Nellie Andreeva

Lifetime’s controversial movie about the murder trial and conviction of American exchange student Amanda Knox in Italy will get an update in light of today’s court verdict that acquitted Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of the 2007 murder of Knox’s roommate Meredith Kercher. From now on, rebroadcasts of  Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy will include a new opening and closing card that includes updated information on Knox’s successful appeal and acquittal. Viewers will see the difference tomorrow night as the movie is scheduled to air at 9 PM, followed by a 1 AM broadcast on Wednesday and another primetime showing, at 10 PM on Thursday. According to a Lifetime rep, the airings had been scheduled weeks in advance and their timing in respect to Knox’s verdict was completely coincidental (but certainly fortuitous as it will likely bring extra eyeballs to the movie in light of all the publicity surrounding the overturned conviction). As of now, there are no plans to do a sequel to the movie, which starred Heroes alumna Hayden Panettiere as Knox.

Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy stirred controversy before its February premiere, with Knox’s family objecting to the way she was portrayed and her attorneys demanding that Lifetime pull the movie and removed its trailer from its website as the case was still going through appeal. The original trailer was pretty hard-hitting and featured images of Kercher being attacked by Sollecito as well as Knox and Sollecito in a steamy bed action while the Italian prosecutor says ominously, “Under the angel face, she is capable of anything.”  However, the re-creations of the murder were edited out of the movie’s final cut, and the original trailer for the movie has now been replaced with a new one, in which Knox professes her innocence. “Meredith was my friend. I would never hurt her. My conscience is clean,” Knox says, sobbing as images of her and Kercher in happier times play on. (New trailer below) Knox became an instant international celebrity (nicknamed Foxy Knoxy) when she was arrested in 2007 for the gruesome murder of her British roommate inside the duo’s cottage in the medieval Italian town of Perugia after what prosecutors said was a violent night fueled by sex and drugs. After an 11-month trial, Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison; her boyfriend received 25 years. Knox has always professed her innocence and has a bevy of supporters, especially in the U.S., with many questioning the fairness of the investigation and trial. Now the race is on among the top U.S. interviewers to land Knox’s first interview.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.