When it comes to intertwining underage sex, loveable drug addicts and coldblooded serial killers, nobody does it better than Bret Easton Ellis. So when we heard a while back that The Informers would finally follow in the footsteps of Less Than Zero and The Rules of Attraction and make its way to the big screen, we couldn't have been more giddy. But now, IGN is reporting that Brandon Routh's turn as Jaime, the vampire-like leading man with a penchant for sucking blood, will be left on the cutting room floor; as anyone who has read the book will attest, his character was both a central figure in and a critical element of the depraved stories Ellis included in this book. The question is this: with no blood, gore, zombie fangs or Superman, will The Informers even be The Informers at all? Or will it just be Less Than Zero: The Sequel, minus the sight of a drugged up and passed out Robert Downey Jr. sprawled on the beaches of Malibu?

Well, even without Robert Downey Jr., we still have a feeling this Ellis flick has a major shot at success, mainly due to the fact that The Informers has one of the most stellar and talented casts we've heard about in some time. The film stars Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Rhys Ifans, and bittersweetly, Brad Renfro in his final role. Somehow this mesh of fucked up, problem-ridden stars seems like the ideal group to depict Ellis' vision of a bleak and vapid Los Angeles. The more and more we think about it, the inclusion of the clean-cut and chiseled Routh probably would have just messed up this merry little circle of misery anyway.

• BRET EAST ELLIS ADAPTATION 'THE INFORMERS' LOSES ENTIRE VAMPIRE SUB-PLOT AND BRANDON ROUTH TOO? [SlashFilm]
• EXCLUSIVE: UNDEAD REMOVED FROM 'INFORMERS' [IGN]

Tags: brandon routh | bret easton ellis | cutting room floor | the informers