EXCLUSIVE: Lifetime has given a green light to The Gabby Petito Story (working title) movie, with Emmy-nominated Thora Birch (The Walking Dead, American Beauty) attached to co-star and direct in her helming debut.
The movie, part of Lifetime’s Stop Violence Against Women public affairs initiative, comes as the anniversary of Gabby Petito’s disappearance and murder approaches this fall.The Gabby Petito Story will explore Gabby and her fiancé Brian Laundrie’s complicated relationship and what may have gone wrong during their cross-country trip that resulted in Gabby’s tragic murder.
The movie will film in Utah this summer and premiere later this year.Birch will play Gabby’s mom, Nichole Schmidt.The disappearance of Gabby Petito captured America’s attention, setting off a nationwide search for the 22-year-old travel blogger after her parents reported her missing in September 2021, when she failed to return home following her cross country “van-life” trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie.
Non-stop coverage on the news drove amateur sleuths to dissect Gabby’s social media posts for clues about what happened to her during her, leading to the eventual discovery of her body in Wyoming.
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