The Leader: Jim Parsons joins Heaven’s Gate cult biopic
Two years ago, we heard that Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring) would be starring in The Leader, a true crime biopic about a story that shocked the world back in 1997, the mass suicide of the members of the Heaven’s Gate cult. That project has finally made it into production, and Deadline reports that Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) has joined the cast. Details on the character he’ll be playing haven’t been revealed – but it’s not difficult to imagine him playing a member of the Heaven’s Gate cult.
Farmiga is playing cult leader Bonnie Nettles, a.k.a. Ti. Nelson’s character is the cult’s infamous frontman, Marshall Applewhite, a.k.a. Do. Also in the cast are Simon Rex (Red Rocket), Grace Caroline Currey (Fall), Matthew Glave (The Wedding Singer), William Mapother (In the Bedroom), JB Yowell (A Jar Full of Christmas), Kelly Lynn Reiter (Slotherhouse), Danielle Vasinova (Queens of the Dead), Blake Robbins (Let’s Scare Julie), Jana Gallagher (The Thinning), Paten Hughes (What Breaks the Ice), and Molly Robbins (The Sublime and Beautiful). Currey is playing “an Oregon-based boutique owner who drops out of society in the late 1970s to join the cult – leaving her family and fiancé behind.” Rex’s character is “a key devotee of the religion who faces devastating consequences when he falls in love with a fellow cult member.”
At one point, Michael C. Hall had been attached to play “a key devotee: a wealthy addict who attempts to win favor with Applewhite by financially supporting the cult with his trust fund,” but he doesn’t appear to be involved with The Leader at this point. He’s probably too busy resurrecting Dexter.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Leader tells the true story of the 39 members of Heaven’s Gate — an American UFO cult that believed its followers could transform into immortal extraterrestrials and would ascend to heaven — and how they would commit the largest mass suicide to ever take place on American soil. The film tracks Nettles and Applewhite as they develop the religion, build a devout following and face unforeseen conflict when the spaceship they believed would transport their resurrected selves fails to arrive.
Michael Gallagher (Funny Story) has written the screenplay and is directing the film. He had this to say about Jim Parsons joining the cast: “Jim Parsons’ mesmerizing, tour-de-force performance will leave audiences with their jaws on the floor. We are beyond grateful to have Jim join our phenomenal cast of award-winning actors in this stunning dramatic turn.“
Gallagher is producing The Leader alongside Jana Gallagher, Michael Wormser, Joel David Moore, and Matt Murphie. Executive producers include Nelson, Farmiga, Parsons, Rex, Reiter, Vasinova, Eric Gozlan, Evan Silverberg, Daniel Taborga, Rishi Bajaj, James Cullen Bressack, Stacy Kemp, Dominick La Ruffa Jr, Kim DeLonghi, Lee Broda, ALG Films, Karen KK Gregor, Justin Nesbitt, Dan Reardon, Justin Steele, Micah Molinari, David Wachs, Ojan Missaghi, and Andy Grombacher. The Exchange/Voltage is handling sales.
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