house exec sheryl sabd sandberg sells you. phat albert. albert brooks is the unlikely toast of hollywood, going to to toe with some of hollywood's biggest stars. abc's jake tapper on white he's winning raves and oscar buzz. and in sickness and in health? pat robertson stunned viewers by saying divorcing a spouse with alzheimer's disease is now problem. we go inside the mounting backlash. >> announcer: from the global resources of a b bc news, withm and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," september 15th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. the fight for new jobs for americans rages on. speaker of the house john boehner today responded to the president's jobs plan by arguing

that new government spending is not the answer. meanwhile, jobs are being found in a place that's literally right at our finger timtipsfing. it turns out those social networking sites just might be the place to score a good job. tonight, my colleague bill weir has an exclusive interview with facebook exec sheryl sandberg in our series, "bringing america back." >> reporter: there's a good reason sheryl sandberg is considered the most powerful woman in silicon valley. and it has little to do with her viral commencement speeches or new friendship with oprah. she is the chief operating officer at facebook. the woman who came out of the vez surery department and came over from google to help ceo mark zuckerberg turn his dorm room startup into a global internet power house. she's the woman that runs a company that could soon have a billion users and be worth $100

billion. in this economy, she's mostly powerful because she's hiring. >> great engineers in this economy, no matter what, are in hugely high demand and we all fight, compete for them. it's why more students should study computer science. great way to make sure you can be employed for the rest of your life. >> reporter: she rarely gives interviews, but is anxious to tout the idea that even if you didn't go to harvard and can barely work a mouse, facebook could be the key to your next job. >> as we talk about the ad side of it. >> reporter: 60% of job hunters find employment through people they know. and most of the people you know these dames are probably on facebook. >> those direct connections are really important. if you are looking for a job, you should be telling the people you know you're looking but if you do that on facebook, whether you do it in a status update or post, you can tell all of your friends and they can pass it on. the oh thing people do and i think quite successfully is, they use facebook to research

possible employment opportunities. >> reporter: there are around 9 million american businesses with facebook pages. a direct way for the savvy job seeker to research and reach out to companies before they ever put up a help wanted sign. and for those willing to invest a little, there are facebook ads. >> there you go. great. >> reporter: let's say you're a wedding photographer in the twin steps. someone just like chris meyer. competition is cut throat for that kind of work here. but rather than spend a lot of money on huge newspaper ads, chris can buy a small relatively cheap sample of his work that will go directly to women who change their facebook relationship status to "engaged." >> this year will be the largest year that we've ever had. we'll do about 250% to 300% what we did last year. >> reporter: one bride would be thrilled that he found her that way, somebody else might be a little creeped out by it. >> privacy is one of the most

important things we do and it a firm commitment we have. we took his ad and showed it to all of those women. but we never gave a single bit of information on any of those women to chris. we never give those people everything. well just show them something they're interested in. >> reporter: so this could also work for job hunters marketing themselves. so, asked one of facebook's harvard educated wizards to show me how. let's say you want to be a zoo cooper. >> okay. >> reporter: through a rather simple interface, anyone can write a plea. >> out of work animal lover. >> reporter: wants to help primates and the children who love them. can you help me? >> can you help me? >> reporter: by picking specific profile words -- >> giant pandas? >> reporter: yeah. a link to your resume could be delivered to the kind of people that might be able to put a good word in for you. >> 161,000 people who meet that

criteria, so -- that's a good starting point. >> reporter: you tell facebook how much you're willing to pay each time someone clicks on your resume. >> the suggested bid here is $3.34 to $6.34 per click? >> this is per click, right, right. but hey, it may be worth it if i get a new, exciting job out of it. >> reporter: but these dames, it seems, that is still a big f. and sandberg has a couple suggestions on how to turn the f into when. we lost so much faith in your leadership in washington to try to figure out the fix. and so many people say, let's turn to business. what ideas do you have to turn this thing around? >> we need to restore confidence. business confidence to hire. it's about having the right regulatory environment that encouraging business that continues to create, you know, the kind of entrepreneurs that america has created.

