of trouble, because they have some terrific advice, the secrets to being good, coming up next.
ANDERSON: AJ, a good family; they really make sure their kids have stayed out of trouble, devastated tonight. Hulk Hogan, the superstar wrestler, his son in a horrific car crash. I`ve got the disturbing details on what happened, how he is doing, straight ahead.
And why are hundreds of zombies hanging out in London? Is it an order from the queen? Are they trying out for a remake of Michael Jackson`s "Thriller?" Am I reaching for an explanation? Kind of. Find out straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. All right, time now for a story that made us say that`s ridiculous. All right, Charles. Can we crank up Michael Jackson`s "Thriller" for this story?
All right, check this out. Hundreds of zombies took over London`s Lester Square. Why, you ask? Well, the living dead were dying to break the record for the most zombies in one place. They took over restaurants, freaked out the tourists, even played zombie football. It`s all part of a scary celebration for the DVD release of the "Zombie Diaries" movie.
The creepy characters came up a bit short. They needed 1,000 zombies to break the record. So I hope this idea stays dead and buried. To these ghouls, I say go away. That`s ridiculous, but I still like "Thriller."
HAMMER: Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is saying enough is enough. Hollywood`s good, young stars totally agree. We went right to the stars who aren`t getting into trouble, who aren`t going to jail, and they are speaking out against bad behavior in Hollywood, with some really good advice for those young out of control stars, like the Britneys and the Lindsays and the Parises.
I`m thinking all these bad girls can certainly learn a lot from all these good stars. Joining me tonight from New York, clinical psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky, and from Hollywood tonight, the author of "Secrets Can Be Murder," investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, Judy, it`s good to see you both.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT had the opportunity to speak with some of the top young stars at the Teen Choice Awards. These guys had a lot to say about all the wacky craziness going on in Hollywood right now. I want you to listen specifically to what "One Tree Hill" star Sophia Bush told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOPHIA BUSH, "ONE TREE HILL": The biggest movie stars I have ever met are the nicest people, and I think that there`s a reason for that. I think that the bad kids sort of have the romance relationship with the tabloids, but the people who are still superstars in their 50s and 60s are the, you know, Merrills and the Glens of the world, who are good and have a work ethic and put that ahead of where they get photographed or what tables they`re dancing on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Right on, Sophia. I have to say, I have clearly found the same thing to be true of the stars who have been around for a long time. Obviously, she knows that staying focused on the right things today equals success in the future. Jane, you`re right out there in the thick of Hollywood. They`re all around you. Is it realistic to really think that most young Hollywood stars get caught up in the present, which happens very quickly that, that they`re able to look past all that?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: AJ, they say life is like Hollywood -- or life is like high school. Well, Hollywood -- life and Hollywood is totally like high school, to the nth degree. It`s all about being accepted by the cool kids. And so it doesn`t matter whether you are famous, you are still seeking that acceptance by the cool kids. Sometimes the litmus test is are you going to be arrogant? Are you going to be elitist? Are you going to engage in such incredibly self-destructive behavior that you torpedo your own career?
If a child star or a teen star doesn`t have an authentic sense of self and doesn`t know who they are and has self-esteem and are seeking acceptance and just want to be accepted, they`ll do anything even torpedo their own career.
HAMMER: Oh, yes. Get all caught up in everything that is not truly important. We spoke to a lot of stars. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT speaking with 19- year-old "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens. She became an instant superstar. We asked her how she has been able to stay away from the whole tabloid frenzy. Here is what she told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP
VANESSA HUDGENS, "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL": It`s easy. Just don`t do bad things. Stay out of trouble, and I`m completely fine with that, because I`m not very attracted to doing the bad things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right, I understand that. If it were that easy, I don`t think we would be hearing about all these troubled young stars. Dr. Judy, is it really that simple?
DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, she is, Vanessa, a good girl. Guess what, A.J., there are good girls in Hollywood. They just don`t get the same kind of attention. But Vanessa, she just said, is psychologically sound and mature and she represents the very good role models that a lot of young girls out there should be paying attention to. They just don`t get that kind of attention, but I am glad.
As we heard, if you look at the Glen Closes of the world and the Meryll Streeps of the world, they are good role models. Unfortunately, a lot of young girls are fascinated with all the bad girl behavior. They love listening to how bad girls could react. The good news is -- and I know this from working with "Cosmo Girl Magazine," who are the tweeners and the young girls a lot -- that even though they`re fascinated with them, they don`t always want to copy them. And that is positive news for parents and it`s good for young girls who are watching the show now to know.
