Director Atom Egoyan may be busy assembling all the various pieces necessary for his upcoming film on the historic West Memphis Three case, but at least he doesn’t have to worry about casting a lead actor.
Colin Firth, who has worked with Egoyan before on Where the truth lies has confirmed that he’ll be appearing in the film, in the key role private investigator Ron Lax.
Lax was crucial in proving the innocence of of the accused, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelly Jr who were arrested and imprisoned for the murder of three eight-year-old boys in 1993.
After serving over 17 years in prison, including Echols having a stint on death row, they were finally freed after numerous campaigns and hard work by supporters proved their innocence.
Reese Witherspoon was also cast recently, in the role of Pam Hobbs, a mother of one the murder victims who initially believed the false accusations, but eventually came to realise that the three were innocent.
Egoyan has been working with Paul Boardman on a recent rewrite of the novel based on the events, Devil’s Knot: The True Story Of The West Memphis Three, which was authored by Mara Leveritt.
Last Updated: February 2, 2012
