John McTiernan Charged With Lying To Pellicano Investigation, Directing 'Rollerball'
The Anthony Pellicano Wiretapping Trial of the Century has finally netted its first big Hollywood fish, as Predator/Die Hard/Last Action Hero/Thomas Crown Affair director John McTiernan has been charged with lying to the feds about his involvement with Pellicano, the wiretappingest (why do we love that word so much?) private dick in all of show business. Reports the LAT:
McTiernan's alleged crime occurred on Feb. 13 during an interview with FBI agents, according to the charges filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles.
"McTiernan claimed that he had no knowledge of any wiretapping conducted by Anthony Pellicano and had never discussed wiretapping with Anthony Pellicano, when in fact, as defendant McTiernan knew, he had hired and paid Anthony Pellicano to conduct a wiretap," according to the charges.
The document stated that McTiernan "hired and paid" Pellicano to wiretap calls of Charles Roven, another Hollywood producer who worked with McTiernan on "Rollerball."
The story's too fresh to even include a denial or comment from McTiernan's lawyers, but we're sure such a statement should be arriving momentarily. Until then, we're all left to dwell on the potential Shakespearean tragedy of the possibility that a successful director could throw away his career in a dispute over a Chris Klein movie.
