Bret Easton Ellis can’t talk about it, but he can confirm he’s writing a screenplay for Kanye West.
The famed novelist and “The Canyons” screenwriter told Vice that the rapper approached him with the project last summer. Although Ellis initially “didn’t want to” be involved, he says West’s last album, “Yeezus,” changed his mind.
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“He came and asked me to write the film. I didn’t want to at first. Then I listened to ‘Yeezus.’ It was early summer last year and I was driving in my car. He’d given me an advance copy, and I thought, regardless of whether I’m right for this project, I want to work with whoever made this,” Ellis said in the recent interview. “So fuck it, I said yes. And that’s how it happened. That was seven or eight months ago. We’ll see what happens.”
Whatever the screenplay is about, it’s not Ellis’ first collaboration with West.
Last year, the author wrote a “Yeezus” promo, which parodied his 1991 novel, “American Psycho.” The video starred “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” cast member Scott Disick as Patrick Bateman — a role originally played by Christian Bale in the 2000 feature film.
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“I really like him as a person,” Ellis said of his collaborator. “I know he comes off in this performance-art way in the press, but if you’re just alone with him in a room talking for three hours, it’s kind of mind-blowing.”
It’s not clear when — if at all — either parties’ fans will get a glimpse of the finished product. The movie’s release date is as mysterious as it’s subject matter.
“It’s in Kanye Land,” Ellis said. “And that’s subject to a whole other time frame.”