HAMMER: That is a good sign. Well, another young woman who I hope the slightly older stars or young stars are paying attention to, 14-year- old Miley Cyrus. I totally dig her. She is, of course, the star of Disney`s "Hannah Montana." She`s the daughter of a very cool guy with a very level head, Billy Ray Cyrus. She sees fame from different sides and has good advice for young stars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILEY CYRUS, "HANNAH MONTANA": My motto is you can`t live a positive life with a negative mind. So I think just always keep -- if you are good up here and you are really thinking about all the positive things and keep yourself surrounded with positivity and good family and good friends and fans and just keep yourself with fun, I think also don`t grow up too fast. Just keep your good friends close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes, don`t grow up too fast. I love it. Mature beyond her years right there. Jane -- and I have about 30 seconds -- do you think it`s possible for young stars to have a normal childhood, if there is even such a thing.
MITCHELL: Not if they were child stars like Lindsay Lohan, who basically a professional actress since she was about 10 years old. So she never got to experience her childhood. She was a little adult and to a certain degree a commodity. When you are treated like a commodity all your life, you are bound for trouble.
HAMMER: You certainly are. Thank you very much, investigative journalist Jane Velez Mitchell, clinical psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky. I appreciate you being with us.
MITCHELL: Thank you.
HAMMER: Now we would like to hear from you for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Summer of scandal; is young Hollywood out of control? Let us know CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Our email address SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
ANDERSON: A.J., it`s not just the young stars who are speaking out about young, out of control Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: I`m not sure that anybody who is 20 years old and has access and the amounts of money that these young people have wouldn`t be in the same situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP
ANDERSON: Samuel L. Jackson there. I tell you, he is one of my favorites. Always calls it like he sees it. He is really opening up about young Hollywood, the paparazzi. My revealing one-on-one with Sam Jackson coming up.
HAMMER: Brooke, one of my all-time favorite families, the Hogans. Understandably totally beside themselves tonight. Tonight their teenage son, Nick, has been in a terrible car crash. We`ve got the startling story of what happened and how the Hulkster`s son is doing coming up next.
ANDERSON: I think Robin Williams, Jim Carey, Rosie O`Donnell, very funny all of them. Some of the funniest out there. Tonight I`m uncovering some of their deepest, darkest secrets. Their troubled pasts. Behind the laughs, a SHOWBIZ special report, the dark side of comedy, coming up at 30 past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: So much shocking celebrity news today. Britney Spears reportedly being investigated for a possible charge of child neglect. Owen Wilson hospitalized. And then this; superstar wrestler Hulk Hogan`s son, Nick, was hospitalized after crashing his car in Florida Sunday. Take a look at this horrific video. Seventeen-year-old Nick was allegedly speeding when he lost control of his Toyota Supra and rammed it into a palm tree.
Nick was released earlier today, but his passenger, a friend, is in want hospital in critical condition. Police are still investigating, but alcohol isn`t believed to have played a part in the crash. Nick`s mom, Linda, his co-star in the "Hogan Knows Best" VH1 series told us today, "Nick suffered minor injuries and has been treated and released from the hospital. At this time his friend, John Graziano, remains hospitalized. Nick is currently at the hospital with John and his family. His sole concern is for the well being of his friend. On behalf of my family, we ask that your thoughts and prayers be with John and his loved ones."
By the way, Nick is a licensed professional race driver. Such a terrible story, and we do hope that Nick`s friend makes a full recovery.
All right. So Jessica Alba, one of the hottest young stars out there. So talented, so beautiful. Well, tonight she`s revealing the reason why she just can`t trust men anymore. If your name is Ross, you better watch outs. I`m going to explain that coming up. We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB DYLAN, SINGER: I -- I can`t watch this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Bob Dylan, for my money one of the greatest musicians of all time. There`s a new film coming out about Bob. Get this, six different actors play Dylan, including Kate Blanchett and Christian Bale. Your first look coming up.
ANDERSON: And I`m a big fan of Jim Carey, Robin Williams, very funny guys. But just because they make others laugh doesn`t mean they`re laughing on the inside. Tonight, A revealing look, SHOWBIZ special report, the dark side of comedy. You don`t want to miss it. Stay with us.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "The Dark Side of Comedy". Why does it seem that so much of what makes us laugh is rooted in pain?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: The funniest people in the world tend to be some of the most unhappy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The funniest people in Hollywood open up about everything from unhappy childhoods to devastating depression. Tonight a revealing and disturbing look at what happens when the laughter stops. It`s a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "The Dark Side of Comedy".
