Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Winners and Losers in Christie Brinkley`s Divorce; Summer Breakups; Revenge of the Exes; Tom Cruise Then and Now
Aired July 11, 2008 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Tom Cruise`s stunning move towards his ex, Nicole Kidman. Plus, a revealing look at how Tom has survived all of his ups and downs.
And the super-hot young star who could take on Miley Cyrus.
I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the Christie Brinkley dirty divorce winners and losers. She got the kids; Peter Cook got a couple million. But who really came out on top? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a revealing look at what`s next for all the players in one of the nastiest Hollywood divorces of all times.
Is vicious revenge really the way to go when it comes to Hollywood divorces? Christie Brinkley wins custody. Heather Mills gets some serious cash from Paul McCartney. Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen trading punches. But could these shocking moves back fire? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the revenge of the exes.
And summertime, the beach, the barbecue, and the breakups? What is it about summer that causes so many sizzling Hollywood couples to fizzle?
(MUSIC)
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City. And is it me, or is there something in the air that`s killing celebrity love? Sure, you have heard about Alex Rodriguez`s wife, Cynthia, giving him the boot after whispers that Alex and Madonna were more than just friends.
But A-Rod and Cynthia are not alone. Why is this turning into the mind-boggling summer of breakups? That is coming up.
But first tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can now reveal the true winners and losers in the Christie Brinkley divorce deal. This settlement seems to have come out of nowhere after days of testimony. So lurid, so vicious it was already being called one of the dirtiest celebrity divorce trials ever. But is Christie Brinkley clearly the winner and is her cheating ex, Peter Cook, really the loser? And what about Cook`s teenage mistress? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is throwing it all out for you as we reveal what`s making news right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Nothing like a nasty divorce trial to put a cover girl back on the covers. "V for Vengeance," blared the "New York Post." "Victory for Christie," read the "New York Daily News."
JO PIAZZA, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": Yesterday was V day for Brinkley, "Hey, Peter Cook, I`m a super-mom and you suck."
HAMMER: Taking note of the dinosaur diorama that Christie Brinkley mysteriously brought to her final day in court, Katie Daryl of "TMZ.com," her colleagues couldn`t resist.
KATIE DARYL, "TMZ.COM": The headline that "TMZ" was able to use was, "C- Rex to Pervy Pete - Jurass is Mine!"
HAMMER: With Christie Brinkley finally reaching divorce settlement from her cheating husband, Peter Cook, many are calling it a clear Christie Brinkley victory by a knockout.
PIAZZA: This is absolutely a victory for Christie Brinkley.
HAMMER: But there were other players in this divorce game, her ex, Peter Cook and his much younger former mistress. So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, who are the real winners and losers here?
Let`s start off with Brinkley. This is an easy one. Winner.
PIAZZA: At the end of the day, she got absolutely everything that she wanted.
HAMMER: Jo Piazza covered the trial for the "New York Daily News." She says with Brinkley winning sole custody of the couples` two kids, plus the right to keep all of her real estate, Brinkley came out well. And about that $2.1 million that Brinkley has to pay her ex.
PIAZZA: I don`t think writing a $2.1 million check is a big deal for Christie Brinkley. She`s getting the kids. She`s getting the property and, you know, she got revenge.
HAMMER: It`s like a Master Card commercial come to life. Divorce settlement, $2.1 million. Publicly humiliating a cheating ex, priceless.
DARYL: She`s lost what, 180 pounds? A loser?
HAMMER: And what about Peter Cook, whose affair with his teenage assistant, Diana Bianchi, led to this divorce?
PIAZZA: Peter Cook has been turned into a cautionary tale for men everywhere. Don`t boink your assistant.
DARYL: During this trial, we learned that Peter Cook was using the Internet to surf pornography, spending thousands of dollars each month on Internet pornography.
HAMMER: Besides losing his good reputation, if he ever had one, he`s also expected to lose a good chunk of the $2.1 million settlement to his attorneys.
PIAZZA: He has just been painted as a complete pervert and Christie Brinkley has come out like a saint.
HAMMER: And how did the other players in this saga fare?
PIAZZA: Diana Bianchi ended up getting a $300,000 settlement from Peter Cook to keep her trap shut and not file a sexual harassment suit against him. She`s also an aspiring singer, so I think she`s hoping that maybe this will catapult her to 15 minutes of fame.
HAMMER: And coming out an unlikely winner, Brinkley`s ex, Billy Joel.
DARYL: Billy Joel looks like a saint right now. He stood by her side, was supportive and you know, really seemed to be there to help out Christie and the kids while Peter Cook was out there surfing the Internet for porn.
HAMMER: Oh, and about that, with the humiliation Cook got for his porn habit, could the Internet porn industry emerge as a loser from this trial? No.
