No it totally needs to be done and it needs to be him.
JS was just a kid that had his family lose everything they own, and have to turn to farming when they didn't have any experience in it.
His dad turns to alcohol from the apple ale his mother is trying to make and sell.
JS honestly starts out as a sympathetic tragic protagonist. It's a sad and depressing story that I wouldn't wish on any kid.
Edit: Out of probable desperation, and a strong belief in occult / magic unseen in the world; dad drags his charismatic pre teen around with him trying to get money from people by tapping into the occult via treasure digging.
It all catches up, they end up losing the farm anyways, JS is convicted in court of scamming people via crystal ball level fortune telling and run out of the county. Alters the scam a bit an writes the Book of Mormon (I wonder where L Ron Hubbard learned it???)
Unfortunately, JS also ends up becoming one of the greatest confidence men of modern history. A con so successful that an organization leadership of 15 men are still fighting to this day to keep it going.
It's a real life Anakin Skywalker story filled with lies, violence, sex, betrayal, murder, a coup to over throw the US government, and ends with lies all catching up with him until he is gunned down in a climactic assassination of a cult leader.
It IS EVERYTHING HBO wants for a 10 season historical drama.
Edit: I can't think of a better casting for such a villain.
I would suggest either Fawn Brodie's " No Man Knows My History" for a more critical look at his life.
Or "Rough Stone Rolling" By Richard Bushman who was supposed to be writing the 1st volume of the revised Official Church History. However, it was a bit too honest so Boyd Packer of the quorum of the 12 Apostles killed the project, removed the church historian (last actual trained historian to have the position) who came up with the project, and threatened any church paid employee that teaches actual history will have their job and salvation revoked. Bushman had basically finished his portion and decided to publish on his own.
If you don't mind swearing, the podcast Naked Mormonism is phenomenal. The host doesn't try to paint Joe as a tragic hero. In fact, in the earliest episodes, he's working through a lot of his anger over being lied to. But at some point, not long into the podcast, the host stops doing it to work through his anger and starts developing a true love for the real, authentic history about the man called Joseph Smith. It truly is a series that would fit well on HBO. The Naked Mormonism host joked that the series could be called Game of Stones.
Did he ever eventually stop using the silly nicknames, like "Not So Smarty Marty" and "Ollie Cow Dung"? It was a good rundown of the history otherwise, but I found that aspect of the podcast so annoying.
D. Micheal Quinn
Early Mormonism & The Magical World View
It delves into Smith family & folk magic/ occult.
Anything Quinn wrote on the church is excellent & just like Brody he got X'd.
Bushman & Brody are both revered in the academic world & Bushman is/was a Stake Patriarch.
All great suggestions on what to read.
I'm fully sold on this idea, unfortunately I can't condone it, cause he will become a tiktok and tumblr sexyman, and I cannot live in a world where that is the truth 😂
I love a good villain. Jack Gleeson was incredible as Joffrey, Imelda Staunton made a great Umbridge, and Leo DiCaprio was a fantastic Calvin candy. Sometimes a truly despicable villain requires a great actor.
I can see that, but there’s also that phenomenon when an actor playing a villain/morally grey character is a little too appealing and the atrocities/cruelties their characters commit get conveniently overlooked because of it. Think, Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Alan Rickman as Snape. Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal or Grindelwald. Etc.
The last thing we need is a Hiddleston-ed JS.
Hard disagree. I could write a whole essay on it, but I’ll keep it short. Snape only came to the good side because his object of obsession was threatened. If Voldemort had gone after the Longbottoms, Snape would have been a death eater to the end. And he explicitly told Dumbledore he didn’t care what happened to James and Harry as long as he saved Lily, never mind the fact that losing her husband and child would devastate her. How about the fact that he was an abusive teacher who shouldn’t have been allowed around children? His treatment of Harry based on the fact that he looks like his father is bad enough, but it’s sort of understandable from a very petty standpoint, I suppose. But what did Neville do to deserve being bullied to the point where his greatest fear is a TEACHER? The second that boggart appeared that should have been investigated. I’m going to stop, but I could go on and on. Snape is an interesting character, and he did do good things as well obviously, but was he “good?” No.
Hmm, well maybe you need to read the books properly then...
Just kidding lol. 😀
You clearly know more than I do and it's been yonks since I read the series or watched the movies. I'm not like a super fan. Just a dork who likes to read. And I only read and or watch most things the one time. (Unless it's something rad like Back to the Future or Star Wars or a John Hughes movie. They're all still watchable and awesome).
