Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chloë Grace Moretz to lead Jonestown Massacre feature White Night
The drama is based on the real experience of Debbie Layton, a former cult member
Aux News Moretz
In the most unexpected 500 Days Of Summer reunion, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Chloë Grace Moretz will star in the thriller White Night, which follows one woman’s descent in the Jonestown cult led by Jim Jones.
Gordon-Levitt takes on the role of the infamous Christian Socialist preacher and cult leader, whose influence culminated in one of the largest murder-suicides in American history; over 900 people died at the remote jungle commune. Most of those who died were members of the religious cult Jones founded, known as People’s Temple. Moretz will appear as Deborah Layton, who was once a member of the People’s Temple’s core circle and who penned a memoir on her experience titled Seductive Poison.
“Debbie Layton’s Seductive Poison was the first book Anne Carey and I optioned at Archer Gray, and it formed the foundation of our mission to help give voice to the stories it was time to hear,” says Archer Gray’s CEO, Amy Nauiokas. “Debbie’s incredible journey with the People’s Temple deserves an audience across generations. It should serve as warning about the power a certain type of charismatic leader can have and the very real lessons to be learned from our history.”
Based on Layton’s book, the script for White Night was written by William Wheeler, whose previous work includes Ghost In The Shell, Queen of Katwe, and The Lego Ninjago Movie. Anne Sewitsky (A Very British Scandal) has signed on to direct the feature.
“When we first read Bill Wheeler’s adaptation, it was seeing this infamous story from Deborah’s point of view that unlocked it psychologically and dramatically. Entering Jim Jones’ magnetic orbit through the eyes of an idealistic, passionate young woman reminded us that anyone can fall victim to extremism, given the right circumstances,” says FilmNation’s president of production Ashley Fox.
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Elsewhere in the cast, the Kool-Aid Man will be voiced by Michael Shannon.
Oh yeah!
Flavor Aid.
I’ve given up on correcting people and convinced myself there’s just an extra meta layer to the saying in that the general public drank the “they drank Kool-aid at Jonestown” Flavor Aid. And yes I’m fun at parties because I keep this shit to myself and online forums.
Flavor-Aid got so luck that Kool-Aid had such deep brand penetration.
NeedsmoreGhus beat me to it!!
Based on looks I’d say Shannon is a way better fit to play Jones.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chloë Grace Moretz to lead Jonestown Massacre!!!Hey, good for them!
I’m not following. Unless there’s grape Flavor Aid. Then .. maybe.
two talented performers that keep getting the wrong roles, I hope this is the showcase for them!
I wouldn’t bet on this starting a Jonestown Cinematic Universe, though.
Wait. . . they’re making two movies about Jonestown? I thought there was another one with Leonardo DiCaprio onboard. Why are they making two movies about Jonestown right now?
Wait. . . they’re making two movies about Jonestown? I thought there was another one with Leonardo DiCaprio onboard. Why are they making two movies about Jonestown right now?
“…one of the largest murder-suicides in American history…”Unless you mean “in the history of the Americas,” it took place in Guyana, not the United States. In either case, it wasn’t “one of the largest,” it was the largest murder-suicide in recorded American history.
Although Jones and most of his followers weren’t Guyana locals but Americans (in the normal USAian sense that annoys Canadians, etc.). They moved the cult to South America because there was a lot of negative publicity about it in its original Indiana, and then California, locations.
Which Canadians are annoyed by “Americans”? That’s what everyone in Canada calls people from the US
Not the 500 Days of Summer sequel I was expecting. Any news on Zooey Deschanel?
A movie profiting off the deaths of 900 people…kinda sick when you think about it.
can’t be worse than The Sacrament, what a turd that was
I watched that movie expecting the gag to be aliens or Satan or something. I was kind of appalled that it turned out to just be literally Jim Jones
You should check out Safe Haven, the segment of VHS 2 co-directed by Gareth Edwards, talk about doing a cult right
I’ve seen all the V/H/S films and I’m convinced they were made by sex predators
wuuuuuuhtlike all of the directors? I mean I will admit that the Joe Swanberg segment is creepy, and the way he gets Helen Rogers to take her top off is a little seedy (even if it is greatly appreciated, and similarly to him getting her naked in 24 Exposures, a movie that was VERY seedy…I think Joe Swanberg might just be seedy) but I’m not sure about sex predators?
I haven’t read the book this is based on, but… I have read Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones by Jacobs and Reiterman, and it is chilling. (Never did understand the phrase “untold story” because .. the book tells it!)I don’t go in much for true crime or whatever that book would be, but it’s well-written and scary as hell. It’s a fascinating story about a truly weird time in America (and Guyana ultimately). I still remember the local tv news in SF, where the shaken reporter said, live, “…I’ve seen a lot of shit but never anything like this.” They didn’t bleep it and he didn’t apologize or notice. As the reports kept coming in over the next days the story just kept getting creepier. And in Raven … they detail how Jones would put his followers through practice runs with the Flavor-Aid. They knew they were going to kill themselves; they just were never sure when.(But seriously, Joseph Gordon Levitt? I can’t see it. Powers Boothe played Jones in a tv movie and that was inspired casting.)
I cannot see JGL measuring up to Powers Boothe in the Jim Jones role. Hell, even Jim Jones couldn’t measure up to Powers Boothe in the Jim Jones role.