PIAZZA: I don`t think the Internet porn industry is ever going to suffer.
HAMMER: Fair enough. But perhaps the biggest loser in this whole mess, whoever had designs on being husband number five for this still gorgeous Brinkley. That`s because Brinkley herself tells the "New York Post" that after now going over four in the marriage department, she will never walk down the aisle again.
DARYL: I`m sure there`s a couple men out there who are like, "Oh, I don`t have a chance."
HAMMER: But some are skeptical of Brinkley`s vows.
PIAZZA: I don`t know if I believe it that she`s not actually going to get married again.
HAMMER: But at least, this ex-couple is no longer tearing each other apart for everyone, including their kids, to see. That could mean everyone comes out ahead, except for those who were riveted by what has been so far the juiciest story of the summer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
So I`ve got to ask, who are the real winners and the real losers here?
Joining me tonight in New York, defense attorney Midwin Charles. In Miami tonight, Judge Alex Ferrer of the TV`s "Judge Alex" program. All right, guys. I appreciate your being here.
Christie Brinkley got what she wanted all along. Let me run it down for you. She gets sole custody of her kids. She keeps all 18 of her properties - not bad there. And she only has to pay her ex, Peter Cook, a mere $2.1 million of her massive empire. So Midwin, I`ll start it off with you. It seems like, at least on paper, Christie Brinkley does walk away a clear winner here. What do you think?
MIDWIN CHARLES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She walks away the winner here, but so do her children. They get to be parented by the parent who is clearly better equipped to do so. And so I think the children are the winner here, too. We can`t forget about them because this is what a custody battle is about.
HAMMER: Absolutely right. Absolutely a point well made. We`ve got to listen again to what Christie said on Thursday morning after this settlement was announced. Roll that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIE BRINKLEY SUPERMODEL: It`s, for me, a very bittersweet moment because it really is the death of a marriage. But it`s also, I think, a new start for all of us, and I`m very pleased with the results today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Pleased, but can you imagine how she was feeling? I mean, she was all choked up there. Judge Alex, over to you. I`ve got to ask, after all that Christie Brinkley has been through - I mean, the mess of emotional toll this must have taken, can you really count her, even though she got what she was looking for, as a 100 percent winner here?
JUDGE ALEX FERRER: No. In my experience, nobody is 100 percent winner in a divorce. Divorce is not ever a win-lose situation. You just try to minimize the casualties. This is not a one-week dating relationship that just simply didn`t work out. This is a 10-year marriage with young children who, when the lights go off and the cameras go away, these parents and these children are going to have to live with the carnage that happened in court and the embarrassing details that were revealed.
So yes, you might end up with a little more money in your pocket. And certainly, the custody is a big thing. But at the end of the day in divorces, everybody loses something, and that`s just reality.
HAMMER: Yes. I remember I took a love and marriage class in college and we were taught in a lot of cases, surviving a divorce, much harder than dealing with the death of a family member. It really is true.
FERRER: It`s right up there. That`s for sure.
HAMMER: And we just mentioned Peter Cook getting that $2.1 million out of the whole ordeal which does sound like a lot of money, but let`s not forget, as I mentioned, he`s still got to pay his legal team. Doesn`t really look like he will be left with much when all that is said and done. Midwin, what about Peter Cook? It seems to me like Peter absolutely got his goose cooked here. Is he just the biggest loser in the whole deal?
CHARLES: He just might be. And you know, I`m all for lawyers getting paid for their hard ...
HAMMER: Yes, I imagine you are.
CHARLES: ... hard work and long hours. But you know, I`m sure he`ll have enough left over to sustain his porn habit.
HAMMER: Maybe he`ll have a little something left over. All right. The really sad thing - and we were talking about this a moment ago. Midwin, you think that the kids really came out as winners here because the trial played out publicly. We`ve got to remember Brinkley`s kids are going to have access to every vicious claim that their parents made. And I`m curious what`s going to happen there if they are going to sit them down themselves and say, "Here`s what we put out there. Now you know."
But their father, as we know, is portrayed as this womanizing sleaze ball, their mother romantically unstable with alleged anger issues. So it looks like - Midwin, you know, you said the kids won here. But in my mind, it looks like they really lost in a way. Judge Alex, as someone who sees these kinds of bitter cases all the time, now that it`s settled, do you think this can turn into a big victory for the kids?
FERRER: A victory? I think a victory is a stretch. I think it`s good that it`s over, but the reality is that, as you said, this, you know, blood letting that happened in the courtroom, these emotional details, these embarrassing details about the infidelity of their father and the porn habit. You know, these kids are 10, 13 - the teasing they`re going to get from friends. Celebrity children already have enough pressure dealing with their mistakes and their parents` mistakes in the media. And this is just going to go on.
