this is "nightline" -- >> tonight. >> god saved my life. >> those words uttered by an american doctor, who survived the almost always deadly ebola virus. >> today is a miraculous day. >> tonight, as he goes home for a joyful family reunion, was it the medicine? or a medical miracle? and introducing a tougher, racier jessica alba. tonight, she reveals the secrets to that sculpted body and the moves in "sin city." what does she think of all of the nudity in the revenge

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good evening. thanks for joining us. tonight, two lucky americans are celebrating a full recovery from ebola, the deadly contagion that has over 50,000 people under

quarantine. as these survivors reunite with their loved ones, many are wondering if it was an experimental treatment that saved their lives. and could this new medicine hold the key to stopping their virus? here's abc's steve osunsami. >> today is a miraculous day. i'm thrilled to be alive, to be well, and be reunited with my family. >> reporter: it feels like a miracle of medicine. two american missionaries fighting one of the most deadly diseases on the planet, ebola. today, doctors declared both of them healthy and virus-free. >> my dear friend, nancy writebol, wanted me to share her gratitude for all of the prayers on her behave. as she walked out, all she could say was, to god be the glory. >> reporter: nancy's son, one of the many so glad her mom could come home. >> that was an emotional time. dad told me about it. they hadn't been able to see

each other for several weeks. she was able to come out of the bed and they put their hands together on the glass. one of those serene moments. >> reporter: for the last three weeks, dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol for fighting for their lives. a plane flew them to atlanta. they had to recover in an isolation unit. quarantined from the world. >> we had 5 physicians, 21 nurses who cared for these 2 patients during their hospitalization. >> reporter: the doctors here worked around the clock with the best medical equipment available to keep them alive, while the families prayed for the best. today, those prayers were answered. doctors gave both patients a clean bill of health. >> there's no evidence that once a patient had cleared the virus from their blood that they will relapse. >> i am forever thankful to god for sparing my life. and i'm glad for any attention my sickness has attracted to the plight of west africa in the

midst of this epidemic. >> reporter: with this amazing recovery comes new hope in an experimental treatment for the disease. dr. brantly and writebol are the first two patients to receive a serum called zmapp. it's an antibody serum, designed to help the body attack the ebola virus, speeding up the body's process of destroying the virus. but zmapp is totally untested and unproven. >> i think it's far too soon to say that this drug had anything to do with their cure. at this point, we don't know if the drug helped, if it hurt or had no effect whatsoever. that's why they have to study it. >> reporter: while doctors in american have to figure out if the drug makes a difference, at the heart of the ebola yououtbr, the epidemic is out of control. ground zero, liberia, where they could use the serum and a miracle. >> how do you feel about the idea that an experimental drug

could be brought to liberia. >> that would be wonderful. right now, it's going to spread. becoming an international problem. to have that and it's working, that would be wonderful for our people. >> i think it would be a good thing. it's, like, it's the better of two evils. you don't do it, people are going to die. >> reporter: in liberia, it doesn't look hopeful. hospitals are few and full. this is what passing for bedside care, holding units for people sick with the disease. with few doctors struggling to find good and clean equipment, it's no wonder the virus is spreading. ebola is highly contagious. it kills up to 90% of the people it infects. and spreads through contact of bodily fluids like blood, sweat, vomit. symptoms begin with fever, vomiting and blood loss.

death comes quickly, often in days. anyone who can survive it needs constant medical attention. and here, that's a rare commodity. patients wait for hours, even days, to get treatment. some will die right here. >> how do you feel about the fact that people have to wait outside because there's no capacity? >> that's a horrible feeling, to be a relative, to be a loved one, to be -- it's really nothing much we can do. we have a few mattresses. going to put the people out in the hallway. >> if anything, i will see a doctor who will help me. >> reporter: she has traveled to the holding unit with six children. she's lost her mother, husband, sister and brother to ebola. and now, her nephew is sick, too. >> i am with him right now. because he's sick. you see?

