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Oscar Winner Warned of ‘Consequences’ Over Role in Controversial HBO Movie

Aug 3, 2011  •  Post A Comment

An Oscar winner who has a key role in a controversial HBO project has been warned not to support the director’s vision for the movie, reports the New York Post.

Helen Mirren is already shooting the movie “Phil Spector,” where she will play the attorney who defended the infamous record producer. Spector was eventually convicted in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.

Edward Lozzi, a Hollywood publicist who represents a group called Friends of Lana Clarkson, has sent a letter to Mirren objecting to writer/director David Mamet’s interpretation of the story.

In his letter to Mirren, Lozzi wrote: "Mr. Mamet has publicly stated that he feels Phil Spector is innocent and should not be in prison. Saying that, we fear that he will rewrite history and portray Lana Clarkson as responsible for her own death. That is not acceptable and if he does so, there will be consequences from us to the press … and consequences at Emmy nomination time. … We will influence Academy members."

Representatives for Mirren did not respond to requests for comment. However, HBO issued a statement, saying, "[HBO] has a long tradition of capturing real life events on film … and we hope people will reserve judgment until they have seen the film."

Mirren took over the role of attorney Linda Kenny Baden after Bette Midler dropped out for health reasons.

Lozzi has reportedly also sent letters to Mamet and to Al Pacino, who plays Spector in the movie. He also previously sent a similar letter to Midler before she opted out of the project, according to the story.

2 Comments

  1. This story comes from the NY Post? If they said it was Wednesday, I’d go to the calendar to double check before I believed them.
    ‘Friends of Lana Clarkson’ vs. HBO, Helen Mirren and Al Pacino? I’ll take those odds.
    PS. Phil Spector is as guilty as hell.

  2. I personally think Spector is innocent – he’s a lot of wacky things, but I don’t think he’s a killer – but regardless, when you have a group “threatening” an actor for accepting a role, it makes you wonder how strong their case really is.

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