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Bret Easton Ellis Wants Porn Actor James Deen for 'The Canyons'?

by Ben Pearson
March 7, 2012
Source: THR

Writer Bret Easton Ellis has earned a reputation as one of the literary world's most controversial satirists. His books have been turned into films before - most notably Mary Harron's excellent adaptation of American Psycho back in 2000 - and the novelist himself made the difficult transition to the movies with his debut screenplay, The Informers, back in 2009. He's finally working on another film, The Canyons, and is keeping the controversy alive by expressing a desire to cast 25-year-old porn star James Deen as the lead in the movie. THR points us to a tweet from the writer that says filming begins this summer. Read on!

Staying true to Ellis' strengths as a writer, The Canyons is about youth, glamour, sex and Los Angeles circa 2012. Paul Schrader, best known as the writer of Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, will be directing since Bait, the shark project the two were previously collaborating on, has turned to chum (see what I did there?). The Playlist bills The Canyons as a psycho-sexual thriller with crime and redemptive elements, so it sounds a bit more involved than the surface level controversy brewing in the press. Ellis is starting the casting process and warns potential actors to be ready to take their clothes off, saying he wants a male lead who "has to act and be full frontal naked banging girls and guys realistically." He wrote the movie with Deen in mind for the part, but the actor hasn't signed on yet and filmmakers are holding open auditions in LA.

Filed under Development, Movie News

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