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SHOWBIZ TONIGHT

Kenny Chesney Wins Entertainer of the Year at Country Music Awards; CBS reveals its new fall line-up; Fans Congregate in New York City For Premiere of Final "Star Wars" Movie

Aired May 18, 2005 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Kenny Chesney on married life with a movie star.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And reality TV secrets exposed. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: "TV Secrets Exposed." Tonight, reality check. How the shows pick the contestants. Our special series continues. Plus, CBS reveals its fall schedule and cancels a major show.

HAMMER: He`s a little bit country. She spent her honeymoon in Little Rock. Tonight, we have Kenny Chesney`s first comments about his new bride, Renee Zellweger.

BRYANT: Spears and jeers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRITNEY SPEARS, "CHAOTIC": Yes, I do. OK, I`m acting stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Why everybody`s buzzing about Britney`s up-close and personal raunchy reality show.

HAMMER: Fezzy logic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found it in the dumpster. It`s got lots of stains, and it goes with everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: It`s Wilmer-o-rama, as the star of "That `70s Show" joins us live in the "SHOWBIZ Sitdown."

BRYANT: The wait is almost over, "Revenge of the Sith" just hours away. We`re live with the most diehard fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYDEN CHRISTIANSEN, "STAR WARS": I`m Hayden Christiansen. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tonight, and you`re at the top of the show.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. You`re watching TV`s only live nightly entertainment news program.

Well, it was a surprise wedding that shocked both Hollywood and Nashville, and now the groom is finally talking.

HAMMER: Country music star Kenny Chesney is opening up about his new wife, Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger. His chattiness came after yet another happy occasion for Chesney, a big night at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNY CHESNEY, SINGER: She`s wonderful.

(voice-over): Those two words are the first we`re hearing from Kenny Chesney since he tied the knot with Renee Zellweger eight days ago. Kenny was singing about their surprise wedding in the Virgin Islands, and he opened up about his romantic proposal. Apparently, he had her at "Hello."

CHESNEY: She just told me to, you know, name the time and place, and she`d be there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Entertainer of the Year is Kenny Chesney!

HAMMER: Earlier, Kenny got one heck of a wedding gift. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was there as he was named Entertainer of the Year, one of country music`s highest honors. He didn`t thank his new bride, but he did thank the fans.

CHESNEY: I go on stage every night at 9:15, but our show starts at 2:30 in the afternoon because all the fans are out there in the parking lot partying and got our music cranked up. And I want to thank you all.

HAMMER: Even though Kenny didn`t talk about Renee on stage, he gushed about her plenty backstage.

CHESNEY: She`s a great girl.

HAMMER: He and Renee`s lush Caribbean wedding got a big photo spread in "People" magazine. But what about their honeymoon? Not exactly the stuff of "Travel and Leisure" magazine.

CHESNEY: We did our honeymoon in Little Rock and -- at a show. I had to go right back out on the road, so we went to Little Rock, Oklahoma City and Dallas and then San Antonio, and I flew here, so it wasn`t that -- wasn`t that great of a honeymoon.

HAMMER: Kenny`s not the only one with a busy schedule. Renee`s in the upcoming movie "Cinderella Man," and Kenny said that`s the reason she wasn`t at the awards show. But apparently, Kenny wasn`t Renee-less all night. After the show, Renee accompanied her new husband to the after party. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT producer Jeremy Weber was right there, standing backstage when the happy couple walked in.

JEREMY WEBER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: As we`re standing there, all of a sudden, right behind me, a door opens, and it`s like out of nowhere, 10 security guards come busting in. And as I look over to the left, I see in the middle Kenny and Renee, hand in hand. They went straight to the stage, never looked around. Renee kept her head down like this the whole time. That was pretty much that.

HAMMER: Clearly, Kenny Chesney is one happy Entertainer of the Year.

CHESNEY: I`m a little more at ease. You know, I`m not searching.

HAMMER: I guess marrying a hot actress on the beach can do that for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Turns out another guy married to a big star was also a big winner at the Country Music Awards. Faith Hill`s husband, Tim McGraw, won two awards.

BRYANT: Tonight, more secrets of the new TV season exposed. This is the week the broadcast networks are revealing what you`ll be seeing this fall, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there for you every step of the way. Tonight, CBS revealed -- or today, rather -- what they have in the pipeline. We`ve got SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer live with us for the inside scoop.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: And some big revelations, Karyn. CBS has a bit of a challenge for the fall. The network lost "Everybody Loves Raymond," which had its series finale on Monday. That one was one of the most watched programs. But the network is now prepared with a slate of new shows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): CBS is the number-one rated television network in the country, but that doesn`t mean executives are leaving well enough alone. The top brass at the "Tiffany network" have tinkered with their fall line- up, doing away with some established hits and adding six new programs. "Judging Amy" got its verdict -- gone. "Joan of Arcadia" -- gone. And time has run out on "60 Minutes Wednesday." The newsmagazine made headlines of its own last September in the infamous "memogate" scandal, the story that questioned President Bush`s military service only to be questioned itself.

