Showbiz Tonight, October 11, 2005

OK. Moving now to the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT game room, she`s appeared in major motion pictures. She`s graced the cover of countless women`s magazines. And she`s modeled swimsuits in "Sports Illustrated." Still, it all just wasn`t enough for Josie Maran.

Tonight, for her next big project, she`s veering off in an unexpected new direction: video games. And she may bring a more female audience along for the ride.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSIE MARAN, ACTRESS/COVER GIRL: Stay focused. He`s roaring on a lot of power, so wait for him to shift first.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Josie Maran is going from glamour to gamer. You`ve seen Josie smiling on countless magazine covers, posing in "Sports Illustrated`s" swimsuit issues and acting in scary movies like "Van Helsing." Now Josie is taking her cover girl good looks into a new area, video games.

MARAN: I think they saw how bad ass I was in "Van Helsing" being a vampire so they thought, "Merge that together and we`ll have an amazing game."

ANDERSON: The, quote, "amazing game" in question is "Need for Speed: Most Wanted," the latest entry in Electronic Arts` top-selling series of high-octane street racing games.

MARAN: Be careful. He`ll drop paint if he has to.

My character`s name is Mia. And I lure street racers into being the best and becoming number one on the black list.

ANDERSON: Maran`s leap to racing video games may seem radical for someone more used to runways than speedways. But Josie tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that the high-tech project was a big draw for her.

MARAN: Never been done before. They shot it like a movie, like a Hollywood movie, and so we did it against a green screen. And then they transferred that into like an animation, digital sort of effect.

ANDERSON: Josie has some big digital shoes to fill. The last "Need for Speed" game, which featured fellow model Brooke Burke, was the fifth best-selling video game of last year. Maran is hoping her "Need for Speed" will also set gamers` hearts racing.

MARAN: It`s pretty cool to be a part of, like, millions of guys` worlds for the next few months every day. That`s pretty cool.

ANDERSON: But don`t think only guys are invited to this race. Women make up an estimated 43 percent of video gamers. And they play as many hours per day as guys do.

Maran tells us this game has something for them, too.

MARAN: My character, Mia, is a strong -- she can kick butt, and she`s really smart, too. So I think that`s important.

ANDERSON: What`s also important -- Josie says this project appeals to her inner butt-kicker...

MARAN: I got to have a fight scene. And I got to beat some serious street racer up. You know, that was exciting.

ANDERSON: ... and her inner speed demon.

MARAN: I have a Volvo S60R. The "r" is key. It`s a 300-horsepower rocket. And I like to drive fast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: She better wear her seat belt. "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" hits stores next month.