HIGHLIGHTS, OF YESTERDAY'S NEWS"Off the record, on the Q.T. & very ...."
"Off the record, on the Q.T. & very ...."
2003
THE LATEST
COMING SOON: CLANDESTINE, THE FILM (12/11/03): Variety is reporting that James Ellroy’s Clandestine — the novel that introduced Dudley Smith and Ellroy’s first book set in the 1950s — is being developed as an original movie for TNT by William Petersen (CSI). Petersen will act in the film, and serve as executive producer of the adaptation. According to Variety: "We identified a number of people who make sense for TNT when I came aboard. Billy just has a weight to his work that I've been a fan of for a long time," Michael Wright said. "I'd read Ellroy's L.A. Confidential, and I think the combination of Billy and one of Ellroy's signature urban crime dramas will do very well for us."
THE TICKET OUT COMING IN PAPERBACK (12/08/03): Any misers who missed buying Helen Knode's first novel in hardcover can now do so in paperback HERE.
DESTINATION MORGUE DELAYED (12/07/03): Amazon.Uk has officially announced it is cancelling orders for Destination Morgue, the second Ellroy collection of GQ pieces that was to have been released several weeks ago in Europe. The book has been pushed back to Autumn 2004. (Several of the pieces to appear in the collection were to be published in GQ, but did not appear when Ellroy and several other authors were ousted following the ousting — and subsequent death — of GQ editor Art Cooper earlier this year.)
ELLROY FEATURED IN NEW PHOTO COLLECTION (12/07/03): Marion Ettlinger, who shoots most of the most striking author photos gracing dust jackets these days, has released a collection of author portraits. The Ellroy completionist will want to check it out for the depiction of Ellroy and the late, lamented Barko....
BLACK DAHLIA CHARACTER LIST (12/07/03): Some brave souls have put together a character index of all of the players mentioned in James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia. About a year ago, we completed our own comprehensive list of Ellroy's characters — from every novel and short story — for a still to be disclosed project. We, therefore, appreciate the nightmare effort involved....
HARTNETT TO STAR IN DAHLIA FILM? (11/11/03): Reports are that the long-languishing Black Dahlia film project is moving ahead with Josh Hartnett possibly starring, and Brian De Palma directing. More HERE.
ELLROY & THE DAHLIA (10/21/03): James Ellroy speaks about the craft of writing. Read the article HERE. Also the stage version of The Black Dahlia is written about. Read that article HERE.
IGN FILMFORCE SURVEYS ELLROY FILMS (9/25/03): IGN FilmForce has posted an interesting consideration of Ellroy film adaptations. See it HERE.
ELLROY TO SCREEN FEAST IN L.A. (9/21/03): James Ellroy and director Vikram Jayanti will screen the documentary James Ellroy's Feast of Death at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles (6712 Hollywood Boulevard) on Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. More Details HERE. (Special thanks to Pete Lynch for the tip.)
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL PILOT TO BE SCREENED (8/26/03): The Trio Network will televise the 2000 pilot for a an unsold L.A. Confidential T.V. series on Sept. 1, 10 p.m. (EST). TV Guide reviewer Matt Roush finds the pilot, which stars Kiefer Sutherland in the Kevin Spacey role of Jack Vincennes, a disappointment, noting "Unfortunately, the twisted cynicism of the source material is overly softened for T.V."
ELLROY TO APPEAR IN NEW SERIAL KILLER FILM (8/1/03): Benjamin Meade, who made the documentary films Vakvagany and Das Bus, both of which featured James Ellroy, writes that he is now beginning work on a new film: “I am working with James on yet another film, the story of serial killer Bob Berdella, who lived here in Kansas City. I will be in L.A. with James in a couple of weeks working on this. Berdella lured young men into his home, drugged, tortured and killed them. He then cut up their bodies, put them in trash bags and set them out for the trashman each Monday. He died in prison about 6 years ago. James has a pretty active role in this film. It should be done in the spring. The film is entitled “Bazaar Bizarre.”
