We all know how Hollywood likes to chase it's own tail sometimes. If a film is a surprising hit, then you can expect to see a number of copycats looking to cash in. It's just not often that we see it with a real life event, such as with the controversial case of the West Memphis Three. Released from prison last summer after nearly 20 years in prison, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. and Jason Baldwin found themselves convicted of the murders of three young boys, despite some sketchy evidence.
The Paradise Lost trilogy of films covered the investigation, trial, imprisonment, and ultimate release. Peter Jackson has his own documentary on the subject, West of Memphis, which just premiered at Sundance. Atom Egoyan(The Sweet Hereafter) is currently prepping The Devil's Knot, a narrative approach to the subject which already has Reese Witherspoon attached to star. Now Deadline reports she'll be joined by Colin Firth.
Based on the book, Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, Colin Firth will play private investigator Ron Lax, who works on the side of Damien Echols and discovers some crucial information about his arrest and trial. Witherspoon is Pam Hobbs, the mother of one of the victims who goes from believing the accused are guilty to becoming one of the fiercest advocates of their innocence.
Egoyan is currently assisting in a rewrite of the script by Scott Derrickson and Paul Boardman, so it may still be awhile before this one kicks off. It's expected that other big names will be tapped to fill what should be a fairly large cast.
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