In the double-life that a ghost-writer leads, there is a randomness to be enjoyed; the randomness that comes with vicariously living another’s experiences for the sake of a richer narrative. And so, at the weekend, I found myself transported back-stage at the 52nd Grammys in Los Angeles. Yet another behind-the-scenes experience for which I am grateful.

It was to be a surreal evening, especially when More…

I’ve sat through some big headline-making court cases in my time. Brutal murders. Harrowing rapes. Witnessing justice. In most cases, a solid prosecution stated its case and the brilliance of precise DNA evidence indisputably nailed the defendant.

Yet in the edgy abeyance of jury deliberations – when one person’s liberty is balanced by 12 men and women with the argued evidence – I often wondered about the juror’s burden; imagining how sure I would need to be, how my conscience couldn’t find room to convict if there was one single remnant of doubt.

So I’m curious to know how the six jurors in Perugia, Italy, will sleep at night More…

Scripts are ten-a-penny in Hollywood but this one intrigued me because it’s about Britney and her Australian tour. This is from a scene, clearly torn from the main script. The working title is, apparently, ‘BRITNEY: INSIDE AN ARTIFICIAL STORM’. It’s not in traditional script format but see what you think…. More…

I feel an explanation coming on, because I did exactly what Britney asked.

“If you want to understand me, go talk to the people who know me,” she wrote in 2002, long before great misunderstandings took root within a very public meltdown five years later. More…

photograph by staff photographer Spencer Weiner

Book reviews are like capricious bullets – prone to go in any direction. You might dodge them to write another day but, as sure as eggs are eggs, the writer’s ego will one day take a hit. The author’s challenge is to find objectivity within another’s subjectivity (and not look such a gimp posing between his books!) More…

Buried in the corners of newspaper ‘world news’ sections, a curious article about illicit arms trading probably went largely unnoticed by most people…unless you happen to be French.

A 468-page prosecution dossier “read like something from an Ian Fleming plot” (Daily Telegraph, London), detailing murky arms dealings with an ex-minister and a president’s son, facilitating   More…

THE FOX NEWS SEGMENT ON THE ‘THIS IS IT’ MOVIE. OR, AS MY FRIENDS HAVE SAID, THE ‘IS THAT IT?’ INTERVIEW…

Michael Jackson’s posthumous respect should be sealed this week with the release of ‘This Is It’ – the concert that never was becoming the sell-out movie that will break all records.

Sadly, there’s been a pre-release brouhaha about its truth and authenticity with wild  suggestions of smart editing to hide MJ’s true state, and amateur talk of digital enhancements to present a healthier-looking man. In death as in life, More…

I had a vivid and haunting dream the other night. It happened on a night when strong Santa Ana winds buffeted the west coast. I’ve labelled it ‘The Wizard of Hollywood’ for all its metaphors and symbols that represent my unconscious belief and opinion.

In it, Britney Spears and her agent Jason Trawick were pictured together for the umpteenth time, riding a  quad-bike down a poppy-lined road, made of brick and More…

In the golden days of newspapers, when the word ‘columnist’ was bestowed only upon the worthy and brilliant (and not viewed as a natural ascension for opinionated feature writers) acerbic, controversial and provocative views would generate post-bags of mail.

Indignant senders never knew if their missives were read let alone heard, and it was probably best they never knew that the intended recipients were untouched by More…