Why does Amanda Knox call “Stillwater” and Matt Damon?

Amanda Knox, the former American student who was acquitted twice in Italy for the murder of her roommate, is not happy with the latest Hollywood version of the sensational story that has caught the world’s attention.

It targets Tom McCarthy’s new dramatic thriller “Stillwater” – starring Matt Damon, Camille Cottin and Abigail Breslin – which is loosely based on the Italian murder case.

In a long thread posted on Twitter and Medium on Thursday, the self-proclaimed “exonerated” wrote to those who “continue to enjoy” her name, face and story without her consent, and commented more widely on how power dynamics shape a story.

Knox has accused the media in the past of building a fake story around her.

The French ensemble “Stillwater,” which opened on Friday, was co-written by McCarthy. The film is an exploration of the stereotype of the “Ugly American” as it is told through a fictional spin on the 2007 murder case, commonly referred to as the “Amanda Knox Saga”.

It was this ubiquitous wording with the Knox name that annoyed her.

This new film from director Tom McCarthy, starring Matt Damon, is ‘loosely based’ or ‘directly inspired’ by ‘the Amanda Knox saga,’ as Vanity Fair put it in a for-profit article promoting a for-profit film, neither of which I am an affiliate, ”she tweeted Thursday.

“I want to stop here on this sentence:” the Amanda Knox saga. “What does that refer to? Does it refer to something that I did? No,” she added. “This refers to the events which resulted from the murder of Meredith Kercher by a burglar named Rudy Guede.”

The 34-year-old speaker said the “saga” should refer to “shoddy police work, prosecutors’ tunnel vision and refusal to admit their mistakes” which led Italian authorities to sentence her to wrong twice. (She was eventually acquitted in 2011 – then again in 2015 by Italy’s highest court.)

“During those four years of wrongful imprisonment and eight years of trial, I had almost zero agency,” she wrote. “Everyone in this ‘saga’ had more influence over the events than I did. The wrong focus on me by the authorities led to the wrong focus on me by the press, which shaped the way I was viewed. In prison, I had no control over my public image, no voice in my story.

Because she was the center of attention, Knox said many complained that her murdered roommate, Meredith Kercher, “had been forgotten” and blamed her too.

“The result is that 15 years later, my name is the name associated with this tragic series of events, on which I had no impact. Meredith’s name is often omitted, as is Rudy Guede’s.

“Stillwater” is the latest project focused on the saga. Knox cited the 2011 Lifetime movie “terrible” starring Hayden Panettiere for which she sued the 2019 Fox network and legal drama “Proven Innocent.” She was also the subject of the 2016 documentary “Amanda Knox”, which gave her and others involved in the affair the opportunity to discharge their role in the story at length.

In her statement on Thursday, she then set aside “Stillwater”, which she said “erased the corruption and incompetence of the authorities”.

“By fictionalizing my innocence, my complete lack of involvement, by erasing the role of authorities in my wrongful conviction, McCarthy reinforces an image of me as a guilty and untrustworthy person,” she wrote.

And with the star power of Matt Damon, the two are sure to profit greatly from this fictionalization of the ‘Amanda Knox Saga’ that will leave many viewers wondering, ‘Maybe real life Amanda was involved in it. one way or another. “”

Matt Damon in the movie “Stillwater”.

(Jessica Forde / Focus Features)

She said she understands that McCarthy and Damon “have no moral obligation” to consult her “when they profit by telling a story that distorts my reputation in a negative way.”

She also invited them to be interviewed on her podcast, “Labyrinths”.

“I bet we could have a fascinating conversation about public identity and perception, and who should be able to tap into a name, face and story that have entered the public imagination,” she said. .

“I never asked to become a public figure. The Italian authorities and the world media have made this choice for me. And when I was acquitted and released, the media and the public never allowed me to become a private citizen again.

Representatives for McCarthy and Damon did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Friday.

Times writer Josh Rottenberg contributed to this report.