JT Leroy is taking over Hollywood
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Deals, Celebrities and Controversy, The Weinstein Co., Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Memoirist J.T. Leroy, an HIV-positive ex-hustler who survived an indescribably
awful childhood to become a best-selling author, was outed recently as a completely fictional creation dreamed up by a
real writer named Laura Albert. (Neither of whom should be confused with author James Frey, who also lied about his
life but stopped short of making himself up.) One of "Leroy's" books (really written by Albert), The
Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, was turned into a movie in the wake of the frenzied, fawning reaction that
greeted its publication; starring and directed by Asia Argento, the
film is set to open in the US next week. In an effort to embrace the hoax that is making them look like fools, Palm
Pictures changed the film's tagline to "Behind the greatest hoax of our time is the heartbreaking story that
started it all." Oh, the clever. Following that release (for which I assume Albert is getting paid - she's completely cleaning up here), The Weinstein Company has announced its intention to make a film about Leroy (him/her)self. Written by Captain Mauzner, the man who penned Factory Girl, the film will be based on Warren St. John's New York Times articles that exposed Leroy as a fake, so it'll be less a biopic than an expose. Thought Heart sounds humiliating to watch (A wrenching bio about the writer's horrible upbring that's entirely made up? No thanks.), there's a lot of potential in a fact-based Leroy project. If nothing else, it'll give Mauzner a great opportunity to frolic in a little bit of literary cloak-and-dagger and, if he does his job well, it'll be a great ride for viewers, as well.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-12-2006 @ 6:01PM
this kinda thing could never happen in the northwest said...
Actually, it's the ex that is selling his story to the Weinstein's about 'JT'. They (Laura and her ex who was guitarist for Thistle LLC) are now in a custody battle for their kid, and his lawyer says that he is trying to 'put the whole JT thing behind him' probably so as to look better to the judge, yet I found out he is selling the JT thing to the W Bros. Hmmmm...smells like sellout to me.
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