I have often said that the media made me out to be a bigger player in this drama than I ever was, and “American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson” couldn’t pass up on that either.
Whether it be for comedic relief or getting the most bang out their buck for that god-awful wig, (anyone remember Dana Carvey playing Garth from “Wayne’s World”?) there’s too much Kato Kaelin in this series-even for Kato Kaelin’s taste!
And I’m not talking about long scenes with Billy Magnussen who plays me in the show.I’m talking scenes where that ridiculous blonde wig is rearing its ugly head, which were completely fabricated.
For example, the second episode shows Kato sitting with OJ’s family when Robert Kardashian announces that OJ killed himself and reads the suicide note. I was never there. Did that actually happen? I don’t know. I just know I wasn’t there.
That also means I wasn’t there when gun-toting SWAT officers stormed the house and ordered everyone out. Magnussen, aka Kato-is the first to flamboyantly flee.
The point is, that never happened.
Although the series is about events that took place 20 years ago, the producers play on the emotions of today’s headlines. In the scene where OJ gets out of the white bronco, clutching onto a picture of his kids, can you guess what the cops think? Altogether now, ” He’s got a gun! ”
The series does a good job using actual news footage during the chase, and I’m afraid a whole new generation will be watching this as a documentary rather than a drama.
FX
But as dramatic as the chase scene was, the true drama lies in the fight to win in the court of public opinion. Early on-it was everyone for themselves -how stupid the prosecution was going to look-Shapiro’s reputation-bring on the dueling press conferences. Oh yeah, and two people got murdered.
AP/FX
(left) The real Brian “Kato” Kaelin testifies in the trial of O.J. Simpson. In the TV movie, he’s played by Billy Magnussen.
Some people responded to my first column angrily, calling me “nitpicky.” Some called my attention to detail “absurd.” Nitpicky would be complaining they didn’t get the right shade of blonde. Absurdity is the fact that some people are ok with the series’ inability to get it right. When the “who what why where and whens” are actually documented and they still get it wrong, then how much fabrication will there be, on things that aren’t in court transcripts? How do we know the private conversations ever happened? How do we know the tone or intention is the way it’s portrayed? We don’t. I just know a lot of what I’ve seen so far involving ME-never happened.
Source: .nydailynews.com/
