Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Marcia Brady`s Shocking Confessions; The Celebrity Cabinet; Ringo Pleads: Leave Me Alone; Could "W" Turn the Election Around?
Aired October 14, 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, CO-HOST: Now, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Tonight, Brady bombshells from the actress that played the sweet and innocent Marcia Brady - drug addiction, trading sex for drugs, unwanted pregnancy. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the shocking confessions of the Marcia Brady you didn`t know about.
Tonight, the celebrity cabinet. What if the presidential cabinet was filled with stars? Angelina Jolie is secretary of state. Oprah as secretary of education, Leo DiCaprio as the head of the environment. Listen up, Barack Obama and John McCain, because tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is choosing the celebrity cabinet.
Plus, Ringo Starr`s startling plea to fans - leave me alone. Your fan mail is going in the trash. Tonight, why the former Beatle doesn`t want to hear from you.
TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(MUSIC)
Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: Hi, there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson, coming to you from Hollywood. And tonight, the unbelievable Marcia Brady bombshell.
HAMMER: Yes. All right, guys. Let`s just get this out of the way, shall we? Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for these guys all day long.
Yes, we`re talking about that Marcia - Marcia Brady. You know, sweet and innocent Marcia Brady of "The Brady Bunch.
Well, tonight, Maureen McCormick, the actress who played her, is revealing the way she used to be, not-so-sweet-and-innocent, a drug addict who was not shy about sex even with the guy who played her brother on the show. And it`s all making news right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Here`s the story you never saw on "The Brady Bunch," that 1970s epitome of the perfect TV family.
MAUREEN MCCORMICK, "MARCIA BRADY": I had a huge drug problem with cocaine.
HAMMER: Marcia Brady herself - Maureen McCormick - appeared on NBC`s "Today" show to promote her new book titled "Here`s the Story" where she tells all the shocking details of her fast-paced life in the spotlight.
AL ROKER, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": You talk about trading sex for drugs?
MCCORMICK: Yes. That was one of the lowest points in my life.
HAMMER: Her heavy cocaine abuse.
MCCORMICK: Oh, my nose.
HAMMER: How she almost lost her virginity with one of her cast mates. It`s who you think it is.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Uncle Greg!
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Oh, wow!
HAMMER: And her current feud with another of her cast mates.
EVE PLUMB, "JAN BRADY": Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
ALICIA QUARLES, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Marcia Brady was the good girl. Now, to hear that she was doing drugs, she had abortions, she was a party girl, this is shocking.
CHORUS: That`s the way we all became the Brady bunch
HAMMER: McCormick reveals that when "The Brady Bunch" began in 1969 when she was 14, she quickly learned her TV family was nothing like her extremely troubled, real-life family, which she says included a father who cheated on and abused her mother.
MCCORMICK: It was really hard to deal with the things that were going on in my family, and then to go on to pretend that everything was perfect. It was really not.
HAMMER: It wasn`t all depressing. McCormick says she got close to the entire cast, including Barry Williams who played her older brother Greg on the show. In fact, they got along so well, McCormick reveals she almost lost her virginity to him at 16.
MCCORMICK: We were swimming in the pool. We were in our bathing suits and hot and heavy. I mean, the hair sticking up on my arms. I mean, just hormones going crazy and we got very close. And his parents, thank god, came in the room - I mean, thank god it didn`t happen, because it was my brother, right?
MEREDITH VIEIRA, CO-HOST, THE "TODAY" SHOW: Yes, that would have been a little bit weird, I guess.
MCCORMICK: I think I would have been really messed up.
HAMMER: News about Greg and Marcia Brady`s hook-up proved too much for this seen-it-all entertainment journalist.
QUARLES: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) need to hear. To tell brothers and sisters don`t go there.
HAMMER: Once "The Brady Bunch" ended in 1974, Maureen McCormick`s life spiraled out of control. She had two abortions, suffered from depression and eating disorders and there was the heavy drug use.
MCCORMICK: I was looking for myself, searching for myself, trying to numb out all the pain and all the sadness and all the things I was going through. And I did that with cocaine and bulimia.
HAMMER: McCormick says, at one point, she was even trading sex for drugs.
MCCORMICK: I was actually freebasing. When I was doing that - and all I cared about was sex or the drugs. And you know, I would have sex to get the drugs.
HAMMER: McCormick says with the help of her husband and daughter and therapy, she was finally able to clean up.
MCCORMICK: I think I`ve just been eating out of depression.
HAMMER: And she says her recent appearance on the weight loss show "Celebrity Fit Club" helped her get the courage to share the real Maureen McCormick with the world.
MCCORMICK: I came out. I was fat. I was overweight. I had to get on a scale in front of the world. And I just thought, this is the first time that I`ve really shown the world me, my true self and this is what I want to do. This is what I want to be.
HAMMER: Today, McCormick says she remains close to all of the surviving "The Brady Bunch" cast members except Eve Plumb who played Marcia`s jealous younger sister Jan on the show.
