‘The Rules Of Attraction’ is Swearing and Shagging its way to TV

The Rules Of Attraction, the cult Bret Easton Ellis novel about the more debased and debauched side of ’80s college life, is being adapted into a TV series by US network Bravo. The show will be produced and written by Pulp Fiction scribe Roger Avary, who directed the 2002 movie adaptation of the book.

The movie version of Rules still holds up pretty well to this day. James Van Der Beek, at the time a huge star on Dawson’s Creek, played against his squeaky-clean image as the lascivious Sean Bateman. Future Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder played the shy, bisexual Paul Denton, and Clifton Collins Jnr practically stole the show as manic drug dealer Rupert.
Bravo have previously tried and failed to adapt such beloved cult properties as Heathers and Death Becomes Her into TV series, so in some ways, Rules feels like a bit of a last ditch attempt. However, the TV version adds a high-concept twist to the tale – amid all the rich college kids cavorting, snorting and shagging, the show will be framed around a central murder mystery.
If done right, this could be a lot of fun. The unreliable narrator structure of the novel, which leaves the reader unsure as to who’s really sleeping, drugging and partying with whom, could be just the perfect thing for a murder mystery. Likewise, Bravo is a cable network, which means they can leave a lot more of the dirty stuff in.

In the mean time, here’s the dinner party scene from the 2002 film, which is still the greatest.

via The AV Club
Image via YouTube

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