(on camera): "60 Minutes Wednesday" is being taken off the schedule.

LESLIE MOONVES, CHAIRMAN, CBS BROADCASTING: Yes.

HAFFENREFFER: Does it have anything to do with that election-year scandal...

(CROSSTALK)

MOONVES: Not -- not a single thing. It had nothing to do with content, the quality of the show or anything that happened before. It had to do with they were down in every single rating category, and the bar at CBS is much higher now.

HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Mondays get the overhaul. With "Everybody Loves Raymond" not on the schedule, for the first time in nine years, the network has an eye on another comedy to fill its spot. "Two and a Half Men" will move into "Raymond`s" old slot, serving as a launchpad for the new medical comedy "Out of Practice" with Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STOCKARD CHANNING, "OUT OF PRACTICE": Don`t touch me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY WINKLER, "OUT OF PRACTICE": If I was going to do this again on a regular, regular basis, I cannot think of another, better place to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAFFENREFFER: The veteran "King of Queens" gets an earlier, better slot, followed by the new comedy, "How I Met Your Mother," Starring "Doogie Howser" himself, Neil Patrick Harris, and Alyson Hannigan from the movie "American Pie."

ALYSON HANNIGAN, "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER": (INAUDIBLE) excitement and gratefulness. I was just -- I`m just so happy because it was such a wonderful experience. And the fact that we get to go do more is such a gift.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long do you think the victim was in the shark`s stomach?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAFFENREFFER: "CSI: Miami" will round out the Monday schedule. Friday starts up with a new drama, "Ghost Whisperer." Jennifer Love Hewitt comes back to TV to play a newlywed who can communicate with dead people.

(on camera): Do you believe that people can hear voices from beyond, or are you a little skeptical on a personal level?

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, "GHOST WHISPERER": I don`t know if I necessarily believe that they can hear voices, but I do believe, if nothing else than for the fact that I have a big heart and I like to believe in lots of things that make me feel really, really good and amazing and fill your spirit somehow.

HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): CBS has decided to leave its Thursday line-up untouched. That`s no surprise since the network clobbered NBC on Thursdays for the first time ever this season. Keep an eye out for Jenna Elfman. Her comedy, "Everything I know About Men," was picked up for mid- season.

JENNA ELFMAN, "EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT MEN": I`m Betts (ph).

HAFFENREFFER (on camera): From Dharma to Betts. Do you have any role in picking the first names?

ELFMAN: No, she was named already. But I like it. I think it`s a good name.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: And one thing you won`t see from CBS this fall, any new reality shows. The network is keeping its focus on the mega-hits "Survivor" and "Amazing Race" -- Karyn.

BRYANT: All right. Thanks very much, David Haffenreffer.

Well, do you want to know some secrets about the reality shows and how you may be able to get on one of them? Well, stay with us for our continuing series "TV Secrets Exposed." Tonight, the secrets behind the reality shows. That`s coming up at the bottom of the hour.

And now we want to know your thoughts. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Reality TV shows: Would you like to see more of them? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, e- mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of your thoughts later in the show.

HAMMER: Well, in "The Show`s Biz" tonight, it`s the big night finally here. In just a few hours from right now, "Star Wars" episode 3, "Revenge of the Sith," will open. It is expected to be the biggest movie of the year. It is science fiction, but you know, all that money it`s already making is the real deal. CNN`s Chris Huntington is live for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tonight in New York City, where all those fans already have their light sabers out, as they have for weeks -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: A.J., it is -- it`s starting to heat up here. That`s all I can say. We`ve got Wookiees. We`ve got storm troopers, clone troopers. About four or five Darth Vaders just ran down the street, I think to get something to eat before the big event.

You know, obviously, this is a huge deal for these folks. This is, we are told, the culmination of the "Star Wars" series, the last time that they`ll ever get to go to a premiere. Of course, it`s also been huge opportunity for Lucasfilms to open up the marketing floodgates. Some say this is the biggest promotional push ever for a "Star Wars" film. Even if you`re not a hard-core "Star Wars" film, even if you don`t even plan to rent the movie, eventually, when it comes out on DVD, you`re going to have a hard time avoiding the marketing blitz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The force is with you, young Skywalker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): And apparently, with all of us. The marketing force, that is. Prepare to be bombarded by the ultimate "Star Wars" merchandising blitz. Who knew Yoda cared about calories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your drink desire you not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: The little guy is fronting a million-dollar "Star Wars" sweepstakes for Pepsi. 7-Eleven is pumping out Darth Dew slurpies, Kelloggs is packing up light-up saber spoons in its cereal boxes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... with new light-up saber spoons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: You can get M&Ms from the dark side, "Star Wars" ringtones from Cingular wireless...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The force will be with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: ... "Star Wars" scratch-off games from Burger King, and of course, action figures, toys and gadgets from the likes of Hasbro and Leggo. CNN`s corporate cousins, AOL and Moviefone, are in on the action as official on-line promoters. There is even a "Star Wars" video game.