MCCORMICK (AS "MARCIA BRADY"): I wonder what`s bugging her.
HAMMER: What`s bugging her is an off-hand joke McCormick made on a TV show a few years ago. McCormick says her TV little sister hasn`t spoken to her since. But she hopes to reconcile with Plumb
MCCORMICK: I called her for years and would never get a phone call back. And finally, after doing that for so long, I just thought, you know, she`ll call me when she wants to. And hopefully, she will.
HAMMER: McCormick says she`s surprised to be alive but she hopes her story helps others.
MCCORMICK: I hope that this story will reach a lot of those people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: I`ve got to say, of all the people who would be making drugs, sex and abortion confessions, the woman who played Marcia Brady, really not the first person who would come to mind, at least for me.
With me tonight in New York, Janell Snowden. She`s a host for VH1. And in Hollywood tonight, Carlos Diaz. He`s a correspondent for "Extra."
Guys, give me a moment to collect myself. I`m just in shock. Cocaine? Abortion? Eating disorders? Rehab?
Carlos, let me begin with you, are you like me, in a bit of disbelief hearing all of this? I mean, we`re talking about Marcia Brady here.
CARLOS DIAZ, "EXTRA" CORRESPONDENT: Thank god that grass in the backyard was so fake, they would have tried to smoke it. This is unbelievable stuff. I didn`t know that she was so ticked off that her nose got broken because it affected her coke habit.
I`m still trying to wrap my mind around this entire thing. And the eating disorder - you had Allis(ph) making all your food. How could you have an eating disorder? I`m blown away.
HAMMER: And Sam the butcher only providing the leanest cuts of beef, I`m sure.
DIAZ: Exactly. Yes.
HAMMER: I mean, thinking about all of this. It`s kind of hard to say which of Maureen McCormick`s confessions were really the most shocking. But I would say this one probably comes pretty close to being at the top of the list - trading sex for drugs. As we saw on the "Today" show, she called that her lowest point. Let`s watch this again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCORMICK: It came towards the end of doing cocaine. I was actually freebasing when I was doing that. And all I cared about was sex or the drugs. And you know, I would have sex to get the drugs. It was my lowest point. It was awful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes, I imagine it was awful, trading her body for cocaine. Janell Snowden, over to you, "The Brady Bunch" obviously still playing around the world in reruns. You flip around the TV, you see it all the time. Are you like me - you never really be able to watch the show and see Marcia Brady the same way again?
JANELL SNOWDEN, HOST, VH1: I think she might have ruined it for me. I have a pretty imaginative - I`m a pretty imaginative person. And I just cannot picture Marcia Brady freebasing. I can`t even say it. I can`t picture it.
It`s just unbelievable. I mean, and I do have to say though in her defense, the crush on Greg Brady, I can believe. Who didn`t have a crush on Greg Brady? Maybe you didn`t, A.J. Maybe you didn`t.
HAMMER: Let`s get in the whole sex life and dating thing, too. Because this is all pretty shocking because right there in tell-all book, McCormick revealing that she dated Michael Jackson when he was still with the Jackson 5, I should point out. Dated Steve Martin which kind of blew my mind. And as we were just talking about, she nearly lost her virginity to Greg Brady - Barry Williams, who played him on the show, of course.
Carlos, I don`t if you`re aware that we have this instrument, but we`re going to take out the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gross-o-meter right now so we can ask you which one of those grosses you out the most?
DIAZ: Oh, you know what? Well, Michael Jackson - he was in the Jackson 5 and she was in that equally successful group with the Brady 6 or whatever when they had that one show - so I think that makes sense.
Steve Martin, that`s pretty weird because he always had gray hair which means she was with a silver-haired guy when she was that young, that`s weird. But I`ve got to say the gross-o-meter goes off the charts with the "I almost had sex with my brother Greg in the pool." I mean, that`s not cool.
HAMMER: When the times change, you`ve got to rearrange. Janell, I`m pulling out the gross-o-meter for you right now. Who is like the gag-me- with-a-spoon level on the gross-o-meter for you of those that we`ve mentioned here?
SNOWDEN: Well, like I just said, even though they were brother and sister and you don`t want to imagine them - I mean, they were acting and they did spend a lot of time together during their formative years. So I can kind of understand the Greg Brady crush. I know I`m going to catch a lot of stuff for saying that, but hey, like I said, I had a crush on Greg Brady, too. So I understand it.
Michael Jackson, that one threw me for a loop, I must say. But I`m just glad that it was her and not bubbles.
HAMMER: Yes, that`s a good thing to point out. Put the gross-o-meter away, guys. On a more serious note, Maureen McCormick did say her drug use began after "The Brady Bunch" came to an end. She was dealing with a lot of emotional baggage, not just with the show ending, but with her family as well.
