Thursday January 10 3:36 AM ET
NEW YORK (Variety) - Bruce Willis wants to turn James Ellroy's JFK-themed novels "The Cold Six Thousand'' and ''American Tabloid'' into an HBO miniseries.
The actor and his business partner Arnold Rifkin, via their Cheyenne Enterprises shingle, are negotiating a producing deal with HBO, which has optioned the books. It is anticipated that Willis would take a significant acting role in the series once the pact is closed.
"American Tabloid'' focuses on the 1959-1963 period of JFK's presidency. "The Cold Six Thousand,'' a sequel and the second book in a trilogy, follows three men embroiled in different ways in the underworld of the 1960s when assassinations and conspiracy theories had become commonplace. The book's main characters are a corrupt Vegas cop sent to Dallas on a mob errand; an FBI agent; and an ex-L.A. County sheriff's deputy.
Ellroy, who wrote "L.A. Confidential,'' is developing a talk show and is also writing the script "77'' for Paramount Pictures.
