O.J. Lawyer: He's a Sociopath | Introducing Stevie Wonder! | Jennifer Aniston Is Doing Just Great | Obama's Secret Soundtrack | Inaugural Mess: Logistics Memo
Time heals some wounds, so Ronald Goldman’s dad, Fred, might be interested in this. I ran into O.J. Simpson’s former criminal attorney, Robert Shapiro, night before last at a party celebrating Mickey Rourke’s Golden Globe win. I asked Shapiro, who led the Simpson “Dream Team” in 1994-95 that got Simpson acquitted of double murder, what he thought of his former client in retrospect.
Shapiro was quick to respond. “He’s a sociopath,” Shapiro said, surprisingly. This was just after I told him of seeing F. Lee Bailey last fall, and that Bailey was still defending Simpson.
Did Shapiro always think Simpson was a sociopath, I wondered? Shapiro smiled. “What do you think?” he answered rhetorically.
If someone relates this anecdote to Simpson, now at last in prison but not for the murders, he may well surmise that his staunchest former defender is finally ‘fessing up about his feelings. Too late, but still, it’s nice to know.
Shapiro is not completely removed from the Simpson world. He has remained very friendly with the famous children of his late friend, attorney Robert Kardashian. The famous children, of course, are the publicity hungry Kardashian sisters, daughters of Kris Kardashian who is married to former great athlete Bruce Jenner. Jenner’s son, Brody, of course, is also a press junkie, seeking fame for doing little of much value other than dating and having a reality show. It’s quite a group.
Anyway, few people may realize that the Kardashian girls — also reality TV stars, Playboy models, etc- are the daughters of O.J.’s best friend, a lawyer who helped him skirt the double murder charges but later claimed he had doubts about Simpson’s innocence. Kris Kardashian Jenner was at one time Nicole Simpson’s best friend.
What ties Shapiro to the Kardashians now? Robert tells me he’s backing Kim Kardashian in a Web site called shoedazzle.com. He says, “It’s discount high end shoes.” Well, it’s nice to see they’ve all stayed so friendly. The shoes are for women, so Bruno Magli — the brand O.J. wore the night of the murders — won’t be featured.
The Mickey Rourke party, by the way, was hosted by Jason Binn and L.A. Confidential magazine at Gordon Ramsay’s new restaurant in the London Hotel — formerly the Bel Age — in West Hollywood. What a place! Ramsay, the famed Brit chef, was there, too, and let us taste some of his mouth watering morsels. It was a Monday night and the place was packed. This is certainly not how I remembered the beloved Bel Age. It’s amazing what a coat of paint and a good cook can do to revive a dowager!
Mickey, by the way, tells me he has no memory of his Golden Globes speech. He also has no idea what the producers of “Iron Man 2” have in store for him. He also has no memory of presenting at the Gotham Awards back in November with Patricia Clarkson. But it’s all good, and everyone loves him again.
Also spotted at the Rourke/Binn soiree: the hardest ex-exec in the record biz, Charlie Walk, late of Epic Records. The word is that Charlie has just signed a deal with Endemol Productions, the world’s biggest producer of reality TV shows. He’s going to report to that company’s U.S. chief, Dave Goldberg, and already has several big projects cooking. At Epic, Charlie had hit after hit, so the producer of “Big Brother” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has a lot to get ready for!
Here’s a FOX 411 exclusive: the first listen of Stevie Wonder’s new single, “All About the Love Again.” It’s from the album being released next Tuesday in honor of Barack Obama’s inauguration, and it’s a totally new song, not even the one Stevie performed with Take 6 at the Democratic National Convention last August.
“All About the Love Again” is a tremendous pop record, better than just about anything on the radio now. Wouldn’t it be great if radio programmers just started playing it because they liked it, because Stevie is one of those seven new “wonders” of the world?
The album it’s from, as I told you on Monday, was produced by Steve McKeever and Bonnie Goldberg for McKeever’s Hidden Beach Records. I broke that story on Monday but I’m told McKeever is worried people will think he was the source for the story. Don’t worry, he wasn’t. I’ve never been able to get this guy to return one of my phone calls! LOL!
