Madeleine McCann: Not A Film, A Book And The McCanns Making Money
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “Madeleine’s parents planning Hollywood blockbuster movie”
“Kate and Gerry sparked outrage after it was revealed they have held negotiations with leading producers over the movie rights. The couple – who are prime suspects in the case – are also considering book and TV deals in a package worth an estimated £10million”
A book? Like the Daily Express book? That sick..?
Kate McCann: Michelle Pfeiffer
Gerry McCann: James Caan
Madeleine McCann: Macaulay Culkin
And what of this £10million, and the money earned from any film? “The windfall would help finance the search for Madeleine after concerns were raised that a special fund set up by the family was in crisis”
Page 5: The Find Madeleine fund is down to its last £400,000. More money is needed. So why the “outrage”?
Says the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell: “We need money to search for Madeleine and that is the most important thing. Nothing has been decided yet. A film would be made on a percentage basis, with part of the profits going to the fund. None of the money would go to Kate and Gerry. They are not trying in any way to profit out of her name’’
And how many films ever make a profit? It would be a film, perhaps, like that about 15-year-old Amy Smart, abducted in the US and found eight months later. “Several movies were made about her while she was missing including The Amy Smart Story”
The “WORLD’S GREATEST NEWSPAPER” does not say if the Amy Smart story made any money. But it does trawl the web and see blog comments like:
“Angry” Pamela Blears, from Oldham, posts: “From the day little Madeleine disappeared I have felt sympathy and compassion for the McCanns but this beggers belief. How can they think about making a film out of the tragedy when the poor child hasn’t even been found yet? How low can you get?”
The Daily Express costs “ONLY 40p”
“McCANNS FEAR CHARGES SOON” – “A source close to the family” tells us: “Kate and Gerry insist they are innocent but they fear they will be charged. Naturally Kate and Gerry are concerned that if this line of inquiry continues to its natural conclusion, charges are always a possibility and they know that’s entirely wrong”
He added: “The Portuguese police seem to be blinkered in their approach and it feels like they want to find the McCanns guilty regardless.”
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE: THE £10M MOVIE – Skint parent to sell film rights”
Skint? The Find Madeleine Fund is dwindling, down to its last “£200,000”. But Gerry McCann is going back to work. He is, as the tabloids never tire to telling us, “a heart consultant”. She is a “GP”
Says the Star: “The couple – who are prime suspects – are in negotiations with the world’s biggest talent and entertainment agency IMG”
IMG – International Management Group– has produced the films Touching the Void, Assault on Waco, Seconds from Disaster, I Shouldn’t be Alive and Kevin and Perry Go Large. Naomi Campbell is on the books
Any film would be an “observational documentary following the on-going search for Madeleine,” says IMG
Pages 4 and5: “Thousands blast ‘sick’ plan”
A poll: “WOULD YOU GO AND WATCH MADDIE: THE MOVIE?” Yes? No? Or I’ve already seen tonight With Trevor McDonald, thanks?
“Ester out in crisis” – TV presenter Esther McVey has resigned her post as a director of the Find Madeleine fund
DAILY MAIL front page: “MADDIE’S PARENTS PLAN £2M FILM DEAL”
“Kate and Gerry McCann could make £2million from a film deal over the story of their daughter’s disappearance, it has been claimed”
Not £10m? Such are the perils of showbiz?
Says the paper: “So far the McCanns, both 39, have turned down offers from big-name chat shows and television dramas as they were anxious to avoid being seen as celebrities”
But we watching the parents. So why not make profit, if it will help?
“Disgraced banker Nick Leeson earned a reported £450,000 when he sold the rights to his autobiography, Rogue Trader. Offers to Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch were said to have topped £1million”
And: “But Gerry McCann was quick to deny the story”
COMMENT: “Maddie the movie: One step too far – Ever since their daughter Madeleine disappeared, Kate and Gerry McCann have ridden a wave of public sympathy. True, there are some (including the Portuguese police) who have aired deeply hurtful suspicions about the couple since that terrible evening in May. But the overwhelming public mood - particularly among parents of young children - has been one of compassion. Today, however, the McCanns risk losing much of that goodwill. Incredibly, it emerges that they are discussing a possible multi-million pound deal to turn Madeleine’s disappearance into a film. To be blunt, isn’t this pushing the boundaries of taste too far?”
But it is already the subject of a media circus. So why not a DVD – we’ve had the T-shirt, the song, the billboards and the trailers..?
ALISON PEARSON writes in her column: “What CAN Kate and Gerry be thinking? Critics who have never forgiven Gerry and Kate for leaving their kids alone in their holiday apartment will be confirmed in their view that the couple have truly terrible judgment. They will be accused of bad taste; of lacking respect for Madeleine’s memory. Kate will be charged with wanting to swan down the red carpet, even though in this case it is sorrow, not vanity, that has reduced her to a Hollywood Size Zero”
How did it become a story about Kate McCann’s looks?
