The Basketball Diaries (book)

Last updated
The Basketball Diaries
BasketballDiaries.jpg
First edition
Author Jim Carroll
LanguageEnglish
PublisherTombouctou Press (Bolinas, California, U.S.)
Publication date
1978
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages224 (Penguin, 1987)
ISBN 0-14-010018-0
813/.54 19
LC Class PS3553.A7644 Z464 1988

The Basketball Diaries is a 1978 memoir written by author and musician Jim Carroll.

Contents

Description

It is an edited collection of the diaries he kept between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Set in New York City, they detail his daily life, sexual experiences, high school basketball career, poetry compositions, the counterculture movement, and especially his addiction to heroin, which began when he was 13. [1]

Adaptation

The book was made into a film of the same name in 1995 starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jim Carroll and Mark Wahlberg as Mickey. [2] Roger Ebert noted in his 1995 review of the adaptation that Carroll's original memoir "struck a personal note, of a kid who despite his suffering tried to turn his experience into poetry". [2]

Sequels

Carroll followed up this memoir with a sequel of sorts called The Downtown Diaries which follows his relocation to California and his efforts to end his heroin addiction.

Jim Carroll in 2000. Jim Carroll - Seattle WA - September 2000 - Photo by Eric Thompson.jpg
Jim Carroll in 2000.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Ebert</span> American film critic and author (1942–2013)

Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He was the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Errol Morris and Spike Lee, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America." Per The New York Times, "The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture. Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Siskel</span> American film critic (1946–1999)

Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune who co-hosted movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Carroll</span> American author and musician (1949–2009)

James Dennis Carroll was an American author, poet, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which inspired a 1995 film of the same title that starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, and his 1980 song "People Who Died" with the Jim Carroll Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Doughty</span> American singer-songwriter and author

Michael Ross Doughty is an American singer-songwriter and author. He founded the band Soul Coughing in 1992, and as of The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns (2016), has released 18 studio albums, live albums, and EPs, all since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliette Lewis</span> American actress and singer (born 1973)

Juliette Lake Lewis is an American actress, singer, and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes, and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during the early 1990s, appearing in various independent and arthouse films. She has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>More</i> (1969 film) 1969 film by Barbet Schroeder

More is a 1969 English-language romantic drama film written and directed by Barbet Schroeder in his directorial debut. Starring Mimsy Farmer and Klaus Grünberg, the film deals with heroin addiction as drug fascination on the island of Ibiza, Spain. Made in the political fallout of the 1960s counterculture, it features drug use, "free love", and other references to contemporary European youth culture.

<i>Ray</i> (film) 2004 biographical film about Ray Charles

Ray is a 2004 American biographical musical drama film focusing on 30 years in the life of soul musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was co-produced and directed by Taylor Hackford; it was written by James L. White from a story by Hackford and White. It stars Jamie Foxx in the title role, along with Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Terrence Howard, Larenz Tate, Richard Schiff, and Regina King in supporting roles. Along with Hackford, the film was also produced by Stuart Benjamin, Howard Baldwin, and Karen Baldwin.

<i>Junkie</i> (novel) 1953 novel by William S. Burroughs

Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict, or Junky, is a 1953 novel by American Beat generation writer William S. Burroughs. The book follows "William Lee" as he struggles with his addiction to morphine and heroin. Burroughs based the story on his own experiences with drugs, and he published it under the pen name William Lee. Some critics view the character William Lee as simply Burroughs himself; in this reading, Junkie is a largely-autobiographical memoir. Others view Lee as a fictional character based on the author.

<i>Gridlockd</i> 1997 film by Vondie Curtis-Hall

Gridlock'd is a 1997 American black comedy crime film written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, and starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Lucy Liu and Thandiwe Newton. It was the directorial debut of Curtis-Hall, who also has a small role in the film. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it finished with a little over $5.5 million. Shakur died four months before the film's release.

