Media, entertainment industry race to tell (and sell) the Amanda Knox story (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

Long before she was acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher, the American media, entertainment industry had told (and sold) various versions of the Amanda Knox story.

Now comes the race to tell (and sell) the sequel.

The Seattle Post writes that already, the Lifetime channel is planning updates to its movie "Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial in Italy," aired when Knox "was still wading through the Italian appeals process."

The LA Times quotes a spokesperson for Lifetime as saying that the film will be altered to include a brief epilogue that explains the latest turn in the case and the updated movie will air Tuesday evening.

Actor Hayden Panettiere courted controversy by playing Knox in the movie, and through her manager reportedly declined to comment on the Knox appeal verdict.

(GlobalPost reports from Italy: Amanda Knox murder conviction overturned)

Then there were the numerous books about Knox's 2009 conviction over the 2007 murder of her British roommate, Kercher, in Perugia, Italy, with such titles as "Angel Face," "The Fatal Gift of Beauty" and "The Monster of Perugia: The Framing of Amanda Knox.”

But that’s not all that’s in store for Knox, 24, a Seattle native, as she reportedly makes a beeline for home after walking free from the Italian prison where she spent the last four years.

Apart from being the most sought-after interview in the country, and amid speculation about book deals, Knox is even being offered work.

Minutes after her acquittal, the Seattle radio state KQMV was making Knox a "special offer."

“KQMV Has A Job For Amanda Knox," was the headline of a statement from the station, which went on to read:

"We’re glad you’re free Amanda and look forward to welcoming you home! We believed in you all along, so much so, that we would like to extend an offer of $10,000 to you to come host our morning show for one week with Brooke and Jubal in the morning! We would all love to hear what you have to say and maybe help a little with the legal bills. Once again, welcome home!"

MSNBC, meantime, quotes "experts" as saying Knox will become a "hot media property," with talk shows, book publishers and others vying to tell her story.

“I think that anything with her name on it and her face on it will create an interest,” the network quotes Gene Grabowski, a crisis management expert, as saying. "This is the United States of Entertainment. There’s a constant market for entertainment."

The report quotes Harold Vogel, author of “Entertainment Industry Economics,” as saying that now Knox is acquitted, "there’s not the feeling that you’re contributing to someone who’s committed a crime.” Which presumably means all bets are off in the pursuit of entertainment dollars derived from the Amanda Knox trial.

Meanwhile, vying for the award for best controlled emotional outburst over the verdict — broadcast live from the appeals court in Italy — was Theodore Simon, a New York based attorney for Knox.

Simon watched the verdict come down from a TV screen in New York City.

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Perhaps indicating a wish to avoid accusations of insensitivity toward Kercher's family, Simon explained his relatively muted reaction to the verdict on ABC's "Nightline":

“My reaction was I was extremely appreciative, grateful and certainly thankful… not only for Amanda but for her family because this was a monumental wrongful conviction, and it finally was corrected."

The question remains: who will play Amanda Knox in the big budget Hollywood version?

More from GlobalPost: Amanda Knox: I was sexually harassed in Italian prison

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