Defamer Casting: If He Did It, This Is How The Casting Notice Happened
We imagine that a recent Law & Order story-pitching session went something like this: gather around the conference room table, flip open a newspaper, point at the big picture of O.J. Simpson, grunt in satisfaction at a job well done, order in some lunch, then call it a day. A tipster passed along the casting notice generated by the above feat of creative exertion:
LAW & ORDER "Murder Book" Exec. Producers: Dick Wolf, Nicholas Wootton, Matthew Penn, Peter Jankowski Director: Gus Makris Casting Director: Suzanne Ryan Casting Associate: Claire Traeger Shooting dates: 1/30 - 2/8
[J.D. TYNER] male, Caucasian, 33-37, "former baseball star & persona non grata since his murder acquittal." Although found not guilty, most people believe Tyner murdered his wife. He has a "legendary temper" and a reputation of being arrogant and hotheaded. Now he's a pariah - living a secluded and low-key life. Recently he's tried to cash in on his infamy by writing a book on how he would have done it, had he wanted to murder his wife. He claims the book was only to provide money for his daughter's trust fund and for charity. His publisher, Serena Darby, backs out of the deal at the last minute and then is found murdered outside of her apartment. Suspects come and go but McCoy has his sights set on Tyner. McCoy lost the first round against Tyner when he got away with murdering his wife...he does not want to loose round two. Tyner is brought to trial. LEAD
We probably shouldn't be so dismissive of the L & O team's efforts, which were apparently channeled into the story's execution, rather than its selection: they did go through the trouble of making O.J. white, giving him a fresh set of initials and a new sport (which provides for the exciting possibility of much more grisly, Louisville Slugger-assisted bludgeoning deaths), and adding the element of the Judith Regan revenge killing. Once that lunch arrived, their creative batteries were clearly recharged.
