Posted on 11/13/2021 4:41:28 PM PST by Drew68
Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio is in final talks to play religious cult leader Jim Jones in MGM’s upcoming feature written by Scott Rosenberg, Variety has confirmed.
Known as the leader of the Peoples Temple religious group, Jones was behind the November 1978 mass suicide at his Jonestown settlement that took more than 900 lives. Jones and his inner circle orchestrated the massacre at the jungle commune in Guyana, with the followers directed to drink cyanide-adulterated punch.
MGM secured a deal for the feature project in a preemptive situation, with DiCaprio also producing the project alongside Jennifer Davisson for their Appian Way production company. Rosenberg (“Venom,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and “Jumanji: The Next Level”) is also on board as an executive producer. Rosenberg is represented by WME.
ounded in 2001 by DiCaprio, Appian Way Productions produced Alejandro Iñárritu’s three-time Academy Award-winner “The Revenant,” Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-nominated “The Wolf of Wall Street,” the Academy Award-nominated “The Aviator” and “Shutter Island” (all starring DiCaprio), as well as the Peabody Award-winning documentary “Sea of Shadows,” Scott Cooper’s “Out of the Furnace” and George Clooney’s “The Ides of March,” among others. Appian currently is in production on Apple’s “Shining Girls,” starring Elizabeth Moss. Davisson serves as president of production.
DiCaprio next stars opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up” for Netflix and in Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” for Apple Originals Films. Over the course of his prolific career, the actor has played a host of historical figures, including infamous con man Frank Abagnale in “Catch Me If You Can,” Howard Hughes in “The Aviator” and frontiersman Hugh Glass in “The Revenant,” for which he earned the best actor Oscar in 2016 (he’s been nominated a total of seven times). DiCaprio is repped by LBI Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman.
Deadline was first to report news of DiCaprio’s involvement in the project.
I didn’t mean Jones security men, I meant the ones sent in by the U.S.
I hate to think how they will portray Jim’s buddy Milk.
I assume you’re talking shit?
DiCaprio is a jerk but an excellent actor. I just bought DVD of his “The Aviator,” in which he portrays Howard Hughes. One of my fave movies.
Pay zero attention to what he e does in his private life. No more interesting than Bugs Bunny’s.
Well mark my words.... Hollywood is working tirelessly on the..... Jan 6th... The insurrection..... It will come out in the fall of 2024. Bank on it.
Alex “Six Gun” Baldwin starring as Trump, no doubt...
Willie Brown.... Doesn’t kammela the VP know him?
I know, I hate that I liked his last few movies, “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.
My husband and I had recently moved to SF when Jim Jones did his thing. Even before that, we always got chills when we drove past his “temple” out on Geary.
Not relevant, but we lived 8 blocks from Nancy Pelosi just before she ran for congress. And DiFi was quite the heroine for announcing Mayor Mosconie’s death.
We couldn’t believe that we were always given the best seat in the Italian restaurant where no-one else wanted to sit. Turned out to be Moscone’s table.
The curious roles to be filled in the Insurection movie..
Who plays Pelosi?
Or the turtle? Or the poor girl Ashley Babbitt while she was murdered on live TV.
This movie will be Hollywood’s last big push to stop President Trump.
Wow. Were you one of the original hippies? I was in San Fran in 77.... Living on the streets down town.
It's actually being produced as a miniseries for Hulu by Martin Scorsese.
And starring, wouldn't you know it? Leonardo DiCaprio as H.H. Holmes.
I finally got that, about 6 lines down.
“Kool-Aid Man is the official mascot for Kool-Aid”.
How many of our kids have never enjoyed Kool-Aid or the home made Popsicles made using Kool-Aid or seen a commercial staring Kool-Aid Man?
Pity
I think DiCaprio lacks the charisma needed to play someone like Jim Jones, but maybe he will surprise me. Powers Boothe had loads of charisma.
“Still though, the role of Jim Jones will always belong to Powers Boothe who played him in the 1980 miniseries, a role that established Boothe’s career.”
I totally agree. Booths nailed it, portraying Jones.. it also helped that Boothe bore a pretty strong resemblance to Jones as well.
Concresscritter Jackie Speier is living proof of the glaring lack of attention to detail by the Jonestown gunmen.
Here's a really good Rolling Stone article from 1979 (back when they used to do real journalism) on what the first Americans encountered entering Jonestown only a few days after the massacre. It is mentioned that many of the bodies were laying face down with their heads pointed towards Jones.
In the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Guyana After the Jonestown Massacre
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