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
- susan jones on Susan Boyle Weeps As The Press Set About Destroying Her
- The Real Stig on The Great Cathay Pacific Blocked Toilet Mystery
- SoDak-GhostDog on Interview With Survior Of James Arthur Ray’s Sedona Sweat Lodge
- Katie Norman on I’m A Celebrity: Joe Bugner’s Career In Pictures
- HOTWATER on Madeleine McCann: The Media Creates A New Maddie Monster And Twists The Facts
January 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
691 Ian
I accept that you didn’t relate the references to ice-cream in Hideki’s posts to the words which Mods and Admins posted which were just a summary of the sentiments behind what Hideki said. That shows some naevity which is not a bad thing, and not dishonesty, I accept.
Ian, I thought I had led a sheltered life but I did realise what Mods meant and am surprised you did not. I suppose you just didn’t think about it for long enough before replying.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
720
wtf Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
714 lone pidgeon
dr gillian something, dont know her second name, odd woman, think she has some up her nostrils!
That’s right….. mccann …. no….. it’s mckeith….
January 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
719
SteveT Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
709
wtf
Yes, but its a crap job.
and full of bull…
January 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
714 lone pidgeon
dr gillian something, dont know her second name, odd woman, think she has some up her nostrils!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
709
wtf
Yes, but its a crap job.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
665
Matt.
I surrender…. 1 : 0
January 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
711 brandon flours
i totally agree, the cracks of their deciet are there for all to see, they are so inward looking, no wonder they dont bother looking for maddie, too shortsighted!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
691
Ian Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
662 Logic
I’m not dishonest at all and very much resent your saying I am.
As I said to another poster today (and got accused of telling lies, which in a way I could understand as I had said ‘none’ instead of ‘most’ - but obviously they should have known I was tongue in cheek as I was responding to their post!)
—————————————————
Ian,
You were doing your best to be unpleasant, used foul language which would have put off any rational observers passing by, and then, as usual, started whinging about how hard done by you are.
And you most certainly lied when you denied having been abusive to me….
The whole point is that the people here who put in vast amounts of time and effort into providing a place for us to discuss what I think are important issues deserve to be treated with some respect.
They do not deserve to have you whinging on about your right to free speech as exemplified by you hurling insults at anyone or everyone….
January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
688
Tinsel, your short version of the plot is so funny, I’m wiping the laughing-tears from my eyes!
Maybe you could write the plot beginning with how the McCanns met at the hospital in Glasgow, how he followed her to New Zealand - next stations Amsterdam, then Rothley and so on.
Please!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
709
wtf Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
706 steve t
Are there really doctors who specialize in shit?
no but that diet bird off the TV does. what’s her name ???
January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
709
wtf
OMG
January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
689
Logic Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
————————————
right you are then
January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
685 wtf Says:
finish this sentence,
katte and gerry are f—-d because…they were selfish bastards…and thought they were above the law, and they cant undo any of it .
If in life you fuck up
come clean and make amends
take your punishment
and help others
no other way
January 9th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Ian, when you are in a hole, it is nearly always better to stop digging.
You are going down like a McC.
Dignity man, dignity!
Besides ‘the case’ and the papers are easier targets to argue about…
January 9th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
706 steve t
Are there really doctors who specialize in shit?
so gerry is a shit consultant then? 
January 9th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
614
firestar Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
i expect i’d still reluctantly give her one though.
………………………………
Who? Jane Tanner?
January 9th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
701
:lol:
Tinsel
January 9th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
85
wtf Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
finish this sentence,
katte and gerry are f—-d because………………
they are manipulating shit doctors.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Man on the Hill 661…………. did you really attack me personally? I honestly didn’t notice as such. Thought you were just being picky. Not very good then are you sweetie?? Or maybe I’m immune?? or maybe I don’t mind? (I’m a she by the way)
Hideki…. He was/is repulsive and I am so pleased he was dealt with. The Grossest.
________________
Mods and Admin
He’s actually been back a few times since, a multi server owner, difficult to ban
January 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
i have some champagne in my fridge, if what cant say no claimed today was correct it would have been opened, slugged whilst i did the ironing! Heres hoping!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
581 Karen Says: January 9th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Mods and Admin
Edit…
Mods and Admin
Edit…
Funny you all call it disgusting now, but entertaining then
++++++++++++++
All?
———————-
Mods and Admin
there were 3, and some others earlier in the week…..
January 9th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
To 638 Totje
Mods and Admin said:
We aren’t always here to do that,and most scroll back, and those who have posted in an inflammatory way do scroll back to see their effect. It isn’t only fights we have to stop, there are other more dangerous aspects which need intervening with as soon as we see them.
Then I don’t need patience to get my piccies in my post, I can moderate them immediately 
If we had about 8 or 9 mods we could, but there are just 3 parttime…..
********
Thanks for replying. I understand, and you’re really doing a great job!
If I’m correct Meeji offered Sledge a quick course of english for 100 or more per hour.
Too expensive for me, so I offered a trade, teaching dutch.
So now I’ve got this brilliant idea that I might do that english course and apply for becoming a moderator?
Just kidding, go on with the good works. I’m sure most of us appreciate what you’re doiing!
January 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
85
wtf Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
finish this sentence,
katte and gerry are f—-d because………………
***
… because they will not let O’Brian and Tanner change their statements until they are made official arguidos and facing indictment.
I’d like to think that facing prison time, O’Brain will finally confesses as to the location of the remains.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
694…chenier
Yes….would love to see any documentary evidence of those character’s
weekly or monthly reports to the dubious pair.
A few records of any payments ,via Bank etc, to them too…would be of interest.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
In my day we worried about Mods and Rockers…
January 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
692
man on a hill Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
685 wtf Says:
finish this sentence,
katte and gerry are f—-d because………………they k###ed their daughter
January 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
687
Wishful thinking
January 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
685 wtf Says:
finish this sentence,
katte and gerry are f—-d because………………
they’re gonna lose it all…soon….
January 9th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
686…chenier
But I only dared to teasingly correct one little typo…I dread to think
what my fate might have been if I had actually disagreed with him/her.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
678
Totje Says:
January 9th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
629
Matt. and/or Chenier,
That first ex SAS company, any clues how long they’ve worked for them and how much they got paid?
—————————————–
No and no.
Call me cynical if you will, but without evidence I doubt very much that the SAS retired or present have had anything to do with the McCanns…