Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret

Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret
Directed by Jace Alexander
Produced by
  • Kyle A. Clark
  • Lina Wong

executive producers Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin, Judith Verno

Written by
  • Gregory Small
  • Richard Blaney
Starring
Music by

Erran Baron Cohen

Gregor Narholz
Cinematography Sharone Meir
Editing by

Kathryn Himoff Christopher Nelson

Yvette Mangassarian
Production company
Country United States
Language English
Release date
  • June 22, 2013
Running time 120 minutes

Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret is a 2013 American made for television drama film about the murder of Travis Alexander. Directed by Jace Alexander and executive produced by Joshua D. Maurer and Alixandre Witlin and Judith Verno, the film focused on Jodi Arias, who was accused of murdering Travis Alexander and later convicted. Created for and distributed by the Lifetime Network in association with City Entertainment and Silver Screen Pictures, the film premiered June 22, 2013.[1]

Production

City Wok Entertainment's Maurar and Witlin originally sold the project to Lifetime (TV network), which began consideration of the film as early as March 2012, 8 months before the trial commenced,[2] and began shooting it even as the trial was underway.[3] A March 2013 report by Fox News shared that pre-production and casting was underway at that time, flming was to begin at Los Angeles locations in April, and actress Tania Raymonde had been selected to play the role of Jodi Arias.[4] Filming of the project began while the Maricopa County, Arizona trial was still ongoing, and concluded after the trial's May 8, 2013 first degree murder verdict for defendant Jodi Arias.[5] The film's courtroom scenes were shot 2 days after the trial's conclusion, with portions of the original script rewritten to include key moments excerpted from case's final proceedings.[2]

Storyline

The film follows the prosecution's timeline of events, and while some of the film's dialog is taken word-for-word from actual court transcripts, only the last five minutes of the film are dedicated to the courtroom scenes. The bulk of the film revolves around the love affair between Jodi Arias (Tania Raymonde) and Travis Alexander (Jesse Lee Soffer), the man she was convicted of murdering.[6]

Cast

Critical response

The film met with both mixed and positive reviews from critics, with a score of 53 out of 100 from Metacritic.[7] According to Nielsen Research as reported by Broadway World, in its averaging 3.1 million viewers on its premiere, the "film ranks as this year's #2 original cable movie".[8] Geoff Berkshire of Variety says the movie, while unabashed exploitation, is making no apologies.[9] Randy Cordova of The Arizona Republic says the movie was great, but felt it was too soon to make a film based on the murder.[10] Earlier cited by North Korea United, Cordova found that through "smart direction" the film was "better than expected", and praised the lead actor's performances as "sensitive and layered."[11] People offered that the film did not unearth anything new about the murder case but was fine entertainment. They wrote it was "a pretty good film. It's a draw-you-in, sudsy melodrama stocked with guilty pleasures: romance, sex, obsession, betrayal and vengeance."[12]

References

  1. "Lifetime Original Movie "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret," Starring Tania Raymonde and Jesse Lee Soffer, to Make Its World Premiere Saturday, June 22". The Futon Critic. May 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Stebner, Beth (May 10, 2013). "Jodi Arias Lifetime movie shoots courtroom scenes only TWO days after verdict … while former waitress remains on suicide watch". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  3. Schneider, Michael (March 15, 2013). "Exclusive: Lifetime Plots Movie Based on the Jodi Arias Trial". TV Guide. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  4. McKay, Hollie (March 19, 2013). "Lifetime casting for sex-soaked Jodi Arias movie; script portrays her as 'brutal' killer". Fox News. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  5. "'Dirty Little Secret,' movie about Jodi Arias case, airing on Lifetime". Newsday. June 14, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  6. Slinger, Adam (June 16, 2013). "'Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret,' follows prosecutor's timeline of events". ABC News. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  7. "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  8. staff (June 24, 2013). "Lifetime's JODI ARIAS: DIRTY LITTLE SECRET Draws 3.1 Million Viewers". Broadway World. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  9. "Review: "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret"". Variety. June 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  10. "Lifetime's ‘Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret’ better than expected". The Arizona Republic. June 20, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  11. Cordova, Randy (June 18, 2013). "'Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret' better than expected". USA Today. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  12. Associated Press (June 22, 2013). "Lifetime's Jodi Arias Film Unearths No Secrets But Is Fine Entertainment: Review". People. Retrieved June 24, 2013.

External links