James Franco, Cynthia Nixon and Christian Slater on their The Adderall Diaries Characters at the film's World Premiere
Stephen Elliott's true crime memoir comes to life on the big screen at the Tribeca Film Festival
From the LifeMinute Team
April 28, 2015
James Franco, Amber Heard, Ed Harris, Christian Slater, and Cynthia Nixon star in The Adderall Diaries, the true story of novelist Stephen Elliott, whose Adderall addiction and writer's block lead him to an obsession with a high-profile murder case, triggering painful childhood memories. The cast of the psychological thriller shared a glimpse into their characters at the movie's Tribeca Film Festival world premiere.
Franco, who takes on the role of Elliott, took a special liking to the memoir. "[The Adderall Diaries] was actually the first book that I've ever optioned," he explains, "I thought my fellow classmate at NYU Pamela Romanowsky would be the perfect person to adapt this to the screen, and she did."
Romanowsky, who wrote and directed the film, explains, "It's a story about fathers and sons. It's a story about romance and self-destruction. It's a story about muses and the creative process, and most of all it's a story about memory and about how the stories we tell about ourselves inform the character we cast ourselves as."
Cynthia Nixon plays Elliot's literary agent in the film. "I have to engage in some tough love because he's not the client you would want," says Nixon, of her character's relationship with Elliot.
Christian Slater, who takes on the role of murder suspect Hans Reiser, found his character "interesting" but at the same time "sort of scary and dangerous and definitely a little weird," states Slater.
As for Elliot, Franco says, "He puts himself front and center in all of his books. It gives a lot of power to his work, but it also has a lot of repercussions in his personal life, and I think this movie kind of does that in a great way."
Find out more about the film at tribecafilmfestival.