Behind the Scenes with Rosie O`Donnell
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT - a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive with Rosie O`Donnell. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes behind the scenes of her brand-new talk show. How does Rosie really feel about working for Oprah?</s>ROSIE O`DONNELL, TV HOST: I was nervous, and because it`s Oprah, I still wanted to do well.</s>HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with exclusive backstage access to Rosie and her new show. The Kardashians reality war with the president? Michelle Obama reveals the president dissed the reality show. Tonight, are the Kardashians really striking back? SHOWBIZ reality secrets revealed. Two big reality stars spill the secrets to winning on reality TV. Padma Lakshmi from "Top Chef." Louis Van Amstel from "Dancing with the Stars." Tonight, Padma and Louis are right here revealing their secrets to winning on reality TV. It`s two must-see headline-making SHOWBIZ newsmaker interviews. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.</s>KAREEN WYNTER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, A.J. She is blazing hot. You know, I talked to Rosie in her new digs in Chicago at Harpo Studios, the exact same spot that once housed the "Oprah Winfrey Show." And I`ve got to tell you, A.J., I met a fresh, a re-energized Rosie who`s loving her new challenge and who`s still ready and willing to share with the world exactly what she`s thinking. So what does she really think about working for Oprah? Well, tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes you behind the scenes for an exclusive look at Rosie`s new world. Oh, and move over Tom Cruise. Rosie has a new celebrity crush.</s>WYNTER: Backstage?</s>O`DONNELL: This is my dressing room and they had this whole thing prepared pretty miraculously. I looked at it like sometime in the summer and it had been the spa where all the staff members would get their nails done and get massages. Now, it`s my office.</s>WYNTER: It feels really comfortable.</s>O`DONNELL: Yes.</s>WYNTER: I feel like I`m at home. I can jump on a couch.</s>O`DONNELL: And you can.</s>WYNTER: Take a nap.</s>O`DONNELL: And this is</s>WYNTER: Grab some Skittles.</s>O`DONNELL: This is actually what my house looks like, so it`s pretty similar.</s>WYNTER: Wow!</s>O`DONNELL: And here is when the kids are here. They hang out here and watch TV and complain that the screen is too small.</s>WYNTER: And I heard that the dog has her own bed. Where`s the doggy bed here?</s>O`DONNELL: It`s probably in that room although it could be getting cleaned at the moment because I have a Pomeranian and Chihuahua, both four pounds. And the pee and poo situation - I need Cesar, the dog whisperer.</s>WYNTER: Maybe he could be a guest on the show.</s>O`DONNELL: He should be.</s>WYNTER: You know, Rosie, this is a big move from New York here to Chicago. Do you feel at home? You know, big</s>O`DONNELL: It`s going really well, you know what I mean? I was pretty nervous because you don`t know if at 49, you still can do what could do at 35, right? So I was nervous, and because it`s Oprah, I still wanted to do well. And I think we really found a kind of groove, right? And I think people are watching. And I really don`t know if this is like a marathon on or a sprint.</s>WYNTER: So Rosie, just sitting on the show is incredible. It takes so much energy and you`re not taking a break during the break either. You`re talking to the audience and doing your thing.</s>O`DONNELL: I always feel like I`m out there for an hour.</s>WYNTER: You are.</s>O`DONNELL: But when I work out - when I say hello, it`s my job for a full hour to entertain.</s>O`DONNELL: At Baskin and Robbins, this woman says, "Are you Rosie O`Donnell?" I said, "Yes, I am." She said, "I didn`t know you was pregnant." Horrible. I didn`t know what to say. I didn`t want to embarrass her. I said, "Yes, six months with twins. I`m going to name them Ben and Jerry."</s>WYNTER: Let`s stick around for a little bit.</s>O`DONNELL: Yes.</s>WYNTER: This is a historic setting.</s>O`DONNELL: Yes.</s>WYNTER: Harpo Studios is the former home of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," now Rosie`s home. Oprah appeared for the very first show last week. She has literally passed you that torch. How does that feel?