fbi Tagged Articles at Cinematical
John McTiernan Faces Federal Charges
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand »
It's only been a few months since the infamous Hollywood wiretapper and 'Private Eye to the Stars' Anthony Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison for wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud -- but it wasn't just the shady P.I. who got himself into trouble with the Feds, and the AP has confirmed that action director (and former Pellicano client), John McTiernan (Die Hard) has been indicted on two counts of making false statements to federal agents and one count of perjury.The trouble all started when McTiernan testified to Federal agents that he had employed Pellicano during a divorce case, but it was later revealed that McTiernan had actually hired Pellicano to do some snooping on film producer Charles Roven during McTiernan's remake of Rollerball. McTiernan originally had pleaded guilty back in 2006, but when faced with four months in prison, he later changed his mind and even fought his way to the Court of Appeals to be allowed to reverse his guilty plea.
But, in the end it looks like the change of heart didn't matter all that much now that Feds are gunning for the man anyway. McTiernan's lawyer has already gone into spin mode, telling reporters that: "The prosecutor has taken one count and tried to expand it into more charges in a new indictment. There seems to be retribution because John refused to play ball the way the prosecutors wanted and because we were successful on appeal."
But the question for film fans is: just where does that leave McTiernan's upcoming projects? The director already had three films in the pipeline before these charges were announced, and something tells me he won't be able to start work any time soon if he's stuck in a federal prison.
Stay tuned to Cinematical for updates...
McTiernan Charged in Pellicano Case
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand »
Yesterday there emerged yet another wrinkle in what
is rapidly becoming the most fascinating, demented legal mess to hit Hollywood in decades. (Seriously, this is better
than OJ. Nobody's dead, and there are lots more interesting people involved.) As I outlined in February,
PI-to-the-stars Anthony Pellicano is in serious doo doo.
He's been charged with all sorts of sketchiness (the most scandalous involving wire-tapping of Hollywood personalities,
sometimes accompanied by blackmail), and each day of the investigation brings more insanity to light.The latest name to emerge from the murk is a big one: director John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Predator), has been charged with lying to the FBI during his questioning about Pellicano. That's right, the FBI -- this isn't exactly the sort of thing that you can just sweep under the rug. According to court papers, McTiernan told investigators that he knew nothing about Pellicano's wiretapping habits, when in fact he "had hired and paid...Pellicano to conduct a wiretapping of Charles Roven [a producer on McTiernan's Rollerball], and...Pellicano had discussed with defendant McTiernan his interception of...Roven's telephone calls." Oh, you mean wiretapping wiretapping! My bad. I totally knew about that.
McTiernan is due in court later this month; more updates on the insanity as they come.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