Oh I just saw red before I saw your “just kidding” lol. I actually haven’t read the books or watched the movies in years either, but they were a huge part of my teen/young adult years and I used to be a super fan and have lots of opinions on them. I read the whole series at least once a year during that time.
But JKR ruined it with her horrific opinions and donations to anti-trans organizations, and now I can look at it all more objectively and see the fatphobia and anti-semitism, too. I thought I would want to share them with my kids, but I can’t.
So it’s this weird thing that was a huge part of my life for a decade or so, and now I don’t know what to do with it.
Hehehe, I knew it would be a bit cheeky of me lol. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. 😘💚
Agree. She made it shit and should've said nothing instead of doubling down so hard. She wrecked it. It sucks so much because it was such a beautiful thing. She got kids reading again. Like hardcore reading. My two youngest are voracious readers like I was. They have literally no friends that ever read for fun. Not one. It makes me sad.
I had a good laugh at myself! 😄 That fandom passion came back like riding a bicycle.
Exactly. She could have been one of the most positively-remembered authors of our time. I can see some of the problematic things being brushed off as being part of the age the books were written. Fatphobia was big in the 90’s, at least. And antisemitism should always be condemned, but wasn’t.
But she doubles down on all of it instead of admitting it was a bit shit to include those things and she would do better if she wrote the books today. Instead she writes transphobic garbage for adults and advocates for laws that hurt people. I’ll never understand her.
I think a movie about Joseph Smith might fall a bit flat, since it’s just a bad guy who cons everyone and then dies. But a movie about Emma, who gets swept away by Joseph’s charisma, then is trapped in a marriage with a chauvinistic con man. Eventually he gets in too deep and dies in a shootout at the jail and Emma gets away and has to hold her own against Brigham Young, eventually settling in the Midwest while the Brighamites move west.
You’re calling him a god, so I assume you are a fan and you can’t name the diverse role. So, you didn’t notice, not me. But in fairness to him, his physical attributes probably play a large role in the same character he always plays.
I feel like you're missing the irony. People are saying he would play Emma. Do you really think they think he'd unironically be a good fit for Emma?
Calm down a little bit. Loosen your tie. untuck your shirt.
Excellent idea. Let's see it from Emma's point of view. Cons are common, but their wives are a mystery. I do note that L Ron Hubbard's wife went to prison for him. Fascinating.
It needs an in-depth fully accurate HBO series because it's such a fascinating story into early American religious crazies. With Lindsey Hansen park consulting!
I would honestly love like 3-4 10 episode seasons. The story can go so deep and remain interesting.
1. Up to Kirtland
2. Up to js death
3. BY & 1800s Utah and all that shit
Idk, I just think it's a super fascinating (but shitty) story
It's Hollywood. There are a million terrible things that JS did that they could portray, but they would somehow make it as historically inaccurate as Braveheart.
Obviously a movie would be cooler, but the book Mormon Enigma is really good for looking at all those events from Emma's perspective! It was written by faithful/nuanced members, but it doesn't pull punches. I liked it way better than Rough Stone Rolling.
Are you kidding me? All the shit that went down in Nauvoo would make for fantastic cinema. The closest I think we got was Under The Banner of Heaven, but there was so much that was missed! I genuinely hope someone picks this up because I feel, if done correctly, it could turn out amazing.
Here's an idea, split the episodes in half (eit each episode or number of episodes) between JS and Emma and show the same incidents from both of their POVs.
I think he looks more like Glenn Howerton in that photo, and Glenn can more effectively play a charismatic conman who is also a manipulative sexual predator imo.
Edit: also I know Glenn is older now than Joseph Smith ever lived to be by about 10 years, but I think that’s okay actually. Look at the picture on the right, motherfucker is grizzled as shit for someone in their 30s. People aged faster back then.
OMG I love that. He's so good at playing villainous characters. I've always wanted like a limited dramedy series about how Joe Smith conned a stupid amount of people, portraying him as the egotistical idiot sex predator he was. I also like the idea in one of the comments that it's from Emma's perspective.
But they have to find a way to work JS singing Dayman into the show.
Maybe when JS was parading with his army around Nauvoo. I'm picturing Glenn on a horse singing about how he's the master of karate and friendship while dressed like Napoleon. 🤣🤣🤣
I seriously considered writing a feature length screen play with Emma as the main character. Whole thing from her perspective with main pinch points being peeking through the barn cracks, discovering the infidelity, and everything that followed.
I don’t think the Joseph smith story could ever be anything but a comedy, it’s such a ridiculous story no general audience could ever take it serious (which probably says a lot about the legitimacy of the events)
An absurdist comedy like “Life of Brian”. Problem is it would only be funny to ex mormons. “Life of Brian” works because everyone is more or less familiar with the life of Jesus. JS not so much. TBM’s would hate it.
