Kopple to Direct Kevorkian Pic

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Tuesday, October 5, 2004

By Gregg Kilday

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the advocate of
doctor-assisted suicide who is serving a 10- to 25-year prison term,
will be the subject of a feature film.

The project marks the first time that the doctor, who was convicted of
second-degree murder in 1999 and is serving his sentence in a
maximum-security prison in Michigan, has authorized any media-based
project surrounding his life and efforts in assisted suicide.

Barbara Kopple will direct the film for producer Steve Jones, whose Bee
Holder Prods. has acquired rights to an unpublished biography. Kevorkian
is cooperating with Neal Nicol, his assistant of 25 years, and Harry
Wylie, a longtime friend, on the book. The filmmakers are seeking a
screenwriter for the project.

Kevorkian assisted in more than 150 cases of suicide and had beaten the
state court system in Michigan numerous times, but he was convicted
after he willingly sent a videotape of himself euthanizing a terminally
ill man to “60 Minutes.”

Kopple, an Oscar winner for her documentaries “Harlan County, U.S.A.”
and “American Dream,” recently completed filming her narrative feature
debut, “Havoc,” starring Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress