Stephen Fry's Sprout Films has optioned British artist and author Sebastian Horsley's memoir "Dandy in the Underworld." Fry and Sprout managing director Gina Carter are set to produce a film based on the work, and are in discussions with writers.
The book, which details Horsley's extravagant use of drugs and prostitutes (as well as his own career as a prostitute), got the self-styled dandy into hot water with customs officials in March of last year. Horsley was denied entry to the U.S. on the grounds of "moral turpitude," and after being questioned for eight hours, was sent back to England and released.
Horsley's most famous exhibition featured photos of the artist voluntarily undergoing crucifixion -- other shows have included shots of Horsley swimming in shark-infested waters and taking drugs. His memoirs also detail his troubled childhood, during which the author claims that "Everyone in my family that should have been vertical was horizontal."
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