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Monday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You are watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. Tonight we have a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "The Dark Side of Comedy".
It`s not all laughs in the comedy world. In fact, some of the funniest people, like Robin Williams and Jim Carey, have struggled with troubled pasts, and they are just two examples of many comics whose real life stories are no laughing matter. Tonight we are investigating "The Dark Side of Comedy".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: Oh, no. Say it ain`t so, Joe.
ANDERSON (voice over): Robin Williams, Roseanne Barr, Jim Carey. They are all talented comedians linked by much more than laughs. They have also battled depression.
DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: The funniest people in the world tend to be some of the most unhappy.
ANDERSON: Dr. Drew Pinsky is an addiction specialist who conducted the first-ever study of celebrities and mental illness.
PINSKY: We`re happy to be around them. We like what they do for us. We feed them to a certain extent, but the reality is that pseudo-intimacy we establish with a comedian, as an audience, is really not enough to feed their emptiness and to make them healthy.
JOHN HENSON, TV GUIDE CHANNEL, "WATCH THIS": I think there is a dark side of comedy.
ANDERSON: John Henson, comedian and host of TV Guide Channel, "Watch This" tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that comedy is often rooted in pain. His 20 years as a comic opened his eyes to a surprising reality.
HENSON: Stand-ups tend to bathe themselves in that attention. When you are on the road, sometimes you are alone 22, 23 hours a day. Then you`re in front of 500, 1,000, 2,500 people that night, all laughing and the center of attention for an hour, and then back into a sort of world of isolation. It`s a strange lifestyle.
ANDERSON: The life of a comedian has its extreme highs and lows. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask, do the laughs actually hide a more serious problem?
PINSKY: I think about comedy more as the treatment, rather than a mask for these people. They are trying to manage or regulate a deep sense of pain, and this is how they go into the world and get fed. It actually is a solution to their problems.
JIM CAREY, COMEDIAN: Bingo! Yahtzee! Is that your final answer? Our survey says -- God. Ding, ding, ding.
ANDERSON: "Bruce Almighty" is just one of dozens of films filled with Jim Carey`s God-given gift for comedy.
FEMALE SINGER: I`ve got the power
CAREY: Boom!
HENSON: Jim Carey is the kind of guy who could have been a silent film star. His physicality is second to none.
ANDERSON: Carey`s secret to comedy success points directly to his dark childhood. Carey told "60 minutes": "I had a sick mom, man. I wanted make her feel better. I used to do impressions of praying mantises and weird things. I`d bounce off the walls and throw myself down the stairs to make her feel better."
HENSON: Jim has talked about his depression at length, and I think that`s another case of somebody who uses comedy to both come to terms with his own feelings and possibly even keep the world at arm`s reach.
ANDERSON: Carey is just one of many comedians opening up about mental illness. Comedian Howie Mandel is very open about his obsessive compulsive disorder. He doesn`t shake hands, and he washes his hands compulsively. The host of the hit show "Deal or No Deal" is in therapy, and he says he is talking about it because raising awareness helps others get help, too. Mandel spoke with CNN`s Larry King.
HOWIE MANDEL, COMEDIAN: I think that mental health is just coping skills. I think if we`re healthy mentally, we`ll be healthy physically.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the down side of comedy can be dangerous. Sit-com start David Strickland and standup comic Richard Jeni are two comedians whose bouts with depression ended in suicide.
PINSKY: Somewhere one out of five people with depression will commit suicide. It`s a serious medical problem with potentially life-threatening consequences, and to sort of brush off a comedian`s depression as just sort of a melancholy is a grave mistake.
ANDERSON: Robin Williams says his mistake was drifting back into drinking. Williams went back into rehab, and now he says, he has a new view of life.
WILLIAMS: You kind of realize that when you get out of rehab that life is pretty incredible and to enjoy it. And there`s no place you have to rush to. Because death is nature`s way of saying slow down.
ANDERSON: Slow down? Not so fast, Robin. We expect many more laughs from you, and we`re not the only ones.
HENSON: He is a guy whose energy is so manic. You see Robin, and it`s almost as if he is possessed. That`s a guy who is sort of the quintessential "on" personality, as far as comedians go.
