Leonardo DiCaprio will play the leader of a cult that sent more than 900 followers to death by suicide
It has been more than 40 years since cult leader Jim Jones sent more than 900 of his followers to suicide, and his story will soon end on the big screen, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
As Deadline writes, for the film ‘Jim Jones’ which deals with Jones’ life, the 46-year-old actor Leonardo DiCaprio signed a contract for the lead role and production through his production company Appian Way, run by Jennifer Davisson.
MGM has taken over the project of screenwriter Scott Rosenberg (‘Venom’, ‘Jumanji: Next Level’) for a seven-figure amount, who will also be the film’s executive producer.
Jim Jones in 1955 in Indianapolis founded the People's Temple, a religious organization that has promoted Christian socialism. He joined forces with the Disciples of Christs in 1964, and a year later moved his group to California and eventually settled in San Francisco.
By the 1970s, he had begun to reject Christianity and even dared to claim that he was God himself. In Guyana, in 1974, he began building his own settlement of Jonestown and persuading his followers to come there to live with him, as the place was liberated from the oppression of the U.S. government.
But by 1978, stories of human rights violations began circulating within the complex, prompting the U.S. government to send a delegation to conduct an investigation. The delegation was led in November 1978 by US Representative Leo Ryan and ended in bloodshed. Ryan and four defectors from Jonestown were killed by Jones' followers as they boarded a flight home.
On the same day, November 18, 1978, Jones organized a mass suicide of his followers. 918 of them lost their lives, including 304 children, and they drank Flavor Aid juice with the addition of cyanide.
The mass suicide, until the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, was the largest loss of American life in history. A 45-minute audio recording of the mass suicide was also found at the scene.
Jones himself was found dead on the stage of the central pavilion in Jonestown, with a gunshot wound.
By: Amber V.
