src="/tol/js/m24-image-browser.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> src="/tol/js/tol.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> <STYLE type=text/css>
div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {
color:#06c;
}
</STYLE>
The parents of Madeleine McCann have sanctioned talks with a Hollywood company about bringing the story of their missing daughter to the big screen.
Representatives of Kate and Gerry McCann met producers of the award-winning documentary film Touching the Void last month to hear proposals for a deal.
Their friends say that a film version of the mystery would bring Madeleine’s plight to a bigger audience, and could lead to information about her whereabouts and fund private investigators looking for her.
The development may also fuel criticism of the couple for trying to generate publicity and funds from their daughter’s disappearance.
type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>
<FORM name=packageArticle action="" method=post>
Why are the "Tapas 9" key to solving the Madeleine mystery?
</FORM>
<FORM name=packageHeadline action="" method=post>
</FORM> type=text/javascript>
</SCRIPT>
Related Links
<FORM name=relatedLinksform action="" method=post></FORM> <FORM name=relatedLinksform action="" method=post></FORM>
<FORM name=relatedLinksform action="" method=post></FORM> <FORM name=relatedLinksform action="" method=post></FORM>
<FORM name=relatedLinksform action="" method=post></FORM> <FORM name=relatedLinksform action="" method=post></FORM>
Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the couple, confirmed that a meeting was held last month with film-makers from IMG, an American-owned entertainment company.
“We have only had one very tentative discussion with IMG. It may or may not happen. If we feel any particular proposal in the media has validity in helping us find Madeleine, we are happy to discuss it,�?he said.
Mr Mitchell, a former BBC journalist, said that a deal could generate some much needed funds for the Madeleine appeal.
“The media are making money out of the situation themselves and we feel it is only fair and right that some aspect of that should come to the fund to help find Madeleine,�?he said.
The Bafta-winning film Touching the Void used documentary-style interviews intercut with dramatic reconstruction to tell the story of two British climbers trapped on the upper reaches of a mountain.
It is believed that the McCanns�?representatives were attracted to the proposal because of the company’s highly praised documentary about a teenage girl who vanished in the United States. The family of Elizabeth Smart, who vanished from her bedroom in Salt Lake City in 2002, cooperated in the making of The Elizabeth Smart Story, shown on Channel 4 last week.
The disappearance of the angelic-looking 14-year-old had many parallels with the Madeleine McCann mystery. The tale dominated American news coverage. Her family, like the McCanns, fell under early suspicion. So did a loner who had been working on the family home and died in custody as the prime suspect.
The truth was that Elizabeth had been kidnapped by a disturbed religious maniac and his wife, and kept against her will near the family home, wearing a veil to hide her identity.
The story had a happy ending nine months later when the girl was recognised and saved by police and returned to the safety of her family. The Elizabeth Smart Storyand Touching the Void were made by Darlow Smithson, which was bought by IMG in 2006.
A Disney film that bore striking similarities to the McCanns�?story was pulled from British cinemas last September for fear of offending Madeleine’s family. Gone Baby Gone recounted the tragic tale of a four-year-old girl snatched from her bed.
IMG is one of a number of companies to have approached the McCanns with proposals to turn their story into either a TV documentary or film. This appears to be the first proposal to have been taken seriously. Mr and Mrs McCann were aware of the meeting but did not attend.
The film project will be discussed at a meeting of the fund’s directors, including Mr McCann, tonight at his home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
Madeleine vanished six days before her fourth birthday from a Portuguese holiday apartment at Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on May 3 last year.
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
First 