Complex sentence: Brett Ewins, in the foreword to the book, explains that "Skreemer" has two distinct inspirations: gangster films, specifically "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Long Good Friday", and James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake".
Split into simpler sentences: Brett Ewins, in the foreword to the book, explains that "Skreemer" has two distinct inspirations. The first is gangster films, specifically "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Long Good Friday", and the second is James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake".