Trailer for Detroiter's Twitter-thread-turned-movie 'Zola' debuts online
Based on 2015 viral tweet storm, 'Zola' hits screens June 30
Adam GrahamIt started with a tweet.
Now "Zola," the story of a wild road trip with Michigan origins, is slated to hit theaters this summer.
The story of "Zola" began in 2015 with a 148-tweet thread written by Detroit waitress A'ziah "Zola" Wells, detailing a road trip from Detroit to Florida rife with strippers, pimps, guns, hustlers and murder. The tweet thread went viral, Hollywood took notice and the tale was turned into a movie.
That movie, starring newcomer Taylour Paige as Zola and also starring Riley Keough, Jason Mitchell and "Succession's" Nicholas Braun, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. It received mostly positive marks — the New York Post called it "absurdly fun" — and the movie now has a June 30 release date.
A trailer for the film premiered online on Wednesday; we'd post it here, but its language and content is of the R-rated variety.
"Zola" is co-written and directed by Janicza Bravo ("Lemon") and is being distributed by A24.
agraham@detroitnews.com
@grahamorama