It has been twenty years since the horrifically mutilated, murdered bodies of children Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers were found in a creek in the middle of Robin Hood Hills in Arkansas. And thus started a saga that spanned nearly two decades, with the trials of the accused Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin gaining national attention, which eventually turned to outrage. Chronicled in great detail via the 'Paradise Lost' trilogy of documentaries as well as Amy Berg's "West Of Memphis," the case of the West Memphis Three soon became one of justice denied, not only to the three young men, but also the victims whose real killer or killers is still unidentified. A controversial Alford Plea agreed to by the trio of boys in 2011 has effectively closed the case, and nearly every angle of the investigation from paths taken to those unexplored has been scrutinized.
- 5/7/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
What happened to eight-year-old Arkansas natives, Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers is pure nightmare fuel. Sparing the ghoulish details, the three young friends went missing on May 5th, 1993. The following afternoon, an abandoned boy's sneaker was found floating in a creek in the Robin Hood Hills of West Memphis. This led police to the boys' naked and mutilated bodies in a ditch. It was a discovery that caused untold grief and outrage in the surrounding community. Suspicion soon fell on three teenagers, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley Jr. And this is the beginning of The Devil's Knot. Vulture has unveiled the first trailer for the film based on the non-fiction book Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three. With a screenplay by Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman, director Atom Egoyan looks to investigate the controversial trial that brought rumor, prejudice and...
- 11/20/2013
- cinemablend.com
If you've been paying even the slightest bit of attention you are well familiar with the story of the West Memphis Three. Whether you saw the trilogy of Paradise Lost documentaries, West of Memphis or any number of specials on news programs such as "60 Minutes", the story of the three Arkansas teenagers convicted of killing three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993 has been well publicized in recent years, primarily due to the shoddy police work and subsequent trial that eventually saw all three boys freed from jail in 2011 after being locked up for 18 years. Now, in the wake of all the coverage the story has already received, director Atom Egoyan brings us Devil's Knot, a dramatized interpretation of the story that is nothing more than a Cliff's Notes version of the events that lead up to the conviction of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. and Jason Baldwin rather than the 18 years that followed,...
- 9/10/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
It has been twenty years since the horrifically mutilated, murdered bodies of children Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers were found in a creek in the middle of Robin Hood Hills in Arkansas. And thus started a saga that spanned nearly two decades, with the trials of the accused Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin gaining national attention, which eventually turned to outrage. Chronicled in great detail via the 'Paradise Lost' trilogy of documentaries as well as Amy Berg's "West Of Memphis," the case of the West Memphis Three soon became one of justice denied, not only to the three young men, but also the victims whose real killer or killers is still unidentified. A controversial Alford Plea agreed to by the trio of boys in 2011 has effectively closed the case, and nearly every angle of the investigation from paths taken to those unexplored has been scrutinized.
- 9/9/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The first still from the true-crime tale Devil's Knot, which is based on the tragedy surrounding the now freed West Memphis Three, is here, and it offers your first look at Reese Witherspoon as Pam Hobbs, the mother of Steve Branch, one of the three children savagely murdered in Arkansas in 1993.
Synopsis:
Worldview Entertainment's dramatic crime thriller Devil's Knot, filmed in the greater Atlanta, Georgia, area under the direction of Atom Egoyan, stars Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth with a screenplay by Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson. Elizabeth Fowler, Richard Saperstein, and Clark Peterson produced Devil’s Knot alongside Worldview Entertainment CEO Christopher Woodrow. Worldview’s Molly Conners, Sarah Johnson Redlich, Maria Cestone, and Hoyt David Morgan executive produced alongside actual defendants Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. Devil’s Knot is a Fowler-Saperstein-Peterson Production.
Following the release from prison of the West Memphis Three, after nearly 20 years of incarceration,...
Synopsis:
Worldview Entertainment's dramatic crime thriller Devil's Knot, filmed in the greater Atlanta, Georgia, area under the direction of Atom Egoyan, stars Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth with a screenplay by Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson. Elizabeth Fowler, Richard Saperstein, and Clark Peterson produced Devil’s Knot alongside Worldview Entertainment CEO Christopher Woodrow. Worldview’s Molly Conners, Sarah Johnson Redlich, Maria Cestone, and Hoyt David Morgan executive produced alongside actual defendants Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. Devil’s Knot is a Fowler-Saperstein-Peterson Production.
Following the release from prison of the West Memphis Three, after nearly 20 years of incarceration,...
- 5/22/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
With the Cannes Film Festival nearing the finishing stretch, the independent film business is turning its attention to the fall festival circuit. One title that’s likely to make an appearance is Atom Egoyan’s much-anticipated Devil’s Knot, loosely based on Mara Leveritt’s 2002 nonfiction book about the infamous West Memphis Three case. Photos: Radiant 'X-Men' Star Fan Bingbing Honored at Glittery Cannes Fest From Worldview Entertainment, the crime thriller stars Reese Witherspoon as Pam Hobbs, the mother of Steve Branch, one of the three children savagely murdered in Arkansas in 1993. Alessandro Nivola plays Terry Hobbs, her husband and
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- 5/21/2013
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On June 3rd, 1993, three teenagers from West Memphis, Arkansas were arrested for the murders of three eight year old boys. Despite their innocence, and a complete lack of evidence, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley became targets for the police investigation, and eventually convicted for the brutal slayings of Christopher Byers, Steven Branch and Michael Moore.
