Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret

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]

Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret
Written by
  • Gregory Small
  • Richard Blaney
Directed byJace Alexander
Starring
Theme music composerErran Baron Cohen
Gregor Narholz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers
  • Kyle A. Clark
  • Lina Wong
executive producers Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin, Judith Verno
CinematographySharone Meir
EditorKathryn Himoff

Christopher Nelson

Yvette Mangassarian
Running time120 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original release
  • June 22, 2013 (2013-06-22)

Production

City Entertainment's Maurer and Witlin originally sold the project to Lifetime, which began consideration of the film as early as March 2012, eight 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 were underway at that time, filming 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 two 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, makes 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] In USA Today, 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 March 24, 2016.
  2. 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 March 24, 2016.
  3. Schneider, Michael (March 15, 2013). "Exclusive: Lifetime Plots Movie Based on the Jodi Arias Trial". TV Guide. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  4. McKay, Hollie (March 19, 2013). "Lifetime casting for sex-soaked Jodi Arias movie; script portrays her as 'brutal' killer". Fox News. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  5. "'Dirty Little Secret,' movie about Jodi Arias case, airing on Lifetime". Newsday. June 14, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  6. Slinger, Adam (June 16, 2013). "'Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret,' follows prosecutor's timeline of events". ABC News. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  7. "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  8. staff (June 24, 2013). "Lifetime's 'Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret' Draws 3.1 Million Viewers". Broadway World. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  9. "Review: "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret"". Variety. June 18, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  10. "Lifetime's 'Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret' better than expected". The Arizona Republic. June 20, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  11. Cordova, Randy (June 18, 2013). "'Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret' better than expected". USA Today. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  12. Associated Press (June 22, 2013). "Lifetime's Jodi Arias Film Unearths No Secrets But Is Fine Entertainment: Review". People. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
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