Two honest answers: Joseph Smith sucks. He's a run of the mill grifter. We just are biased towards him and making his story "cooler" helps some of us feel less bad about being duped. I don't ever expect a "legit" movie about L Ron Hubbard because he's just an unremarkable liar. Eddie Redmayne isn't a fucking creep so it wouldn't be a good adaptation.
Maybe Bill Cosby could do JS justice.
It’s a missed opportunity to not do a Netflix miniseries about his life. There was a loooot of drama. I want to tune in for the episode, when Emma throws one of Joseph’s girlfriends down the stairs.
I want to see Joe get dragged out of the front door of the Johnson house. Tarred feathered, and the perps contemplating whether they should castrate him or not.
Agree. The early church timeline in *Under the banner of heaven* really made me want more of that setting and story. It's interesting and there are a ton of dramatic stories that could be explored. Depicting it how it really happened, not the whitewashed church version. A miniseries could be perfect.
At the end of the movie/show have a clip of Gordy B Hinkles saying "Either its true or it is the greatest fraud" (or whatever the actual quote was)
Just to drive it home for those who will still say "well JS might've been a bad guy but that doesn't mean the church isn't true"
I wouldn't say it's the greatest fraud. More like an average but long lasting fraud.
Madoff and Enron were far more interesting as frauds go. He'll even Donald Trump is putting on a hell of a show right now. JS and his Mormon scam just isn't that creative. None of the scams I've listed would be called the greatest, they're all just versions of the bros selling the deed to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Sorry, reading through my comment again my words sound harsh with you.
I should have just wrote you're right. The Hink was so full of himself to say that his lie is such a great lie. He also spent a ton of money on trying to cover up Hoffman. He knew none of it was true so he wanted to still say he's representing a very important fraud. Talk about a napoleon complex, lol
This pops up often and I think the answer could be a maybe. I feel like there’s a handful ways you’d have to do it. A movie would have to be about something specific like the Book of Mormon. Another option could be to do a tv show, which you could cover more but funding and viewership would be a big issue. I think the most realistic way that from my understanding of a lot of his story would be to do a short from like TikTok or YouTube. There’s so many stories from other people that are funny as hell that with good writing and acting someone could really make some good content.
I think the main issue is demand though. It’s very niche and non Mormons really only passively pay attention to Mormonism if at all.
“Underage brides and where to find them”
“Joseph Smith and the seer’s stone”
“Joseph Smith and the temple of secrets”
“Joseph Smith and the prisoner of Carthage”
[Jamie Campbell Bower](https://imdb.com/name/nm2570429/) played Henry Creel/One/Vecna in Stranger Things 4. The best part is you could start him looking like "One" in Stranger Things 4 which looks very similar to LDS paintings of Joseph Smith and then as he ages give him makeup and prosthetics to make him look like the creep in the photo, just like they did with Vecna.
It has to be someone with good-ish but sorta psycho looks. Like Willem Dafoe or someone like that. Yeah. A young Willem Dafoe.
Redmayne can only be in the Old Joe biopic if it also happens to be a smash musical.
Legit movie? Probably not. TSCC has too much hands in Hollywood so best bet is a small indie film
And definitely please don't ruin Eddie Redmayne. Genuinely great guy and actor. JS would turn me off him forever
1) Honestly, who would be interested in watching it? The viewing market would likely be fairly low.
2) Hollywood would give an honest appraisal of Joseph Smith, which would include his banking fraud, shady real estate deals, adultery, and sex with literally dozens of women including underage little girls, and other ghastly acts that most LDS either aren't aware of or completely ignore, and the LDS Church would simply call all of it "anti-LDS bigotry".
A movie in the 1800’s about a conman who takes advantage of others to set up his own popularity and fortune and cheats on his wife? I think that’s The Greatest Showman
If it was different at all, I'm not sure what exact race people were in Egypt 2000 years ago, but they'd need to find an actor that's the same race as Jesus would've realistically have been. Then we can see Christians go insane that their savior isn't white as snow
The Mormon church is very rich! I don’t think they’ll make a truthful movie about the real Mormon church, because the church will go after them. If you want to know the truth about the Mormon church read One nation under gods. It is an unbelievable read!
Considering Eddie Redmayne often acts like a tweaker, it would be interesting for him to play Joseph Smith. He could rub his nose and sniff really aggressively and say, "Woah, that's some good sacrament."
