Even though the West Memphis Three were finally released from prison earlier this year after serving more than a decade, their story won't be leaving the spotlight anytime soon. Accused of murders many believe they didn't commit, Hollywood has already had no shortage of films both supporting their innocence and refuting it. There are more on the way, with the third Paradise Lost documentary due to appear on HBO soon. Peter Jackson is developing his own doc on the subject, as well. Atom Egoyan(The Sweet Hereafter) is prepping his own film on the subject, titled Devil's Knot, and it probably has the best shot at making it to the big screen.
Egoyan's film will be an adaptation of Mara Leveritt's book, Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three. Unlike the others, it will look less at the case itself and more on the devastating impact the crime and subsequent trials had on the community. The script was written by Scott Derrickson and Paul Boardman, with Egoyan doing his own rewrites. As for who might star? Deadline reports that Reese Witherspoon is the first to officially come aboard. She'll play Pam Hobbs, the mother of one of the victims who began to openly question the guilty verdict. In 2007 she joined those requesting the case be re-opened.
Filming is set to begin next summer, and now that Witherspoon is aboard expect there to be a lot of eyes on this one.
