Brad's Pelican Problem, Part II: The Return Of The Hollywood Dick
In her new column, the LA Weekly's Nikki Finke generously offers to help jog the memory of amnesiac Paramount emperor Brad Grey, who recently told the NY Times that he was only "casually acquainted" with Wiretapping Trial of the Century subject Anthony Pellicano, by reminding him about a project the two men were involved with in the past:
But I ve learned that, a few years ago, when Grey was still the head of Brillstein-Grey, his successful talent management and production company, he and the William Morris Agency pitched HBO about doing an original series with the working title Hollywood Dick based on Pellicano s life and work. Sources tell me that the show included Pellicano as a consultant.
Oh, and then there s the fact that Bernie Brillstein, Grey s longtime partner, confirmed to me that the location of the old Brillstein Co., the forerunner to Grey s firm (and where Grey was mentored from 1986 until 1991, when he became a 50-50 name partner) was just two doors down the hallway from Pellicano s office in the same 9200 Sunset Boulevard building. Brillstein later took over Pellicano s space in an expansion.
In Grey's defense, it's certainly common practice in Hollywood to refuse to recognize a former partner's existence the instant a shared project is passed on, a custom resulting in furtive lunches at The Ivy quickly eaten behind a protective shield of menus just to avoid uncomfortable moments explaining why months of phone calls went unreturned. You really can't fault a bigshot like him for following protocol.