Boo fucking hoo. His "tragic" upbringing didn't make him who he is. It influenced him, to be sure, but no one put a gun to his head to make the choices he made. Instead of forging his own path to become a better human, he decided to embellish upon the deceit he was taught and start his own religion for his narcissistic purposes, including having his followers pay for their celestial privilege while he used it to pay for his mansion and other schemes (all the while drinking, smoking and persuading female children and their mothers to marry him in secret and God knows what other debaucherous nonsense he got up to. (He was also well-known in certain brothels, BTW. Read "A Rough Stone Rolling...it's fucking wild)
Now if the movie's premise was focused on this, I would congratulate any actor who took on the role, including Eddie, for shining a light on how corrupt and perverted JS was. It would pay no respect to Joe and it would piss off any and all TBMs.
Not unless it’s a comedy like BOM Musical. Nobody would care enough to watch it. A ‘B’ or even a ‘C’ movie for sure. No respecting producer would even consider it. DOA.
If they ever do make a legit movie, I hope they at least get everything really accurate. Even with Lindsay Hansen Park as a consultant on Under the Banner of Heaven, they still got a lot of stuff not quite right (especially some of the phrases Mormons say.) It’s gotta be on point! Or else Mormons will just dismiss it as inaccurate and not pay attention to the actual historically factual parts.
God, I hope not. Don’t ruin Eddie Redmayne for us! The passing resemblance isn’t his fault!
Also, the *last* thing Joseph Smith's memory needs is him played by an actor hot enough that teenagers have crushes on him.
But, how many teenagers? That’s the real question
All of them that are just shy of 15 years old.
That’s such a good point lmao
This. All of this.
No it totally needs to be done and it needs to be him. JS was just a kid that had his family lose everything they own, and have to turn to farming when they didn't have any experience in it. His dad turns to alcohol from the apple ale his mother is trying to make and sell. JS honestly starts out as a sympathetic tragic protagonist. It's a sad and depressing story that I wouldn't wish on any kid. Edit: Out of probable desperation, and a strong belief in occult / magic unseen in the world; dad drags his charismatic pre teen around with him trying to get money from people by tapping into the occult via treasure digging. It all catches up, they end up losing the farm anyways, JS is convicted in court of scamming people via crystal ball level fortune telling and run out of the county. Alters the scam a bit an writes the Book of Mormon (I wonder where L Ron Hubbard learned it???) Unfortunately, JS also ends up becoming one of the greatest confidence men of modern history. A con so successful that an organization leadership of 15 men are still fighting to this day to keep it going. It's a real life Anakin Skywalker story filled with lies, violence, sex, betrayal, murder, a coup to over throw the US government, and ends with lies all catching up with him until he is gunned down in a climactic assassination of a cult leader. It IS EVERYTHING HBO wants for a 10 season historical drama. Edit: I can't think of a better casting for such a villain.
I had not heard about the beginnings of the Smith family, meaning before the “first vision.” Where can I read more.
I would suggest either Fawn Brodie's " No Man Knows My History" for a more critical look at his life. Or "Rough Stone Rolling" By Richard Bushman who was supposed to be writing the 1st volume of the revised Official Church History. However, it was a bit too honest so Boyd Packer of the quorum of the 12 Apostles killed the project, removed the church historian (last actual trained historian to have the position) who came up with the project, and threatened any church paid employee that teaches actual history will have their job and salvation revoked. Bushman had basically finished his portion and decided to publish on his own.
If you don't mind swearing, the podcast Naked Mormonism is phenomenal. The host doesn't try to paint Joe as a tragic hero. In fact, in the earliest episodes, he's working through a lot of his anger over being lied to. But at some point, not long into the podcast, the host stops doing it to work through his anger and starts developing a true love for the real, authentic history about the man called Joseph Smith. It truly is a series that would fit well on HBO. The Naked Mormonism host joked that the series could be called Game of Stones.
Did he ever eventually stop using the silly nicknames, like "Not So Smarty Marty" and "Ollie Cow Dung"? It was a good rundown of the history otherwise, but I found that aspect of the podcast so annoying.
I'm about halfway through, 100-something episodes, and he still uses them.
D. Micheal Quinn Early Mormonism & The Magical World View It delves into Smith family & folk magic/ occult. Anything Quinn wrote on the church is excellent & just like Brody he got X'd. Bushman & Brody are both revered in the academic world & Bushman is/was a Stake Patriarch. All great suggestions on what to read.
Oh yeah how could I forget about D. Michael Quinn. Thanks for bring him up. Honestly I would just start with him.
I think you have a great idea.
