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While politicians debate the rise of crime, there’s no debate that there’s been an explosion of true-crime documentary series on cable TV and the streamers. Interviews with serial killers, re-creations of bloody murders, combative-courtroom footage and carefully orchestrated eleventh-hour revelations have almost become cliché — even as viewers eagerly tune in for more.
But that was not always the case. Thirty years ago, documentarian Joe Berlinger, 61, and his longtime collaborator and co-director, the late Bruce Sinofsky, broke new ground with their feature, Brother’s Keeper. That film centered on the arrest and trial of a rural upstate New York man named Delbert Ward, who was accused of killing his brother William, and it became a blueprint for Berlinger’s unfiltered examinations of American tragedies with all the drama of fictional narratives.
Joe Berlinger
Brother’s Keeper won the audience award at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival,...
While politicians debate the rise of crime, there’s no debate that there’s been an explosion of true-crime documentary series on cable TV and the streamers. Interviews with serial killers, re-creations of bloody murders, combative-courtroom footage and carefully orchestrated eleventh-hour revelations have almost become cliché — even as viewers eagerly tune in for more.
But that was not always the case. Thirty years ago, documentarian Joe Berlinger, 61, and his longtime collaborator and co-director, the late Bruce Sinofsky, broke new ground with their feature, Brother’s Keeper. That film centered on the arrest and trial of a rural upstate New York man named Delbert Ward, who was accused of killing his brother William, and it became a blueprint for Berlinger’s unfiltered examinations of American tragedies with all the drama of fictional narratives.
Joe Berlinger
Brother’s Keeper won the audience award at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival,...
- 11/30/2022
- by Stacey Wilson Hunt
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Thrum the hell out of that six string, Eddie!
The writers from Stranger Things paid tribute to Joseph Quinn’s fine work on the guitar by posting footage on him rehearsing Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” on Twitter. In one of the last moments from Season 4, Volume 2, Quinn’s Eddie Munson (Quinn) shreds his electric guitar in an effort to lure the demo-bats away from the Creel house and his newfound buddies.
Quinn wasn’t expected to do all the heavy lifting with the Metallica tune. Bassist Tye Trujillo, the son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, helped with the solo.
practice makes perfect pic.twitter.com/yjv63A1pfp
— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) July 10, 2022
Quinn’s performance and the use of the song in the Netflix drama got a big thumbs up from Metallica.
“The way the Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so...
The writers from Stranger Things paid tribute to Joseph Quinn’s fine work on the guitar by posting footage on him rehearsing Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” on Twitter. In one of the last moments from Season 4, Volume 2, Quinn’s Eddie Munson (Quinn) shreds his electric guitar in an effort to lure the demo-bats away from the Creel house and his newfound buddies.
Quinn wasn’t expected to do all the heavy lifting with the Metallica tune. Bassist Tye Trujillo, the son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, helped with the solo.
practice makes perfect pic.twitter.com/yjv63A1pfp
— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) July 10, 2022
Quinn’s performance and the use of the song in the Netflix drama got a big thumbs up from Metallica.
“The way the Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so...
- 7/11/2022
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
This article contains Stranger Things spoilers.
The Duffer Brothers may be the master storytellers behind the fictional tale of Stranger Things, but they also admit to taking inspiration from real life conspiracies and true crime stories. While longtime fans of the show may already know about the Montauk Project origins of the Hawkins Lab, some may not be aware that the tragically misplaced suspicion that Eddie Munson was under is also based on actual events in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993.
The West Memphis Three were three teenagers who were accused of murdering three eight-year-old boys in what was presented to the press as a Satanic sacrifice. Heavy metal music of the type Eddie Munson would have undoubtedly enjoyed was mistaken for “the devil’s music” by police investigators at the time. Despite a lack of evidence, West Memphis residents and the authorities were quick to accuse the metal-loving, long-haired teenagers...
