The horrific story of the Jonestown Massacre in 1978 is one of the most shocking and devastating stories in American history. The mass murder-suicide of more than 900 people, will form the basis of a new thriller movie, titled White Night. The movie will be based on the true story, and it has been announced that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will star as the infamous Christian Socialist preacher, Jim Jones.
Anne Sewitsky is attached to direct White Night, with Chloë Grace Moretz (Suspiria) joining Batman actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie will be based on the memoirs of Deborah Layton, who will be played by Moretz and the story will focus on Layton’s rise through the ranks of the People’s Temple cult.
Layton was eventually able to make her way into the inner circle of Jim Jones’ movement, and we are likely to see this journey unfold in White Night. There is no official word thus far as to how much of the atrocities that occurred on November 18, 1978, we will see in the movie, but this is sure to be a harrowing watch regardless.
Jim Jones established ‘Jonestown’, his own community of followers, in Guyana in 1974. This was seen as an extension of the preacher’s initial San Francisco based cult, and was the setting for one of the largest mass murder-suicides on record.
Filming on White Night is expected to begin in spring 2022, but no release date is available at this time. The memoir of Deborah Layton, titled Seductive Poison, was adapted by Ghost in the Shell screenwriter, Will Wheeler.
It was originally rumoured that Leonardo DiCaprio would take on the role of Jim Jones, with reports back in November 2021 suggesting the actor had bagged the part already.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s appearances as an actor have been fairly sporadic since appearing in 2013’s The Dark Knight Rises, but he is currently starring in the TV series Mr. Corman, which is available on streaming service Apple TV.