. >> reporter: health care workers here have become targets of violence and anger. families blame them for spreading the disease or not doing more to control it. angry residents even attack the unit. forcing it to close. >> in this kind of epidemic that we're having, hospitals, should each have a holding unit. >> does anyone have that in town? >> we do not have it here. >> reporter: two, new centers opened this week, workers are overwhelmed and undersupplied. there seems no end in sight to the suffering from this epidemic. >> i think if we really wanted to see a major difference in africa, we would need to send over thousands of health care providers to be able to provide the care that these people really need. >> reporter: thousands of miles

away, dr. brantly and nancy writebol count their blessings. tonight, they are reunited with their families and asking for prayers for this other side of the world. for "nightline," i'm steve osunsami, in atlanta. up next, i get to sit down with some of the hollywood heartthrobs who mount a passionate defense of all of the sex and violent in "sin city," the second time around. mary has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts her at a greater risk of stroke. rome? sure! before xarelto®, mary took warfarin, which required monthly trips to get her blood tested. but that's history. back to the museum? not this time! now that her doctor switched her to once-a-day xarelto®, mary can leave those monthly trips behind. domestic flight? not today! like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib

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you know, for someone with such a celebrated figure, jessica alba says she's a bit prudish about flaunting it. that is, unless she's in character as one of the sexiest, fearless good girls gone bad. i sat down with her co-stars, as they launch the wildly anticipated sequel to "sin city." they're hoping to reinvent the comic movie genre. but did they succeed? jessica alba knows how to work the curves of her physique.

i have to ask the questions tha. you had two kids and those abs? what the heck, man? >> jennifer johnson. she's choreographer. so much of it was getting comfortable dancing. i'm not a dancer. getting comfortable on stage. and being able to go there and really kind of own it. >> reporter: and the frequent cover girl doesn't disappoint. playing an exotic dancer in "sin city: a dame to kill for." >> i know exactly where i am. i know exactly what i am. >> reporter: jessica's character, nancy, is starred by the loss of her love, hartigan, bruce willis. >> so devoted to her man. and then, to have her heart broken and to be crushed and sort of like spoiled. >> reporter: that's when it turns gritty. horrifyingly edgy.

it's jessica alba like you've never seen her before. the movie is chock full of metaphor. what does it mean that she cuts her hair, cuts herself? >> yeah, it's rad. >> crazy's sounding pretty good right now. >> she's shedding people's perception of that sweetness. >> reporter: going from grieving lover to vengeful killer is going against type for this wholesome mother of two. you described yourself in some articles as a prude. that playing a stripper and being overtly sexual is not really your scene. >> no. >> reporter: and yet, you push the envelope for this particular character. >> yeah. it's fun. that's why it was so fun. it's the opposite of who i am. i run a company and have kids. >> reporter: that company is the honest company, which makes nontoxic, eco-friendly baby products. and jessica is at the helm, as ceo. her reality is a far cry from the fantasy world she inhabits on the revved-up take on film

noir. >> it's real. i can watch it. i normally have a hard time watching me. but i don't feel like there's any of me up there. it's nancy. >> reporter: it's not just nancy. "sin city," opening tomorrow, is bursting with epic and raunchy characters, straight out of the graphic novel. >> shall we? >> reporter: and yet these cartoons-come-to-life are played by hollywood heavyweights. even a cameo from the nearly unrecognizable, lady gaga. >> this won't take you very far. >> sweetheart, it's going to take me to the moon. >> reporter: the characters are also into seedy sex and stomach-churning violence. >> this violence is palpable and fun to watch because it's not realistic.

>> reporter: even though you're being tortured? >> it's got a knowing humor to it. >> reporter: gordon levitt plays a charmed gambler. but greed and arrogance lead him to beat the wrong guy at poker. >> this boy is good. >> reporter: then, there's josh brolin's tortured character, whose love for his ex, is leading him to depression. >> it's like a perfectetaphor for addiction. he sees her and that's all he needs. and he gets sucked right in. >> right there is a dame to kill for. >> reporter: and so does the viewer, who is sucked in by filmmaker robert rodriguez. perhaps best known for his cult hits like "dusk till dawn." and "spy kids." >> really starting to tick me off. >> reporter: rodriguez doesn't just direct, he shoots, edits,

even composes the movie's music. and he uses the newest green screen to create this fantasy netherworld, like diving into a cartoon. >> i call it the dream screen. it's anything you want it to be. and you can move so fast and keep an actor in a flow because you don't have to change locations. you're going into this sort of magical dreamscape of a world. it's like being a kid and playing pretend. and i love that. >> reporter: and yet, the explicit sexuality is far from child's play. in fact, it's a former bond girl from "casino royale," that steals the show. >> she's kind of a psychopath. >> do me one last favor, lover. stay still long enough for me to blow your brains out. >> reporter: what was it like to play a wicked creech center. >> ava is pure evil.

