BLOODY MURDERERS OF CULT
Hollywood killed DAVID GOODIS.. the French resurrected him posthumously.. the film that made him famous came out the year he died.. SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER.. and to tell the world that it was the same book that Truffaut made a film on DOWN THERE was rechristened shoot the piano player.. how sad is that.. that often has been the case with hard boiled, noirists.. barring HAMETT, CHANDLER and CAIN, none of the noirists got the recognition they deserved in there lifetime.. atleast not by Hollywood.. even the best of CORNELL WOOLRICH was made the year he died, MISSISSIPPI MERMAID and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK, again by TRUFFAUT.. its always been the French who discovered them or gave their work the respect it deserved.. the first RIPLEY by Patricia Highsmith was again a french adaptation, PURPLE NOON much before WIMWENDERS made MY AMERICAN FRIEND, much before MINGHELLA adapted it in Hollywood as THE TALENTED MISTER RIPLEY.. CLAUDE CHABROL regularly adapts RUTH RENDELL , Hollywood still has to take a good look at her.. even ALMODOVAR made a great adaptation of her LIVE FLESH.. why am I complaining.. because all these are primarily English Language writers.. and there are so many there today completely ignored.. makes me wonder do the executives or even the filmmakers working in America even read anything beyond the blockbusters..these authors are so regularly translated in various European languages, primarily French, available at all good bookshops and in the US New york has one BLACK ORCHID BOOKSHOP, London has one MURDER ONE at charring cross road and probably one little bookshop tucked away in some corner of LA ..
Some time ago , some on adapted WALTER MOSLEY’s “Devil in the blue dress” then they gave up on him.. the great writers writing today like KEN BRUEN (my ultimate favourite) , JASON STARR, are completely ignored.. now no one writes those one liners today like ken bruen.. he has written some twelve to fifteen great books so far and none have been optioned.. his Jack Taylor and sergeant Brant are the most depraved protagonists, slumming it out , funny to the core, dying to be made as films.. and I will hate it if BBC discovers them before and turns them into some goddamned TV series.. GUY RITCHIE wake up.. Bruen is what you need to make, read him.. MAX ALLAN COLLINS(the road to perdition) has written hell of a lot of other hardboiled characters, his QUARRY the hitman is fucking awesome.. but ‘the road..” got made because it was a graphic novel.. JAMES SALLIS, PELECANOS, FERRIGNO,ALAN GUTHRIE, DOMENIC STANSBERRY.. you want contemporary great espionage.. read DAN FESPERMAN, from the WARLORDS SON in Afghanistan to the new one set in GUANTANAMO.. ALLAN FURST.. put aside your fucking Da vinci’s and Harry potters.. these are great writers writing great stuff.. TRUE CULT.. and all in ENGLISH.. I am not even talking about the other European, Cuban, Chinese , Japanese mystery writers that are regularly translated and brought out by soho crime..you looking at stories to remake , adapt.. these are the people.. don’t kill them.. if Hanson wouldn’t have made L.A.CONFIDENTIAL I wonder if THE BLACK DAHLIA or WHITE JAZZ would have followed.. Mr QT Bruen is your IRISH ELMORE LEONARD, or like someone describes him “A celtic DASHIELL HAMETT..”I guess Hollywood has only money and not enough writers.. Hametts best the “RED HARVEST” was first given the big screen treatment in JAPANES by Kurosawa in YOJIMBO, then in Italian by SERGIO LEONE which was dubbed in English and released as A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, then by BRITISH.. MILLERS CROSSING by COEN BROS.. and finally the worst version of it by Hollywood in Hollywood as LAST MAN STANDING.. what does that say.. STUDIOS, HOLLYWOOD,=BLOODY MURDERERS
Fucking herd mentality.. Miller’s RONIN is being adapted post the success of 300, which they realized they could achieve after SIN CITY.. Sin City when made was released apologetically.. and appeared on no one’s list as the great cinematic achievement of 2005..
This is a call to all Noir fans, future filmmakers.. pick up anything by publications dedicated to Crime.. especially HARD CASE CRIME, SOHO CRIME, VINTAGE CRIME.. just pick them randomly..and discover a whole new addiction..Well I learnt how to write from JAMES M CAIN..my journey started with POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE and all those JIM THOMPSONS AND RICHARD STARKS..I so want to adapt them but producers here do not understand the concept of optioning the rights or buying them, so I wish someone out ther brings them to screen..