WHITE JAZZ SCRIPT REVIEW (7/9/03): Following a long absence from the Web, the Stax review of the White Jazz script is now back up with a new introduction. See it HERE.
FEAST OF DEATH COMING TO SHOWTIME (6/18/03): The Ellroy documentary Feast of Death will be screened on The Showtime Cable network in November 2003. DETAILS HERE. Journalist Larry Harnisch appears in the film and puts forth a theory about the identity of the murderer of Elizabeth Short — The Black Dahlia — explored in the film. Learn more about that at Larry Harnisch's site....
LEAD-FOOTED DEMON DOG? (6/8/03): The Kansas City Star is reporting that James Ellroy is hard at work on the sequel to The Cold Six Thousand, when he's not being pulled over speeding in his new hometown of Carmel. He's been nailed three times in six weeks: "The second one was...near the James Dean death spot," Ellroy said. "Life is (expletive deleted) good, except for the speeding tickets." See the whole article HERE.
ELLROY SPLITS WITH GQ (5/28/03): The New York Post is reporting that James Ellroy has left his post as a GQ writer-at-large. Also out are Joe Queenan and Terrence Rafferty. In theory, at least a few more Ellroy pieces were written for GQ (including the novella Hollywood F*ck Pad) which have not appeared and are scheduled to be part of the new Ellroy GQ collection Destination Morgue, to be released this fall in the U.S.
ELLROY'S MUSE(S) (5/22/03): James Ellroy returns in the June 2003 (U.S.) edition of GQ (look for the cover with Eva Mendes) with a new essay entitled Dana, Anne & Jean. This one stands as one of Ellroy’s shorter, but, perhaps, most revelatory pieces for GQ. The three women who form a kind of personal trinity for the author are actress Dana Delany, poet Anne Sexton (astute Ellroy readers will remember Ellroy excerpted a Sexton poem for the epigraph of The Black Dahlia) and Jean Hilliker, the author’s murdered mother. Ellroy also writes for the first time about the circumstances that led to the abrupt termination of his 2001 world tour to promote The Cold Six Thousand, and of his determination to publish a new novella in a coming issue of GQ featuring Dana Delany (this would represent the author’s first piece of fiction to bring a female protagonist front and center). It should be noted that Ellroy has often mentioned Dana Delany as his personal first choice to portray his mother in any eventual film adaptation of My Dark Places. The article is illustrated with some stunning black and white photos of Delany. All in all, highly recommended for Ellroy fans.
SITE UPDATE...UPDATE (5/21/03): The film page has undergone a significant update. Also, a entry has been completed for Woody Haut's Heartbreak and Vine, a nonfiction account of crime novelists and their brushes with the film industry spanning Dashiell Hammett to Dennis Lehane. The book also contains a wealth of material on Ellroy and Hollywood, including a new interview with the Demon Dog.
DARK BLUE DVD COMING IN JUNE (5/5/03): Dark Blue, the recent Kurt Russell film for which Ellroy supplied the story, will be released on DVD on June 24, 2003. The DVD will include commentary by director Ron Shelton, an "Internal Affairs" featurette, a photo gallery and full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats. Order you copy HERE.
OWN YOUR OWN VAKVAGANY (5/4/03): Vakvagany (see item below) is now available from Amazon.com (Order your copy HERE.) Although the film will be showing on Sundance for the next two months, the DVD contains extra footage of James Ellroy not incorporated in the film.
VAKVAGANY ON SUNDANCE (4/28/03): Benjamin Meade's mind-bending film Vakvagany, which features numerous scenes with author James Ellroy, will be showing throughout the month of May and early June on the Sundance channel. To learn more and check times, click HERE and type in VAKVAGANY.
MEET CHARLIE STELLA (4/28/03): Check out an exclusive interview with crime writer Charlie Stella, an enthusiastic Ellroy fan, HERE. Ellroy's name comes up a lot in the interview. Stella's no slouch either, and well worth a look.
