With the movie version of James Ellroy’s novel The Black Dahlia just a couple of weeks away from a release stateside, New Line has stepped in to secure the rights to the autobiography of the investigating cop in the murder the book was based on.
The Black Dahlia Avenger follows detective Steve Hodel’s investigation into the murder of 22 year-old Elizabeth Short, whose body was found cut in half and mutilated on January 15th 1947 in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. The crime became infamous, sprouting numerous conspiracy theories about the victim and the unknown perpetrator.
The details of the case reveal that Hodel came to the conclusion that the grisly murder was carried out by his own father, Dr. George Hodel, a fact backed up by Ellroy, who penned the intro to Hodel’s book.
Ralph Pezzullo has been hired to tap out the screenplay, with Hodel on board as an executive producer.