No secret, of course, that child stars like McCormick, Danny Bonaduce, Gary Coleman, Valerie Bertenelli and Todd Bridges - I could go on. The show`s only an hour. They`ve all gone through some troubling times.
Carlos, I actually only have 10 seconds, but really more proof that being a child star - tough to survive.
DIAZ: It`s tough. I mean, when you have a child star and you`re told to act up and act up for the camera. And then when it`s all over, you can`t act up anymore. Where does that energy go? And it`s very tough for childhood stars to go any place after their stardom is done.
HAMMER: May I quote the great Johnny Carson, "weird, wild, wacky stuff." Janell Snowden, Carlos Diaz, thanks, guys.
All right. I want you to listen up. John McCain, Barack Obama, I know you`re watching and we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT have some ideas for you.
ANDERSON: We certainly do. Hey, what if the presidential cabinet were filled with stars? Angelina Jolie as secretary of state. Oprah, secretary of education. Leo DiCaprio, head of the environmental protection agency. Straight ahead, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is choosing the celebrity cabinet.
HAMMER: And are you ready for another weird one? Ringo Starr says, "Leave me alone." He says if you send him any more fan mail, he`s going to toss it out in the garbage. Well, we`re going to tell you why Ringo doesn`t want to hear from you. Coming up.
ANDERSON: And look who`s dredging up one of the old feuds on "The View." Star Jones says her co-hosts were hateful to her as she was leaving the show. Coming up, what Barbara Walters has to say about this. And I`m asking, is it time for Star to just zip it?
And don`t forget you can watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video anytime you want. We are always posting new stuff for you to watch. You can do that at our Web site, CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Among the videos now playing, Simon Cowell`s big bucks, his remarkable salary for being a judge on "American Idol."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there with Madonna last night at the New York premiere of her directorial debut, the movie "Filth and Wisdom." Madonna has made controversial references to Sarah Palin on her concert tour and she told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she is definitely voting for Barack Obama.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. This presidential campaign has been unprecedented in its ties to Hollywood. Between stars like Madonna speaking out, Paris Hilton showing up in campaign ads, the worlds of politics and entertainment are truly colliding.
As a matter of fact, if this campaign feels kind of familiar, it may be because it`s like "The West Wing" and that`s something that isn`t lost on the show`s cast. Here`s CNN`s Becky Anderson for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I`d quit the senate in a second if I thought it would help us win. No, it would just look like a cheap stunt.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A Washington veteran, the maverick streak.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Vote for the president who serves your ideals, your hopes, your dreams.
BECKY ANDERSON: And a young charismatic newcomer slugging it out for the U.S. presidency. Sound familiar?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The president can`t give me the job I want.
BECKY ANDERSON: The last few episodes of "The West Wing" series were strikingly similar to this presidential campaign. OK, so life imitating art, or what?
RON SILVER, "BRUNO GIANELLI": Art imitating life, as it goes.
BECKY ANDERSON: Ron Silver plays political consultant Bruno Gianelli in the show.
SILVER: I was given rip-roaring liberal, Democratic speeches and we were all part of the same club regardless of what people tell you. Most of Hollywood is liberal Democratic. They insist it doesn`t affect their judgment when it comes to news, stories or other things. I think it does in many cases. It`s no question that Obama is the media darling here.
BECKY ANDERSON: Silver says the parallels between the series and the real- life campaign even got to the actors.
SILVER: Alan Alda who played the moderate California Republican and Jimmy Smits who played the Obama-like character. Both actors, halfway through the season, quietly went to the producer and said, "I really want to win this election. How about a little help?"
I said, "Alan, you`ve been on `M.A.S.H.` for 208 years. You`re the most likable actor. And now, are you telling me you`re trying to lobby the writer and producer so you win the election on the show?
He said, "I want to win, Ron." Then I sat down with Jimmy who is very level-headed and Jimmy said, "You`re right, it`s ridiculous." But you know, when they talk to me about doing this role, they clearly indicated to me that I would win. I said, "Jimmy, don`t go down this road. Are you telling me you want to win there as well?" And he said, "Yes." I said, "I`m with two nuts here."
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: This campaign should be all about you, the reasons you should be president.
BECKY ANDERSON: So what advice would Bruno Gianelli give John McCain?
SILVER: If you talk in terms of the character, not me, I would probably advise them to go the way they`re going to go. It`s a Hail Mary. I think they`re getting kind of desperate and they`ll probably go negative.
I think you`ll see a lot of Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, and Obama laid the gauntlet down. He said, "Judge me by my character and judgment. So they`re going to go after character and judgment. That`s all they can do.
BECKY ANDERSON: Off screen, Silver is a self-professed revolutionary liberal with a life-long interest in international affairs. These days, he leans toward the Republican Party because of the war on terror. But he says he expects Barack Obama to win come November the 4th.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN`s Becky Anderson for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: YES, I, for one, miss President Bartlett from "The West Wing." That`s just me.
