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Murder of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe to be depicted in upcoming Hollywood film

Hollywood cinematographer Dean Cundey is heading down under to scout locations for his upcoming true crime drama, Where Is Daniel?
Young boy with short hair, smiling at the camera, wearing a blue shirt.Getty Images

Hollywood cinematographer and Academy Award nominee Dean Cundey is expected to visit Queensland next month to begin scouting locations for the upcoming thriller, Where is Daniel? based on the notorious disappearance of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe in 2003.

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Cundey, who is best known for his direction of photography in Back To The Future, Apollo 13 and Jurassic Park, has described the chronicling of Danielโ€™s story as โ€œa must doโ€ project.

Working alongside Australian director Peter Cousens, Cundey has recently announced that filming for the motion picture is expected to start in the first half of 2017.

Depicting what police have referred to as the most extensively investigated crime in Australian history, Cousens hopes that the film will encapsulate the familyโ€™s decade-long search for answers.

Scheduled for release in early 2018, producers have revealed that the true crime feature film will dramatise the story of Danielโ€™s parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, to tell the tale of their passionate demands for justice.

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Bruce Morcombe has described reading the screenplay as โ€œsurrealโ€, and has said that he is certain filmmakers will tell the story with sensitivity.

Danielโ€™s parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, at a family press conference in August, 2011.

 With a budget of roughly $7-10 million, producers have newly launched a โ€˜Kickstarterโ€™ crowd-funding campaign in an attempt to secure $300,000 in community donations to help advance the film.

The website for the crowdfunding campaign notes that the producers are hopeful to receive contributions from the โ€œvery community that has been a part of the Morcombeโ€™s journey for so many yearsโ€.

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In 2014, Brett Peter Cowan, a former Sunshine Coast resident, was found guilty of Danielโ€™s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He will be eligible for parole in August 2031.

To find out how you can help, head to whereisdanielmovie.com

Flowers at the scene where Daniel was last seen in December, 2003. (Credit: Getty Images)
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