The Duffer Brothers may be the master storytellers behind the fictional tale of Stranger Things, but they also admit to taking inspiration from real life conspiracies and true crime stories. While longtime fans of the show may already know about the Montauk Project origins of the Hawkins Lab, some may not be aware that the tragically misplaced suspicion that Eddie Munson was under is also based on actual events in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993.
The West Memphis Three were three teenagers who were accused of murdering three eight-year-old boys in what was presented to the press as a Satanic sacrifice. Heavy metal music of the type Eddie Munson would have undoubtedly enjoyed was mistaken for “the devil’s music” by police investigators at the time. Despite a lack of evidence, West Memphis residents and the authorities were quick to accuse the metal-loving, long-haired teenagers...
- 7/6/2022
- by Michael Ahr
- Den of Geek
The Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards returned to Brooklyn’s Bric on Nov. 2 and anointed Brett Morgen’s “Jane” the Oscar frontrunner for Best Documentary Feature. That bodes well for the Jane Goodall profile as it continues its awards season run. Presented by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, the inaugural ceremony last year correctly augured that “O.J.: Made in America” and “13th” would win that season’s top documentary film and television prizes.
When the 2017 nominees were unveiled this October, so was a rule change that merged the Best Documentary categories for films released in theaters versus via television or a streaming platform. This meant that the latest field was extremely stacked — 16 titles — making the win for a feature on the Tanzania expeditions of beloved, now-octogenarian primatologist Dame Jane Goodall extra fortuitous. “Jane” premiered this fall at the Toronto Film Festival, earning an A- from IndieWire.
When the 2017 nominees were unveiled this October, so was a rule change that merged the Best Documentary categories for films released in theaters versus via television or a streaming platform. This meant that the latest field was extremely stacked — 16 titles — making the win for a feature on the Tanzania expeditions of beloved, now-octogenarian primatologist Dame Jane Goodall extra fortuitous. “Jane” premiered this fall at the Toronto Film Festival, earning an A- from IndieWire.
- 11/3/2017
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.
– The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced that Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris as the recipient of the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Morris will receive his award at the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gala event, set to take place on Thursday, November 2 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by Penn Jillette.
Journalist and author Kathryn Schulz will present the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award to Morris. Damien Echols will present the previously announced Critics’ Choice Impact Award to filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Additional award presenters include: Clive Davis, Matt Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Barbara Kopple, Lawrence O’Donnell, Linda Perry, and Fisher Stevens, Diane Warren, among others.
Read More:Helen Mirren Set for Chaplin Award, European Film Academy Honors Newcomers, and More — Awards Roundup
Netflix will release Morris’ newest offering,...
– The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced that Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris as the recipient of the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. Morris will receive his award at the second annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards gala event, set to take place on Thursday, November 2 at Bric in Brooklyn, New York, hosted by Penn Jillette.
Journalist and author Kathryn Schulz will present the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award to Morris. Damien Echols will present the previously announced Critics’ Choice Impact Award to filmmaker Joe Berlinger. Additional award presenters include: Clive Davis, Matt Dillon, Gilbert Gottfried, Barbara Kopple, Lawrence O’Donnell, Linda Perry, and Fisher Stevens, Diane Warren, among others.
Read More:Helen Mirren Set for Chaplin Award, European Film Academy Honors Newcomers, and More — Awards Roundup
Netflix will release Morris’ newest offering,...
- 10/27/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: In honor of “The Trip to Spain,” what is the best movie trilogy?
Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker
Far be it from me to choose between Antonioni’s non-trilogy “L’Avventura,” “La Notte,” and “L’Eclisse” and Kiarostami’s explicitly-denied “Koker” trilogy of “Where Is the Friend’s Home?,” “Life and Nothing More,” and “Through the Olive Trees” (and I’m tempted to make a trilogy of trilogies with Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Day of Wrath,” “Ordet,” and “Gertrud”), but if I put Kiarostami’s films first, it’s because he puts their very creation into the action. Reflexivity isn’t a...
This week’s question: In honor of “The Trip to Spain,” what is the best movie trilogy?
Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker
Far be it from me to choose between Antonioni’s non-trilogy “L’Avventura,” “La Notte,” and “L’Eclisse” and Kiarostami’s explicitly-denied “Koker” trilogy of “Where Is the Friend’s Home?,” “Life and Nothing More,” and “Through the Olive Trees” (and I’m tempted to make a trilogy of trilogies with Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Day of Wrath,” “Ordet,” and “Gertrud”), but if I put Kiarostami’s films first, it’s because he puts their very creation into the action. Reflexivity isn’t a...
- 8/14/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
After an emotional week in Arkansas, Johnny Depp let his hair down last night in Los Angeles.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was spotted out at the The Nice Guy in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, where an onlooker tells People, “He was in the best spirits.”
At the bar, Depp’s group “sipped on specialty cocktails such as ‘The Chairman’ and ‘The Stand Up Guy’ and indulged on ‘The Nice Guy Burger,’ truffle fries, roasted brussels sprouts and the Wally’s charcuterie board.”
The onlooker adds, “He and his group shared plates at their table and ordered a couple rounds of those cocktails.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was spotted out at the The Nice Guy in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, where an onlooker tells People, “He was in the best spirits.”
At the bar, Depp’s group “sipped on specialty cocktails such as ‘The Chairman’ and ‘The Stand Up Guy’ and indulged on ‘The Nice Guy Burger,’ truffle fries, roasted brussels sprouts and the Wally’s charcuterie board.”
The onlooker adds, “He and his group shared plates at their table and ordered a couple rounds of those cocktails.
- 4/20/2017
- by Mike Miller
- PEOPLE.com
Johnny Depp is taking a stand against the death penalty.
The actor joined hundreds of activists outside the Arkansas state capitol building on Friday. They had gathered to protest Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s decision to execute seven men in 10 days because the state’s execution drugs are expiring.
Depp accompanied Damien Echols, one of the West Memphis Three, who spent nearly two decades on death row in Arkansas. Accused of the 1993 murder of three eight-year-old boys, Echols was later released when new DNA evidence proved he was not the killer. Depp commented on the case in the HBO documentary Paradise Lost.
The actor joined hundreds of activists outside the Arkansas state capitol building on Friday. They had gathered to protest Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s decision to execute seven men in 10 days because the state’s execution drugs are expiring.
Depp accompanied Damien Echols, one of the West Memphis Three, who spent nearly two decades on death row in Arkansas. Accused of the 1993 murder of three eight-year-old boys, Echols was later released when new DNA evidence proved he was not the killer. Depp commented on the case in the HBO documentary Paradise Lost.
- 4/15/2017
- by Mike Miller
- PEOPLE.com
Johnny Depp headed to Arkansas on Friday — not for a new movie role, but to take part in a rally protesting the state’s intention to execute seven death row inmates by the end of the month. According to ArkansasMatters.com, Depp stood with Damien Echols, a former death row inmate (one of the so-called “West Memphis […]...
- 4/14/2017
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Catherine Pearson Feb 22, 2017
Documentary fans are well served by these 11 great documentary series and features, currently available on Netflix UK...
In recent years, even months, Netflix has upped its game. No longer just a site to instantly stream an old title you might have once picked up in Blockbuster, it's become a hub of quality new and original film and television and this is by no means limited to its vast selection of fiction.
See related The world of the Peaky Blinders
With the scope of possibility in visual effects and the boundlessness of imagination there are very few places we cannot explore in fiction nowadays… that is unless we explore stories that are stranger than fiction. There is a tangible thirst for the real; the overwhelming response to recent Netflix documentary Making A Murderer in the news and social media, as just one example, exposes the desire for and...
Documentary fans are well served by these 11 great documentary series and features, currently available on Netflix UK...
In recent years, even months, Netflix has upped its game. No longer just a site to instantly stream an old title you might have once picked up in Blockbuster, it's become a hub of quality new and original film and television and this is by no means limited to its vast selection of fiction.
