Saturday, December 01, 2012

Knox Defense Utters A Rather Hypocritical Whine About Lifetime TV Movie Airing In Italy Monday

Posted by Peter Quennell


Breaking news from Italy on the “legal threat” to the Lifetime movie airing tonight. Mediaset is the Italian agent for Lifetime here. From the Mediaset website our main poster Jools translated this: 

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MEDIASET: NO FORMAL NOTICE OR PETITIONS

“Mediaset has not received neither formal notice or petitions” from the lawyers of Amada Knox on the airing of the film of the same name. The company in Cologno Monzese [Milan] explains: “Mediaset has only received a letter with an invitation from the lawyers requesting to transmit the film in accordance with the requirements of the law. Which is something Mediaset does with every program that goes on air”.

**************

Good grief. Are the Knox-Mellases paying good legal fees for this wimpish note?! Or is their PR/media effort as so often blowing smoke to hide the hard truth that they have yet again over-reached?

Sympathy for Amanda Knox seems in total meltdown these days.

Unlikely to turn around soon. The very ugly campaign run by Curt Knox’s hatchet men and the hyper-aggressive book we’re apparently promised next April seem to demonstrate a disastrous tin ear.

Knox has had almost a full year to do the patently obvious: get out in front of some TV cameras, and explain once and for all to everybody interested in truth and justice what really happened between her and Meredith in the house. She has had several years to answer the hundreds of open questions reflected on this site which she still ignores.

Kindly translated by our main poster Jools, this is the flailing Knox defense lawyers’ complaint about the airing on Italian TV of the Lifetime movie this next Monday.

Perugia- A formal legal notice not to air on Monday the film based on the murder of Meredith Kercher was sent to Mediaset [Lifetime] by Amanda Knox’s lawyers Carlo Dalla Vedova and Luciano Ghirga. The Seattle young woman’s name and surname forms part of the title of the fiction scheduled for evening prime time on Channel 5 on Monday December 3.

“There is an ongoing process” said Ghirga “and therefore we believe it is inappropriate to be aired”. “I do not like the film” meanwhile Knox said from the USA to her lawyer. In the United States in fact “Amanda Knox Murder on Trial in Italy” was aired often around a year ago, and the Seattle student has already seen it. “She asks us” said her lawyer Ghirga “to do what we can so it is not aired in Italy”. And furthermore, concludes the lawyer ironically “I don’t like the actor who plays me”.

Knox was convicted in the first instance with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the Kercher murder, but they were both later acquitted on appeal and are now awaiting the decision in March 2013 from the Supreme Court on the appeal brought by the Prosecutor General of Perugia and the Kercher family.

Our Italian lawyers note that the EXACT SAME ARGUMENTS could be applied to the manipulative, innaccurate piece of fiction Honor Bound put out a few weeks ago by Raffaele Sollecito.

As that book parrots many of the spurious, puerile claims made by Curt Knox’s hatchet men, they seem to have had a major hand in it. But the Sollecito and Knox lawyers have issued NO complaint about that book - even though Sollecito’s own father admitted it is defamatory of the prosecution.

If there is a real difference between the legal implications of the Lifetime movie and the Sollecito book, we’d like to know what it is. Lifetime lawyers, please take note.

Comments

Yes, the real difference is “the rich and the powerful”.

But I like the sentence: I don’t like the actor who plays me. Indeed.

Lots of smoke. Very little fire. Just like the million dollar PR campaign.

I was expecting AK to come out publicly in support of RS’s book show. As usual, I was wrong.

But then this is a very unusual case.

Posted by chami on 12/01/12 at 01:42 PM | #

Here in the US Amazon has been selling the DVD of the Lifetime movie ever since it aired:

http://www.amazon.com/Amanda-Knox-Murder-Trial-Italy/dp/B004MCGNTE

The legal possibilities of the Knox team, seriously undermined (as they surely know) by Sollecito’s book, were also made far worse by something that happened a few weeks ago.

Back in 2008 a Corriere reporter called Fiorenza Sarzanini published a book with some excerpts from a diary which Amanda Knox may or may not have created to be put out anyway.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1090608/Secret-diary-reveals-Foxy-Knoxy-thinking-sex.html

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/does_her_leaked_prison_diary_talk_to_knoxs_mental_condition/

Her book REMAINS on sale in Italy but Knox’s team sued back then and provisionally won a large award.