So as far as a victory, I don`t think you can ever call it a victory. But, as they say, you know, good things must come to an end, bad things must come to an end, too. And so at least, this bad part has ended.
HAMMER: Yes. And as we can all agree, I think all of us, in a way - it seems like the kids are definitely, at least, fully with the parent that they should be with. Midwin Charles, Judge Alex Ferrer, I do appreciate your both being here tonight.
Now let`s turn it over to you for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Please respond to this - "Christie Brinkley Divorce Battle: Did it hurt her image?" You can vote by going to CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. More to say? Well, E-mail me by all means at showbiztonight@cnn.com.
Well, I know Christie Brinkley got her revenge if that`s what she was seeking here. But is that really the way to go when it comes to Hollywood divorces? You know, things as we are talking, it`s just so vicious. Christie got her kids. Heather Mills got some serious cash from Paul McCartney. Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen - well, they`re still trading punches. But could the shocking moves these women made backfire? Tonight, I`m investigating the revenge of the exes.
And I have a feeling you`re with me on this. I just love summer. Time for the beach, the barbecues, and breakups? Yes. Why do sizzling couples start fizzling this summer? It`s a revealing look at all the stars who are splitting right now.
Also, this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCAS CRUSKSHANK, "FRENETIC FRED": I need some medication. My brain is going crazy. I`m going to go insane if I don`t get my meds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Somebody tell him he`s got to lay off the helium. The scary thing? This guy tearing up YouTube right now. He`s all over the Internet, and he could be the next big teen star. Ouch! Watch out, Miley Cyrus, Frenetic Fred is coming your way.
You can watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video any time, new stuff being posted all the time to check out at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Don`t go anywhere. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC VIDEO OF "CRUEL SUMMER" BY BANANARAMA)
HAMMER: A little `80s flash back. Pop trio Bananarama perhaps said it best in that video, for cruel summer is certainly the season for ugly breakups.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight, the summer of star splits. With news of Christie Brinkley`s divorce settlement hot off the presses, it seems like celebrity breakups are the hot summer trend. New York Yankee`s slugger Alex Rodriguez is caught up in a nasty split from his wife, Cynthia. Drew Barrymore just ended her year-long relationship with Justin Long. And Anne Hathaway has finally cast off her allegedly criminal boyfriend Raffaello Follieri.
So why does it seem when the temperatures rise in the summer, relationships tend to fall apart? Joining me tonight in New York, Cooper Lawrence, syndicated radio host and psychology specialist; and in Hollywood tonight psychologist Dr. Lillian Glass. Dr. Lillian, Cooper Lawrence, we`ve got to start off with A-Rod. Of course, the baseball superstar has allegedly cheated on his wife repeatedly and he`s even been accused of having what his wife`s lawyer call an affair of the heart with none other than Madonna.
But, you know, it wasn`t until summertime came around that things really fell apart and A-Rod`s wife Cynthia called it quits. Dr. Glass, talk to you first. Other than the obvious, is there any reason why the summer season pushed Cynthia over the edge?
DR. LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Absolutely, because summer is uncomfortable for many people. It`s a very lot month literally, and for some people, the heat is hard to take. So because they are uncomfortable, they may also be uncomfortable emotionally, and this seems to be the case. Also, it`s the time where you get to reflect on things. The kids are not in school. You have a lot of free time, so you have a lot of rumblings going on in your mind.
HAMMER: See, I`m thinking people want to get in the convertible to drop the top. And Cooper, help me out on this, because this is what I wondering. Is there something about summer that causes people who are stuck in bad relationships like Cynthia Rodriguez and A-Rod to want their freedom and perhaps drop the convertible top?
COOPER LAWRENCE, SYNDICATED RADIO TALK SHOW HOST AND PSYCHOLOGY SPECIALIST: Well, only you go convertibling in the summer. The rest of us can`t afford them, A.J.
But the thing is, you know, there are actually studies about this that say that we still hearken back to our childhood when the summer for us meant freedom. We`d be thinking about the next semester, what`s going on in the fall. So even though we are adults and we`re all having lives and careers all year-round, there`s still that childhood feeling inside that it`s the summer and there are social opportunities. We`d be thinking what we are going to be doing come September.
So a lot of that is - we look to the people we`re with and go, "Not so much with him anymore. I`m ready to move on."
HAMMER: No, there`s definitely a vibe in the summer that I think transcends, you know, just school and music and everything - relationships, too. We well know that A-Rod and C-Rod are not the only ones going their separate ways in this hot season of splits.
Drew Barrymore - she`s a known serial dater and she just broke up with her latest beau, a guy named Justin Long after a long year with him.
Dr. Glass, do you think Drew was perhaps longing for something new on a long summer day? Thank you for playing along.
