Author: The JT LeRoy Story Page #4

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to option "Sarah,"

it was as if we were following

a path that was already

predestined.

[ Tape player clicks ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

As JT LeRoy,

I have had hours of conversation

with him.

But now, we have to meet him.

How the f*** am I gonna

give all those details,

little minute things

to Savannah?

What if they talk about a film?

He comes to San Francisco,

and he brings the actor

Michael Pitt with him.

So we go to a restaurant,

and we're waiting for

Gus to show up,

and I'm very very nervous.

I'm the assistant.

But I have to be

an advocate for the book

and get stuff done.

So we meet Gus.

[ Tape player clicks ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

They're bringing out

all these really,

really expensive dishes.

And I really want to find out

what he wants to do

with "Sarah."

[ Tape player clicks ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

And it's like,

"Why should he be talking

to Speedie,

JT's assistant,

about his plans for 'Sarah.'"

And Speedie

is right up in Gus' face.

[ British accent ]

Oh, Gus, God, you know

"My Own Private Idaho"

is so f***ing great.

River Phoenix, oh, my God,

what was he like?

Oy, Gus, f***ing barn crash --

How the f***

did you do that, mate?

[ Normal voice ]

Speedie had to overcompensate

with this kind of entertaining,

fat girl persona.

And I actually felt

really bad about myself.

I'm big.

I feel a lot of shame

about my body.

that it was really empowering

to have Speedie take over.

We're outside the restaurant

with Gus Van Sant,

and we're just hanging out

and JT and Mike Pitt

are smoking a cigarette.

And, next thing I know,

they're kissing.

[ Tape player clicks ]

So "Sarah" was like

a message in a bottle

to the world.

And suddenly other artists

wanted that connection.

Give yourself away

And you give yourself away

We're given VIP passes,

we go backstage,

and we go to the intimate

after-party.

The Edge is there,

and I'm watching Bono

call JT over.

And I know what's coming.

It's what happens

to every artist

when they've arrived.

It's their anointment in

to what will be coming next.

It's to help usher them

through the portal.

You have the Bono talk.

[ Dings ]

Sleight of hand

and twist of fate

Albert:
So I see Bono

snuggled close in

with his arm around JT,

and if you didn't know better,

you would think

they were father and son.

And Bono is very lovingly

giving him industry advice.

"Watch out for the sharks,

be who you are,

and never forget

where you came from."

While JT is getting

the Bono talk,

Speedie is getting

the manager talk.

Paul McGuinness, U2's manager,

comes over to Speedie

and he says,

"Hey, did you see what my boy

did for yours?

[ As Speedie] Ah, what did

your boy do for mine?"

[ Normal voice ] And he whips

out Rolling Stone magazine.

And there it is.

"Bono says, 'The Heart is

Deceitful Above All Things'

[ As Bono ]

is blowing my f***ing mind.

[ Cheers and applause ]

I'm 16 going on 17.

And I am committed again

for the second time.

And the social workers

were very clear

that I should absolutely

not go home.

So my parents gave up custody,

and I became

a ward of the state.

And I ended up

in a friendly home,

a group home, run by

the Jewish childcare agency.

One day I saw

this beautiful skinhead,

hanging outside

the New Yorker movie theatre,

and he's got the braces

and the ox-blood Doc Martens.

We had just seen

The Who, "Quadrophenia,"

and I thought,

"How do I approach him?"

and I decided to use

a British accent,

because I knew nothing

would be more irresistible

to a Brit-style skinhead.

And we fell in love.

I would bring him

into the group home,

and all the girls would know

I'm British.

[ British accent ]

Hello, this is my boyfriend.

This is Mick.

Yeah, so, uh,

he's gonna, like,

be joining us for dinner.

[ Laughter ]

He's like, you know,

"What's so funny?

Are they laughing at me?"

Oh, no, no, no,

they just --

they haven't had

a skinhead over.

They just think it's cute.

[ Normal voice ] It was probably

about four months

of going out with each other

before he found out

that I wasn't British.

[ Heart monitor beeping ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

Albert:
So suddenly,

JT is the go-to person

for the fashion world.

And to have JT being an icon

for a fashion sensibility

was very, very surreal.

Because it was

just at that point

where I was beginning

to be able to dress myself

instead of just dressing

the avatar.

[ Tape player clicks ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

The Italians love JT.

The books are number one

and number two

on the best-seller list.

So the Italian publisher, Fazi,

brought JT and Speedie

over to Italy to do readings.

Asia Argento was

this big Italian star.

We had seen her movie "xXx."

She played, like,

a Russian action star.

[ Gunfire ]

Weapons. There are more

weapons here in the back.

Laura Albert:

Her father is Dario Argento,

the horror master.

-Aah!

-Aah!

Aah!

-No, no, no!

No! [ Gasping ]

Laura Albert:
And Asia

had gotten the books.

[ Tape player clicks ]

[ Tape player clicks ]

And she was hoping

to convince J to give her the rights.

And we meet Asia.

As Speedie, I go over to her,

and I say,

[ British accent ] "Oh, it's

really nice to meet you,

God, you're so pretty.

You look like

a young Drew Barrymore."

[ Normal voice ] So the Italian

publishers were really excited,

because there was

this huge literary event,

and somehow,

they squeezed JT onto the bill.

So, when we get there,

there are fans

waiting for us to arrive.

And, Savannah's getting nervous,

because she has not done

a live reading before.

So, she goes into a porta potty,

and she throws up.

[ Woman retches ]

It's time for her to go on.

And our host presents JT LeRoy,

the best selling author,

to Milan.

And I really wanted to

protect her anonymity.

She's wearing sunglasses

and a visor.

She's really scared,

her body is trembling,

so I think to myself,

"What would Warhol do?"

I tell her get under the table.

F*** them.

And she does.

She takes the microphone

and goes under the table.

and she's reading,

and you can barely

hear her voice.

LeRoy:

[ Speaking indistinctly ]

I stare at his oversize hands

as they grip the ladder tightly,

the same way I've seen him

grip one of his girls' wrists

as he dragged her

into another room...

And afterwards,

there's a silence.

And then there's this

huge wave of applause.

[ Applause ]

And she suddenly realizes

that she's in a stadium,

and it's packed.

And she jumps.

And she turns around,

and goes face first

into the microphone.

and you just hear from

the entire audience a gasp,

and then they go, "Ohh",

and they love it...

[ Cheers and applause ]

...and she runs off.

And it was perfect.

It was perfect.

So JT and Asia right away,

JT was just smitten.

Asia swept JT off his feet.

And I was attached to his feet.

I was the kite tail

that had came along.

It's June, it's Rome,

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