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Michael Bay Directed to Witness Stand
The Phil Spector trial reached blockbuster status today.
Michael Bay took the stand Monday to refute a story that had him giving Lana Clarkson the brush-off at a party just weeks before she died. A friend of the late actress testified several weeks ago that Clarkson was distraught over her run-in with the filmmaker.
Describing Clarkson, whom he had directed in a Mercedes-Benz commercial in 1998, as a "vivacious" and "saucy" person, Bay stated that he had no contact with her at the party, which took place in the Hollywood Hills in July 2003. Clarkson died of a gunshot wound to the mouth on Feb. 3, 2003, in the foyer of Spector's Alhambra home. The music legend's defense team is maintaining that Clarkson, depressed over the state of her career and finances and fueled by alcohol and pills, accidentally pulled the trigger herself.
About 350 or 400 people were in attendance that night, Bay testified. "She was funny, she was saucy, she had no problems coming right up to someone," he said. "If I had disrespected her she probably would have slapped me."
The Transformers director said that the last time he saw Clarkson was about eight or nine months before her death but that they stayed in contact throughout. Bay said that Clarkson was one of the few actresses who sent him Christmas presents over the years.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Bradley Brunon suggested that Bay's memory of the party might be hazy, pointing out that it's easy to miss one face in a crowd of hundreds.
Bay said that he remembered seeing Clarkson around Los Angeles. "I guess it gets cloudy," he admitted.
Before Bay took the stand, the prosecution finished up with Clarkson's agent, Nick Terzian, who had attested to his client's comedic skills and said that she was thrilled—i.e. not at all suicidal—to have lined up several jobs, including a commercial scheduled to shoot a few days after she died. "A moneymaker," he called her, saying that the absence of a horde of paparazzi doesn't mean that an actress isn't making a good living.
Defense attorney Roger Rosen continued to press Terzian Monday about the true state of Clarkson's showbiz career, perpetuating the defense's attempt to portray the 40-year-old blonde as a washed-up performer. "You never marketed her as a Julia Roberts, did you?" he asked.
"I wouldn't have said she was a Julia Roberts or a Meryl Streep, no," Terzian said. He maintained, however, that Clarkson was a tenacious, upbeat woman.
When asked whether fame was important to Clarkson, Terzian said, "She loved the spotlight."
On redirect, Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson questioned Terzian about Lana Unleashed, the short audition film Clarkson put together herself to showcase her talents. The defense played the 25-minute video in court last week, prompting more tears than anything else and leading to speculation that they may have hurt their case by showing footage of the alleged murder victim, alive and well and seemingly in full bloom, to the jury.
Terzian, who testified last week that he did not distribute Clarkson's tape to casting agents, said that Lana Unleashed was not intended for the viewing by the general public but by industry professionals.
The trial will continue on Wednesday to allow Spector time to visit a doctor; he's reportedly suffering from pain in his throat.
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