‘Resident Evil’ producer to shoot Kampusch movie

A famed German film producer is to bring the story of Natascha Kampusch to the big screen, it was announced yesterday (Thurs).Bernd Eichinger – who masterminded blockbusters such as “The Neverending Story”, “Resident Evil” and “Fantastic Four” – said he will team up with German journalist Peter Reichard whose TV documentary on Kampusch’s life in imprisonment had good market shares when it was screened last January.Eichinger – whose movie “Downfall” about the last days of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler caused controversy in 2004 – said: “Natascha Kampusch trusts us and I appreciate that.”Eichinger said he wanted to “tell the story as it really happened”. He added the plan was to start shooting next year and bring the film to cinemas in 2012.Kampusch, 21, said: “Many kind letters convinced me to pursue plans to turn my story into a film.”Kampusch was kept in a self-made dungeon cellar by pervert Wolfgang Priklopil for more than eight years after being snatched off the road on her way to school in Vienna at the age of ten. Her kidnapper committed suicide by jumping in front of a train on the day in August 2006 she fled his estate to tell neighbours: “Help me, I’m Natascha Kampusch.”Austrian authorities ended investigations in January after they were restarted last year in order to clarify claims police had not thoroughly checked on tip-offs that could have led to kidnapper Priklopil.Police chiefs admitted it was a mistake they had not checked claims by a police dog squad leader who told investigators soon after Kampusch was kidnapped that an obscure loner from Strasshof an der Nordbahn might have had something to do with her disappearance after hearing that police were checking on owners of white Volkswagen vans.Prosecutors meanwhile said they could rule out that Priklopil had had accomplices.