THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 18, 1994 TAG: 9407160046
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
THERE IS A screenwriter in this town named Stephen Harrigan who is slaving away at his word processor to produce a script about the double homicide for which O.J. Simpson has been arrested and jailed here.
Fox Broadcasting wants very much to make a TV movie about these murders, and Fox wants to shoot it in a hurry, like right now. Sandy Grushow, president of the Fox Entertainment Group, admitted to television writers gathered here last week for the fall previews that viewers could be seeing the O.J. movie as early as next month.
``Late summer, early fall,'' he said, acknowledging that Harrigan is the writer and that a director has been chosen. ``We will not make the decision to do the movie until we see the script. We intend to do an appropriate, responsible, good movie-of-the-week. We're not going to try to suggest guilt or innocence.''
Gushow was asked if it wasn't just a teensy bit exploitative, to say nothing of acting in bad taste, to make a film about a man who is still many weeks away from standing trial. The Fox boss said, ``While we have no intention of getting into the business of making movies about subjects torn from the headlines, we believe that a movie about Simpson is justified because the American public is fascinated by the story surrounding him.''
The irony here is that Simpson more than likely would have appeared in prime time on network television in the months to come as a regular on an NBC series about Navy SEALS. When your humble columnist meets the NBC brass later on the press tour, he will find out if the Peacock network is still interested in the Navy series without Simpson.
The people who live in this sprawl of freeways must be truly fascinated by the deaths of Simpson's former wife and a friend, Ronald Goldman. If they were not so intrigued by the troubles that have fallen upon the head of O.J., the celebrated athlete, why then is local TV hitting the story so hard?
They do an awful lot of local TV news here - some stations sign on with news as early as 4 p.m. - and on most of the newscasts I've watched, the Simpson story is the top story.
``We have exclusives,'' the stations say, as the tape rolls.
Police recover nearly $10,000 and a passport from that famous white Ford Bronco of Simpson's!
WNBC learns that the pistol that Simspon allegedly held to his head while riding in the Bronco is a 9mm Baretta registered to an LAPD lieutenant!
Another channel reports that early or ``fast-track'' DNA tests of blood found on a glove located near the bodies came up O.J. positive!
And there are stories and more stories about the dog that led neighbors to the bodies. The headline: The dog is fine and being cared for at the Simpson home.
And in the Brentwood neighborhood where Simpson and his former wife lived, the people come to gawk at the streets now known the world over - Simpson's home is on Rockingham, Nicole Simpson's condo on Gorham.
The residents of that neighborhood refer to the visitors as ``lookie-loos'' and wish they would all go away. One woman said she feels like a prisoner in her own home.
The Fox broadcasters are looking for a little push, a little something extra to put on the air in the first week of September, when Fox launches its new season. Just think of the blockbuster it would be if Fox could get the Simpson movie on the same week the network begins the National Football League telecasts. Wow!
The Simpson film is likely to be shallow and as empty as the Rose Bowl the day after the World Cup final, but think of the ratings it will bring.
So, get cracking on that script, Mr. Harrigan. MEMO: Television Critic Larry Bonko is in Los Angeles for the twice-yearly
press tour.
by CNB