'Unlawful Killing', which aims to unveil the conspiracy behind Diana and Dodi Fayed's Paris car crash, has been shelved entirely due to 'insurance' issue.
- Jul 7, 2012
AceShowbiz - While Naomi Watts' "Diana" keeps moving forward with its production, another movie about the iconic British royal lady has faced a dead end. Controversial documentary "Unlawful Killing", which chronicles the death of the princess and her then-lover Dodi Fayed, has officially been shut down and would not be released anywhere.
"Unlawful Killing" was funded by Dodi's billionaire father Mohamed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film couldn't "secure the necessary insurance needed to indemnify them and distributors from any lawsuits involving the film's content."
The movie was originally planned to be released in the U.S. on August 31, which coincides the 15th anniversary of the day when Diana and Dodi died in a fatal car crash in Paris. It would also be released in several foreign markets, including Italy, Spain, India, Brazil, Holland and Russia.
Allied Stars, Mohamed's London-based production company which produced the documentary, told THR that U.S. distributor was interested in distributing the film, but no insurer would cover the U.K. and France. Allied eventually decided to shut down the film permanently.
"It became undoable," Allied's president Conor Nolan stated. "We are all disappointed. We worked on Unlawful Killing for four years. We've written back to all of the distributors and are returning their minimum guarantees. We're doing the decent thing."
"Unlawful Killing" sparked controversy since it aimed to unveil the conspiracy behind Diana's death. Director Keith Allen radically believes that the infamous Paris car crash was not simply an accident caused by the negligence of driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi who chased Diana and Dodi.
The movie was sold to some foreign distributors during the 2011 Cannes Film Market and American Film Market. Still, it was banned in the U.K. unless 87 cuts were made to comply with the nation's laws.