GEORGE LUCAS, "STAR WARS" CREATOR: If you don`t like the video game, you can always read the novel.

HUNTINGTON: While there`s nothing novel about movie merchandising, George Lucas, the creator, producer and master of the "Star Wars" universe, has by all accounts and any accounting measure raised the stakes of the game. Total box office, home video and merchandise sales for the six "Star Wars" films is expected to easily top $20 billion, far more than any other film series has ever made and greater than the gross domestic product of several European countries. Marketing from earlier "Star Wars" films was so aggressive, it became a joke, literally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: But with "Revenge of the Sith" billed as the last "Star Wars" film, Lucas has pulled out all the stops.

ANDREW GREENBERG, ANDREW GREENBERG BRAND STRATEGY: For the last hurrah, I think he has opened the door to a lot of merchandising opportunities. It is a feeding frenzy.

HUNTINGTON: Frenzy feeding on the "Star Wars" faithful, most of whom grew up with the films and many who still shell out astronomical sums of money to collect memorabilia or dress the part.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For everything ever related to "Star Wars," probably at least $50,000, easily.

HUNTINGTON: Still, none of the fans we spoke to seemed concerned that Yoda was hawking diet soda. Evidently, even a 900-year-old Jedi master is entitled to cash in for his retirement. Chris Huntington, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, as you can see, folks are camped out here, almost Woodstock or Grateful Dead style. This is serious business for these folks. Many have been here since midnight last night for the show tonight.

Of course, none of this would be complete without some of the serious grand masters here. Now, please tell us exactly who you are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m Qui-Gon Jinn.

HUNTINGTON: And in the grand panoply of "Star Wars" figures, how does he fit in? How do you fit in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he`s the Jedi master that taught Obi-Wan.

HUNTINGTON: And how long have you been this Jedi master?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, or...

HUNTINGTON: When did you first slip into character?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Probably on line for "The Phantom Menace," when that came out.

HUNTINGTON: OK. And obviously, you`re going to the film at midnight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

HUNTINGTON: OK. Terrific.

Well, that`s it from here. Many more to come. We`ve got about four- and-a-half hours until this really lights up. And of course, this`ll be rolling thunder for about a month or so to come. Back to you.

HAMMER: Thanks, Chris. May the force be with you. CNN`s Chris Huntington live in New York City tonight.

BRYANT: Pop singer Kylie Minogue`s fight against breast cancer. Tonight, what every woman needs to know. That is coming up.

HAMMER: Plus, let`s do the time warp. We are kicking it `70s style with Wilmer Valderrama from "That `70s Show" live in the "SHOWBIZ Sitdown."

BRYANT: Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." What was Ashton Kutcher`s major at the University of Iowa? Was it aeronautical engineering, abnormal psychology, biochemical engineering or communications? We`ll be right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back. Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." What was Ashton Kutcher`s major at the University of Iowa, aeronautical engineering, abnormal psychology, biochemical engineering or communications? The answer, C, biochemical engineering.

BRYANT: Tonight, the ratings are in, and Britney Spears`s UPN reality show, "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic," is anything but chaotic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRITNEY SPEARS, "CHAOTIC": God, our sex is so good!

KEVIN FEDERLINE, "CHAOTIC": (INAUDIBLE)

SPEARS: Ecstasy, ecstasy, ecstasy, ecstasy, ecstasy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: The racy and sometimes even raunchy UPN show has major buzz, and it brought in big ratings for the network last night. It is shot and produced by both Britney and her husband, Kevin Federline. And throughout last night`s premiere, it seemed that Britney talks about virtually nothing but their sex life.

And across the country, the reviews are in. Many of the country`s TV critics slammed it, but not Linda Stasi of "The New York Post," who is joining us live here tonight in New York. Linda, what did you think of this show?

LINDA STASI, "NEW YORK POST": Actually, you know, the thing that I expected was that I would hate it, and I actually found it oddly fascinating. One of the reasons is because they shot it themselves as home movies, which she started before she ever even met the guy. And it`s very honest. It`s not like there`s a crew around, you know, telling them what to do, or they`re acting out for the crew. So I thought it was actually bizarrely interesting, also kind of raw and actually even kind of dark. It was very just bizarre.

BRYANT: So how do you mean "dark"? I would like you to expand on that a little bit.

STASI: Well, for example, she lets it really show -- I mean, she`s very needy. She`s very desperate. She`s looking very much for love. The yearning is very interesting. And then when she finally drags this guy kicking and screaming to England -- so much for this whole nonsense about how they met because he was a back-up dancer. They met in a club because she picked him up, and dancing was not his major talent. But anyway, after this night of -- which she talks about endlessly, this tremendous sex they had, the next scene is they`re riding in a car, and she`s playing that Peggy Lee song "Is That All There Is?"

