[Karyn Bryant, Co-host:] Late-breaking developments in the "American Idol" scandal.
[A.j. Hammer, Co-host:] And "Star Trek" stars past and present, live. I`m A.J. Hammer.
[Bryant:] I`m Karyn Bryant. This is
[Showbiz Tonight. Hammer:] Tonight, "Idol" aftermath. Paula pushes back.
[Paula Abdul, "american Idol" Judge:] I hope you enjoy it.
[Hammer:] But the show pushes on. Can`t anything stop the "American Idol" machine?
[Bryant:] Cut above the rest. Hot stars in super shape, an exclusive look at the fittest guys. We`ve got the look.
[Hammer:] Plus...
[Brooke Shields, "down Came The Rain":] I looked at this child and could not find any type of a bond.
[Hammer:] Brooke`s baby battle. Brooke Shields reveals her private struggle with being a mother, including thoughts of suicide, an eye-opening "SHOWBIZ Sitdown" one on one.
[Bryant:] The final "Trek." As "Star Trek" gets set to make its final journey on air, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings together stars from the original series and the final "Enterprise," and you`ll see it right here live.
[Hammer:] And box office blues. Big budgets but small audiences. How come so many people are staying away from the movies?
[Nick Nolte, Actor:] Hi. I`m Nick Nolte. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
[Bryant:] Hello. I`m Karyn Bryant, and you are at the top of the show.
[Hammer:] I`m A.J. Hammer. We are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.
[Bryant:] Tonight: Is America`s number one TV show too hot to handle?
[Hammer:] Well, former "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark was right here in this studio to support his claims he had an intimate relationship with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul.
[Bryant:] Today the question became, Will advertisers give the hot show the cold shoulder? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson has been following the story, and she joins us now with a late-breaking development from Hollywood. Hey, there, Brooke.
[Brooke Anderson, Showbiz Tonight:] Hi, Karyn. Hi, A.J. The scandal that sent the media and pundits spinning last week has a new bombshell tonight. You`ll recall Corey told us right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he wouldn`t cooperate with Fox in their investigation. But just minutes ago, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT learned he would, quoting his attorney now, "cooperate with any governmental agency that launches an investigation." Now, no word yet if the FCC or state authorities could turn the "American Idol" scandal into a federal case. This all comes as "Saturday Night Live" parodied the "Fallen Idol" expose. "Idol" judge Paula Abdul joined in on the laughs. And it looks like the show`s top advertisers are laughing all the way to the bank.
[Paula Abdul, "american Idol" Judge:] What you`re about to see is a reenactment of some events of this week`s biggest news story.
[Anderson:] Paula Abdul showed up at "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend to introduce a parody of the news story that has gotten everyone talking.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. Me and her were, like, sexually active.
[Anderson:] Former contestant Corey Clark`s allegations to "Primetime Live" that he and Paula Abdul had an affair and that she privately coached him were ripped from the headlines, fodder just too good to pass up.
[Unidentified Female:] Corey, that was beautiful. You really blew me away. It`s just like I rolled over and said to you this morning...
[Anderson:] Paula was happy to give "SNL" actors some coaching.
[Abdul:] Amy, you need to perfect the clap a little more.
[Anderson:] Just 24 hours earlier, Corey Clark came to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT studios and said live on our air he thinks "American Idol" doesn`t mind being in the spotlight one bit.
[Corey Clark, Former "american Idol" Contestant:] That show lives on controversy. I`m sure they`re over there at Fox and "American Idol" right now just loving it.
[Anderson:] And the added attention does not seem to be fazing the show`s advertisers. Remember, "American Idol" is a multi-million-dollar industry. And moments ago, top sponsor Ford told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, quote, "This is definitely a very entertaining show, and its ratings show that. We have a fabulous relationship with them. We`re perfectly happy with content and where things are going." Another top sponsor, Coke you can`t miss them on the judges` table is also still on board. "TV Week`s" John Lafayette told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he`s not surprised.
[John Lafayette, Senior Editor, "tv Week":] Well, right now, the advertisers are still way behind the show because it`s been delivering such the kinds of big audiences that they paid for. So long as the integrity of the show maintains itself, so long as people believe that the winners are the winners and that the losers are the losers, then everything any other publicity is good publicity.
[Anderson:] Corey Clark seems to be riding the publicity, but check out what happened on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT when he was confronted face to face by former contestant Carmen Rasmusen.
[Carmen Rasmusen, Former "idol" Contestant:] You`re doing this in order because your record`s coming out and because your book is coming out, and that now you have an opportunity to say something bad about Paula. You know, who cares about whatever else went on behind the scenes?
[Clark:] I`m not going after Paula Abdul. I`m going after the fact that she`s the key to get this $900 million monkey off my back because the show that you`re speaking of has been blackballing me in the industry.