Brooke, you know, the "Showbiz On Call" phone lines - they won`t stop ringing about Tina Fey`s impersonation of Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live."
ANDERSON: Yes, we`re asking in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day - "Tina Fey as Sarah Palin: Is she hurting the McCain-Palin ticket?" The vote so far, 41 percent of you say, yes; 59 percent say no.
HAMMER: The calls keep coming like this one from Aubrey who says, hey it`s just comedy.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AUBREY, CALLER: People need to grow up. Tina Fey is a comedian. She is allowed to portray whoever she wants to. It was hilarious. It was great. Just leave it at that, pure entertainment. And if Palin can`t even deal with it, then she needs to put on a diaper.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We also heard from Margie who says "Saturday Night Live" and the media in general actually have made her switch her vote.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARGIE, CALLER: I`m getting a little unnerved by the fact that I have been a Democrat all my life, and after seeing "Saturday Night Live," listening and watching "The View," it is actually turning me off to a point where I definitely have no desire to vote for Obama. I wasn`t going to vote at all. But the more I see this, the more I decided I`m going to vote McCain. And I have never in my lifetime - and I have voted for seven presidents of the United States - for the first time, I`m going to vote Republican because of the way everyone is handling it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HAMMER: Give us call at "Showbiz On Call" to let us know what you think about this or anything else that may be on your mind.
ANDERSON: The "Showbiz On Call" phone lines open 24/7. Call us, 1-888- SBT-BUZZ; 1-888-728-2899. Leave a voicemail and we will play some of your calls right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And your calls to "Showbiz On Call" are also now online on our homepage, CNN.com/ShowbizTonight.
HAMMER: Celebrities have been all over this election. So it got us thinking, why not put the celebrities in the administration, too?
ANDERSON: Yes, A.J. What if the presidential cabinet were filled with stars? Picture this, Angelina Jolie as secretary of state, Oprah, secretary of education. Leo DiCaprio as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Straight ahead, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is choosing the celebrity cabinet.
Also Ringo Starr says, "Leave me alone." He says if you send him any more fan mail, he`s going to throw it in the garbage. I`ll tell you why Ringo doesn`t want to hear from you, straight ahead.
And Colin Farrell says he was dying when he checked himself into rehab. Colin`s speaking out about his battle with addiction and even talking about that sex tape he made. Colin Farrell in his own words, still to come on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson with some more stories making news right now.
Well, just in time for the economic crisis, there`s word that there`s going to be a sequel to Oliver Stone`s movie "Wall Street." The new film will reportedly focus on the character Gordon Gecko who has been released from prison into a much more tumultuous financial world. "Variety" says the movie is being fast-tracked as a Michael Douglas project and that the character played by Charlie Sheen in the original will not appear in the sequel.
HAMMER: Oh, my goodness. Can you believe this? First, the Emmys on a reality show host. And now there`s reportedly going to be a separate category for reality show judges. Yes, the likes of Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson will get to compete for best reality show judge according to the TV academy spokesman. The academy chairman, however, promises there will not, I repeat not, be a category for reality show contestants.
ANDERSON: And Janet Jackson isn`t returning to her tour just yet - doctor`s orders. Jackson has postponed a bunch of shows because she`s sick, but no one will say what`s wrong with her. Jackson was rushed to the hospital in Montreal when she suddenly got ill before a concert a few weeks ago.
HAMMER: OK. Listen up, John McCain, Barack Obama, we have some ideas for you.
ANDERSON: Yes, what if the presidential cabinet were filled with stars? Angelina Jolie as secretary of state, Oprah as secretary of education, Leo DiCaprio as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is choosing the celebrity cabinet.
HAMMER: Also, Ringo Starr says, "Leave Ringo alone." He says if you send him any more fan mail, he`s going to throw it in the garbage. We will tell you why Ringo doesn`t want to hear from you, still to come.
ANDERSON: And Star Jones says her co-hosts on "The View" were hateful to her as she was leaving the show. Now, what Barbara Walters has to say about this. I will tell you what Barbara said, coming up. And we`re asking, should Star just zip it?
But first, you better stay on top of the most provocative entertainment news and you can do that with our daily SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. Just head on over at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight, click on the "sign up for newsletter" link at the bottom of the page. We`re coming back after this.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Now, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the celebrity cabinet. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT picks the presidential cabinet and fills it with stars. I mean, how about Angelina Jolie as secretary of state? Oprah, secretary of education? Even Leonardo DiCaprio keeping an eye on the environment. Attention, Barack Obama and John McCain, we`ve got your presidential cabinet right here.
A big-time Beatle bummer. Tonight, why Ringo Starr doesn`t want to hear from his fans anymore. No letters, no autographs, nada. Hey, Ringo, what gives?
TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
(MUSIC)
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson, coming to you tonight from Hollywood.
