SHAC Terrorism Case… As a Comedy?

by Will Potter on June 17, 2008

in Terrorism Court Cases

SHAC 7 PosseSo the SHAC 7 are in prison, as “terrorists,” for running a controversial animal rights website. Defense attorneys are appealing, and it could be a landmark First Amendment case. But apparently civil liberties are SO not entertaining… instead, according to the Hollywood Reporter, it’s fodder for a comedy:

Lionsgate has acquired worldwide rights to “Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty,” a spec script by first-time screenwriter Adam Sachs.

The script — described as a quirky, elevated comedy in the vein of “Thank You for Smoking” — centers on an unlikely friendship between a lonely reporter and an outspoken teen who bond during an animal-rights protest.

Sachs graduated from Harvard last year with a major in Earth and planetary science and had been writing for the Harvard Lampoon. He said he penned a humor piece for a Web site that caught the attention of Energy Entertainment’s Adam Marshall.

Have no fear, though. An ambitious scare-mongerer, Wesley J. Smith, has already confirmed that the film will, in fact, depict the activists as “terrorists”:

I heard from a correspondent who says he is the author of the script. Apparently, SHAC is not the hero. From his letter to me: “Dear Mr. Smith– I found your post about my script (during a round of self-googling — alas, such is 21st century life) and I just wanted to allay your fears: the script does depict SHAC as a terrorist group, and the hero of the story is a teenager who finally stands up to them in order to save an animal testing lab.”

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