Five adaptations of his own books, three original works, one adaptation of someone else's novel, and the show that became a publishing channel.
Ellis has an unusual relationship with the screen: he disowned the first adaptation of his work, praised the third, co-wrote the fourth, wrote the fifth from scratch, then directed one himself. In 2026 he ran a series drawn from his own novel. Everything is listed here as a document, not as an endorsement.
Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr.
The first adaptation, and the one Ellis has always disowned: the film keeps the title and the city, and turns the drift of the novel into a cautionary tale.
Adapted from the novel · screenplay by Harley Peyton.
Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto
The adaptation that changed the book's reputation. Harron reads the novel as comedy, and Bale plays Bateman as a man performing a person.
Adapted from the novel · screenplay by Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner.
James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel
Avary translates the novel's broken narration into film grammar: reversed scenes, split screen, sentences that start too late.
Adapted from the novel · screenplay by Roger Avary.
Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Amber Heard, Brad Renfro
Ellis's first credited screenplay, drawn from his own collection. Several storylines were cut before release, including the vampire.
Screenplay co-written by Bret Easton Ellis.
Lindsay Lohan, James Deen
Not an adaptation: an original script, made outside the studios and partly crowd-funded. Schrader shoots contemporary Los Angeles as a set of abandoned cinemas.
Original screenplay by Bret Easton Ellis.
Bella Heathcote, Lucas Till, Kevin Zegers, Penelope Mitchell, Tom Arnold
The only time Ellis has adapted someone else's book: a high-school curse picture drawn from Michael Hornburg's Downers Grove.
Screenplay by Derick Martini and Bret Easton Ellis, from the novel by Michael Hornburg.
Nash Grier, Madison Iseman, Loudermilk Fuller
Ellis's directing debut, released 4 December 2016 on the streaming service Fullscreen: young people who escaped a cult, and the disappearances that start again.
Written and directed by Bret Easton Ellis · Fullscreen, eight episodes.
Ronen Rubinstein, Crispin Glover, Mia Serafino
A slasher built on the Smiley Face murder theory, released straight to video on demand in December 2020.
Original screenplay by Bret Easton Ellis, who also produced.
Igby Rigney, Kaia Gerber, Homer Gere, Evan Rachel Wood, Wes Bentley
Premiered 5 August 2026 on FX and Hulu. Developed at HBO from 2023 with Luca Guadagnino attached, shelved in January 2025, revived by Ryan Murphy at FX a month later.
Created by Bret Easton Ellis · showrunner with Ryan Murphy · FX, eight episodes.
A monologue and an interview each week. On PodcastOne from 2013 to 2017, then on Patreon since April 2018. It became a publishing channel in its own right: The Shards was read there first, chapter by chapter, from 6 September 2020.
Written and hosted by Bret Easton Ellis.Posters shown here are typographic placeholders. Credits are limited to what is corroborated by at least two sources.