HAMMER: Let`s hear that music because tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is picking the celebrity cabinet. Yes, I mean, think about this - what if our next president decided to fill his cabinet with stars? And I`m not just talking about any stars here, but the biggest stars who have really made a difference.
Now we`ve thought long and hard about this at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT because we were thinking about what our country needs. And we can only hope that Barack Obama and John McCain are listening.
Joining me right now for this historic event from Hollywood, Rachel Zalis, who`s a contributing editor for "Life and Style Weekly." Also in Hollywood, Carlos Diaz who`s a correspondent for "Extra." And in New York tonight is Michael Musto who is an entertainment columnist for "The Village Voice."
All right. Gang, let us begin. An important task is at hand. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT hereby fills the very first celebrity cabinet position of secretary of education with the woman who can do anything - yes, Oprah Winfrey. Now, let`s not forget Oprah single-handedly opened up her school for girls in South Africa. Carlos Diaz, I`m going to begin with you, can you possibly argue with this great choice?
DIAZ: I cannot because I don`t argue with anything that Oprah does. But I would say she`s a great person for education because of the fact that teachers across the country are underpaid - we know this. So who better than Oprah with all her money to overpay these teachers and finally give them what they deserve. I say thumbs up on that one.
HAMMER: That`s right. That`s right. She can just open up a personal checkbook.
DIAZ: Exactly.
HAMMER: And when Oprah opened her school for girls in South Africa, she set the standard quite high for the girls that were going to the school. Listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TV PERSONALITY: I have no doubt in my mind that for every girl that comes out of this school, amazing, in the true sense of the word, amazing things will happen to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. Rachel, I`m going to send it over to you. Does it make sense for Oprah to become the next education secretary of the United States?
RACHEL ZALIS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "LIFE AND STYLE WEEKLY": Of course. I mean, the majority of the women in this country already subscribe to the school of Oprah. She tells us what to wear, what to eat, what to read. Plus, the money she gets for making the show could probably fund another million schools. She`s perfect.
HAMMER: Excellent. Position filled. We`ve got a big cabinet to fill, so let`s keep moving with the next celebrity.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT recommends to fill a cabinet position. It`s Brad Pitt. How about this - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. I think this makes perfect sense. He`s had experience building homes in New Orleans and you can watch what he told Larry King about that in 2007.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD PITT, ACTOR: We want to build homes, OK? And what we did is we called in 13 of the best minds in architecture that could take on sustainability, affordability, safety - because this will flood again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. See, I think Brad Pitt is spot-on. Michael Musto, what about you? Any doubt in your mind that Brad, you know, will not only fix the housing crisis but he will have an army of women ready and able to volunteer their skills alongside with him?
MICHAEL MUSTO, ENTERTAINMENT COLUMNIST, "THE VILLAGE VOICE": I think he would add much-needed glamour to the cabinet. I`d rather have Donald Trump. I think nobody cares about urban development more than Donald Trump. However, Brad Pitt is a great idea. And we could have Jennifer Aniston in there as the secretary of single-person housing.
HAMMER: Yes, but Michael, you live in New York City along with me. You`ve seen what Donald`s done to all of his buildings in terms of all the gold and everything everywhere. I don`t know if we want that.
MUSTO: Yes, I don`t really want that. You`re right. You`re right, A.J. You convinced me.
HAMMER: And we have another good idea in filling another position to make sure Brad doesn`t stray from his celebrity cabinet position. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is recommending this young woman, Angelina Jolie, as secretary of state. I mean, think about it. You know, she`s created this kind of microcosm of the United Nations in her own home.
She`s the U.N. good will ambassador. And I`m betting she could convince any world leader to put their weapon of mass destruction away. You know what I`m saying? Carlos, make sense to you?
DIAZ: I don`t know what your saying, A.J. Oh, I`m sorry. I got it now. I think she`s perfect for this because if you had two world leaders in the same room with Angelina, she could convince them to do anything. And she knows weapons. I saw "Wanted" like six times. She`s like firing guns and throwing knives. She knows her weapons.
But I don`t know about secretary of state. I don`t know if she`d like that title of secretary. We may have to come up with something different than secretary.
HAMMER: Yes. We may have to - I don`t know. You`re right. I could see from a feminist point of view how that could be looked at the wrong way.
DIAZ: Yes, it wouldn`t work.
HAMMER: Absolutely. We`re thinking, though, because we want to have a contingency, if you will, if Angelina, perhaps, were to turn down this particular cabinet position - maybe she is a little too busy at home with the brood, we`d like to nominate this guy, Jim Carrey as secretary of state. And I`d like to show you why. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM CARREY, ACTOR: I`m feeling good about this Sarah Palin, you know, I mean, because I used to live in Canada, and you can see Alaska from there. So I know everything there is to know about her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. So there you go. Makes perfect sense. Jim Carrey can see Alaska from Canada. Michael Musto, back to you. I`d have to think he`d be perfect in a McCain administration.
