tonight on "nightline," here comes the child. she's 16. he's 51. and now they've been pronounced man and wife. they say they're deeply in love and it's legal. but is it right? carmageddon. it is the most glamorous highway in the world, in a town that dreams of speed. but this weekend, the public braces for a traffic apocalypse, terminator style. and fancy fangs. a cool quarter million. that's the peak price for the ultimate in home security, elite guard dogs with two settings, cuddle and kill. tonight we see what they can do. >> announcer: from the global

resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," july 15th, 2011. good evening. i'm bill weir. a 16-year-old bride may seem like something from another culture or century. but did you know it's legal in 39 states? parents giving their blessing is one thing, but the 16-year-old bride you're about to meet is another. because the inspiring starlet is married to a hollywood actor more than three times her age. could their nuptials be a play for reality show-style attention, or is this a real love story? here's abc's lara spencer. >> am i your toy? >> you're my little -- >> plastic toy? >> my little plastic barbie doll. >> reporter: meet hollywood's most controversial newlyweds. doug hutchison is a 51-year-old actor. perhaps you remember him best as the abusive prison guard in "the green mile." >> they got all the men they need. >> reporter: and his wife?

courtney stodden. she's an aspiring singer and actress. ♪ it's not my fault ♪ you can't control your guy >> reporter: believe it or not, the most stunning thing about courtney isn't her provocative appearance. it's her birth certificate. that's right. this girl is 16 years old. married to a man more than three times her age. >> i love you. >> i love you. >> reporter: let me ask you, courtney, 16 years old. why the rush to get married? >> because, you know, i felt like this world isn't going to last forever. and, you know, life's short. >> reporter: if you're s s confident and you know it's so right, why not just wait? >> that's a good question. >> when someone is 16, their frontal lobe is not fully developed. that's the part of the brain that says, "if i do this, what will happen tomorrow?" >> reporter: the way they tell it, doug and courtney's love story began when doug, living in los angeles amidst the wreckage of two failed marriages and one

serious drinking problem, hit rock bottom. >> i got down on my knees and i said, send me an angel, please. >> reporter: they say they met online and quickly developed an emotional connection. at first doug says he had no idea she was just a teenager. when you found out, how did you feel? >> well, you can imagine, i -- my world turned upside down. because -- >> the shock factor. >> reporter: did that make you want to walk away? >> it didn't make me want to walk away, but it definitely was a struggle inside my heart at that point in time because i had already started falling for her. >> reporter: all the while, courtney's mom, krista, had been monitoring their exchanges, fully aware that doug had decacas over her young daughter. >> and i said, if you are uncomfortable with it, i will respect you and courtney will respect you and we will step back. so she said, "i can feel my daughter's love for you. you know, you guys can get

married if you want." >eporter: it is not every day that a man has to consult the statutory rape laws before proposing marriage. and, by the way, to a young girl he had never met in person. there is a joke, 16 will get you 20. >> 16 will get you 20 if you are doing something illegally. >> reporter: but it turns out that while marrying courtney would get doug locked up in california, neighboring nevada is one of 39 states which allows 16-year-olds to marry as long as they have documented parental consent. >> what were you thinking there? >> i was just thinking how much i love you. >> reporter: so on the day they finally met in person doug proposed. and shortly after, courtney was walked down the aisle at a las vegas chapel by her father, four years younger than his soon-to-be son-in-law. >> you look into each other's eyes and speak those vows, and it's just like your world changes. >> reporter: courtney couldn't legally drink champagne after the service. but she was free to consummate the relationship. >> i was a virgin when i married

him. >> she was saving herself. >> i knew that if i kept that i would really be blessed with a beautiful gift. and god did. he blessed me with my soulmate. i'm really thankful for that. >> you have an adult with a child. at the end of the day, an adolescent brain is still an adolescent brain and it's lacking in judgment and evaluations about consequence. >> reporter: what age is too young to get married? >> what's too young is against the law. what we've done, we'veveone nothing illegally, immorally. >> reporter: maybe not, but plenty of people find it unacceptable. courtney's parents have received death threats. doug's manager has dropped him. his mother cut him off. >> i love you. >> reporter: and the newlyweds could spend hours every day reading their own hate mail. >> "this girl is too young and, to me, this is abuse." >> "you are a whore. go kill yourself." that's terrible! >> reporter: a lot of people online say you're a pervert.