See related The world of the Peaky Blinders
With the scope of possibility in visual effects and the boundlessness of imagination there are very few places we cannot explore in fiction nowadays… that is unless we explore stories that are stranger than fiction. There is a tangible thirst for the real; the overwhelming response to recent Netflix documentary Making A Murderer in the news and social media, as just one example, exposes the desire for and...
- 2/19/2017
- Den of Geek
When filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky arrived in West Memphis, Arkansas in June 1993, they came with an agenda: to document what looked like a new wave of alienated youth-turned-murderers. A few months earlier, two 10-year-olds in the U.K. had made headlines when they abducted, tortured and murdered a two-year-old, and now the filmmakers had read about the brutal murders of three eight-year-old boys ostensibly committed by teenage Satanists. It seemed like a trend. "We went down to make a film about guilty teenagers, like a real Rivers Edge,...
- 12/14/2016
- Rollingstone.com
About a decade ago, actor Ray McKinnon became fascinated with several stories he'd seen about death-row inmates who had been freed because of DNA evidence. "I just started wondering what their lives must be like the first day they got out," he says. "And then I really thought: 'What's the second day like?'"
That question inspired Rectify, one of the most emotionally affecting dramas about the criminal justice system on TV. The series, which premiered in 2013, tells the story of Daniel Holden, a Georgia man convicted of rape and murder,...
That question inspired Rectify, one of the most emotionally affecting dramas about the criminal justice system on TV. The series, which premiered in 2013, tells the story of Daniel Holden, a Georgia man convicted of rape and murder,...
- 10/28/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Best selling author, artist and unjustly convicted death row survivor Damien Echols joins new art collective. If you’ve seen the nightmarish Paradise Lost HBO documentaries or the Peter Jackson theatrical doc West Of Memphis (or even the tepid Atom Egoyan feature Devil’S Knot), you know the name Damien Echols. Echols was one of the unfortunate…
The post Author and Artist Damien Echols and Others Launch ‘Salem’ Exhibition appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Author and Artist Damien Echols and Others Launch ‘Salem’ Exhibition appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 3/1/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Making a Murderer, Netflix's original true-crime series captivated the country this Christmas, with critics hailing it as the next Serial-esque obsession.
Online sleuths are already positing their own theories as to who killed young photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. We'll leave the question of whether Steven Avery – a man who already served prison time once before for a gruesome crime he didn't commit – to the meticulous Redditors poring over the infamous case. Though Making a Murder has already been compared to HBO's Robert Durst miniseries The Jinx, here are three more true tales dealing with police corruption, wrongful convictions and crimes...
Online sleuths are already positing their own theories as to who killed young photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. We'll leave the question of whether Steven Avery – a man who already served prison time once before for a gruesome crime he didn't commit – to the meticulous Redditors poring over the infamous case. Though Making a Murder has already been compared to HBO's Robert Durst miniseries The Jinx, here are three more true tales dealing with police corruption, wrongful convictions and crimes...
- 12/30/2015
- by Michele Corriston, @mcorriston
- People.com - TV Watch
Bruce Sinofsky, one-half of the Emmy Award-winning documentarian team behind films like Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and the West Memphis Three trilogy Paradise Lost, passed away in his sleep Saturday morning following complications from diabetes, his filmmaking partner Joe Berlinger told Variety. He was 58.
"[Sinofsky's] unique combination of courage and empathy made that possible, as well as everything that came after for us," Berlinger told Variety. "The extraordinary adventures we had on the road and the deeply stimulating experiences we had in the editing room were life-changing for all of...
"[Sinofsky's] unique combination of courage and empathy made that possible, as well as everything that came after for us," Berlinger told Variety. "The extraordinary adventures we had on the road and the deeply stimulating experiences we had in the editing room were life-changing for all of...
- 2/21/2015
- Rollingstone.com
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Nick Broomfield’s Tales of the Grim Sleeper follows the case of the serial killer in South Central Los Angeles that spans more than 20 years. The first murder took place in 1985, but an apparent 14-year break between murders earned him the nickname of “the Grim Sleeper.” Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in 2010 and is currently awaiting trial for almost a dozen women, though the number could increase. Though the case is a major part of the film, Broomfield also explores poverty, racism and the police investigation that failed to warn the neighborhood that a serial killer was suspected until 2008.
