Changeling

The crime thriller Changeling is loosely based on the Wineville Chicken Murders, which occurred in Los Angeles in the late 1920s. The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and stars Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich.Variety: Clint's Changeling Set for Cannes (April 22, 2008)

The film garnered three Academy Awards nominations in 2009.

• Angelina Jolie for Best Actress
• Tom Stern for Best Cinematography
• Best Art Direction

Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) returns home after work and finds her young son, Walter (Gattlin Griffith), missing. After months of searching, a boy appears who claims to be her son.The police try to convince Christine that the boy is actually Walter, but she is positive that he is not her child. When she persists in publicly asserting that Walter is still missing, the police department becomes concerned about potential bad publicity. To silence and discredit her, they have her committed to a psychiatric hospital.The Hollywood Reporter: Changeling Review (May 20, 2008)

In February 1929, Gordon Stewart Northcott was convicted of killing three young boys at his family's chicken ranch in Wineville, California. Northcott's mother, Louisa, assisted her son with the murders, and identified one of the boys she helped to kill as Walter Collins. Northcott was sentenced to death by hanging for the murders; his mother recieved life in prison.Mira Loma History: Wineville Chicken Murders (October 5, 1988) The role of Louisa Northcott was omitted from Changeling.

• Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins
• Gattlin Griffith as Walter Collins
• John Malkovich as Gustav Briegleb
• Amy Ryan as Carol Dexter
• Jeffrey Donovan as J.J. Jones
• Colm Feore as James E. Davis