Author Elmore Leonard, Part I
One of the most prolific writers of our time, Elmore Leonard has seen more than 20 of his works adapted into movie or TV adaptations. Among his works made into films are the classic western "3:10 to Yuma," and it's 2007 remake starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, 1997's "Out of Sight," directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, and Quentin Tarantino's under-appreciated "Jackie Brown," starring Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson.
The latest adaptation of his work is FX's "Justified," a series starring Timothy Olyphant. Leonard will be appearing at Butler University's Clowes Hall in Indianapolis Dec. 6 at 7:30. The event is free and open to the public.
In Part 1 of this interview Leonard discusses the movie versions of his books, his thoughts on "Justified," and cheap Hollywood studio men.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I’m a fan…I discovered you around the time “Jackie Brown” and “Out of Sight” came out in theaters.
Thank you!
You have an advertising background. Do you think that helped or hurt your fiction writing, or did it have any effect?
No. Not at all. I was writing on the Chevrolet account, and we had to make the copy sound kind of cute. It wasn’t until a couple of years before I left that we could call a Chevrolet a Chevy. They had to figure out how to spell “Chevy.” We had to call kids “young’uns,” you know, “put the ‘young’uns in the station wagon.” It’s not how I would write at all, so I was glad to get out.
I was listening to a radio show the other day about how in every profession there’s a dumb question everyone gets asked all the time. What’s your question?
Oh…[laughs] I don’t know what it would be. Well, I’ll tell you, from the very beginning, in the 50s when I was writing, I would get up at 5 am and write for two hours. And I was always anxious to write for the movies. I was fortunate that I sold four of them in the ‘50s. I didn’t like writing movies…I did that for awhile, because when I did sell one, I’d get involved with the filmmakers, and the studio people would make me rewrite so much that it wasn’t fun. When I write a book I never had to rewrite anything.
So do you not get involved with film or TV projects based on your books nowadays?
Well, let me tell you, what I’m doing now is writing on my own for the FX series “Justified.” I really like it, so I’ve been sending them ideas. They have seven writers, but they’re not as familiar with my characters as I am. So I’ve been sending them things like coal mining in eastern Kentucky, and what they get into there, and how the mining companies run the show. So I’m sending them chapters as I write them, and they will develop whatever they like of mine, but when I’m through with it I’m going to have a book. So with this particular marshal, Raylan Givens is the star, is I’m going to start the story in Indianapolis with a girl at Butler. This girl got into that peashake gambling, but that’s strictly Indianapolis. Her stepfather is a sports bookie, and is into a little of this peashake gambling, and the girl disappears. So we’ll open on Raylan Givens investigating during the NCAA Finals, with North Carolina vs. Butler. She makes a lot of money for her stepfather and he gives her money to bet, and she wins because she bets it even and makes off with about $20,000. I thought that would be a good way to open is at Butler. And while I’m there that will give me something to read, because they want me to read at Butler rather than talk.
So did you do this because you’re coming to Butler, or did you do the story after you learned you were coming?
No, I did it after. This is something they’d know about, and especially doing it on that NC-Butler game.
When you write something that is eventually made into a TV show or movie, how much are you invested in those stories? Writers of course are notoriously persnickety about their material being changed.
Well, I’m anxious to see a movie sale being made. And I’ve had some good ones. “Get Shorty” and “Out of Sight,” and the one Tarantino did, “Jackie Brown,” those are good movies. And Tarantino’s especially stayed close to the book. I was surprised that he stayed closer than anyone. And there have been other adaptations that have varied widely for the worse. That’s the way it is with making movies. Most of them are not that good, so you kind of expect that. Hopefully it won’t happen with yours. There’s one I had in ’74 or ’75, “Mr. Majestyk” with Charles Bronson. It was an okay picture, I thought, but it’s still paying residuals 25 years later. With those residuals the writer gets 1.4% of the gross, so that’s good. I never know what I’m going to get.
Do you develop a feeling at any point during production? Do you ever get a feeling where you know it’s not going to turn out?
Oh, sure, you can get that feeling, especially if you visit the set and talk to the writers and the director, and you can tell when it doesn’t look good. But I’ve sold so many…I’ve sold two dozen over the years, so you get some good and some bad. Some of my early westerns, “3:10 to Yuma,” it made it twice. Once in ’56, the other two or three years ago, and they were good.
What is the common theme in the ones that work?
Well, I like to think it’s the ones that stayed with my plot and my storyline. [laughs] I know my books work. But “3:10 to Yuma” was a 4,500-word short story I sold to Dime Western for 2 cents a word, so I made $90 for the original. Then when they made the movie with Glenn Ford I made $4000. They probably made the film for a million and a half. Then the second one was a $50 million film with Russell Crowe. I liked that one too, except the ending. It didn’t make sense to me. They didn’t pay me anything until my agent griped about it, then they paid 5 grand. So I still wasn’t rolling in money for “3:10 to Yuma.”
No kidding? Well, I’ve those Hollywood guys are notoriously cheap.
Yeah, they are!
Can you tell me a little about working with Tarantino on “Jackie Brown,” and with Steven Soderburgh on “Out of Sight”?
Well, I didn’t do the screenplay on those. Tarantino does his own, but I visited his set, and Quentin told me what was going on. The cast I thought was remarkable. They had a great cast. And the one with Clooney, they filmed a lot of it in Detroit. We had George over to our house, and you’d see him surrounded by girls in the living room trying to get a drink. I’ve always had a great time with whatever associations I had making a movie.