Brian De Palma Takes On 'The Black Dahlia'

[Thursday, January 8th, 2004]
Director Brian De Palma and actors Mark Wahlberg (The Italian Job) and Josh Hartnett (Hollywood Homicide) are signed on to The Black Dahlia, according to Variety.

The movie is an adaptation of the James Ellroy crime novel framed around the infamous Hollywood murder of wannabe actress Elizabeth Short.

Ellroy's late '40s-set book delved into the gritty themes of L.A. cops and corruption that he later explored in his novel "L.A. Confidential." Wahlberg and Hartnett will play ex-boxers who become L.A. cops and become involved in a massive manhunt for the killer who tortured and mutilated Short, whose brutal demise shocked the city. The killer was never found, and numerous other books have been written claiming to reveal the culprit.

Like Ellroy's novel, the movie will use the famous murder as a backdrop. The core of the film is the relationship between the partners as they are exposed to corruption and deceit. They also become rivals for the affection of a woman who's a dead ringer for the murdered girl.

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