There was some consternation in early 2022 when a few news articles declared that Leonardo DiCaprio would star in a film about Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. Concern was expressed that this movie would probably be sensationalistic, a reasonable reaction, given the quality of some previous films portraying Jones and the members of Peoples Temple. I received some queries about it, especially since my book The Road to Jonestown<\/em> had been optioned for television by Di Caprio\u2019s production company, and he and I co-executive produced the resulting docuseries. \u201cCo-executive produced\u201d sounds grander than it actually was. I never met Di Caprio in person, and my contribution to the project \u2013 besides being filmed for a portion of it \u2013 was to make some suggestions about content. Some of these were effective. Others weren\u2019t. But overall, I was favorably impressed by the intention of the production company to honor the content and general tone of my book.<\/p>\n When asked about last year\u2019s rumors regarding a full-fledged film version of the book, I honestly replied that I didn\u2019t know anything about it, that television \u2013 but not film rights \u2013 to my book had been acquired, and that I suspected the \u201cDiCaprio movie deal\u201d stories were based on rumor rather than fact.<\/p>\n That was the case until February 2023.<\/p>\n MGM has acquired an option on The Road to Jonestown<\/em>, with Leonardo DiCaprio \u201cattached,\u201d a movie industry term for agreeing to star should the movie be made. The Dallas Morning News<\/em> broke the story in late January 2023, and other publications reported on it over the next few weeks. But there\u2019s other information beyond that basic fact. Although a respected screenwriter has been hired and is in the process of adapting my book for film \u2013 he and I have been communicating through e-mail \u2013 it doesn\u2019t mean anything other than MGM taking a step forward with the project. Things can fall through at any time up to the beginning of actual production, and, occasionally, even after that. If there is an eventual movie, it\u2019ll take two or three years to develop, film, edit, and reach theaters. Nothing\u2019s imminent.<\/p>\n I have no contractual involvement with the film production. I\u2019ll undoubtedly be asked for my opinions occasionally, and perhaps even urged to make suggestions, and I\u2019ll always comply: those whose lives are part of the story are important to me, in some cases close personal friends, certainly all people I respect. I don\u2019t want to mislead anyone by pretending to have more influence on the film, if there ever is one, than I really have. But I\u2019m encouraged that DiCaprio wanted my book to be the basis of the film. There\u2019s enough public domain information available that there was no requirement to pay for the right to use The Road to Jonestown<\/em>. I firmly believe that if the movie is made, it will be honest and objective rather than sensationalistic.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean, of course, that everyone who experienced the things depicted in it will agree with every scene and line of dialogue. My book has over 500 pages. One page of film script approximately equals one minute of screen time. Even a three-hour film would require considerable cutting, and, probably some conflation of individual events. But if MGM\/DiCaprio intended to sacrifice fact for fiction, there was no need to involve me or my book.<\/p>\n Nothing\u2019s imminent or even definite, besides that the initial project stage is underway. As (and if<\/em>) things progress, I\u2019ll report again. Meanwhile, I share the hope of everyone in the larger Temple community that the production does its best to honestly reflect the history of Peoples Temple and its members.<\/p>\n (Jeff Guinn<\/strong> is the author of <\/em>The Road to Jonestown<\/a>, and a regular contributor to <\/em>the jonestown report. His complete collection of articles for this site is here<\/a>.\u00a0He may be reached at <\/em>skokanguin@aol.com<\/em><\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was some consternation in early 2022 when a few news articles declared that Leonardo DiCaprio would star in a film about Jim Jones and Peoples Temple. Concern was expressed that this movie would probably be sensationalistic, a reasonable reaction, given the quality of some previous films portraying Jones and the members of Peoples Temple. 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