\. s. . this is "nightline." tonight, murder for hire? the dentist's wife now accused of trying to pay a hitman $11,000 to kill the father of her own grandson. tonight, her allegedly outrail jous plan involving alligators and how shell got busted. plus, sickeningly sweet. we know drinking too much sugar can hurt us, but when it comes to taxing sweet drinks, there's a bitter battle brewing. the same big businesses spending millions to get their way may also be trying to make it look like a grassroots fight. and the actors of "interstellar." rocketman matthew mcconaughey tells us his ultimate sacrifice. >> i'm coming back.

>> when? >> and what nearly pushed anne hathaway over the edge. but first -- the "nightline" five. >> it's time to drop your pants for underwearness. a cause to support the over 65 million people who may need the trusted protect of depend understood wear. show them they're not alone and show off a pair of depend. get a free sample at underwearness.com. hurry. there's a hot offer for heartburn sufferers. now try zantac free. it's free this week only. no pill relieves heartburn faster. get zantac free. number one in just 60 get zantac free. number one in just 60 seconds. here in york, pennsylvania we've built the largest distributor of kitchen cabinets in the nation. we've got american-made products that are beating out chinese imports. so, i know pennsylvania can be a leader in manufacturing and we can make things again. but we have to invest in education and a skilled workforce today.

i'm tom wolf and i have a plan. we can do great things, but we have to think ahead. tom wolf for governor. a fresh start for pennsylvania. ♪7 powerball tickets ♪6 match 6 chances ♪5 cash 5s ♪4 big 4s ♪3 daily numbers ♪2 mega millions (joe) happy holidays, rita. (rita) thanks, joe! (man) what a great gift! (announcer) pennsylvania lottery tickets make great gifts, like the new $1 million peppermint payout. (joe) happy holidays! ♪and best wishes from the lottery♪ good evening. hitmen seem to be far more prevalent in film than real

life. that doesn't mean certain people won't go to great lengths to try to find and illusive paid assassin. even to target members of their own family. the woman you're about to see is accused of offering $11,000 to do just that. and for good measure, she allegedly wanted the body consumed by alligators. here's abc's mara schiavocampo. >> reporter: it's like a made for tv movie. but tonight, this grandmother and social work earl ier is acc a real life murder for hire plot. >> i was shocked. this only happened on like a lifetime movie, you know? >> reporter: malisa shone field allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill the father of her one and only grandchild. this man, for $11,000. she's pleaded not guilty. her daughter alexis telling abc news exclusively that her mom is concerned about keeping her

daughter safe from negreo, who alexis says mistreated her. >> she's not the mom that i grew up with, that i know, sorry. >> reporter: according to court documents, she met a detective inside her car at this walmart in watertown, new york. he was posing as the would be hitman. according to the detective, the grandmother said the best way to get rid of the body would be to throw it to the alligators. she allegedly told the detective her husband, a well-known dentist, knew what she was up to. but did this grandma as accused really think she could get away with murder? it turns out, trying to hirl someone to make a loved one disappear may be more common than you think. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. >> meet julia. >> got a little business to discuss? >> yeah. >> reporter: she's planning her husband's murder. >> something bad, a gunshot, how you want me to do it?

you want me to shoot him? >> unless you can do it painlessly without breaking his neck. >> reporter: and the stuff she's worried about, like the mess it might make. >> it would be messy in the house. >> reporter: she didn't have the to worry after all, because her husband is still alive. you see, the guy she's talking to, on the right hand there, he's an undercover police officer. so, why not just divorce her husband? well, there was the insurance money to be had if he were dead and then there were his feelings to consider. >> divorcing him, i didn't have the to worry about the judgment of my family, breaking his heart, stuff like this. it's kind of like a clean getaway. >> reporter: not so clean after all. she's now serving a sentence at least five years and eight months. hiring the wrong guy turns out to be a costly but not uncommon mistake. >> they step to a friend or an associate and what happens, in a vast majority of the time, the person they step to goes to law enforcement.

>> reporter: the majority of murder for hires are amateur criminals. the motives? money, broken hearts or just plain revenge. >> i'm a,005,000% sure. >> reporter: for this motive, it was greed. in 2009, these recorded conversations allegedly show her negotiating terms for her husband's murder. it turns out the supposed killer for hire in the driver's seat was also an undercover cop. she was called home by police one day. >> thank you for coming. i'm sorry to call you. >> reporter: and given the false news that inside, her husband lay dead. >> he's been killed. he's been killed, ma'am. >> no, no. >> reporter: and then, they got her into an interrogation room. >> i just want to see my husband. >> reporter: she continues to speak as a shocked widow. remember, as far as she knows, her husband is dead. but then, they tell her the