MUSTO: Yes. That`s true. It is a bunch of clowns. But I can`t really look out my door and see Jim Carrey at the cabinet. I`m sorry. Secretary of state, A.J., is about foreign affairs - that`s the main job. We need someone who`s had foreign affairs. I think Melanie Griffith or Johnny Depp.
HAMMER: Ah, very good. Very good. Writing those down, just as a further back-up. All right. We know, obviously, the world is in a huge economic mess right now. So we`re thinking who better than Bono to fill the position of secretary of treasury. Bono has worked tirelessly for years trying to fix the world`s economy. And I want you to listen to what Bono had to say at a United Nations dinner back in `03.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONO, MUSICIAN: I am looking for signatures, but not for an autograph book. I`m looking for signatures to sign a check. I`m looking for people to open up their wallets. Not individuals, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. So he`s spent time there at the United Nations. Clearly Bono not afraid to ask big corporations for money. Rachel, do you think Bono could handle being treasury secretary?
ZALIS: I think he could stare down anyone in those sunglasses to give up their most-prized possessions to help solve, you know, world crisis, world hunger. I think he`s the man for the job.
HAMMER: Yes. OK. I don`t think anybody`s got a sense on that opinion. Let`s move on to the secretary of energy post. I think we have this figured out perfectly.
Look at this, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT thinks Leo DiCaprio would be perfect for this. He`s an environmentalist. He`s worked tirelessly for years. He drives that Prius, you know, the environmentally friendly car. Michael, he knows about the alternatives to fossil fuels and he can charm the pants off any woman. Need I say more?
MUSTO: I don`t even know what that is, let alone the alternative. But you`re right, A.J. He`s a great choice. But when I think of energy, Shakira or Charo(ph). We need somebody like that, somebody you lights up a room. Or even better, Aretha Franklin. She has never flown a plane in years. She won`t waste unwanted energy. She rides buses with lots of, you know, doughnuts and stuff.
HAMMER: Carlos Diaz, can you weigh in on this particular position?
DIAZ: All I can say is that whatever Leo wants, Leo gets. But I think Robin Williams would be a great person for energy because he`s so energetic. He could run everything just on his personality alone. That`s my vote. I don`t know.
HAMMER: All right. Put the guy on the treadmill and let him go. Finally, our celebrity cabinet would not be complete without this guy, Chuck Norris. What do you think about this - as secretary of defense? Of course, we know him as Walker Texas Ranger. He`s been to Iraq. He`s a proud card-carrying member of the NRA, huddled with the troops. He`s even a martial artist.
Rachel, can anybody possibly compete with the experience of Chuck Norris?
ZALIS: I don`t know. I think he could like, karate chop any country into defeat, you know. I`m not sure if we could take that one on.
HAMMER: Secretary of defense - Chuck Norris, Michael Musto?
MUSTO: I`m scared of him. He`d be a good choice. I think I`d update it with "The Rock" of Vin Diesel. But have you ever seen Britney with an umbrella? That`s scary.
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: Another possible choice. Carlos Diaz, wrap it up for us.
DIAZ: All I`m saying is that we`re all afraid of the boogeyman and the boogeyman is afraid of Chuck Norris, all right?
HAMMER: Then I think we`ve solved our problem, and we`ve filled our cabinet. Rachel Zalis, Carlos Diaz, and Michael Musto, I thank you all.
ANDERSON: And remember, you can give us a call and let us know what you think of our celebrity cabinet or anything else that is on your mind.
HAMMER: That is correct, Brooke. The "Showbiz On Call" phone lines happen to be open all the time and this is the number - 1-888-SBT-BUZZ; numerically, that`s 1-888-728-2899. That`s what call to leave us a voicemail so we can play your call right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. And by the way, your calls to "Showbiz On Call" are now also online right there on our home page, which is CNN.com/ShowbizTonight.
ANDERSON: Hey, A.J., I hear that Ringo Starr is dissing his fans. What`s going on?
HAMMER: I don`t know. This is pretty strange. Something like he doesn`t want any mail from them and he`s actually ranting about it.
ANDERSON: Come on, Ringo, what`s up with that? Can you say biting the hand that feeds you? I`m investigating this big-time Beatle bummer, next.
HAMMER: Tonight, Colin Farrell speaking out for the first time about his addictions. This is crazy. Talks about checking into rehab, even though he felt like he was dying. You definitely don`t want to miss this, next.
Also this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people who are going to see Oliver Stone`s film as an example of negative campaigning, of a character smear against an outgoing president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Yes. Stone`s controversial brand-new movie, "W," is getting a lot of buzz. It`s pretty unflattering to the president. But could "W" actually affect the outcome of the elections? Straight ahead.
