American Tragedy is a 2000 miniseries broadcast on the CBS Television Network from November 12, 2000 to November 15, 2000, that was based on the true story of the trial of O. J. Simpson for the 1994 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Ving Rhames starred as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. The film was directed by Lawrence Schiller, and the screenplay was adapted from the bestselling book, American Tragedy: The Uncensored Story of the Simpson Defense, by noted novelist Norman Mailer, who had previously collaborated with Schiller on The Executioner's Song. Mailer publicly criticized CBS for its promotion of the miniseries, which used ads that focused on the fact that Simpson tried unsuccessfully to have the courts block the broadcast of the film. The