GLASS: No. Drew did the right thing because relationship experts say that you need a whole year to really get to know a person, follow them through the whole season of summer, winter, spring, fall, and she fell out of love with him this summer. So she did the right thing.
HAMMER: Well, I`ve got to talk about this other high profile summer split, Anne Hathaway and her boyfriend of four years, Raffaello Follieri. Now, you really can`t blame her for, you know, sending him packing. She did stay with him through his previous legal woes.
But now that his bail is set at $21 million for charges of fraud and money laundering - something involving real estate in the Vatican - we`re not going to talk about that. Well, Hathaway finally bailed on this relationship. Cooper, is it somehow easier for somebody like Anne Hathaway to weather a messy breakup in the summertime even though obviously she had to get away from him. But is it easier because of the summer season?
LAWRENCE: Oh, her timing is perfect. It`s all the summer parties and barbecues and beach getaway weekends. So there`s a lot more social events and social opportunities over the summer than there are in the wintertime. So a lot of people tend to - not just her, but a lot of people tend to break up or think about breaking up because they know there are other opportunities. They are not going to be stuck in a cold house for the winter having to be with whoever happens to be next to them. They can go out and party.
HAMMER: Yes. Lessons to be learned here for sure. So Dr. Glass, let`s finish it off here. Let`s say I`m a big time celebrity and I`m thinking about busting out of my relationship. Is it always best to wait for the warm weather to cool it down?
GLASS: I think you are absolutely right. It is best. In fact, divorce lawyers say that their biggest business is done in the summer because that`s the time people really reflect on their lives and they make some major changes. And this is a time to change your life, the summer.
HAMMER: Lillian Glass, Cooper Lawrence, a hot summer to the both of you.
LAWRENCE: Thank you.
HAMMER: Moving on now, A-Rod`s wife, Cynthia - she is on the attack at the very least. And you can bet she`s going to get a lot of cash out of A-Rod. But even though revenge can be sweet, is it really a good idea when it comes to Hollywood divorces?
Christie Brinkley went on offense. Heather Mills didn`t stop until she got her millions. Should these shocking moves backfire, and could they? It`s a showbiz special report, revenge of the exes, coming up.
Also this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUSKSHANK: I need some medication. My brain is going crazy. I`m going to go insane if I don`t get my meds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. Would you please get your meds? Ouch! I know that sounds pretty painful. But, you know, this guy actually taking the Web by storm. Could he actually knock Miley Cyrus off her Teen Queen throne? Meet Frenetic Fred in mere moments.
Also, Tom Cruise makes a stunning move toward his ex, Nicole Kidman. You`ve got to hear what he`s doing. Plus, you definitely do not want to miss a revealing look at stars then and now. Tom Cruise, how he survived his ups and downs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight, a crushing defeat for Oprah. I just got my hands on a brand new "Parade.com" summer pop culture poll. You`ve got to hear some of this stuff. Let me run it down for you.
Look at this - 4,000 people were polled and they picked Ellen DeGeneres as favorite daytime talk show host. And get this, Tyra Banks was next. Oprah - way behind them.
I wonder what Brad Pitt thinks about this next part of the poll. By a lot, people think Johniston - Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer - are Hollywood`s most unlikely couple; Seal and Heidi Klum in second. Really?
What do you think about the most obnoxious TV star? Well, no real shocker here. Check this out - Simon Cowell, followed by Donald Trump.
And it`s the good summer for Nicole Richie. Believe it or not, people think that she has the most improved reputation. Amazing what a baby can do, right? Mel "Anti-Semitic Rant" Gibson came in second, followed by Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan at the bottom of the list. I personally think Britney should get some credit here. She`s doing very well recently.
You can read more of the surprising pop culture poll results on "Parade.com."
Well, I bet if you took a little poll and asked people what they think about stars getting revenge on their exes, you`d probably get some pretty mixed results. You`ve got Christie Brinkley going for the jugular. Heather Mills didn`t stop until she got a mega-deal out of Paul McCartney. Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen - they`re are still at it. But is all out revenge such a good idea? I`ve got a revealing showbiz special report coming up. Also this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE FLEEMAN, WEST COAST EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE": All of a sudden people were saying Tom Cruise might be a little crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
The couch jumping. The Scientology. All of Tom Cruise`s scandals. But I`ve got to hand it to the guy. He`s been able to bounce back each and every time. How does he do it? Coming up, Tom Cruise then and now.
And this guy right here? You might not recognize him but I`m telling you, he could be the next teen star, bigger than Miley Cyrus even. He`s Frenetic Fred. You`ve got to stick around for his amazing story. It`s coming up.
