|
BIO
Elmore Leonard has written more than 40 books during his highly successful writing career, including the bestsellers UP IN HONEY'S ROOM, THE HOT KID, MR. PARADISE, TISHOMINGO BLUES, and the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, WHEN THE WOMEN COME OUT TO DANCE. Many of his books have been made into movies, including GET SHORTY, OUT OF SIGHT, and BE COOL. He is the recipient of the Grand Master Award of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife, Christine, in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.
PAST INTERVIEW
September
8, 2000
Elmore Leonard's 36th novel, PAGAN BABIES, loaded with a killer
title and a riveting plot, just hit the shelves. Luckily for all
of us, our resident Leonard fan Joe Hartlaub was able to speed read
the book and think up some good questions. Find out about his Rwanda
research, two new characters, his next novel and more. Now, here's
Dutch...
TBR: It was around 20 years ago that you were considered America's
most popular unknown novelist. That is only half-true now; your
novels not only transcend the popular classifications but are also
considered a genre unto themselves. This has been in a gradual process
of course, but when did you feel that you had turned the corner
as far as popular recognition was concerned?
EL: Not until 1985 when GLITZ
landed on the NY Times list, though by 1983 I could see it coming.
The advantage of being recognized late is that I had a 20-book backlist
in place when it happened, so there was no reason to choke. I knew
what I was doing. It became a question of the reviewers catching
up.
TBR: PAGAN BABIES is your 36th novel; to my mind, it is also
your best, for a number of reasons which I'll get to in a moment.
Let's begin where PAGAN BABIES does --- in Rwanda. Before the first
fifth of the book is complete you paint a more accurate picture
of the nation, its people, and the political situation there than
the mainstream news sources have been able to in the last two years.
How much research did you do? Did you visit Rwanda? And have you
been actively involved with Rwandan refugees in the States?
EL: Most of the research focused
on two sources: Philip Gourevich's book WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT
TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES, plus conversations
with the author; and a photojournalist in Rwanda, James Stejskal,
who supplied notes and photographs of village life.
TBR: Terry Dunn is perhaps one of the most interesting characters
you have ever created. Here is a guy who goes to extraordinary lengths
not to disappoint his mother, but who is extraordinarily quick in
adapting to a situation and thinking on his feet. Did you have Dunn
fully developed as a character before you started PAGAN BABIES,
or did he develop gradually over the course of the book?
EL: I began writing not sure
if Terry was actually a priest or pretending to be one. I had to
develop a background for him to find the answer. Finally he came
to life for me in his conversations with Chantelle.
TBR: Debbie Dewey, Dunn's foil in PAGAN BABIES, is another incredibly
interesting character. She gets ripped off, is jailed for three
years after an attempt to obtain wild justice, and finds herself
involved on multiple levels with Dunn, who is truly her kindred
spirit. There is duality of spirit here that the two of them pick
up on almost immediately; it is so natural in the way you present
it that it almost seems that the relationship between the two of
them could only have developed by creative accident, as opposed
to design. Did you find the relationship between these two characters
developing as you wrote PAGAN BABIES, or is this an aspect of the
novel which you carefully plotted out at its genesis?
EL: I move my stories with dialogue
as much as possible, keeping my nose out of it and making up the
plot as I go along. Once I decided how much should be revealed in
these scenes, I go about making it work, providing information while
bringing the two ever closer together.
TBR: On a related note, you are well known for your realistic
creation of dialogue in your books, not only as a plot device to
keep things moving but also to reveal secrets and aspects of your
characters explicitly and perhaps more often implicitly. I
found your use of dialogue between Debbie and Terry in PAGAN BABIES
--- particularly in Chapters 9 and 10, when they're first driving
together to Debbie's apartment --- to be possibly the best dialogue
I have ever read. Much is revealed about both characters, including
elements that will ultimately effect the outcome of the novel. Was
this dialogue something that flowed so naturally or was it a scenario
that you labored over?
EL: I think I answered this
above. I bring the two together with the idea they'll be attracted
to one another, but with no idea whether or not they'll end up together.
I never know how a book is going to end until I get there.
