The more I dig in this Kanye West-Bret Easton Ellis-American Psycho story the more I am surprised. So West screened a short film starring Scott Disick and inspired by the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ famous novel, at his ‘Yeezus’ listening party last Saturday. Kourtney Kardashian’s baby daddy Disick took Christian Bale’s shoes (and axe) and I wasn’t convinced, you know, the Kardashian connection makes a bad rap!
But I was surprised to read that Disick was considered by Lionsgate for a remake of the movie as early as 2009! Disick was super-enthusiastic about the project, and Bret Easton Ellis really wanted him for the role. So this was hardly an original idea but rather Kanye West recycling Disick’s old dream. At the top of this, this is what Ellis tweeted last Monday:
‘Scott Disick’s Dream Comes True in the promo that I originally wrote for Kanye’s new record but not a lot was used: http://www.kanyewest.com’
Not only the famous author was aware of it, but he wrote the whole promo! But now that I have watched the mini film I really wonder why everyone wanted that guy, he may vaguely looks like Bale but this is obviously horrible acting! Why did Ellis even care?
The connection Kanye West-Bret Easton Ellis-American Psycho is now clear, but I still can’t explain why do I like the first one (Ellis’ book) and can’t listen to the other (West’s album) when the center of both works seems to be the same offensive narcissistic monster?
I haven’t listened to Kanye’s album yet, but read several reviews and from what I have read, there is no shortage of offensive lines channeling Ellis’ character’ obnoxiousness: Doesn’t Kanye use the famous and sacred Martin Luther King’s line ‘Free at last’ when talking about woman’s breast? Doesn’t he say he is ‘a rap-lic priest, getting head by the nuns’? Wow it’s blasphemous enough to interest me… Doesn’t Kanye West cheapen Nina Simone’s ‘Strange Fruit’ without even thinking twice about slavery and horrific racial violence, trampling any regard for its meaning and using it in a song about sex and drug? Wow again, it’s offensive to the power one hundred, and it apparently goes on and on throughout the album, Kanye uses civil human rights and religion to serve his own provocative porn fantasies. What is not to like for an American Psycho lover?
Being blasphemous, misogynist and offensive in general is powerful but also risky. He is not afraid to alienate everyone, and despite of what he has said, he probably regrets to have apologized in the past. This is very bold and audacious as the novel ‘American Psycho’ was in 1991.
Thus he must be right to use Ellis’ work, especially when this one has even given his approval? I don’t know, I still can’t explain why I like Ellis while West is getting on my nerves… probably partly because he has no humor about the whole thing. When Liongates was about to do a remake of American Psycho, Ellis jokingly said at the time:
‘I have warned Lionsgate that I will not approve a new version of ‘American Psycho’ unless it stars SCOTT DISICK or MILES FISHER, […] I am waiting for Scott Disick to ask: ‘Who in the hell is Bret Easton Ellis?’
Get it? American Psycho is in fact hilarious, there is so much irony in Ellis’ character which screams ‘this guy is raising hell but let’s have fun with it’… However Kanye West takes himself too seriously and there is no humor in his work. He is a cheap and humorless Ellis, and it doesn’t really work for me.