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Atom Egoyan to Direct 'Devil's Knot' Film About The West Memphis 3

by Ethan Anderton
August 22, 2011
Source: Deadline

If you haven't been keeping up with the real world news headlines lately, you may have not heard that the murder defendants known as the West Memphis 3 were released from prison after 18 years. The three men were imprisoned for the murder of three 8-year old boys who were found hog-tied in a drainage ditch. However, new DNA evidence seemed to prove the trio's innocence, this resulting in their release from prison. Now Deadline says a a feature film adaptation of the story is already on the way with a screenplay already complete and Chloe director Atom Egoyan slated to start production on the film next spring.

The script comes from The Exorcism of Emily Rose writers Scott Derrickson and Paul Boardman and Egoyan has been working with the latter writer for the last six weeks on a new draft. Called The Devil's Knot, the film is an adaptation of Mara Leveritt's book of the same name which chronicles the controversial trial. The project has been in the works since 2006, so this isn't entirely a Hollywood rush job, but what better time to move forward on the film as the West Memphis 3 are released from prison. This sounds like a great legal drama in the making, and I'm interested to see what kind of cast gets rounded up for the project. Stay tuned.

Related categories: Development, Movie News

Anonymous

i'm glad a movie is getting made about their story - i saw a doc about their case and i think they got screwed.

JL

I saw that documentary, too, if I'm thinking of the right one. It was an HBO production called Paradise Lost: the Child Murders of Robin Hood Hills. I also saw the follow up. Yeah, man, they got screwed hard.

JL

I believe the way they got out is that they had to enter guilty pleas to lesser charges for time served. They still have to clear their names, and it's going to be hard, because the crooked bastards who railroaded their asses aren't going to admit any fault in this. It's shocking how they convicted these three guys with so little evidence, and none of it connecting any of them to the crime scene. On top of that, they found hairs belonging to the step dad of one of the victims caught in one of the knots of rope that was used to tie them up. There is some fucked up, backwoods, keystone kop bullshit going on down there in West Memphis.
Anonymous

"paradise lost" was the name. i couldn't remember it until you posted.
MHobl

The amount of prosecutorial misconduct and incompetence involved in their case is staggering. I really hope this movie portrays just had badly these kids got shafted out of their childhood.