But first, stay on top of our most provocative news with our daily SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. Head on over to CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Click on that "sign up for newsletter" link. We`re coming right back.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, revenge of the exes. Is vicious revenge really the way to go when it comes to Hollywood divorces? Christie Brinkley wins custody. Heather Mills gets some serious cash from Paul McCartney. But could these shocking moves backfire? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the revenge of the exes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLEEMAN: All of a sudden, people were saying Tom Cruise might be a little crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tom Cruise then and now. Tonight, a revealing look at how Tom has bounced back from all his troubles, all his scandals, and still remains one of the biggest stars in the world.
(MUSIC)
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City. You are watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Well, tonight, revenge of the exes. Christie Brinkley fought hard to get custody of her two children. But on the road to victory, think about it - a mountain of dirty laundry just piled up high for everyone to see. With allegations of cheating, using Internet porn and alleged abuse by Peter Cook, Christie and Peter`s split will go down in history as one of the nastiest, most bitter and vengeful divorces in Hollywood.
And you know, they`ve got plenty of company, from Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, to Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. But is it best to drag your ex through the mud just to end up smelling like a rose on the other side? Tonight, well, tonight, it`s a showbiz special report, revenge of the exes.
Joining me tonight in New York, syndicated radio host and psychology specialist, Cooper Lawrence. Also New York tonight, defense attorney Midwin Charles; and editor-in-chief of "FirstWivesWorld.com," Jill Brooke. I appreciate you all being here tonight, ladies.
So we all know now after eight contentious days in court, Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook`s divorce finally ended with an out-of-court settlement. But you know, it wasn`t before everybody got to hear all about Peter`s affair with his then-18-year-old assistant and his $3,000 a month Internet porn habit. It was Christie, we shall all remember, who pushed for a very public trial, in the end, got what she wanted, sole custody of her children. Now, a lot of people have been calling this revenge, including, of course, Peter Cook`s attorney.
Midwin, I`m going to start with you. Was this really revenge of an ex?
CHARLES: I don`t think it`s revenge. I mean remember, A.J., we have to remember here that this is a contested divorce. And in New York, unlike any other state, you have to prove with every fact that you have available to you the grounds under which you are getting the divorce, which in this case is adultery. So she had to do what she felt she needed to do in order to get custody of her children.
HAMMER: Understandable. And not to, you know, put down the legal mumbo jumbo as it is, the necessary legal mumbo jumbo. But, you know, let`s remember this was a woman severely scorned.
Cooper Lawrence, over to you. What do you think? Was there at least a little revenge going on here?
LAWRENCE: Well, you are talking about a woman who is really - all she has is her image. She hasn`t worked in a long time as a model or an actress, so we don`t see her in any other light, other than as this shunned - you know, her lover and how she was treated, this divorcee. I think her image is so important to her that it she needed for him to come forward and us to see everything about him, all the negative things about him - the porn and the way he used the children in a negative way. Her image was at stake. It was more than just a divorce.
HAMMER: All right. I get where you are coming from. So whether or not this was, in fact, revenge for Christie, she did take a huge gamble here with this strategy of allowing this to play out publicly, if you ask me.
Jill, now that it`s all over, she`s really the one who`s left to pick up all the pieces, though.
JILL BROOKE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "FIRSTWIVESWORLD.COM": The emotional cost is far more than the $2 million she paid, not only for her family, but for her business. And that`s why so many courts actually discourage court trials because nobody wins. And besides, paying makes people really narcissistic. This was a narcissistic trial. It didn`t have to happen as it did.
HAMMER: Yes. That word has never played publicly so much as during this trial. Am I right about that? All right. Well, in that $2.1 million dollar check she wrote, no skin off her beautifully white teeth, if you ask me.
We said that Christie Brinkley is not the first Hollywood wife accused of seeking revenge against an ex-husband. Heather Mills, of course, divorced Paul McCartney. It was an international drama, and Heather felt like everyone was just beaten up on her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER MILLS, PAUL MCCARTNEY`S EX-WIFE: I`ve had worse press than a pedophile or a murderer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Is it wrong that that`s music to my ears? Heather ended up walking away with $48 million here. But Midwin, back to you - was revenge the best strategy for her or will Heather Mills always be pegged as the woman perhaps who is worse than a pedophile or a murder because she tried to get revenge against Paul McCartney?
CHARLES: I think she will always have this kind of negative persona, A.J. I mean, this is someone who kind of went to extreme measures in order to get as much money as possible as she could get from Paul McCartney. And unfortunately, she`s not drawing any sympathy.
And I don`t see any similarities with this case and Christie Brinkley`s case. Her case - in Christie`s case, she just wanted to try to get custody as much as she could. And it`s not going to happen.
HAMMER: Heather wanted the money. Clearly, she was looking for the dollars. And she said now to be working on a couple of reality show deals on this side of the pond. We already saw her, of course, on "Dancing with the Stars."
Cooper, do you think that she`ll ever be more than Paul McCartney`s ex-wife or is that a win in itself where revenge might have paid off?