HAMMER: Speaking of the election, we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day - "Tina Fey as Sarah Palin: Is she hurting the McCain-Palin ticket?" Keep voting by going to CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. You can also E-mail us your thoughts at showbiztonight@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RINGO STARR, EX-BEATLE: Please, after the 20th of October, do not send fan mail to any address that you have. If that`s the date on the envelope, it`s going to be tossed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ringo Starr`s startling message to fans, leave him alone. But why?
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Tonight, Ringo Starr`s rant is just one of two big stories new right now. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is bringing you the shocking online plea that Ringo Starr made to his fans pleading with them to stop sending him mail and memorabilia. Why in the world is he so fed up?
Also new right now, Star Jones view the ladies on "The View." In a brand-new interview, Star Jones says that her co-hosts were, quote, "hateful." And now, Barbara Walters is responding.
Joining me in New York, Janell Snowden who is a VH1 news host. And in Hollywood tonight, Howard Bragman who is the founder of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations and the author of the soon-to-released book, "Where`s My Fifteen Minutes?"
Howard, Janell, good to see you both. And I want to begin with Ringo`s rant. In a video posted on Ringo`s Web site, he says he will no longer sign fan mail or memorabilia. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Please, after the 20th of October, do not send fan mail to any address that you have. Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October. If that is the date on the envelope, it`s going to be tossed. I`m warning you with peace and love, I have too much to do. So no more fan mail, thank you, thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right, with peace and love. After 45 years, though, of being a star, the former Beatle now wants his fans to leave him alone because he`s too busy? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Howard, whatever happened to "All You Need Is Love?"
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FOUNDER, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: Love has left the room, clearly, for Ringo Starr.
ANDERSON: It seems that way, yes.
BRAGMAN: I don`t have any problem with him making this decision. And if you represent a big star, you understand, we`re talking thousands of letters a week, a lot of money, a lot of effort.
What I do take issue is why did you feel the need to announce it? There`s a lot of stars that don`t respond to their fan mail. Just don`t say anything and don`t respond. After the 20th request, they`ll get the idea that they`re not getting their autographed photo. Why? It goes right up there with John McCain saying, "I`m pulling out of Michigan." It`s OK to do it. Just don`t talk about it.
ANDERSON: Well, and he could have, you know, maybe hired someone to help him sift through it and respond to some of it. I don`t know.
Well, in his online video rant, he insists that all of this does come with much peace and love. Janell, how in the world are his fans going to see that as peace and love when he`s saying, "Don`t bother me?"
SNOWDEN: They`re not going to see it as that. I can`t imagine how many heartbroken women and men there are out there. They`re like, "No, I`ve been waiting to this send this."
But what really gets me is that it`s like he`s the IRS or something. He`s saying if it`s postmarked after the 20th, he`s not going to read it. That is the biggest kicker of all for me. It`s like, can you imagine all the people who are going to try to get their stuff in before then? He`s going to be flooded with it before this.
ANDERSON: Yes. I wonder what the significance of that date is for Ringo.
All right. Moving from one star to another, Star Jones. It`s been more than two years since she was fired from "The View" and really, she won`t let it go. In the new issue of "Essence" magazine, she says her co- hosts were, quote, "hateful." Howard, isn`t it time to just give it a rest?
BRAGMAN: It`s beyond time to give it a rest. You know, when I represent a client and we do an interview, we have a proactive reason to do an interview. We have a project that we want to support, a point of view we want to make. We don`t want to go back, rehash negative past history. It was a big mistake for her to do this interview. Get over it, Star.
ANDERSON: Well, listen to this. Walters is reportedly responding now. Barbara Walters saying, quote, "Star had wonderful years with us on `The View.` And I think `The View` made Star a star. I wish her well."
Janell, Barbara seems to be taking the high road here. She doesn`t need to get into a tit for tat with Star again, does she? It would kind of be a waste of her time.
SNOWDEN: Not only would it be a waste of her time, she`s just over it. She doesn`t have a book to promote anymore. All she has is "The View." Star`s no longer on it. So she`s just like, "You know what? You`re out of here."
ANDERSON: Yes. So Howard, do you think - 10 seconds - that this is the best approach for Barbara right now? This is the best response she could make?
BRAGMAN: Absolutely. You know, I represented Al Reynolds and we said from the beginning we`re going to take the high road. The high road is always the high and dry road, the classy road, and it`s the best position to take. And I applaud Barbara. And Star is so talented. I hope she gets beyond this because she is really a great lady.
ANDERSON: Yes. We all - we wish her well. Yes, I like, though. Take the classy road. Janell Snowden, Howard Bragman. We will leave it there. Thank you.
HAMMER: Moving on now, booze and drugs almost killed him. That`s what Colin Farrell is revealing in a dramatic new interview where he`s opening up for the first time about rehab and his battle with addiction.