A few weeks ago that award was reversed by an Italian judge, the sum in damages had to be handed back, and the same team of toothless tigers doing today’s complaining were back to Square One.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/01/12 at 01:47 PM | #

Well, I saw the trailer. It looks ok and I liked the actress who played AK. Maybe that is the reason, precisely, AK does not like the actor. It may be too accurate.

But then AK should feel flattered: she was shown in a class and also shown studying. By the way, how is her academic performance so far?

I am just curious.

Posted by chami on 12/01/12 at 01:49 PM | #

Hi Chami.

The Sollecito book is a very curious work. Spurious Knox team talking points appear throughout. And yet it really did Knox no favors and Sollecito repeatedly dropped her in it, perhaps because she was already showing waning interest in him and organizing to meet her Seattle boyfriend in China. Again, he fails to support her main alibi.

Knox has still not graduated and apparently dropped out of the University of Washington after one semester “to concentrate on writing the book”. We posted the other day that there seems photographic evidence that Knox was never an honor student at her school.

http://www.truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/fervent_knox_supporter_tom_wright_seemingly_strongarms_knox_high_schoo/#comments

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/01/12 at 02:05 PM | #

PS Chami, the actress who played Amanda Knox is the subject of the post just below. We were more impressed than we ever expected. The movie portrayed some raw edges but did not definitively point to guilt.

The actor who played Mignini (you can see him several times in the video) is one of Italy’s most glamorous, and he came across as being fair, effective and very very smart.

Sure, Mr Ghirga would have liked that guy to portray him!

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/01/12 at 02:14 PM | #

Strange start to the marketing push, releasing the title and cover this early…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9710506/Amanda-Knox-releases-title-and-book-cover-for-4million-memoir-Waiting-to-be-Heard.html

Posted by Spencer on 12/02/12 at 03:11 PM | #

Hi Spencer

Isn’t that what’s known as an “ignore the wizard behind the curtain” feint?

You know, intended to make a skeptical public believe that the one “waiting to be heard” who has actually been heard ad-nauseum in the past 5 years is, of course, far too busy on this exciting project to, you know, now be heard?

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/02/12 at 04:03 PM | #

Hi Pete,

I know, what a joke.

The title does rather beg the question of if she really is “waiting to be heard” then why hasn’t she taken the stand?

Posted by Spencer on 12/02/12 at 05:40 PM | #

Re: The Book

Dreadful typesetting, even worse photo, the less said about the title the better.

“It will come out April 30, two months later than originally scheduled”.

Looks like they have factored in a guilty verdict to the time schedule, which I assume, means the book might not be released at all.

Posted by Urbanist on 12/03/12 at 01:10 AM | #

Hi Urbanist.

The book might also not be released at all if and when the black cloud gathering over the Sollecito book in Italy starts raining thunderbolts on all their heads. It only makes sense in absence of this and a free pass by Cassation which is possible but hard to see.

A poster in London I was chatting with who had been distracted for a short while asked how the Cassation appeal would play out. I emailed back that the most comprehensive posts already up that explain this are these two below:

http://www.truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/explaining_how_the_italian_appeals_process_works_and_why_it_is_now_so_/

http://www.truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/an_overview_from_italy_of_the_galati-costagliola_appeal_to_the_supreme/

Both were written by Italian lawyers - the first in early days so he’s coolish, the second hotter because he sees the perverted outrage of Hellmann-Zanetti.

Also search for all posts about Dr Galati to see what a formidable prosecutor he is - ex Supreme Court himself so he has a huge inside track. In contrast Bongiorno is largely clueless at Supreme Court level and all the others on the defense have no experience at all.

Essentially what the second poster linked to above says is that there are LAYERS of legal mistakes (like an onion) and at any layer the Supreme Court could throw Hellmann-Zanetti out. Then we could get to see anything up to a whole new appeal trial.

One minimalist approach which terrifies the few Knox people with intellect to understand is that Conte-Vecchioti could get thrown out (so no questionable DNA) or that the trace on the knife is tested and proves to be Meredith’s.

A group of judges (but mainly one) would read anything they want in the 10,000 pages and all transcripts. They may take a few questions from lawyers but will quickly announce what they want.

They were very scathing over Rudy’s appeal so its hard to see why they should decide different over the H-Z report. It contains major jurisprudence mistakes that if allowed to stand could infect many other Italian cases.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/03/12 at 07:31 PM | #

@Pete:

You wrote this above:

————

Back in 2008 a Corriere reporter called Fiorenza Sarzanini published a book with some excerpts from a diary which Amanda Knox may or may not have created to be put out anyway.

