In 2010, Variety reported Hayden Panettiere had been cast to play Amanda Knox in a Lifetime movie (via Entertainment Weekly). At the time, Knox was awaiting her appeal after being found guilty of Kercher's murder and receiving a 26-year sentence. In 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that Knox's family had begun proceedings to block the release of Lifetime's "Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy." One of Knox's Italian lawyers, Maria del Grosso, wrote in an email that "The damages to the image, reputation and privacy of Amanda Knox are incalculable." The attorney also stated the "movie interferes with the proper course of the justice because it claims to be based on a true story, while there is not a 'truth' [that has been] procedurally established.
Panettiere defended the film to The Los Angeles Times, stating, "I've definitely gotten harsh questions, but then I talk about the fact that the movie is very fact-driven and classy." She added that the movie didn't include any scenes that could potentially incriminate Knox or change how judges may feel about her in a court of law.
