Aubrey Plaza Starring in John Waters’ First Film in 20 Years, Liarmouth

Aubrey Plaza is set to star in Liarmouth, the first feature John Waters will have directed in 20 years.

According to World of Reel, production is set to begin this summer in Baltimore, Waters’ home town, and Plaza will play Marsha Sprinkle, the main character in Waters’ 2022 novel of the same name.

Liarmouth: A Feel Bad Romance is “a hilariously filthy tale of sex, crime, and family dysfunction,” according to the book’s publisher, MacMillan.

Who Is Aubrey Plaza’s Character in John Waters’ Liarmouth?

Marsha Sprinkle’s character description sounds perfectly aligned with the unconventional characters the Emily the Criminal star has become known for playing, like April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation and Ingrid Thorburn in Ingrid Goes West: “Suitcase thief. Scammer. 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.”

Reps for Plaza and Waters did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding her casting.

Also Read: Aubrey Plaza Was the Class Clown — Now, She’s Everyone’s Favorite Criminal (Cover Story)

Waters, known for Pink Flamingos and Harispray, hasn’t made a feature film since 2004’s A Dirty Shame. Liarmouth is set up at Village Roadshow Pictures, according to IndieWire.

In October 2022, Plaza revealed to Dazed that when she heard Waters was making Liarmouth, she asked him if she could audition.

“I emailed him immediately, and said, ‘You better let me audition for you. I even look like the girl on the cover,” she 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.”

She added, surely in her signature dead-pan manner: “I’m throwing myself at his feet. I’ll do anything to get the part. And I mean anything.”

Main Image: L: Aubrey Plaza in Emily the Criminal courtesy of Roadside Attractions / Vertical Entertainment R: John Waters in 2006 courtesy of Shutterstock.