LAWRENCE: She`s a great example of why revenge is a really bad idea, because in a moment, it feels really good. You`re getting back at the person. But in the end, you`re just a psycho ex-wife, and that`s all she is. And she came across with this pathetic "leave me alone" story. It`s like, you leave us alone. You`re the one coming to the media telling us to leave you alone. You go away. So I don`t think we`re going to be so taken so kindly to her in her reality show.
HAMMER: Well said, Cooper Lawrence. Well, another Hollywood split. I don`t have to tell you - full of revenge on both sides here, Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Denise accused Charlie of being abusive, surfing the Internet for porn. Charlie accused her of wanting, well, a little donation after their split so that she could have another baby. You`ve got to watch what Denise told me about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE RICHARDS, ACTRESS: I don`t want Charlie Sheen`s sperm, period. I have two beautiful daughters. I don`t want any more of his sperm. I could get it elsewhere, period. Why on earth would I want my ex-husband who I`m in a bitter battle with?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: OK. Well, certainly, it`s one bitter battle that seems to show no end of letting up. Jill, is Denise getting any benefit from this revenge strategy in your mind?
BROOKE: No. She should look at Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as an example of class versus crass because it is so clear this anger is connecting her to her ex and she should really be using her energy to rebuild her life and find other possibilities. And besides, why love someone who doesn`t love you back?
HAMMER: Yes. Yes. Definitely a good point there. I`ve got to get to this one last story because revenge of the exes is continuing with this, new right now. Golf great Greg Norman who just married tennis legend Chris Everett paid his ex-wife $103 million in their divorce settlement. That was only after Greg allegedly cut off his ex-wife`s credit cards, locked her out of the house. It got nasty. As Norman`s rep said, that`s a high price to pay for freedom - $103 million. Midwin, sounds to me like if she was seeking revenge, it certainly paid off.
CHARLES: Well, you know, A.J. I want to be careful here with this "revenge" word, you know, that we keep throwing around. The law allows for women or any spouse to kind of go after the other spouse to get what they rightfully deserve under the law ...
HAMMER: True.
CHARLES: ... whether it be custody, alimony, child support. So I want to be careful with this word "revenge" here. Because these spouses are entitled to get what they can get under the law and using the courts as a mechanism is just one way of doing that.
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: I have to end it there. I have to end it there because I`ve got to move on. But I will say, you know, it sometimes it`s just the appearance of revenge, certainly, even if it`s not in fact. Cooper Lawrence, Midwin Charles, Jill Brooke, thank you for being with us tonight. I appreciate it.
And we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day - "Christie Brinkley`s Divorce Battle: Did it hurt her image? What do you think? CNN.com/ShowbizTonight or E-mail showbiztonight@cnn.com.
Well, Tom Cruise and his ex-wife Nicole Kidman managed to keep their divorce civil, even sent a gift to Kidman`s baby girl with Keith Urban. That is divorce done right, if you ask me.
From his split with Nicole to his marriage with Katie Holmes, from "Risky Business" to "Mission: Impossible," I think Tom has just been through an amazing transformation. Our showbiz special report, "Stars Then and now: Tom Cruise" coming up. And this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUSKSHANK: I need some medication. My brain is going crazy. I`m going to go insane if I don`t get my meds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I don`t know if that hurt your ears. It hurt mine. Brace yourself for the newest Internet sensation even more popular than Miley Cyrus, if you can believe that. Meet Frenetic Fred, just ahead on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
I`ve got to tell you, I`m so happy for Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. They are making marriage work in Hollywood after 13 years. Unbelievable. But what`s their secret? Banderas opens up about his life with Melanie, coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
All right. Tonight, forget about revenge of the exes. How about a story about exes that are actually getting along? Now, that, in Hollywood, big news. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes actually sent a welcome present to Tom`s ex-wife Nicole Kidman`s new baby. Yes. Kidman, of course, just gave birth to a baby girl named Sunday Rose. It is her first child with husband country star, Keith Urban.
Now, "People.com" reports that Cruise, along with his two children with Kidman, sent a huge baby basket of high-end gifts to Nashville, that`s where Kidman and Urban live.
Tom and Nicole divorced in 2001 after almost 10 years of marriage. When Nicole Kidman met Tom Cruise on the set of "Days of Thunder," you know, he was just starting to make his mark as a major movie star and producer. And since then, Cruise has had some serious ups and downs, both personally and professionally.
But despite all of this controversy, Tom Cruise has always managed to maintain his status as a Hollywood heavy weight and it seems he has transformed into an even bigger star than most people expected. But how did he do it? It`s our showbiz special report. Tom Cruise, then and now. Here`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT (voice over): The year 1983, a movie called "Risky Business," starring an up and coming actor named Tom Cruise.
