Nearly three years ago, Aziah “Zola” King set the internet on fire after her sharing her story about a Florida road trip gone terribly wrong.
Over the course of 148 tweets and 6,000 characters, King told a tale of pimps, strippers, guns, a suicide attempt, and a crazy weekend that resulted in real life human trafficking charges for one of its main subjects.
King’s story not only caught the attention of Black Twitter, Rolling Stone profiled the former exotic dancer, and her harrowing tale also piqued Hollywood’s interest.
After receiving kudos from influencers like Ava Duvernay and Solange, actor and filmmaker James Franco picked up the rights to Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted back in 2016, and now the film has a director.
According to Collider, Janicza Bravo has been tapped to direct the feature, which will be produced by Franco, A24, and Killer Films. The script will be written by Andrew Neel and Mike Roberts.
While some ideas — even great ones — never make it to the screen, Zola’s story is clearly headed in that direction. In addition to adding a director, the production also put out a casting call to find its titular character, Zola, which describes her as a “Black female, 19 years old. Commanding and sharp. Quick-witted. Waitress at Hooters. Oldest of 6 girls. Ex- stripper. Engaged to her boyfriend of 7 years. Afraid to settle. Able to weave in and out of most situations.”
We absolutely can’t wait to see this story play out in theaters.
