Author: The JT LeRoy Story

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Author: The JT LeRoy Story

R

Released Sep 9, 2016

1h 50m

Documentary

Biography

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Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

91 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Author Laura Albert writes novels under the literary persona JT LeRoy and creates a tragic back story of his life.

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Critics Consensus

Author: The JT LeRoy Story serves as a worthy primer on its fascinating subject as well as an insightful look at the ever-evolving nature of modern celebrity.

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Kristen Lopez

Spectrum Culture

The film touches on the line between poetic license and deceit, as well as the glittering promise of reinvention and fame.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 20, 2017

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Matthew Lickona

San Diego Reader

While Feuerzeig makes good visual and narrative use of the world's adulation and outrage over LeRoy and his eventual outing, all those fireworks are exploded solely to illuminate [the real subject, Laura] Albert.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 21, 2016

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

Feuerzeig's flashy narrative antics reduce a serious and substantial story to mere snippets of information.

Sep 19, 2016

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Ian Brill

Battleship Pretension

Do they go about it in exploitative ways? Are such things mutually exclusive? Feuerzeig leaves those answers to the audience. It creates an unsettling but always-fascinating film.

Apr 13, 2021

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Erin Blackwell

Bay Area Reporter

This story is so trippy it could use some clarity.

Jun 9, 2020

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Phil Guie

Film-Forward.com

Author leaves it up to the viewer to decide for themselves whether Albert is a troubled soul or something more nefarious, but either way this is a fascinating character study and a one-of-a-kind documentary.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 21, 2019

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Alec B

Laura Albert never seems like the type of person capable of such a far reaching deception, especially since none of what she did was malicious or some Andy Kaufman-esque prank. A unspoken thesis in the documentary seems to be that narrative, not truth, is what moves the public. So many people wanted JT LeRoy to be real that they ignored their better judgement.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

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Josh R

In this riveting documentary, Laura Albert's masterful account of her life story is told in parallel with the life story of her literary creation JT LeRoy. The result is as memorable and moving as her groundbreaking novels written as JT, a multi-layered narrative that brings depth and humanity to a story that most of the press had made superficial and one-dimensional. Definitely a must-watch for anyone concerned with literature and the American cult of celebrity – and everyone who appreciates a humorous, heartfelt, and larger-than-life profile.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/27/23

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Audience Member

This is a fascinating expose of the biggest fraud in modern literary history. The film is told through was is recognizably fascinating by the filmmaker and humor and honesty from the subject matter. Documentaries are meant to tell you something you don't know. And this does exactly that.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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david f

This is a fascinating documentary about someone who invented a whole identity around their pen name, which then became a celebrity who hobnobbed with other celebrities. She taped all her phone calls and gave interviews for this film so you can follow closely along as JT LeRoy came into being and rose to become a noted writer.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

the story exposes the clique elitist real anti real woman writers group, it was so sad and so funny that she catch how this buji.. class works .. so funny and too deep...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Intriguing and fascinating, The director thoroughly engrosses the audience and telling one of the oddest and outrageous true stories of modern times. It's incredible to think how long "the hoax" kept going, and even more startling is how much fame begets the famous.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Jeff Feuerzeig

Director

Laura Albert

Self

Bruce Benderson

Self

Dennis J. Cooper

Self

Savannah Knoop

Self

Jeff Feuerzeig

Writer

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Author: The JT LeRoy Story: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Author Laura Albert writes novels under the literary persona JT LeRoy and creates a tragic back story of his life.

Director: Jeff Feuerzeig
Producer: Jim Czarnecki, Danny Gabai, Brett Ratner, Molly Thompson
Screenwriter: Jeff Feuerzeig
Distributor: Amazon Studios, Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Vice, A&E IndieFilms, Fancy Film Post Services, Complex Corporation
Rating: R (Some Drug Material|Sexual Content|Language Throughout|Violent Images)
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $85.6K
Runtime: 1h 50m

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