Two Halves Of One Whole

Variety's Gabriel Snyder provides the latest news on the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping case--laying out an interesting dichotomy that now surrounds the story:

Helmer John McTiernan pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of lying to the F.B.I. about whether he knew that disgraced private eye Anthony Pellicano had conducted illegal wiretaps on his behalf.

McTiernan's two court appearances on Monday were short and predictable: In the morning, his lawyer announced that the helmer had reached a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, then haggled over the terms of his client's $50,000 bond. The guilty plea was entered later in the afternoon.

McTiernan's plea follows a story in last Friday's New York Times reiterating Pellicano's dealings with Paramount chairman Brad Grey and Mike Ovitz. The story did not allege that either man had been involved with illegal activity. It nonetheless drew more attention than the legal troubles of McTiernan, who directed a string of hits in the 1980s and 1990s including "Die Hard" and "The Hunt for the Red October."

But the two tales are emblematic of how the saga sparked by Pellicano has seemed to have split in two halves: One is a plodding, methodical federal investigation into the down-and-dirty dealings of divorces and business disputes. The other half is still mostly a search by the media for that elusive next shoe to drop.

Publications ranging from the frothy to the sober have predicted that the tentacles of the Pellicano case will ensnare Hollywood's power centers. This week, Entertainment Weekly dubbed the saga "Hollywood's Watergate," writing, "if it weren't for the palm trees and Hummer limos, you'd swear this was Washington D.C., circa 1972."

Last week, the Economist issued its own dispatch from L.A., intoning that the "wiretapping scandal threatens to engulf Hollywood's elite."

But so far, the long-running federal investigation has failed to live up to such billings. Even as the indictments pile up -- Pellicano and six others were named in February in a 110-count racketeering and conspiracy indictment -- the case has primarily skirted along the edges of the industry.

Before McTiernan was indicted, the Los Angeles Times dubbed Keith Carradine (who counts a brief run on HBO's "Deadwood" as one of his most prominent recent roles) as "the biggest name allegedly wiretapped by Anthony Pellicano to file a civil lawsuit." Carradine alleged that Pellicano and others wiretapped his phone while going through divorce proceedings.

McTiernan seemed to overtake that honor yesterday when Reuters carried news of his guilty plea as "the biggest Hollywood name indicted so far in the wiretapping scandal."

The helmer plead guilty as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. According to the feds, McTiernan allegedly hired Pellicano to conduct wiretaps on Charles Roven, who produced who produced [the modern version of] "Rollerball" which McTiernan helmed.

Whoa Nellie! I wasn't aware that Keith Carradine's name came up before in the investigation...I have been a fan of his work for a long time. In particular, I enjoyed him in the '96 film 2 Days in the Valley and the '77 classic The Duellists.

As for McTiernan, it's a shame that such a talented guy, had to get caught up in something like this at all...

Like the media, I'm waiting for other industry "shoes" to drop, as the story moves ahead.