Natalee Holloway is a 2009 American television film directed by Mikael Salomon based on Beth Holloway's book about the 2005 disappearance of her daughter Natalee Holloway. The film stars Amy Gumenick as Natalee Holloway, Tracy Pollan as Beth Holloway-Twitty and Jacques Strydom as Joran van der Sloot. When it aired on the Lifetime Movie Network on April 19, 2009, the film scored the highest television ratings at that time in the network's history. Production In October 2008, the Lifetime Movie Network announced plans to create a television film based on Beth Holloway's bestselling book Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith. The senior vice president of original movies, Tanya Lopez, stated in the announcement that the network was "pleased to be working closely with Natalee's mother" and that they intended to tell the story of Natalee Holloway's disappearance "sensitively and accurately." Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post questioned whether it was too soon for such a film to be made. Holloway said that she was not sure at first that she could take this step, but felt that it was "the right thing to do" after meeting the creative staff in Los Angeles, California. Sara Paxton was first offered the part of Natalee. But Paxton turned down the role feeling it was still too soon after Holloway's disappearance to make a film because it was still being covered in the media. Spencer Redford, was also considered for the role of Natalee. The film was shot in Cape Town, South Africa, and produced by Sony Pictures Television with Von Zerneck Sertner Films. Holloway's book was adapted for television by Teena Booth, who had previously written A Little Thing Called Murder and Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal for Lifetime Television. Holloway said that she was fascinated and at first overwhelmed by the logistics of the production, which she views "as an accomplishment." Plot The film retells events leading up to the night of Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba, and the ensuing investigation in the aftermath. The film does not solve the case, but stages re-creations of various scenarios, based on the testimony of key players and suspects, including Joran van der Sloot, who is the last person seen drinking with her and escorting her out of the bar. His contradictory accounts, some presented days and others presented years later, are used to present different reenactments of Holloway's final