3. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
It's Based On The Book... "Bodies Are Where You Find Them" By Brett Halliday Shane Black's hilarious homage/deconstruction of film noir and detective novels,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is obviously inspired by a whole genre of books, but it might come as a surprise to learn that it takes a large bulk of its story from one particularly obscure novel - so much so, that the movie is even billed as being "based" on it. "Bodies Are Where You Find Them" by Brett Halliday is that novel - a detective story that has clearly influenced the
Lethal Weapon writer's own dark sense of humour and obsession with hard-boiled tropes. Barely anyone knows that
Kiss Kiss is an adaptation, though, presumably because the main character of the novel - Michael Shayne - has been cut out. That's right: the book is part of the famous Michael Shayne series, of which there are over 50 installments to date. This particular story, however, is out of print.
How Close Is It To The Book? Not that close at all, really. There are similarities now and again, though the whole "same body turning up over and over" thing is the most noticeable quality that these properties share. Other than that, I think Black could've easily gotten away with not bestowing this novel with a "based upon" credit. Nice that he did, though.