In a chat with the BBC`s "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross" talk show, Colin says he was, quote, "dying before he checked himself into rehab three years ago."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN FARRELL, ACTOR: I went somewhere for five, six weeks and that was a very safe environment. And I began to come out of the haze that I was in and that I had burrowed myself into so deeply. And then, at the end of it, you come out of that safe environment and it`s back to the world and everything was just in a degree of focus that I hadn`t experienced.
And basically I`ve been fairly drunk or high since I was 14. So it was time. I`m one of the lucky ones that got - so far, my life`s changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Wow. Colin also talked about the release of the sex tape he filmed with a former girlfriend. Colin says he thinks he was high when they shot it.
Well, there was no sex tape involved in Christie Brinkley`s nasty divorce battle. But her ex, Peter Cook, did have sex with a teenager and that, of course, Brooke, helped bring that marriage down.
ANDERSON: Yes, A.J. And we`ve been getting a ton of calls into the "Showbiz On Call" phone lines about Cook`s new interview with Barbara Walters where he admitted he was an idiot. People really heated up about this. And get this - a bunch of the calls actually support Peter Cook. Here`s Ladell from Texas.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
LADELL, CALLER FROM TEXAS: People are failing to realize - I mean, I`m not saying that cheating is OK. But I do applaud him for just coming out and saying what a lot of men are feeling. Their wives are not there for them at all and they do want attention, you know. And they want somebody to pay attention to them. And Christie - I mean, what goes around comes around.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes, that is an interesting way of looking at it. But I agree with Ladell, what she said at the beginning, there is never an excuse for an affair, Brooke.
ANDERSON: Yes, I do agree with that, A.J.
HAMMER: I want to play another call, Brooke. Somebody who let us know she thinks - Amanda from Ohio.
AMANDA, CALLER FROM OHIO: I think that Peter Cook is nothing but an egotistic crybaby. His excuse is that his wife had more power than him and so he had to go messing up with an 18-year-old who showed him attention. And his little addiction to porn and sex - obviously, he needs to go to rehab for being a sex addict just like David Duchovny did.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HAMMER: Now, Cook has denied having a porn habit. Something tells me, however, we have not heard the last of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook.
ANDERSON: Yes. You are probably right, A.J.
And hey, we want you to remember that you can always dial us up at "Showbiz On Call" about this or anything else that you are thinking about. Just give us a ring at 1-888-SBT-BUZZ; that`s 1-888-728-2899. Leave a voicemail and we will play some of your calls right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And your calls to "Showbiz On Call" are also now online on our home page. Check them out, CNN.com/ShowbizTonight.
Well, we`d also love to hear from you about Oliver Stone`s controversial new film about President Bush called "W."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people who are going to see Oliver Stone`s film as an example of negative campaigning, of a character smear against the outgoing president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Yes, it`s pretty unflattering. And you can bet it is no accident that "W" is being released just a couple weeks before the presidential election. Could it actually affect the outcome? Could the move backfire? Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Hey, welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson. All right. So in presidential elections, they say to beware of the October surprise, something that pops up days before the election and could turn the entire election upside down.
Will Oliver Stone`s controversial, unflattering new film about President Bush, "W" be the shocking surprise this time around? Here is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`S Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yes, I`m sure historians will say, "Gosh, wish he could have done better."
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is Oliver Stone`s latest presidential biopic, "W," recounting what the film depicts as the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) president`s booze-soaked youth to a scathing indictment of his time in office. The film is anything but flattering to President Bush.
OLIVER STONE, DIRECTOR, "W": We want Americans to see that this character who they voted for, a little bit better, understand why we voted for him. What it is he has done and where we are now.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Who do you think you are, Kennedy? You are a Bush. Act like one.
WYNTER: Steven J. Ross professor of film and politics at USC says Stone`s decision to release the film just 18 days before the presidential election was no accident.
STEVEN J. ROSS, PROFESSOR OF FILM AND POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: It is the impact that he wants to have right now. And he is really aiming, I think, not at the Democrats, not at the Republicans, but at those independents, that 20 percent that both sides are still battling for.
WYNTER: Ross says even those who choose not to buy a ticket could still be influenced. From posters and billboards that read "A Life Mis- underestimated." To TV spots and Web sites with the slogan "Anyone can grow up to be president." But Ross says this kind of disparaging marketing could flop.
ROSS: There are people who are going to see Oliver Stone`s film as an example of negative campaigning, of a character smear against an outgoing president and Oliver Stone is a filmmaker who often crosses the line like Michael Moore. But as a political strategy, it actually back fires.
WYNTER: Moore`s 2004 movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11" slammed the current administration and was a box office hit, but it failed to keep Mr. Bush from winning a second term.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: This is for all those who doubted I won the election.
WYNTER: Whether it is seen as a character assassination or art imitating life, "W," like most of Stone`s films, will probably leave audiences loving or hating it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And that was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Kareen Wynter.
HAMMER: And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Remember, you can always catch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on the 11:00s - 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, and in the morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern. The latest from "CNN HEADLINE NEWS" is next.
END
