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The line has to be drawn somewhere

I've held back from commenting on the Madeleine McCann story over the past several months, as I think more than enough junk has been written on the subject. Few people have any informed opinion and the circumstances are very tragic. The news today, however, that the family is considering a movie deal (http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2237217,00.html) really beggars belief. While I'm sure the intentions may be good and all the proceeds would be used to top up the dwindling campaign funds, the McCanns are receiving monumentally bad advice from a PR perspective.

The potential Hollywood treatment of this story is running through my head as we speak.

We start in Liverpool - home of the Beatles - where a young Kate McCann is planning her career as a medic. Gerry, meanwhile, is still in bonny Scotland - a land of braveheart warriors, bagpipes and the late James Montgomery Doohan of Star Trek fame. Fast forward a few years and we find ourselves in a tapas restaurant.

No. It's all just too awful to contemplate. Particularly as Hollywood would surely demand the happy ending that has sadly failed to emerge in real life. The way things stand at the moment, the movie would have to conclude with the meeting about a possible movie deal.

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