the people that can build something out of absolutely nothing. that can be useful. and it's about our education system. our education system used to be one of the world's best or the world's best. it is so far from that. we are failing our children. and over the long run, our competitiveness will be completely tied with how well we educate our children. >> reporter: look at that ad. that's brilliant. >> reporter: in the meantime, our children may have to educate us on 21st century adaptation in that era when the help wanted sign seems to be fading away. in more ways than one. >> creative ways to bring america back. we should note that sheryl sandberg is a board member of our parent company, disney. coming up, he's in a new ryan gosling thriller who is this hot hollywood talent? host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with terry moran. >> comedy is friendly. it's the least offensive word in our language. so says albert brooks, who ought to know. he's cracked people inplaying everything from a dead ad executive in "defending your life" to an animated clown fish in "finding nemo." his role in "drive" is a little different. try gangster. for abc senior white house correspondent jake tapper, that is "seriously funny." >> reporter: he's in two of the hottest movies in hollywood. "drive," an action film noir opening tomorrow, starring ryan gosling. and "this is 40," the new judd

apatow comedy. hollywood's hot new thing is -- albert brooks? yes. albert brooks. the comedian and comic actor best known for delving into neuro sis delivers the performance as an l.a. gangster that one critic says deserves to have oscar calling. >> for the rest of your life, you're going to be looking over your shoulder. >> reporter: so, "drive." you're not a good gouy. >> i'm capable of doing dangerous things. things that i've never been asked to do in a film before. >> reporter: i don't want to jinx it, but the buzz about you and, you know, maybe getting a nomination for best supporting actor -- >> you just said it. >> reporter: what if we don't air this part of it? >> no, air it. people said to me, what is it like to play this violent person in "drive" and i said, it is

more of a shock to play paul rudd's father. >> reporter: he recalls when apatow called him to star in the fi film. >> when you have a kid, all your dreams and hopes go out the window. >> no one's going to believe that. we look like brothers. okay, let's make an old gray wig and i'll limp -- no, don't do that. >> reporter: in fact, brooks played the character before there was such a thing. the nerdy, romantic lead, more endearing for his mu hor than strapping good looks. such as in "defending your life." >> really look so familiar to me. >> reporter: really? maybe because i'm the only man in here under 100. >> reporter: that's one of many ways he blazed a new path for comedy. his standup routine was ironic before that was popular. >> well, good evening, everybody. yes, hello, everybody.

some people think you might have been ahead of your time. >> there's no line at the bank that says "ahead of your time." if you are going to do something 10 or 15 years before people do it, i guess it's cool. but while you're doing it, it doesn't feel cool. it feels like you have a lot of people going, "what's this?" >> reporter: soon, he was able to write and direct and star in his own movies, such as "mother." >> mother, the ice cream is colorless. >> look under the protective ice. >> reporter: and perhaps, most iconic iconically, the acclaimed "broadcast news." >> this is more than nixon ever sweated. >> just how noticeable is this? >> reporter: you're at the point now where your name is an adjective. albert brooks' movie, albert brooks' style. it's a particular brand. what do you think it is? >> i would hope it would be, you know, something that was not

fart jokes. are you allowed to say fart at 11:00? >> reporter: 11:35. >> i can say [ bleep ]. >> reporter: no. there's always been a seriousness to his body of work. and this year, brooks had his first book published. "2030" describes what the u.s. will look like in 19 years. clever but it's not funny. when i was reading, i was like, this actually could happen. >> the future ain't that funny. i've always thought that if i were 20 right now, i'd be worried. more worried than i was when i was 20. and i'd be pissed, quite frankly. and so, the book really is about the old versus the young and one of the catalysts is this ongoing national debt. >> reporter: speaking of cutting, the los angeles gangster brooks plays in drive was nicknamed bernie the knife.

