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Today, we're happy to debut an exclusive clip from A24's The Adderall Diaries. The dramatic thriller stars James Franco as Stephen Elliot, a has-been author whose fascination with a high-profile murder case leads him to his own troubled past. When Stephen uses his obsession with a famous murder case to avoid his personal troubles, he finds that the case unexpectedly brings him a new romance with the trial reporter Lana Edmond (Amber Heard) while forcing him to confront old issues with his abusive father (Ed Harris). Our clip finds him at the begining of that journey when he first finds himself enthralled by the high-profile murder trial.

The feature debut from writer-director Pamela Romanowsky, The Adderall Diaries also stars Christian Slater, Cynthia Nixon, Jim Parrack and Wilmer Valderrama, and it debuted exclusively on DirecTV on March 10th and is available in theaters and VOD on April 15th.

Here’s the official synopsis.

Based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliott, The Adderall Diaries is the gripping and complex story of how an author’s fascination with a high-profile murder case leads him to come to terms with his troubled past while embarking on a potentially life-changing romance in the present.

 

James Franco plays Stephen Elliot, a once-successful novelist paralyzed by writer’s block and an escalating Adderall dependency, who becomes obsessed with a high-profile murder case as a way to escape his personal troubles. His interest leads him to meet Lana Edmond (Amber Heard), a smart, sexy reporter who gives him unique access to the case.  As their relationship takes off, Stephen is suddenly thrust back into the past when his father (Ed Harris), a cruel and vindictive man, shows up to challenge the veracity of the memoir Stephen is writing. As Stephen simultaneously delves into the details of the murder case (which turns out to have some unexpected parallels to his own troubled upbringing) and reunites with his estranged father, he is forced to separate truth from lies and fact from fiction–ultimately leading him to finally reconcile his past and confront his future.