Happy Birthday to the Demon Dog
Birthday greetings go out today to the finest crime writer of our time Mr James 'mad-as-a-cut- snake' Ellroy who was born on this day in 1958. When my eyes have grown weary of the screen I have been known to reach for an Ellroy tome and spend several hours transfixed by the dark and corrupt streets of L.A.
I even named my cat after him.
I was lucky enough many years ago to see him at a documentary film preview where he was weird, intense and candid about his work, life and neurosis. He was asked what he thought of two Australian boys being cast in L.A Confidential and he replied that he thought only Australians could capture the masculinity of those characters, that American actors were so soft there was no way they could pull it off. And he howled like a crazy man. That was excellent...
I've never been convinced about great writing making great films. Sometimes language has its own indefinable taste and colour that can't be replicated by actors (Australian or otherwise). It took me years to see LA Confidential which was far too tasteful for my liking and I can't say I'm looking forward to seeing the Black Dahlia when it's released later this year, or the Night Watchman some time after that (mind you The Nightwatchman blog is top drawer entertainment). But I really can recommend the much underrated Browns Requiem - a fine adaptation of Ellroys compelling first novel. Hard to find but well worth it.
And as you all know I love lists - James Ellroy's top ten films
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
The Godfather part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
The Prowler (Joseph Losey, 1951)
The Lineup (Don Diegel, 1958)
The Big Knife (Robert Aldrich, 1955)
Odds Against Tomorrow (Robert Wise, 1959)
Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
Out of the Past (Jacques Tourner, 1947)
711 Ocean Drive (Joseph M. Newman, 1950)
posted by Ramona @ 12:00 AM
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I have a copy of Browns Requiem on VHS! Very well cast with Selma Blair playing the way too young floosy.
A year ago my local video shop ran an ad in the local paper they were selling all their videos for $2 each.
Knowing they had one of Melbourne's only copies of Browns Requiem I broke all speed limits to get down there and buy it.
Deep Blue with Kurt Russell as the bad ass cop come good-ish is also a cracker Ellroy adaption. The only one so far to properly use my fave ever Ellroy term of endearment, 'shitbird'.
There's an adaption of White Jazz starring John Cusack in development.
Was it Michael Rooker in Browns Requiem? I'd actually forgotten about Selma Blair who I think has made some terrible choices but is a fine actress, very beautiful. I must confess to not having seen Deep Blue, but have all the time in the world for Kurt Russell.
You know I would normally watch John Cusack in anything but I'm not so sure about a White Jazz adaptation. As you can tell it takes a lot to win me over when it comes to Ellroy adaptations. That copy of Browns Requiem is encredibly rare - maybe you can have a screening at a secret location and charge Ellroy fans $20 and a slab for the evening?
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