Bret Easton Ellis has been active in cinema in the last couple of years, even if he hasn’t been behind the camera himself. His screenwriting attempts for Paul Schrader‘s "The Canyons" starring Lindsay Lohan and Gregor Jordan‘s "The Informers" (which was based on his own book), didn’t turn out so hot. Aside from those films, Ellis has been pretty quiet on the cinematic front, opting instead for his books to be adapted by various directors.
READ MORE: Review: Paul Schrader’s ‘The Canyons,’ Starring Lindsay Lohan & James Deen
Some of these adaptations have been very successful, such as "American Psycho," which has become a cult classic over the years, with director Mary Harron sharpening the satire that made the novel so brilliant (a musical based on the book opened on Broadway last week). Ditto "Less Than Zero," a film that was met with lukewarm reviews in 1987 but has aged very well and features one of Robert Downey Jr.‘s best performances. Then there are less successful adaptations, like 2002’s "The Rules of Attraction" featuring then heartthrob James Vander Beek in a then-new bad boy guise, though no one seemed to care.
But Ellis will get to call the shots when he gets rolling on his directorial debut. He’s set to helm "The Deleted," a thriller about the disappearance of three people in Los Angeles that parallels the story of a group of paranoid twenty-somethings who have just escaped a cult. It is not an adaptation of any of his prior writings and will instead be based on an original screenplay.
"The Deleted" will be released as a series for the streaming service Fullscreen, which just launched today and will set you back $4.99 per month. [THR]
"\’Less Than Zero,\’ a film that was met with lukewarm reviews in 1987 but has aged very well and features one of Robert Downey Jr.\’s best performances." Guessing you haven\’t revisited this film in a while. Mediocre in 87 and it\’s aged really poorly.
I love Less Than Zero! I watch it every Christmas. Great soundtrack!
Have to agree. It\’s an interesting film visually because Ed Lachmann was the DP and the sets look like a music video which would work perfectly as subtext for how superficial these kids\’ Hollywood world is, if it weren\’t for the fact that the film itself is also very superficial. But I\’ll defend Rules of Attraction. Not a great film, but enjoyable and a good adaptation of the book.
Also, Ellis had another screenwriting credit with that Curse of Downer\’s Grove movie, which I think he basically disowned (he only mentioned it once in passing on his podcast as some terrible movie they made from his script and he didn\’t even meet the director).
Pretty sure you mixed up the receptions for Less Than Zero and Rules of Attraction.
i agree. \’less than Zero\’ is awful and has dated horribly. \’Rules of Attraction\’ is very good in my opinion and hasn\’t aged a day. it captures that time perfectly. best with exception of \’American Psycho.\’