[Anderson:] Fox is looking into the allegations, and it`s up to them to decide if Paula will stay on the show or not. We`ll wait to hear whether any federal or state authorities will get involved. And more accusations may be on the way. You`ll recall former contestant Trenyce you saw her on the screen with Corey and Carmen told us live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on Friday there`s a bigger truth out there and that she believes it will come out
[A.j. Hammer:] And we`ll all be waiting to see what happens. Brooke Anderson, thanks very much, joining us live from Hollywood. Well, tonight, a Web site devoted to get the worst "Idol" contestant to win on the show has a new target, Anthony Fedorov this time around. The "Idol" fan site, Votefortheworst.com, encourages viewers to cast their ballots for what it says are the bad contestants because it thinks the "AI" judges and the producers try to push their favorites. Fedorov survived last week, but just barely. He was in the bottom two. But it was Votefortheworst`s previous favorite to lose, Scott Savol, who got the boot.
[Bryant:] She grew up in a very public way, starring in films like "Pretty Baby" and "Blue Lagoon." And now for the first time, Brooke Shields is sharing a very private part of her life in a new book about post-partum depression. Shields told her gripping story to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer, who joins us here live Dave.
[David Haffenreffer, Showbiz Tonight:] Hi, Karyn. Yes, Brooke Shields is hoping that by writing "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Post- Partum Depression," and taking part in a recent "Good Housekeeping" magazine panel on the affliction, other women may be diagnosed and treated faster. The 38-year-old actress told me her struggle with depression after pregnancy began the day that her daughter, Rowan, was born.
[Brooke Shields, "down Came The Rain":] I remember looking at my child and not being able to feel anything resembling a connection to her and feeling a distance from motherhood, from maternal instinct, from feeling as if somehow, a part of my entire self and soul had just been had just evaporated. And I looked at this child and could not find any type of a bond.
[Haffenreffer:] What do you tell people, other women, about how to differentiate between what people refer to as "baby blues" and something that`s more serious, something that might warrant a visit to a doctor or even a hospital?
[Shields:] I think that what happens is what we don`t realize is that we`ve got post-partum we`ve got the baby blues excuse me on one end of the spectrum. We have post-partum psychosis on the other end of the spectrum, which is maybe 1 to 2 percent of women. But those are the only stories that we hear about. Within those two extremes, there exists a post-partum depression, a post-partum anxiety disorder, many forms of PPD that really sort of represent 20 to 30 percent of all women. And that is what we have just shied away from.
[Haffenreffer:] Big numbers.
[Shields:] They`re big numbers, and what we`ve done is we`ve either said, Get over it, you`ll be fine, all mothers go through this, or, I`m not like that because I won`t drown my kids or I won`t cut my kid`s limbs off or I won`t do whatever the extremes that we hear. The minute you hear the word post-partum depression, you think, Well, I`m not crazy. I`m not that person, so I therefore must just soldier through this.
[Haffenreffer:] So today, as you look at that picture, as you look at that face, what do you see?
[Shields:] My daughter. She`s the same perfection that she was when she was born. This had nothing to do with her, ironically. And I`m just so thankful that from what I know now, she`s unscathed. She`ll tell me otherwise, I`m sure, when she`s 14 or 15 and she hates me and I`m the reason for all her problems, which I`m ready for. But I`m so I look into her eyes and I get it. I get the connection that everybody is talking about. But she`s almost 2. I mean, I don`t know how you can feel that connection in the best of circumstances immediately with someone you`ve never met.
[Haffenreffer:] I want to shift gears a little bit and ask you about the stage. Are we going to see you back on the stage anytime soon?
[Shields:] If you come to London, you will. I`m currently doing "Chicago" in London. I`ve never done "Chicago" before. And so I went from "Wonderful Town," which was an amazing experience, and figured I`m still in decent enough shape to do eight shows a week.
[Haffenreffer:] And you`ve got a big birthday this year, as well.
[Shields:] Yes, a big one. I`ll be on stage. It`s going to be...
[Haffenreffer:] How will you celebrate, or won`t you celebrate?
[Shields:] Oh, no, please. I`m going to I`m going to ring I`m going to keep ringing it in just because I want to make sure that I`m admitting to it. A friend of mine and I, we might have an 80th birthday together.
[Haffenreffer:] Almost 40, never looked so good. Brooke told me that despite everything that she`s been through, she would still like to have another child Karyn.
[Bryant:] "Kingdom of Heaven" was king at the box office in this weekend`s box office numbers just out this afternoon. The Crusades epic starring Orlando Bloom and directed by Ridley Scott took in just under $20 million in its opening weekend. Paris Hilton`s "House of Wax" premiered at number two with $12 million. "The Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy" took a hike to the third spot, earning just under $10 million. "Crash" came in at number four. The Sandra BullockDon Cheadle vehicle opened with $9 million. And Nicole Kidman`s "The Interpreter" slipped to five, with just shy of an $8 million take.
