L.A. Confidential is a 1997 neo-noir crime film based on James Ellroy’s 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet series. Like the book, the film tells the story of a group of LAPD officers in the year 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity. The title refers to the 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayed in the film as Hush-Hush. The film adaptation was produced and directed by Curtis Hanson and co-written by Hanson and Brian Helgeland. At the time, Anglo-Australian actor Guy Pearce and New Zealand actor Russell Crowe were relatively unknown in North America, and one of the film’s backers, Peter Dennett, was worried about the lack of established stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson’s casting decisions and this gave the director the confidence to approach Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito. Critically acclaimed, the film holds a 99% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an aggregated rating of 90 on Metacritic. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two: Basinger for Best Supporting Actress and Hanson and Helgeland for Best Adapted Screenplay; it lost every other category to Titanic.