138 minutes
Selected cast credits · Film reference
Hansen wanted unfamiliar leads; McConaughey was reportedly considered, but is doubted as Exley. Matt Damon’s Departed role is compared with the part.
Hansen reportedly screened The Bad and the Beautiful, In a Lonely Place, The Lineup, Private Hell 36 and Kiss Me Deadly for the cast.
David Caruso is suggested for Sid, then preferred as Jack Vincennes; the latter fits the more worn-down book character.
Kim Basinger’s character is endorsed as a strong obvious stay-away candidate.
Ebert gave four stars and called the film one of the year’s best; the hosts find the praise predictable.
A $35 million budget and gross transcribed as 1.26.2 million are reported; the gross needs a recording check.
Bud meeting Lynn, Exley arriving at the Night Owl and removing his glasses for the photo, and Bud visiting Lynn’s house are nominated.
Jack’s dying Rollo Tomasi line is offered as a candidate; another participant reserves a different Spacey line for a flex pick.
College boy as an insult is fondly recalled and compared with more recent political taunts.
The interrogation scene is the shared final choice.
David Strathairn’s brief Patchett performance is flagged as a Dion candidate.
Young Crowe and Spacey on the poster are offered.
Scared characters with puddles of urine are enjoyed, with two examples in this film.
Tabloid culture, outsiders’ difficult LA adjustment and interest in morally complex genre stories remain pertinent.
The layered interrogation reflection with Jack, Dudley, Exley and the waiting suspect is selected.
Hollywood Jack, the Big V, Pierce Morehouse Patchett’s initials, Buzz Meeks and Dick Stensland are nominated.
Lynn’s Hancock Park house is favored; a personal open-house visit and later reported $7.5 million sale are discussed.
Roman Holiday plays on the couple’s date; The Bad and the Beautiful appears on the Pantages marquee beside the Frolic Room, linking to an acknowledged influence.
The score is said to draw from Leonard Bernstein’s On the Waterfront music.
Jack asking why Exley wants to dig deeper into the Night Owl killings is the flex selection.
Basinger is written down reluctantly without a firm argument.
Buscemi and Kevin Pollak are suggested for Sid.
Spacey’s reputation and reported conduct toward Pearce are raised; Ellroy’s shifting opinion of the adaptation is noted.
The mother identifying her daughter, named as Gwenda Deacon, is selected; the exaggerated performance becomes worse over repeated scenes.
Patchett’s business background prompts the objection that gambling should be part of his criminal operation.
One participant cannot find a hot take.
McConaughey reportedly regretted declining, Crowe was persuaded after refusing, and an Isabella Scorupco offer is explicitly doubted alongside reports Basinger was first choice.
David Strathairn, Ron Rifkin and Matt McCoy are candidates, with Rifkin’s first name corrected from Rob to Ron.
John Mahone is a favored choice as the police chief, with other authority roles cited; Paul Guilfoyle is also mentioned.
The brief answer is transcribed as Adam and remains unresolved; Dick Stensland and Simon Baker are other candidates.
A Dudley suggestion transcribed as Apostle/postuate is praised for Irish authenticity but may signal villainy too early; the identity needs confirmation.
The flex discussion enjoys liquor stores with simple choices, Stensland pouring both liquors into punch, and Stompanato drinking Schlitz at Formosa.
Flex pick · Andy Greenwald
Camera angles reportedly excluded later tall buildings, and Pearce wore a wig for the fight shot months after principal photography.
Crowe is rejected; Spacey’s run is accepted, with this film versus American Beauty debated.
Cruise as Exley.
Scorsese, with interest in Spielberg’s version.
Lynn, Hollywood Jack and Patchett are best-hang choices, with club access and golf among the attractions.
Basinger’s resemblance and acting style are questioned against the more playful Veronica Lake.
A 1974-set sequel with Chadwick Boseman, Crowe and Pearce reportedly failed to happen.
A Zane Lowe impression interviews Dudley about his move into crime, followed by a Matt Reynolds variation.
Cinematographer Dante Spinotti is chosen; the film lost all seven other nominations to Titanic.
Exley’s attraction to Lynn is interpreted as possibly involving Bud; removing Inez’s book relationship changes his characterization.
A flex choice argues Bud should die heroically; seeing him in the car and the final Arizona line deflate the ending.
The Night Owl mug is favored; Rollo Tomasi is questioned as a tangible object, Victory Motel matches are unconfirmed, and Jack’s tortoiseshell sunglasses are offered.
Fleur-de-Lis business cards are another subtle recognition item.
The line contrasting men who get the world with an ex-hooker and an Arizona trip is offered as the lesson.
Russell Crowe is the strongest declared choice; the writers are also selected. Opening individual names sound like Hansen and Helgeland but remain ASR-uncertain.
The producer liked the lead three actors and story but did not love the film; DeVito, Basinger and the dialogue felt cheesy.
