[A.j. Hammer, Showbiz Tonight Anchor:] A new battle over Anna Nicole Smith`s baby. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
[Brooke Anderson, Showbiz Tonight Anchor:] And do stars deserve any privacy at all? I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
[Hammer:] On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, a stunning decision by police not to release the 911 call. Why the secrecy? Plus, a SHOWBIZ special report, when stars melt down. From Dave Chappelle to Britney Spears, why do stars who seem to have it all crumble under the pressure. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on why stars melt down. Tonight, explosive new dirty laundry in three major star custody battles. Britney and K-Fed, Charlie and Denise, Whitney and Bobby, why do stars make their private battles public with the kids caught in the middle? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks, when stars fight over their kids, should they keep their dirty laundry to themselves? Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
[Anderson:] Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson coming to you from Hollywood, where tonight we are asking why the heck don`t stars give their kids some privacy as they get into these knock down drag out embarrassing custody battles. That is coming up.
[Hammer:] First, celebrity 911. Tonight we have got huge news about a startling decision by the police not to release the tape of the 911 call they got the night Owen Wilson apparently tried to commit suicide. Why is that such a surprise? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is about to show you and let you hear why. Because, you know, when stars get into trouble, they call the cops and we usually hear it loud and clear.
[Unidentified Female:] Thirty eight year old star is still at Cedar Sinai Medical Center.
[Hammer:] With all the coverage of Owen Wilson`s apparent suicide attempt, it seems that every sordid detail of that sad story is open for public consumption.
[Unidentified Male:] The "National Enquirer" reported that Wilson had tried to commit suicide.
[Hammer:] But there`s one part of the saga that will probably forever remain a mystery, the 911 call placed from Wilson`s home soon after he reportedly slit his wrists.
[Alicia Quarles, Associated Press Entertainment Reporter:] There would have been an extreme interest in hearing the tape for the simple fact this is getting so much publicity already.
[Hammer:] But Santa Monica officials are saying forget about it. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the Wilson 911 tapes won`t be released. In a statement to news organizations, the city attorney says, quote, the recording appears to be protected by Mr. Wilson`s rights to privacy.
[Quarles:] If that tape had been released every outlet would have run it.
[Hammer:] Alyssa Quarles from the Associated Press tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that the media would have loved to get their hands on the Wilson 911 tape, especially if it answered some lingering questions about the tragic suicide attempt.
[Quarles:] How great would it be to get Luke Wilson on the phone freaking out because he found Owen? Nobody has been able to confirm that it was Luke that made the call. Nobody has been able to confirm there were drugs in his system or there weren`t.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you 911 tapes have become the real- time soundtrack to some of the most tragic and ridiculous
[Unidentified Female:] The party is now traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Hammer:] celebrity stories in recent years. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, do these recordings satisfy our right to know or do they violate the star`s right to privacy in the most vulnerable and heartbreaking moments of their lives. The 1993 death of actor River Phoenix outside this Hollywood club shocked the world. What was even more shocking was the 911 call placed by Rivers` hysterical brother, actor Joaquin Phoenix, who called the paramedics as River lay dying from a drug overdose.
[Jaoquin Phoenix:] I don`t know if he`s breathing. Please, you got to get over here with an ambulance.
[Unidentified Male:] Stay on the line with me and calm down a little bit.
[Phoenix:] I`m calm. But he`s having seizures.
[Hammer:] Who could forget the sheer anguish in Will Shatner`s voice when he called 911 in 1999 after discovering his wife at the bottom of their swimming pool.
[William Shatner, Actor:] She`s at the very deep end.
[Unidentified Male:] If you can, grab something and get her out of the pool.
[Hammer:] Noreen Shatner died that night.
[Frank Sesno, Cnn Special Correspondent:] It does provide insight. It provides that most dramatic moments of the crisis. The problem is that sometimes also invades people`s privacy.
[Hammer:] CNN`s special correspondent and journalism professor Frank Sesno tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, 911 tapes are public record. But as in the Owen Wilson case, officials are very careful about releasing them.
[Sesno:] Police, first responders and others will make decisions, and they can make decisions as to what they are going to release and what they are not going to release. That can be challenged in a court of law, but it`s murky and it`s a very difficult call.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you over the past few months, 911 tapes have shown us all how unbelievable the antics of some Hollywood starlets have become.
[Unidentified Female:] 911 emergency, what are you reporting?
[Unidentified Male:] A car on the wrong side of the freeway.
[Hammer:] 911 calls alerting the police of a driver going the wrong way down a California freeway led to Nicole Richie`s most recent DUI and a major media spectacle. And Lindsay Lohan`s DUI arrest began with this call from a woman Lohan was allegedly chasing while driving drunk in a borrowed
[Suv. Unidentified Female:] Oh my god, sir. They`re following us. We need help.
[Quarles:] At that point Lindsay Lohan was out of control, really ridiculous. The story was pretty dramatic and it was kind of funnysad to hear that call.
[Hammer:] The AP`s Alicia Quarles tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT there`s a big difference between those calls and the one made on Owen Wilson`s behalf.
[Quarles:] A celebrity has committed a criminal act, where they`re putting you or I in danger, and somebody has made a call, absolutely that should be released. On the flip side of that, if it`s a personal matter, if somebody`s disturbed mentally, if somebody has had a tragedy happen in their family, that`s nobody`s business and doesn`t need to be public matter.
