EXCLUSIVE: Jurnee Smollett is behind a new audio series based on the true story of a group of sex workers coerced by their pimp to become burglars.
The series is for Vespucci’s Paperless, an audio magazine that has previously launched series narrated by the likes of Steve Buscemi and Elle Fanning.
Audio series continue to be a goldmine for Hollywood and, as such Vespucci’s Paperless has signed with management company and producer Entertainment 360 to exploit such material.
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Lovecraft Country star Smollett is narrating and producing The Starlet Bandits, written by Lexi Pandell, which tells the story of a group of women, all clothed in the same uniform – a baggy sweatshirt and large sunglasses – who committed a string of bank robberies across Los Angeles, stealing thousands of dollars, in the early 2010s. It is told in two parts.
Vespucci, which is behind podcasts such as Spotify’s Revelations and Showtime doc 2nd Chance, hopes that The Starlet Bandits can be one of a number of projects that can then be turned into TV series and films.
Previous stories, which are roughly around 30 minutes long, include Hallie Lieberman’s Joy Boy, narrated by Buscemi, which tells the story of a man who becomes paralyzed from the waist down and who goes on to invent the world’s first silicone dildo, Elle Fanning-narrated The Joke, written by Olivia Rutigliano and Maggie Milstein, which is based on the life of Susanna Salter, the first female mayor in the United States, who was originally nominated as a prank, and Becoming Maeve, narrated by Jamie Clayton, which tells the story of Goldman Sachs employee and transgender woman, Maeve DuVally, and her battle with alcoholism and identity.
Paperless is spearheaded by VP of Development Bridie Bischoff and author Michael LaPointe, who serves as the audio magazine’s Editor in Chief. Adaptations of Paperless stories are in the works with the likes of Hillary and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions, Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road Pictures and Patrick Somerville & David Eisenberg’s Tractor Beam.
Vespucci’s Co-Founders Daniel Turcan and Johnny Galvin said, “As we ramp up Paperless, this is an opportune time to collaborate with 360 Entertainment, partners who share a similar enthusiasm for true stories and their value in the landscape.”
Vespucci is repped by WME.
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