HOLLYWOOD—Tinseltown trade outlet Variety reported yesterday that James Franco, Heather Graham, Dev Patel and Lili Taylor have been attached to a new indie drama called Cherry, which will mark the directorial debut of The Adderall Diaries author Stephen Elliott and revolves around an 18-year-old girl who moves to San Francisco and gets mixed up in the porn business.
What set our siren rollers awhirl in the Variety story, however, was this passing tidbit: "Elliott ... co-wrote the script with Lorelei Lee." Could it be our Lorelei Lee? The same Lorelei Lee who starred in Jay Sin's Milk Nymphos? And who appeared at John Stagliano's obscenity trial last year to defend it?
As a matter of fact, it is.
Though Lee was not available to speak with us on the matter right away, AVN confirmed through agent Mark Spiegler, who has represented her in the past, that we had the right gal. It makes sense, considering she's been pursuing a master's degree in creative writing at NYU for several years in between porn gigs, not to mention the seemingly autobiographical elements of Cherry.
The comparison to Oscar winner Diablo Cody (for her screenplay of 2007's Juno) is unavoidable, what with Cody's storied past as a stripper. Will Lee's first time out as a screenwriter meet with similar success? Only time will tell. But we will be sure to find out more from her about the project as soon as we're able.
Cherry goes into production next month in San Francisco.
