OJ Simpson to write a novel about his relationship with Nicole

[VainJane]

O.J. Simpson publisher says she sought confession


LOS ANGELES, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The publisher of O.J. Simpson's new book, "If I Did It," says she did not pay the former football star for his story and only interviewed him in hopes of getting him to confess to killing his ex-wife and her friend 12 years ago.
Judith Regan, who plans a Nov. 30 release of Simpson's book on the murders, defended her choice to publish it in a rambling, four-page statement she released on Friday in which she said she sought "closure" for her own experience with domestic violence. "I made the decision to publish this book, and to sit face to face with the killer, because I wanted him, and the men who broke my heart and your hearts, to tell the truth, to confess their sins, to do penance and to amend their lives. Amen," she wrote.

Simpson has maintained his innocence and was acquitted of murder charges by a California jury in 1995 after a trial that grabbed the world's attention.
Regan, who has a sub-publishing house under HarperCollins, has come under mounting criticism since it was announced this week she would publish Simpson's book and had conducted an interview with him the Fox network plans to air in two parts on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29.
Both Fox and HarperCollins are owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWS.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
Fox said the interview featured Simpson describing how he would have carried out the June 1994 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a friend of hers, if he had been the one responsible for the crime. A press release for the book said it presented "a bone-chilling account of the night of the murders, in which Simpson pictures himself at the center of the action."

In her statement, titled "Why I Did It," Regan said there was "historical value in such work; there is value for law enforcement, for students of psychology, for anyone who wants to gain insight into the mind of a sociopath."
She said she was mystified why Simpson decided to write such a book, suggesting it stemmed from "a disturbed need for attention." "What I do know is I didn't pay him," Regan said. "I contracted through a third party who owns the rights, and I was told the money would go his children. That much I could live with. What I wanted was closure, not money."

After Simpson's acquittal in the criminal trial, a civil court jury in 1997 found him liable for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages to the victims' families. Little of that money has ever been collected.
News of Simpson's book deal and his upcoming TV interview come a year after he made a rare public appearance at a Halloween-themed comic book convention in Los Angeles to sign autographs for money.
The organizer of that event told Reuters at the time that proceeds were going to a college fund Simpson had set up for his two children, and that he was using the event as a dry run for public appearances he might make in exchange for donations to the fund. Lawyers for Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, said on Thursday they had initiated action to seize whatever compensation Simpson might receive for the book deal.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&symbol=&storyID=2006-11-18T022203Z_01_N1778755_RTRIDST_0_PEOPLE-SIMPSON-REGAN.XML&pageNumber=1&WTModLoc=InvArt-C1-ArticlePage1&sz=13

 

[Deep Brunette]

This man is not only a sick and disgusting narcissist, he's also a murderer. There's absolutely no excuse for backing/supporting this most recent sick cry for attention.

 

[*Happiness*]

JUST GARBAGE!!!!!!!!

 

[Deep Brunette]

It's been cancelled...


NEW YORK - After a firestorm of criticism, News. Corp. said Monday that it has canceled the
O.J. Simpson book and TV special "If I Did It."
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"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

A dozen Fox affiliates had already said they would not air the two-part sweeps month special, planned for next week before the Nov. 30 publication of the book by ReganBooks. The publishing house is a HarperCollins imprint owned — like the Fox network — by News Corp.

In both the book and show, Simpson speaks in hypothetical terms about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Goldman.

Relatives of the victims have lashed out at the now scuttled publication and broadcast plans.

"He destroyed my son and took from my family Ron's future and life. And for that I'll hate him always and find him despicable," Fred Goldman told ABC last week.

The industry trade publication Broadcasting & Cable editorialized against the show Monday, saying "Fox should cancel this evil sweeps stunt."

One of the nation's largest superstore chains, Borders Group Inc., said last week it would donate any profits on the book to charity.

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murder in a case that became its own TV drama. The former football star and announcer was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.