what do you say to that? >> i'm a pervert, courtney -- >> i'm a whore. >> and other -- it's -- you know what? people are welcome to their opinions. that's what the world is about. if they -- if they need to feel this way, that's theirs to hold. not ours. >> reporter: one widely held opinion is that courtney's had enough plastic surgery to put joan rivers to shame. she insists those claims are false and that doctors have confirmed it. >> it's real. >> it's real. >> r-i-l-l. >> courtney's plastic surgeon was god. >> reporter: but even if courtney's body is natural, the detractors still don't believe her relationship is. what do you have in common? >> what do we have in common? >> we laugh. >> reporter: of course, they also have a common interest in show business. and in an era of low-rent fame, where controversy can be as

marketable as actual talent, it should come as no surprise that the couple is, in fact, considering offers from reality television producers. what do you say to that? to people who think this is all a publicity stunt. >> we knew this was going to happen. we knew we were going to have to weather -- >> the storm of our union. >> -- the repercussions of our decision, our union. and this is just the beginning. and it brought us closer together. >> reporter: do you think marrying doug will help your career? >> if it does, you know, that's just another beautiful blessing that god hands to me. but if i'm just with him for the rest of my life and supporting him, that would make me happy, too. >> reporter: this is lara spencer for "nightline" in los angeles. and just ahead, ananher los angeles tale. why that city is bracing for a weekend that will change life as they know it.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. it is one of the harbingers of summer. like shakespeare on the green and skinny dipping, highway construction touches us all this time of year. we mostly take it in stride, find a detour, maybe. but not so in los angeles. the showbiz capital, a town that butters its bread with elaborate doomsday scenarios. and l.a., it's not just a planned freeway closure. it's carmageddon. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: l.a. is paradise on the precipice. always bracing for the big one. >> carmageddon is set to begin on the 405. >> carmageddon. >> carmageddon. >> the city is buzzing, simply buzzing you could say with talk of carmageddon. >> this entire weekend, carmageddon. >> reporter: this weekend, the end of the world is not coming

frfr earthquakes or volcanos. not from space aliens or terminators from the future. no, it's worse. this weekend the existential threat is something hollywood never imagined. they're closing the freeway. the very machines that makes the southern california lifestyle possible may be useless this weekend because they're shutting down ten miles of interstate 405. the 405 isn't just any freeway. even if you've never been to this city, you know the 405. remember o.j. simpson's slow-speed chase? that's the 405. the biggest and busiest stretch of highway in america. southern california's ugly answer to the golden gate bridge. l.a.'s urban umbilical cord. even on a good day, fear of traffic strikes feararnto the hearts of angelenos. like johnny drama on "entourage."

>> i begged you to take the 101. but you had to take the canyon. >> reporter: city officials knew in advance this would be no ordinary bit of roadwork. >> this project should probably be renamed the nightmare on the 405. everyone is going to be impacted. >> reporter: warning the citizens in no uncertain terms -- >> stay the hell away from the 405. >> reporter: -- to do everything possible to avoid adding to the gridlock. they've also enlisted celebrities. paris hilton tweeted, "i'm not leaving my house to drive anywhere this weekend." from tom hanks, "avoid carmageddon. gaszilla. 40-enstein. gridlock-a-palooza. stay home, eat and shop local." >> it's the ultimate get out of jail free card for any activity you want to avoid. if your wife says let's go shopping -- ah, i'd love to. carmageddon. >> reporter: dahlia frankel and

moishe moisheshmuel didn't know about carmageddon when they started planning their wedding in bel air. a year ago, it seemed like a good idea to have all the weddininguests stay out of marina del rey. now, they're having to budget three hours for a journey that would normally take 20 minutes. >> i hope los angeles listens to the warnings and stays off the road this weekend. for my sake! >> reporter: enterprising entrepreneurs are cashing in. an italian restaurant in santa monica added $4.05 stuzz. chini to the menu. car washes are offering a wash-amageddon special. jetblue even rolled out $4 flights from long beach to burbank. they sold out in a matter of minutes. but how bad can it really be? for a reality check, we turned to one of l.a.'s most famous cops. ♪ no, not that guy. >> one adam-12. >> reporter: not those guys either. ♪ that guy. erik estrada, who played ponch on "chips." >> people, back up, please. >> hi. i'm erik estrada, and i'm here with real motorcycle police officers -- >> reporter: back on the air with a new public service

