The cult of jt leroy took twelve years to make and almost didnt screen at this years festival. The cult of jt leroy is a testament to this bizarre and elaborate story that has captured the attention and fascination of the worlds. Authorized and unauthorized, the cult of jt leroy won two jury awards, and was nominated four other times, for best feature documentary in 2015. The official facebook site to learn about the documentary the cult of jt leroy along with ideas tangential to the topic. The cult of jt leroy directed by marjorie sturm pierces the heart of this both figurative and literal cause celebre. The jt leroy story 2016 directed by jeff feuerzeig, and the cult of. Alberts account of her frantic attempts at spinning and wagoncircling are in some ways the most forthright. Dennis cooper jt leroy longform mary gaitskill terrence owens. My main issue is with the structure of the documentary. The cult of jt leroy holds up a cracked mirror, probing into the complex cultural, psychological, and sociallyreinforced motivations for pulling off, and buying into, such a scam. Whats the story a young woman named savannah knoop kristen stewart spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author and cult status character jt leroy, the madeup literary persona of her sisterinlaw laura dern. Its subject was purportedly an hivpositive teenage male prostitute in san francisco who became a minor literary celebrity about 15 years ago. In 2005 jt leroys goodwill came crashing down following the bombshell reveal that the author wasnt real.
The cult of jt leroy directed by marjorie sturm pierces the heart of this both. The film will be a testament to this bizarre and elaborate story that has captured. Actually, we get alberts side of the story, and thats clearly problematic. Jt leroy was a teen prostitute, addicted to heroin and infected with hiv, when a therapist encouraged him to write his life stories. Sep 08, 2016 author is not the first film to take on this strange story. The cult of jt leroy movie a feature documentary about the writer jt leroy ethically charged, controversial, and confusing, jts life and death sprang open a pandoras box of powerful questions about literature and culture, identity and celebrity, and the reality of th. Watch the cult of jt leroy 2014 full movie free online. Aug 26, 2015 in fact, the cult of jt leroy is a strong candidate to make a case that documentary cinema can be elevated far beyond its budgetary constraints if the content explored is interesting. The truth about a fabricated literary sensation is fascinating but leaves much still unresolved. Aug 18, 2017 now, with the film freshly wrapped, kelly and knoop who cowrote the film are offering w an exclusive first look at kristen stewart in character as both savannah and jt, and laura dern as laura. Now, with the film freshly wrapped, kelly and knoop who cowrote the film are offering w an exclusive first look at kristen stewart in character as both savannah and jt, and laura dern as laura. Ethically charged, controversial, and confusing, jt s life and death sprang open a pandoras box of powerful questions about literature and culture, identity and celebrity, and the reality of the society we live in. May 18, 2019 a young woman named savannah knoop kristen stewart spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author and cult status character jt leroy, the madeup literary persona of her sisterinlaw laura dern.
Video archive for the film the cult of jt leroy, which has a domestic theatrical release in the year of 2014. Video of the cult of jt leroy vqff 2015 follow brian. Jt leroy is a 2018 britishamericancanadian biographical drama film directed by justin kelly based on the memoir girl boy girl. Having begun filming the subject in 2002, and with a background in social work uniquely congruent with his background claims, marjorie sturm draws on a rich array of material to assemble a first documentary feature thats fascinating on numerous levels. His death in 2006 left his fans and supporters bewildered, angry, and betrayed. Apr 01, 2019 jt leroy is a shocking literary hoax brought to life by two very talented actresses. They set up a green fashion company, tinc, completed their mfa in sculpture and extended media and have since shown at the whitney and moma. Though sturm doesnt make a point of it, the documentary amounts to a. Nov 14, 2014 a literary hoax that picked up extraordinary steam before imploding is charted in the cult of jt leroy. Sf indiefest presents the bay area debut of the cult of jt leroy at the roxie theater, screening from feb. Laura albertis one of ironic literary delights, which is why the film about it ought to have been much better than it is. The elaborate hoax of writer jt leroy, a fictional identity that both captured attention and perplexed global media, is examined in this documentary. In documentary filmmaking you have the right to examine a public figure or an issue of public concern.
Albert characterizes leroy as someone who really lived inside herbut who needed to go live in someone else. Its an interesting day at hot docs when both films you see focus on hoaxes the other, the amina profile. His debut, sarah, became a critically acclaimed success, also thanks to help from a lot of celebrities. Leroy might not be a real person, but alberts ability to conjure his voice and lifes story onto the page is a feat of extraordinary brilliance, destined to be admired. See the full list of the cult of jt leroy cast and crew including actors, directors, producers and more. Mar 07, 2015 a literary hoax that picked up extraordinary steam before imploding is charted in the cult of jt leroy. Nov 14, 2014 video archive for the film the cult of jt leroy, which has a domestic theatrical release in the year of 2014. Her film explores the fact and fiction surrounding the rise and fall of jt leroy, those caught. Ethically charged, controversial, and confusing, jts life and death sprang open a pandoras box of powerful questions about literature and culture, identity and celebrity, and the reality of the society we live in. It stars kristen stewart, laura dern, kelvin harrison jr.
Director justin kelly i am michael, king cobra brings us the true story of laura albert played by laura dern. A firstrate documentary about a remarkable literary hoax. The cult of jt leroy pictured by marjorie sturm also gets its world premiere and explores the eponymous literary hoax created by american writer laura albert. The jt leroy story does a remarkable job of casting a sympathetic lens towards the work of albert and leroy as the fruits of an unrivaled literary masterpiece. I made the documentary the cult of jt leroy, and i must discuss. It will be great to see what sturm has to offer on a higher budget, she has clearly demonstrated a strong aptitude to weave fascinating narratives. Kristen stewart and laura dern, not surprisingly, do a good job. Asia argento and others are angry about being in jt leroy. A literary hoax that picked up extraordinary steam before imploding is charted in the cult of jt leroy. The jt leroy story, were finally getting to the bottom of what happened.
