Zola Movie Trailer Brings Wild Viral Twitter Story To Life

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The first trailer for Zola, the highly anticipated film based on a viral Twitter thread, was released today. The erotic drama will star Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Ari’el Stachel, and Colman Domingo.

The story of Zola started, surprisingly, on the internet. In October of 2015, an epic Twitter thread consisting of 148 tweets, posted by waitress and exotic dancer Aziah “Zola” King (@_zolarmoon on Twitter)—detailing a falling out she had with another dancer when a trip they had taken together to make money dancing in Florida ended in bullets and threats of sex trafficking—went viral. The thread was a soap opera in its own right, full of twists, humor, suspense, and real threats of danger. The thread, hashtagged as #TheStory, trended globally, gaining recognition not only from avid Twitter users, but also celebrities. Soon after, a feature article on the real story behind the thread was published by Rolling Stone. Originally, James Franco was set to direct and produce the film, but after allegations arose of sexual misconduct on his part, the film was shelved. In 2018, A24 announced they would distribute the film, which would be directed by Janicza Bravo and co-written by her and Tony-nominated Slave Play author Jeremy O. Harris.

A24 released the first trailer for Zola today, showcasing a mere glimpse of the insane drama audiences are in store for. There’s a little bit of everything: Paige and Keough’s tumultuous friendship, Braun being the sympathetic comedic relief he often exceeds so well at, Domingo as the threatening pimp who attempts to rope Zola into the game, and snapshots of much more under the ever-present fluorescence of the strip club scene. Previously, the only content audiences were privy to was a short teaser trailer, introducing the first real look of Keough and Paige as the leading women.


The film premiered at Sundance in January of last year, before quarantine began, to fairly positive reviews. Since then, the public has patiently awaited the release of this incredibly entertaining story that captured the attention of the world. Part of the reason for the world’s captivation with the story is that the stakes were incredibly high, considering the story was believed to be an entirely factual one (although Zola did eventually admit to slightly embellishing just the more appalling details).

But the overall story, which at its base is much graver than the wild, sometimes humorous, ride audiences were taken on, is not an unfamiliar one. In the Rolling Stone article it was revealed that although, unsurprisingly, everyone involved in the story rejects the validity of at least some part, they all agree that the true underbelly of America’s sex trafficking epidemic is incredibly disturbing, upsetting, and all too successful of a system. And because of that, Zola has no regrets, explaining that she created a story about sex trafficking people actually want to hear. To Zola, at least that’s something. Whatever the motive, audiences who are dying to see Zola will be able to feast their eyes on the whirlwind of drama on June 30.