It’s widely agreed that 1997’s L.A. Confidential is a neo-noir classic. Set in Hollywood in the 50s, the film tackles complex themes of police corruption, justice and the world of celebrity, received praise for its slick visual style and introduced viewers to then-unknown actors Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.
Also starring Kevin Spacey and Kim Basinger – who took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Lynn Bracken – it’s no surprise that a film with such a legacy is still talked about nearly 30 years on. In addition to Basinger’s award, the film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (it’s based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy) and has been preserved by the National Film Registry in the US for its cultural significance.
However, L.A. Confidential has returned to headlines recently for very different reasons. Instead of what happened in front of the cameras, fresh allegations from behind the scenes are getting people talking about the film again. Keep reading to learn more about what happened and what allegedly happened during the shooting of the legendary film.
Alongside Basinger and Danny Devito, Kevin Spacey was one of the biggest names recruited for the film, with his performance as Hollywood Jack winning praise. However, since 2017, multiple allegations of sexual misconduct off-screen (which he has denied) have shrouded Spacey’s career achievements, despite investigations in both the UK and the US being dropped.
So how do these allegations involve L.A. Confidential? Spacey’s co-star Guy Pearce appeared on a podcast hosted by The Hollywood Reporter recently to talk about his Academy Award-nominated performance in last year’s The Brutalist. The topic of conversation moved on to his experience working with Spacey on the film, where Pearce alleged that the star had “targeted” him. “He’s extremely charming and brilliant at what he does, really impressive, he holds a room remarkably well. But I was young and susceptible, and he targeted me, no question,” Pearce, who previously called Spacey “a handsy guy” in 2018, said.
“Even though I probably was a victim to a degree, I was certainly not a victim by any means to the extent that other people have been to sexual predators.” Pearce went on to say that the only time he felt safe on set shooting the film was when Simon Baker was around – because then Spacey shifted his attention onto him.
He continued that he only processed what happened when the 2017 allegations against Spacey came to light. “I was in London working on something, and I heard (about the allegations) and I broke down and sobbed, and couldn’t stop,” the 57-year-old said. “I think it really dawned on me the impact that had occurred and how I sorted of brushed it off and how I had either shelved it or blocked it out or whatever.”.
65-year-old Spacey was quick to respond, uploading a reaction to Pearce’s claims to social media where he told him to “grow up”. “We worked together a long time ago. If I did something then that upset you, you could have reached out to me,” he says in the video. “We could have had that conversation, but instead, you’ve decided to speak to the press, who are now, of course, coming after me, because they would like to know what my response is to the things that you said.”.
“You really want to know what my response is? Grow up,” the former House of Cards actor said, before captioning his post: “You are not a victim.” At the time of writing, Pearce hasn’t responded to Spacey’s video. Aside from Pearce’s allegations of Spacey’s behaviour, there is other lore around the film that has circulated among cinephiles for years. For example, the film’s late director Curtis Hanson brought Russell Crowe and Pearce – both Australian – to Los Angeles for two months to acquaint them with the city. He made them work with dialect coaches, watch old police training films, and even introduced them to modern police officers – although he found that the latter wasn’t of use as the police force had changed so much since the 50s, with Pearce especially disliking one officer he believed to be racist.
In the book, Crowe’s character Bud White is described as being one of the biggest officers in the LAPD. Although Crowe is around 5.9 ft himself, to mirror his character’s stature Crowe moved into a tiny flat before filming (where he could hardly stand straight and had to duck in the hallways), which he said made him feel like a giant when he came to set to start shooting the film.
In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2023, Crowe alleged that Warner Bros., the studio that created L.A. Confidential, stopped paying for his hotel and car rental during its filming to try and get him to drop out of his role. “The studio didn’t want me to be in that role. They wanted, I think, Sean Penn and Robert De Niro in the film, or something.”.
“There was probably a four or five-day period there where I was leaving the hotel of a morning by going down the back stairs because I knew the manager of the hotel was waiting for me in the foyer to ask when the bill was going to be paid,” the 60-year-old said.
