staple. life beyond the edge. we go behind the lines with one of the film's most fearless filmmakers. and blast from the past, from rob lowe to run dmc. cell phones to computers. tonight, remembering the '80s and how generation me has become generation us.

hello, everyone. thanks for joining us tonight. would being rich make life easier? well, devout lotto ticket buyers and shooting star wishers the world over will say yes. but if they think stacking up the benjamins is the anxious to a simpler, happier existence? they probably haven't heard of the pope family. as abc matt gutman found, these millionaire heirs to the

"national enquirer" empire, they give a whole new meaning to the saying, more money, more problem. >> reporter: it's a headline-grabbing family feud. >> i would receive 20 to 30 e-mails from my mother today, asking me about kidnapping and lawsuits. >> that could easily be ripped from the pages of the original tabloid newspaper, the "national enquirer," infamous for breaking news about private lives of politicians and stars and the occasional alien. >> we look at the tabloid nation and the media and celebrity misbehavior, they're really the ones that pioneered this. >> reporter: the headlines made the founding pope family million narks but this latest sensational story involves the family itself. it involves allegations of fraud, stalking, even threats of kidnapping. the duo pits this man, 45-year-old paul pope, alleged

playboy of palm beach, against his socialite mother who he says threatened to kidnap his kids. pope showed us around his not too south florida pad. >> are there any rules in the feud of the popes? >> apparently with my mom, it's none. he said i'm going to get a kidnap and ransom policy. the beneficiary is the kidnapper. >> let me get this straight. somebody kidnaps her son, that's the person who gets the money for the policy? >> according to my mother, yeah. >> reporter: he says he h took it as a threat. lois pope calls it outrageous and said it was pope's idea to take owl the policy.

perhaps because this is one of the nastiest feud's around -- >> now the family that founded it sold the company is having to deal with what they've been giving out for so many years. >> reporter: lois has accused him of an extravagant and excessive lifestyle. he accuses her of hording money. >> my new team of investigators and attorneys have found all these things that were wrong, theft, fraud, tax evasion and all these things. >> reporter: but he does say she spends lavishly on herself, including a pair of $22 million jets, one for her and one for her 18 dogs. yes, 18 of them. and she seems to dole out $100,000 mercedes to their staff like candy. >> she points to my excessive lifesty lifestyle. and no one is perfect. i'm honest about mine. >> reporter: the "enquirer" has broken its share of gossip about

the rich and famous. to the tiger woods sex scandal. but the story of the tabloid's former owners? it's as juicy as it gets. this unholy war has festered since paul pope's father died in 1988. he had built an empire stacking supermarket checkout racks with the "national enquirer"er and its steady diet of scandal and expo expose. then in 1989, the family sold the enquirer for $412 million. lois got $200 million and paul and the rest of the kids $20 million. even way back then, according to an april 8 court hearing, lois says her on this threatened her. she said he accused me of not giving generoso a proper burial, of murdering him, of not calling 11 when he died. it was then that the harassment started. she always thought he was an enemy in her midst.

she said in court, i believed he was not my friend. what he was, she says, is a playboy, maintaining an excessive and extravagant lifestyle, but has never had meaningful employment. still, he has authored two books. one of them, the unpublished, confessions of a rich kid from hell." a kid his mom says she continues to bank roll today. he's asking for nearly $5 million more since the start of this year. he denies asking for anything recently but said she did give him a check recently. how much is it? >> $4 million. >> that's not a lot. >> reporter: my life isn't about money. >> did you give it back? >> i'm not giving it back. it's the parting of the red

seas. >> live by the scandal, die by the scandal. thanks matt gutman for that. tim heatherington, a man who gave it all to film it all. and a side of life many of us never see. [ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense.

from td ameritrade. if you're suffering from constipation, miralax or metamucil may take days to work. for faster relief, try dulcolax laxative tablets. dulcolax provides gentle relief overnight unlike miralax and metamucil that can take up to 3 days. for predictable relief try dulcolax. olay ultra moisture body wash can with more moisturizers than seven bottles of the leading body wash. with ultra moisture your body wash is anything but basic soft, smooth skin

with olay. soft, smooth skin cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself. join us at projectluna.com so if ydead battery,t tire, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

in this age of streaming video, you can sit in front of your laptop or tv for hours watching fascinating documentaries. doing so would likely mean come age cross the late tim heatherington. he was a "nightline" contributor who died tragically, but doing what he did best -- chasing danger. tonight, abc's bob woodruff with the hbo documentary honoring tim heatherington. >> on april 20 while covering the civil war in libya, tim heatherington was killed, fatally wounded in a mortar attack that also took the life of a photographer and injured several other journalists. weeks earlier, he was attending the academy awards, nominated with his friend sebastian junger

for the movie "restrepo." >> we were at war and we wanted to bring the war into people's living rooms and movie theatres. >> reporter: now tim's death, and more importantly, his life are the subject of junger's latest documentary, called "which way is frontline from here?" >> i always look to be as close to the subject as possible. >> why did you decide to do this documentary? >> tim was a really, really good friend of mine. i was just devastated by his death. it was kind of a mystery what happened that day. on a sort of higher level, he's gone. and i wanted to make a film that would allow other people, whoever knew him, to be inspired by him. >> reporter: inspirational, he was. capturing images of conflict first in liberia's civil war and

all across the globe. for him, it was not so much what it looked like, it's how about the people feel about each other. >> you often see scenes of disaster and it's almost like we forget that the people imaged are individuals. with individual stories and lives. >> he would relate to his subjects as real people. and that allowed people to see them as real people. >> reporter: real people as diverse as a fisherman in sri lanka, to american soldiers fighting from hill tops in afghanistan. in 2007, tim and sebastian embedded for a toe toll of 10 months fighting in an extremely violent part of afghanistan. >> there was a sense that we were now going to be hunted. and that was not a great feeling. >> reporter: shooting for both "nightline" and the film