</s>O`DONNELL: Overwhelming. It`s hard to even articulate it. I have to tell you it really is. And the first time I walked in here, it still had the Oprah, like, it still - you know, they hadn`t transferred it over this. And I walked out and they were showing me the set designs. And I stood here and I looked and I thought, "Oh, my god," like, I`m actually here and I`m doing this. You know, we signed the deal over a year ago - a year and a half ago, right? And the day that I stepped in here, it became real.</s>WYNTER: Wow.</s>O`DONNELL: You know, I really wanted to deliver for her.</s>WYNTER: Russell Brand, your very first guest - your secret crush. Not so secret anymore. First of all, how does Tom Cruise feel about this?</s>O`DONNELL: He knows. We`ve spoken. He`s all right with it. No, Tom and Russell did a movie together. That`s right before I met Russell. And so I would E-mail Tom and said, "Tommy, it`s over. Russell is in. Speak to Katie."</s>WYNTER: Tom has fallen to number two.</s>O`DONNELL: He knows he`s number two, you know. We`re going to work it out. But I don`t know.</s>WYNTER: That was quite a show.</s>O`DONNELL: Hey!</s>WYNTER: You look amazing and you seem happy.</s>O`DONNELL: I am very happy. It took 49 years to get here, but I`m very, very happy.</s>HAMMER: Yes, and you can tell, Kareen, that she`s happy because, number one, she looks terrific. I know she`s got some real love going on in her life now, too. That can`t be hurting either.</s>WYNTER: Yes.</s>HAMMER: And I know you have even more to share with us with Rosie O`Donnell.</s>WYNTER: I sure do, A.J. In fact, Rosie and I also talked about her new girlfriend. Yes, and I`ve got to say I was really surprised at how open she was about her new love and love life. You know, A.J., she seemed like a young girl falling in love all over again and really rediscovering herself and learning about simple things like lingerie. I was also surprised about how, despite all her public struggles and the bad rap she got after leaving "The View" that she really seemed to have come out on the other side, so good for Rosie.</s>HAMMER: Kareen, do you know where she and her girlfriend met?</s>WYNTER: I sure do. I sure do. I`ll be sharing that with you later on.</s>HAMMER: OK. All right. I won`t spill that because I happen to know as well. But let`s just say you can meet anybody in a coffee joint.</s>WYNTER: It`s awesome.</s>HAMMER: Kareen Wynter, I can`t wait to see the rest of it. We are bringing you that on Monday. It`s a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive with Rosie O`Donnell, "Life After the View." Make sure you`re here for it at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on HLN. Rosie also just revealed to Kareen that HLN`s own Nancy Grace is going to be a guest on Rosie`s show. Rosie is very impressed with Nancy`s performance on "Dancing with the Stars." So what does Rosie want to ask Nancy?</s>O`DONNELL: I want to talk to her about what it`s like to have twins and what it`s like to have them later in life. And you know, she`s very interesting to me. And she`s a very powerful woman and I`m so impressed that she`s on "Dancing with the Stars."</s>WYNTER: Have you been following her at all?</s>O`DONNELL: Oh, yes. And you know, I would never do that show.</s>WYNTER: I was going to ask.</s>O`DONNELL: It scares the crap out of me.</s>WYNTER: When are you going to sign up?</s>O`DONNELL: They have asked me often and I`m like -</s>WYNTER: Why not, Rosie? You`ve done everything -</s>O`DONNELL: Honey, I would be terrified to do the pasodoble.</s>HAMMER: I hope Rosie changes her mind. I think she would be great. Joining me from Hollywood right now is top "Dancing with the Stars" top pro, Louis Van Amstel. Louis, you`ve got to be on board with me. Rosie would be terrific on "Dancing with the Stars." She`s got all that experience on the stage. They seem to have asked her and she has declined, according to Rosie. But as the dance pro, don`t you think she would be perfect for the show and probably could take it very far in the competition?</s>LOUIS VAN AMSTEL, "DANCING WITH THE STARS" DANCE PROFESSIONAL: She would be absolutely perfect and I would love to have her as my partner. And Rosie O`Donnell scared? I mean, she`s never scared. So why would she be scared of the pasodoble. Really?</s>HAMMER: Yes. You know, that`s interesting. And you say - you make very good sense because this is a woman who has done a wonderful job throughout her life, I think, of jumping beyond herself and rising to the challenge every time. We`re going to have to wait and see if she ever makes it to the ballroom. Maybe we can get a letter-writing campaign going on or something.