DAILY MIRROR front page: “Maddy THE Movie”
The McCanns also met with ITV about making a documentary. Maddy A Movie…
THE SUN front page: “Maddie hunt ‘to be film’”
Page 9: “ They pary that movie will help find Maddie”
Gerry McCann is a “cardiac specialist”. The McCanns are “doctors”
“IS THIS THE RIGHT DECISION?”
“YES,” says Lorraine Kelly, GMTV presenter.
“NO,” says the Sun’s Jon ‘Guanty’ Gaunt - “I guess the title of the McCann’s proposed film has to be Home Alone”. Or not…
THE GUARDIAN: “McCanns deny reports of Madeleine film”
Writes Gerry McCann on his blog: “We can categorically deny that we are considering a movie about Madeleine’s disappearance. This is simply untrue. We are approached by a huge number of media outlets regarding a myriad of projects, only a tiny proportion of which we agree to. Each proposal is considered on whether it is likely to have a positive effect, either directly or indirectly, on the search for Madeleine”
ON the Guardian website: “Madeleine’s parents consider film - The parents of Madeleine McCann are considering giving the go-ahead to a film about their missing daughter following an approach by a major entertainment firm”
THE TIMES page 3: “Parents may turn Madeleine McCann story into a Hollywood movie”
“On-screen child horror stories:
A Cry In The Dark
Gone Baby Gone
Honour Thy Father And Mother: the True story of the Menendez Brothers
Menenedez: A Killing in Beverly Hills, 1994
The Amityville Horror series
Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure”
Says Clarence Mitchell: 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”
DAILY TELGRAPH: “McCanns in talks to make a film about AMdldine’s disappearance”
“Do you think a Madeleine film should be made”
Well, we;’ve had the sop opera, and who wants to watch EastEnders: The Movie?
THE SCOTSMAN: “McCanns eye Madeleine film”
BOSTON HERALD: “Missing Madeleine story could become feature film”
The speculation, media hype and sensation so far
Posted: 9th, January 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,585) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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January 10th, 2008 at 12:18 am
1500
What?
Sometimes that hapens
January 10th, 2008 at 12:18 am
1478 Sledgehammer Says: January 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Peter O, yes I agree there is no evidence of anything other than neglect.+++++++++++++++Portugal’s most senior cop Alipio Ribeiro — who sacked bungling detective Goncalo Amaral — admitted the investigation was dealing with a “daily crisis”.
And it was revealed Amaral tried to have Madeleine’s mum Kate locked up for child ABANDONMENT.
Reports suggest police who interrogated Kate for over ten hours wanted to put her in prison after she refused to answer key questions about Madeleine’s disappearance and forensic evidence
++++++++++++
Amaral wasn’t sacked, he was moved. The rest is largely media interpretation. If I can’t use media interpretation to assume guilt on the part of the McCann’s and/or their friends, you can’t use it to imply wrongdoing/failings in the investigation surely?
January 10th, 2008 at 12:17 am
1495
Abraham Zapruder
nite ,)
Sleep well
January 10th, 2008 at 12:17 am
is there any reason why my post wont go through
January 10th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Now I know that was not the post you were talking about and so do you,don’t make a bigger fool of yourself, I never refered to you as a bimbo for obvious reasons.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:16 am
1493
Ciara-Louise
Wasn’t talking about that post. It was the one where you said insinuated I was a man! Said I was Stevo/Dr.Watson and I assured you last time I looked I most certainly was not !!
———-
Perhaps you had better look again. Maybe your bits have dropped off, like stevo/Watsons
January 10th, 2008 at 12:16 am
By now all the tapas 9 ,know,or have a preety good idea of what happened.
I think , those who carry the heavy burden ,are the 1 or2 that disposed the body. That must, something horrendus
January 10th, 2008 at 12:14 am
1474 Garth Says: January 10th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Peter O
Of course, you speculate on the side of guilt. I have no problem with that. And if the claims by the PJ are to be believed then anyone would think the same. However, it has also been claimed that the PJ have made many mistakes and their belief that the M’S guilty from day one. Does that not tell you something about there enquiries? And as far as speculating goes, which, and lets be fair, some of the reports are unbelievable, it may be fair to speculate also that the PJ are corrupt. There’s plenty of reason to think that?
+++++++++++++++
I’m sorry, I can’t agree with your assessment, by implication, that everyone from the PJ, the judiciary and any other parties involved in the investigation are corrupt. That’s as unlikely as suggesting there are in fact NO corrupt police in the PJ, nor any other police force anywhere in the world. The issue in this respect really comes down to whether anyone who is genuinely corrupt, and proven to be so, has had undue influence in the investigation. This is an area that I have no doubt will be fully explored/exploited should charges ever be brought.