By the way, the folks at Hidden Beach are apparently nervous that I said Warner M. Group wouldn’t license songs to them. They point out that Warner’s Atlantic Records gave them tracks from Death Cab for Cutie and Wilco from their Nonesuch label. I’ve been told a different story, but I’m happy to include their version.
Anyway, Stevie’s got a great song on the CD, and there are some others. We’ll try and get another one up for streaming tomorrow. In the meantime, let Stevie tell you that the Obama years will be “All About the Love Again.”
Jennifer Aniston Is Doing Just Great
In case you were wondering, Jennifer Aniston is doing just fine, thanks.
We ran into her last Friday night at a private charity cocktail party given at the home of her pal Courteney Cox’s talent agent Eric Kranzler in West Hollywood. The charity is called Feeding America, and it’s attracted the likes of David Arquette, Courteney’s actor husband, and singer Sheryl Crow.
The cocktail party was like a who’s who from the pages of People or US Weekly, except without the innuendo and speculation that usually accompanies pictures of celebs in those magazines. There was Leonardo DiCaprio chatting with Kevin Connolly, and model girlfriend Bar Rafaeli discussing the situation in Israel, her home. Sheryl Crow was talking politics with Hill Harper, while Gwen Stefani was explaining to yours truly how she and No Doubt will go on tour soon before they record a new album. Stefani’s husband, Gavin Rossdale, and I talked about the old days of his 90s rock group Bush, and so on.
There were plenty of interesting people to talk to, including my old friend Theresa Lowrey, whose story Courtney turned into an excellent short film, plus Michael Chiklis was accepting kudos from everyone concerning his series, "The Shield," plus his old one, "The Commish," as well as Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer, Universal chief Ron Meyer (Jennifer’s dad), as well as Julia Louis Dreyfus and Brad Hall, Josh Groban, Lukas Haas, and musician Ben Harper.
Here’s one little headline we got out of the event: Courteney is getting ready to shoot the pilot for a new Bill Lawrence sitcom for ABC. Lawrence is the creator of “Scrubs,” which Cox just guest starred on. Anyway, believe it or not, she’s going to have a 17-year-old son.
“It’s not so crazy,” Courteney reassured me. “I have younger friends with teenagers that age. I’ll just be a very hot cougar.” Yowza!
And then there was Aniston. She turns 40 next month and looks about 30. Plastic surgery? For all the tabloid speculation, Jen looks pretty normal. She also acts pretty normal. What a disappointment! She’s just a lovely young woman with a good sense of humor and lots of close friends.
We talked about the success of “Marley and Me,” which she said was a hard movie to make. We talked about her dad, John, who’s still on ”Days of Our Lives” — and is now 75.
“He’s amazing, he just keeps going,” she said. She told me about a movie she made called “Traveling” with Aaron Eckhart, and said that she’s looking for scripts.
"How is she doing?" I asked. (I mean, considering the onslaught of publicity, the ex-husband, his baby-producing lady friend, the singer-boyfriend, etc.)
“I’m doing fine, great, really,” Jen said. And she meant it. She certainly looked it, too, as she and Courteney made plans to take some friends out for a Chinese dinner in West Hollywood.
You’re thinking: you come to Hollywood looking for dirt, and this is what you find? A group of friends raising money for a charity from a nice suburban-looking house. Jennifer Aniston, warm and funny, a nice person to talk to on a Friday night. And not a telephoto lens in sight!
Here’s a flash from the music world: while the rest of us were enjoying the holidays, Hidden Beach Records honcho Steve McKeever and movie music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg have been hard at work putting together a special CD tied to Barack Obama’s inauguration.
The very cool “Obama Soundtrack” will hit stores next Tuesday, the 20th, even though it was finished this past weekend. Talk about hot off the presses!
The CD features a dozen stars including Stevie Wonder, who contributed a totally new track called “All About the Love Again.” The single, destined to be Wonder’s biggest hit in more than a decade, is a sizzling fresh slice of R&B, very updated and ready to embraced in remixes, etc.