so-called killer is actually one of their own men. >> that's an undercover police officer. we filmed everything that you did. recorded everything that you did. >> i didn't do anything. >> reporter: and finally, they tell her that her husband is still alive. >> he's well and alive. >> thank god. >> oh, yeah, thank god? >> can i see him? >> no, he doesn't want to see you. >> i just want to see him. >> reporter: her husband didn't believe her when she finally got him on the phone from jail. >> you know more than anybody it's not true. >> then what the [ bleep ]? you said you wanted to have me ki killed. i heard that. >> reporter: she was sentenced to 20 years. she's out of jail on house arrest awaiting a new trial. as david muir found out in this "20/20" investigation, undercover cops posing as hitmen -- >> how are you doing? >> hi, how are you? >> have a seat. >> reporter: must disguise their looks and have to stage the murder. >> we're both fighting over this complete loser. >> reporter: suburban soccer mom

nicole meets her would be hitman in a new jersey parking lot. >> so, what can get done? you can make her disappear? >> reporter: nicole wants to settle the score with her ex-boyfriend's lover and wants her dead. >> i could do it myself but i'm -- i don't want to be -- have my hands on anything. >> reporter: she enlisted the help of her ex-boyfriend's relative on facebook who alerted authorities. >> i want to go piss on her grave. i want to go to her funeral and spit in the casket. >> reporter: david met up with that undercover officer. >> a lot of people are going to ask, why would she ask a relative to help her find a hitman? >> i don't know. maybe she was just disparate. she didn't know too many, i guess, bad people in her life that have actually committed crimes, because she wasn't that type of person. to hire someone for murder is a real serious thing. >> reporter: police staged the murder. >> did what you said to do. jennifer is dead. >> no way. >> jennifer is dead. he shot her.

he said he shot her in the head. he has proof. she's done. she's dead. >> reporter: nicole eventually pleaded guilty, getting ten years in federal prison. tonight, malisa shone field, who allegedly wanted her daughter's boyfriend killed and fed to t theal gail tomorrows, is home on bail. for "nightline," i'm mara schiavocampo in new york. next, as millions of americans repair to cast their ballots tomorrow, there may be hundreds of millions of call reels at stake in california. inside the fight over a controversial tax on soda. and later on "nightline," we're with the stars of "interstellar." fifteen mi uld save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know certain cartoon characters should never have an energy drink? action! blah-becht-blah- blublublub-blah!!! geico®. introducing the birds of america collection. fifty stunning, hand-painted plates,

commemorating the state birds of our proud nation. blah-becht-blah- blublublub-blah!!! geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. creeping up on you... fight back with relief so smooth... ...it's fast. tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue ...and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum, tum tum tum... smoothies! only from tums. sweet charmin!!!softness... take a closer look at charmin ultra soft and you'll love what you see. not only can you use less, but you can actually see the softness in our comfort cushions. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft? has a new easy-to-swallow coating... so the nutrients for your eyes, heart and brain go down easier. for a limited time, get your four-dollar coupon at centrum.com. for new nestlé© toll houser delightfulls morsels, the chocolate you know and love now filled with

caramel, peanut butter, cherry, and mint. so peanut butter up some brownies. and caramel-ify those chocolate chip cookies with new nestlé© toll house delightfulls. bake some love™ we thought our cable internet was fast.

but, our uploads are half the speed of our downloads so our internet is really half-fast. so half-fast. someone did a half-fast job posting our vacation pics. stop living with half fast internet. only verizon fios comes with speedmatch - uploads as fast as downloads. so his homework won't be so half-fast? that is up to him. get a fios triple play online for this great price and a $400 visa prepaid card with a 2-year agreement. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v

tonight, with the final hours ticking down before this year's midterm elections, any local efforts are wrapping up. but in one major city, a battle over a soda tax has led to new questions about whether a growing movement is really what it seems. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: protest rallies in san francisco are a dime a dozen. and this one looks real enough. >> what do we want? >> reporter: but take a closer look. you'll see, there's something unusual about this protest. right there in the fine print. this rally has corporate sponsorship. let's be frank. this is a front group for coke and pepsi, right? >> it's not a front group. we don't hide it.