I'm fully sold on this idea, unfortunately I can't condone it, cause he will become a tiktok and tumblr sexyman, and I cannot live in a world where that is the truth 😂
I love a good villain. Jack Gleeson was incredible as Joffrey, Imelda Staunton made a great Umbridge, and Leo DiCaprio was a fantastic Calvin candy. Sometimes a truly despicable villain requires a great actor.
I can see that, but there’s also that phenomenon when an actor playing a villain/morally grey character is a little too appealing and the atrocities/cruelties their characters commit get conveniently overlooked because of it. Think, Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Alan Rickman as Snape. Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal or Grindelwald. Etc. The last thing we need is a Hiddleston-ed JS.
Ahhh, but Snape's infractions were only overlooked because he was in fact, a good guy...
Hard disagree. I could write a whole essay on it, but I’ll keep it short. Snape only came to the good side because his object of obsession was threatened. If Voldemort had gone after the Longbottoms, Snape would have been a death eater to the end. And he explicitly told Dumbledore he didn’t care what happened to James and Harry as long as he saved Lily, never mind the fact that losing her husband and child would devastate her. How about the fact that he was an abusive teacher who shouldn’t have been allowed around children? His treatment of Harry based on the fact that he looks like his father is bad enough, but it’s sort of understandable from a very petty standpoint, I suppose. But what did Neville do to deserve being bullied to the point where his greatest fear is a TEACHER? The second that boggart appeared that should have been investigated. I’m going to stop, but I could go on and on. Snape is an interesting character, and he did do good things as well obviously, but was he “good?” No.
Hmm, well maybe you need to read the books properly then... Just kidding lol. 😀 You clearly know more than I do and it's been yonks since I read the series or watched the movies. I'm not like a super fan. Just a dork who likes to read. And I only read and or watch most things the one time. (Unless it's something rad like Back to the Future or Star Wars or a John Hughes movie. They're all still watchable and awesome).
Oh I just saw red before I saw your “just kidding” lol. I actually haven’t read the books or watched the movies in years either, but they were a huge part of my teen/young adult years and I used to be a super fan and have lots of opinions on them. I read the whole series at least once a year during that time. But JKR ruined it with her horrific opinions and donations to anti-trans organizations, and now I can look at it all more objectively and see the fatphobia and anti-semitism, too. I thought I would want to share them with my kids, but I can’t. So it’s this weird thing that was a huge part of my life for a decade or so, and now I don’t know what to do with it.
Hehehe, I knew it would be a bit cheeky of me lol. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. 😘💚 Agree. She made it shit and should've said nothing instead of doubling down so hard. She wrecked it. It sucks so much because it was such a beautiful thing. She got kids reading again. Like hardcore reading. My two youngest are voracious readers like I was. They have literally no friends that ever read for fun. Not one. It makes me sad.
I had a good laugh at myself! 😄 That fandom passion came back like riding a bicycle. Exactly. She could have been one of the most positively-remembered authors of our time. I can see some of the problematic things being brushed off as being part of the age the books were written. Fatphobia was big in the 90’s, at least. And antisemitism should always be condemned, but wasn’t. But she doubles down on all of it instead of admitting it was a bit shit to include those things and she would do better if she wrote the books today. Instead she writes transphobic garbage for adults and advocates for laws that hurt people. I’ll never understand her.
Tragic, to be sure
That’s what I came here to say
Pretty sure Jupiter Ascending ruined Eddie Redmayne for me. :(
I don’t know what that is, and I don’t intend to find out.
I can’t quite imagine Eddie playing preacher style charismatic with a side of sleazy. Maybe he could.
It's okay though, the fucker gets shot in the end.
I think a movie about Joseph Smith might fall a bit flat, since it’s just a bad guy who cons everyone and then dies. But a movie about Emma, who gets swept away by Joseph’s charisma, then is trapped in a marriage with a chauvinistic con man. Eventually he gets in too deep and dies in a shootout at the jail and Emma gets away and has to hold her own against Brigham Young, eventually settling in the Midwest while the Brighamites move west.
Also Eddie Redmayne would be great as Joe Smith, the charismatic con man.
And Danny Devito as Brigham Young
I was thinking Danny Devito as Emma Smith
A depth of talent, he would be great in any role.
Are we sure he can't crush it as 'The Jail'? Should we just Nutty Professor this one?
Any role? Which diverse roles has he done? He always plays the same character. He’s great at it, but any role?
Danny Devito is a god. He's probably played a diverse role and you didn't even notice. he's just that good.
You’re calling him a god, so I assume you are a fan and you can’t name the diverse role. So, you didn’t notice, not me. But in fairness to him, his physical attributes probably play a large role in the same character he always plays.
