Bret Easton Ellis

Started by children with angels, June 17, 2003, 08:59:29 AM

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jokerspath

This afternoon, on my lunch break, I finished Glamorama for the first time.  I enjoyed it, though not as thoroughly as American Psycho, or even Less Than Zero.  Still, there were some amazing sequences.  His language, and attention to detail, are astounding. It felt a bit weird to be reading a narrative in one of his books, one where something "happens", but, as anyone who has read the book can attest to, there is still a thick layer of ambiguity to work with (or through, as it were).

There is a terrific interview of his at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/8506/Ellis/clarkeint.html.  Awful lengthy, too...

Good times...

aw
THIS IS NOT AN EXIT

NEON MERCURY

...MacG..thanks....nice name BTW...... :wink:

......i just wannnted to say that i am bout 1/2 through reading American Psycho.....and its one of the most wondeful page turners that i have read.or currenntly reading...(next to thin red line)....and i was wondering for my next read....which do you guys suggest......?

11..Rules off Attractioonn
2. Glamorama.
3. Innformers..
4..Less than Zero..

Weak2ndAct

I've read every Ellis book 'cept 'Less Than Zero,' which I keep meaning to do.  NM, as for what you should read next, I would just say read them in order of publication since some of the characters crossover from book-to-book and you get to see where they end up/progress.

NEON MERCURY

Quote from: Weak2ndActI've read every Ellis book 'cept 'Less Than Zero,' which I keep meaning to do.  NM, as for what you should read next, I would just say read them in order of publication since some of the characters crossover from book-to-book and you get to see where they end up/progress.

....thanks Weak......i'v eheard that in Rules of Attraction  ...pat bateman makes an appearennce so it would be better your way....but .whats the order??.....

my guess....

less than zero
american psycho
rules o A.
glam
inform...... :?:

Weak2ndAct

Here's the order:
- Less Than Zero
- Rules of Attraction
- American Psycho
- The Informers
- Glamorama

Reel

I think this dude is the most interesting guy I follow on Twitter. I've never even read any of his work outside of a few pages from AP. He goes on these tweeting sprees about movies and stuff and I find them very enjoyable.

BretEastonEllis

"The Shining" is so emotionally complicated (the frustrated artist, the bad marriage, the crazy dad) that it's more fascinating than scary.

Stephen King's "The Shining" has as much to do with Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" as the "Less Than Zero" movie had to do with the novel.

The novel "The Shining" has Wendy and Hallorann hanging out together (in the summer!) comforting Danny about the loss of Batshit Dad. Happy?

The original ending of Kubrick's "The Shining" is Danny traumatized in a hospital room still tormented by the ghosts of his Batshit Dad...

Stephen King has very powerful female characters but in Stanley Kubrick's universe they're either passive, whores, nonexistent, murderers...

Like Wendy in "The Shining" Nicole Kidman in "Eyes Wide Shut" is never part of her husband's "dream" movie that plays out in front of us...

Kubrick re-imagined the books he adapted. Example: Barry Lyndon becomes a cad because his girlfriend is a whore. This is NOT in Thackeray.

Can't sleep. Rarely change my mind about movies. The last time: Fincher's "Zodiac" which I disliked when I first saw it. Now: a masterpiece.

Zodiac: not even Hitchcock was this perverse or discursive. The crimes are over in the first third and then the futile search begins.

Zodiac: the only two people who find the truth are in an airport and they're not even in the movie and then it all slams shut. Devastating.

The trailers for "Dragon Tattoo" are better than the totality of most movies.

The Game is a trick movie. Its humanist ending destroyed the menace and fear that preceded it. "I Love My Brother" film that kinda sucked...

The Empire side of The Social Network is FOR the Winklevoss twins: they represent nature, being OUTSIDE (the extended boat race sequence).

The Social Network was a 50 million dollar movie. The Kings Speech was 12 million. The budgets needed to be switched. That's why KS won.

Pubrick

Those are all shit insights and pretty much proof that twitter is not a medium for intellectual discourse.

None of those statements pack any punch. If he linked them to an essay or something they would have some vague value at least.

As they stand they are the least persuasive, most half assed comments I've ever read. Communication: you're doing it wrong.
under the paving stones.

Reel

I like where he's going with these tweets. If you were on twitter you'd notice that ppl post the most banal crap. These catch my eye and are at least a little thought provoking, because they're about movies I love. It helps that he usually does this with movies that are on my mind, too. When I was fixing to watch Eyes Wide Shut, BAM! He tweets about EWS. I watch 'Let Me In', 'The Shining' BAM! He tweets about those. This weekend I was planning to watch The Social Network and he goes on a tear about that. Twitter is definitely not the place for this type of thing. I want more! I hear he writes books too...

©brad

His insights are surprisingly trite as are most of his tweets,especially the one's about his live-in boyfriend who he shamelessly refers to as "the 25 year old." The more he tweets the less I like his books.


Pozer

he's the type that would tweet the tired Rick Astley vid behind the words: The Master teaser.

wilder


©brad

Yeah he said the same thing about Glamorama (which Avery also wrote a script for) that went nowhere.

I like Ellis but he is such an arrogant prick on Twitter I almost want to de-follow him because he's ruining his books for me. Dude is gay with a 25-year old live-in boyfriend (who he coyly refers to as "the 25 year old") and he won't fully own up to it. He lives in this internalized homophobic glass closet all the while making the most catty, crude comments about other gays in Hollywood.




Reel

^ so true, but no matter how brash he can be or how much I disagree with some of his opinions ( he went on a whole tear about Kubrick being gay and having a secret lover his whole life ) I can't unfollow him because I really do value his thoughts on stuff when he's not being annoying. All these 50 shades of Grey casting ideas have really been getting tiresome, though.

©brad

Hah totally, it's basically just a list of male actors he wants to bone.

I do agree he does make sense sometimes, but his grander thoughts on film history are usually absurd, especially the Kubrick gay bit.

polkablues

Ellis is a talented writer, but he's definitely one of those guys who came up in the 80s and still mistakes cocaine for wisdom.
My house, my rules, my coffee