Ever since the West Memphis Three were released from prison, it’s been known that The Sweet Hereafter helmer Atom Egoyan has been working on a movie about the case. Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth are already attached to star in the film, and Deadline reports that they’ve now been joined by The Killing actress Mireille Enos.
Egoyan is working from a script written by The Exorcism Of Emily Rose’s Scott Derrickson and Paul Boardman, about the West Memphis 3, who were convicted of the murder of three young boys in Arkansas in the mid 90s.
However even before they were convicted there were accusations of the investigation being bungled and the men being railroaded. The youths were accused of murdering the boys in a Satanic ritual, with many suspecting they had just been caught up in a panic over Satanism that was sweeping the US (and other parts of the world) at the time, with the evidence made to fit what the prosecutors wanted it to, rather than what it did.
After years of campaigning, high-profile documentaries (particularly Paradise Lost and its sequel, which had a huge impact on the case), the three men were finally released – although it should be noted that it was part of a plea deal and they weren’t exonerated. Enos will be Vicki Hutcheson, who becomes an important witness in the case and was a link between two of the boys.
While Enos has had plenty of praise for The Killing, her star is likely to rise soon due to her roles in Gangster Squad and World War Z.