It’s quite possible that Fox Searchlight will take the reigns on Bret Easton Ellis’s adaptation of his novel “Imperial Cities”, said Ellis at the Q&A at the LAT Fest Of Books.
We already reported that the film, a sequel to 80s brat pack drug drama “Less than Zero,” was in talks to reunite the original cast for the new film. Ellis was very upset with the cast for the original film, which starred Robert Downey Jr. and Andrew McCarthy. Now, it looks as if he’d be willing to give them a second chance. Of course, that’s all up to the director, and Ellis laments/whines “Once you hand a screenplay to the director… it turns into something else and there’s nothing you can do about it. Directors are concerned with their problems, not the problems in his books.” It’s understandable that he doesn’t want his writing ruined, but you either have to hope that you have a smart director on your hands that will take the writing to new & different levels (what’s the point of doing the exact same thing as the book?), or just stop optioning your books for movies. Then again, everyone needs to eat. Here’s the synopsis of “Imperial Bedrooms” from Publishers Weekly:
Clay, now a screenwriter, returns at Christmas to an L.A. that looks and operates much as it did 25 years ago. Trent is now a producer and married to Clay’s ex, Blair, while Julian runs an escort service and Rip, Clay’s old dealer, has had so much plastic surgery he’s unrecognizable. While casting a script he’s written, Clay falls for a young, untalented actress named Rain Turner, and his obsession and affair with her powers him through an alcoholic haze that swirls with images of death, mysterious text messages, and cars lurking outside his apartment.
In the Q&A Ellis goes on to suggest that Christian Bale (who played the lead in “American Psycho”) has gotten “monotonous,” and “should star in a romantic comedy.” Uh. As for “Lunar Park,” which is currently in development, Ellis says Benicio del Toro will be replaced by Jude Law for the part of Ellis himself. Although Ellis “knows and likes” Law, he believes he is still not right for the part. Well sheesh, Ellis, why don’t you just be in the damn thing yourself?
“Lunar Park” has yet to find a director, but it’s still trudging along. As for “Imperial Bedrooms,” even though Fox Searchlight has shown interest, we remain skeptical. No one is really jonesing for a sequel to “Less than Zero” so unless it stands on it’s own really well and manages to nab the insanely busy Robert Downey Jr. (who claims the movie had no help in starting his life of drug abuse), we remain skeptical.