Roger Avary has been missing from the filmmaking scene in the couple of years following his legal issues — but those are more or less over, so back to the drawing board it is. One of the several projects he’s been developing for some time is an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis‘ Glamorama, a novel that follows Victor Ward and his time with a group of model-terrorists. (Terrorists who are also fashion models, not the prime example of what terrorists should be. And, yes, Ellis was annoyed at a similarity shared with a certain comedy.)

Well, with Avary back at work and the adaptation still waiting to take off, it’s appropriate that the author would tweet the following last night:

“Just finished reading Roger Avary’s adaptation of “Glamorama” which he will direct next year. Hilarious, horrific, sad. He’s a mad genius.”

No word on who might be funding or distributing, though the latter probably isn’t much of an issue at the moment; I’m picturing this as a fully independent production. That reasoning comes down to the book’s graphic content (no surprise when we’re talking about Ellis), among which is frequent drug use, explicit sex scenes, and horrific violence that goes along with their exploits. And, having adapted The Rules of Attraction, it’s been proven that Avary wants to stay true to the content of Ellis‘ writing — even if some, like myself, see that as a big problem.

Relating to Attraction, there’s also the issue of Glitterati. Never shown in public, this is a (roughly) 90-minute pseudo-documentary about Victor Ward, played here — as he is in The Rules of Attraction — by Kip Pardue, as he goes across Europe and sleeps with various women. Avary apparently called it “ethically questionable,” as every participant that isn’t the lead is unaware of what they’re involved in.

Talking to MovieLine last year, Ellis said that, in addition to featuring “real people getting it on,” it has this obstacle to overcome:

“It’s extremely explicit. And Kip is in character the whole time. I don’t know if he had a girlfriend while he was making this movie, but I hope he didn’t. I feel kind of bad even talking about it, but like, there’s a scene where he meets a girl someplace and the camera crew is following them and he seduces the girl, and they’re in a cab and the girl pulls out her phone and calls her boyfriend and says, “I’m not going to be home for a little while.” Then they all go up to a hotel room and…things start happening. I don’t know, it’s like…[laughs]. I can’t say any more than that.”

Sounds reprehensible and calculated to get a reaction, like an angry child who desperately wants your attention. Also sounds perfect for Bret Easton Ellis to be associated with.

Have you read Glamorama? Do you like Ellis’ past work? Is it possible that we’ll ever see Glitterati?

Source: /Film