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

STASI: Hello!

BRYANT: So would you say that that is the most memorable scene in the show?

STASI: Well, I think -- I think it`s just very surprising that she`s shot him naked in the shower. And I said in my column, he`s trying to hide what no man could put asunder under the shower.

BRYANT: Yes.

STASI: It`s very strange. And he says, Payback`s a bitch, and he`s going to, you know, tape her naked. I don`t know. It`s just not what I expected. And I hope you put the kiddies (INAUDIBLE)

BRYANT: Well, that`s what I was going to ask you because there certainly wasn`t any kind of warning. Many people may have sat down with the kids in tow and been really radically surprised by the sexual content.

STASI: Well, if you watched it with your kids, the interesting thing is now they know what her favorite sex position is (INAUDIBLE) everyone else`s because she kept asking everyone, what`s your favorite sex position? Then she sang about not having any underwear on, and then she kept talking about how she needs sex and how she wants sex, and when she finally has sex...

BRYANT: She`s obsessed.

STASI: She`s obsessed. Yes.

BRYANT: So would you say, though, this is a publicity stunt, this whole show?

STASI: No, I don`t -- well, I think anything that any star does, particularly somebody who`s been famous since they were, you know, a Mouseketeer, is going to be done for the publicity. I mean, would you put your sex life on TV if you didn`t want publicity? (INAUDIBLE)

BRYANT: No. No.

STASI: But on the other hand, it`s realer than most of these dopey reality shows, so I kind of found it fascinating. It was actually fascinating as a one-hour documentary. Would I keep tuning in every week to watch her having sex? No. But it was very interesting.

BRYANT: All right. Well, thank you for joining us here live. Linda Stasi from "The New York Post."

STASI: Thank you.

HAMMER: Surprising news tonight about Kylie Minogue. At just 36 years old, the pop star is being treated for breast cancer. Well, tonight, we`re going to tell you what women need to know about the disease. That`s coming up.

BRYANT: ... "TV Secrets Exposed" series, how do people get picked for these reality shows? Well, we`re going to find out from reality show contestants and the people who cast them, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Well, the actor who played the Riddler on TV`s "Batman" has died. Frank Gorshin was 72 years old. He had lung cancer and was hospitalized for pneumonia. Gorshin best known for his Emmy-nominated role as the Riddler, but he had a long career, including dozens of films and TV shows. His most recent performance was on "CSI." And that episode airs tomorrow.

BRYANT: Tonight, celebrities around the world are sending wishes of support to Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The Grammy winner has just revealed she`s been diagnosed with breast cancer. Pop star Anastacia is another famous name struggling with a disease that women face daily. She told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, quote, "My prayers and thoughts are with Kylie and her family at this time. I know how much strength it takes to bring this news public. She is a dynamic and amazing woman. I offer her support and the privacy she deserves."

Well, the startling news about Minogue is again raising awareness of breast cancer and prevention. Joining us live tonight is Dr. Sheldon Feldman, chief of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center -- or Comprehensive Breast Center at New York`s Beth Israel Medical Center.

Thank you for joining us. How much would you say that the celebrities who come out and speak about this issue -- how much of an effect does that have on awareness for ladies at home?

DR. SHELDON FELDMAN, BETH ISRAEL MEDICAL CENTER: I think it`s enormously helpful. I really admire and respect celebrities who can have the courage to not only deal with their diagnosis and the treatments that they need to go through, but who are willing to really put themselves out there and create tremendous good from something bad by encouraging people to go for screening. So I really applaud their ability to be able to do that.

BRYANT: And Kylie`s people have issued a statement saying that they caught the cancer in the early stages. What does that say about her chances of recovery?

FELDMAN: Well, it means that her chances for recovery are excellent. It means that her treatment can be minimally invasive and that her chance of being fine long-term is excellent. So that`s the whole key. Early diagnosis leads to relatively simple treatment and nearly 100 percent chance of cure.

BRYANT: OK. Now, at any age, you know, women should definitely be conscious and aware of this, but what should we be doing and at what ages?

FELDMAN: Well, the standard recommendations certainly are for women with no strong family history of breast cancer to start having a baseline mammogram at age 35, and then yearly starting at age 40. For women who have a history, where women have been diagnosed at a younger age in the family, where there may be a genetic tendency, screening even earlier than that is important. We also will use ultrasound and MRI of the breast. Self-examination is important for women, and being checked once a year by their doctor to be sure that there are no abnormalities. So these three things together really are their keys.

BRYANT: Now, does it have any effect on your chances of getting cancer if, let`s say, you`re past a certain age and you haven`t had children or you have had children?