In the end I can sadly say what DONALD E WESTLAKE says about the “cult” success:-
CULT SUCCESS IS SEVEN READERS SHORT OF AUTHOR MAKING A LIVING..
Here is hoping it changes.. Below is the list of authors I recommend reading, others than the ones I have mentioned above,
JOE R LANSDALE
WADE MILLER
DAY KEENE
MAX PHILLIPS
BARBARA VINE aka RUTH RENDELL
WILLIAM IRISH aka CORNELL WOOLRICH
ANDREW VACHSS(awesome)
JOHN LUTZ
JEFF LINDSAY
PETER SPIEGELMAN
My ALL TIME GREATS- CHESTER HIMES and CHARLES WILLEFORD
Ofcourse JAMES ELLROY
HORACE McCOY
DANIEL WOODRELL
JULIAN RATHBONE
GOPAL BHARATHAM
SOHO CRIME( this publications picks most writers not writing in English)
There are a lot more, you want to know where you can find them feel free to ask..
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Very encyclopedic post Anurag!…It made me feel like reading some article over wikipedia…full of helluva knowledge!
But I have a very weird question to you..”can a bad reader become a good film maker?”
“For a Few dollars more” is not the version of “Yojimbo”. It is “A Fistful of Dollars”.
What a bombarding post. Sir
French n association is the artistic hope for cinema.
I am looking for
Anurag this post meant nothing to em just as my scientology essays would mean nothing to most. Wish it would have been more readable.
Why do you always use blocks in your titles? Its is akin to shouting. At best the first alphabet should be in capitals. You are the only one here who does that. With your Black Friday posts and also with No Smoking. The heading was in capitals. It betrays a megalomaniacal air. I dont mean to sound rude but honestly, it is not recommended.Please refrain.
Thanks
justin.. ofcourse you are right.. i just wrote it out of a state of mind..will correct it..
super..most of the directors are bad readers..most others don’t read at all.. some are better readers than directors..
atray..nirmal verma wrote “AADMI KA ZAHAR”.. a great albeit neglected indian noir
sorry aman.. the blocks are unconscious or subconscious whatever you may call it.. have always written titles that way or whatever i want people to focus on..there is a lot more i want to write on the subject but lack of time and space.. may be we can do a on post Q and A
Anurag.. that was rather heavy. Kept switching between ur post and wiki.
I’m curious - Where did u come across these eclectic writers? Especially Jim Thompson, Ken Bruen, George Pelecanos and many more. A few months ago I came across a series of Elmore Leonard pulps’ at Landmark. Thanks to QTs vociferous praise of the writer I knew about him in the first place.
And…
AK “you want to know where you can find them feel free to ask..”
Am asking :-?:)
I will read ‘Aadmi ka Zahar’ I think it written by Sri Lal shukla who wrote rag darbari.
Nirmal verma had written vedna, antim aranya, lal tin ki chaat n many more.
I feel Gulzar Saab n nirmal verma
@Anurag
Thanks for this wonderful write up. Just writing down all the names and finding about would keep me busy for years. Trying to figure the connection between
atray you are right too.. it is by shrilal shukla..
another good hindi pulps are.. AANKH KI CHORI and HONGKONG KI HASINA by krishna raghav
Hongkong ki hassena se
great post anurag ^:)^^:)^^:)^
Hindi sahitya me pulp friction ke liye space bahut kam hai( waise ved parkash sharma isme master hai lekin woh hindi sahityakaro me nahi aate hai).
Srilal shukla ki “vishrampur ka shant” bhi kafi acchi hai aur lekin maine niral verma aur Mohan rakesh ki har novels ke characters ko “Loneliness” se larte hue paaya hai.
sir, where can i find these books in mumbai…some of the stuff is hardly available in leading book stores….their major concern is harry potter 7th or 6th..ive lost da count…kindly lemme know.
premal
Anurag,
Just wondering if you have read Jeffery Deaver, who wrote the novel later made as “The Bone Collector.”
I think his collection of short stories “Twisted” is brilliant, and can be adapted to make some very good movies.
Richard Stark???
richardstark is the writer of ”the outfit” which was made as PAYBACK..
you can order these books through landmark.. sad that LOTUS BOOK HOUSE is closed.. if you are in UK or US you can get them at murder inc. on charring cross road in london or black orchid on 303 east 81st street.. or mail them on Borchid@aol.com..
or just google them
most of these writers are out of print.. look on ebay, if in newyork then on sundays a guy sits across Film forum and lincoln centre selling first editions..
or just look hard
anurag.. have you started reading “the other hollywood”? how is it?
