After the recent raid on the Church of Latter-Day Saints compound in Texas that revealed all kinds of sexual abuse and cult-like behavior, the memory of the 1993 incident at Waco is fresh in a lot of minds. So what better than to make a movie out of it! Yeah, David Koresh and his ilk will finally see their time on the big screen, in Waco, an indie drama being directed by Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata, The Fog). Variety reported today that producer Emilio Ferrari has signed on as well, which I guess means the whole thing is a go.
To refresh your memory, David Koresh was the leader of a splinter organization from the Seventh Day Adventist Church, calling themselves the Branch Davidians. He considered himself a prophet and led the church further and further away from Biblical doctrine as he gained power, claiming God told him to take 60 wives and dissolving the marriages of all couples who joined the organization so he could take the wives as his own. Eventually the federal government obtained a warrant to seize the stockpile of weapons at the Branch Davidian compound outside of Waco, Texas, but the Davidians fired back instead. After a 51-day siege inside the compound, during which a few of the Davidian children were released but most stayed with Koresh, a fire burned down the compound and killed 74 people inside, including Koresh.
It’s kind of remarkable that a movie hasn’t been made about this yet, given that it was such a huge news story and that crazy cult stories are always attention-grabbing. Do we all need a refresher course in history to get into this story, or is it enough to say “a movie about a cult with firearms!” and we’ll all be there? I’m going with the latter, and especially if they can get anyone good on board. Though it’s hard to imagine any high-profile actor taking on the role of crazypants Koresh, it’ll be amazing to watch someone try.