TBR: The film rights to PAGAN BABIES have already been purchased
by Universal Pictures and Jersey Films. Can you tell us anything
about the film version, if there is anything to tell at this early
date? And will you be involved in the scriptwriting?
EL: I don't think they've hired
a screenwriter yet, and no one has asked me who I see in the picture.
Debbie will be a tough role to cast.
TBR: Are film versions of any of your other novels scheduled
for release in the next year?
EL: Nothing at the moment is
in production.
TBR: Are you working on any film scripts presently, independent
of film adaptations of your own novels?
EL: No, because I avoid writing
screenplays; they're work, and all you are is an employee. When
you write a novel you have only yourself to please.
TBR: And are you working on a new novel?
EL: I'm six pages into a book
I intend to call TISHOMINGO BLUES. The central character is a professional
high diver.
TBR: What books have you read in the last six months?
EL: GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
by Tracy Chevalier; AIRSHIPS, stories by Barry Hannah; THE ANGEL
ON THE ROOF, stories by Russell Banks; ON THE REZ by Ian Frazier.
TBR: What is your favorite of your own novels?
EL: I'm happy with all of them,
but the first one I think of when asked that question is FREAKY
DEAKY.
TBR: What do you think of eBooks and the idea of publishing only
digitally? Would you ever consider publishing a story that only
exists online?
EL: I'm coming closer and closer
to doing one.
Back to top.
PAST INTERVIEW
1999
TBR Writer Joe Hartlaub happily dug into his extensive Elmore Leonard collection and
came up with some questions for the prolific author. Find out about Dutch's involvement
with the band The Stone Coyotes (who appear in BE COOL in addition to Aerosmith), how he
lives without a computer or a word processor, why his dialogue is so dead-on, how he got
his nickname --- and much more about his writing and his life. His latest novel, BE COOL,
is as intriguing as the cover --- a shadowy black and blue close-up of a woman's face
stamped with the title words. You won't want to miss it.
TBR: It is hard to believe, but you have been writing for 48 years (since 1951) beginning
with publication of your short story TRAIL OF THE APACHE in 1951 in Argosy Magazine and
continuing right up to this month with the release of your latest novel, BE
COOL. At what point did you decide that writing was what you wanted to do for
the rest of your life?
EL: As soon as I began to sell in the '50s I wanted to quit my job at an ad agency and
devote full time to writing fiction. My agent and several editors talked me out
of it, saying it was too soon to make that move, so I didn't go on my own until March,
1961. For the next five years, though, I took on commercial writing jobs,
industrial movies and social studies films for Encyclopedia Britannica Films, histories
and geographies shown in schools. It wasn't until '66 that I got back to
fiction with THE BIG BOUNCE.
TBR: I'd like to ask a couple of questions about BE COOL. One of the elements
of BE COOL is the band Odessa. You to some extent modeled Odessa after a real
working band, The Stone Coyotes, and in fact extensively use lyrics to a number of their
songs in BE COOL. How did you connect with The Stone Coyotes?
EL: The plan was, Chili Palmer would find himself managing a rock band while looking for a
movie idea. But I wasn't sure what kind of rock it would be until I saw The
Stone Coyotes at the Troubadour in L.A. and knew right away this was the music I wanted,
rock with a twang. The band in the book is from Odessa, Texas. I
spoke to the Coyotes about using their music in the book. As soon as they found
out I was legit, they gave me permission. Barbara Keith wrote the song
"Odessa" especially for the book.
TBR: I hear that you are doing a limited joint tour with The Stone
Coyotes. What cities are you on your itinerary? And what form will
the concert take? Are you going to do over the lead vocal chores?
EL: Last year, while I was still writing BE COOL, the Stone Coyotes and I appeared
together at the Viper Room in L.A. and the Mercury Lounge in New York. I read
from the book in progress with reference to the music, then the Coyotes came on and
performed. We're going to do it again next month in L.A., New York and Boston
while I'm on the BE COOL book tour.
TBR: Aerosmith is also featured at some length in BE COOL. I hear that you had
the rock fan's dream barbecue with them. How did that happen to come about?
EL: I met Aerosmith when they performed here in August, 1997, told them what I was writing
and asked if they'd like to be in the book. They said sure. They had
the next day off, so I invited them over, not for a barbecue, but to hang out on the patio
and talk. Tom Hamilton and I played tennis. I saw them again last
Fall when they were here and had read the manuscript.