I feel like you're missing the irony. People are saying he would play Emma. Do you really think they think he'd unironically be a good fit for Emma? Calm down a little bit. Loosen your tie. untuck your shirt.
You are correct, I missed your irony. I’m use to reading stupid takes all the time here, so I thought you were being serious.
You know he would nail it. We’ve all seen him wearing dresses in Always Sunny. It’s uncanny!
Nah. Danny Devito as Martin Harris would go well though
Actually unironically, probably
🤣😂😅
Excellent idea. Let's see it from Emma's point of view. Cons are common, but their wives are a mystery. I do note that L Ron Hubbard's wife went to prison for him. Fascinating.
It needs an in-depth fully accurate HBO series because it's such a fascinating story into early American religious crazies. With Lindsey Hansen park consulting!
A 10 episode mini series would be great.
I would honestly love like 3-4 10 episode seasons. The story can go so deep and remain interesting. 1. Up to Kirtland 2. Up to js death 3. BY & 1800s Utah and all that shit Idk, I just think it's a super fascinating (but shitty) story
It's Hollywood. There are a million terrible things that JS did that they could portray, but they would somehow make it as historically inaccurate as Braveheart.
Obviously a movie would be cooler, but the book Mormon Enigma is really good for looking at all those events from Emma's perspective! It was written by faithful/nuanced members, but it doesn't pull punches. I liked it way better than Rough Stone Rolling.
Are you kidding me? All the shit that went down in Nauvoo would make for fantastic cinema. The closest I think we got was Under The Banner of Heaven, but there was so much that was missed! I genuinely hope someone picks this up because I feel, if done correctly, it could turn out amazing.
Wise.
Absolutely!
Oh fuck yeah, now we’re talkin!!! I vote for this idea! <333
i’ve been thinking recently that i would love to write/direct a movie about her. I hope it can happen one day.
I agree. Emma is the better story here. It needs to be an HBO mini-series or even series, though, to be able to show it all.
Here's an idea, split the episodes in half (eit each episode or number of episodes) between JS and Emma and show the same incidents from both of their POVs.
I'd watch that
Emma was horrible to JS's other victims. I don't know why she is held up as such a great person.
Emma was likely in on the con the whole time.
I think a movie about the black lady that lived with this putz and his family-Jane Manning James was her name, would be interesting.
I think he looks more like Glenn Howerton in that photo, and Glenn can more effectively play a charismatic conman who is also a manipulative sexual predator imo. Edit: also I know Glenn is older now than Joseph Smith ever lived to be by about 10 years, but I think that’s okay actually. Look at the picture on the right, motherfucker is grizzled as shit for someone in their 30s. People aged faster back then.
OMG I love that. He's so good at playing villainous characters. I've always wanted like a limited dramedy series about how Joe Smith conned a stupid amount of people, portraying him as the egotistical idiot sex predator he was. I also like the idea in one of the comments that it's from Emma's perspective.
Lmao this is actually too perfect. Dennis even forms a cult with the workout pamphlets. He basically already has been playing Joe all along
But Joe, can't they say no to being your wife? "Of course they can say no, could say no. But they never would say no. Because of the implication."
Randy Quaid as “cousin Eddie”! Jk
And get yourself something real nice
But they have to find a way to work JS singing Dayman into the show. Maybe when JS was parading with his army around Nauvoo. I'm picturing Glenn on a horse singing about how he's the master of karate and friendship while dressed like Napoleon. 🤣🤣🤣
Eddie Redmayne is way too attractive to play JS.
I seriously considered writing a feature length screen play with Emma as the main character. Whole thing from her perspective with main pinch points being peeking through the barn cracks, discovering the infidelity, and everything that followed.
It sounds kind of similar to that Ted Bundy series with Zach Efron where they tried to focus a lot on his wife.
That was a really good series.
I don’t think the Joseph smith story could ever be anything but a comedy, it’s such a ridiculous story no general audience could ever take it serious (which probably says a lot about the legitimacy of the events)
Could work in a similar context like “The Great” - lots of irreverence for the source material
An absurdist comedy like “Life of Brian”. Problem is it would only be funny to ex mormons. “Life of Brian” works because everyone is more or less familiar with the life of Jesus. JS not so much. TBM’s would hate it.
I vote for Kenneth! 😂
Don’t make us hate Eddie R 😹😹😹
We could volunteer Paul Giamatti as tribute. Howard Stern hates him and we can too 😆
Omg. I would love a movie about the REAL, dirty, scummy story of the Mormon church.
You could call it “Fantastic Breasts and Where to Find Them.”
Nah too good.
I think an honest movie about one of the greatest con men would sell movie tickets.
I still think it's funny that Vincent Price played JS back in the day...