....

A few weeks ago that award was reversed by an Italian judge, the sum in damages had to be handed back, and the same team of toothless tigers doing today’s complaining were back to Square One.

————

That decision—specifically the reversal of the award—may have had or will have implications on the exclusivity of any contract Knox has with HarperCollins.  Essentially anything Knox has to say or write about the case has already been published.  There are no secrets left for her to reveal (apart from the truth and that is certainly not going to happen).

As for the Lifetime movie, I feel it is still in poor taste to profit from Meredith’s murder like that.  The film purports to inform and entertain but ends up doing neither.  Instead of watching an actress pretend to be Knox and bumble her way through the testimony, it’s far more instructive to watch Knox do it all by herself.

The real Knox convinced absolutely nobody of her innocence after she took the stand in her own defence.

Posted by Stilicho on 12/04/12 at 12:11 AM | #

Hello,

I watched the movie on Lifetime when it first aired, and my initial impression was that it was a “propaganda piece” to convince its audience that Knox is “innocent.” 

But I think it was a “failure” because no one was “buying it”—except, of course, the usual suspects of the FOA.

Lifetime repeatedly airs movies over and over again, but this is one movie that I have not see aired repeatedly as mcuh as some of their other movies ...  and Good !

Lifetime is hypocritical—they “claim” to be “victim friendly”—but in this movie, nothing on the ONE and ONLY VICTIM, Meredith !

They should be ashamed of themselves !

Have a nice day everyone, and keep up the great work !

MizzMarple

Posted by MissMarple on 12/04/12 at 04:48 AM | #

The above movie evokes various responses.

A local Ivy-League-College student told me that when he saw it he thought Knox was as guilty as hell.

Posted by Cardiol MD on 12/04/12 at 02:24 PM | #

Hi Cardiol and Stilicho.

Thanks for sharp comments on the TV movie. Attitudes here changed somewhat over time as our various posts on the movie show. Initially it seemed like the team and the family were joined at the hip and we said we found that really distasteful.

What happened next we have never been quite sure, but Skep’s open letter was posted to Lifetime, and some of their production team did do some reading here, including maybe Panetierre. The final outcome seems to have displeased the Knoxes the most (Sollecito was pretty well wallpaper) and what Cardiol experienced was quite common. The movie created many new Knox skeptics.

Same arc as the Sollecito book and Katie Couric, if you think about it. Very few in the media have proved really stubborn.

*****

Stilicho seems to have it right on the book. What exactly IS still “waiting to be heard” ? Her team will increasingly see in the next few weeks that singing the same tune in her book as Sollecito in his will be suicidal.

And if its to be about her “brutal time” in an Italian prison, there are her grinning images and tales of lusty participation in prison events to suggest she was reconciling to serving her time and emerging to a forgiving Italy.

Italy is a lot more forgiving country than the US is.  Be careful what you wish for… Millions spent and not even back to square one.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/04/12 at 11:36 PM | #

I hope I will never have to translate Knox´s book!

Posted by aethelred23 on 12/05/12 at 01:52 AM | #

I have said this before: both AK and RS are responsible for the current mess. It is their creation.

It would have been the best strategy, in their own interests, to keep their cute mouths shut. But they thought they can convince the indifferent majority and bring them to their side. Alas, that is not to be. A majority of the indifferent majority will slowly be sliding on the other side.

This is going to be true about the movie, about Honour Bound and also about Waiting to be heard. Truth has a nasty habit of poking its face at odd places.

They could not shut down the fan club: the monster they have created need to be fed continuously and is out of their control. The fan-boys (and fan-girls) create more sceptics every day. It is slow but steady.

You can fool some people all the time and all people some of the time but you can never fool mom!

Posted by chami on 12/05/12 at 03:01 PM | #

In line with the universal sarcasm and suspicion to be found now in the Italian media whenever Amanda Knox’s name comes up, this movie seems to have been regarded in advance as yet another attempted American whack at Italian justice.

Maybe in consequence the viewer numbers were very low (13.59% of all watching TV in that period), reviews were negative, and some more sarcastic cracks, this time by viewers, ended up on Facebook.

Italians knew that the legal “threat” portrayed by Knox forces in the American media was in fact nothing of the kind.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/07/12 at 12:41 AM | #

I am sick and on antibiotics . I know this doesn´t belong here but I had to get rid of this…

Posted by aethelred23 on 12/08/12 at 02:23 AM | #

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