Well, after a flurry of rumors, Aubrey Plaza is officially cast in John Waters‘ first film in 20 years: “Liarmouth.”

Waters will write and direct the “feel-bad romance” adapted from his novel of the same name. “Liarmouth” will be Waters’ first film since 2004’s “A Dirty Shame.” Plaza is set to play con artist Marsha Sprinkle, who is described as “a suitcase thief, scammer, and master of disguise. Dogs and children hate her. Her own family wants her dead. She’s smart, she’s desperate, she’s disturbed, and she’s on the run with a big chip on her shoulder. They call her Liarmouth ― until one insane man makes her tell the truth.”

The feature was first announced in December 2022 with Village Roadshow Pictures has optioned the novel and Steve Rabineau producing. Waters recently provided an update to the project.

“The book was optioned. I turned in the script. They like the script, but we don’t have the money to make it,” Waters told Variety, saying of Plaza, “I’m thrilled that she’s going to [star in it], but we don’t have the money yet.”

Plaza herself told Dazed in 2022 that she emailed Waters “immediately” upon the announcement of the “Liarmouth” adaptation and begged him for an audition.

“You better let me audition for you. I even look like the girl on the cover [of the book he’s adapting],’” Plaza said. “I exclusively only audition for John Waters. He told me I’m on his list, but I want to be top of the list. I want to be the only person on his list. They’ve told me I’m this generation’s Kathleen Turner. I mean, come on — I’m a shoo-in. I need that movie.”

And “Liarmouth” isn’t the only project Waters has in the works: The “Pink Flamingos” filmmaker added to Variety that he has penned five additional projects in the past two decades.

“My last film was 20 years ago, but I’ve been paid to write six other ones in that time,” Waters said. Four different sequels to ‘Hairspray’; [Christmas comedy] ‘Fruitcake,’ which has gone through a couple of versions that still might happen; and ‘Liarmouth.’”

He continued, “I don’t know what’s going to happen [with ‘Liarmouth’], and so I’m trying to get ‘Fruitcake’ going too. We’ll see.”

Waters told The Baltimore Fishbowl in December 2023 that he completed the “Liarmouth” script and “they like it and we’re doing a budget. Who knows? We’ll see. We’ll see.”

The filmmaker issued a statement to the Baltimore Sun (via the BBC) in February 2024 that seemed to shrug off the Plaza casting rumors and that “Liarmouth” was confirmed to be Waters’ next film.

“While I am thrilled and excited at the idea of Aubrey Plaza starring in my new movie ‘Liarmouth,’ the announcement that the film is ready to go in Baltimore, which was printed in an article in World of Reel and then the Guardian, is pure speculation,” the auteur said. “Neither writer talked to me or anyone officially involved in developing this movie. We have no start date or green light to begin production but are working to, hopefully, make that happen.”

Previously, Waters told IndieWire that he preferred penning the “Liarmouth” novel first as he “didn’t have to worry about budget. I didn’t have to worry about casting.”

He teased in a press statement that “Liarmouth” is “the craziest thing I’ve written in a while so maybe it’s fitting that my novel was shocking enough to jumpstart the engine of my film career.”

Meanwhile, Waters is still eyeing Christmas comedy “Fruitcake,” which he revealed in 2010. At the time, Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey were cast in the feature that follows a boy named after his favorite dessert who runs away from home during the holidays after he and his parents are caught shoplifting meat. The titular character then meets up with a runaway girl raised by two gay men who is searching for her birth mother.

Source: Indie Wire