The behind-the-scenes story of the 1991 Troma Films cult classic Vegas in Space is getting the biopic treatment from director Peaches Christ (drag persona of Joshua Grannell).
Ahead of the Phillip R. Ford-helmed film’s July 11 screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Deadline can exclusively reveal that Grannell (All About Evil) will helm an adaptation of Craig Seligman’s 2023 book Who Does That Bitch Think She Is?, from a script by Grannell and Michael Varrati (Netflix’s Christmas with You).
In Phillip R. Ford’s all-drag science fiction flick, Vegas in Space, written by Ford and star Doris Fish, three male space travelers from Earth undergo sex-change operations in order to solve a jewel heist on a planet occupied solely by women.
A legendary San Francisco drag queen, Fish died from complications with AIDS in 1991, months before the film’s premiere.
“I first discovered Vegas in Space as a teenager in Maryland, and it completely blew my mind,” said Grannell. “Doris Fish was a visionary—a drag trailblazer lightyears ahead of her time. After years of celebrating the film through Peaches Christ screenings in San Francisco, and learning more about the behind-the-scenes journey, it became clear to me that the story of making this movie is its own epic—a dazzling, defiant film that demands to be told.
Doris Fish (center) in ‘Vegas in Space’ (1991) (Troma Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Varrati, who co-hosts the Midnight Mass podcast with Grannell, said, “The story of Doris Fish and Vegas in Space is about so much more than the making of an underground movie, but rather represents a significant chapter of queer history. Just as Tim Burton did with Ed Wood, we want to showcase how a dynamic group of outsiders were able to come together to create something groundbreaking that continues to be deeply relevant today.”
The feature adaptation of Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? is produced by Jonathan Fernandez and former Troma exec Marty Sokol, who have optioned Seligman’s book.
Fernandez noted he’s been “a fan of Vegas in Space ever since Marty invited me to the Troma Premiere,” as Sokol exclaimed, “Hail Empress! We’ll be searching the universe for the perfect Doris Fish.”
As part of the Academy Museum’s ‘Summer of Camp’ series, Vegas in Space will screen on July 11 at 7:30pm, followed by a conversation with Ford and Varrati.
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