Hollywood Dems No Longer Silent; Town Campaigns for Fictional Candidate; HDTV Shows Stars in High Relief
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.</s>A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.</s>HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Hollywood Democrats strike back. Barbra Streisand calls for the impeachment of President Bush. Plus, why Tim Robbins, Jennifer Aniston and Warren Beatty are all up in arms.</s>TIM ROBBINS, ACTOR: I think this administration, its legacy will be one of infamy.</s>HAMMER: Tonight, it`s Hollywood versus the White House. Welcome to "West Wing" city. A California town`s remarkable real-life campaign for a fictional presidential candidate on "the West Wing." Tonight, the city`s mayor joins us live, in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Supermodel, supermom. Heidi Klum goes from the delivery room to the catwalk in just two months.</s>HEIDI KLUM, SUPERMODEL: I haven`t slept much at all. There`s a lot of diapers and a lot of crying and stuff everywhere, basically.</s>HAMMER: Only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is backstage with Heidi at the Victoria`s Secret fashion show, with her amazing story of how she trimmed down so fast.</s>KLUM: Hi, I`m Heidi Klum. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.</s>ANDERSON: Hi there, I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.</s>HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Well, tonight the revenge of the Hollywood Democrats. And that sound you hear, some big-name stars sharpening their knives. President Bush once sent them packing with their tails between their legs. But now Hollywood Dems are demanding answers. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been hard at work putting together the pieces of this puzzle. Let`s get right to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas in Hollywood.</s>SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What a difference a year makes, guys. Last year liberal activists were stunned silent by President Bush`s reelection. Now they`re silent no more. And Republicans and their chief are facing a renewed assault from the left west-coast left. (voice-over) A year ago, President Bush and his fellow Republicans could always count on applause when they bashed liberals in Hollywood.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I`m afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values.</s>VARGAS: Fast-forward a year later, and Hollywood liberals are bashing right back.</s>WARREN BEATTY, ACTOR: I think it`s sort of a misuse of the process.</s>VARGAS: This week actor Warren Beatty won a very public smackdown with Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger over four budget initiatives the governor proposed. California voters rejected all four this week, leaving Beatty to claim victory and a possible run against Schwarzenegger next year.</s>BEATTY: I believe I`ve made this scam of an extra election, this abuse of the initiative process, backfire on the people who had the power to call it.</s>VARGAS: And now other star liberals are taking their gloves off, especially when it comes to President Bush. When SHOWBIZ TONIGHT showed up as a United Nations gala event the other night, actor Tim Robbins blasted the administration.</s>ROBBINS: And I think this administration will -- this legacy will be one of infamy.</s>VARGAS: He`s not the only one on a warpath. In a recent blog, Rosie O`Donnell referred to President Bush as, quote, "our brainless unelected president." And on her blog, singer Barbra Streisand goes even farther. She writes, quote, "If there was ever time in history to impeach a president of the United States, it would be now." One year after being slapped down by Bush`s reelection, why are Hollywood liberals being so slap-happy now? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asked CNN political analyst Bill Schneider.</s>BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Bush has had a very bad year. And I think the criticism that he`s receiving from Hollywood, as from a lot of Democrats and liberals, really reflects that. He`s on the ropes. His approval rating is down in the 30s. And when that happens, that emboldens his critics, and you`re hearing them in Hollywood as you are around the country.</s>VARGAS: Back when Bush was a popular wartime president, popular entertainers criticized him at their own risk. We all know what happened to the Dixie Chicks, who faced boycotts after criticizing President Bush. Whoopi Goldberg lost a Slimfast endorsement for off-color comments about the president. And in a recent CNN interview superstar George Clooney said he endured a back lash from Bush supporters for his liberal views.</s>GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: I`m found myself at times targeted, but not targeted in a way that managed to hurt or change my career, just targeted.</s>SCHNEIDER: Hollywood liberals are acutely aware of their public image. I mean, that`s their business after all. And they`re aware that if they speak out and become too strident and too critical they`ll become an issue themselves. I think they know that.