Ellroy's novel also made Hanson think about Los Angeles and provided him with an opportunity to "set a movie at a point in time when the whole dream of Los Angeles, from that apparently golden era of the '20s and '30s, was being bulldozed."
Ellroyjev roman je Hansona također nagnao i na razmišljanje o Los Angelesu i pružio mu priliku da "stavi film u vrijeme kad je cijeli taj san o L.A.-u, temeljen na onom zlatnom dobu iz 20-tih i 30-tih godina prošlog stoljeća, bio teroriziran."