TBR: You let us visit with Chili Palmer again in BE COOL. Chili's latest idea consists of
a movie about the music business, which he knows next to nothing about. He
accordingly gets involved in it to learn about it. You obviously did a lot of
homework in developing this novel --- your description of the ins and outs of royalty and
advance clauses should be required reading for every aspiring musician. Did you
do all of your own research, ala Chili, or did you have a go-to person in the business?
EL: My researcher, Gregg Butter, and I spoke to people in all areas of the music business:
record company executives, promoters, producers, artists and their managers, recording
engineers and a backup singer. We sat in on a Red Hot Chili Peppers rehearsal,
and another time watched Richie Sambora and producer Don Was work on the tracks of
Sambora's latest CD.
TBR: Your work discipline has been well-chronicled. You have for many years
utilized the prototype, muscle-powered laptop computer --- a yellow legal pad and a
pencil. Now that modern technology has finally caught up with you, are you
utilizing the computer monster in your work? Or are you continuing your
tried-and-true, not broken so don't fix, method of writing your rough draft out in
longhand and typing your finished draft at the end of each day?
EL: I still write on yellow pads with a ballpoint pen, a Mont Blanc. They're not legal
pads but an unlined 8 1/2 by 11 buff-colored stock I order from a printer: 60 pages to a
pad, 50 pads, or 3000 sheets that last about a year. I do the typing not at the end of the
day but as I go along, composing in longhand a page or a few paragraphs, then putting it
on the typewriter to see what it looks like, hoping to do four or five pages in an
eight-hour day. I can't imagine ever using a word processor.
TBR: There is already speculation about a movie adaptation of BE
COOL. You have had many of your books adapted for both movies and television,
even before you became as widely known as you are now? What, of all of these
adaptations, is your personal favorite?
EL: I don't have a favorite movie, or a favorite book for that matter. I thought GET
SHORTY, TOUCH, JACKIE BROWN and OUT OF SIGHT were all winners.
TBR: It has been written that you first became interested in literature --- both a
spectator and player --- after reading a serialization of Remarque's ALL QUIET ON THE
WESTERN FRONT. What specific qualities of that book particularly touched you?
EL: I was in the 5th grade when I read parts of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT serialized
in a Detroit newspaper. At the time, I think, 1936, I was fascinated by World
War I and stories of trench warfare.
TBR: I love the fact that late last year Dell published THE TONTO WOMAN AND OTHER WESTERN
STORIES, a collection of your early --- and in some cases, very hard to find --- western
short stories. How did the impetus for issuing this collection come about?
EL: Publishers had been after me for years to collect my early western
stories. Finally I gave in.
TBR: You returned to the western genre with your scripts for the critically acclaimed
DESPERADO TV movies. Do you have any plans for a western novel in the near
future?
EL: CUBA LIBRE is a western, in a way. Have no plans to write another one, but
who knows.
TBR: What other television shows and movies have you scripted?
EL: I haven't written anything for movies or TV worth mentioning.
TBR: One aspect of your work is that you prominently, if subtlety, feature smart,
independent women. Was there anything in particular that steered you toward a
presentation of this type of female character?
EL: I like intelligent women, so I use them in my stories.
TBR: A distinguishing characteristic of your work is the dialogue among the
characters. Your dialogue, more than any other writer that I could name, not
only moves your story along for the reader but also gives subtle insights into each
character. This would appear to entail far more than being a good writer ---
you would also have to be a great listener. How did you develop your ear for
dialogue?
EL: I've always liked novels with a lot of dialogue, short stories too. I think the way a
character speaks reveals his attitude and personality. Perhaps I'm naturally a
good listener, I've never worked at it.
TBR: What is the origin of the nickname
"Dutch?"
EL: Emil Dutch Leonard was a pitcher with a Washington Senators, a knuckleballer, when I
was in high school in the early '40s and desperately needed a nickname.
TBR: What writers would you say have inspired you the most?