</s>VARGAS: But now that Bush is on the ropes, not only are long-time Hollywood liberals stepping up their public shots, so are shots who`ve traditionally stayed out of politician. In a chat with a "Newsweek" reporter, Jennifer Aniston crowed about the indictment of White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, saying, quote, "How about that indictment? And why did it take so long to respond to the crisis in New Orleans? Everything is imploding. It all seems to lead back to our dear president."</s>SCHNEIDER: Look, you have to understand political messages have to be attuned to the times. That`s important in politics; that`s important in show business. Right now Bush is down, so the Democratic and liberal message sounds very good. That could all change at a stroke.</s>VARGAS: As we just mentioned, some in California think Warren Beatty is gearing up to run against Governor Schwarzenegger next year. For his part, Beatty has said he doesn`t want to run, but some analysts, including CNN`s Bill Schneider, are quick to point out that Beatty hasn`t exactly ruled a run, either. Brooke, back to you.</s>ANDERSON: We will have to wait and see, Sibila. Thank so much. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Babs versus Bush: is Streisand`s impeachment call out of line? Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Send us an e-mail at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts later on in the show.</s>HAMMER: While Barbra Streisand takes aim at the real president, tonight one small town in California is stumping for a fake presidential candidate. Santa Paula, California, has declared itself the official hometown of Republican Senator Arnold Vinick, which is Alan Alda`s character on "The West Wing," you`re seeing here. The town has launched a "Vinick for President" campaign, and it wants its favorite son to stump at home. Live tonight in Santa Paula, California, for a "SHOWBIZ Newsmaker" interview, the mayor of Santa Paula, Mary Ann Krause. Thanks for being with us, Mayor.</s>MARY ANN KRAUSE, MAYOR, SANTA PAULA: Thank you. It`s my pleasure, A.J.</s>HAMMER: So Santa Paula has declared Alan Alda`s character as an official resident. You`ve got this campaign headquarters that you`ve unveiled at the train depot. As I can see behind you, you`ve got signs up all over town, people wearing buttons and T-shirts. You do realize this is a TV show, don`t you?</s>KRAUSE: Well, we do, but you know, we take our television pretty seriously, especially our politics.</s>HAMMER: Well, this is a fun, fun story. I love this. When Senator Vinick`s character was first introduced last season on the "West Wing," he simply said he was from a Southern California citrus- growing community. That happens to be what your town is. But "The West Wing" didn`t mention a specific town. And now if you go to the NBC web site you see his bio, Vinick`s bio actually claims Santa Paula as his home. I believe you had something to do with that, didn`t you?</s>KRAUSE: Well, yes. When Senator Vinick announced that he was from a small citrus growing region, the city manager and I decided that we needed to lobby NBC and make sure that he declared Santa Paula as his home. Because after all, we are the citrus capital of the world.</s>HAMMER: And you pulled it off, and last Sunday night, as you well know, NBC aired this live debate between the two "West Wing" presidential hopefuls. You guys had a big party and bake sale during that event. What other kinds of things are going on around town these days?</s>KRAUSE: Well, back in April, we actually opened this campaign headquarters with a big event and had a lot of fun with that. We had obviously the event last week, which attracted a number of local residents and a lot of attention by the newspapers. We have some other things planned, as the event -- the campaign goes forward. We`ll probably have another event on the night of the election, which I believe is to be in March toward the end of the "West Wing" season.</s>HAMMER: And I`m sure you`re hoping Alan Alda`s character will win this race, this fictitious race. Now, aside from reaching out to NBC, you specifically reached out to Alan Alda, I understand?</s>KRAUSE: Well, we have -- we haven`t heard back from him yet, but we do think that, considering the love that`s shown by this community, that he probably will come for a visit. Our current campaign is to get NBC to mention Santa Paula on the air, and then hopefully to actually come and do some filming here.</s>HAMMER: Well, we wish you...</s>KRAUSE: We do often have filming. And we think they`ll do it.</s>HAMMER: We do wish you the best of luck, and hopefully Alan Alda will show up in your town. And among other things it looks like you`re just having a lot of fun. Mayor Mary Ann Krause, live in Santa Paula.</s>KRAUSE: We are.</s>HAMMER: Thanks very much for joining us on</s>SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. KRAUSE: Thank you.