NEW BLACK DAHLIA BOOK (4/14/03): Yet another new book has been released purporting to solve the Black Dahlia murder. The latest is Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story, written by a retired LAPD detective and fingering his own father for the killer. (See related article HERE). The new suspect becomes the second parent dubbed the killer by his own child, and, at least the second doctor. He also joins a drifter and Orson Welles on the list of possible perpetrators. That said, the many articles appearing about the book reference Ellroy's novel, and, in a somewhat eyebrow raising development, the book itself cites Ellroy's novel as a source, along with My Dark Places and Crime Wave.
ELLROY APPEARS IN NEW FILM (4/4/03): James Ellroy appears in the film Das Bus, the newest picture from Kansas City filmmaker Benjamin Meade, whose earlier film, Vakvagany, also featured James Ellroy as a prominent player. The new film focuses on the Kansas City Metro Bus System and its drivers. More details to come....
WHITE JAZZ FILM STILL A POSSIBILITY? (4/4/03): Nick Nolte has given a new interview in which he speaks of his continuing work to adapt James Ellroy's White Jazz for film. He also talks a little about possible co-star Winona Ryder and her "research" for the role....
NEW HELEN KNODE INTERVIEW (4/4/03): Salon has posted a rather long interview with Helen Knode regarding her first novel, The Ticket Out. She also talks about husband James Ellroy and the Black Dahlia murder case. (If you are not a subscriber, you can click through a National Geographic ad to receive a free one day pass in order to view the interview, which is spread over four pages.)
ATTENTION CALIFORNIA ELLROY FANS (4/2/03): James Ellroy is scheduled to participate in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA, April 26 & 27. Details HERE.
***REMINDER*** (4/2/03): Ellroy's new book, Destination Morgue will be released early next month in the UK — the U.S. version will not be released until late this autumn. Morgue contains at least one novella that is still unpublished in the U.S., as well as other Ellroy fiction and nonfiction penned for GQ. Order your first edition HERE.
ELLROY PLAY TO DEBUT IN NORTH AMERICA (3/19/03): The debut of a play based on James Ellroy's novel The Black Dahlia has been announced. Details HERE.
O'REILLY TOUTS ELLROY (3/19/03): Cable news king Bill O'Reilly, for whose second book James Ellroy penned an afterword, is interviewed in a Q&A piece in the March 2003 edition of Vanity Fair. One of the questions posed asks O'Reilly to name his favorite writers. Bill names Ellroy, as well as Mario Puzo, Graham Greene, James M. McPherson and Washington Irving, among others.
CHUD WEIGHS-IN ON DARK PLACES FILM (2/28/03): CHUD provides some updated info on the My Dark Places (allegedly to begin filming in June 2003) and laments the casting of David Duchovny....
WE REVIEW DARK BLUE (2/19/03): We caught a sneak preview of Dark Blue (to be released on Feb. 21, 2003) last night. Read the review HERE (also includes scads of new related links).
KILLER ON THE ROAD GETS A SCREENWRITER (2/12/03): Stephen Johnston, who has previously written scripts around serial killers Ed Gein and Ted Bundy, has been picked to adapt Ellroy's Silent Terror/Killer on the Road for the screen. See an article on the new film HERE.
ELLROY PICKS THE PROWLER (2/12/03): In the February 2003 issue of Premiere, James Ellroy is briefly interviewed about his pick for the greatest noir film of all time. Ellroy selects The Prowler, directed by Joseph Losey and released in 1951. The film, Ellroy says, captures noir's "desperation, loneliness and sexual obsession" like no other.
THE NEW YORKER REVIEWS DARK BLUE (2/12/03): New Yorker magazine has posted its review of Dark Blue, starring Kurt Russell and based on a story by James Ellroy. See it HERE.
MORE ON THE TICKET OUT (2/9/03): More on Helen Knode's first novel: one article out of San Francisco, the other Kansas City.
HELEN KNODE INTERVIEW (2/3/03): Check out a new interview with Helen Knode about her new novel HERE.