EL: Writers that have provided inspiration: Hemingway, John O'Hare, Steinbeck, Raymond
Carver and, most of all, Richard Bissell, who wrote a few books set on the Mississippi
River in the '50s and is best known for his novel 7 1/2 CENTS, which was adapted as the
musical "The Pajama Game."
TBR: What are you reading now?
EL: Mostly I'm reading Andre Dubus' short stories and essays. He writes with a quiet but
penetrating voice.
TBR: Are you working on anything new, if so, can you give us a preview?
EL: I'm only 12 pages into my next book, so I don't know yet what it's about, other than
the woman in it, a former convict, does standup comedy.
TBR: What are your thoughts on the new millennium?
EL: I haven't thought about the new millennium, I live in the now.
Back to top.
PAST INTERVIEW
January 13, 1998
On January 13, 1998, THE BOOK REPORT welcomed Elmore Leonard to discuss his new book,
CUBA LIBRE, and the new Quentin Tarantino movie, JACKIE BROWN, based on Leonard's RUM
PUNCH. Covering topics as diverse as writer's block (he doesn't believe in it!) to writing
bad guys, Elmore Leonard kept his fans enthralled. TBR Senior Editor Jennifer Levitsky was
our interviewer. MarleneT and BookpgGena were our hosts.
Marlene T: Jennifer Levitsky (BookpgJL) will be
interviewing Mr. Leonard tonight. Good evening Jen and Mr. Leonard, welcome!
BookpgJL: Thank you for being here.
Elmore Leonard: Hi. Very happy to be here to answer
your questions. Let's go.
BookpgJL: Let's start with CUBA LIBRE. Why a
historical novel now? Why Cuba?
Elmore Leonard: Well, I've always been interested in
that period, the Spanish-American war. And I just decided, why not do it? I had written 8
westerns back in the '50s through the '70s so I was at home there.
BookpgJL: Did you go to Cuba to research?
Elmore Leonard: No. I didn't go. My researcher went
but by the time he got back I had finished the book. I had photographs from that period,
from 1898. I had all kinds of information to go by. The only difference was that I didn't
know what the inside of the Inglaterra hotel looked like. So I made it up. So
my researcher took pictures of the interior and then I rewrote those descriptions.
BookpgJL: Both the good and the bad guys in CUBA LIBRE
are fun and smart. Do you prefer to write good or bad?
Elmore Leonard: I would say that most of the time it's
much more fun to write the bad guys. Because they're more colorful. They have an atittude
that's more fun to play with. And you don't know what they're going to do. That's why if
your hero has a criminal past --- which I've used several times --- you can go either way.
You really don't know what he's going to do.
BookpgJL: Let's go to an audience question.
Question: Have you ever considered any other writing genres like sci-fi?
Elmore Leonard: No. I don't read sci-fi. I like sci-fi
movies. But I've never gotten into the habit of reading sci-fi. So I knew that I wouldn't
do that. I'm not interested in mysteries. Right now I'm writing a sequel to GET SHORTY
with Chili Palmer in the music business. He manages a rock 'n' roll group. I think John
Travolta might want to play him again in the movie.
BookpgJL: JACKIE BROWN is just out in theaters. What
do you think of Quentin Tarantino's adaptation of RUM PUNCH?
Elmore Leonard: I thought it was really good. I liked
it as a movie because I'm not concerned with how close the movie comes to the book --- and
this one was very, very close. I'm more concerned with whether it's a good movie or not.
And I thought it was a very good adaptation.
BookpgJL: How well do you think your South Florida
setting translated to Tarantino's L.A.?
Elmore Leonard: Changing to the South Bay area, where
Quentin Tarantino grew up, was an advantage. The plot of the flight attendant carrying
money for this gun dealer --- it really doesn't matter where it takes place. The main
thing is that she is in jeopardy.
BookpgJL: You've written a lot of screenplays, no?
Elmore Leonard: 3:10 to Yuma was a screenplay. The
Professionals was not mine. Hombre was mine. Paul Newman and Richard Boone. "How am I
going to get back down that hill?" That line is why I wrote the book. I
didn't write the screenplay.
BookpgJL: Have you adapted your own books to film
before?
Elmore Leonard: I've written a few: The Moonshine War,
Mr. Magestic. Joe Kidd, the Clint Eastwood movie. I'm not interested in writing the
scripts. It's work and you're an employee. You're working for somebody. I did that for a
while because it's part of the book writing. But when you write a book, you're the only
one you have to please. But you better please yourself.