</s>ANDERSON: Tonight why some of the TV stars are running for cover, the cover of makeup. The reason? High-definition TV, which millions of Americans are now tuning into, watching a picture so sharp you can count the hairs on an anchorman`s nose. Not that you would want to, of course, but you could. Here`s CNN`s Jeanne Moos, for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.</s>JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest wrinkle in TV technology can make a mountain out of a mole.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a shaving accident.</s>MOOS: The slightest nick can look like a laceration.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re delighted to be broadcasting in high-def.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: High-def.</s>MOOS: Delighted? For some, high-definition equals high anxiety. It`s enough to make a housewife desperate.</s>PHILLIP SWANN, PRESIDENT, TVPREDICTIONS.COM: She also has these big veins bulging out of her forehead. It kind of looks like a page of an AAA road map.</s>MOOS: It`s one thing when HDTV lets you eyeball the laces on a football. But it can also make a local sports anchor look like a slob.</s>SWANN: More than once I have seen him on there with food stains on his lapel.</s>MOOS: Ready or not, high-def is coming. Prepare the counter attack.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Try it again. That`s good. Relax now.</s>SWANN: Some local news teams are starting to ask for Botox budgets in anticipation of going high-def.</s>MOOS (on camera): You`re going to have to use your imagination with this piece, because you probably don`t have HDTV yet. Only six percent of Americans do. So those of you with regular TV won`t be able to fully appreciate how bad we look in HD. (voice-over) That`s regular TV on the left, HD on the right.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see his warts. You can see bumps and dirt on his face that are completely gone. You don`t even notice it here.</s>MOOS: "Good Morning America" recently launched in high-def.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Standard television,</s>HD.  UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you see the texture in Robin`s jacket?</s>MOOS: But it`s the texture of the face that has talent on alert.</s>DIANE SAWYER, CO-HOST, ABC`S "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": You`re even seeing more about what we did last night.</s>ROBIN ROBERTS, CO-HOST, ABC`S "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": Don`t go there. That is the Grand Canyon. Have you ever seen it like that on TV?</s>MOOS (on camera): Yes, but what about wrinkles that look like the Grand Canyon? (voice-over) Watch out or you`ll end up on the HD Horribles list, along with David Letterman.</s>SWANN: He`s got more lines on his face than his writers have in their heads.</s>MOOS: And Clint Eastwood.</s>SWANN: I love Clint Eastwood, but he`s in his 70s now, and he kind of reminds you of his very first TV show when you see his face.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): "Rawhide."</s>MOOS: The opposite of skin like rawhide, the HD Honeys. Marcia Cross is the only one over 40 to make the list.</s>SWANN: She is an HDTV hottie. Her skin is as smooth as Bill Clinton at a cocktail party.</s>MOOS: Another HD honey was Ashton Kutcher, but wife Demi Moore was named an HD Horrible. High-def has makeup artists reaching for their latest weapon for makeup artists, the air brush. Take aim at the acne. (on camera) It`s like laser</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can set this so it will focus a little softer and wrinkles don`t show up.</s>MOOS: But there`s one star who doesn`t need air brushed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen Spongebob in high-def?</s>MOOS: Spongebob is proud to show off his pores.</s>TOM KENNY, ACTOR: Yes, wow.</s>ANDERSON: Spongebob`s pores have never been so crisp, right? Well, that was CNN`s Jeanne Moos reporting for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. As of right now, the FCC`s deadline for networks to begin broadcasting in an all-digital format is December 31, 2006. But there`s talk that it might be pushed back.</s>HAMMER: There is startling news tonight about a young TV star`s fight against anorexia and just how desperate the situation was. We`ve got that coming up next.</s>ANDERSON: Plus, new developments in the car crash involving Paris Hilton and her socialite friends. The police are starting to ask a few questions. That`s also ahead.</s>HAMMER: And Penn and Teller`s latest magic show, completely underwater. We will talk to them live. And we`re pretty sure only one of them will talk back. That`s coming up in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. But first for tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." What Ivy League universities did the lovers of 1970`s "Love Story" attend? Harvard and Radcliffe, Yale and Princeton, Harvard and Cornell, or Harvard and Yale? We`re coming right back with the answer.