Hollywood execs testify in Pellicano trial

By Leslie Simmons

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Obsession and deceit dominated testimony and audiotape played Tuesday in the trial of so-called private eye to the stars Anthony Pellicano and four others as prosecutors called up a well-known Hollywood producer and a former record executive as witnesses.

Mosaic Media Group partner Chuck Roven was among the first witnesses of the day in the wiretapping and racketeering case, testifying about his "cordial" relationship with director John McTiernan and their collaboration on "Rollerball."

The movie, released by MGM in 2002, was a box office blunder. Made on a $70 million budget, it grossed $25 million worldwide. But all the while, it turns out, McTiernan was paying Pellicano to tap the producer's phone.

"I was one of the producers on it, and (McTiernan) had a tremendous amount of physical and creative control," Roven said. "And, as it sometimes happens, in our case, I had a different creative concept."

McTiernan, he added, didn't even have a good handle on how to execute his own creative concepts. (McTiernan, who also directed "Die Hard," was sentenced to four months in prison for lying to the FBI.)

Prosecutor Dan Saunders then pulled up on the overhead projector a "report" compiled by Pellicano's investigative agency in summer 2000, when "Rollerball" was being filmed.

The first page consisted of several phone numbers related to Roven, including one number he said only two people had: Roven's wife and their nanny.

The report also outlined phone conversations Roven had with several associates, including Alex Gartner, who was then president of production at MGM and now is a producer for Mosaic; talent agent Dan Aloni; and Steve Papazian, president of physical production at Warner Bros., who talked with Roven about "Scooby-Doo."

Saunders then played for the jury an audiotape of Pellicano and McTiernan discussing Roven and his phone calls. Roven, who was subdued during his testimony, leaned back in the witness chair as he listened to the recording and rested his face in his left hand. Sometimes, he would scan the courtroom, looking at the jury, who were closely following the transcript of the conversation.

On the tape, Pellicano joked that he was getting an education in the film industry and told McTiernan, "I don't like the way they talk about you."

Pellicano repeatedly complained about how boring some of Roven's calls were and that his services were going to get more expensive because of the volume of calls recorded.

"There's tons of stuff," Pellicano told McTiernan. "Let me say to you, there's nothing to concern yourself with."

"Basically, I'd like to know what he's saying to the studio," McTiernan responded.

McTiernan told the private eye to end his surveillance. Pellicano cautioned McTiernan that taking "all this stuff down" and putting it back up costs money.

"I would do his house," Pellicano suggested. "He does all his work at home."