The other artists on the album include Maroon 5 with their own new track, “Pure Imagination (2009),” plus will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, India.Arie, Melissa Etheridge, Usher, James Taylor, Jennifer Hudson, Death Cab for Cutie, Ozomatli, Robin Thicke, The Tony Rich Project, Wilco, Bebe Winans, rapper Common, Lionel Richie, and Melissa Etheridge.
McKeever and Greenberg, with an even bigger committee, worked tirelessly to put together a combination of artists and songs based on the songs’ themes and lyrics, too.
Unlike most compilation CDs, the Obama Soundtrack is full of new, catchy very hot material — no retreads or musty pieces from the vaults. All the artists, I am told by sources, were paid on the same level no matter how big or small they considered themselves. And that, I’ve heard in the music industry, caused a little problem as the always charming Warner M. Group refused to make deals for any of their artists including anything from the Atlantic vaults. I’m sure, in fact, that Aretha Franklin has no idea that requests for a couple of her classic tracks like “A Change is Gonna Come”—were declined. The M in WMG now stands for Miserly.
But the Obama Soundtrack should also be collector’s item purchase since it includes a DVD of several speech clips from the new US president. The CD, by the way, intersperses pieces of Obama speeches throughout the new songs. For example, I don’t know much about the Tony Rich project, but I love their contribution called “The Dream is Real.”
Inaugural Mess: Logistics Memo
Here’s a memo sent to this column yesterday regarding logistics and security for the Obama Inauguration. Are you sure you still want to go to Washington for this? Even members of Congress are getting a tough time.
RE: Logistics and Security for the Presidential Inauguration
All gates for the entrance to the Swearing-In Ceremony will open at 8 a.m. All Swearing-In Tickets will be color-coded. Ticket-holders much enter through the coordinating color entrance for access to their standing/sitting area. EVERYONE will need to go through a line.
Your House ID will NOT grant you access to the U.S. Capitol. It will be closed to everyone but Members wearing their pins and spouses wearing their pins. Members and their Spouses will be requested to enter the Capitol through the Rayburn or Cannon Tunnels or by the South doors of the Capitol. Again, it was emphasized that they wear their pins for entry.
The music will start at 9:45 a.m.
10:00 a.m. Members will assemble in the House Chamber.
10:20 a.m. Members will depart the House Chamber for the Platform.
10:30 a.m. Members will arrive at the Platform.
10:00 a.m. Spouses will assemble at H-324 of the Capitol.
10:15 a.m. Spouses will be escorted to the seated section FOUR on the lawn.
An Inaugural Lunch will be served for members and spouses only.
A Charter Bus will transport members and spouses to the parade after the Swearing-In. NO ONE ELSE CAN RIDE THE SHUTTLE.
All major roadways may close early on January 19. They are still formalizing these plans.
The following entrances for driving into the Capitol Compound will be open for Members and Congressional Staff with ID to park their autos (if they normally drive and park): Second and C Streets, SE; First and D Streets, SE, New Jersey and D Streets, SE.
People with disabilities will be allowed special access at South Capitol Street and E and North Capitol Street and E. Their requests must be made ahead of time by calling 202-224-4048.
The US Capitol will be closed to tours from 5:00pm on Saturday, 17 January until 9:00am on Wednesday, January 21, 2009. As you can imagine, Wednesday, January 21 will be very crowded in the US Capitol, so please plan accordingly.
All the regional balls will have staggered start times and the times below are when the doors open:
5 p.m. Home States Ball (HI/IL & DE/PA) at Washington Convention Center
5 p.m. Mid-Atlantic Ball at Washington Convention Center
5 p.m. Mid-West Ball at Washington Convention Center
5 p.m. Western Ball at Washington Convention Center
6 p.m. Military Ball for all service/military both reserved and active duty at the National Building Museum
7 p.m. Youth Ball at the Washington Hilton for those who are 18 to 35 years old
8 p.m. Eastern Ball at Union Station
8 p.m. Southern Ball at the Armory
There will be a National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral at 11:30 a.m.
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