[Hammer:] Well, "Kingdom of Heaven" was on top, but this is the unofficial start to the summer movie season. So far, it has been hell at the box office for Hollywood. In "The Show`s Biz" tonight, the box office blues. This was the 11th straight weekend now that the box office didn`t match up to last year`s ticket sales, down 6 percent. Even though "Kingdom of Heaven" did come in first over the weekend, it was the weakest movie to start the summer box office in eight years, which is not very good, considering that Hollywood makes an estimated 40 to 50 percent of its revenue from the summer movie season. So what`s wrong, and can Hollywood fix it? Joining us live here in New York, Dade Hayes. He`s the senior editor from "Entertainment Weekly." Dade writes about the box office slump in the new issue of "EW." And joining us live from Hollywood, our friend, Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, a box office tracking company. Thank you both for being here, Gentlemen. And I`m going to start with you, Dade. Why the slump? What`s going on.
[Dade Hayes, "entertainment Weekly":] Well, people just feel there`s not product out there that excites them. I mean, we`ve been hearing that anecdotally. We conducted a poll on ew.com, and that was the answer that we found. Clearly, this is not a year where we have a "Spiderman" or a "Gladiator" opening in the first weekend of May. I mean, this past weekend was the worst weekend of the year, which is really quite a statement. I mean, for years and years and years, the beginning of May was when summer really kicked off in high style. So people just aren`t that excited by what they`re seeing out there. But what we explored in the piece this week was about the theatrical experience too many hassles, too many crowds, too much to put up, commercials with before the feature.
[Hammer:] Right. Let me ask you about that, Paul. Is that a big problem that you`re seeing, as well, that the customers, basically you know, they don`t want to pay the high price for the ticket. They don`t want to sit through the commercials and the trailers. And that`s keeping them away, as well as the fact that the product`s not right?
[Paul Dergarabedian, Exhibitor Relations Co:] Well, I think that keeps them away up until the point where there`s a movie that really excites them, and then they will come out to see it. And this 11-week slump is really quite something because, like Dade said, you know, the first weekend in May, the kickoff of summer, this is so slow of a weekend. It hopefully doesn`t indicate a long-term problem at the movies. We`re hoping that this is just an anomaly, that when "Star Wars" opens, we expect some huge box office there, and that that will somehow get the momentum going, get people back in the theaters. But it`s definitely a reason for concern in the industry, with DVD sales going up, and like Dade was saying, the commercials before the features, all these elements are kind of conspiring to keep people out of the theaters. We don`t want to see that. We want to get people back in the movie theaters. Hopefully, "Star Wars" will do that.
[Hammer:] Well, let`s talk about those DVD sales for just a moment here. Listen to these numbers. DVD sales and rentals were responsible for $241 billion coming in last year. That`s compared with $9.2 billion from the box office, so $24 billion at the box office I`m sorry $24 billion for DVD sales $25.1 billion OK...
[Hayes:] The point is yes...
[Hammer:] But the point being, you know, do the studios now really have to rely on that to survive? And is the fact that people really just want to be at home on the couch watching a movie instead?
[Hayes:] Yes. It`s changing into a bit of a retail business. I mean, studio executives have told me that they feel like they`re just a delivery system for DVD. All these premiers, all the red carpet, all the excitement about the theatrical experience is really just a way to remind people that, Hey, by the way, in three or four months, you`re going to see it on DVD, so check it out.
[Hammer:] Paul, you want to chime in on that?
[Dergarabedian:] Yes, well, I think that is part of it. But remember, too, I mean, if you go into a theater and you see a movie like the new "Star Wars," which I saw digitally projected with a big audience, that communal experience, there really is nothing like it. Not many people could afford or I don`t think anyone can afford to have a 75-foot-wide screen in their home. But...
[Hammer:] George Lucas.
[Dergarabedian:] Yes, except for George Lucas. And you know, there`s still nothing like it, and I think that`s why going to the movies has transcended every type of technological advance that has come its way.
[Hammer:] Right.
[Dergarabedian:] Video, television, all these things that were a threat to moviegoing, and we`re still going to the movies. So hopefully, that`ll never change.
[Hammer:] OK. Well, hopefully, you know, "Star Wars" will provide that much needed catalyst for people to get out there and get back in theaters. Thank you very much, Dade and Paul, for joining us tonight. And now, of course, we would like to know what your thoughts are on this. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Going to the movies: Would you just rather stay at home and watch a DVD? We`d like you to vote by going to cnn.comshowbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, you can e-mail us, showbiztonight@cnn.com is our address. We`re going to share some of what you had to say later on in the show.
[Bryant:] Movies, Dads, TV you could find "Star Trek" everywhere until now. It is "Star Trek`s" final trek, and we`ve got two stars, one from the original series and one from "Enterprise," live.
[Hammer:] Plus, bodies of work, big names who are buff. An exclusive look at the fittest guys.
[Bryant:] And what would we say about Dave Matthews`s new CD? Find out in this week`s "SHOWBIZ Guide" to new music, coming up.
[Hammer:] Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Back in 2003, 40 million people tuned into the season finale of which reality show, giving Fox its highest ratings for an entertainment program up until that point, "Joe Millionaire," "The Bachelorette," "Average Joe" or "The Simple Life"? We`re coming back with the answer.