Simpson lawyer sells film rights

Los Angeles Phoenix Pictures has acquired the film rights for “Misconception,” a legal thriller co-written by O.J. Simpson defense attorney Robert Shapiro.

Shapiro co-authored “Misconception” with novelist, screenwriter and director Walt Becker.

Published last spring, “Misconception” follows a surgeon general nominee who becomes the target of an anti-abortion extremist.

Shapiro and Becker will be executive producers on the film, the production company said Thursday.

Phoenix Pictures’ films include Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “The 6th Day” and the upcoming thriller “Basic” from director John McTiernan.

Shapiro was a member of Simpson’s defense team when he was acquitted in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

Actor jailed on probation violation

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A Broward judge sent actor Brad Renfro to jail after he turned himself in for a probation violation.

The star of the 1994 film “The Client” appeared Thursday in court after he was charged with driving without a license and public intoxication Jan. 14 near Knoxville, Tenn., his hometown.

Renfro, 19, is on probation for trying to steal a yacht in August 2000.

Circuit Judge Ronald J. Rothschild ordered Renfro’s arrest.

“The fact that you’re back here accused of a crime is grounds to detain you,” Rothschild said.

Authorities said Renfro and a friend had tried to steal a 45-foot yacht from Holiday Harbor in Fort Lauderdale. As they motored away, they forgot to untie all the docking lines, which snagged the $175,000 vessel, damaging its stern.

In 1998, the actor was charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana, but he avoided jail time with a plea deal.

Renfro’s movie credits include “Ghost World,” “Bully” and “Apt Pupil.”

Broadcast journalist saves a life

New York CBS News “60 Minutes” correspondent Steve Kroft is being credited as a lifesaver.

Kroft, 56, heard wheels spinning in the sand on the beach last Saturday in front of his Long Island home. A car was stuck, and he figured the owner eventually would extricate it.

Yet the car went nowhere. The engine caught fire, and Kroft ran to the beach when he couldn’t see the driver. He reached into the smoke-filled car and pulled out a 76-year-old New Jersey woman who had been listed as missing for a day and had diabetes.

“Once I saw her it kind of explained the situation,” he told The Associated Press Thursday. “She was very disoriented and didn’t know exactly where she was.”

Within 30 seconds of pulling the woman out, the car’s passenger compartment was engulfed in flames, Kroft said.

“He saved that woman’s life,” Southampton Police Sgt. Robert Flood said.