Short's murder provides the backdrop to the story told in Ellroy's novel and in the feature film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, and Hilary Swank. Hartnett and Eckhart play a couple of cops assigned to investigate Short's murder and who, in the process of deciphering clues, become obsessed with the dead woman.
In this exclusive interview from the premiere of Universal Pictures' The Black Dahlia, Hartnett talks about tackling the role of Bucky Bleichert and bringing the novel to the big screen.
Josh Hartnett Describes Bucky: "He’s obviously complex. He has kind of an overt complexity that really makes him a good character to play in a movie. As an actor you’re always looking for roles that have…that complexity is part of the plotline, you know, so you can’t lose it. He is like his boxing style. Ellroy depicts him as Mr Ice. He’s a very calm, cool, collected kind of character that takes his time kind of getting himself into things."
But Bucky has a Passionate Side: "Well the passion comes – it’s sort of a surrogate passion almost. Yes, he’s passionate, but it comes from he’s spent a lot of his life trying to keep his nose clean, trying to keep himself out of the picture because he doesn’t want to get exposed for who he is. His father was basically an American Nazi and Bleichert knew that if he really crossed anybody, he could end up on the front lines of the war. He could end up being investigated by the FBI, so he’s always kind of kept a low profile. This character Lee Blanchard really lifts him out of that, gives him a little bit of protection – a little bit of confidence. That ultimately kind of is the beginning of his demise."
Murder's the Backdrop: The Black Dahlia's more than just a tale of murder. "It’s the investigation of the murder and everything that surrounds it," says Hartnett. "It’s a couple of love stories and some boxing sequences and all sorts of other stuff. It’s Ellroy’s book. It’s a fictionalized account of the investigation. I think Brian really did justice to Ellroy’s novel."
On Referencing the Book: "I read the book four times while we were getting started, before we started filming. You know, there were 18 different versions of the script. It started out being 210 pages long and worked its way down to about 120 or 130. We shot a hell of a lot more of the script – of the movie – than is actually on the screen because the book is so complex, the story is so complex. But what came out at the end, I think, is a nice distillation of it all."
Our Continuing Fascination with the Black Dahlia Murder: Hartnett offered his take on why we're still fascinated with this particular story. "I think that there’s an inherit fascination with unsolved murder mysteries and also this was one of the first media-driven investigations of a murder in American history. So there was a lot of misinformation at the time and I think that that sort of misinformation kind of got people intrigued about what were the real facts. A lot of people consider themselves amateur sleuths and they get excited about it."
Did Hartnett do his own research? "I wanted to stick with what the character really knew," answered Hartnett. "I didn’t want to go beyond that. I did read The Black Dahlia Avenger which had just come out about the time that I first signed on to the picture, so I was curious. I read that. But there are a million theories and I didn’t get into all of them."
On Working with Brian De Palma: "De Palma’s great. He has kind of a wry wit about him that I think is right in line with Ellroy’s. He’s a visual genius. His style is operatic and it suits the era. He’s the perfect director for this piece."
Hartnett on the Rebirth of Film Noir: "I think it’s just people are starting to focus on it. I don’t know. This business goes in waves. It’s odd. We tried to get this movie made five years ago so it would have been standing alone back then, you know? But now it’s just somehow a few film noirs have made it out around the same time."
Sticking with The Black Dahlia: Hartnett was with the project for five years before it went into production. "That’s when I was first cast. I stuck with it because I thought the character was fantastic. Even though the director fell out, I still felt the material was terrific and waited for another director to come on. And De Palma, like I said before, is the perfect choice."