ANDERSON: Rosie O`Donnell is someone else who went public about her depression, which she says was triggered by her despair over the Columbine shootings.
ROSIE O`DONNELL, COMEDIAN: I could not stop crying. I stayed in my room. The lights were off.
ANDERSON: Rosie`s treatment for depression, inversion therapy, hanging upside down.
O`DONNELL: Looks scary, but it`s not. It really does help.
HANSON: At its purest form, comedy is about opening up your head and letting people into it and letting people see the sort of spooky places that most people hide away, and I think when people connect to that, you have something truly special.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Listen to what actress Parker Posey says. She also weighed in on this topic. Quote, "I can do comedy, so people want me to do that. But the other side of comedy is depression. Deep, deep depression is the flip side of comedy. In order to be funny, you have to have that other side."
HAMMER: Well, tonight in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "First Look" it`s a movie that if you are like me and a Bob Dylan fan, it`s going to have you giddy with anticipation. A bio pic called "I`m Not There". But here`s the crazy thing about this. Six different actors are playing Dylan at various points throughout his life, including Kate Blanchett. Here now, your "First Look".
(BEGIN MOVIE TRAILER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are kidding me, right? I can`t watch this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): How does it feel? Oh, how does it feel to be on your own, with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone.
(IMAGE MONTAGE OF MOMENTS IN BOB DYLAN`S LIFE)
(END MOVIE TRAILER)
HAMMER: "I`m Not There" Opens November 21st, initially in limited release.
ANDERSON: I love all that music. And who knew Kate Blanchett would make such a convincing Bob Dylan?
I wish I could say the same thing for the bikini model who tried to be a news anchor. You have heard of this woman, right? There was a reality show about her, but nobody was really buying it. And we`re going to show you why coming up.
HAMMER: Also, the lovely Jessica Alba lashes out, all in good fun, though. Coming up, you`re not going to miss this. Why Jessica went on a rant about a boy who wasn`t very nice to her. Boy, is she getting the last laugh. We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: I`m not sure that anybody who is 20 years old, and has access, and the amounts of money that these young people have wouldn`t be in the same situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Samuel L. Jackson comes to the defense of young Hollywood. He really opened up to me with a unique perspective on Lindsay, Paris, Britney, and Nicole. You don`t want to miss with Sam Jackson said. That`s next.
HAMMER: And don`t forget you got to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Here`s what we want to know from you tonight. Summer of scandal. Is young Hollywood out of control? You can continue to vote online at CNN.com/showbiztonight. If you have more to say, we want to hear it. You can write to us at showbiz tonight@cnn.com. We`ll get you some of those emails tomorrow. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
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Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. It`s time for the SHOWBIZ video of the day, and for this one, we`re heading to one of my favorite cities on the planet, Austin, Texas.
It is the U.S. Red Bull "Flugtag" competition. This is where 28 teams launch homemade flying machines above a lake. From the looks of things, they didn`t really get off the ground. But you know, it looks like they`re having a lot of fun.
The flying machines have to be entirely human-powered. There is no stored power allowed here. This is a competition that`s been going on since 1991 around the world. For the record the furthest flight, 195 feet. That was set in Austria back in the year 2000.
ANDERSON: All right. Samuel L. Jackson`s career has been soaring since his turn in the 1991 film "Jungle Fever" where he played a drug addict. And now he is stunning audiences once again playing an aging boxer, who is living on the streets.
When I sat down with Sam, we talked about what he thinks about the fascination with all the down and out celebrities in Hollywood, the rehab stories, the paparazzi frenzy.
Now, in his new film Sam is unrecognizable and wait until you hear what he told me his agent said to him when he expressed interest in playing a character that he completely loses himself in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: It`s not often that I get to sort of bury myself and submerge everything that I am in terms of being Sam Jackson because there are always little pieces of you that come out in the character. Or my agents and managers don`t like the fact that I disguised myself. Or I put scars on my face. No, Sam, we want to see you. You are a movie star.
You know, I`m used to being in theater way back when, and we could do anything to ourselves and put big wigs on and color ourselves and change our faces. So this was an opportunity to finally just submerge myself in a character to the point that I didn`t have to walk like me, I definitely didn`t have to talk like me. And I guess the only thing that was really left after they finished doing all that stuff, were my eyes.
ANDERSON: Yes, definitely not the hair, not the physical look. What did your agents and managers? Were they upset about this?
