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The importance of Los Angeles to author Bret Easton Ellis continues to be a complex and personal issue. However, with the publication of his new novel 'Imperial Bedrooms' set for this week, the writer returns to this city of lost angels on June 16 for a multi-media event that is pure Hollywood cool.
The impact of Bret Easton Ellis' "Less Than Zero" remains Ground Zero for 1980s L.A. youth. While its disturbing images of innocence lost continue to reverberate way beyond the city of Angels, 25 years later, the author has returned to its characters with a powerful continuation of their narrative in "Imperial Bedrooms."
To honor the publication, Ellis is being given the full Hollywood event treatment with a multi-media presentation at Largo at the Coronet on Wednesday, June 16.
Beginning at 8pm, Ellis will be reading from "Imperial Bedrooms" with special guests James Van Der Beek (who starred in the film adaptation of Ellis' "The Rules of Attraction"), Joel McHale, Jerry Stahl and Joseph Mattson. An L.A. only event on Ellis' book tour, following the reading will be a screening of a new short film inspired by all of Ellis' novels starring Kip Pardue as the character Victor Ward, who first appeared in "Rules" (1987) but took center stage in the 1998 novel, "Glamorama."
Ellis will also be signing books at the conclusion of the event.
In his Personalities interview for Examiner.com conducted while preparing for his "Imperial Bedrooms" book tour, the subject of Los Angeles proved a curious one for Ellis. He's covered the globe through fiction, but L.A. remains the most enduring city due to the impact of his heralded debut in 1985 with "Less Than Zero." If anything, immortalizing L.A. was not part of a shrewdly constructed strategy. He was merely following the time-honored advice to "write what you know."
"I did not make any kind of plans about writing about Los Angeles," Ellis said. "I think it comes off that way in "Less Than Zero," when in fact I really wasn’t thinking about it. I lived in Los Angeles as a kid and so that was my point of reference. But I didn’t really have any kind of grand sweeping statement I wanted to make about LA."
With "Imperial Bedrooms" set for its highly publicized publication tomorrow, Ellis still finds it difficult to answer queries about L.A. and how it figures in his writing.
"For example, 'How is LA different now than it was back then?' he offered. "That’s a big question that I’ve been asked a lot. And my tongue hangs out of my mouth and I go 'Well, ll I don’t know. It’s more traffic?' It’s a different place because I’m at a different point in my life. But I don’t know. Those are like really fancy questions that I’m not able to answer."
Admirers of Ellis' work can be sure to count on discovering the answers to other questions and more about "Imperial Bedrooms" at the Largo later this week.
Tickets for the Largo event are $40 with book included / $25 without book. Click on this link for further details.
After the event, guests are invited to Comme Ca (a popular L.A. restaurant also featured in "Imperial Bedrooms"), which is featuring a special Bret Easton Ellis inspired menu that offers three courses for $50. Comme Ca is located at 8479 Melrose Ave. For reservations and other information, please call (323) 782-1104.)
(Please note that Comme Ca's "Imperial Bedrooms" menu honoring Bret Easton Ellis is open to the public. Reservations are strongly recommended.)
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Look for more of Jorge Carreon's Personalities Interview with Bret Easton Ellis tomorrow, Tuesday, June 15. Only in Examiner.
To read an excerpt from "Imperial Bedrooms," go to the Esquire Magazine website now.
To discover Clay Easton's L.A., check out this guide from Los Angeles Magazine.
Keep reading the Personalities page for celebrity interviews, movie reviews and entertainment industry news.
Want to know what goes on inside "Imperial Bedrooms?" Prepare by watching the trailer for Roger Avary's 2002 film version of Bret Easton Ellis' "The Rules of Attraction," starring James Van Der Beek, Jessica Biel and Kip Pardue. Van Der Beek and Pardue will also be participating in a special L.A. only event for Ellis' new novel "Imperial Bedrooms" at Largo at the Coronet on June 16.
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