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Oscar Pistorius Blade Runner Killer is a new low, even for the Lifetime channel

The TV movie, "inspired by the tragic story of Reeva Steenkamp’s death" airs on Nov. 11, and based on the trailer, looks like a tragedy of the cinema

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwal-XCcOUo

Last week, a trailer for the Lifetime channel film Oscar Pistorius Blade Runner Killer was released and, well, it looks about terrible as its awkward title.

The TV movie will air in the U.S. on Nov. 11. The network is where acting careers go to die, featuring such gems as My Stepson, My Lover, Baby Monitor: Sound of Fear and, of course, Crimes of Passion: I Woke Up Pregnant (do yourself a favour and peruse Complex.com‘s list of the 50 most ridiculous Lifetime movies).

The film stars South African actor Andreas Damm as Pistorius, and German Victoria Secret model Toni Garrn, who described the film in an Instagram post accompanying the trailer as “the fictional drama, inspired by the tragic story of Reeva Steenkamp’s death.” 

Pretty much everyone panned even the idea of this movie’s existence when it was announced in September. The Steenkamp family released a statement, saying, “Any impression that is created that this is the view of June [Steenkamp, Reeva’s mother], or that the movie is endorsed by the Steenkamp family, is untrue and incorrect.” 

Pistorius’ family are suing the filmmakers, saying in a statement to the media in part, “The film was made with a blatant disregard of both the Steenkamp and Pistorius families, as well as complete disregard for Reeva and Oscar.”

In the trailer, Pistorius is portrayed as controlling and threatening to Steenkamp, yet the killing is shown in an ambiguous manner.

Pistorius maintains his innocence, claiming that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder. He shot her multiple times through a bathroom door in the middle of the night. South African prosecutors argued successfully that Pistorius murdered her in a fit of jealous rage.

Known as the Blade Runner because he competed on two carbon-fibre blades during his career, the South African 400m runner broke barriers in the sport when he petitioned and was granted entry into the 2012 Olympics. 

On Feb. 14, 2013, he shot and killed his then girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, and was subsequently charged with her murder. After a protracted trial, in 2015, Pistorius was convicted of murder, but only handed a lesser sentence of six years in 2016.

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