JACKSON: Once they saw it, they were very pleased with what, you know, we had done because they knew that I had made a plan, and I chose this because I realized it was a character who was much older than I am. That gave me an opportunity to change physically in the ways that I like to do.
ANDERSON: You know, a lot of people can relate to some of the problems that champ has, and experiences, and that you have experienced in the past. And from your perspective, you know, we`ve seen stars over the years battling addiction of some sort. What is the key to getting help?
JACKSON: I don`t know -- wanting it. You know, I look at what`s going on, and it`s sort of fascinating to watch people, or to watch the fascination that people have with the lives of, I guess, the three young women that everybody is so concerned with right now. And I guess some of the guys, when it used to be, Downey. You know, they were concerned about that. That`s because of the information highway we have now.
I`m not sure that anybody who`s 20 years old and has access and the amounts of money that these young people have wouldn`t be in the same situation. It`s just part of the cycle of life. That`s what happens. You learn how to handle situations. You`re not born with that knowledge.
Unless you have some very strong people around you that are helping you deal with those issues, then you are going to be kind of out of control for a while because that`s how you learn. I mean, you don`t learn the fire is hot by people keep telling you it`s hot, it`s hot, it`s hot. You eventually you reach out and put your hand in it and you go, oh, that`s what that means. Oh, OK. Hot, yes.
ANDERSON: Stay away from that.
JACKSON: I get it.
ANDERSON: You mentioned that, you know, it`s been business as usual almost. Britney, Lindsay, we`ve seen them in and out of rehab, in and out of rehab. So one would think that young Hollywood is out of control right now, but how has this been hang for years and people just see it more now with the Internet and with everything that`s going on?
JACKSON: There`s a lot more -- I mean, there`s a bigger cry for it. And people want to know those things more than they did. But I mean, Hollywood has always been Hollywood, and people have always been interested in it. There are also people in Hollywood who are minders and keepers, who kept certain stories out of the papers, or kept people`s lifestyles out of the papers. They made people get married, or they created relationships between people that were false. They just made sure that people got drunk behind closed doors. And there weren`t as many people chasing people around with cameras.
ANDERSON: You mentioned paparazzi. The intense scrutiny --
JACKSON: That`s just new.
ANDERSON: It`s crazy these days.
JACKSON: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Also --
JACKSON: Especially here in this country. It`s changed a lot. Because that used happened to me -- that used to only happen to me when I was in Europe that I couldn`t go anywhere, or I would get chased, or people would be concerned about me coming out of what restaurant, what time I was out. But now it`s different. I mean, the Beckhams moved sort of close to my neighborhood.
ANDERSON: Oh, no!
JACKSON: So, you know, my whole neighborhood has changed.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Does it bother you, that constant attention? And thinking you can`t walk out of your house without a photographer with a long lens?
JACKSON: You know, it is irritating in a sense. And, fortunately, you know, I lead a boring existence, so they can figure that out sooner or later. And people don`t care what I do. You know, but when I leave the grocery store and there`s a guy in the parking lot with a video camera, and another with a camera asking me what I bought. It`s kind of like, excuse me, guys, that`s stupid.
ANDERSON: Invasive. Yeah. That`s the secret, lead a boring life, and they`ll leave you alone -- hopefully.
JACKSON: Or, you know, don`t run from them. And don`t treat them like they`re poison. They get the message that, look, you want to take my picture, take it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Sounds like some good advice from Samuel L. Jackson, and you can you catch him in his new film, "Resurrecting the Champ". It`s in theaters now.
HAMMER: I know that at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Brooke and I make it look pretty easy, but there is more to anchoring a TV show than just reading off a teleprompter. And one particular bikini model and the network that decided to turn her into a news anchor learned that the hard way. FOX`s reality show "Anchorwoman" has been canceled after only one episode. Here`s CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She went from bikini model to --
LAUREN JONES, "ANCHORWOMAN" REALITY SHOW: Lauren Jones, anchorwoman.
MOOS: Winking and tugging; always tugging at her skirts.
JONES: Hi.
Yes, I am hanging up the bikinis and going in a more serious direction.
MOOS: She hung up her bikinis all right, and changed into this for her stint at a real TV station.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which are your favorite anchors is dressed like this?
MOOS: Station management was always telling her --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you to go home, and I need you to change.
MOOS: What do you think this is, nude news? What it was, was a FOX reality series. Take a sexy novice, and give her a crash course in TV news at a real TV station in Tyler, Texas.