The film made the Academy’s documentary feature shortlist and could land a nomination at the 87th Academy Awards. Here are seven other documentaries about murder in America that scored nominations (in chronological order):
Four Days in November (1964)
Released just a year after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination,...
Managing Editor
Nick Broomfield’s Tales of the Grim Sleeper follows the case of the serial killer in South Central Los Angeles that spans more than 20 years. The first murder took place in 1985, but an apparent 14-year break between murders earned him the nickname of “the Grim Sleeper.” Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in 2010 and is currently awaiting trial for almost a dozen women, though the number could increase. Though the case is a major part of the film, Broomfield also explores poverty, racism and the police investigation that failed to warn the neighborhood that a serial killer was suspected until 2008.
The film made the Academy’s documentary feature shortlist and could land a nomination at the 87th Academy Awards. Here are seven other documentaries about murder in America that scored nominations (in chronological order):
Four Days in November (1964)
Released just a year after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination,...
- 12/5/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
★★★☆☆ Amy Berg's sobering polemic West of Memphis (2012) shines a light on the failings of the American criminal justice system through the campaign to free a trio of wrongly convicted men after almost twenty years in prison. Having premièred at last year's Sundance Film Festival, West of Memphis was released to wide acclaim and now arrives on DVD from Sony Pictures. Following in the footsteps of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's Paradise Lost trilogy, which presented ongoing events throughout the ordeal, Berg's film examines the case from original crime and throughout the fight to have the three men released.
One May evening in 1993, a horrific triple homicide was committed in West Memphis, Arkansas. Three young boys was brutally murdered and within a month, a trio of teenagers were charged with one providing a lengthy, though clearly led, confession. The crimes were said to have been satanic in nature due...
One May evening in 1993, a horrific triple homicide was committed in West Memphis, Arkansas. Three young boys was brutally murdered and within a month, a trio of teenagers were charged with one providing a lengthy, though clearly led, confession. The crimes were said to have been satanic in nature due...
- 5/22/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
"Life After Death"
by Damien Echols
Blue Rider Press, $26.95
What is it about?
Damien Echols was one of the West Memphis Three, found guilty of the murder of three boys in Arkansas in 1993. He spent 18 years on death row, before being freed in 2011. This book is made up of his prison journals, his memories and his post-jail writing.
Why are we talking about it?
Though perhaps best known for his celebrity defenders, including Henry Rollins, Eddie Vedder, "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, and Johnny Depp (who has a tattoo designed by Echols), and for being the subject of the "Paradise Lost" documentaries, the book itself is a compelling, disturbing tale of persecution and prison life.
Who wrote it?
Damien Echols, born Michael Wayne Hutchison, is now 38 years old. While in jail, he converted to Zen Buddhism, met and married his wife (who had seen a documentary about the murders,...
by Damien Echols
Blue Rider Press, $26.95
What is it about?
Damien Echols was one of the West Memphis Three, found guilty of the murder of three boys in Arkansas in 1993. He spent 18 years on death row, before being freed in 2011. This book is made up of his prison journals, his memories and his post-jail writing.
Why are we talking about it?
Though perhaps best known for his celebrity defenders, including Henry Rollins, Eddie Vedder, "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, and Johnny Depp (who has a tattoo designed by Echols), and for being the subject of the "Paradise Lost" documentaries, the book itself is a compelling, disturbing tale of persecution and prison life.
Who wrote it?
Damien Echols, born Michael Wayne Hutchison, is now 38 years old. While in jail, he converted to Zen Buddhism, met and married his wife (who had seen a documentary about the murders,...