(MUSIC)
FLEEMAN: This iconic moment in movie history where he slides across the wood floor in his underwear, and he is lip synching this Bob Seger song. I mean, everybody has seen that clip a million times. This is the scene, really, that launched his Hollywood career.
ANDERSON: And who could forget when Tom played Maverick in the 1986 action drama "Top Gun?" It cemented Cruise as Hollywood`s cream of the crop.
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: So you think I should quit?
ANDERSON: Quit? Tom Cruise certainly wasn`t quitting any time soon. And in fact, he set out early in his career to prove he wasn`t just a pretty boy on screen.
FLEEMAN: After "Top Gun," he made "Born on the Fourth of July" and also made "Rain Man", and it showed everybody that he wasn`t just a pretty face, that he had the acting chops.
ANDERSON: Acting chops that landed him his first Oscar nomination for playing Ron Kovic, the Vietnam vet in "Born on the Fourth of July."
CRUISE: Ever since I was a kid, I wanted this.
ANDERSON: And it wasn`t just Tom Cruise the actor they were infatuated with either. When Tom Cruise met his second wife, Nicole Kidman on the set of their movie, "Days of Thunder," it was a true Hollywood romance.
FLEEMAN: And they became this mega-couple in Hollywood.
ANDERSON: A mega Hollywood couple and Tom, the mega Hollywood actor, who expanded himself into being a producer, making more money than any other actor of his time. Beginning with his hit franchise "Mission: Impossible" and on to "Jerry Maguire," he was a money-making machine.
LEA GOLDMAN, SENIOR EDITOR, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: That period that "Mission: Impossible" came out, followed by "Jerry Maguire," was one of his most lucrative years. He banked $57 million, $58 million. After that, he was just in a different tier altogether.
ANDERSON: In a different tier indeed, who from early on in his career he wanted work with top tier directors. Just listen to him at the People`s Choice Awards back in 1994, listing whom he hoped to work with.
CRUISE: I would like to work with Stanley Kubrick and Spielberg, and, you know, the list goes on.
ANDERSON: And Tom got his wish working with Kubrick in "Eyes Wide Shut" -
CRUISE: Where the rainbow ends -
ANDERSON: And Spielberg in "Minority Report."
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I promise I`ll make it a memorable moment.
ANDERSON: But when he finally did, his personal life was suddenly taking an unexpected turn. And it began with the break-up of his marriage to Nicole shortly after they made "Eyes Wide Shut," which took almost three years to make. It was the breakup heard around the world.
FLEEMAN: They had a very famous and, we thought, lasting relationship. We always held Tom and Nicole up as sort of one of those examples of a Hollywood relationship that worked. As recently as a few days before they filed for divorce, they were seen in Las Vegas riding a roller coaster. So, it was a big shock when they split.
ANDERSON: It was the first indication that Tom Cruise, the guy with the perfect career, the perfect Hollywood marriage, was transforming into someone who had his fans guessing about his personal life.
And fast forward to 2005. The transformations in Tom`s personal life took a U turn of epic proportions when he suddenly stepped out with Katie Holmes. The relationship seemed to have come out of the blue.
FLEEMAN: She wasn`t a co-star in his movie. Nobody knew that they had any sort of social relationship. And very early on, it was a relationship that rose suspicions and lots of whispers about it.
ANDERSON: And even more whispers when Tom Cruise, known for being so in control of his career, even of his personal life for so long, was suddenly seemingly out of control doing and saying shocking things, including jumping for joy in the name of love on Oprah Winfrey`s couch.
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Have you ever felt this way before?
(CHEERS FROM THE AUDIENCE)
ANDERSON: And then, an even more stunning transformation when he got into a verbal fist fight with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show about psychiatry as a pseudoscience.
CRUISE: You don`t even - you`re glib. You don`t even know what Ritalin is.
ANDERSON: It was the first time Tom Cruise, the biggest actor in Hollywood, was openly defending his religion, Scientology.
FLEEMAN: All of a sudden, people were saying Tom Cruise might be a little crazy.
ANDERSON: And all those out of character transformations that Tom Cruise was undergoing were catching up to him in his professional life. In August 2006, just months after "Mission Impossible 3" rolled into theaters, Cruise`s questionable antics cost him his career with Paramount Studios, home of his production company for 14 years.
The chairman of Viacom, parent company to Paramount Studios, Sumner Redstone, went on record saying exactly how he felt about Tom Cruise`s behavior.
FLEEMAN: Probably, the biggest blow in Tom Cruise`s professional life is when he essentially got fired from Paramount by Sumner Redstone who came out and said, "Look, Tom`s public behavior is bad for business."
