Hilde Lysiak, The 12-Year-Old Journo Inspiration Of Apple TV Series, Strikes Again
The creators of the upcoming Apple TV series inspired by Hilde Lysiak, the intrepid 12-year-old investigative reporter who exposed a murder in her Pennsylvania hometown when she was 9 in her self-started newspaper, have been keeping up with her work. Most recently, that included standing her ground against an Arizona town marshal.
Lysiak posted a video in her Orange Street News showing her being threatened with jail by Marshal Joseph Patterson earlier this week in Patagonia, AZ. This came after he stopped her on her bike, and she told him she was a member of the media. Among Patterson’s replies was “I don’t want to hear about this freedom-of-the-press stuff.” He also said she couldn’t post her video online without permission (actual law, however, differs). Here’s the encounter:
Related stories
Apple Targets Springtime Launch Of Streaming Video Service: Reports
Terry Wood Joins Harpo Prods. To Oversee Content For Oprah Winfrey's Apple Deal
The video has 200,000 views since she posted it Monday, and the local Nogales International newspaper reported Wednesday that town officials had “taken action” against Marshall over the incident. It all got the attention of Dana Fox and Dara Resnik, who created the Apple series from Anonymous Content and Paramount Television that stars The Florida Project‘s Brooklynn Prince and Jim Sturgess.
In case you haven’t seen what @orangestreetnew is up to these days. Just protecting freedom of the press one day at a time.
— Dara Resnik (@BadassMomWriter) February 22, 2019
I love you even more for not doing interviews, Hilde. You are my inspiration in so many ways. https://t.co/uBvltRKk77
— Dara Resnik (@BadassMomWriter) February 22, 2019
Fox, meanwhile, retweeted Lysiak.
I've received a lot of interview requests. I'm sorry but everything I had to say I said through the facts in the story. Here is more about me if interested. Thank you. https://t.co/9QLLOxHGCD
— Hilde Lysiak (@orangestreetnew) February 22, 2019
The Apple series, described as a family drama, follows a young girl who moves from Brooklyn to the small lakeside town her father left behind. While there, her dogged pursuit of the truth leads her to unearth a cold case that everyone in town, including her own father, tried hard to bury. The untitled project was created by Ben and Kate creator Fox and Daredevil alum Resnik, who executive produce with Joy Gorman Wettels and Sharlene Martin. Jon M. Chu will direct and executive produce.
Lysiak was the first to expose a murder in her hometown of Selinsgrove, PA, breaking the news in the Orange Street News. The scoop drew negative feedback from online commenters who argued 9-year-olds shouldn’t be covering murders. She fought back with a video that garnered national and international media attention, and landed her a deal with Scholastic to co-write six books with her author/journalist father Matthew Lysiak called Hilde Cracks the Case.
It all got the attention of Paramount TV and its partner Anonymous Content, who optioned her life rights and the rights to her books.
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
