GERMAN CANNIBAL FINDS FILM DISTASTEFUL

German Cannibal Finds Film About Him Distasteful

By Scott Roxborough/Reuters

COLOGNE, Germany (Jan. 10) - A German cannibal is taking legal action to stop the release of the horror film "Butterfly: A Grimm Love Story," which he claims is based on his life.

Keri Russell ("Felicity") stars as a graduate student researching imprisoned cannibal Simon Grobeck (Thomas Kretschmann). Russell is drawn into Grobeck's world and becomes obsessed with the Internet cannibal community. "Butterfly" is scheduled for a March 9 release in Germany.

But not if Armin Meiwes, who was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for eating a man he met over the Internet, has his way. In a statement Monday, Meiwes's lawyer, Harald Ermel, said the film is a "slavish re-enactment" of the real-life events and his client did not give permission to producer Atlantic Streamline to fictionalize his story.

"I feel used," said Meiwes, who filmed the killing and confessed to the crime but denied it was murder since his victim volunteered to be eaten.

Berlin-based distributor Senator Film said it had no plans to pull "Butterfly," which was directed by Martin Weisz.

Meiwes goes before court again Thursday in the second stage of his trial. He faces life imprisonment. His lawyer said Meiwes wanted to prevent "Butterfly" from depicting a "false and stigmatized" version of cannibalism that could adversely affect the trial's outcome.

Meiwes also is suing German rock band Rammstein, claiming its song "Mein Teil" (My Piece) refers to his case.

Meiwes has given Hamburg production company Stampfwerk the rights to his story. Stampfwerk is producing a 90-minute documentary on Meiwes and his trial.