PARK CITY — The story is familiar to many and new to others but gutting to all.
Three men (boys at the time) were convicted and jailed for life for the murder of three eight-year-old boys. The case became known world-wide for its wrongful-imprisonment horror story elements. Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson joined the fight to have the trio released after years of prison time and along the way produced West of Memphis, directed by Amy Berg, with its world premiere Friday at the Sundance Film Festival.
TORn will share more about the evening and the film but for now, here is the trailer for this documentary produced by the director of “The Hobbit.”
From Adam B. Vary of EW.com: Before the 2009 Sundance Film Festival began, the talk was that, thanks to the economy, this year’s fest could be the most sedate in years…One group of guys who had no problem at all keeping their spirits up: The amigos of Rudo y Cursi, a comedy about brothers and Mexican soccer produced by cinema heavyweights Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo Del Toro, written and directed by Alfonso’s brother Carlos Cuarón, and starring Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal. Luna couldn’t make the festival due to a commitment in Mexico, but the rest of the crew happily plopped down in the loft to talk about the welcoming, easy-going community of movie lovers that makes Sundance so appealing for indie filmmakers. Mostly, though, the group just reveled in taking the piss out of Del Toro for his next gig: Cowriting and directing a little movie called The Hobbit. (Del Toro had left working with Peter Jackson et al on the script in New Zealand specifically to promote Rudo y Cursi.) But rather than describe just how charming and hilarious these four were, I’d like to show you. Last night, I hopped in the van with them as they drove to the Rudo y Cursi premiere after a dinner in which the wine flowed freely. Sundance: Guillermo del Toro gets teased about ‘The Hobbit’