[Hammer:] It is only public statement since his apparent suicide attempt, Owen Wilson has asked for privacy while he heals. But with the media camped outside his hospital, the unreleased 911 tapes may be the closest he comes to getting his wish. So, do we really need to hear the Owen Wilson 911 call or do celebrities like Wilson deserve to have their privacy. The latest issue of "People Magazine," which hits newsstands tomorrow, has fascinating new details of what happened to Wilson. With us tonight from Hollywood, Mike Freeman; he is the West Coast editor of People.com. Also joining us, Jim Moret from "Inside Edition." Mike, Jim, I appreciate you both being here. We just heard 911 calls are released all the time. But Owen Wilson`s, now we know, was not and is not going to be. Jim, are we comparing apples to oranges here? Or does the public really have a right to hear this call?
[Jim Moret, "inside Edition":] I think it depends. This is not a call about a DUI or a crime. This is a call involving a suicide attempt. This is a call involving medical information. As individuals under federal law, we have a right to privacy with respect to our medical information, and more importantly, you know, there is a public interest here. You don`t want people afraid to call 911 because the call may be released. I think in this case, this was the right decision. I don`t think we have a right, as a matter of course, to hear every 911 call, whether it`s from a celebrity or otherwise.
[Hammer:] I agree with you, and I think a lot of people do as well. Yet, it`s important to respect and protect the rights of people. Here`s what I honestly think a lot of people are wondering. And Mike Fleeman, maybe you can help me out with this. Is this a case where because a celebrity is involved, maybe the privacy factor is getting some special treatment. In other words, if it were just some regular person, they would get no special consideration.
[Mike Fleeman, "people Magazine":] I don`t know if it`s so much celebrity as a person with resources. And if Owen Wilson`s family or attorney hasn`t already made it clear that there`s going to be some trouble if they release this 911 tape, I think Santa Monica can anticipate that there will be when they do. So they are going to have to factor that in. Also, this is, you know, a medical situation. It`s not a criminal situation. That probably went into play too.
[Hammer:] We just heard of what some of the Santa Monica city attorney`s office said about not releasing the call. Jim Moret, you alluded to this yourself, and I want to read a little bit more of what they said in their statement, "no person should have to worry about whether placing a call for emergency assistance will automatically make his or her medical request open to public review." I can`t argue with that. But there is no question, as you and I both know, having done this for a while, if this tape were released, everybody in the media would run with it. Jim, do you think, as Mike alluded to, there could have possibly been some pressure from the Wilson family to keep this quiet, or do you think the officials are genuinely operating with a conscience here?
[Moret:] Well, the fact that Santa Monica released an official letter tells me a couple things; one, there were a number of requests for this call. And two, there is clearly some information in there that we have not heard yet. It may be potentially damaging information. It`s certainly personal information. I think Owen Wilson and his family have every right to suspect and to expect that when they call for help and this was a call for help. It was a 911 call. You`re talking about somebody who potentially tried to take their life, may have overdosed, may have slashed their wrists. You know what? You want people to be able to call for help and not worry it`s going to be released. I don`t think he`s getting special treatment. I think he`s getting the treatment that any of us can and do expect.
[Hammer:] I think you and I both know also it`s pretty common practice among a lot of media outlets to make a call requesting a 911 tape when a celebrity is involved. As a matter of fact, we are going to hear some of that coming up a little later on in the show. Mike, is it not a fair argument though that Owen Wilson is a public figure, and to accurately report the story, we do need to hear the tape, because we do want to get it right.
[Wilson:] We are in a Catch 22. We don`t know what`s on the tape, so we don`t know, you know, to what degree privacy is violated. We don`t know if there`s anything we can learn from this tape. It`s a delicate balancing act. He has rights to privacy that are not absolute. Public has the right to know but those are not absolute. So I think the city attorney is juggling that and decided to weigh in favor of Owen Wilson.
[Hammer:] Jim Moret, only a few seconds here. Why in the heck are we so fascinated with these 911 celebrity tapes?
[Moret:] We are fascinated with every aspect of celebrity in our culture. I see it from my teenage kids. They want to know and they do know what`s happening to all of their favorite celebrities. I don`t know. It`s a new celebrity culture.
[Hammer:] That`s why we`re here. Mike Fleeman, Jim Moret, I appreciate you being with us tonight. Certainly we were all shocked to hear of Wilson`s apparent suicide attempt. But when you look back, plenty of stars have had their tough times. You know the names, Dave Chappelle, Britney Spears; why do stars who seem to have it all really just seem to crack under the pressure? We will get into that at 30 minutes past the hour in a SHOWBIZ special report, star melt downs.
[Anderson:] Also, brand new developments in three star custody battles, Britney and K-Fed, Bobby and Whitney, and Denise and Charlie, all airing their dirty laundry in public with their kids caught in the middle. It really makes me feel sorry for those kids. We`ve got the story still ahead.
[Hammer:] Wait until you hear about this. A brand new battle over Anna Nicole Smith`s baby, Dannielynn. It is unbelievable. We are going to tell you exactly why Larry Birkhead is talking about a lawsuit, and we are talking about a really ugly war of words. That is coming up.