there's no secret about it. that's really not the issue. the main issue is, is this measure right for san francisco and we don't believe that it is. >> reporter: roger sal czazar i the spokesman for a group that sounds like it's fighting skyrocketing rents or rampant gentry if i case. nope. it's dedicated to fighting a proposed tax on sugary soft drinks. you want to make san francisco more affordable by keeping the price of coke and pepsi affordable, basically? >> if the goal is to improve public health, taxing grocery items is not the way to do it. >> reporter: proposition e, often referred to as the soda tax, would tax all sugar sweetened beverages 2 cents an ounce, with the proceeds earm k earmarked for programs to educate children towards health area choices in an effort to reduce obesity. whether or not a beverage tax is the best answer to fight obesity

is open to debate. that's not why we're here. we're here to look at that notion astro turf campaigns. campaigns that look like grassroots efforts, but are bought and paid for by interest groups with deep pockets. sup supervisor scott weiner is the man behind prop e. >> this is a fake group of the american beverage association. >> reporter: this is a coalition of pepsi, coke. >> red bull and sunny d, all the rest. >> reporter: over the past few years, more than 30 other communities have tried to take on sugary beverages and the aba has poured millions into the fight for strike them down. >> big soda companies come in with millions and millions of c corporate dollars to spend misinformation. >> reporter: but ask the no on e group about it and claim the coalition is huge. >> there are lots of folks that feel this is the wrong priority

for the city of san francisco. >> reporter: we decided to check it out. our first stop, smoking warehouse barbecue. he tells us the no on e campaigners told him the proceeds of the tax may not actually go to the intended childhood health programs. >> they told me the money wouldn't go towards education of kids. >> reporter: but if it goes toward the education of kids -- >> i'm for it. >> reporter: next, we went to another restaurant. the manager there pointed out they have a sign in the window supporting prop e. >> you're saying soft drinks, sugary soft drinks are bad. >> yeah. >> reporter: they should be taxed? >> yeah. >> reporter: at joe's -- doesn't exist anymore. the restaurant's website says it's been closed more than six months. to be fair, the no on e campaign did hand over records of endorsement from all of the bitzs on their list, including joe's cable car burger joint. >> we have signed cards for every single one of the businesses. i can't help if they closed after we went and talked to

them. >> reporter: and we did come across some businesses that do, in fact, oppose the tax. the fizzry is an artisanal soda and candy shop. its owner, literally the poster boy for the no on e campaign. >> if it passed, we would lose business for sure. at the base of it, it's a grocery tax and i don't know any shopper that wants that. >> reporter: fair enough. but is that really enough to make the average citizen take to the streets? we've heard accusations that the no on e campaign was actually hiring people to hold signs. many of whom aren't even san francisco voters. so, "nightline" producer jackie jesco answered this craigslist ad, looking for sign holders. the pay? >> $13 an hour, right? >> reporter: jackie made sure to tell him she lives 3,000 miles from san francisco. >> well, i actually live in new york. >> reporter: no problem, said the campaign guy. >> it's okay? okay. >> reporter: when she showed up

at the no on e rally and tried to talk to some of the protesters -- >> is this a paid gig? >> we're really just doing it for the taxes. >> reporter: the campaign quickly shut down her attempts to interview anyone else. >> why are you here today? >> i'm not talking to the press. >> this isn't a press event. it's a rally. >> not talking to anybody? >> reporter: but there was one group that was keen to talk to the cameras. this small but vocal pro soda tax group. >> we're just telling the truth. >> reporter: this is maureen irwin, leader of choose health sf. the official pro-tax campaign. the pro-tax group is being outfunded 30 to 1. their mascot, big soda cry baby, hands on monopoly money for votes. >> more where this came from. >> reporter: we reached out to the american beverage

association who told us, we oppose taxes or other discriminatory proposals that single out our products. we are completely transparent in our engagement in these debates. >> if san francisco passes a soda tax, it sends a very powerful message that big soda can be beaten. >> reporter: and if san francisco doesn't manage to get the necessary two-thirds majority, there's a soda tax on the ballot in berkeley, too. i'm david wright for "nightline" in san francisco. next, how matthew mcconaughey and anne hathaway and jessica chastain found themselves in this space jam. inside "interstellar." this season, celebrate what's new, with the bigger, better menu at red lobster! try our newest wood-grilled combination! maine lobster, extra jumbo shrimp, and salmon! all topped with decadent brown butter. or savory new lobster scampi linguini, with lobster in every bite.

and, the ultimate feast. it's the ultimate ultimate! with more shrimp than ever. more of what you love, our new menu. it's a bigger, better reason to celebrate. so hurry in! and sea food differently. ay... sometimes too close, which means we're always getting into each other's hair. that's why we use head & shoulders. keeps us 100% flake free, and smells gorgeous. i use it... my whole world uses it. head & shoulders. now smells better than ever. if you're suffering from constipation or irregularity, powders may take days to work. for gentle overnight relief, try dulcolax laxative tablets. ducolax provides gentle overnight relief, unlike miralax that can take up to 3 days. dulcolax, for relief you can count on.