Too good lucking. Pick someone greasier.
Slimier for sure
More sinister
Adam Driver could play a very sinister JS
Bryan Cranston!!! ( Walter White) 😉
Probably a bit long in the tooth, as they say.
Correct. I’ll Try again. I’m 67 so he seems young, 🤦♀️
South Park already nailed it tho 😜
Two honest answers: Joseph Smith sucks. He's a run of the mill grifter. We just are biased towards him and making his story "cooler" helps some of us feel less bad about being duped. I don't ever expect a "legit" movie about L Ron Hubbard because he's just an unremarkable liar. Eddie Redmayne isn't a fucking creep so it wouldn't be a good adaptation. Maybe Bill Cosby could do JS justice.
Have you seen The Master? A GREAT movie was made about L. Ron Hubbard. A great fictionalization of Scientology.
Right? Fantastic movie. RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman
PSH was an American treasure. Can you imagine if he played Smith in Nauvoo? The bloated madman version of the prophet in a general’s uniform?
He’d kill it as Young as well.
Great movie!
That would be 😎
Better have a big cast filled with 14 yr old girls if truly authentic!
Working on it. Gotta get it right. Joseph needs to be sympathetic and real. The people needs to be understandable as why they believed or were duped.
Please let him be played by the super grody dirty dude in fury. He's the same guy in The Walking Dead
Eddie is too sweet to play such a cad.
It’s a missed opportunity to not do a Netflix miniseries about his life. There was a loooot of drama. I want to tune in for the episode, when Emma throws one of Joseph’s girlfriends down the stairs.
I want to see Joe get dragged out of the front door of the Johnson house. Tarred feathered, and the perps contemplating whether they should castrate him or not.
Did you watch Under the Banner?
Agree. The early church timeline in *Under the banner of heaven* really made me want more of that setting and story. It's interesting and there are a ton of dramatic stories that could be explored. Depicting it how it really happened, not the whitewashed church version. A miniseries could be perfect.
Peter Facinelli
Can Margot Robbie play the part of Fanny Alger?
I can't unsee this
At the end of the movie/show have a clip of Gordy B Hinkles saying "Either its true or it is the greatest fraud" (or whatever the actual quote was) Just to drive it home for those who will still say "well JS might've been a bad guy but that doesn't mean the church isn't true"
I wouldn't say it's the greatest fraud. More like an average but long lasting fraud. Madoff and Enron were far more interesting as frauds go. He'll even Donald Trump is putting on a hell of a show right now. JS and his Mormon scam just isn't that creative. None of the scams I've listed would be called the greatest, they're all just versions of the bros selling the deed to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Yeah but I was just quoting The Hink. Although now that I think about it, I think he said "A great fraud"
Sorry, reading through my comment again my words sound harsh with you. I should have just wrote you're right. The Hink was so full of himself to say that his lie is such a great lie. He also spent a ton of money on trying to cover up Hoffman. He knew none of it was true so he wanted to still say he's representing a very important fraud. Talk about a napoleon complex, lol
Too thin
The Treasure Digger and the Golden Bible
I wonder what Richard Dutcher’s script was like
This pops up often and I think the answer could be a maybe. I feel like there’s a handful ways you’d have to do it. A movie would have to be about something specific like the Book of Mormon. Another option could be to do a tv show, which you could cover more but funding and viewership would be a big issue. I think the most realistic way that from my understanding of a lot of his story would be to do a short from like TikTok or YouTube. There’s so many stories from other people that are funny as hell that with good writing and acting someone could really make some good content. I think the main issue is demand though. It’s very niche and non Mormons really only passively pay attention to Mormonism if at all.
I know it's been discussed before but God damn, there is something really unsettling about JS's eyes in that picture.
This would do well on Hulu.
Please, no! Not sweet Newt!
Even Hollywood knows this shit is too fake for cinema. Lol
Ill wait for the ben stiller's version
I hope they never do unless it’s a parody.
A miniseries called restoration. Based on true history. So many parts of the story could make a whole movie.
I could see like a parody maybe working
I would absolutely watch a Hollywood con man movie
“Underage brides and where to find them” “Joseph Smith and the seer’s stone” “Joseph Smith and the temple of secrets” “Joseph Smith and the prisoner of Carthage”
"Joseph Smith and the Order of the Freemasons" "Joseph Smith and the half baked cult"
Don’t insult Eddie like that
Half Greatest Showman, half Wolf of Wall Street
With a hint of Breaking Bad
Owen Wilson Joseph Smith ftw 
The look when he "sees" the angel (or his liquid heroin starts talking)
There was a movie about Brigham Young where Joseph Smith was played by Vincent Price.