Judith Regan, publisher of "If I Did It," said she considered the book to be Simpson's confession.

The television special was to air on two of the final three nights of the November sweeps, when ratings are watched closely to set local advertising rates. It has been a particularly tough fall for Fox, which has seen none of its new shows catch on and is waiting for the January bows of "American Idol" and "24."

The closest precedent for such an about-face came when CBS yanked a miniseries about
Ronald Reagan from its schedule in 2003 when complaints were raised about its accuracy. The Reagan series was seen on its sister premium-cable channel, Showtime, instead.

One station manager who had said he wasn't airing the special said he was concerned that whether or not Simpson was guilty, he'd still be profiting from murders.

"I have my own moral compass and this was easy," said Bill Lamb, general manager of WDRB in Louisville.

For the publishing industry, the cancellation of "If I Did It" was an astonishing end to a story like no other. Numerous books have been withdrawn over the years because of possible plagiarism, most recently Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life," but a book's removal simply for objectionable content is virtually unheard of.

Sales had been strong, but not sensational. "If I Did It" cracked the top 20 of Amazon.com last weekend, but by Monday afternoon, at the time its cancellation had been announced, the book had fallen to No. 51.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_on_en_tv/tv_simpson_interview

 

[ilovepositano]

i just love fox

 

[SiennaInLondon]

i just love fox

Fox News???

 

[VainJane]

Fox News???

Actually, I'm the one that loves Fox News


But it wasn't Fox News that did the O.J. interview, it was Fox television channel (different from Fox News).

 

[ilovepositano]

uh....totally sarcastic about fox.

 

[waukon73]

This literally makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[VainJane]

Publisher of OJ Simpson murder book is sacked

High-flier fired after protest over 'despicable' project



OJ Simpson's would-be publisher Judith Regan was fired late on Friday, her sensational, scandalous tenure at the Rupert Murdoch-owned HarperCollins ending with a terse announcement.
"Judith Regan's employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately," Jane Friedman, chief executive of the News Corp-owned imprint, said. "The Regan publishing programme and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group."
Ms Friedman offered no reason for the announcement, but Ms Regan's firing comes less than a month after Mr Murdoch's cancellation of Simpson's hypothetical murder confession If I Did It, a planned book and Fox television interview that was said to describe how Simpson hypothetically would have killed ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He was acquitted of murder in 1995.
When the project was announced last month it was greeted with instant and near-universal disgust. A dozen local Fox affiliates announced they wanted nothing to do with the television interviews, and the families of the murder victims urged a boycott of the broadcast and the book, which they described as "disgusting" and "despicable".
Mr Murdoch personally pulled the plug after his organisation was accused of exploiting the notorious double murders. News Corp finally put out a brief statement offering a rare personal apology for the lapse in judgment. "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," Mr Murdoch was quoted as saying. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
Subsequently, the victims' families accused the Murdoch empire of trying to buy their silence. Nicole brown Simpson's sister, Denise Brown, told a TV interviewer that she and others had been approached by a company representative before the cancellation, and essentially asked how much it would take to keep them happy.
"They wanted to offer us millions of dollars," she said, "for, like, 'oh I'm sorry' money. But they were still going to air the show." The family turned the offer down flat. A News Corp spokesman acknowledged negotiations over money had taken place with both families, but insisted there were "no strings attached".
Ms Regan, an industry force since the 1980s, when she produced best-sellers by Drew Barrymore and Kathie Lee Gifford for Simon & Schuster, has been labelled a "foul-mouthed tyrant" and the "enfant terrible of American publishing." She is also widely envied - if not admired - for her gift of attracting attention to her books and to herself.
Since 1994, she has headed the ReganBooks imprint at HarperCollins, an ideal fit for Mr Murdoch's tabloid tastes. Ms Regan has published a long list of racy best-sellers, including baseball star Jose Canseco's tell-all Juiced and Jenna Jameson's How to Make Love Like a p*rn Star, and is the rare publisher of interest to gossip columnists, notably for a rumoured affair with former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
She often clashed with her more temperate peers and is widely believed to have had tense relations with Ms Friedman. Last year, Ms Regan moved her offices to Los Angeles, further distancing herself from corporate officials in New York.
Ms Regan has often complained that her more literary side has been overlooked, pointing out that she has published books by the critically acclaimed Wally Lamb, Douglas Generation X Coupland and novelist Jess Walter, whose The Zero was a finalist for the National Book Award in November. The Simpson project, announced the day before the awards ceremony, quickly overshadowed the nomination.
Mr Walter said he was "flabbergasted" by her firing. "The Judith I knew was nothing like the tabloid headlines," he said. "Judith has always been a good friend and one of the few people who never lied to me. Having dealt with publishing and Hollywood, I can't say that about everyone."

