Pellicano scandal: nyt has michael ovitz, brad grey, john mctiernan, chris rock & courtney love on tape with the pelican

My take is that there’s nothing really new in _The New York Times_ Page One article and audiotapes about Michael Ovitz, Brad Grey, John McTiernan, Courtney Love and Chris Rock. But they

_sure_ are interesting. I’ve heard that the Pellicano reporting team of staffer David Halbfinger and freelancer Allison Hope Weiner have been working for months on future stories with _NYT_

Investigations Editor Matthew Purdy, so clearly the paper is taking the Pellicano scandal seriously even now. (Unlike the _LA Times_ which has ceded the story in its own backyard.) Monday’s

_NYT_ article appears aimed at a wider audience in that it’s an explanatory piece about Pellicano’s role in Hollywood. The _NYT_ story comes at an inauspicious time for both Ovitz and Grey.

Ovitz has been trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered career. (Recently, Ovitz has been quietly offering to aid younger journalists who don’t remember his history of media

manipulations.) And Grey is under tremendous pressure at Paramount where only DreamWorks movies have been successful. (Recently, Grey has been the target of vicious rumors which have been

denied by his studio.) Meanwhile, I have always wondered whether Ovitz’s and Grey’s well-known direct contacts with Pellicano would get them into trouble. The private dick goes on trial in

August. But a court hearing tomorrow will determine if the proceeding is delayed yet again. UPDATE: I HEAR THE PELLICANO TRIAL HAS BEEN POSTPONED YET AGAIN, FROM AUGUST TO FEBRUARY 26, 2008.