- 9/24/2012
- by Andrew Losowsky
- Huffington Post
With Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's "Paradise Lost" trilogy, the Peter Jackson-produced "West of Memphis" and a plethora of books and other material about the West Memphis Three, you might think the subject was all done. Far from it. Last year "The Devil's Knot" started heading into production from Canadian director Atom Egoyan ("Exotica," "Chloe," "The Sweet Hereafter") with Reese Witherspoon to star. Now another Academy Award winner is coming on board. Colin Firth, who previously teamed with Egoyan on "Where the Truth Lies," has joined the film. 'Devil's Knot' will take a different tack than the documentaries, getting out of the courtroom and taking a look at how the murder impacted the lives of those in the community. Witherspoon will play Pam Hobbs, one of the mothers of the victims who eventually becomes convinced that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. have been.
- 2/1/2012
- The Playlist
This morning, I reported rumblings I’d heard that the Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh-financed Sundance documentary West Of Memphis would likely drop some revelations that could provoke the state of Arkansas to take a closer look at the 1993 murder of three youths that was originally pinned on West Memphis 3 defendants Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. The film’s first press screening is still going on, but a release has just been sent out from Echols’ legal team about the new revelations that are in the Amy Berg-directed film and came from a WM3 tipline arranged by the legal team fighting to get the three defendants exonerated. Here is the release: (Mountain Home, Arkansas – January 20, 2012) Terry Hobbs’ nephew, Michael Hobbs Jr., allegedly told his friends “my uncle Terry murdered those three little boys,” according to declarations under penalty of perjury recently given to Damien Echols’ defense team.
- 1/20/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have announced their production company, WingNut Films, have wrapped a new documentary about the notorious wrongful conviction case of the West Memphis Three.
West of Memphis tells the story of Damien Echolls, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., three Arkansans who were arrested for a triple homicide in 1993 and spent over 18 years in prison before finally being released. Echolls and wife Lorri Davis are also serving as producers; documentarian Amy Berg, whose Deliver Us from Evil was nominated for an Oscar, is directing the film.
“This film represents the trial these men didn’t have,” says Berg in the announcement.
West of Memphis tells the story of Damien Echolls, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., three Arkansans who were arrested for a triple homicide in 1993 and spent over 18 years in prison before finally being released. Echolls and wife Lorri Davis are also serving as producers; documentarian Amy Berg, whose Deliver Us from Evil was nominated for an Oscar, is directing the film.
“This film represents the trial these men didn’t have,” says Berg in the announcement.
- 12/5/2011
- by Keith Staskiewicz
- EW - Inside Movies
Peter Jackson's production company, WingNut Films, announced Sunday that it has completed a documentary about the West Memphis Three -- the three men whose murder convictions in Arkansas were overturned this past August. Amy Berg directed "West of Memphis," and one of the documentary's three main subjects, Damien Echols, produced the movie, along with his wife, Lorri Davis. Jackson and his production partner, Fran Walsh, helped fund the men's legal defense. Jackson and Walsh became involved in 2005, when they helped to re-invigorate the then-stagnant case by funding a new investigation. Echols, Jason Baldwin and...
- 12/5/2011
- by Joshua L. Weinstein
- The Wrap
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...
“Because of public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of...
- 12/1/2011
- by Associated Press
- EW - Inside Movies
Troubled actress Winona Ryder has taken to wearing a bracelet honoring three convicted murderers that she's convinced are innocent. The names of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelley, aka The Memphis Three, and the dates of their arrest are etched on the bracelet she wears around her right wrist. Ryder, who has been fighting for the convicted men's freedom along with fellow stars like Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and ex-love Johnny Depp, plans to add the trio's release date to the bangle. She says, "They are in my hearts every day, and I will never give up until they're out." The three men were teenagers when they were arrested for the ritualistic murder of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993, and Echols was sentenced to death. A 1996 TV documentary, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills, raised questions about the guilt of the three men, and prompted a number of stars to fight for the release of the trio. Ryder, who was found guilty of shoplifting a Beverly Hills store last year and placed on three years probation, attended an exhibit to raise awareness for the release campaign in Los Angeles at the weekend.
- 9/9/2003
- WENN
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