BookpgJL: Mr. Leonard, of your many colorful
characters would you say is most like the true Elmore?
Elmore Leonard: When I'm writing the books, I become
each character. Sometimes, at the end of the evening, my wife knows who I was
and who I was featuring that day. The attitude that would come closest to mine in most of
my lead male characters. I don't know if I would have the nerve to do what they do. I try
to have them think the way I do.
BookpgJL: Tell us about MAXIMUM BOB. Do you know who
will be playing Bob in the ABC series?
Elmore Leonard: ABC is going to begin it as a series
in August. The first hour has been produced so far. Beau Bridges is Maxium Bob and Barry
Sonnenfeld, who directed Get Shorty and Men in Black, directed that first hour. I think
ABC has ordered 8 or 12 more. So it'll get going.
Question: Mr. Leonard, How do you feel about the way
your books have translated to screen? Many authors have been of the opinion that their
work has been tainted. Do you feel differently. If so why?
Elmore Leonard: No, I've never felt that way. I have
been disappointed a number of times. But I know going in that you take your chances. But I
don't think that if it's a bad movie, I don't think that that taints the book. The book is
still there. But I'm more concerned with whether it's a good movie, not with how close it
is to the book.
BookpgJL: Is there any filmmaker you would love to
have adapt your work that hasn't already?
Elmore Leonard: I've had some very good luck lately. I
don't know. Say, the Coen brothers. There are so many good ones. Scorcese. Let's hold it
at that.
Question: Where did you get your inspiration for
JACKIE BROWN?
Elmore Leonard: Rum Punch, I thought of a character of
Max Cherry, the bail bondsman. I decided I wanted to do a book about a bail bondsman
because of the kind of people he's involved with every day. A story has to come out of
that situation. My researcher found a bail bondsman for me who understood what we wanted
to do. He was very willing to cooperate. So I learned about his business and started to
write the book about a bondsman doing his job. I realized not too far into the book that
he wasn't my main character. The woman, Jackie, was the main character. The plot was
happening to her. And then the other characters fall right into place on opposite sides of
her. She's caught in the middle and how does she get out? And I never know how they get
out. I never know how my books are going to end.
BookpgJL: How do you end them?
Elmore Leonard: I don't get stuck. I make up the story
as I go along. After 100 or 120 pages or so I might start to jot down some ideas of where
it should go.
BookpgJL: You don't plot first?
Elmore Leonard: I don't plot the whole book out. I'd
rather not know what's going to happen myself. Even when I start writing a scene I think I
know what the purpose of the scene is. I figure out from whose point of view the scene
should be seen. Then I start to write. The characters, very often, start to give me ideas.
I rely on them.
BookpgJL: Do you have a favorite character or two?
Elmore Leonard: I like Stick, and I like a guy named
Jack Ryan who was in a couple of books.
Question: Which is your favorite book that you have
written? And which would you like to see made into another movie?
Elmore Leonard: One that always comes to mind is
FREAKY DEAKY. I really enjoyed writing Freaky Deaky, and Tarantino has it. And Miramax has
bought now five of my books. But it doesn't mean he will direct them all. He might produce
a couple. There is a screenplay being written. So that has a chance.
BookpgJL: Are there any books in your past that you
wish you could re-write? A different ending?
Elmore Leonard: There are two that I would have
changed slightly. One is GOLD COAST. About 100 pages into the book, it seems
obvious that the woman is the main character. I decided that I would not write any more
from her point of view and that she would become a kind of mystery woman. What is she up
to? And that was a mistake. I should have stayed in her head throughout the
book. I don't know what I would have done. But it would have been better. The other one is
THE HUNTED, and I switched characters in that book about 150 pages in and I shouldn't
have.
Question: Who is your favorite author? Why?
Elmore Leonard: My favorite author I think for fiction
is Don Delillo. I think his book LIBRA was just fascinating. I think he's a wonderful
writer. I like Russell Banks a lot. Both of them have new books out I'm waiting to read.
And I like a short story writer named Andre Dubus. I like him an awful lot.
