So much average

Fantastic!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This wasn't really a big story here, at least I don't remember anything at the time, but in the US, JT LeRoy was a celebrated underground author. Only problem was, he's not real. For a pretty punk tale, this doc is extremely well crafted, lovingly drip feeding the viewer this somewhat tragic and almost poetic and fascinatingly complex story. An intense story of identity, "built brick by dysfunctional brick" with the levels that are reached becoming truly staggering. What is 'real' anyway.

This Albert person is so chronically and sickeningly manipulative. She calls writers and panders to their egos, feeding their need for adoration. They, in turn, help Albert get publishers and agents. Smart. Very smart.Albert feeds HER need for attention and adoration by courting celebs and rock stars. Overweight, she could not have come forward as herself - she doesn't feel capable of doing so. But she is VERY capable of controlling the other players. I can't imagine how she accomplished this for so long. Albert even brought HER SON into this game...can you imagine how messed up THAT kid is going to be???I have seen this film, and am sure Albert feels gratified that she has told her story well. Frankly, she just sounds mentally ill. This is a severely deranged and dangerous individual.

A beautiful tale of art-imitating-life-imitating-art. It revved me up to write, and inspired me to kick out the internal blockades. I felt an extremely strong connection to Laura and J.T. I will unabashedly state that I was jealous of the wonderful ride they had - both the highs and the lows. (I have had the lows myself, but never thought to exorcise my demons in the same manner - now I wish I had.) There are points in the film where my heart ached for Laura and J.T., not the least being that I KNOW that both their stories are real in the everyday world around us. In most cases these stories make the news for a minute, and are then submerged under the weight of fresh horrors, or simply because it is easier to ignore these truths than look at them squarely. Laura brought this story to the world in a manner that hooked us and refused to let go. And the story is as beautifully moving as it is dark. For me, although J.T. Is a fiction, I believe the way in which J.T.'s story was given to us is a blessing and not something to be cursed. I see both J.T.'s and Laura's worlds, both real and imagined, and the blurring of the line between the two as a magical place that we can be grateful to be invited into. Bravo Laura, Bravo J.T.!!!!!!

I wrote a full review here: http://indieethos.com/2016/09/21/jt-leroy- story/The latest documentary by director Jeff Feuerzeig, The JT Leroy Story, explores the making of the character of JT Leroy, an author who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a literary sensation by writing about his life, which included sexual abuse, homelessness and coping with HIV. A publisher recalls the work as a novelty, a new voice. However, the story of JT Leroy was a fantasy, a made-up story concocted by Laura Albert, a 40-year-old San Francisco woman originally from New York. She started using characters since early on in her life as she felt uncomfortable in her own skin. She used these personas partly to escape her life, which was full of trauma and abuse but also, seemingly, to get attention. She even attended therapy sessions as her character, melding fantasy and her life into different personas.