Today, in celebration of the seventh anniversary of Logan Lucky’s release, FF2 is spotlighting the career of Jules Asner. Jules, known for her work as a screenwriter, artist, and model, is also the woman at the center of the Logan Lucky screenwriter mystery.
The identity of the Rebecca Blunt pseudonym remained unknown during production and the release of the movie.
The 2017 film, which follows two brothers played by Channing Tatum and Adam Driver, as they plan a heist of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, credits Rebecca Blunt as its writer. However, the issue is…Rebecca Blunt doesn’t exist, at least not under that name. No matter how much film fans probed the subject, the identity of the Rebecca Blunt pseudonym remained unknown during production and the release of the movie. Then, as Anna Nappi explains in her article on the topic, “An anonymous source came forward claiming the script was written by Jules Asner. The story goes something like this: Jules Asner is the sole screenwriter, but she hid her true name because she did not want the audience to know that Soderbergh was directing a script written by his wife.”
So, if this source is to be believed, Rebecca Blunt, screenwriter of Logan Lucky, is Jules Asner. But who is this Jules Asner?
Jules was born in Tempe, Arizona on February 14, 1968. At sixteen years old, she got her start in the entertainment industry when she was discovered in Scottsdale while attending a modeling convention. Jules quickly found success as a model for Elite Model Management, one of the most famous and influential agencies in the world. Elite is credited with discovering other modeling sensations such as Gisele Bündchen, Lara Stone, and Cindy Crawford, the last of whom was actually Jules’ roommate early in their careers.
After graduating from high school in 1986, Jules went on to attend UCLA before beginning her career as an entertainment journalist. While just starting out, Jules worked on shows such as The Entertainment Show, Good Morning England, and Extra, as well as hosted A&E’s Live By Request.
Already having made a name for herself in the world of entertainment reporting, Jules continued her career by becoming a personality on E! Entertainment Television. On E!, Jules hosted E! News Live, Wild On!, and Revealed…with Jules Asner, a popular interview show which won Jules both a Prism Award and a Gracie Award.
On June 3, 2008, Jules released her novel Whacked, a dark, romantic thriller about the grotesque dating world of Los Angeles. The perfect summer read, Whacked quickly became a top-ten fiction bestseller on Amazon. Not only a talented writer for the page, but also the screen, Jules has done rewrite work on several of her husband, Steven Soderbergh’s, films, including the hit 2012 dramedy Magic Mike.
Jules explained that the necessity for a pseudonym for Logan Lucky was due to her marriage to Steven, the film’s director.
Though comfortable enough helping to rewrite some of her husband’s films, Jules explained that the necessity for a pseudonym for Logan Lucky was due to her marriage to Steven, the film’s director. Perhaps she believed the film would be taken more seriously if it came from an outside source, and not “just his wife.” However, the success of Logan Lucky demonstrates Jules own talent for writing, and how deserving both she and her work were for the screen, no matter her relation to its director.
This entire story calls to mind the famous, rephrased quote from Virginia Woolf: “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” Though the quote does apply to this situation, it also doesn’t. Jules Asner did not adopt a man’s name to attach to the Logan Lucky script. Though she did shroud her identity, she never attempted to hide her womanhood. Though, for whatever reason, she did feel she had to hide her wifedom. Does the phrase “this woman’s script” carry more weight than “my wife’s script”? Logan Lucky proves that a script with a woman’s name on it can succeed in Hollywood, while also, unfortunately, showing that women artists continue to hide themselves in order to allow their work (and the work of their partners) to survive. Whatever the circumstances that surround Logan Lucky, it still stands as a triumph for Jules. We can only hope to continue to see more films written by her in the future. Perhaps the next script will have her name on it.
© Reese Alexander (8/18/23) Special for FF2 Media
LEARN MORE/DO MORE
Read Anna Nappi’s article on Jules Asner here.
Visit Jules Asner’s Wikipedia page here.
CREDITS & PERMISSIONS
Featured Photo: Promotional image for the film Logan Lucky (2017) starring Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Riley Keough, and Adam Driver. Photo Credit: © Trans-Radial Pictures/Entertainment Pictures. Image ID: KY79J0
Bottom Photo: Producer Steven Soderbergh and Jules Asner attending the Logan Lucky UK Premiere held at Vue West End in Leicester Square, London. Photo Credit: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo. Image ID: K07C0J
