The biopic about the early 2000s literary hoaxster J.T. Leroy is finally here, and it looks AMAZING!
The story, in a nutshell, via Wikipedia:
Jeremiah “Terminator” LeRoy is a literary persona created in the 1990s by American writer Laura Albert. JT was presented as the author of three books of fiction, which were purportedly semi-autobiographical accounts by a teenage boy of his experiences of poverty, drug use, and emotional and sexual abuse in his childhood and adolescence from rural West Virginia to California. Albert wrote these works, and communicated with people in the persona of JT via phone and e-mail. Following the release of the first novel Sarah, Albert’s sister-in-law Savannah Knoop began to make public appearances as the supposed writer. The works attracted considerable literary and celebrity attention, and the authenticity of LeRoy has been a subject of debate, even as details of the creation came to light in the 2000s.
Watch the trailer below, featuring Kristen Stewart as JT/Savannah, and the amazing Laura Dern as Laura, with Courtney Love, Diane Kruger, and James Sturgess rounding out the cast.
TRUE STORY: I remember in 2001 I was OBSESSED with JT’s book of short stories, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things – it really spoke to me on a deep level. Then I met JT and his counterpart Laura Albert and IMMEDIATELY clocked what was going on. Laura’s fake British accent was a dead giveaway, and let’s just say there were obvious reasons Savannah rarely spoke and remained hidden behind the wig and glasses and scarves and whatnot. I screamed from the hilltops that the whole thing was a sham…. and NOBODY believed me. This story still rankles and I plan to block the theater doorway saying “I told you so” to everybody who walks in.
J.T. LEROY will be in theaters, On Demand & Digital April 26