FELDMAN: Aging is definitely a risk factor for breast cancer. The two most important factors really are being a woman and getting older.

BRYANT: Great!

FELDMAN: So those are things which -- right!

(LAUGHTER)

FELDMAN: Those are the big ones. Family history is very important, as well.

BRYANT: All right. Well, thank you. And certainly, I`m happy that we are raising awareness. Thanks for joining us here, Dr. Sheldon Feldman.

FELDMAN: Thank you.

HAMMER: Ah, Tony Soprano. Once upon a time, he lived only in the imagination of one man. Well, fast-forward a few years, bada bing, cultural icon. What the man behind Tony thinks about that, coming up.

Plus, Jessica Simpson finally answers the question, Do Army fatigues go with a Louis Vuitton bag? That`s coming up a bit later.

BRYANT: The Dave Matthews Band crashes its way to the top of this week`s "Billboard 200" chart just out today. DMB`s "Stand Up" album knocks Nine Inch Nails out of the number one slot in its debut week. Weezer`s "Make Believe" (INAUDIBLE) at number two. Mariah Carey`s "The Emancipation of Mimi" slips to third place. 50 Cent`s "The Massacre" holds at number four. And Trent Reznor`s one-man band, Nine Inch Nails, slides down to number five.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

AJ HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Tonight, keeping it real. Want to get on a reality show? We`re going to tell you how. Our weeklong series, "TV secrets exposed."

KARYN BRYANT, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: And getting familiar with Wilmer. THAT `70s SHOW star Wilmer Valderrama, live in a "showbiz sit down."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDI GRANT (ph): Hi, I`m Andie Grant. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: And I`m AJ Hammer. Here are tonight`s "hot headlines."

BRYANT: An opening night 30 years in the making. You`re looking live at New York`s Zeigfeld theater, where fans have lined up to see "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" for the past 19 days. The first showing of the last "Star Wars" begins at midnight.

She`s wonderful. That`s what country star Kenny Chesney says about his new bride, Renee Zellweger. He spoke about the nine-day-old marriage for the first time at last night`s academy of country music awards show. Chesney also won entertainer of the year at the show.

Today it was CBS` turn. The tiffany network took the wraps off its fall lineup. In New York this morning, CBS said it`s canceling JOAN OF ARCADIA, JUDGING AMY, and the Wednesday edition of 60 MINUTES. The network is adding shows with Jennifer Love Hewitt (ph), DOOGIE HOWSER`s (ph) Neal Patrick Harris and the Fonz himself, Henry Winkler.

HAMMER: Well, CBS knows a little bit about reality television with the wildly popular AMAZING RACE and SURVIVOR. But how do the networks pick those people for those reality shows? We`re about to let you in on that secret. It`s our week-long special series, "TV secrets exposed" and tonight, we`re taking an inside look at reality shows.

To help us with that, joining us live from New York Adam Mesh. You may recognize him because he starred on the reality shows AVERAGE JOE and AVERAGE JOE RETURNS. The guy responsible for that, AVERAGE JOE`s executive producer, Stuart Krasnow, joins us live from Hollywood. He`s also produced the show $25 MILLION HOAX and also live from Hollywood, Jon Murray, whose credits include the show that arguably started this whole reality craze to begin with, MTV`s THE REAL WORLD. He also heads up THE SIMPLE LIFE with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie and just this week, his daytime reality show, STARTING OVER, won an Emmy for best special class series. Jon, let me start with you. Congratulations on that, first of all.

JON MURRAY, EXEC PRODUCER, THE REAL WORLD: Thank you.

HAMMER: And I`m just your average American TV viewer, I want to get on to a reality show. What`s the secret?

MURRAY: Well, I wish there was a big secret. Basically, do you have a good personality? Are you intriguing? If I was flipping the channels, would I stop and look at you? The way we determine that is by having four, five, six interviews with you, by talking to your friends, by talking to your enemies, we want to know who you are and if you`re the real thing.

HAMMER: Adam, you actually were one of those people chosen from thousands of entries. Is that pretty much what happened for you? They brought you back for several interviews and kind of worked you through the process?

ADAM MESH, AVERAGE JOE: I pretty much just stumbled into it. A friend sent me an e-mail saying that they were auditioning for a reality show which had a totally different name than the one I ended up on and I went in and it was like the greatest job interview ever. They just asked me fun questions, like funny stories and dicey moments, what kind of girls do you like? So I really just stumbled into it.

HAMMER: Stuart, you picked the guy out. What stuck out about him to you?

STUART KRASNOW, EXEC PRODUCER, AVERAGE JOE: Well, I think the moment you saw Adam on tape -- we were watching his casting tape. He was funny. He was warm. He was engaging, really 10 or 15 seconds in, this was the kind of guy you wanted to know better and also somebody that I felt and that the other executive producer and myself felt would - the audience would really want to root for.