JAMES ELLROY & KEN BRUEN (1/27/03): We don’t often push non-Ellroy books on this site, but for Irish novelist Ken Bruen, we make an exception. Tipped to Bruen by Crime Factory publisher David Honeybone, we picked up The Guards and were bowled over by the Irish crime fiction writer, noted for his sardonic, laconic literary style. That style has brought Bruen comparisons with the Demon Dog, particularly Ellroy’s White Jazz. Our second trip to Bruen land was London Boulevard, a kind of darker funnier take on Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard. Imagine our surprise to find Ellroy making an appearance as a character in the book. On pages 158 and 159 of the British First edition, Mitchell, Bruen’s protagonist, is taken to a pub dubbed “Filthy McNasty’s” where Ellroy is performing readings backed by a band. Bruen on Ellroy: “...James Ellroy came on. Big guy and wired. He didn’t so much read as give a total performance...Mesmerising.” With so many years now separating Ellroy’s novels, if you haven’t done so, do yourself a favor and sample Bruen pronto.
FILMS THAT NEVER WILL BE? (1/27/03): Over at IGN, Stax has spotlighted several scripts he fears will be never be filmed. Among them, a couple of Ellroy adaptations, and a script for a Custer film by Mitch Brian, writer, producer and director of the excellent Ellroy short, Stay Clean. See the article HERE.
DARK BLUE'S OFFICIAL SITE LAUNCHED (1/25/03): You can find the official site for Dark Blue HERE. (Be patient — it takes some time to load, but it's worth it....)
DARK BLUE NEWS (1/24/03): We'll be catching a special screening of Dark Blue the week of Feb. 17 (the film opens nationwide on Friday, Feb. 21). Stay tuned for our exclusive review....
ATTENTION CALIFORNIA ELLROY FANS (1/23/03): L.A. Weekly has an excerpt of Helen Knode's first novel, and information about tour stops at which James Ellroy will be appearing in the next several days. See it HERE.
A RECENTLY DISCOVERED ELLROY INTERVIEW.... (1/23/03): Not exactly a new interview, but new to us: Ellroy, interviewed during his tour for the paperback edition of The Cold Six Thousand, discusses that book, its eventual sequel and other future projects.
USA TODAY LAUDS KNODE (1/22/03): Strong praise for Helen Knode (wife of James Ellroy) and her debut crime novel from USA Today.
U.K. VERSION OF DESTINATION MORGUE IS TRUE FIRST (1/15/03): Unless something drastic happens with release schedules, it's now pretty clear that the U.K. edition of Ellroy's new GQ collection, Destination Morgue, will not only be the true first edition, but with its May release, will beat the U.S. edition by several months. Order your copy HERE.
FIRST DARK BLUE REVIEW POSTED (1/15/03): What probably amounts to the first review of Dark Blue has been released by Reuters. Details HERE.
ELLROY WITH A BULLET (1/3/03): A new library exhibition features an unusual copy of an Ellroy novel. Details HERE.
NEW BOOK-LENGTH STUDY OF L.A. CONFIDENTIAL FILM COMING (12/27/02): BFI will release a paperback format study of the Oscar-winning film adaptation of L.A. Confidential in May 2003. Details HERE.
ELLROY PROFILED IN NEW ONION COLLECTION (12/23/02): James Ellroy is one of 68 celebrities whose Q&A with the Onion is collected in the new book, The Tenacity of the Cockroach: Conversations With Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders (Three Rivers). More HERE.
HELEN KNODE'S FIRST NOVEL NOW AVAILABLE (12/22/02): Although originally announced for a mid-January 2003 release, The Ticket Out, the first novel by James Ellroy's wife, Helen Knode, was sighted in stores on Dec. 22, 2002.
ELLROY RETURNS IN JANUARY GQ (12/19/02): James Ellroy returns in the January 2003 U.S. edition of GQ with a new piece examining an unsolved, 1965 murder. Details HERE.
OUR NIGHT WITH DICK CONTINO — AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW (12/19/02): If you haven't done so already, check out our exclusive interview with Dick Contino. The piece is split over three pages — an introduction, and two accompanying pages of questions and answers. (Those cursed with short attention spans will want to leap ahead to page 3, which concentrates largely on James Ellroy and his use of Contino as a character.) See it HERE.