( siren wails )

( pop music playing ) ♪ when you're ready ♪ ready, ready, ready ♪ come and get it ♪ get it, get it ♪ when you're ready, come and get it ♪ ♪ na na na na ♪ na na na na na na na ♪ ♪ when you're ready, come and get it ♪ ♪ na na na na... female announcer: it's a great big world and it can all be yours. here and only here. ♪ come and get it. ♪ it's so important to make someone happy ♪ ♪ make just one heart to heart you ♪ ♪ music ♪ you sing to one smile that cheers you ♪ ♪ one face that lights when it nears you ♪ [ male announcer ] play the monopoly millionaires' club lottery game. making more and more millionaires.

with the card most accepted in the philadelphia region, you have the compassion and security of blue cross. giving you the power to do more. independence blue cross. live fearless.

with a star-studded cast of the upcoming film of "interstellar," the outer space thriller hit close to home. tonight, they're revealing some universal truths, their biggest sacrifices, and how the film affected their own relationships. here's "abc world news tonight" anchor david muir. >> reporter: it's a dramatic and heart-stopping race against time. >> we got this far. farther than any human in history. >> not far enough. >> reporter: "interstellar" starring matthew mcconaughey, tasked with saving mankind. >> i'm thinking about my family and millions of other families. >> reporter: you get lost in the movie, but in a good way. that makes you contemplate what is possible out there. it's awe inspiring, it is the so

optimistically faithful about what mankind can do. and saying, we're responsible for it. >> we're not going to make it. >> yes, you are. >> reporter: anne hathaway and jessica chastain co-star. a dust boil has decimated earth's food supply. >> they've been telling us to leave for awhile now. >> reporter: it's one of the most basic of human desires. that quest to explore the unknown. >> here we go. >> reporter: but for cooper, it come s at a devastating price. >> i'm coming back. >> when? >> you won the oscar this last year, you talked about your wife and your children. >> to my wife and my kids -- >> reporter: you said the courage and significance you give me every day i go out the door -- >> is unparalleled. you are the four people in my life that i want to make the most proud of me. >> reporter: your role in this movie, you go through that door and so, i wonder how much did you draw upon your own role as a father. >> now being a father, to three,

you know, you have a whole new perspective of the world. you have something that is paramount and there's no question. it's nice to have something so black and white in your life that takes number one importance. >> reporter: that oscar win ushered in a momentous year for mcconaughey, including his run on hb o's "true detective." and, of course, that meshl for lincoln, which has gone rival. >> i think that's old cyrus. >> let's roll. >> rolling. >> reporter: christopher nolan is the film's director. when it comes to creating epic alternate realities, he's in a league of his own. you built that spaceship. >> i don't really like using green screen. i feel like it's very deadening to the imagination of, you know, the performance and the sets so, we really tried to build the interior of the spaceship. >> we're going to be spending a lot of time together. >> we should learn to talk. >> and when not to. >> reporter: we talked with anne hathaway about the one scene that really takes her to edge

the. there is a moment in the film when you appear to be very alone. and i'm curious how alone you felt. in that moment. >> so alone i immediately wanted to go out and find a comedy to act in. >> i love you. forever. >> reporter: but at its core, this film is about love and the indelible bond between a father and a daughter. >> it's not just an outer space action adventure, which it is. it's an incredible thrilling movie. but for me it's so much about all relationships, not just fathers and daughters. >> will you spend the night? your room is exactly -- >> i need to get back. >> reporter: not only exploring space, but the american family and precious time lost. will we look back and wonder, did we miss time with our loved ones? >> i sure know i came out of the film looking, taking inventory of my own life, my own relationships and saying, am i

giving enough to them, enough presence in them at this time? because hindsight would be a b-i-t-c-h, if you don't, you know? we'll find a way. we always have. >> thanks to david for that report. you can catch "interstellar" in theaters this friday. thanks for watching abc news. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "good morning america." and as always, we're online at abcnews.com. good night. [dramatic music] ♪ >> yo! yo! oh! oh! hello, and welcome to millionaire. i'm terry crews. some of you may know me from brooklyn nine-nine, and i'm also lucky enough to be here hosting millionaire.

[cheers and applause] today's first contestant is a philosophy professor who lives by nietzche's words, "no victor believes in chance." today, he's not relying on luck, but his intelligence and skill, and knows he will win it all. from brooklyn, new york, please welcome james rowe. [cheers and applause] james, how are you, my friend? >> i am doing wonderful. magnificent. >> come on in here. >> magnificent. >> brother, that beard is amazing. >> thank you. thank you very much, man. >> do you know, i cannot grow a beard. it's weird. it's like--i have it here, and then it's just a big spot of nothing. >> [laughs] well, man, that's just--i guess just genetics, right? >> i don't know. i want some--i'm gonna put some fake hair on it. >> yeah, man, put some fake hair on. you'll look great. you'll look great. then put some mustache wax on the side like i do, right? >> i know. i want to try to curl up the ends. but, you know, listen, are you ready to make some money? >> i am exactly ready to make