>> i know how to kill you. >> reporter: you do this. >> i'm just not going to. >> reporter: you actually think you're a tough guy. >> did you play football? >> reporter: do you think i played football? >> no. i played football. i was on the line. >> reporter: beverly hills high school. >> doesn't matter. they had the money to bring in ringers. i played against samoans that went on to play in the nfl. >> reporter: that can't be true. >> it doesn't have to be true. >> reporter: no, i doesn't. it just has to be funny. and he is. this is jake tapper for "nightline" in new york. [ monitor beeping ] [ sponge ] you've suffered some real damage. cheesy crusting. 3rd degree noodle trauma. the prognosis is bleak. you may need to soak overnight. nurse...! dawn power clean? it'll never work. [ female announcer ] dawn power clean with micro-scrubbing enzymes can give you the power of an overnight soak in just 5 minutes. [ sponge ] i give you a sparkling clean bill of health. it's a scientific miracle!

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an estimated 5.4 million americans are living with alzheimer's disease today. the debate over how best to care for these patients still very much a heated one. today, it caught fire when one of the country's highest profile religious leaders took a surprising position. the old words are so familiar. and the couples who say them are always so full of hope. in sickness and in health, until death do us part. >> you may kiss your bride! >> reporter: but the years pass and the years can take their toll. what is true love? what does it quire of us? that was the question the reverend pat robertson was dealing with on his talk show when asked by a viewer about his friend's wife who has alzheimer's.

>> he says that he should be allowed to see other people because his wife as he knows her is gone. >> reporter: robertson who has preached the gospel of jesus christ for 50 years, responded. >> i know it sounds cruel, but he -- if he's going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again. but to make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her. if he says in the sense she is gone, he's right. it's like a walking death. >> i don't think he understands what love is. >> reporter: paul goldman has been married to edith for 61 years. nine years ago, she was diagnosed with alzheimer's. she he visits her every day. >> i simply cannot fail her. she would never have failed me. >> reporter: there is no sugar coating it. alzheimer's is a hard journey. barry peterson has a different take. the former cbs reporter started to see another woman when his

wife, diagnosed with alzheimer's in her 50s, no longer recognized him, and he wrote a book about it. >> do i dare reach out and find someone to share the rest of my life, even though i'm still married? >> reporter: it's not an easy question, and who is to judge? by advocates say they don't see a lot of divorces. >> what we see when people get diagnosed is, families rallying around the person, like they would with any fatal and serious illness. >> reporter: and one thing that might surprise you, it might surprise pat robertson, too, is that scientists and care givers say that even as this disease progresses, and takes so much, love can survive. >> it lasts forever. >> the feelings are the last to go. the ability to connect on some level, that's the very last thing to go. person might not remember their loved one's name, they might not be able to remember what happened a couple minutes ago,

but they still can connect. >> do you know my name? >> reporter: so many couples go through this together, no matter what. like meryl comber and her husband harvey, who we met in 2009. >> i've taken care of him longer than we've been married. 29 years we've been married, 15 years he's been sick. i just do it. people do it all the time. this is not extraordinary. it's life. it's life. >> reporter: and sometimes life is a miracle. >> she didn't know who i was. that was a terrible thing. >> reporter: we met saul rogers last year. he and his wife rita have been married for 64 years. >> you love me? >> yes, i do. i do. >> reporter: every night, he climbs into her bed in the nursing home outside boston and

his love, their love, reaches her through the shadows. ♪ you're no one til somebody loves you ♪ ♪ so find yourself somebody to love ♪ >> there's been an enormous response online to this story. you can weigh in on our website at abcnews.com/nightline. thanks for watching abc news. we'll see you here tomorrow. >> dicky: tonight on an all-new "jimmy kimmel live" -- >> jimmy: play a suburban dad, which sounds preposterous. he's just a really high healthcliff huxtable. >> dicky: steve buscemi. guillermo with emily