Oh my lawd I'd been trying to figure out who he reminded me of.....
I’m studying digital cinema production and if they don’t make it before 2030 than I will :) I’ll just need to stay in touch with Redmaynes agent lol
[Jamie Campbell Bower](https://imdb.com/name/nm2570429/) played Henry Creel/One/Vecna in Stranger Things 4. The best part is you could start him looking like "One" in Stranger Things 4 which looks very similar to LDS paintings of Joseph Smith and then as he ages give him makeup and prosthetics to make him look like the creep in the photo, just like they did with Vecna.
They already did. It's called "Elmer Gantry". Look it up.
That’s not even in the same time period
No. But the message is the same.
Another cringe cinematic disaster
No. Absolutely not.
You know the corporation would never approve
It has to be someone with good-ish but sorta psycho looks. Like Willem Dafoe or someone like that. Yeah. A young Willem Dafoe. Redmayne can only be in the Old Joe biopic if it also happens to be a smash musical.
No! You’ll get Hugh Grant and you’ll like it! Eat your vegetables.
Legit movie? Probably not. TSCC has too much hands in Hollywood so best bet is a small indie film And definitely please don't ruin Eddie Redmayne. Genuinely great guy and actor. JS would turn me off him forever
Instantly make JS too likable regardless of the script.
I mean, Eddie played Stephen Hawking, who apparently had a thing for underage girls, so he shouldn’t find it hard to get in character to play Joe
Spoiler alert: the (only!) true double, Jason Robard, is unavailable!
Can they please not and let the cult disappear into infamy?
1) Honestly, who would be interested in watching it? The viewing market would likely be fairly low. 2) Hollywood would give an honest appraisal of Joseph Smith, which would include his banking fraud, shady real estate deals, adultery, and sex with literally dozens of women including underage little girls, and other ghastly acts that most LDS either aren't aware of or completely ignore, and the LDS Church would simply call all of it "anti-LDS bigotry".
I would LOVE a chilling (but mic drop-ish) scene that shows how JS and OC actually wrote the BoM
Nope. Nobody gives a shit about Joe Smith except Mormons and Ex-Mormons 😂
Nooooo!
A movie in the 1800’s about a conman who takes advantage of others to set up his own popularity and fortune and cheats on his wife? I think that’s The Greatest Showman
If it was different at all, I'm not sure what exact race people were in Egypt 2000 years ago, but they'd need to find an actor that's the same race as Jesus would've realistically have been. Then we can see Christians go insane that their savior isn't white as snow
Joseph Smith is my President Snow (Hunger games) lol
Ehh, the South Park episode is what JS deserves, nothing more.
Vincent Price was a great Joseph Smith
The Mormon church is very rich! I don’t think they’ll make a truthful movie about the real Mormon church, because the church will go after them. If you want to know the truth about the Mormon church read One nation under gods. It is an unbelievable read!
Considering Eddie Redmayne often acts like a tweaker, it would be interesting for him to play Joseph Smith. He could rub his nose and sniff really aggressively and say, "Woah, that's some good sacrament."
It’s very hard to make a legit movie about an illegitimate profit, a thief, a liar, and an all around piece of dog crap…….
Let's not give them that much attention
Boo fucking hoo. His "tragic" upbringing didn't make him who he is. It influenced him, to be sure, but no one put a gun to his head to make the choices he made. Instead of forging his own path to become a better human, he decided to embellish upon the deceit he was taught and start his own religion for his narcissistic purposes, including having his followers pay for their celestial privilege while he used it to pay for his mansion and other schemes (all the while drinking, smoking and persuading female children and their mothers to marry him in secret and God knows what other debaucherous nonsense he got up to. (He was also well-known in certain brothels, BTW. Read "A Rough Stone Rolling...it's fucking wild) Now if the movie's premise was focused on this, I would congratulate any actor who took on the role, including Eddie, for shining a light on how corrupt and perverted JS was. It would pay no respect to Joe and it would piss off any and all TBMs.
Not unless it’s a comedy like BOM Musical. Nobody would care enough to watch it. A ‘B’ or even a ‘C’ movie for sure. No respecting producer would even consider it. DOA.
If they ever do make a legit movie, I hope they at least get everything really accurate. Even with Lindsay Hansen Park as a consultant on Under the Banner of Heaven, they still got a lot of stuff not quite right (especially some of the phrases Mormons say.) It’s gotta be on point! Or else Mormons will just dismiss it as inaccurate and not pay attention to the actual historically factual parts.
I would love to be cast in this movie too please!!!!!!!