What a Novel Idea: More Grisham Films

Forget about Tom Clancy and even Michael Crichton. If there’s any doubt about John Grisham’s No. 1 status as Hollywood’s favorite author, just look at the coming week. “The Chamber,” the fifth movie based on a Grisham bestseller, opens to high expectations Friday. Also this week, Grisham’s sixth book, “The Rainmaker,” begins filming in Memphis under the direction of Francis Ford Coppola. Meanwhile, the Grisham summer hit “A Time to Kill” is still selling tickets and is closing in on $110 million in domestic grosses. “I don’t know of any author, past, present or future, who has had the track record that Grisham has had, with all those pictures doing so well,” said Phil Garfinkel, senior vice president of Entertainment Data Inc. “Jane Austen’s hot these days, but her pictures haven’t done anywhere near as well.” Judging by the box office of previous Grishamizations “The Firm,” “The Pelican Brief” and “The Client,” a Grisham novel is a safe bet for studios hungry for box-office blockbusters. Indeed, Universal Studios is banking on “The Chamber,” which stars Gene Hackman, Chris O’Donnell and Faye Dunaway, to hit so big that it has no other films set to open till December. “The Rainmaker,” an upcoming Paramount Pictures release, stars Danny DeVito, Jon Voight and Claire Danes. The next Grisham novel to be made into a movie will be “The Runaway Jury,” his latest bestseller bought by Warner Bros. recently for more than$8 million, reportedly the most ever paid for film rights to a novel.

Speaking of Murder, Try Facing ‘Seinfeld’

So few successful producers, so many time slots. Thus, viewers will be treated to another season of a show that was mostly ignored last year, when ABC gives Steven Bochco’s “Murder One” another shot. But even Bochco’s track record couldn’t keep the show from airing Thursdays at 9 p.m. opposite NBC’s ratings powerhouse “Seinfeld.” An ABC spokesman said, “It’s a tough time period, but we think it’s terrific counter-programming against NBC’s comedies.” The series returns with a new leading man and a new format. Anthony LaPaglia essentially replaces Daniel Benzali’s Ted Hoffman, who left because of differences with the producers and whose absence is mentioned in passing. This year “Murder One” will present three cases (assuming it’s around that long) in six- to eight-episode story “arcs,” as opposed to last year’s groundbreaking format of following a single murder trial for an entire season.

Unplugged Maybe, but Not Unaccompanied

Once upon a time, George Michael made a record and, wham, it became a hit. Not anymore. Hoping to boost the sagging sales of his latest album, “Older,” Michael will perform live for the first time in nearly three years this Friday in London. Michael will tape an “MTV Unplugged,” backed by an eight-piece band, eight-person choir and full string section. The British pop star will draw upon material from his entire solo career (and perhaps a song or two from his days with Wham!) for a show that is expected to air on the cable network in early December. “It just seemed that the timing was right,” says Michael Ostin, one of three senior executives at the record label DreamWorks. “Older” was released last May, a year after Michael ended a protracted contract battle with Sony and signed with fledgling DreamWorks Records. Michael’s first full-length disc since 1990, the album debuted at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart in May but dropped out of the Top 10 two weeks later. Currently at No. 140, it has sold 615,000 copies in the U.S., according to SoundScan. Still, MTV has pursued Michael for some time, said Ostin, who hopes the show will lead to a full-scale tour by the 33-year-old singer-songwriter.

From ‘Jenny Jones’ to Court TV’s Spotlight

It seems fitting that a murder case spawned by a TV show would be shown on TV. That’s what’s in store Tuesday when the trial of Jonathan Schmitz is scheduled to begin in Pontiac, Mich., with cable’s Court TV channel planning to cover the proceedings live. Schmitz is accused of fatally shooting Scott Amedure in March 1995, three days after the two of them appeared on a taping of “The Jenny Jones Show,” where Amedure, who was gay, surprised Schmitz by declaring that he had a crush on him. Schmitz’s attorneys are expected to argue that their client had been deceived by Jones’ producers about what would happen at the taping and was in a confused state of mind when he went to Amedure’s residence on the day of the shooting. Still to come when the criminal trial concludes is a civil action in which Amedure’s family is seeking $25 million from Schmitz and the producers and owners of the syndicated “Jenny Jones” program, including Warner Bros.

Is Anyone Left to Mind the Newsroom?

There’s never a shortage of news in Los Angeles. Starting Wednesday, there will be no shortage of the people who produce the news. Some 3,500 television and radio news anchors, reporters, producers and news directors from across the country will convene at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the four-day annual conference of the Radio-Television News Directors Assn., the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. Executives will be examining topics such as the relationship between money and politics, strategies for attracting larger audiences and the difficulties involved in covering race and religious issues.

FO O’Donnell