Hollywood has always been a town that embraces self-invented personalities.

But when two high-profile, film-friendly authors -- James Frey and JT LeRoy -- were exposed this week for possibly conning the public about their identities and the details of their work, industryites found themselves in the uncomfortable position of answering questions about how several projects based on now-suspect books might be affected.

A film version of Frey's best-selling addiction memoir "A Million Little Pieces" could need a rehab of its own after a story posted Sunday on the muckraking Web site the Smoking Gun raised serious questions about the veracity of the author's gritty true-life account. On his Web site, Frey said, "I stand by my book and my life, and I won't dignify this bullshit with any sort of further response." He is scheduled to appear tonight on CNN's "Larry King Live" to discuss the controversy.

Warner Bros. Pictures, which is developing the project alongside John Wells Prods. and Plan B, deflected queries about the ensuing Frey media storm. "This film is in development, and it's our policy not to comment on projects while they're in development," a spokeswoman for the studio said.

Similarly, Frey's reps at CAA and Brillstein-Grey didn't return requests seeking comment, nor did John Wells Prods.

But the controversy surrounding LeRoy, whose very existence has been called into question after a New York Times article published Sunday, has sparked a more immediate fallout.

The Times article contended that LeRoy, who has claimed to be an HIV-positive former teen street hustler, has been played in public by Savannah Knoop and that LeRoy's three critically acclaimed books might have been written by Laura Albert, who has said she helped discover LeRoy.

Producer Jeffrey Levy-Hinte had been in preproduction on an adaptation of LeRoy's autobiographical tome "Sarah" when concerns about the author's identity first emerged after an October expose in New York magazine. At the time, Levy-Hinte approached LeRoy's representatives, requesting that the author prove his identity, primarily for copyright purposes.

"The project has been profoundly upset. We're just trying to determine what's the next step," Levy-Hinte said. "Now we're evaluating two things: one, how we feel about the project, and two, how the marketplace is going to feel about it."

The book, which centers on an androgynous 12-year-old boy who idolizes his truck-stop prostitute mother and adopts her identity, was originally optioned by director Gus Van Sant, who allowed the option to lapse. Levy-Hinte paid $15,000 a year to option the book and hired Jeffrey Hatcher ("Casanova") to pen the screenplay. Steven Shainberg agreed to direct once he wraps the Nicole Kidman starrer "Fur." The producer estimates that he has spent more than $100,000 in developing the now-questionable project.

"The question of third-party financiers and their desire to become engaged with this project could very well be diminished," Levy-Hinte added. "It definitely gives me hesitation."

Another film based on a LeRoy book, "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things," is slated for release by Palm Pictures on March 10 in Los Angeles and New York. But in that case, the indie distributor sees little cause for concern over the Asia Argento-helmed project, which centers on a child who is sexually abused by his mother's former lover.

"Regardless of the true identity of the author of the book on which the film is based, we stand behind the film," Palm head of marketing Andy Robbins said. "Our plans to release the film ... will not change."

In fact, the art house project seems poised to benefit from the LeRoy publicity.

"While it appears as if the Times article has shown that JT LeRoy is not who he has claimed to be, the mystery of JT LeRoy is not over," Robbins said. "Time will tell if the curiosity helps sell tickets."

Van Sant worked with LeRoy on the director's 2003 "Elephant," on which LeRoy served as associate producer. Van Sant, who said he twice had dinner with LeRoy, said he is skeptical of the Times' article.

"There's always been a suspicion that he didn't write his material because he didn't go out of the house," Van Sant said. "So since nobody ever met him, they would say that. It's an old story, and this is a continuation of the story."

Van Sant said he believes the person he dined with was indeed LeRoy but admits the possibility of being hoodwinked. He turned philosophical: "But is anyone who they say they are? Is Amy Pascal really Amy Pascal? Am I really me? How do you know you're talking to Gus Van Sant? I think people are a little light on information right now."

As for the film adaptation of Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," one agent who requested anonymity said that the project will suffer because it no longer will be able to attract A-list talent.

"I can't imagine that a star is going to want to do what in essence is a biopic of a guy whose biopic is incorrect," the agent said.

But a top literary manager, who also requested anonymity, said that people should concentrate on the writing rather than the story behind the writer.

"With 'A Million Little Pieces,' part of what makes it great is this notion that it's a true story and that it's his memoir," the manager said. "And yet, if you were to strip that away, is it still a provocative and engaging and dramatic story? Well, I think it is, so I don't know if it hurts him."

While the project might hit snags, it's uncertain whether Frey's burgeoning screenwriting career will take a hit. He is currently writing "Prep," a teen drama for MTV Films.

"No matter what happens, James is still a really good writer," said JC Spink, who is executive producing the film. "Besides, haven't most of us in this town been guilty of embellishing at one time or another? If anyone was going to hold that against me, I'd never work again."