On the Record · The French Connection
Plus: Harvey Weinstein, but not the one you're thinking of
the true crime that's worth your time
On the Record, the controversial documentary about Russell Simmons’ alleged sexual assault history, made its premiere at Sundance on Saturday. According to filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, they were notified only 20 minutes before the rest of us that Oprah Winfrey, a producer whose support had boosted the doc’s profile to enable distribution on Apple TV+, had backed away from the film.
That departure could arguably have made the movie seem even more in demand, as reviewers packed its screening at the Sundance Film Festival this past weekend, the New York Times reports. “Thanks to Sundance for standing strong and never blinking,” Ziering told the crowd. “These are difficult times. It’s important to stand up for truth, justice and moral authority.”
Writing for Slate, Sam Adams says that the film’s efforts to tie Simmons’ alleged attacks to the overall ethos of 1990s hip-hop culture “can feel awfully broad,” likely one of the reasons Winfrey bowed out of her relationship with the doc. The movie did elicit a standing ovation, Vanity Fair reports, as well as positive reviews from EW and Rolling Stone. Adams feels certain that the scrutiny of the film means that it will likely score a new distribution deal, so soon enough, we’ll be able to judge for ourselves. — EB
One of the cops who broke the case on which The French Connection was based has died. Guys, I feel like a ding-dong for not knowing that The French Connection was based on a true-crime tale! Please don’t judge me!
This NYT obituary of Sonny Grosso, who was the model for Roy Scheider’s character in the film, is an impressive one: Grosso, who died at age 89 just this past week, was a cop who after his retirement consulted on Kojak, Baretta, Night Heat, and The Godfather. He was also an NYPD detective partnered with Edward R. Egan (that’s the real-life Popeye Doyle), and the two of them were drinking at the Copacabana nightclub when they spotted a suspect who eventually led them to the 100-lb heroin shipment that Robin Moore wrote about in his book from which the film was adapted — a book that was not fiction, EVE. The Times obit is good, but for a real slice of Grosso’s life check out his Facebook page, which is loaded with remembrances from friends and fans. I can’t lie, this gave me a little bit of a prickle behind the eyes. — EB
A new book about alleged failures in forensic house-fire investigation has already been optioned for TV adaptation. Burned: A Story of Murder and the Crime That Wasn't comes from Edward Humes, a Pulitzer Prize- winning journo and fixture on the true crime scene. It covers the case of Jo Ann Parks, who was convicted of murder for the death of her three kids in an L.A. house fire in 1989.
Attorneys with the Innocence Project (among others) claim that the science that led to Parks’ life-without-parole sentence was deeply flawed, and say that courts are reluctant to free Parks because to do so might open the door to free other convicted arsonists. Humes offers an excerpt of his book on his site, and it’s pretty darn grabby — and folks with Lion Television USA must agree, because Realscreen reports that the production company is plotting a docuseries based on the book. Exploring the dramatic story of the Parks fire — and the tunnel vision that may have infected the investigation from start to finish — will shine a spotlight on the crisis of flawed forensic science in the courtroom,” Humes said in a press release on the deal. — EB
Over Slack the other day, I complained to Sarah that every time I think I have my life together, another New Yorker arrives in my mailbox. It’s a Sisyphean task, staying on top of that periodical, one that I pay for like some kind of medieval self-flagellator. But it’s all worth it when the magazine runs weird little tidbits like “A Tale of Two Harveys,” an odd and edifying ditty about Harvey Weinstein — not the alleged rapist, but the owner of a Queens-based tuxedo manufacturer who was held for 12 days by kidnappers. I promise you, despite the darkness that infects every captive’s narrative, it’s still the lightest-hearted Harvey Weinstein story you’ll read this week. (Want more? Here’s the 1993 Baltimore Sun report on his rescue, which has an invigorating kicker.) — EB
“Holmes phones it in” is how I denoted this budget item, but what sounds like a diss is merely a fact. As Sarah noted last week, Elizabeth Holmes’s efforts to defend herself in the criminal case brought against her and her company, Theranos, might be more than she can bear financially, as, guess what, lawyers are expensive and without a job she’s not generating much with which to pay them.
This argument was borne out last Thursday, when Holmes reportedly called into her Arizona civil trial sans representation, Bloomberg reports, where she “told the judge she wouldn’t make any arguments, but would rely on arguments made by lawyers for the other defendants in the case.”
One thing recent reports on Holmes’ insolvency haven’t mentioned — perhaps because it’s a bit too Who? Weekly — is that Holmes reportedly married 27-year-old hotel heir named Billy Evans in June. At the time, publications like Business Insider speculated that the two tied the knot because “Holmes needs access to Evans' funds to pay for her legal bills.” Evans, a MIT graduate who as of last April worked at Palo Alto self-driving car startup Luminar Technologies, is the son of William and Susan Evans, the San Diego hoteliers who, one assumes, would expect anyone who marries their son to sign a pretty serious pre-nup. — EB
Speaking of money, marriage, and Theranos — don’t forget that if Best Evidence manages to score 2000 paid subscribers (money), I will leave the dogs with my husband (marriage) as of August 2020 and will cover the Theranos criminal trial from the San Jose courthouse. So, you know the drill…
When Sarah and I discussed Oxygen’s In Ice Cold Blood on The Blotter Presents, I’m pretty sure there was talk of some sort of drinking game. That’s really all it’s good for, as host Ice-T has repeatedly revealed himself to have some retrograde views on transgender folks, and adds little to what could be a fairly decent show about suspects who seem oddly unmoved by their alleged crimes. Somehow, it’s made it to a third season, and this time, "The cases darker…The criminals more obsessive…The crimes more personal.”
If you need a structured event around which to do shots, you could do worse, I suppose? Per E!, the show is back on February 13, making it well-timed for a Valentine’s Day hate-watch. — EB
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Wednesday on Best Evidence: It’s The Blotter Presents, Episode 129, in which first-time guest David J. Roth joins Sarah to discuss Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez and The Pat Tillman Story. Here are the show notes:
The Sports Illustrated review of Killer Inside, which says that the docuseries is too reliant on speculation
The Tillman Story (also embedded above)
Peter Travers’ review of The Tillman Story for Rolling Stone
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