BookpgJL: What do you read while you're writing?
Elmore Leonard: During CUBA LIBRE, all I
did was read about Cuba. There is so much to read. I don't read fiction while I'm writing,
because I don't want to have to think of two plots. And I don't want to be influenced by
someone else's style. Once, I was writing a book and reading William Goldman's
MARATHON MAN and before I knew it I was using complex sentences with semicolons, which I
had never done before.
Question: What's a typical writing day schedule like
for you?
Elmore Leonard: I work from 9:30 in the morning until
6. With this book, I started around 10 most of the time. And I still go to 6
usually, 9 days out of 10 I skip lunch. The time flies by. But there are a lot of phone
interruptions, which I haven't done anything about. So if I can write 4 pages
in that day, I'm happy about it. I used to be able to write 5 and 6, in fact going way
back, I could write a page an hour but I didn't know what I was doing then. When I started
writing and I had a job at an ad agency, I'd get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and write
for two hours before going to work. I wrote most of 5 books that way. I could do a page an
hour. I knew I was going to do 2 pages. I had one rule: I had to start writing before I
put the water on for coffee. And I couldn't pick up a magazine. If I hadn't
done that, we wouldn't be talking.
BookpgJL: Writer's block is clearly not a problem for
you. What propels you?
Elmore Leonard: I don't believe in it. I'm not even
sure what it means. If I'm having trouble with a situation in a scene, I'll hit my head
against it for much too much time, knowing I'm going to throw it out and do something
else. And I've always done it that way. I think I have to continue to. It's the way I
write. Sometimes it just flows. Other times it's like laying bricks. But that part that's
like laying bricks has to have the appearance of flowing. You have to maintain the rhythm
of the prose.
BookpgJL: What is next after the Chili Palmer book?
Are your books planned that far ahead?
Elmore Leonard: I have no idea. I don't think about.
If I start to think about the next book before I finish this one, I know I'll have no
problem finishing this one. But I haven't thought of anything yet.
BookpgJL: When you're writing historical fiction like
CUBA LIBRE, how faithful do you feel you need to be to the fact?
Elmore Leonard: I can't remember now if references to
what appeared in the newspaper were quoted or if someone just said it. But I'd have no way
of knowing that it might not be true. I was faithful, I thought, historically. And also to
the social feeling of Cuba at that time.
Question: Max Cherry did not seem to be as important a
character in the movie as he was in the book, why? Did you like the way Quentin kept
showing it though other peoples eyes?
Elmore Leonard: Yeah. As I mentioned before, Max
Cherry was the reason I wrote the book but I realized subsequently that he couldn't be the
main character. I think because of the strength of the other characters, even in the book,
he kind of recedes quite a book. In the movie, you've got to give more time to the star.
Sam Jackson, who's the major threat. I liked the way Tarantino showed it from different
points of view, probably closer to the book.
BookpgJL: What attracts you to writing about South
Florida?
Elmore Leonard: I knew South Florida. I've
been going down there since 1950. Anywhere from Palm Beach to Miami. I had a place in
Pompano Beach and North Palm Beach now. I was familiar with the area. Used South Beach in
a couple of books. Featured in La Brava, before it became the whatever it is now, the Hot
Spot, the trendy resort.
BookpgJL: Are you a fan of the other writers who
specialize in that area? Willeford? Hiaasen?
Elmore Leonard: Yeah. I like Willeford a lot. He and I
corresponded for two years before he died. I think Hiaasen is very good.
Question: Since Rum Punch/Jackie Brown is a love
story, how do you feel about the change of ending from the book to the movie?
Elmore Leonard: I thought that the ending of the book
was a little vague to begin with. If I remember correctly it's sort of left up in the air.
Are you going to go with her or not? In the movie, a couple of people have told me they
were sure he was going to go after her. But I don't think he is. But I thought when my
editor read the manuscript, she said RUM PUNCH ends awfully abruptly and I said "Yes,
I know. But it's over." She said "Don't change anything, but let it coast a
little." It was just a question of writing 3 pages and cutting 2. Not that
different just a softer feel, I guess
Question: Hello Mr. Leonard. Have you been in any of
the movies on your books, like a cameo or sometihng like that?
