Lily-Rose Depp to Star in Playboy Mansion Movie from Lorraine Nicholson, Searchlight

As Jack Nicholson’s daughter, Lorraine Nicholson had a unique upbringing that included frequent childhood visits to the Playboy Mansion during one of Playboy’s peak eras.

Now Nicholson is tapping into that mansion past in order to make her feature directorial debut with Playmates , a coming-of-age drama acquired by Searchlight Pictures.

Lily-Rose Depp, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, will star in the project along with rising actress Indiana Elle, who made her feature debut as Amanda Seyfried’s daughter in The Housemaid . Bill Pullman, who is no stranger to Hollywood dynasties as the father of actor Lewis Pullman, is on board to play Playboy founder Hugh Hefner . Related Stories Fall Festival Exclusive Why Cate Blanchett Went All In on the Absurd, Sincere Alien Comedy 'Alpha Gang' Movies Robert Eggers' 'Werwulf' Brings Scares to CinemaCon

Per Searchlight, the Nicholson-penned script centers on Elle, a thirteen-year-old know-it-all who considers the Playboy Mansion her second home, and who meets Anna, one of seven hopefuls vying to be Playmate of the Month. The two form an unlikely friendship and try to help each other get what the other wants most, a magazine cover and a boy.

Alex Orlovsky and Duncan Montgomery of High Frequency Entertainment will produce along with Depp.

Nicholson, whose mother was model Rebecca Broussard, wrote an essay for Vanity Fair in 2024 detailing many of her 1990s Mansion memories, including having Easter egg hunts,driving child-size cars on the tennis courts, being bitten by a peacock, and exploring the infamous grotto cave. To her, it was magical…until she slowly began to grow up and realize that she was different than the women, the men, and the other boys that hung at the house and its grounds.

“I never went to summer camp,” she wrote. “I never had an after-school activity. From the year I was born, 1990, until I was about 11, I went to the Playboy Mansion, because that’s where my friends were. There were the kids—like curly-haired Taylor, whose parents actually met at the Midsummer Night’s Dream party. There were the girls—more Playmates past, present, and future—and of course, the men. Only half my friends there were actually children, but that didn’t matter. The adults who hung out at the Mansion, like Alison and Joel, liked to play too.”

Nicholson, who appeared in the 2011 drama Soul Surfer , is a graduate of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, wrote and directed the short film Life Boat , starring Stephen Dorff, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Producers Orlovsky and Montgomery have been working in the indie feature space for over 20 years. Among their recent credits are Derek Cianfrance’s true-life drama Roofman , Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl , and Spirit Award-winning Lurker .

Depp most recently starred in Robert Eggers’ surprise hit Nosferatu for Focus Features and reunites with the team on Eggers’ Werwulf , which opens Christmas Day. Depp will also be seen in the Zellner Brothers’ sci-fi comedy Alpha Gang , which made its recent debut at Telluride and TIFF.

Pullman recently appeared on Duffer Bros.