HAMMER: Well, Jon, I want to ask you this, looks do play a role, obviously in casting of any type for any TV show. How important is it when you`re going into a reality show in terms of the kind of people you`re thinking about. Because obviously for THE AVERAGE JOE, they`re looking for a certainly type, but when you`re filling a house full of people and on the real world shows, you always have the pretty people in there.

MURRAY: Well, you are looking for attractive people, but that attractiveness can come in the force of their personality too. It can come in how they express themselves. It can come in how their sense of humor is, but yeah, we`re not doing radio. We need attractive people.

HAMMER: And do you already sort of have the scenario Stuart, sort of in your mind of how you want the dynamic to happen? Or does that come from the people you end up casting? In other words, you always have the angry guy, the bubbling woman, all the different characters that we`re used to seeing on these shows. How much of that is thought out ahead of time?

KRASNOW: Well, I think you want to have the cast that`s going to be as different as possible from each other and the kind of people that never would have met in any other environment except on our show. So we`re waiting for them to combust once they`re in a room together. And I have to admit, we do fantasize. We put a big wall together and you sort of say, wow, that (INAUDIBLE) is really going to be fun for this guy and you sort of - you start figuring it out together, put the pieces of the puzzle together, but really, once the cameras start rolling, you really don`t know what`s going to happen. We`re following this football game and that`s really the fun of it for us.

HAMMER: But a story line does sort of evolve throughout that casting process.

KRASNOW: It always does and I think, I think it also surprises you, because I think the way predict the cast is going to interact, sometimes it`s very different than the way they actually do interact when they`re in there and that makes some TV show for us.

HAMMER: And Adam, I want to ask you, I often here from people who have been on these reality shows, whether it be THE APPRENTICE or THE REAL WORLD, that they`re not necessarily always portrayed in the - things don`t always come out on television the way they actually happen. In your experience, is that one of the secrets that we should know about, that it`s not always exactly as things came down.

MESH: I think it`s pretty accurate. I think it`s an exaggerated version of yourself. Like, if I made 10 jokes and seven were funny, then they`d pretty much say, here`s the five jokes that were funny and I`d come off as always funny and I`d never have a bad joke.

HAMMER: Jon, do you find that, now that reality TV, I the ear piece popped out, you`ll be OK. Do you find that on reality TV now that it`s been on for so long when the casting process begins, people are almost a bit too savvy. They`re showing up with head shots and trying to really boost their acting career, because they`re coming in under false pretenses?

MURRAY: Well, the first question we ask on our application is have you ever been an actor? Are you a member of SAG or (INAUDIBLE) because we don`t want professional actors and part of the job of us as casting people is to make sure we find the real people out there, the people who can`t help but be themselves.

HAMMER: And Stuart, vetting I imagine, the process of actually going to backgrounds of these people, something that I suppose is not so much a secret, but it is truly a big part of the process for you guys.

KRASNEY: It`s a necessity. We have to make sure we`re dealing with real people and we want to make sure that we`re putting them in an environment that they`re going to stick (ph) to themselves and to others and if anybody for instance, has had a violent history of any kind, we`d be irresponsible to put them on TV. So yes, that`s a very important part of the process for us I would say.

HAMMER: Jon, you`ve obviously had a huge success throughout your career with reality television, what would you say is the secret to making a reality show a hit?

MURRAY: Well, it`s casting, casting, casting and then it`s a really good concept. But if you don`t have the cast, you really don`t have the story.

HAMMER: Adam, that`s got to make you feel good if casting is at the core and you were part of a hit show.

MESH: It does make me feel good.

HAMMER: Stuart, what would you say is the real secret then to taking these hours and hours and literally hundreds of hours of video that we never see and you have to whittle it down to a one hour program every week and you have to come up with some formula in your head. What`s the real secret behind all that?

KRASNOW: Well, I think Jon Murray is certainly the master of this and I think what we are really doing is we are doing exactly what your question said. We are taking hundreds of hours of tapes and finding the best moments, the funniest, most compelling, most dramatic, most emotional moments and squeezing them into one hour TV. There`s no other format on television, whether it be a news magazine or drama or a sitcom, that shoots as many hours as we do to get a story. So our stories better be good by the time we put an hour together or we don`t have a show.

HAMMER: Well, gentlemen, Adam, Stuart and Jon, I really appreciate you all letting us in the secrets to getting on reality TV and giving us your insight tonight. And tomorrow, as we continue our special series, "TV Secrets Exposed," we`re going to check out the secrets behind the stars` salaries and on Friday, the secret stories behind the trends that are going to lead to what you`re going to be watching on television this fall. And reality shows have been the focus of our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. We would still like you to vote on that. Reality TV shows, would you like to see more of them? Go to cnn.com/showbiztonight to place your vote or send us an e-mail to showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to share some of your feedback coming up in 54 past the hour.

