Yesterday is widely remembered as the anniversary of the Oklahoma City federal building bombings, but April 19 also marks an entirely different, violent American tragedy-- the 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. 81 people, including 17 children, were killed after the government tried to investigate illegal weapons at the compound, resulting in a 51-day siege and eventually an immense fire. Anyone who came of age in the 90s likely thinks of this any time the town of Waco is mentioned.
There's an amazing story in the Waco situation that has yet to make it to film, and now director Rupert Wainwright will be the first to fictionalize it. Production Weekly reported that Kurt Russell, Adrien Brody and Sharon stone are attached to the film, titled Waco, which is scheduled to film this fall. Additional information at Wainwright's official site notes that he co-wrote the screenplay with investigative journalist James Hibberd, who currently writes for The Hollywood Reporter.
As for the actors on board, the story includes so many federal agents and Branch Davidian members that it's impossible to tell which real-life people will make the cut, though Brody is a pretty likely candidate to play David Koresh, the Branch Davidian leader who also perished in the fire. It could be an amazing role for Brody-- charismatic cult leaders tend to make great screen characters-- and a strong performance from Brody could attract some eyeballs to what will doubtlessly be a difficult movie to watch. Difficult, that is, but probably necessary.
