By Linda Deutsch
The Associated Press
Six years ago this summer, O.J. Simpson was a defendant in the
most-watched murder case in American history. Viewers sat glued to
their TV sets as the saga unfolded in what television news
correspondents would dub the Trial of the Century.
Now, a TV miniseries is reproducing the experience and exposing
audiences to what they didn’t see during the yearlong trial:
behind-the-scenes battles and strategy sessions by the defense
“˜”˜dream team” which won Simpson’s
acquittal.
It will air on CBS in November ““ unless O.J. Simpson is
able to stop it.
Simpson sent his lawyers to court this month seeking a
preliminary injunction to halt production on “˜”˜American
Tragedy.” So far, his 11th-hour legal bid has been
futile. A judge refused to issue an injunction, saying he’d
look at the script and revisit the matter.
With luck, production will be completed by the time
Simpson’s suit gets back to court on Sept. 6.
What is this movie, and why does Simpson want to shut it
down?
A visit to the soundstage in North Hollywood is an adventure in
déjà vu. Actors bear an eerie resemblance to Marcia
Clark, Robert Shapiro and Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, among
others. The courtroom where the case was tried has been duplicated
in every detail, including floral arrangements that often decorated
the judge’s bench.
The guiding hand behind the production is Lawrence Schiller, who
wrote the book “˜”˜American Tragedy” with
James Willwerth based on information from his
“˜”˜mole” on the defense team, lawyer Robert
Kardashian.
Schiller is directing from a script written by Pulitzer
Prize-winner Norman Mailer, and he has assembled a top-notch cast
headed by Ving Rhames as Johnnie Cochran Jr., Christopher Plummer
as F. Lee Bailey and Ron Silver as Robert Shapiro.
Schiller, who collaborated with Simpson on a jailhouse book,
“˜”˜I Want to Tell You,” recently directed
another miniseries from his book “˜”˜Perfect Murder,
Perfect Town,” a recounting of the Jon Benet Ramsey
murder case.
“˜”˜American Tragedy: The Uncensored Story of the
Simpson Defense,” published in 1996, was controversial
from the start: Lawyers felt it invaded Simpson’s
attorney-client privilege of confidentiality. Eight members of the
defense filed affidavits last week saying they had been misled into
giving interviews to Schiller. But the author’s lawyers
pointed out that no one took legal action until the miniseries was
nearly completed.
Schiller says neither Simpson nor anyone else was promised prior
approval on the book or script. Cochran and Shapiro have met with
the actors portraying them, he said.
“˜”˜This story isn’t about O.J. Simpson.
It’s about the lawyers,” Schiller said in an
interview. “˜”˜The public doesn’t know what took
place behind closed doors, how the defense dealt with the evidence,
how they pushed the envelope in the court system. To me, that is
more interesting than anything else.”
Although a Simpson “˜”˜body double” sits
at the counsel table during filming of court sessions, his is not a
speaking role.
If the movie adheres to the book, it will not take a position on
whether Simpson was truly innocent of the murders of his ex-wife,
Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was
acquitted in criminal court and later found liable in civil
court.
“˜”˜This thing about the search for the truth is
laughable,” said Bruno Kirby, who plays attorney Barry
Scheck. “˜”˜In a courtroom, it’s about winning.
Both sides are there to win … I hope this (movie) makes people
look at the system and see that it needs work.”