| Finding The Scope of Peoples Temple |
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At this point, I have listened to
hundreds and hundreds of hours of recorded Peoples Temple history that I
obtained from this site. More than spanning the
complete time period I’m covering, these tapes reach back to the late 1960s and
even earlier. As I discuss here, some of the sessions captured at
Jonestown – like the White Nights – have such a ferocious intensity, that a
cinephile like myself easily imagines one of those tapes re-created on film
with a charismatic actor filling in for Jones. I’m probably halfway through all
tapes, all the while making footnotes to revisit many of them. It’s an ungainly
task, and I’m loving every analogue-sourced moment of it.
I have also obtained the unedited video
of the NBC/Don Brown crew shot from Georgetown all the way to the landing strip
shooting. While documenting a lot of the boredom of people waiting around for
something to happen, it simultaneously captures much of the atmosphere and
tension that was so inherent in that fateful trip. Also included is an unedited
NBC interview with Jones – a snippet of which was played on PBS’ Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples
Temple – which reveals an
obviously strung-out Jones besieged within his crumbling commune. If I can
manage to recreate a fraction of this tension in my translation to the screen,
the film will be a success.
For the purpose of research and gaining
different perspectives, I have been reading Jonestown books on a continuous
basis. Though Raven has been the
backbone of my script, other works, such as Rebecca Moore’s Understanding Jonestown And Peoples Temple and Denice Stephenson’s Dear People:
Remembering Jonestown have helped to give a human voice to some of the 918
people who died that day in Guyana.
But perhaps what has been the most
invigorating and creative jolt throughout my production has simply been music,
both of the period and from Peoples Temple itself. I noted in last year’s
report that I would include choice soundtrack cuts within the delivered script,
and this list of songs keeps growing jointly with my concept narrative of the
film. The more I listen to artists such as Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield,
Earth Wind & Fire, Wynona Carr, and various ‘70s soul groups, the better
idea I have for what the characters are about and what they bring to the
Peoples Temple narrative.
The sole album Peoples Temple produced, He’s Able (1973), has also provided me
with some inspiration. The album is surprisingly full of life and soul. Tracks
like “Set Them Free” and “Because of Him” have provided me with some character
background and framing mechanism ideas to bring some Peoples Temple members to
life – much as their music did all by itself – specifically that of a Deanna
(Diana) Wilkinson-inspired lead character. I would be remiss if I did not have
any part of this album involved in my “Jonestown” screenplay.
Similarly the Jonestown Express has some
recordings I have yet to delve in to, but I am guessing will provide me with
answers I am seeking to character development.
Screenwriting
and Character Development
I am not a professional screenwriter nor
do I have any contacts in Hollywood. This is being created from my sheer love
of film along with my fascination of the subject matter. A competent screenplay
will not be good enough here; this is going to be a pulverizing experience for
the audience, much like I (and others) felt after first watching the PBS
documentary. To be effective, I need to deliver a solid project, which then
leads to thorough researching, when then leads to characterization.
Of course, we have the givens of the story, the Jim Joneses,
the Leo Ryans, the Stoens: all characters that most identify with Jonestown.
These people will of course be major characters in my “Jonestown” script, but
it’s important to me to represent a good amount of a Peoples Temple contingent.
It is here that I decided to match the era’s music and styles with different
Peoples Temple members, with each character associated with a genre of the
time. This accomplishes two things at once: 1) adds character shading from
their roots through where they are now and 2) keeps the film pulsating with
music. I grasped this concept through steady diet of the era’s music, imagining
characters, scenarios, motivations, etc.
So, like a puzzle, I have the borders
completed and now need to work my way to the center. It is here that I’m
condensing some members into one or two persons or – in another instance –
creating a person out of whole cloth to propel the story forward. How I’d like
to handle the Peoples Temple contingent (as I call it) is to have about a dozen
characters who represent a good cross-section of its members. I can accomplish
this perhaps by having a band similar to Jonestown Express make up the center
of the film’s characters: how their relationships evolve and ultimately
dissolve through Jim Jones, Peoples Temple, and Jonestown; this is the
direction I think makes the most narrative sense.
This is the point of my greatest
challenge: to find the right balance of being true to Peoples Temple, true to
the time period, and true to the dramatic narrative.
Future
The completion date of this film dropped
back, as they often do on projects of this magnitude, from 2010 to 2011. This
works out in my favor as there are hundreds of hours of real audio of Jones and
Peoples Temple to absorb, as well as possibly interviewing some survivors in
the near future.
I am happy with the progress made thus
far and am confident in the end product next year. God willing if something
comes of it, I’d be content knowing I introduced the Jonestown saga to a new
generation and did so in a entertaining and captivating fashion rather than any
monetary rewards.
I want to thank John Brackett at the Department of Music
at the University of North Carolina for his assistance with the music.
(A second article by David Berdass in this edition of the jonestown report is here. He can be reached at David.Berdass@bermo.com.)
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