Anurag, great post, and thanks very much for the mention….You’re dead on here, I think– Hollywood should look to more current books for inspiration. Actually a few of my books have been optioned, though a movie hasn’t been made yet. Several years ago my first novel Cold Caller was optioned by one of the producers of Fight Club and now it’s in development with an Australian company. My novel Twisted City is also currently in development as a film…Regarding Ken Bruen’s work, one of the titles in his Brant series is in development as a film (Blitz, and I believe it’s close to production). I was surprised that Bust, the book I co-wrote with Ken wasn’t snapped up for film, because I think it’s one of the most obviously cinematic books we’ve done. The sequel to BUST called SLIDE is out in October, so maybe they’ll sell then…But your point is valid, Hollywood seems to be ignoring a lot of excellent material, and it’s right in the local bookstores.
Cheers, Jason Starr
thanks anurag. just to add to it …
richard stark = donald westlake. love the guy!
i have written couple of scripts based on his parker novels - pre payback days.
also i personally adore desmond bagley (one and only) - find james hadley chase, john lange (aka michael crichton) very interesting - and strongly recommend jack ritchie (especially the stories starring henry turnbuckle) to all the cult/noir/whodunit fans- awesome read.
Boy is this incredible or what.. jason starr on the blog….
Hey Mr starr.. man was in NY last year looking for you.. was living right across from Black orchid, and arrived two days after you were signing copies..
love every one of your books.. have read till bust and lights out.. its difficult to find them in india..wanted to ask you a question.. if i wanted to option rights for bust to make in hindi .. how do i go about it..two things to note here.. we do not have large budgets in hindi, two does making it in hindi affect the possibility of your english language rights..
one confession- i was so tempted to steal that sequence where miller goes to retrieve his wallet in the neighbourhood, for a film i was doing, somehow i resisted..but will mail you seperately..
Great to see you here
anurag,
aap se kaise contact kiya jaaye.
ajay brahmatmaj
Its great, Twisted city man
What a terrific website, one of my first teaching jobs was in India and I nearly stayed!
Jason is the very best to write with, we have a real blast, and we’d love to have Bust in Hindi………..whata true honour for us andbetter, we’d get the excuse to come over and trust me, you’d never forget us 2 reading Bust………Jason does the Irish bits
You have a wonderful site
Bheannacht Mor
Ken Bruen
with ken and jason landing up on PFC, and anurag exploring the possibilities of optioning their books.. PFC might just be witnessing a revolution in filmmaking… all thanks to some dude sitting in his chaddis (underwear) sipping on a chai in orange county, california…..
hey..Ken Bruen….^:)^^:)^\
Regards
Boy am i dreaming ..Ken Bruen Himself..what day is it.. now am going to do whatever it takes to make them in hindi..
wooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooo
sir, comment no. 21 please..!
hey premal…
elmore leonard books are available at all bookstores including any crossword. dashiel hammett, patriciaa highsmith, james sallis etc.. all are surely available at landmark bookstore in infiniti mall at andheri..if u don’t want to spend too much, u can always head to flora fountain.. its not the same as before but theres a small portion outside the american express bank where there are 10 to 12 roadside book sellers..u will surely get 4 to 5 elmore leonards, lots of ruth rendell, maybe a couple of james ellroy.. the thing is your eyes have to be real sharp and u really have to look! most of the book sellers won’t even know they have these very books.. all they’ll know is grisham, ludlum etc.. if u can afford it u can get a lot of the stuff at Landmark! its the best bookstore in bombay as of now..
atray i have a copy of hongkong ki hasina, can xerox it for you..
@Ak….two copies…one with English Subtitles
OM, jaake Hindi seekh angrez ki aulad!
I will color xerox my self for hongkong ki haseen
Jim Thompson has been adapted three times here in the US, yet most people haven’t seen these films: The Grifters, The Killer Inside of Me, and After Dark My Sweet, all done very well.
I am a great fan of most of the authors that you have mentioned, but most people have never heard of them. The US enjoys its literature like it enjoys its movies, with the Oprah stamp of approval - leaving the smaller (and better) authors and writers relatively unknown except to those of us who haunt bookstores looking for that next something special…
If most Americans don’t read, why should Hollywood…
And, I don’t think the Hollywood system has the ability to consistently tell complex stories like these. I would love to see you and other Indian filmmaker take these stories on, you already have the frame of reference of working with multiple plot lines and directions in your films that we are only beginning to explore with any success here.
