Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412060046
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VERNE GAY NEWSDAY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's called unemployment.
Since shooting ``The O.J. Simpson Story'' last summer, Hosea - who portrays Simpson - has gone on auditions for movies, TV shows and commercials. The number of jobs he's landed: zilch.
``I am frustrated,'' he says. ``I've done this movie but people look at me like I've stolen Girl Scout cookies.'' Hosea, who also has a recurring role in Fox's ``Living Single,'' says he suspects he can't land a job because everyone's fearful the movie will become a huge scandal in itself - and by association, so will he. He says he just wishes Fox would air it. That way, people could see ``that we're not exploiting anyone.''
But Hosea and everyone else associated with the most controversial TV movie in many years, may have to wait a long time. Fox continues to say that it will air after jury selection on the Simpson trial is complete, most likely during the February sweeps.
Meanwhile, Hosea, executive producer Robert Lovenheim and writer Stephen Harrigan are angry about both Fox's delaying, and the network's decision to severely cut a crucial scene - in which Simpson savagely beats Nicole after a New Year's Eve party. But most of all, they're worried that when their film finally airs, it will be dated and - worse - irrelevant.
Lovenheim, who has now relocated to Paris, said in a phone interview that ``I hear the tentative air date is January, but I have my doubts. There are doubts that Fox will ever air this movie because the longer they wait, the more current events will overtake it.'' He adds, ``I'm very upset over this and so is the director [Jerry Freedman] and so is the writer [Harrigan]. It's a question of our own ethics. If you look at any of our credits, none of us are people who are in the exploitation business, or people who do things that are ripped from the headlines.''
That may be Lovenheim's belief. It is not Fox's. ``The O.J. Simpson Story'' was TV exploitation in its purest form, generating plenty of heat at the network for months. The movie was conceived by Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who, according to sources, saw it as a promotional platform for NFL telecasts. (The original air date was Sept. 13). Murdoch figured it would get huge ratings, particularly if it aired before the trial began.
But Murdoch also wanted something that was journalistically credible, the producer says. Specifically, he told Lovenheim it was not to be ``a valentine to O.J.'' Murdoch, however, met resistance. Sandy Grushow, then president of Fox Entertainment, protested that the film should not be made, arguing it could prejudice the trial. Murdoch reportedly ignored him. (Neither Murdoch nor Grushow could be reached.)
Murdoch later agreed to delay it to November when Simpson's attorney, Robert Shapiro, pressured the network. But Shapiro's demands were the least of the movie's problems. Grushow left the network (his departure was unrelated) and was replaced by former CBS executive John Matoian. Like Grushow, Matoian also hated the ``ripped-from-the-headline'' movie, says Lovenheim.
In their zeal for ``credibility,'' Lovenheim and Harrigan shot a violent scene - based on detailed police records - that shows Simpson savagely kicking and beating Nicole (played by Jessica Tuck). Fox decided to cut most of the scene.
Lovenheim says it was ``a pretty brutal scene, but the picture hinged on it. The police report, he says, ``included details of punching her, hitting her on the kitchen floor, kicking her in the ribs ... and when we shot that scene, I was standing there along with two other researchers making sure that everything was done exactly as reported.
``One of the things we wanted to do was a film about spousal abuse,'' he adds. ``And the evidence is overwhelming that there was a great deal of physical abuse ... So dramatically, the film leads up to this scene.''
So will ``The O.J. Simpson Story'' ever air? Probably. Fox spent too much money on it.
Lovenheim isn't so sure. Because all the Fox executives who supported the movie are now gone, ``the film is an orphan,'' he says. ``What's the old phrase, `success has many fathers ...' This isn't a failure, but it sure doesn't belong to anybody.''
by CNB