Colin Firth and Michael Winterbottom developing a rival Amanda Knox film

Less than two weeks after the American financed t.v. movie 'The Amanda Knox' story was announced with 'Heroes' actress Hayden Panettiere controversially set to lead as the convicted murderer - comes news in The Telegraph of a British financed rival picture, based on U.S. journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau's book 'Angel Face: The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox'. British veteran Michael Winterbottom, no stranger to controversy himself with 'The Killer Inside Me' undergoing much scrutiny earlier this year for it's depiction of no-holds barred violence against women, is set to direct. Colin Firth will co-write and lead. Firth, who lives in Italy when he isn't working, has obviously taken a keen interest in the much scrutinized case where last December an Italian jury, with questionable evidence, sent American Amanda Knox to prison for 26 years for the sexual assault and horrific murder of her British roommate Miranda Kircher. A murder that she is convicted of committing at just 20 years of age with her two accomplishes - Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede, in the usually quaint city of Perugia, Italy. Firth will co-write and lead the film as a journalist who so desperately wants to get to the truth of who killed Meredith Kircher, but fears we won't ever know. I guess you could call the movie a reverse 'Zodiac' as Winterbottom, on a recent scouting visit to Perugia, said;

"The idea would be that ultimately there isn't an answer, it's all a puzzle... When you read about the case, there seems to be no convincing explanation for what happened. We are certainly not going to be saying 'This person is innocent, or that person is guilty'. But we will be asking 'Is this system of justice fair?'"

Maybe I'm looking to much into it but he does say one of the key questions his movie will dissect is the question of 'is this system of justice fair'. Make of that what you will, but I will say it again; 'reverse Zodiac'. It's said that horrible night on 1st November 2007, nearly three years ago, won't be depicted in great detail out of the respect to Meredith's family. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgnw9EM_qbg Knox's stepfather Chris Mellas has condemned both the American financed t.v. movie and this newly announced British picture;

€œWe think that it€™s not appropriate at this time to make these films, given that the appeal process is still ongoing.€

Knox's appeal against her murder conviction begins next month. Last week Knox was back in court over accusations of slander against the police during the early days of the Kercher case, and if found guilty she could face a further six years in prison.