Based on a True Story: The Black Dahlia

by Dan LeFebvre

After directing such classics as 1967's Carrie, 1983's Scarface, and the 1996 Impossible, Brian De Palma has made his share of hits. Love or hate his movies, no one can deny their impact on Hollywood history. Ten years ago, the legendary director released a noir crime thriller called The Black Dahlia. The film boasts an all-star cast of Hollywood talent, including Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, and Hilary Swank. The film was the poster child for Hollywood's stalled productions. It all started in 1987 after James Ellroy published the novel of the same name that told The Black Dahlia's story. The Black Dahlia was the nickname for a woman by the name of Elizabeth Short. After James' L.A. Confidential was adapted to film successfully, Hollywood started looking at his other novels. Universal Studios hired Josh Friedman to write the screenplay. Originally, the plan was to bring in two characters from L.A. Confidential, Bud White and Ed Exley. Those two characters were played by Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, respectively. But that fell through. Then the lead role, a character named Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert, was written around plans to cast Paul Walker. Then re-written when Stephen Dorff was planned to play the role. Then re-written again for Chris O'Donnell. Similar back-and-forth happened for all of the characters. Some of the other stars who were considered for the film ranged from Michael Douglas and Johnny Depp to Mark Wahlberg and Tiffani Thiessen. Through all of this, screenwriter Josh Friedman spent eight years as the story went through multiple changes. Not much of the true story lived through these re-writes. Many moviegoers wanting to see a true crime story of The Black Dahlia were sorely disappointed. Let's dive into the real story of The Black Dahlia and find out just how accurate the movie was.

15 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2016

About the author

Dan LeFebvre was born in Ohio and has released over 25 online video tutorials on subjects ranging from productivity and development to 3D and VFX. His courses have reached students and professionals around the world through Digital-Tutors, Pluralsight, Skillshare and Udemy. He is currently living in Oklahoma and the host of the popular Based on a True Story podcast.