Did you ever imagine that a movie could be based on a Twitter thread? The 2020 black-comedy film Zola does just that. Inspired by a Twitter thread by user Aziah King, better known as @_zolarmoon, A24 has crafted yet another indie film starring Riley Keough and Taylour Paige.
For whatever reason, the chemistry between these two actresses led me to believe there would be some sapphic elements along the way. Little did I know, the plot is way more buckwild than I could have ever dreamed.
This mostly true narrative is based on a 148 tweet story that was originally posted in 2015. While the original thread has been deleted, the internet is forever.
It started at a Hooters in Detroit.
Not to be confused with the wedding registry of the same name, Zola's narration begins the with the same line as the infamous thread.
Taylour Paige might be a newly emerging household name, but we've seen her on the big screen as early as 2008 as a featured dancer in High School Musical 3. A classically trained ballet dancer under choreographers like Debby Allen, she worked part-time as a stripper for a month to prepare for the pole scenes the screenplay required.
According to Bravo, Paige rejected the first edition of the script because of, well, you can probably imagine. Paige tells People Magazine that the "added B.S." was too much and the reach two far for two white men to convey without being inherently racist and sexist. But real-life Zola wanted her to go through with it, so she did.
In 2014, Paige also danced in the official "She Came to Give it to You" music video for Nicki Minaj and Usher. In 2016, she guest starred on an episode of Grey's Anatomy. In 2021, she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Ensemble performance for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. She also starred in Boogie, suffering the loss of co-stars actor Chadwick Boseman and rapper Pop Smoke.
But there are some established actors on A24's repertoire. Riley Keough plays the role of Steffani, (Jessika Swiatkowski in the Twitter thread) who invites Zola on an impromptu trip to dance at the Tampa Gold Club in Florida. The film is experimental, to say the least.
It's not the first time Keough has starred in an A24 film, even as a "white nightmare."
"You like playing the hoe," jokes Paige. Keough laughs and sheepishly agrees.
She's referencing Keough's portrayal of Christine in season 1 of The Girlfriend Experience, a STARZ drama series following a law student exploring sex work as a high-end escort. All of Keough's characters have a certain je ne sais qoui, typically manifesting in the form of nude scenes and characters with sardonic dispositions.
As always, Riley fully committed to the bit. Steffani is characterized as a progressively grating villain with a chafing 'blaccent' and shiesty intentions. She's seen frequently smacking her gum and freakishly dancing to Migos in a way that can only be compared to the likes of Bhad Bhabie. Bravo thinks certain white audiences could potentially find the same appeal.
Keough, who was offered the part without even having to audition, worked with voice coach Aris Mendoza to land the dialect with just the right level of raunchy. Keough tells Vogue that she took poll dancing lessons, and that the development of her blaccent was a collaborative effort. But she thinks the term "white-trash" is an oversimplification of her character, and that all of her similar roles should be considered separately.
King says Keough's interpretation wasn't exagerated at all. "If anyone's offended, they gotta call the real Steffani," she states to Insider. To Vanity Fair, she says the real Jessica went as far as dropping "N-bombs."
Elvis and Priscilla Presley's eldest grandchild is far from a "white nightmare" in everyday life. Proud of her Native heritage, she takes any opportunity to fundraise for indigenous peoples groups and maintains a positive image revolving around kindness, mindfulness, and unconditional love.
In the same vein, she refers to Steffani as "demonic" in a large majority of public interviews. But in an interview with NPR, she explores the idea of Steffani as an anti-hero too disorganized to be categorized as a villain.
Zola begins the story as a relatively balanced force, but Steffani is the little devil sitting on her shoulder, roping her into mischief and mayhem.
Janicza Bravo, a woman of black, Jewish, and Latina descent, has many praiseworthy industry credits under her belt. Most notably, she directed season 1 episode 9, "Juneteenth", of the FX television show Atlanta, which stars and was created by Donald Glover. Her second film featured Michael Cera in Gregory Go Boom (2013).
A24 showcases their cutting-edge storytelling ability by narrating through on-screen text messages (get used to hearing Twitter notifs chirping). Shot on 16mm and directed by Bravo, the genteel visual elements of color, lighting, and costume design really make the film immersive. That, and the fact that they didn't skimp on the actual dancing element of the storyline...
Bravo started out in the industry as a costume and wardrobe designer, following in the footsteps of her tailor parents. This on-the-nose wardrobe is essential to the themes of the film, representing Steffani with sharp nails and snake symbolism in contrast with Zola's rounded and balanced personality. The entire movie was actually filmed in Tampa, so it's as authentic as it gets.
Bear in mind, the real-life Zola and Jessica were 19 at the time. Bravo speaks to Vanity Fair about her decision to age up the roles, telling that the primary focus was on finding the best actors to fit the part, and she didn't want to subject actual teenagers to the racy and violent material.
Surprisingly, there isn't much of a soundtrack; it's just "Hannah Montana" by the Migos. Bravo portrays being sold into sex slavery with every ounce of humor there is to be found in an unusual case such as this. What more exciting stories to be told at a party? She also credits King's ability to laugh in the most disturbing moments of the story, which opens the conversation of trauma responses and coerced consent.
