On this day in movie history - To Live and Die in L.A. (movie & novel):

To Live and Die in L.A.

directed by William Friedkin,

written by William Friedkin and Gerald Petievich,

based on the novel by Gerald Petievich,

was released in the United States on November 1, 1985.
Music by Wang Chung.

Cast:

William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell, Steve James, Robert Downey Sr., Michael Greene, Jack Hoar, Christopher Allport, Valentin de Vargas, Dwier Brown, Michael Chong, Gerald Petievich, Jane Leeves, Jacqueline Giroux, Dar Robinson, Thomas F. Duffy, Gary Cole.

Recommended reading:

To Live and Die in L.A.

By Gerald Petievich.

First published 1984.

Published by Pinnacle Books.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0523423012

ISBN-13: 978-0523423012

Description:

The book that inspired the major motion picture.

“This is the real stuff. He’s not only a fine writer … his dialogue is pure entertainment.” – Elmore Leonard.

“A wham-bam thriller… vivid… proficient and sleek.” – Los Angeles Times.

To Live and Die in L.A. is a harrowing tale, which has become a major motion picture, of cult status, depicting the dark underside of America's "West Coast" metropolis.

Two U.S. Treasury agents, both partners and antagonists, are drawn into a matrix of violence and corruption, L.A. style, a journey through a sunlit hell. At the end, they become experts on the thin line which separates what it takes to live - and to die - in L.A.

On this day in movie history - A Stranger Among Us (1992):

A Stranger Among Us

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Robert J. Avrech,

was released in the United States on July 17, 1992.
Music by Jerry Bock.

Cast:

Melanie Griffith, Eric Thal, John Pankow, Tracy Pollan, Lee Richardson, Mia Sara, Jamey Sheridan, Jake Weber, Ro'ee Levi, David Rosenbaum, Ruth Vool, David Margulies, Edward Rogers III, Maurice Schell, James Gandolfini, Christopher Collins, Burtt Harris, Ira Rubin, Françoise Granville, Rena Sofer, Shifra Lerer, Eleanor Reissa, Jim Lovelett, Jack Gill, Steve Hamilton, Paul Zim, Drew Eliot, Sasha Pasmur, John Louis Fischer, Jack Beers.

On this day in movie history - The Hunger (1983):

The Hunger

directed by Tony Scott,

written by Ivan Davis and Michael Thomas,

based on the novel by Whitley Strieber,

was released in the United States on April 29, 1983.
Music by Howard Blake, Denny Jaeger and Michel Rubini.
Song in opening scene: Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus.
Additional music includes:
Lakmé by Léo Delibes.
Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major by Franz Schubert.

Cast:

Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young, Beth Ehlers, Dan Hedaya, Rufus Collins, Suzanne Bertish, James Aubrey, Ann Magnuson, John Stephen Hill, Shane Rimmer, Bauhaus, Douglas Lambert, Bessie Love, John Pankow, Willem Dafoe, Sophie Ward, Philip Sayer, Lise Hilboldt, Michael Howe, Edward Wiley, Richard Robles, George Camiller, Oke Wambu, Kent Miller, Fred Yockers, Susan Hunter, James Wassenich, Allan Richards, Hilary Six, Carole-Ann Scott, Howard Blake, Jane Leeves, Derek Lyons, Peter Murphy, James Payne.

On this day in movie history - Talk Radio (1988 movie & books):

Talk Radio

directed by Oliver Stone,

written by Eric Bogosian and Oliver Stone,

based on the play: Talk Radio, by Eric Bogosian and Ted Savinar,

and the book: Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg by Stephen Singular,

was released in New York City, on December 23, 1988.
Music by Stewart Copeland.

Cast:

Eric Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley, John Pankow, Michael Wincott, Zach Grenier, Anna Levine, Robert Trebor, Linda Atkinson, Allan Corduner, Bruno Rubeo, Bill Johnson, Rockets Redglare.

Recommended reading:

Talk Radio (1987) & Talked to Death (1987)

Both books filmed as Talk Radio (1988), directed by Oliver Stone.

Talk Radio

By Eric Bogosian.

Published 1987.

Published by Concord Theatricals.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0573651248

ISBN-13: 978-0573651243

Description:

Characters: 7 male, 2 female, plus offstage voices.

Scenery: Interior.

Newly revised! Barry Champlain Cleveland's controversial radio host is on the air doing what he does best: insulting the pathetic souls who call in the middle of the night to sound off. Tomorrow Barry's show is going into national syndication and his producer is afraid that Barry will say something that will offend the sponsors. This of course makes Barry even more outrageous. Funny and moving off beat outrage.

Talked to Death:

The Life and Murder of Alan Berg

By Stephen Singular.

Published 1987.

Mass Market Paperback.

Published by Berkley.

ISBN 13: 9780425113295

ISBN 10: 0425113299

ASIN: 0425113299

Description:

The book that inspired Oliver Stone’s controversial film Talk Radio.

On June 18, 1984, one of the nation’s most controversial talk-show hosts was gunned down.

The murder triggered an extensive FBI manhunt that ended in a shocking discovery.

THE VICTIM: Alan Berg was the talk-show host all of Denver loved to hate. Aggravating. Irrepressible. Charismatic. Nobody escaped his withering attacks on hypocrisy, bigotry, and injustice.

THE CRIME: Berg was brutally murdered in front of his house. Unarmed. Unsuspecting. He was caught in a hail of machine-gun fire. His death shocked the country... and led the FBI on a nationwide manhunt for the killers.

THE SUSPECTS: The trail led investigators to the Order, a radical cult of neo-Nazi white supremacists. Armed and violent - their doctrine declared war on the United States and preached a philosophy of racial hatred and fear.