Elmore Leonard: No, I've never appeared. I don't think
I ever would. One day I was sitting in a producer's office and the director was there and
I said something and she said to the director, there, that's the accent. And I
said, "I don't have an accent." And she threw me the script and said, "Take
that and read it." I didn't know what part I was supposed to read. The movie was HERO
with Dustin Hoffman. I didn't even know what the part was.
Question: How did you acquire the street talk you use
in your novels?
Elmore Leonard: I don't go out and eavesdrop, but
perhaps I've been listening long enough. In the late '40s, I used to go to black clubs and
hang out and listen to jazz. I've had lots of different jobs in which I've met uneducated
people. I've met criminals and police officers. I can hear 'em. I don't try to get as much
slang in. It's more the rhythm, the cadence of the speech. Leaving a word out here and
there, making it sound right to the ear. But still, it's an imitation of actual
dialogue. Just listen to a tape of a conversation, or a wire tapping, you'll
see the difference.
BookpgJL: How did growing up in Detroit affect your
writing?
Elmore Leonard: Growing up in Detroit, I always
enjoyed it. I was born in New Orleans, but I've been here since the fourth grade. I've
always liked living in a big city. And when I was growing up, Detroit was a big city, with
a downtown full of people. But it's here and I'm here and that's the main reason that I
continue to use Detroit. But if I lived in Buffalo, the stories probably would have been
set in Buffalo. Detroit does offer a lot of vitality, I think. I
like the idea that it's pretty much of a working man's town. And in essence, these are the
characters I use. I've always thought of it as a shot-and-a-beer town. Detroit is an
industrial city.
BookpgJL: In 1968, why did you make the switch from
westerns to contemporary novels?
Elmore Leonard: The market change was the big reason.
By the end of the 50s there were 30 westerns on prime time. The short story market was
effected. Saturday Evening Post and Colliers went out of business. And they
weren't paying as much for western novels. So for a while there I wrote educational films
for Encyclopedia Brittanica, histories and biographies, industrial movies. . . and then
when I got back and Hombre sold to Fox and
that got me back into writing. And then I just chose crime because it has always been
there, the market.
Question: I want to be a crime writer more than life
itself and I think of you as, well, God but I am just a kid. Where do I start?
Elmore Leonard: I don't know. You have to be
influenced by somebody. Take advantage of it and imitate. Learn to deveop your own style
by imitating. I learned by imitating Hemingway, as thousands of others did.
Until I realized that I didn't share his attitude about life. I didn't take myself or
anything as seriously as he did. I think your style, your voice, comes out of your
attitude. Whether you're optimistic, or have a sense of humor or are grumpy or what. that
sound can get into your writing. So I had to find writers who could inject humor into
their stories without writing a funny book. My role models were Richard Bissell. He was
fairly popular in the 50s. He wrote a book called 7 1/2 Cents, which became The
Pajama Game, the musical. Most of his books were set on the Mississippi, on tow boats. he
wrote about the crew. The people aboard were his characters. And the guy who wrote BANG
THE DRUM SLOWLY I can't think of the name
Question: Did you like the actors and actresses chosen
to portray characters in Jackie Brown?
Elmore Leonard: Yeah. I loved the casting. I thought
it was great. Sam Jackson said thanks so much for that part. He loved his character. so
did Pam. And Bridget Fonda. Quentin told me he had sent her the script and he
said you're going to see a Bridget Fonda in this one that you've never seen before. I knew
Bridget from TOUCH. She told me that she was excited about doing this one.
BookpgJL: Let's take one final audience question.
Question: How do you compare Jackie Brown towards your
other successes?
Elmore Leonard: It ranks right up there with GET
SHORTY. GET SHORTY surprised me because it was a comedy and I told Barry
Sonnenfeld, the director, I like it, but I don't write comedy. And he said, "no, but
it was a funny book." I would put Jackie Brown right up there. He spent the time with
the characters the way I would have. And Valdez is Coming, Hombre, 3:10 to Yuma, I thought
they were great.
BookpgJL: Thank you, Mr. Leonard, for being here
tonight. This was great fun!
Elmore Leonard: Consider this new book, CUBA LIBRE,
action and romance. Thanks very much. This was fun.
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