announcement about carmageddon. this afternoon, we picked him up at l.a.x. and drove with him, t of town.n. >> stay home. don't drive. i'm going south to meet my family, and we're going to stay away for the weekend. >> reporter: you're avoiding the whole thing? >> i'm avoiding the whole thing. >> reporter: carmageddon. >> carmageddon. >> reporter: do you think it's ovovkill? is it going to be that bad? >> i think it's great fun. i mean, whoever came up with carmageddon is -- >> reporter: got a sense of humor. >> great sense of humor. >> reporter: he's convinced it's not the end of the woror. >> and what's your guess? end of the world? >> nah, man.n. i don't think that's going to happen. i think people are going to think sensibly, be smart and wise about it. and they will avoid it. they will avoid it. >> reporter: let's hope so. i'm david wright for "nightline" in los angeles. ...are alike in nearly every way... ...right down to brushing their teeth. so how did only one get gingivitis? well, one in two people do.

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news that the navy s.e.a.l.s took a dog along to kill osama bin laden gave theheorld a glimpse of the incredible role pups now play in the military. what many don't know, though, is that dogs with comparable level of training are available for private use, at a price. and for abc's matt gutman, that is a "sign of the times." >> reporter: what can you buy for a quarter of a million dollars? a car? maybe a boat? a house? perhaps some jewelry. or a guard dog? you can call izzo ferocious. certainly scary. powerful. >> i'm a little terrified. >> reporter: but do not call him a guard dog. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: try the ultimate in luxury security. a nearly $230,000 member of canine royalty.

a german shepherd able to switch from kill to cuddle in seconds. >> these are expensive family pets that know how to take care of business. >> reporter: that trait, plus perfect pedigree and a championship ranking, are all part of harrison prather's business here in aiken, south carolina, training the best of man's best friend. so what portion would you say of the customers who buy these dogs are using g em for security, and how much is it about just an expensive, lovely, good companion? >> oh, 100% security. 100%. but it's also a companion dog. they louf more thaun love yourself. they won't let you down. >> you're their world. >> you're their world. >> reporter: these aren't your average pets and they certainly don't come at your average price. prather recently sold one of his 3-year-old pooches here for $230,000. but if you can't afford the $250,000 price tag, there's always izzo. about $100,000. indo, nearly $50,000.

and my personal favorite, flecky. bargain basement price of 37 grand. so what kind of people can afford a $50,000 or $200,000 dog? >> well, my average client is a businessman. he's worried about security. we do a considerable amount of business with celebrities. also professional athletes. >> reporter: and increasingly they seem to be ditching surly bodyguards for that sublime combination of lover and fighter you find in these pooches.s. and that ability to turn it on and off, the killer instinct to licker.he friendly playful face is it bred in these dogs? >> it's bred into them. and they're well socialized as they grow up. >> reporter: prather wanted "nightline" to see it up close. >> nice. okay. >> reporter: and very personal. >> right now i'm a little nervous. i admit. >> well, you should be. >> there you go. >> reporter: i played the bad guy. and i quickly learned why people fear fangs more than guns. he's also wrapping his legs

around mine. okay. indo. you could actually feel him crushing the plastic thing here. >> reporter: these dogs are put through three rigorous years of training in germany before they even arrive at prather'ss canin center. and once here it's not just attack and defense. they also hone skills like tracking. we had our producer tracy play with ina for a little bit to get her scent on her. then tracy hid in the woods. it took ina all of about 30 seconds to find her. >> good girl! >> reporter: it's one reason why these dogs are ideal for top secret missions. prather has trained dogs for the navy s.e.a.l.s, teams like the one that took out osama bin laden in may. so if you have $250,000 and need the latest security accessory, you'd better act fast. the four dogs we met when we visited last month, they've all been sold. i'm matt gutman for "nightline" in akin, south carolin