NEW YORK -- Could the JT Leroy mystery be solved at Sundance?
The reclusive author -- whose identity as an HIV-positive teen street hustler-turned-lit lion has been called into question by recent investigative reports in both New York magazine and the New York Times -- is skedded to appear at the Park City, Utah, film fest on Jan. 25 as part of a panel series.
With controversy brewing over the author's identity, Leroy is booked to appear at the Starbucks Salon to participate in a series of talks and performances, organized by Gen Art, that will include Adrian Grenier, Anthony Rapp, Ally Sheedy and Canadian hip-hopper Buck 65.
Starbuckssalon.com, a planned Web site promo'ing the series, which is being booked by Gen Art, is skedded to go up later this week. Leroy is listed on the org's site as a guest in a tentative lineup. A Gen Art spokesperson could not confirm whether the author would participate or not.
The New York Times published a report this week building on recent assertions that Leroy is in fact the nom de plume of erstwhile musician Laura Albert, adding the author's incognito public appearances are made by a young woman named Savannah Knoop.
Leroy is certainly no stranger to film fests: After adapting his tome "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" into an indie pic directed by Asia Argento, he joined Argento, one of a spate of celeb pals, to pump the project in Cannes and at the AFI Film Fest. "Heart" was snapped up in May by Palm Pictures, which is planning to release the film domestically March 10.
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