New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet

Anyone who has read a James Ellroy book or witnessed one of the Hollywood adaptations based on his work such as L.A. Story and Dark Blue knows the man can tell a story. They also know that he’s obsessed with the darker side of humanity with subject matter like corruption and murder being the frequent focal points of his work.

There is causality for this behavior. Those familiar with the author’s upbringing know that at the tender age of ten, Ellroy’s father delivered news that would alter the boy’s future. His mother had been killed and the police had no real idea of who the culprits were. Over the next 15 years, the boy matured into manhood, but he developed an obsession with true crime stories, particularly murders.

Overcoming personal failings during a period of self-destruction, Ellroy was dismissed from the army and became a drug addict and petty hood. In time, he managed to overcome the events that led to his descent into moral turpitude. His healing process was predicated upon writing about the events that had become the foundation of his life. Over time, Ellroy established himself as one of the premiere true crime writers of the 20th century.

At the age of 46, James Ellroy finally found the courage to explore the events of his mother’s life and death that had such a profound effect on the man he would become. With the assistance of his LA homicide detective friend Bill Stoner, Ellroy worked to piece together the circumstances leading up to and including his mother’s homicide.

What is interesting about the movie version of My Dark Places is that the film’s star is David Duchovny; however, he will be playing the role of Ellroy not as a young man but instead as the aging writer. The events of the movie will focus as much on the process involved in Ellroy’s writing the book as they will upon the speculated series of events that led to his mother’s demise. The duality of the storytelling is a bold and unusual decision, and it has the BOP staff intrigued. As fascinating as a James Ellroy character usually is, we suspect that Ellroy himself might prove to be the most enthralling of all. (David Mumpower/BOP)

Vital statistics for My Dark Places Main Cast David Duchovny Director Robert M. Greenwald Screenwriter Jan Oxenberg Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for My Dark Places
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
X Files: Fight the Future, The	6/19/98	30.14	38.75	2629	11464.00	14177.2	83.89	107.85	2.78
Devil in a Blue Dress	9/29/95	5.42	7.51	1432	3785.00	5046.7	16.03	22.22	2.96
L.A. Confidential	9/19/97	5.21	6.84	769	6775.00	8561.0	64.62	84.89	12.40
Memento	5/4/01	1.22	1.30	445	2733.00	2805.6	25.93	27.67	13.56
Mulholland Drive	10/19/01	0.96	1.02	247	3889.00	3992.2	7.22	7.70	6.13