Brad Grey knows nothing

The Paramount chieftain, taking the stand in the Anthony Pellicano trial, denied knowing what the Hollywood gumshoe was supposedly up to. Grey said the decision to hire Pellicano was not his, but that of well-known litigator Bert Fields, who had been hired to defend lawsuits filed by comedian Garry Shandling and writer-producer Bo Zenga. From the LAT:

During his brief cross-examination by defense attorney Chad Hummel, Grey said he was not aware of any information that Pellicano used wiretaps or accessed confidential police records from the Los Angeles Police Department to locate investigative targets and potentially incriminating or embarrassing information. "You saw nothing that indicated to you that Mr. Pellicano was doing anything illegal?" Hummel asked Grey. "That's correct," Grey said.

Earlier this week, Shandling said he learned from the FBI that Pellicano had access to police databases. He was allegedly looking for personal information about the actor. In a statement last week, Grey said: "I am extremely saddened by Garry's recollection of events dating back more than a decade. His representation is very different than what I remember and what I know to be true." Sounds candid to me. Nikki Finke was told that Grey's testimony this morning "was as boring as boring could be." Pellicano, who is defending himself, didn't cross examine. Here's more:

Grey arrived in a tailored blue suit with lawyers and a publicist trailing after him. In all, he was on the witness stand for at most an hour. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lally's direct examination of Grey was matter of fact and devoid of color. (Except for this: the prosecutor asked Grey if he saw Pellicano in the courtroom and the P.I., wearing his now signature green winbreaker, began waving to Brad.) Lally started off with basic questions -- Who are you? What do you do? What was your job before this? -- before zeroing in on Brad's business relationship with Garry Shandling.