BRYANT: Remember THE SOPRANOS? Well, it has been awhile since we`ve seen a new episode of HBO`s hit show and we won`t be seeing one for another year. Tonight, the show`s creator, David Chase, of course the man who decides who gets whacked and who doesn`t, he tells 60 MINUTES what it`s like being the man behind one of TV history`s most recognizable characters -- Tony Soprano.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB SIMON, CBS CORRESPONDENST: Tony Soprano is going to mean something to several generations of people.

DAVID CHASE, CREATOR, THE SOPRANOS: How did that happen?

SIMON: Well, you made it happen.

CHASE: I know, but that was not the intention. I was just trying to earn some money and get some film to show.

SIMON: Now that you`ve created Tony Soprano and he is this figure in our imaginations, in our lives, how do you feel about having the power to decide whether he lives or dies?

CHASE: It doesn`t -- he`s only a fictional character.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Chase also tells 60 MINUTES that he tends to kill people off in the show when he gets bored. So look what happened to Adrianna. But would he ever whack Carmella Soprano? Fughedaboutdit. Edie Falco says quote, it`s unlikely. Who would cook?" 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY airs tonight on CBS.

HAMMER: From Tony and Carmella to Nick and Jessica, the newlyweds took a little trip for a good cause. We`re going to tell you where they went coming up next.

BRYANT: And get your platform shoes on and pick up the leisure suit. We`re heading back to the 1970s. THAT `70S SHOW`s" Wilmer Valderrama joins us live, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY STEWART (ph): I`m Kimberly Stewart.

PARIS HILTON: And I`m Paris Hilton.

STEWART: And we`re listening to.

HILTON: Gwen Stefani, because she`s so hot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Tonight, Nick Lachey (ph) and Jessica Simpson are taking a page out of the late Bob Hope`s play book and we`ve got your sneak peek. The newlyweds entertained troops at the Ramstein (ph) Air Force base in Germany, along with Willie Nelson, Big and Rich and Brian McKnight. And then Nick and Jessica took a special side trip to Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA SIMPSON: I started to get a little bit nervous. You have two guys with machine guns on each side, I was holding on very tightly to my Louis Vitton bag and sitting very closely to my husband, and you`re in bulletproof gear. It`s like you`re in a movie, but it`s reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: You can see more of the special, "Nick and Jessica`s Tour of Duty," Monday on ABC.

BRYANT: It is time now for a "showbiz sit down" with THAT `70S SHOW star Wilmer Valderrama. Tonight, the show wraps up its seventh season and for cast members Topher (ph) Grace and Ashton Kutcher, it`s also a wrap. They`re leaving the show. But, never fear, Fez is here. He joins me live now. Wilmer Valderrama welcome. Just a second ago there, I want to do this before we get to a clip, you were saying you were going to call Jessica and bust her on the Louis bag?

WILMER VALDERRAMA: I got to call her. Who has that kind of bag in Iraq?

BRYANT: It`s fabulous.

VALDERRAMA: It`s too fabulous, that`s the problem.

BRYANT: Let`s take a look at you playing foreign exchange student Fez. This is from THAT `70S SHOW and in this clip, you are covering up for a friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALDERRAMA: Quick, get down, under the blanket. I made the whole thing up and now you`re under a stinky blanket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A stinky blanket (INAUDIBLE). That is awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that is disgusting. (INAUDIBLE)

VALDERRAMA: That`s because when I found it, it was wrapped around a dead dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: See, now you`re laughing at your own stuff. I like that. Do you crack up on set?

VALDERRAMA: It`s funny, I mean, we -- we crack up only when -- like a couple weeks later after we forget the episode we did, but when we`re shooting it, we rehearse so much during the week, it`s kind of hard to laugh at your jokes, but some things like that scene in particular is so funny. The whole sequence - once you`ll see the finale, you`ll see the whole sequence is hysterical.

BRYANT: All right. So how is the show going to progress with the absence of Topher and with the absence of Ashton?

VALDERRAMA: It`s exciting, it`s exciting because the show -- one of the main reasons why I signed on to do the eighth season was because I really wanted to make sure that I did one last season with the most controversial scandalous, craziest episodes that we have never gotten to do before, and I think it`s just only right for the fans to actually have that one memory of leaving with such a bang. The cast is so solid and the writing is still so great, the show is still so fresh and the fans are still following us, time slot after time slot and every Wednesday. So it`s hard to say good-bye to a show when it`s still so fresh, so I figure let`s do one last bang.

BRYANT: What are those bangs going to be, though? Now I`m teased. What`s going on?

VALDERRAMA: What we`re going to do is we`re going to have every single one of my friends coming as guest stars, which will be really, really a lot of fun. The chemistry and everything will be a really, really nice flow. And then other than that, we`re writing very twisted, crazy episodes, and you`ll definitely see my character doing a lot of back flips and uni- cycling and maybe a little bit of dancing, too.