But there's joy to be found behind the scenes. Keough and Paige developed an off-set friendship which countless Instagram stories reveal was every bit as quippy as the relationship between their characters. Riley calls their friendship "beautiful" and tells Vogue that parallel to Steffani and Zola's instant friendship, she and Taylour fell instantly in a rare form of love.
"I just feel so - I don't want to use the word 'seen,' it's so overused now - but I just feel very much like it's OK to be seen by her," says Paige.
The energy is palpable in the one-on-one MTV interview. Both actresses look like they're doing their best not to crack up from laughter, delirious from the long hours spent together. But the subjects they broach are serious, and both actresses articulate a deep understanding and engagement with the serious subject material.
"It's coming of age." says Paige, "It's about your 20s being ratchet." Keough then describes Zola and Steffani's relationship as a toxic collision/infatuation of lust, exhilaration, and manipulation." Steffani was combustible from the very beginning, and Zola was complicit. The chemistry between their characters resulted from a fire and gasoline matchup.
Of course, Bravo adds her own flair, and it would be begrudging not to mention the bathroom sceen she fought so hard to keep in the final cut. The camera pans over the stalls of a public restroom, where Steffani sits and Zola hovers. Zola's pee is orange, though Steffani's is tennis ball green.
Their behavior symbolizes their differences in respect to hygiene and lifestyle, and on a deeper level, how blackness and whiteness interact. By this point, Steffani has made a minstrelsy of herself by her horrendous styling and mimicry of black representation.
Bravo's film passes the Blechdel test, reversing the industry norm by featuring only male nudity on-screen. But Bravo wasn't the first to try and adapt this story, as it was originally set to be directed by noneother than James Franco.
If you weren't aware, Franco was hit with five separate sexual misconduct allegations at the height of the #MeToo movement, likely contributing to his unprecedented removal from the film.
Jarrett, whose name has been changed to Derrick in the film, doesn't get enough credit for the comedic-relief he provides in this story. Everybody has a Jarrett in their friend group, or at least knows a guy just like this.
There's no real indication why he came along on the trip in the first place. If it weren't for the thread, I'd assume he was written in as a plot trope to invoke Murphy's law.
The editing and directorial structure engages the audience with fast-paced cuts and asides. In the heat of the drama, Steffani halts the narrative and breaks the fourth wall in an attempt to share "her side of the story." Keough's lines in this section mimic Jessica's real-life account of the trip.
"Reason to be a jealous bitch number 1!" says Jessica, claiming that she was hired on the spot and Aziah had to audition. The Zola who showed up for the trip wasn't the same Zola she met at Hooters and was wearing a "short, nappy ass wig." She also claims that Aziah was the one trapping and that the notorious Backpage ad was posted against her will. "All she does at work is extras and all she wants to do for money is lay on her back and take it." And the claws are out.
Looking too deeply into categorizing this movie is challenging, as you'll quickly find elements of horror, even if that horror comes from secondhand embarrassment. The familiar indie feel of grainy visuals channels both the glam and suspenseful moments.
The pimp’s name, at least in the film, is Abegunde Olawale. It’s a mouthful, but nonetheless worth remembering for how fun it is to say. Colman Domingo (Ali on Euphoria) is a marvel in this role; he commands every scene that he's in, making them each his own.
Investigators determined that Akporode “Rudy” Uwedjojevwe lured three Michigan women between 19 and 21 to Reno, Nevada shortly after the events in Zola’s thread. He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars in the state of Nevada and was rumored to have assaulted another prisoner. Sources also state that he's eligible for parole after just 5 years, meaning he could be free and in your city right now.
From the cinematic perspective, the climax of this story seems to jump the shark just a little bit. So has everything else leading up to this point, but it's not just an illusion. Incidentally, the eye-witness accounts begin to drastically differ on all accounts at this point in the story, making it even harder to separate the fact from fiction.
Jessica S. denies that any gun violence occurred, or that Jarrett attempted suicide by jumping from a fourth story balcony. And as much as we would have loved to hear what her voice actually sounds like, the response she gave was written.
"I give Aziah a round of applause on her creativity. After years of a blog and trapping this girl finally got some attention." It does beg the question of why a pimp would run the risk of arming his own hostage with a gun, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Either way, X/Z got caught slipping left and right.
On the other hand, Jarrett Scott thinks it's all made up. "Both them bitches was trapping." But he seems to confirm that Jessica and her pimp felt he and Zola were holding them back. He also confesses that he did threaten to jump off the balcony. While Jess denied ever visiting Nevada, Jarrett corroborates the phone call. It's an oddly balanced alibi for someone who punches their own face and snictches to Facebook.
If there's one thing this story is missing, it's character development. We don't see any dramatic arcs or learn any lessons throughout the 90 minute run-time.
What is the moral to this story? Don't get in the car with strangers in the age of Uber rideshares? That 6 inch purses are impractical and look ridiculous?
At the same time, to form an analysis of Zola, one would really be making a sociological assessment. Rolling Stone likens the relationship between Steffani and her pimp as "political", The New Yorker focuses the attention on the many racial subtexts. All of these elements exist to the fullest within the 90 minute run-time, but they're most notably not the main idea.