and it's fun to play somebody that is free and irreverent. sometimes i'm really shy. >> reporter: she may be shy, but not about appearing naked in the film, multiple times. was that hard at all? >> of course. i don't know one actor that enjoys a nudity scene. you want to die. but for ava, nudity is a weapon, to get what she wants and become numb. you just do it. you forget in some weird way that you are naked. >> reporter: ironically, though she's not naked on the movie's poster, it sparked controversy, when the motion picture association of america banned it. >> on the poster, it's really suggestive. but you don't really see anything. and i find it sexy in a very tasteful way. >> reporter: eva's co-star came to her defense. >> we love in a prude country. they would rather send kids to

war than show a woman's breast, which is something that's beautiful. this speaks to our ridiculous regulations in this country and priorities, frankly. >> reporter: how old will your children have to be before they're allowed to see this movie? >> i think between 16 and 18. >> reporter: and yet, they never saw "spy kids" until your parents let them see it. >> i know. my parents. >> reporter: but young kids are really not the target audience for this movie. thousands of fan of the cult hit stood in line for hours at this year's comic-con, after nearly a decade of anticipation for this sequel. fans all clamoring to descend into the decadent darkness of "sin city." >> you have to show the dark side to show that redemption, proving that you're worth a damn. you have to go down deep and dark and descend, in order to come up. whoa. up next, from your real best

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we're about to witness the upside of the ice bucket challenge. it's been everywhere, from your news feed to the newspaper. and just when we're all wondering, what's it all for, the guy you're about to meet comes to the rescue. here's abc's john donvan. >> reporter: okay. so, you've seen celebrities do it. and news personalities. and athletes. and a president. even puppets are doing it. and you know why. social networks. one wet head challenges another. >> i challenge -- >> i nominate --

>> nominate -- >> i challenge you -- >> reporter: results, whole chains. but what is it, really? everyone knows it's for a.l.s., the rare disease. three letters that never had this much visibility before. but anthony carbohal, when he took the challenge himself, had a different idea in mind. his video goes on to let you meet his mother. she has a.l.s. she cannot speak. and anthony's point. the ice watter is all fun. but what it's for is hard. very hard, when it's in the family. >> a.l.s. runs in my family. my grandmother had it. she was a second mother to me. my mother was diagnosed when i was in high school. and i was diagnosed at 26 years old. it's so [ bleep ]. you have no idea.

>> reporter: anthony's video is filled with some lang silences. they say so much. and as good as anthony looks right now, he's feeling it already. >> they're getting white. eventually, i won't be able to use my arms or hands at all. >> reporter: he doesn't want to be a downer about this. so, he goes on to issue his own challenge. >> i nominate ellen degeneres. you should do it, girl. >> reporter: as far as the challenge carnival goes, he's all for it. >> you have no idea how ever, single challenge makes me feel. lifts my spirits. lifts every single a.l.s. patient's spirits. >> reporter: it's okay to laugh. it's good to laugh. but it's good, in anthony's view, to remember why. >> you're truly making a difference. and we're so, so grateful. >> reporter: and for "nightline," i'm john donvan, in

washington. >> and just today, ellen degeneres accepted anthony's challenge and invited him to be on her first show in the fall. thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always, we're online at abcnews.com. good night, america. let's go. come on. it's time for school. i'm sick! yesterday he said he was sick, and last night he's runninaround with a cape on, goinin' "whoo-whoo" okay. last night you're runnin' around with a cape on, goin' "whoo-whoo." he's not gonna get away with it again. you're not gettin' away with that again. don't just repeat what i say!

no, don't go back-- did you do your homework? did he do his homework? he said he didn't have any. and you fell for that? oh, boy, i am gonna lie to you more. mike. michl, did you have homework due? leave me alone! you see? awright, that's it. i know this game. i invented it! ally: the bus is coming! awright, michael, the bus is coming. i'm not fooling around. you gotta get up. come on. michael, listen-- no!!! if you miss that bus, i'm gonna have to drive you to school and i'm gonna be late. i don't care! u don't care, huh? how about i pick you up and i carry you to the bus in your pajamas, huh?! maybe you care about that! go away!!! okay. awright, that's it. ray, that's not a good idea. you got into this, we're gonna do it my way. ally:: the bus is here! hold that bus! help me. help me. bite his hands. just let him go. you asked for my help, this is how i do it.