</s>VAN AMSTEL: I hope so and she could lose her Ben and Jerry`s twins.</s>HAMMER: Oh, there you go. Nice. Nice. She actually - you know, I`ve got to say, she looks even more fit than I`ve seen in a long time. I`ve heard her say recently -</s>VAN AMSTEL: She looks beautiful.</s>HAMMER: She`s working on it and she`s doing it all for that special love in her life that Kareen is going to tell us all about on Monday. But let`s talk about this season`s contestants, because here we are now, halfway through the season. And here`s what we asked in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive poll. We wanted to know who you think will be voted off - Hope Solo, Chaz Bono or David Arquette, as the next person to be eliminated. The overwhelming vote was for Chaz Bono being booted next week, Louis. Chaz has a lot of fans. Part of this competition, as we know - it is a popularity contest. You and I have talked about this before. I know that Chaz has already outlasted your expectations this season, but do you think he now will be the next to be voted off? Or is he going to continue to ride along here?</s>VAN AMSTEL: I love the fact that it`s so unpredictable each week. And Chaz and Nancy both had their best dance last week. And I thought they were going downhill. And then, suddenly, they went uphill. And I don`t know who`s going home next. It`s really up to Monday night for the celebrities to dance their asses off. And anyone can stay, but also, anyone can go, except for Ricky and</s>J.R. HAMMER: Yes. And I know you had high praise when you and I spoke about Chynna Phillips who shocked everyone last week when she was tossed off the show, so you`re right. It is completely unpredictable. Of course, HLN`s own Nancy Grace still in the running. She`s doing a terrific job, don`t you think? The judges seem to be telling her, yes, you need to spice it up a little bit more, add a little more spunk to your step. And Louis, I actually believe you gave that same advice. So now that she`s remained in the competition, why don`t you give me a little secret tip I can pass along to Nancy. I`ll send her an E-mail or something. I really want to see her win this thing. What can she do starting Monday that`s different to help her win?</s>VAN AMSTEL: I actually saw Nancy myself on Tuesday when Kareen(ph) and I performed and I talked to her a little bit. She danced her best dance. Her rumba was actually better than I expected. And she`s showing more natural movement, but I want to see that goof ball. And now, because she is in the top six, or in week six, she now has to bring that spunk that she has behind her own desk when she attacks people. That attack, combined with that goofiness that she has - she could be that couple in the final.</s>HAMMER: Yes, that could be a winning combination. And quite frankly, I think she needs to keep the `80s hair she had from this week`s competition going, even, quite frankly, when the whole thing is over. I want to see that on her show here on HLN. Louis, I want you to stay right where you are because I`m going to get to you reveal even more secrets to "Dancing with the Stars" including how to go for the gold or the silver in this case and win that coveted mirror ball trophy. We`ll be back with you in just a moment. But first, tonight, the Kardashians face off with the Obamas. Now, Michelle Obama says the president is not a fan of the Kardashian reality show. Tonight, why the Kardashians may now be at war with the Obamas. Oh, baby. Bieber behind bars? Justin Bieber may have a bunch of hit songs. But tonight, he`s the one taking a hit. It`s Biebs locked up. I am going to tell you why. I love this story. The guy who quit his job by using a marching band.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, I told you, out right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jared, I`m here to tell you that I`m quitting.</s>HAMMER: Oh, yes, you think he burned that bridge? You have to see why some people are calling this guy a hero tonight. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. Time now for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" - more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.</s>TEXT: Steve Jobs tops most influential men list followed by George Clooney, Kanye West. Rihanna debuts new music video for "We Found Love."