ANDERSON: Tom Cruise may have transformed into someone Paramount didn`t want to work with anymore, but Cruise seemed content. In early November of 2006, just three months after being dumped by Paramount, he announced his new transformation, movie mogul for United Artists. And just weeks later, he married Katie Holmes in a big, splashy wedding inside a castle in Italy. He even made amends with Brooke Shields and invited her to the wedding.
FLEEMAN: It was Tom who extended the olive branch, and they became good friends.
MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: What`s the story?
GOLDMAN: He is still certainly one of the most influential, one of the most powerful actors in Hollywood. I don`t think it`s - I think it`s to early to, you know, write the obituary for his career.
FLEEMAN: They counted him out when he married Katie Holmes and said that would never last. They counted him out when he was fired from Paramount. I wouldn`t count him out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson. Now, Tom keeps on going. Cruise`s next movie is "Valkyrie." It`s the true story of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and it is scheduled to come out in 2009.
Well, it is time now for "Making It Work" where we spotlight star couples who are beating the odds and keeping their relationships on solid grounds.
Tonight, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. Banderas and Griffith hooked up after working together on a movie. And a year later, they got married. Now, they had both been previously married in the past, but say this time is different, and it looks like they were right. They`ve been married now for 13 years and they have a daughter together. Griffith says passion keeps their marriage strong and Antonio says he loves his wife`s "tell-it-like-it-is attitude. Banderas opened up to the ladies of "The View." Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTONIO BANDERAS, ACTOR: It`s been almost 14 years together. We have been married for 13 years.
SHERI SHEPHERD, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Wow. Congratulations.
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": And you know, we have been talking - and this is not related to you, but we have been talking about Christie and Peter and how - She didn`t really know what he was like. Is there anything you are finding out that you didn`t know when you married Melanie? Anything new?
BANDERAS: Of course. These are a lot of things. Little details from the other`s personality that you have to discover day by day. Absolutely, yes, many things.
BEHAR: She`s very funny, for instance, isn`t she?
BANDERAS: She is generous, very sweet person and funny. Absolutely funny.
BEHAR: Yes, she`s funny.
BANDERAS: Because she is very straight. I mean when she says something, she doesn`t care where she is. She just lets go like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Nice. Banderas is continuing his "Puss in Boots" voice for "Shrek Goes Fourth," and its spin off, "Puss in Boots" which is set to open in 2010.
Well, the newest Internet sensation is even bigger than Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. His name, Frenetic Fred. But what is it about him that has hundreds of thousands of people hooked? You`ll find out next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Finally, it`s time. Tonight, I want you to meet the newest Internet sensation, Frenetic Fred. This guy is so big that he`s even surpassed Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. It`s true.
Now, if you`ve been surfing YouTube lately, you might have stumbled across Fred. He is a young kid screaming and running around frantically or frenetically. You`ve got to check this out. Here comes SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Fred is a fast-talking six-year-old. Frenetic behavior will make your head spin. And he`s quickly becoming an Internet superstar.
CRUSKSHANK: I need medication. I need medication. I need medication.
ANDERSON: The relatively new Fred channel on YouTube boasts of more than 275,000 subscribers, surpassing Disney superstars Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
CRUSKSHANK: Like, I`d just would like to big, but definitely not this big. I think what makes people like Fred so much is that he`s so like innocent and the facial expressions and the voice and the catch phrases.
ANDERSON: The real Fred is actually Lucas Cruskshank, a 14-year-old from Smalltown, Nebraska. Cruskshank says he created Fred out of boredom to parody other online bloggers` trivial revelations.
CRUSKSHANK: They used to find the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And I think that everyone is so interested in it.
ANDERSON: The 18 episodes include Fred goes swimming, gets detention and loses his meds.
CRUSKSHANK: I need some medication. My brain is going crazy. I`m going to go insane if I don`t get my meds.
You either automatically love Fred or you automatically hate Fred. It`s one of the two. It`s never in between. His voice may get annoying after you watch it a few times.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Fred.
ANDERSON: The videos, most popular with kids under 18, have received more than 50 million views and routinely get about 25,000 comments each. Most go something like this, "Sweet vids, Fred. LOL." "You are so funny."
DAVID SARNO, WRITER, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": It`s my job to know what`s going on, on YouTube and I absolutely never heard of Fred at all.
ANDERSON: "L.A. Times" blogger David Sarno says that`s proof positive adults are not tapping into the same thing as kids.
SARNO: There is a split happening in the culture now. And what I think it comes from is that we now have a generation of young people that have never not known a world without Internet.
ANDERSON: Cruskshank is planning more episodes, but fans should be warned. Don`t get too attached to Fred.
CRUSKSHANK: I have a few ways I`m going to kill Fred off. I thought he could get trampled by horses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson. And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I thank you for watching. I`ll never do that again. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT - you can always see us on the 11:00s - 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, and in the morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. The latest from "CNN HEADLINE NEWS" is next.
END