JONES: When we get to where we`re going, are we going to, like, run out of the car and act all newsy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
MOOS: Teach her how to read a teleprompter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to this Sunday edition of "Eyewitness News." I`m Michelle -- I`m Lauren Jones -- Thank you for joining us.
JONES: It`s like going -- gunshots ring out at a Tyler nightclub -- there`s night clubs here?
MOOS: Not quite as bad as movie character Ron Burgundy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the name of this network again? Espin?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, E-S-P-N.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s a terrible name.
MOOS: But this was a real station. The FOX reality series "Anchorwoman" brought Lauren Jones here for a month.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s darling. She`s personable. She`s friendly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is an idiot.
MOOS: That`s one of the station`s real anchors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, deep in your heart, Ed Morrow is spinning in his grave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
MOOS: Say that to the station`s general manager, and he`ll take every other network to task.
PHIL HURLEY, GENERAL MANAGER, KYTX: You know, he probably already turned over three or four times watching y`all and FOX cover Paris Hilton.
MOOS: And hey, didn`t CNN "Headline News" hire Andrea Thompson, star of "NYPD Blue", as an anchor after she worked only a year at a station in Albuquerque. The "Headline News" gig didn`t last long, and neither did "Anchorwoman". The show was canceled after only the first episode because of low ratings.
HURLEY: We like her. She`s got a great work ethic. And she knew how to laugh.
MOOS: Tell that to this guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s Stormy, the weather dog.
HURLEY: He didn`t like her. For 30 days he didn`t like her.
MOOS: Maybe it was the way they met.
JONES: It looks like a stuffed animal.
MOOS: And though she sank as an anchorwoman Hurley says she has as many as 10 other TV offers. Being able to read a teleprompter pales next to being able to do this:
(JONES LICKS FINGERS, SWIPES EYEBROWS BACK)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: It will be missed. That was CNN`s Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: So Jessica Alba won "Choice (ph) Hottie" at the Teen Choice Awards last night. No big surprise there. But wait until you hear what she said when she was accepting her award. Let`s just say there`s somebody out there who probably wishes he would have been a little bit nicer to Jessica. That is coming up next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Monday night. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: The way I see it, somewhere tonight there`s some guy named Ross who is just kicking himself. At the Teen Choice Awards that Jessica Alba won for "Choice Hottie". Now check out her acceptance speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA ALBA, ACTRESS: I would like to dedicate this award to a young man who has been on my mind for the last 19 years, Ross. You know, so what. I had -- thank you. Ross didn`t love me. I was pigeon-toed. I had a sway back. I was slightly cross-eyed, bucktooth. I sucked my thumb. Look at me now, Ross. Look at me now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, later back stage SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there, and we got a little more insight into the mysterious Ross. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBA: I was seven. And he promised that if I kissed him, he would choose me first for baseball, on our baseball team. I was still chosen last. Never trusted men again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Ouch. That was Dane Cook standing with Jessica there. They presented an award together at the ceremony. They co-star in the upcoming movie "Good Luck Chuck."
ANDERSON: On Friday we told you about Nicole Richie`s lightning fast time in jail for DUI, and we asked you to vote on the question of the day. It was this. Nicole Richie`s 82 minutes in jail, did she get off too easy? And 88 percent of you, overwhelming majority, say yes. Only 12 percent of you say no. And here are some of the emails we received.
Elizabeth from Texas writes, "I shudder at the thought of anyone, celebrity or not, spending so little time in jail for a crime that endangers so many!"
Jim from Ohio thinks, "Shame on the California court system. They have just given the go ahead to be stupid and break the law."
HAMMER: See, I missed all that last week because I was on vacation, but I was just shocked when I saw what happened. That is unbelievable.
Let us now take a look at what is coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tomorrow the "Summer of Scandal". Speaking of which, you know, as summer draws to a close, we can`t help but look back and reflect at all the craziness from Paris to Britney to Lindsay, to Nicole. It`s been a long, hot summer full of jail and rehab. Can these girls get it together, or are they setting themselves up for another fall? That`s tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, Zac Efron takes on the world from "High School Musical" to the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine. The young actor certainly on fire, but can he keep going without getting burned? Will Zac be able to avoid the pitfalls of getting so famous so young? Zac talks to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT thanks a lot for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. "Glenn Beck" coming up next right after the latest headlines from CNN "Headline News."
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