Edmonton filmmaker enters not guilty plea

An Edmonton filmmaker accused of acting out a gruesome film script in the disappearance of another man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Mark Twitchell, 29, was arrested by police on Oct. 31 for allegedly killing 38-year-old Johnny Altinger.

Police believe Altinger, a 38-year-old oil industry worker originally from White Rock, B.C., was killed about two months ago.

Police accuse the independent film producer of acting out his own film-script storyline, in which a psychotic killer masquerades as a woman on a dating website, lures a male victim to a darkened garage and then beheads him in cold blood.

Altinger mysteriously vanished on Oct. 10 after telling friends he had met a woman online and was going to meet her in person at a semi-detached garage on Edmonton's far south side.

Twitchell, police claim, was using the garage as a small movie studio and had recently shot a movie called "House of Cards" there.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5.