Zola (film)

Zola is an upcoming American drama film directed by Janicza Bravo, from a screenplay by Bravo, Andrew Neel, Jeremy O. Harris, and Mike Roberts. It stars Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Colman Domingo, and Jason Mitchell.

Premise
Zola partakes in a wild 2-day Florida trip with a sex worker named Jessica, her boyfriend Derrek, and Jessica’s violent pimp, who went by X.

Cast

 * Taylour Paige as Zola
 * Riley Keough as Jessica
 * Nicholas Braun as Derrek
 * Colman Domingo as X
 * Jason Mitchell
 * Ari'el Stachel as Sean

Production
On 2015, Detroit waitress Aziah "Zola" Wells posted a 148-tweet thread about a trip she took to Florida with a stripper named Jessica; the story, containing details of prostitution, murder and an attempted suicide, quickly went viral, garnering the recognition of people such as Missy Elliot, Solange Knowles and Ava DuVernay. About a month later, Rolling Stone's David Kushner published an article interviewing people involved in the story; while the article noted several inconsistencies in the stories, and Zola has admitted to embellishing some of the more sensational detail, most of the involved have admitted to general gist of the story.

In February 2016, it was announced James Franco would direct the film, from a screenplay by Andrew Neel and Mike Roberts. Franco, Vince Jolivette, Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, and Kara Baker would serve as producers on the film, under their Rabbit Bandini Productions, Killer Films and Gigi Films banners, respectively. In January 2018, it was announced the film was initially set to begin production in February 2018, but was shelved following sexual misconduct allegations against Franco. In June 2018, it was announced Janicza Bravo would direct the film, replacing Franco. In October 2018, Taylour Paige was cast in the film to play the lead role. That same month, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Colman Domingo and Jason Mitchell joined the cast of the film. In November 2018, Ari'el Stachel joined the cast of the film.

Filming
Principal photography began on October 29, 2018. Production concluded on December 7, 2018.