There again I have not read the book, but I have seen the author's website ,and the interview he has given about writing the book. Both of which I have found interesting.
If one of Ken Hanke's favorite films is "Lisztomania," then one of Lanza's favorite films is "Valentino." Which would then, like Hanke, put him opposite most of Ken's other fans. And one of Lanza's favorite scenes im the film, is the jailhouse "rape" of Valentino. As for myself, if any scene in any of Ken's films can be described as superfluous, I would describe it as being that scene.
Lanza also points out that one of the defining momsnets in Russell's life, which influenced his films, was Ken, at 12, sitting in the cinema, watching "Pinocchio" and being sexually molested by the man sitting next to him.
There again, I think Lanza makes both too much and too little of this incident. Too much, and Lanza may make this point, as I think there are more defining moments in Russell's life, which influenced his films, such as Ken's conversion to Catholicism.
Too little, because while Lanza relates the story of Ken's sexual molestation, he does not, as Ken did, point out, that the man who molested him, was a scout leader. The knobby knees and the shorts, you know. Which has always made me wonder, whether Ken's making the character of Kevin, played by Chris Pitt, in "Lair of the White Worm," a scout or boy scout, was a way to get back at the man who sexually molested him so long ago.