That said, the movie I would love to see is Quentin Tarantino making James Ellroy’s “Dick Contino’s Blues”. That would be one hell of a film…
And, the next time you are here, I owe you a bookstore tour
There’s always a great delight in finding anything new and thats also when you are completely unaware of its talent..I remember i picked up thompson pop 1280 because i really liked the cover and as soon i read he has written the screenplay for ‘the killing’ i was like oh yeh i have to give it a shot ..and man what a worthy shot it was ..i haven’t read a more funny wicked book like that ever..but i am horribly surprised how come not a single american directors have made a film on that movie..I haven’t seen the french version but i know it will be not that good..Actually if kubrick would have made pop1280 into a film it would have been rollercoaster ride..Tarantino will also make it interesting but you in tarantino case you can imagine how it will…
Can anyone suggest some real nice cheap bookshops in Mumbai??
I think Anurag missed
nitin.. POP1280 was made by tavernier in french.. called “coup de torchon”.. it came out on criterion.. its available in all the libraries
CC- like i said the list is endless but they all are still ignored
Anurag sir,
Want to know ke Krishna raghav is associated with which publication house-This is not my main question. As confused learner,
Actually, I want to know
yeh atray,
it does according to Mr Von trier thats why he has stopped watching any kinda cinema so i guess you will have to take a quick decision..which one will it be ???
Yeh anurag ..have read about it earlier ..have seen only one tavernier flick ‘the clockmaker’ which is nice..But the one thing i really love about pop1280 is the last dialogue about the dog it is the most pointlessly beautifull conversation written ever(except the stuff written by mr tino and avery).
ciao
Nitin
Depression hai:(
I believe R.K.Naraynan will be helpful
OH my god!!! there’s so much reading to catch up with… Anurag thanks a million for this post… Atleast somone is getting our attention focussed on works like these as its possible that most of us must have never heard of them…
This is so cool. Noir in Bollywood! That will be coup de force!! Hope it works, man.
Just read in the news that Virgin Comics (headed by Gotham/Deppak Chopra and Sekhar Kapur) joined with Studio 18 to produce some horror genre flicks. Noir may not be horror but may be there is some common ground/interest to be explored there? Best Wishes.
Just finished Ken Bruen’s latest CALIBRE.
Reading Jason Starr’s Cold Caller.
Have BLITZ, WHITE TRILOGY & TWISTED CITY to finish by this week. Also ELMORE LEONARD’s new book.
Saw Hollywoodland. One of the worst films ever made. Can’t believe Allen is a director producer of SOPRANOS.
*****
LAST Film Watched - WONDERLAND (7/10) Starring Val Kilmer as the legendary porn star John Holmes. Cool movie.
Loopsong - Get Innocuous! - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM.
Reading - COLD CALLER - JASON STARR
after you finish the white trilogy can you pl send it to me
Sure.
Its from LA Public Library. I’ll make a xerox copy of the book & send it to you.
Whats your address?
have you read Calibre? Did you like it?
*****
LAST Film Watched - WONDERLAND (7/10) Starring Val Kilmer as the legendary porn star John Holmes. Cool movie.
Loopsong - Get Innocuous! - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM.
Reading - COLD CALLER - JASON STARR
yeah have read calibre and the rest of brant series.. check your mail
@ nitin, comment #33:
“I haven
it is Krishna Chandra not some raghave
Kamal man r u sure..Krishna Chandra has written ‘Aankh ki chori
yes it is krishna chandra.. krishna raghav is a director i started my career with..always confuse the names.. sorry
Owing to ur confusion i came to know
krishna chander…urdu ke mashhoor writer ki baat to nahi kar rahe.
[...] at all good bookshops and in the US New york has one BLACK ORCHID BOOKSHOP, London source: BLOODY MURDERERS OF CULT, [...]
Anurag - I just came across this webpage…sorry that my comment is on something written way back in May’07. After you first wrote “nirmal verma wrote ‘Aadmi Ka Zahar’…a great albeit neglected indian noir,” you corrected yourself (which is great) that it was actually written by Shrilal Shukla. However, it was the most casual acknowledgement “atray you are right too.. it is by shrilal shukla..” What is? I think a more clear statement was due there, especially because people often just do word searches and do not read entire blog trails. Your compliments remained with Nirmal Verma’s name.