This is an in-depth look at the never-a-dull-moment life of legendary Los Angeles-born author James Ellroy.
We get a lot of background on Ellroy's childhood, including the notorious unsolved murder of his mother, as well as his father's experience as a minor player in Hollywood. It was an upbringing that led to a dissolute young adulthood, but props to Ellroy for figuring out by his late twenties that he needed to get sober and straighten himself out. It was this discipline that would eventually make him a successful and prolific writer.
On the other hand, Ellroy's behavior and treatment of people has often been cruel and brutal, and discussion of these instances are frequently followed by statements from friends that in spite of this, Ellroy can be sweet, gentle, and generous. But the book makes clear is that in addition to being a brilliant writer, as a person Ellroy can be difficult to deal with. It seems that to his friends, he's worth the difficulty. This includes the many women who have been a part of his life (no joke, you'd need a spreadsheet to keep them all straight).
What Powell could have gotten more in-depth on was the novels themselves. My personal favorite, L.A. Confidential, gets a surprising short shrift considering that it's one of Ellroy's most well-known. What surprised me the most was learning that Ellroy's shocking criticism (contrary to the praise he heaped on it when it was released) of the film version of this novel didn't just start at last year's L.A. Times Festival of Books (the first time I'd heard of it) but shortly after director Curtis Hanson's 2016 death. At one film festival, hosted by Noir Czar Eddie Muller, he lashed out at Hanson, insulted the film, then headed home, leaving Muller to deal with the fallout from shocked festival attendees.
I was also surprised to learn how much of Ellroy's adult life was spent outside L.A., with time in Denver, Kansas City, Connecticut, and Carmel-by-the-Sea. I'd heard he's moved out of L.A. at times, but didn't realize how much of his life has been spent away from it.
Written with Ellroy's cooperation, this is about as a comprehensive and official bio of the author that we're likely to get. The book's title comes from the closing line of Ellroy's 1992 novel White Jazz, the fourth book in his L.A. Quartet.
From the book:
L.A. Confidential began principal photography in May 1996. Ellroy visited the set and witnessed the filming of a scene in which Bud White rescues a bound and gagged Inez Soto from her kidnappers. Ellroy developed a rapport with the main cast, with the exception of Kevin Spacey, describing him as "a venomous individual" and James Cromwell who he regarded as "aloof and imperious". Ellroy shared many of Milchan's concerns about the casting. He looked at the cast and saw people who did not look or sound like the characters he had created on the page. Helgeland recalls that during one rehearsal an actor disagreed with Hanson about how to play a scene and even brought an "expert" on set to prove his point. "Curtis disappeared for a moment and returned with a phone. He said to the actor 'Here's my expert' and passed him the phone". Ellroy chewed the actor out over the phone, who then sheepishly agreed to play the scene the way Hanson wanted.
Update:
Love Me Fierce in Danger is an
Edgar Award nominee in the Best Critical/Biographical category.
Updated 5/1/24:
Love Me Fierce in Danger is now an
Edgar Award winner! Congratulations to author Steven Powell.
