New York magazine’s October 2005 issue sent shockwaves through the literary world when it unmasked “it boy” wunder | dG1faHZTd2NFMzJWS2c
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 JT LeRoy is a 21-year-old writer with two books of fiction based on his experiences
00:13 as the son of a truck stop prostitute.
00:15 Hi, I'm JT, Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy.
00:20 There's not a lot of discovery in publishing.
00:22 William Burroughs, Genet, Allen Ginsberg.
00:25 To hear a new voice was exciting.
00:29 He doesn't like to show his face to the press.
00:31 JT, I just thank you from the bottom of my heart.
00:36 Some people think that JT LeRoy might not really exist.
00:39 My name's Laura Albert and I am the writer JT LeRoy.
00:49 I felt like a misfit.
00:50 I didn't want to write as myself.
00:52 JT LeRoy was created from my dream.
00:56 Blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy turning trips, living on the street.
00:59 The books were taking off.
01:01 JT had to walk amongst us.
01:03 Savannah was over at my house and I said, "You look like JT LeRoy.
01:07 You wear the sunglasses, a blonde wig."
01:10 It was like Frankenstein let there be life.
01:13 JT LeRoy is a literary it boy.
01:17 His stories are so alive.
01:19 It was a revolving door of celebrities.
01:23 I see Bono giving JT industry advice.
01:28 Suddenly JT is the go-to person for the fashion world.
01:34 I show just enough to make them interested.
01:39 The media was tugging pretty hard at the curtain.
01:42 It turns out he may not be a he and may not even exist.
01:46 People are calling me.
01:47 I don't know if this thing is bad or not.
01:49 What the heck is going on?
01:50 Hey, I really need to talk to you.
01:51 I didn't know how to shut it down.
01:53 There's like a helicopter or something.
01:56 You feel like good sellers.
01:59 It feels like the whole world is watching.
02:02 We're not filming now, right?
02:03 Suddenly I got a call.
02:05 This is Warren C. Johns from the New York Times.
02:07 He says, "I'm going to get you."
02:08 He knows everything.
02:10 There is a huge tornado that's about to hit.
02:13 All the headlines are saying the biggest literary hoax
02:21 of our time.
02:22 It is not a hoax.
02:26 [Music]
02:28 [MUSIC]