The Infomers

Bret Easton Ellis first captured my attention when I watched "American Psycho," a close friend of mine suggested I read the book and as always that the book was much better than the film (Has there even been a movie better than the book?). Obviously my friend was right, Ellis' images were so precise that he painted a perfect picture of every scene. Ellis' writing is perfect for Hollywood yet the movies never compare to his work. First was "Less Than Zero," which focused the attention on Robert Downey Jr.'s character Julian Welles. Julian was just a piece in the puzzle in the book and this upset a lot of Ellis' fans as well as himself (he didn't even go to the premiere). But with his writing how can we expect a major studio to convey all of the disgusting habits of Ellis' characters?

In 2000, we got the cult favorite "American Psycho." A fantastic movie on its own yet it still had some fans wanting more depth. It confused some viewers that had never read the book, thinking he really was a homicidal maniac. The movies success can also be blamed for "American Psycho 2," maybe one of the worst movies of all-time.

In 2002, the Roger Avary directed "Rules of Attraction" was released and saw marginal success, the present day setting of the 80's themed book bothered a lot of fans. But it finally made Ellis so satisfied that he did not want anyone else directing his paper-to-screen releases.

Next up was the never to be released "Glitterati," a film that was supposed to merge the story lines of "Rule of Attraction" and "Glamorama." "Glitterati" is a feature-length re-editing of the breathlessly edited "European Trip" section of "Rules of Attraction". Victor Ward (Kip Pardue) bums around Europe meeting people both famous and strange, and having off-beat and often surreal encounters in a non-stop quest to completely experience the continent. The movie is said to have issues with release forms, as Kip was basically in character as they shot the entire time they were there. Bret Easton Ellis has given Avary the rights to "Glamorama" for life, but Avary has legal issues and a shortage of cash flow making the delivery of this film that much more unlikely.

Bret Easton Ellis' "The Informers" is finally coming to the big screen, with Gregor Jordan directing(due to Avary's legal problems) a screenplay written by Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki. The cast includes Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Brandon Routh, Austin Nichols, Lou Pucci, Wynona Rider, Ashley Olsen and Brad Renfro (his last work before his death). The Informers was first published in 1995, a collection of loosely connected short stories captures a week in Los Angeles in 1983. The stories feature movie executives, rock stars, a vampire and as Ellis’ other works, various “morally challenged characters in adventures laced with sex, drugs and violence." Fans are already screaming as Jordan and Ellis have taken the sub-plot of vampires out of the movie. I think the movie will do better without the underworld, the vampire chapter was fantastic and out of nowhere but was not necessary to the books plot. Here is the just released trailer to the long awaited movie release of "The Informers."
This clip is NotSafeForWork.




From what I can see this will probably be the best adaptation of any of the Ellis novels, and any trailer that opens with a Ronald Reagan clip and New Orders "Blue Monday " is a hit in my mind but that's just me.

Ellis is still submerging himself into Hollywood, as he is currently working on "Lunar Park" and "The Frog King."

""Lunar Park" is a combined semi-autobiographical novelization of the life of Bret Easton Ellis and is
a ghost story in the vein of Stephen King. It was released by Knopf on August
16, 2005. It is notable for being the first book written by Ellis to use past
tense narrative."

""The Frog King" is about a struggling writer played be Joseph Gordon-Levitt;
toiling away at his publishing house job as he tries to keep the one good thing
in his life, his relationship with his girlfriend from going wrong. "

Both are expected to be released in 2009, but more likely 2010. "The Informers" is said to be released in fall/winter of 2008 but I see it coming in 2009.