18 years later, Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were finally released from prison. With his newly found freedom, Damien Echols (along with his wife Lorri Davis and supporters of the West Memphis Three) is determined to find the person behind the murders, and finally gain closure. Recently, at a small press conference in Beverly Hills, California, Wamg got the chance to speak with Damien Echols, his wife Lorri Davis, and Director Amy Berg about their new documentary that follows Damien’s fight to save his own life, and their search for the truth. You can read the complete transcript below.
18 years later, Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley were finally released from prison. With his newly found freedom, Damien Echols (along with his wife Lorri Davis and supporters of the West Memphis Three) is determined to find the person behind the murders, and finally gain closure. Recently, at a small press conference in Beverly Hills, California, Wamg got the chance to speak with Damien Echols, his wife Lorri Davis, and Director Amy Berg about their new documentary that follows Damien’s fight to save his own life, and their search for the truth. You can read the complete transcript below.
- 12/27/2012
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In the wake of a new documentary film about the "West Memphis Three," authorities in Arkansas are taking another look at the 19-year-old murders of three young boy scouts.
The revelation was made at a Wednesday hearing on a suit filed by Pam Hicks and John Mark Byers, two of the parents of the victims who are seeking access to police evidence in the case. During the court proceeding, Arkansas officials revealed there is an "ongoing investigation" into new affidavits made as a result of the documentary.
The film, "West of Memphis," examines the police investigation into the 1993 murders of three 8-year-old boys, Christopher Byers, Steven Branch and Michael Moore, in West Memphis. It also chronicles the arrest and ultimate release of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin -– the trio dubbed the "West Memphis Three."
The new affidavits, which are featured in the documentary film, contain previously...
The revelation was made at a Wednesday hearing on a suit filed by Pam Hicks and John Mark Byers, two of the parents of the victims who are seeking access to police evidence in the case. During the court proceeding, Arkansas officials revealed there is an "ongoing investigation" into new affidavits made as a result of the documentary.
The film, "West of Memphis," examines the police investigation into the 1993 murders of three 8-year-old boys, Christopher Byers, Steven Branch and Michael Moore, in West Memphis. It also chronicles the arrest and ultimate release of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin -– the trio dubbed the "West Memphis Three."
The new affidavits, which are featured in the documentary film, contain previously...
- 10/26/2012
- by David Lohr
- Huffington Post
Jonesboro, Ark. — The parents of one of three West Memphis, Ark., boys found dead 18 years ago are asking that a documentary about the killings be excluded from Academy Award consideration.
Todd and Dana Moore made the request in a letter sent Nov. 22 to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' documentary division. In it, the Moores argue that "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" glorifies Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were released from prison in August after their sentences were set aside and they pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
"Because of public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of fact in the two previous documentaries, Michael's killers were unjustly able to enter into a plea agreement, were released from prison and now pose additional threats to society," the letter reads.
"We implore the Academy not to reward our child's killers and the directors who have profited from...
Todd and Dana Moore made the request in a letter sent Nov. 22 to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' documentary division. In it, the Moores argue that "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" glorifies Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, who were released from prison in August after their sentences were set aside and they pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
"Because of public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of fact in the two previous documentaries, Michael's killers were unjustly able to enter into a plea agreement, were released from prison and now pose additional threats to society," the letter reads.
"We implore the Academy not to reward our child's killers and the directors who have profited from...
- 12/1/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
The men known as the West Memphis Three, who have been imprisoned for nearly two decades for the murders of three 8-year-old boys in eastern Arkansas, may be released as early as this weekend, MSNBC is reporting. The three men are currently arranging a deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, the men, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin, can maintain their innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors may have enough evidence to win a conviction. They were convicted in 1994 of killing Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore a year earlier. They were believed to have left the boys’ bodies in a ditch in West Memphis, Arkansas....
- 8/19/2011
- by karen
- ShockYa
Another Dixie Chicks cause, another angry reaction. A man whose 8-year-old stepson was killed in 1993 has sued all three members of the country-pop group for defamation, singling out frontwoman Natalie Maines for her comments suggesting he played a role in the boy's death. Maines, whose outspokenness has won her lifelong friends and mortal enemies alike, appeared last December at a rally in Little Rock, Ark., for the three men, tagged the "West Memphis Three" by their supporters, who were convicted as teenagers of killing the plaintiff's stepson, Steve Branch, and two other 8-year-old boys. According to the six-page complaint filed Nov. 25 in Pulaski County Circuit Court, the "Not...
- 12/5/2008
- E! Online
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