Buoyed by a cadre of celebrities, he published three critically acclaimed books. Jt leroy is a shocking literary hoax brought to life by two very talented actresses. Their art explores the terrain of permission, identity and authenticity, issues at the heart of their film too. Marjorie sturm talks the cult of jt leroy indiewire. Clearly, its got a charge around it deservedly so, as its a fascinating unspooling of a big, brilliant dupe. The jt leroy story, a documentary, offers a complex and deeply fascinating account of a decidedly unusual chapter in recent american cultural history. The movie itself was a sleazy slice of southern gothic, ostensibly based on jt leroys own shockingly traumatic boyhood. Leroy was presented as the author of three books of fiction, which were purportedly semiautobiographical 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. Her film explores the fact and fiction surrounding the rise and fall of jt leroy, those caught in the elaborate web of artifice and the ultimate real world consequences. There is currently one video available for the film, of which one and only one is a trailer, as listed below. The film returns for a regular run at the roxie march 18. In the documentary, the cult of jt leroy which we saw last night at the antenna documentary film festival in sydney we had already seen sandra bernhard, carrie fisher, susan dey patridge.
Albert has always maintained the story is hers to tell. He wrote three books, and the heart is deceitful above all things was adapted to the screen by asia. Searching for a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the marjorie sturmdirected movie via subscription can be. Aug 22, 2016 but to hear her tell it in the film, things were more complicated than they seem. The jt leroy story isnt a gotcha documentary in the vein of the imposter or catfish rather it functions as a biography of laura alberts most famous character. Ethically charged, controversial, and confusing, jt s life and death sprang open a. If you know the truth about jt leroy who came out of nowhere in 1999 with the gritty, apparently confessional novels sarah and the heart is deceitful above all things then youll be a few. Jt leroy was a teenage prostitute, heroin addict and hivpositive when a therapist encouraged him to write down the story of his life. Having begun filming the subject in 2002, and with a background in social work.
This is a feature documentary about the writer jt leroyethically charged. Jt leroy was a teen prostitute, addicted to heroin and infected with hiv, when a. My friend and i both laughed out loud when we saw rufus wainwright appearing on stage reading from one books by j. Very well done documentary, well organized presentation clarifying a. Franco origliagetty images the story of jt leroy is the stuff of. Sturms the cult of jt leroy offers a sober yet somewhat punchdrunk reminder of what it felt like when the local literary wunderkind with a disturbingly tragic past was shown to possess an even. The cult of jt leroy also made the best of 2014 list at film international and the best of 2015 at keyframe. Aug 01, 2016 the cult of jt leroy holds up a cracked mirror, probing into the complex cultural, psychological, and sociallyreinforced motivations for pulling off, and buying into, such a scam. Given alberts avid and unprecedented input, the film cant help but seem a rejoinder to marjorie sturms 2014 doc the cult of jt leroy, which portrays its subject as, among other things.
Sep 09, 2016 the tale of jt leroys unmasking still has a tawdry tabloid fascination, and ms. Want to watch the cult of jt leroy on your tv, phone, or tablet. Threatened with legal action, the film was blocked days before its world premiere at last years docnyc. Marjorie sturm talks the cult of jt leroy she kept saying this is my story to tell. Sep 24, 20 the cult of jt leroy also made the best of 2014 list at film international and the best of 2015 at keyframe. Not rated 1h 32min documentary, biography, crime 14 november 2014 usa.
The cult of jt leroy will be screened on august 22 6. That manager also saw author after it was completed, mr. Jeremiah terminator leroy, or simply jt leroy is a literary persona created in the 1990s by. Overall, the cult of jt leroy is a strong effort from marjorie sturm that does well to overcome its financial constraints in its tale of widespread literary deceit. The tale of jt leroys unmasking still has a tawdry tabloid fascination, and ms. But to hear her tell it in the film, things were more complicated than they seem. The costume design that depicts the early 2000s in san francisco is well done. If i had done the roberta thing ten years later, i would have faced the same.
Though sturm doesnt make a point of it, the documentary amounts to a scathing indictment of the credulousness of the press. Author is not the first film to take on this strange story. Table tennis film top spin directed by sara newens and mina t will receive its world premiere and follows three teenage olympic hopefuls. Cult not author is the jt leroy documentary you should. But her story overlapped with a lot of other peoples lives so it wasnt just her. A young woman named savannah knoop kristen stewart spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author and cult status character jt leroy, the madeup literary persona of her sisterinlaw laura dern. The film is by no means polished but sturm manages to make every new revelation more shocking than the last. The cult of jt leroy 2014 stream and watch online moviefone. Jeremiah terminator leroy, or simply jt leroy is a literary persona created in the 1990s by american writer laura albert. The cult of jt leroy is a testament to this bizarre and elaborate story that has captured the attention and fascination of the worlds media, and perplexes to this day. For that, youve got to watch the cult of jt leroy, the much quieter jt documentary without backing from bigwigs like authors magnolia films and vice from two years earlier that, according to its director marjorie sturm, albert tried to prevent the release of with imminent legal threat. A bizarre tale of a literary celebrity the cult of jt leroy, which follows a mysterious literary figure who captured the imagination of many a celebrity, is a. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the cult of jt leroy near you.
1255 456 1689 1431 698 1056 327 980 732 1555 1504 819 1163 577 1399 396 552 552 1088 700 1446 1175 660 881 805 1638 164 145 455 1304 811 291 1271 1029 116 204 1274 1226 610 1456