it as accurate a reflection of L.A. at that moment in time as I can." He also commented on George Clooney's willingness to play an unlikable character for the first time. "He's made that very clear to me: 'I have no other desire than to play what's in that script.' And what's in that script is a pretty despicable guy at times, and pretty nefarious and nasty and selfish." Carnahan also touched upon how he trimmed down the novel's numerous subplots because "I always thought that as much as I love White Jazz, it became almost unfilmable at some point, because there are so many strands, so much, and it became so psychotic ... that's what made it such a great book, but those things would not carry over into the filmic realm, I thought, with ease." Clooney later dropped out of starring in the film due to scheduling conflicts with other projects. Chris Pine, who was also up for a role in the film, decided to take on the role of James T. Kirk in J. J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek'' film. Having finished the last draft of the screenplay, Carnahan initially stated that he would still make the film and had "a couple of options in terms of other actors that I am completely over the moon for." References External links Neo-noir novels 1992 American novels Novels by James Ellroy American crime novels Novels set in California Alfred A. Knopf books Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Fiction set in the 1950s Hollywood novels Books with cover art by Chip Kidd