I wasn’t a huge fan of Janicza Bravo’s feature debut, the bizarre indie comedy Lemon, but I recognized her as a director with a very unique visual style. Brett Gelman has never been more interesting to watch, I’ll just say that. It appears Hollywood has noticed Bravo, too, because Collider reports she will take the helm for A24 and James Franco’s upcoming stripper film, Zola.
Based on David Kushner’s Rolling Stone article “Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted”and adapted by Goat duo Andrew Neel and Mike Roberts, the true story is described as following follows a young exotic dancer who gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to go on a road trip to Florida with a prostitute, her bipolar boyfriend, and a moody pimp.
Franco had originally been set to direct the film but he’ll slide instead into a producer role. It’s suggested that recent allegations against Franco may have had something to do with the move but nothing is confirmed. It’s also unclear if Franco will take a role himself as he usually does.
