Julia Fox Says Feature Writing Debut ‘Lipstick Palm’ Is Delayed Due to Producer Issues: ‘It Might Get Ugly’
Samantha Bergeson
Julia Fox is standing up against what she sees as a smearing of her creative vision on her feature screenwriting debut “Lipstick Palm.”
Fox exclusively told IndieWire that she is “not pleased” with issues that have arisen amongst the film‘s producers. Fox penned the script with Sara Apple, and told Page Six in May 2023 that she was in pre-production on the dark comedy crime feature that was “‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ meets ‘Spring Breakers.'” Fox will act in a supporting role in the film, while the lead stars have yet to be announced.
“Right now we have our cast, we have a director, but we are having some issues,” Fox told IndieWire more than one year later. “We just have some producers that can’t get on the same page, which really sucks and I would speak on it more, but if it does end up going to court, I don’t want to have anything on the record that’s disparaging. But let’s just say [I am] not pleased.”
“Lipstick Palm” follows two friends in L.A., with one woman being an aspiring actress and the other a nepotism baby. The duo get involved in sugar daddies, dead bodies, and drug addiction over the course of the film. The “Lipstick Palm” casting remains under wraps, but Fox confirmed that Addison Rae is not part of this project despite rumors. While both actresses were involved with certain reality TV family, Fox explained that she was a fan of Rae from her social media pages and TikTok fame before a mutual friend introduced them at a dinner. The duo are collaborating on another project that Fox is staying mum about.
But Fox is assuring that the behind-the-scenes differences during the “Lipstick Palm” production will not ultimately affect the creative vision for the feature.
“I don’t know…If people can’t get on the same page, it might get ugly, as things often do,” Fox said. “But I think we’ll be able to come to an agreement without compromising on the artistic creative vision. That’s just something I’m not going to compromise.”
Fox pointed to another collaborator who has a similar approach to their work: Her “Fantasmas” director Julio Torres. Fox appears in a cameo role in the Max series.
“He’s so brilliant and I’d loved ‘Los Espookys.’ It’s such a good show,” Fox said of Torres’ former show. “His team reached out to mine and I read the material and I was like, ‘This is brilliant. This is hilarious.’ I’d never read anything like this before. It was an absolute yes. I’d love to collaborate with him [again].”
In fact, Fox was hoping Torres would direct one of her projects, but Torres told her he only helms scripts he has written.
“I feel like I’m always like sending him scripts, like ‘Do this with me, do this with me,’ but he doesn’t direct anything that he doesn’t like write himself, which I totally respect,” Fox said. “So hopefully he writes another part for me and I will absolutely do it.”
In the meantime, Fox is hosting her fashion reality competition series “OMG Fashun,” now streaming on Peacock, just released her debut song “Down the Drain” named after her memoir, and is starring in a 2025 feature produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkey Paw production banner. She also reunited with “No Sudden Move” director Steven Soderbergh for Sundance film “Presence,” and literally shot three features in May 2024 alone.
Fox is also adapting her memoir “Down the Drain” into a series with showrunner Joey Soloway. Fox just had a table read for the pilot. Now she’s looking to cast the series that she described as a “Larry David”-esque style meta dark comedy.
“The executives love it, but nothing is signed and sealed,” Fox said for distribution. “But it’s so far, so good. I hope that it goes moves further but you never know in this business. Sometimes things look amazing and then it’s not and then you’ve got to go somewhere else. So I don’t want to like jinx it and put my foot in my mouth.”
Fox called the upcoming series “so weird” and “very meta” in telling her life story onscreen. “Down the Drain” will center on a younger version of Fox, but she will also appear in the show as a fictionalized version of her older self.
“I can’t even explain it,” Fox said. “It’s very loosely adapted on the book. It’s more funny and comedic than it is dark and dramatic, which is kind of what my book is. It’s way lighter and way more fun because I’m at a point where I only want to do something if it’s fun.”
Fox joked, “To be completely transparent, I’m living day by day here.”