I know we’ve discussed this before, but I’ll restate it anyway. I’d never really become suspicious of the McCann’s until Gerry’s speech upon arriving back at East Midlands Airport in September. I’d have been spitting blood in that press conference, neither Gerry or Kate did. It was what they didn’t say that so appalled me. Retrospectively I’ve become interested in what happened earlier in the case and in my opinion there are a number of suspicious events around the McCann’s and their friends before and subsequently. Yes, I can concede I now find these things suspicious because I suspect the McCann’s of complicity in Madeleine’s disappearance.
I’ve no idea what the McCann’s, nor their friends, might be guilty of. I am however of the opinion that they know rather more about the events leading up to and following Madeleine’s disappearance.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Got to go now, night everyone.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:12 am
There appears to be a rather grating strangled sensation about, it’s a rooster getting the old neck stretched thats the choking sound, there it goes again……….squaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwkkkkkkkkk, irratating but of no real account !
January 10th, 2008 at 12:10 am
1485 Small, flat headed tool
Wasn’t talking about that post. It was the one where you said insinuated I was a man! Said I was Stevo/Dr.Watson and I assured you last time I looked I most certainly was not !!
January 10th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Have you heard the one about…………….. (the jokes will start coming - I think however, when the PJ show the McCanns there evidence. Mindyou, Im sure that’ll be ajoke in itself.
Im off to bed!
January 10th, 2008 at 12:10 am
hi people
Has anybody got the computer game called 20 Q
January 10th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Firestar - It is amazing what you give away on forums. I know that you like eating twiglets in the bath for a start and that you have openly talked about your ‘famous’ home in Derbyshire.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:08 am
………and another. Not preventing the dust carts collecting that morning…………
January 10th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Gillyflower 1429 and 1440
Well, one set of beads can’t be positively distinguished from another I guess. It’s been a theory of mine for a while that superstition could be the achilles heel for the perpetrator (s).
Dianne Webster remains a mystery indeed. Some reports say that on 3 May when the balloon went up she sat at the table for a while, “looking scared.” If only we could get inside her mind. She seems to be the only one of the 9 who hasn’t entered the mix with claimed sightings of Maddy, the abductor and Murat. We know very little about her and we know nothing about what she has said. It’s perfectly feasible that she could have spoken to the police without the media or anyone else knowing. Then again she is reported to have been at the recent meeting of the 9 at Rothley Manor. She could be a key witness, if she does have any suspicions I hope she goes with her heart and does the right thing for Maddy’s sake.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:07 am
1483
Garth Says:
January 10th, 2008 at 12:04 am
……………..
got yourself a new friend have you garty or is your old mate stiggy
January 10th, 2008 at 12:07 am
…….oh and another……….handing the apartment back to MW complex so they could continue business?
January 10th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Ciara-Louise, you lied you said I insulted you, I put up the post that showed it was Moriarty who posted your perceived insult,………..subject closed.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:06 am
…….and writing evidence on the back of fag packets. fs
January 10th, 2008 at 12:04 am
1460
Sledgehammer Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
One other strange piece of Portuguese strategy, we have probably the biggest crime story any where for many years so what do they do, they question the three main suspects on different days and allow KM to retain her mobile during her interview, very strange proceedure.
————————
Not forgetting cuddlecat. The soft toy which Kate claimed the abductor handled. They let her keep it. That could have been vital to the investigation.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:04 am
1475
yampster
January 10th, 2008 at 12:04 am
1477
Ciara-Louise Says:
January 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
……………….
xxx
nite nite its been fun
January 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Hey, anyone know how Kate’s new career in child care is going?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=488987&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
January 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am
looks like i spoke too soon
January 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Peter O, yes I agree there is no evidence of anything other than neglect.+++++++++++++++Portugal’s most senior cop Alipio Ribeiro — who sacked bungling detective Goncalo Amaral — admitted the investigation was dealing with a “daily crisis”.
And it was revealed Amaral tried to have Madeleine’s mum Kate locked up for child ABANDONMENT.
Reports suggest police who interrogated Kate for over ten hours wanted to put her in prison after she refused to answer key questions about Madeleine’s disappearance and forensic evidence
January 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
RedRooster
Goodnight
x
January 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
1473
Totje Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
1470
………………
well hes not about so he doesnt need it
i’ll have to stop reading his posts 
January 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Wikipedia
A sledgehammer is a tool that consists of a large, flat head attached to a lever (or handle). The head is typically made of metal. The sledgehammer can apply more impulse than other hammers due to its large size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area. This is in contrast to other types of hammer, which concentrate force in a relatively small area.
January 10th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Peter O
Of course, you speculate on the side of guilt. I have no problem with that. And if the claims by the PJ are to be believed then anyone would think the same. However, it has also been claimed that the PJ have made many mistakes and their belief that the M’S guilty from day one. Does that not tell you something about there enquiries? And as far as speculating goes, which, and lets be fair, some of the reports are unbelievable, it may be fair to speculate also that the PJ are corrupt. There’s plenty of reason to think that?