"restrepo" tim's camera caught the frenetic pace of combat and a member of their team was killed. >> i saw a member shot. there was just pandemonium. >> oh, my god. >> tim felt very, very guilty about videotaping a soldier who was killed and videotaping the reactions of his brothers around him. he really felt guilty about it. >> but the documentary how tim saw something else -- buried underneath the loud gunfire, the silent photos of the people sleeping. >> he said, you know, one of the least interesting things about combat is combat. the stuff that's going on here between the fire fights, the emotions between the men, the connections within this group on this little hill top, that's really interesting. and what tim was able to see was

their vulnerability. everyone is impressed by how macho these guys are. tim saw their vulnerability. >> reporter: why is tim able to look through that and others can snot. >> that's a good question. i don't know. he was not interested in the obviously -- sort of the obvious things. >> reporter: as a result of tim's death in libya, sebastian was haunted by the fact he could have been saved if someone there with him had experience in first aid. so sebastian started risk, an organization with the soul aim of teaching freelance reporters to operate like army medics. >> we're sending them out in the frontlines. they're not just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. they realize they have the skills and the equipment to deal with most combat medical emergencies. >>. >> reporter: what should we remember about tim? >> tim lived a really big life. he was very, very curious about

the world. insatiably curious. he was completely compassionate towards people. he didn't make any distinctions at all. he was just incredibly compassionate and humane about that sort of -- the sort of quiet dignity of the human struggle. >> i have no desire to be a kind of war fighter, going from war zone to war zone. i have no interest in photography per say. i'm interested in reaching people with ideas and engaging them with views of the world. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm bob woodruff in new york. >> a great journalist. the documentary "which way the frontline from here" premiers april 18 on hbo. thanks to bob for that. next up, we'll turn the page. trapped in the 1980s.

one decade's profound impact on our modern lives. most people think that after an accident, you'll have to pay five hundred bucks for your deductible. the truth? at allstate, you could pay zero. allstate gives you a hundred dollars off your deductible the day you sign up. then another hundred off every year you don't have an accident. let the good hands reward your safe driving with a deductible that goes away. ♪ deductible rewards. one more way you're in good hands with allstate. ♪ i can't breathe, so i can't sleep. and the next day i pay for it. i tried decongestants... i tossed and turned... i even vaporized. and then i fought back with drug-free breathe right. these nasal strips instantly open my nose, like a breath of fresh air. i was breathing and sleeping better. [ female announcer ] exercise your right to breathe right. get two free strips at breatheright.com.

hey it's your right to breathe right. hey hun, remember you only need a few sheets. hmph! [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is made with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less. charmin ultra soft. plus you can use four times less. great first gig! let's go! party! awwwww... arigato! we are outta here! party...... finding you the perfect place, every step of the way. hotels.com

. >> what goes around comes around. especially when it comes to history. it may be that no decaade has hd a bigger impact on our 21st century life than the '80s. the pop culture volcano and shows us why the eruption is far from forgotten. it was the era of big hair and big cell phones. of ronald reagan -- >> tear down this wall. >> reporter: and rubick's cube. michael jackson moon walked and michael jordan flew. >> a one man kind of flying over everybody else. that in many ways exemplifies the 1980s and that notion of me, me, me, i, i, i. >> the only thing that hasn't change a bit since the 1980s is rob lowe's face. >> in many ways, we're telling

the stiermry we started telling in the 1980s. >> so many things we come to take for granted like cell phones or pop stars for charity or the end of the cold war all happened in a really short space of time. real moments of exuberance for the whole world. >> reporter: the apple in the '80s garden of evil was the mcintosh. just as pacman was the precursor to "call of duty" and the other games today. sure jane fonda's workout may look dated today. >> it's the ultimate 90-day home fitness program. >> t three decades from now. >> and "wall street." >> greed, for the lack of a better word, is good. >> unfortunately gordon gecko is

still so relevant. >> i want a mobile phone. >> they made a sequel 20 years later. soundtrack of the decade? well, disco died. and the flock of seagulls has since ran away. ♪ and i ran i ran so far away ♪ >> but musically, a new spaceship landed in the late 1970s, bringing with it a whole new sound of age on mtv. run dmc taught us to "walk this way." ♪ . >> the thing that's good about that old school hip-hop from the '80s is this -- whether you're in the dirt poor ghetto or whether you're in beverly hills, whether you're homeless in the city or whether you're in high school or college.

when you hear that old school hip-hop music, you can relate because it's not just about one class of people. it's about all of us. >> we're now as far away from the '80s as happy days was from the '50s. >> but you haven't touched your food, dear. >> reporter: the '080s loved th 50s. do you remember "back to the future"? the '80s embodied by michael j. fox. also pretty ambivalent about the '60s. case in point? "fame ties." >> it's about a reaganite kid negatively reacting to his parents' '60s ethos. >> why are we doing this, sdmad cooking is women's work. >> alex p. keaton all grown up, paul ryan. >> it's time now for a retro

edition of tonight's "closing arguments" taking into account all the elements of pop culture. which decade do you think had more bearing on our culture today, the '80s or the '90s? tell us what you think? thanks for watching abc news. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow for the latest on a shooting at a virginia community college. and one newtown, connecticut, mother's plea for tighter gun restrictions. have a great weekend, everyone.