<i>The Basketball Diaries</i> (film) 1995 film by Scott Kalvert

The Basketball Diaries is a 1995 American biographical crime drama film. The movie deals with drug addiction and its unfavorable outcome in lives of common people. Directed by Scott Kalvert in his feature directorial debut and based on an autobiographical novel by the same name written by Jim Carroll. It tells the story of Carroll's teenage years as a promising high school basketball player and writer who develops an addiction to heroin. Distributed by New Line Cinema, The Basketball Diaries stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, along with Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson, Patrick McGaw, James Madio, Michael Imperioli, and Mark Wahlberg in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Padgett</span> American poet

Ron Padgett is an American poet, essayist, fiction writer, translator, and a member of the New York School. Great Balls of Fire, Padgett's first full-length collection of poems, was published in 1969. He won a 2009 Shelley Memorial Award. In 2018, he won the Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America.

<i>Catholic Boy</i> 1980 studio album by The Jim Carroll Band

Catholic Boy (1980) is the debut album by The Jim Carroll Band, led by Jim Carroll, who is notable for publishing the 1978 memoir The Basketball Diaries, and poetry collections including Living at the Movies. They were able to secure a recording contract with Atlantic Records with the support of the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. The album included arguably the group's most famous song, "People Who Died", which is a catalogue of young people Carroll knew growing up who met tragic ends. The album cover shows Carroll standing with his parents, photographed by Annie Leibovitz, outside their apartment block on the corner of Cumming Street and Seaman Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.

<i>The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack</i> 2007 studio album by Sixx:A.M.

The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, often referred to as simply The Heroin Diaries, is the debut studio album by Sixx:A.M., a side project of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. The band also features lead vocalist James Michael and guitarist DJ Ashba. The concept album serves as the companion soundtrack to Sixx's autobiography, The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, and is about Sixx's severe heroin addiction in 1987. The first single, "Life Is Beautiful," debuted at number 26 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"Sam Stone" is a song written by John Prine about a drug-addicted veteran with a Purple Heart and his death by overdose. It appeared on Prine's eponymous 1971 debut album. The song was originally titled "Great Society Conflict Veteran's Blues".

Daniel Richter is an American mime and actor who played the leader of a tribe of ape-men in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

<i>Requiem for a Dream</i> 2000 American psychological drama film by Darren Aronofsky

Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald, and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr., with whom Aronofsky wrote the screenplay. The film depicts four characters affected by drug addiction and how it alters their physical and emotional states. Their addictions cause them to become imprisoned in a world of delusion and desperation. As the film progresses, each character deteriorates, and their delusions are shattered by the harsh reality of their situations, resulting in catastrophe.

<i>Sweet Nothing</i> (film) 1995 American film

Sweet Nothing is a 1995 American drama film directed by Gary Winick and starring Michael Imperioli, Mira Sorvino and Paul Calderón. The film was inspired from real-life diary pages found by the filmmakers in a Bronx apartment.

The Downtown Diaries is a book written by Jim Carroll depicting his life from the years 1971 to 1973. While the book was called The Downtown Diaries, it was not a literal diary, such as The Basketball Diaries. Carroll had stated that most of Forced Entries was written by memory and may or may not have been totally accurate...

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo DiCaprio filmography</span>

Leonardo DiCaprio is an American actor who began his career performing as a child on television. He appeared on the shows The New Lassie (1989) and Santa Barbara (1990) and also had long-running roles in the comedy-drama Parenthood (1990) and the sitcom Growing Pains (1991). DiCaprio played Tobias "Toby" Wolff opposite Robert De Niro in the biographical coming-of-age drama This Boy's Life in 1993. In the same year, he had a supporting role as a developmentally disabled boy Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. In 1995, DiCaprio played the leading roles of an American author Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries and the French poet Arthur Rimbaud in Total Eclipse. The following year he played Romeo Montague in the Baz Luhrmann-directed film Romeo + Juliet (1996). DiCaprio starred with Kate Winslet in the James Cameron-directed film Titanic (1997). The film became the highest grossing at the worldwide box-office, and made him famous globally. For his performance as Jack Dawson, he received the MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance and his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

<i>Low Down</i> 2014 film directed by Jeff Preiss

Low Down is a 2014 American biopic directed by Jeff Preiss and based on the memoirs written by Amy-Jo Albany about her father, famed jazz pianist Joe Albany, and his struggles with drug addiction.

References

  1. "The Basketball Diaries". Vol. Fall 1970, no. 50. 1970. ISSN   0031-2037 . Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  2. 1 2 Ebert, Roger. "The Basketball Diaries movie review (1995) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2023-08-13.