OJ Simpson's would-be publisher Judith Regan was fired late on Friday, her sensational, scandalous tenure at the Rupert Murdoch-owned HarperCollins ending with a terse announcement.
"Judith Regan's employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately," Jane Friedman, chief executive of the News Corp-owned imprint, said. "The Regan publishing programme and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group."
Ms Friedman offered no reason for the announcement, but Ms Regan's firing comes less than a month after Mr Murdoch's cancellation of Simpson's hypothetical murder confession If I Did It, a planned book and Fox television interview that was said to describe how Simpson hypothetically would have killed ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He was acquitted of murder in 1995.
When the project was announced last month it was greeted with instant and near-universal disgust. A dozen local Fox affiliates announced they wanted nothing to do with the television interviews, and the families of the murder victims urged a boycott of the broadcast and the book, which they described as "disgusting" and "despicable".
Mr Murdoch personally pulled the plug after his organisation was accused of exploiting the notorious double murders. News Corp finally put out a brief statement offering a rare personal apology for the lapse in judgment. "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," Mr Murdoch was quoted as saying. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
Subsequently, the victims' families accused the Murdoch empire of trying to buy their silence. Nicole brown Simpson's sister, Denise Brown, told a TV interviewer that she and others had been approached by a company representative before the cancellation, and essentially asked how much it would take to keep them happy.

"They wanted to offer us millions of dollars," she said, "for, like, 'oh I'm sorry' money. But they were still going to air the show." The family turned the offer down flat. A News Corp spokesman acknowledged negotiations over money had taken place with both families, but insisted there were "no strings attached".
Ms Regan, an industry force since the 1980s, when she produced best-sellers by Drew Barrymore and Kathie Lee Gifford for Simon & Schuster, has been labelled a "foul-mouthed tyrant" and the "enfant terrible of American publishing." She is also widely envied - if not admired - for her gift of attracting attention to her books and to herself.
Since 1994, she has headed the ReganBooks imprint at HarperCollins, an ideal fit for Mr Murdoch's tabloid tastes. Ms Regan has published a long list of racy best-sellers, including baseball star Jose Canseco's tell-all Juiced and Jenna Jameson's How to Make Love Like a p*rn Star, and is the rare publisher of interest to gossip columnists, notably for a rumoured affair with former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
She often clashed with her more temperate peers and is widely believed to have had tense relations with Ms Friedman. Last year, Ms Regan moved her offices to Los Angeles, further distancing herself from corporate officials in New York.
Ms Regan has often complained that her more literary side has been overlooked, pointing out that she has published books by the critically acclaimed Wally Lamb, Douglas Generation X Coupland and novelist Jess Walter, whose The Zero was a finalist for the National Book Award in November. The Simpson project, announced the day before the awards ceremony, quickly overshadowed the nomination.
Mr Walter said he was "flabbergasted" by her firing. "The Judith I knew was nothing like the tabloid headlines," he said. "Judith has always been a good friend and one of the few people who never lied to me. Having dealt with publishing and Hollywood, I can't say that about everyone."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2081637.ece