BRYANT: All right. Cool. You`re talking about your friends, obviously you`re a young guy. You`re making it in Hollywood right now. How does that feel to have people follow you around, always ask you who you`re dating, follow you in and out of clubs when you`re just trying to hang with your friends?

VALDERRAMA: It becomes kind of a non-spoken, you know, odd enough just factual part about this business. It really is just something that`s just there and you kind of just got to get used to it and the best thing to deal with it is just to try to ignore it, and just live with it knowing that you know, if it`s there, you got to feel flattered enough that someone cares, but I tell you, I don`t pay much attention to it and I just kind of try to work as much as possible and lately, I`ve been able to use the platform of THAT `70S SHOW to produce, package and develop a lot of projects that I`m doing in the next month and in the next summer and in the next year. So...

BRYANT: OK, so there`s more to you than just an actor? You`re going to be a multi (INAUDIBLE)

VALDERRAMA: Definitely, the goal is to try to be a triple threat. I`ve been developing a couple of films. I finished three, and I`m about to do two more this summer. I got a deal with MTV and got an animated (ph) series, I`m doing a clothing line. So it`s...

BRYANT: Working.

VALDERRAMA: Yeah, I love to work.

BRYANT: So here`s the thing though. You were born in 1980. How do you know anything about the `70s?

VALDERRAMA: I know absolutely nothing.

BRYANT: Would you have wanted to live back then?

VALDERRAMA: It seemed to me, it seemed to me that that era was such a great, fun, free-spirited time. Nowadays, I think we have to worry a lot more about very personal things and about a lot of things in society, you know, but it seemed like it was very free-spirited, experimenting with colors and obviously wardrobe.

BRYANT: They were experimenting already, Wilmer, a lot of that going on.

VALDERRAMA: But the fun thing about it was that. I know nothing about it, but the show is so great about keeping it so universal and giving a little bit to everybody to relate to.

BRYANT: All right. Congratulations to you on the seventh season and on an eighth. You can catch the one-hour season finale of THAT `70S SHOW tonight on Fox.

HAMMER: Fez is sticking around. Well, coming up. Where`s the beef? It`s with Paris Hilton. A sneak peek at her "hot" new gig.

BRYANT: And Ellen gets a very big present. We`ll unlock that mystery in "talk of the day," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Tonight, a sneak peek at Paris Hilton`s new commercial. Fast food chain Carls Junior (ph) says its new burger is so hot, it just had to hire THE SIMPLE LIFE star whose of course signature phrase is that`s hot. The commercial showcases Paris` car washing skills among other things and the commercial debuts tomorrow.

HAMMER: They`ve been talking all day and we`ve been listening. Now, as we do every night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today`s talk shows. On THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW today, Ellen was awarded the key to the city where Ellen is shot, Burbank, California. Luckily, Ellen had just the place to keep it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, on behalf of the city of Burbank, I want to present to you our key to the city.

ELLEN DEGENERES: Oh! I have a perfect place. Jeff, bring Mommy her purse, Jeff. And if you wouldn`t mind, Jeff, hold this one second, please, and then I want you to put this in my hide-a-key. Just put it in there, and then hide it under the stage. Put it under there. Don`t tell anybody where it is. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Got to have the giant hide-a-key. Tomorrow on THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES James Denton and Ray Romano from the just signed-off EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND.

BRYANT: Throughout the show we`ve been asking you to vote online on our question of the day. Reality TV show, would you like to see more of them. let`s take a look at how the vote is going so far. It doesn`t seem like you guys want to keep it real. Only 7 percent of you say yes, you would like to see more reality TV show, 93 percent of you say no, you would not. You`ve been sending e-mails our way as well. Lindsey from Hawaii says, I enjoy reality shows, but I don`t think more is the way to go. Work on making them better.

And Diane from Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania adds, I watch TV for entertainment and enjoyment, not to watch real life problems and situations.

Now, remember, you can continue to vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight.

HAMMER: And now it is time to see what`s playing here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow.

BRYANT: Let`s take a look at the showbiz marquee. Take it away marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: They get money for something. Being the star, so what do stars make for being on a TV show? A lot more than I do. Hey, where`s my agent? TV secrets exposed, star salaries, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Also tomorrow, a couple of smarty pants battle it out. Will street smarts Trump book smarts? We`ll ask Donald Trump himself. Before you watch the last APPRENTICE, get the first word from the Donald. Live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is the marquee guy and as always, I have the last word on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: No, you don`t.

HAMMER: Actually we`re getting the last word tonight.

BRYANT: I think so.

HAMMER: All right. I got to run out to the theater and see some "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith."

BRYANT: Yeah, baby.

HAMMER: I`ll be there, 12:01.

BRYANT: All right. Well, that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: And I`m AJ Hammer. Stay tuned for the very latest from CNN headline news.

END


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