Ellroy Reads – 1980 by David Peace
For the latest episode of Ellroy Reads, I look at David Peace’s novel 1980. The third novel in Peace’s Red Riding Quartet series, 1980 is set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders and is one of Peace’s most powerful novels. I discuss some of the parallels between Peace and Ellroy’s work.
I hope you enjoy the episode, and please remember to subscribe, comment, share and like as this helps with YouTube’s algorithm.
Ellroy Reads – Conversations with James Ellroy
For the latest episode of Ellroy Reads I’ve shaken up the format a little. I discuss the process of getting my first book, Conversations with James Ellroy, into print. Your first book is a steeping learning curve and I talk about what I learned about Ellroy, publishing and the writing life along the way.
I hope you enjoy the episode. Remember to like, subscribe, share and comment as this helps to keep the channel going.
Highbrow Lowbrow – Volker Schlöndorff Special
We’ve had a break and now Dan Slattery and I are back with a new episode of our Highbrow Lowbrow podcast. In this episode we look at two films directed by acclaimed German director Volker Schlöndorff.
Dan’s choice is Schlöndorff’s unfairly maligned adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel and the recent television adaptation have been justly garlanded, but the film is also well worth a look. My pick is a film that barely received a theatrical release. The Ogre is a World War Two epic that few people have seen, and yet it features one of John Malkovich’s finest performances.
Enjoy the show and let us know your thoughts. You can listen to the episode here.
One of the finest and most overlooked war movies – The Ogre.
Ellroy Reads – The Ticket Out by Helen Knode
I got the urge to film an Ellroy Reads about an hour ago, and this episode was shot in the fading evening sun. The book for this week is Helen Knode’s stunning debut novel The Ticket Out, a Hollywood mystery with a difference. I talk a little about Helen’s background, her relationship with Ellroy and my friendship with the two of them.
This episode also features some Hollywood gossip I had some difficulty getting past the lawyers. Enjoy!
Ellroy Reads – Poetry Special
In the latest episode of Ellroy Reads, I look at some of the poetry which has been the most important to James Ellroy over the years.
This is a unique episode as I ‘sing’ a song written by Ellroy, which he performed regularly in the nineties but has never been caught on film. You’re about to find out why!
For the latest episode of Ellroy Reads I look at Darcy O’Brien’s True Crime classic Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers. Depraved killers Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono caused panic in Los Angeles during their killing spree in late 1977. I discuss Ellroy’s TV pilot on the Hillside Strangler Task Force and his personal connection to the case.
If my intro to the video seems unusual, I tried to insert a clip from a film but ran into copyright issues. Anyway, enjoy the video and remember to press those Like and Subscribe buttons.
Ellroy Reads – When The Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman
For the latest episode of Ellroy Reads I look at Jonathan Kellerman’s debut novel When The Bough Breaks. I dive into Kellerman’s friendship with Ellroy and my interview with him when I was researching Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy.
Enjoy the show. As Ellroy would put, ‘Ellroy Reads rules, all other YouTube shows drool!!!’
Ellroy Reads – Memorial by Bruce Wagner
In the latest episode of Ellroy Reads I look at Bruce Wagner’s Memorial. Wagner brilliantly satirises Los Angeles’s addiction to celebrity, Eastern mysticism, lawsuits and more. It’s all viciously brilliant but at times so cruel I struggled with it. I go into Bruce Wagner’s friendship with James Ellroy which, I hope, puts this dark tone in perspective.
Enjoy the episode and do subscribe, like, share and comment. The show is gaining popularity with your support. I start the episode with a little thank you to all my viewers.
Ellroy Reads – The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
For the latest episode of Ellroy Reads, I look at one of the all-time great novels of the psychological suspense genre – The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. I discuss the many actors who have played Tom Ripley on screen, including James Ellroy’s favourite, Alain Delon in Purple Noon. I also argue that Ellroy’s greatest character Dudley Smith, was inspired by Tom Ripley.
I hope you enjoy the episode, and please remember to like, subscribe, comment and share.
Ellroy Reads – The Song is You by Megan Abbott
For the latest episode of Ellroy Reads, I discuss Megan Abbott’s The Song is You. Abbott has described The Song is You and her early novels as ‘love songs to James Ellroy’, and the subject matter is a real-life Hollywood mystery. The novel concerns the disappearance of the actress Jean Spangler. Spangler vanished in 1949 and has never been found. The case has some parallels with the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short ‘The Black Dahlia’, which occurred in LA two years earlier. Jean Spangler and Betty Short even looked alike. Abbott takes the case and turns it into a riveting Hollywood noir.
I hope you enjoy the episode, and please remember to like, subscribe, comment, share etc.
The Venetian Vase 