Latest news with #LeahRachel
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rachel Sennott will make a madam out of Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Plaza has landed her next starring role courtesy of Rachel Sennott. Sennott has co-written a script about Heidi Fleiss, the infamous 'Hollywood Madam' who became a television personality after running an upscale prostitution ring. Per Variety, Sennott's co-writers on The Heidi Fleiss Story are Travis Jackson and Leah Rachel, who will make her directorial debut on the feature. Plaza, who will also produce the project, will play the madam herself, natch. In the '90s, Heidi Fleiss made a fortune managing a sex work operation that reportedly catered to famous and powerful clientele. She was convicted on charges related to prostitution in 1994, though her conviction was later overturned. (She ended up serving time for tax evasion later in the decade.) Variety reports that the script 'follows Fleiss before trial, scrambling around Los Angeles trying to blackmail and leverage various connections to get the case dropped, with the help of an aspiring young writer named Jaclyn.' Sounds like a perfect part for Rachel Sennott, though there's no word if the writer-performer will also appear in the film. Fleiss was the subject of a 1995 documentary appropriately titled Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam; the 2008 doc Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam Of Crystal (about her failed attempt to open a brothel catering to women in Nevada); and the 2022 podcast series HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story from the journalist Molly Lambert. Maggie Cohn (The Staircase) was reportedly working on a drama about Fleiss, but last year the ex-madam told The Hollywood Reporter that the project wasn't moving forward. Instead, yet another documentary series about Fleiss was announced from director Andrew Renzi (The Curse Of Von Dutch: A Brand To Die For, Untold). Apparently, she was excited to do the project as a way to fund her efforts to create a sanctuary for herself and the more than 30 macaws in her care. The doc will reportedly range in topics from her time as a madam, her battles with addiction, and her commitment to rescuing exotic birds. 'I think people are sick of the docs that are infomercials—and I'm not an infomercial,' Fleiss told THR. 'I don't care if someone likes me or hates me. I'm not now trying to reinvent myself or be seen as someone I'm not. People will see and hear the truth. Some [of] it is humiliating.' More from A.V. Club The delightfully nasty Weapons spirals in the wake of unimaginable loss Jussie Smollett joins up with Special Forces in TV return Rachel Sennott will make a madam out of Aubrey Plaza Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aubrey Plaza to play Heidi Fleiss in first role since husband's suicide as fans say they look 'similar'
Aubrey Plaza is stepping back into the spotlight with a daring new project: The Heidi Fleiss Story, a biopic centered on the rise and fall of the notorious 1990s 'Hollywood Madam.' The White Lotus star is not only leading the film as Fleiss, but also producing — marking her first major role since the heartbreaking loss of her husband Jeff Baena, who died by suicide on January 3. The film dives into the chaotic final days before Fleiss' 1993 downfall, when her high-powered prostitution ring — said to have serviced some of L.A.'s biggest names — was exposed. As authorities closed in, Heidi tried to spin her web of influence one last time, leveraging secrets and connections to escape prison time, with the help of a hungry young writer named Jaclyn. The twisted tale is set to be told with a darkly comic edge and will mark the feature directing debut of Leah Rachel, best known for creating the Netflix series Chambers. The script was co-written by Rachel, Travis Jackson, and rising star Rachel Sennott, the Bottoms and Shiva Baby actress. As casting news spread online, fans quickly took to social media to point out the striking physical resemblance between Aubrey and Heidi.