It's weird watching journalists try to critique a film structured without the most basic elements of plotting. Janzicka Bravo is an expert storyteller, yet Zola's conception can't be attributed to the creativity of its scriptwriters any more than to absurdity of the human experience.
If this had happened to me (and I sincerely hope it never will), I definitely wouldn't be in the mood to talk about it and would need more time than a car ride home to process. It sounds too outlandish to be made up, and would be a difficult lie to maintain. If Zola were your girl, would you believe her?
There's only one perspective that hasn't been shared. If you're looking for further confirmation that this story is almost completely true, 35-year-old Akporode Uwedjojevwe–also known as Rudy–was arrested in Reno for sexual assault, battery, two counts of trafficking, and two counts of attempted pandering with threat of physical force. However, murder was not one of the charges.
Now that we've established how closely the movie follows the original thread, it's important to note that King was credited as an executive producer of the project and received roughly 3% of the film's profit. Despite selling her own merch online, she still has beef with the studio, and it has less to do with residuals than the continued recognition she deserves.
King says she felt snubbed when no one from the studio invited her to the Independent Spirit Awards, in which Zola had received 7 nominations and Taylour Page later won best female lead.
"A24 is the op," she relates to her Twitter followers. "As if there would've been a film or a script to write if I didn't um… write it?"
She's right that she technically did write the film. She deserved more than 2.5% of the proceeds, but despite the film's critical success, it didn't make all that much at the box office. And if the story she told was completely true, Zola's lucky she didn't catch a charge.
“I’m literally Zola like... That’s literally my name & life y’all celebrating without me in the room? Like... I’m literally her. In real life. Are you dumb?”
She continues to ream A24 for their blatant hypocrisy in centering black representation in fiction, but not in reality. And why does it all seem so predictable?
“I think [it's] HILARIOUS everyone else is on my television promoting & speaking on my experience as if it’s their moment & not a moment I created for us all. I think [it's] hilarious my intellect, trauma & talent is being overshadowed & [hijacked],” she shares to social media.
However, Zola finally got those tickets. But there are other people coming out of the woodwork to set the record straight. Jessica Forgie, says the movie glamorizes sex trafficking and frankly, it makes her sick. This Jessica claims the other Jessica had them kidnapped in a limo when she and her friend broke down on the side of the road. Forgie claims that after being assaulted by Uwedjojevwe at the Atlantis Casino Resort, she fled and turned him in.
Forgie says she ran out of the room and to the front desk, and she was followed the whole way down before her assailant grabber her, let go, and fled out the front door. He was later tackled by police after returning to his hotel room. To her, the movie reopens the emotional wound. She tells the Washington Post that she's glad Zola told her story, but seems to think the tone is too lighthearted.
Her friend Breeonna Pellow echoes her concern, calling the kidnapping the "most traumatic experience of her life." It's understandably so, especially if the perpetrator may be free to roam and reoffend.
“It’s kind of mind-blowing that someone actually finds humor in that. This is entertaining and funny to you?"
The film originally debuted at Sundance Film Festival and was set for release in 2020, but was delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the A24 label goes a long way, and Zola grossed half a million dollars at the box office on opening day.
Keep in mind, the market in 2020 was flooded with bizarre entertainment. This was the year of Tiger King and true crime, after all. But aside from the sensationalist documentaries and public health concerns, political tensions in the US were at an all time high. The #BlackLivesMatter movement was at its peak, and so were societal conversations around blackness, cultural appropriation, and white supremacy.
I watched this movie as a long-time Riley Keough fan, but I left a Taylour Paige fan, and just in time. Paige, who was featured on Kendrick Lamar’s album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, showcased her acting chops and raspy voice in both the song and VEVO video "We Cry Together."
The record, which addressed many of the same themes of race and sex, went triple platinum. "We Cry Together" portrays a toxic couple's heated and hazy argument about feminism and abuse. Paige has been praised by fans and reviewers for her triple-threat approach to entertainment, and some are even calling for Oscars–yes, the video is elligible for an Oscar in 2023.
Recorded in 2020, the official music video produced by pgLang premiered on September 1, 2022, and saw half a million views within 24 hours. Paige acted out her lines alongside Kendrick Lamar in the 5 minute "short film" that was shot in one take. Variety calls the song "harrowing", and while I'm not sure if thats the word, the video tells us more of what we already knew: 2020 was big for Taylour Paige.
As for Zola, King now lives in Atlanta with her two daughters. Currently, she's still holding her trap down on OnlyFans. She's even teased more writing in the future, and has released five songs.
There are still questions yet unanswered. How long had Jessica known X/Z? Who are the other 15 girls, and what are their stories?
The entire saga makes you wonder if Twitter threads could potentially become a new major movie genre, and if so, what other insane stories could possibly be out there now that the character limit has been expanded? Hollywood will never run out of stories to platform, and screenwriters will be in for tougher competition.
Overall, the artistry of the project is designed so that you get from this movie whatever power you give to it. Most notably, Zola has given us names to look out for–both in the entertainment industry, and on the evening news.
