Interviews
On Tuesday, February 9th, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Elmore Leonard to discuss BE COOL.
Moderator: Good evening, and welcome back to our Auditorium, Elmore Leonard! We are thrilled to have you with us tonight, and we're all looking forward to chatting about BE COOL. Before we begin, how are you tonight?
Elmore Leonard: Well, fine, yeah, I'll be happy to answer any questions -- about the book, or whatever!
Yoli from NYC: Mr. Leonard, I have just begun reading your latest, BE COOL, and the beginning reads like the formulation of the idea...a filmmaker who is developing his pitch as it comes to him. Is there any parallel in these early scenes to the way the book evolved?
Elmore Leonard: Well, that's the whole idea of the book is that Chili Palmer, now in the film business, is looking for an idea for a movie. So it's obviously written for the movies, to be made into a movie. Still, of course, the purpose is to entertain. The purpose of any of my books is to entertain.
Greg Leding from Springdale, AR: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us tonight. I enjoy writing during my free time, but find it difficult to get going. How do you tackle a writing project? Thanks again.
Elmore Leonard: Well, what I did when I first started to write in the 1950s, I had a job, and I had a growing family, so I got up at 5 o'clock in the morning and I wrote for two hours every morning. And I did most of 30 short stories and five books that way. So that's my suggestion -- you can find the time, if you really want to do it.
Henk from Boston: In the beginning of the book, you thank the Stone Coyotes. Could you tell us about the role the Stone Coyotes played in your writing the book?
Elmore Leonard: As I started the book, I decided that Chili Palmer would become the manager of a rock group, but I wasn't sure what kind of rock they would play. So I began listening to different groups, and I was listening especially to all the women singers that had become popular in the last few years, and I was listening to them and wondering if I could style the woman singer in the book after one of them. And I was in Los Angeles researching, talking to people in the record business and the music business, and happened to go to The Troubadour, and I saw the Stone Coyotes, and right away I thought, This is the music that has to be for the band in the book. Rock with a little twang in it, a country twang in most of the songs. So I talked to Barbara Keith, who writes their music and performs and is the guitar player, and I talked to her about using their music. Not the band itself, not their personalities, but their music, that I would give to the band in the book. The band in the book is called Odessa. And we're good friends now, the Stone Coyotes and I.
Peter Wittenberg from Houston: I have read that a year ago, you made the switch from writing westerns to the detective/mobster genre you write now. Realizing that you need to make money, writing is still an art. Was this transition difficult?
Elmore Leonard: I left westerns at the end of the '50s, 1961, [with what] I thought would be my last western was published, and that was HOMBRE. I was tired of westerns, but at the same time, the market for westerns had all but disappeared because there were so many on prime-time television, so people stopped buying the books and reading the stories and the magazines. The magazines were no longer published, so I was a little apprehensive about crossing over to another genre -- crime -- but I felt that I could bring something maybe a little bit different to it, too, because I wasn't influenced by any of the crime writers that came before me. So I just began making up what I consider contemporary stories with what I consider a little crime added to them, and I've been having a good time doing it. I think the main difference in what I write and many crime stories is that the emphasis in my books -- all the emphasis is on the characters rather than the plot.
Mike Jastrzebski from Minneapolis: Do you feel it's become harder for an unpublished writer to become published? Do you have any suggestions on how to succeed in today's marketplace?
Elmore Leonard: I think it's harder today than it was when I started. There were so many magazines publishing short stories then. I learned to write selling to Dime Western, Zane Grey Western, Argassy, all kinds of pulp magazines, and the pay was only two cents a word, but at least you were able to sell, and learn how to write. I think today you just have to decide this is what you are going to do. You've got to become very, very determined, and you have to read. You have to read to find out about the different styles of writing, and to find the one that fits you the best and most effectively. It's the sound of writing that you develop -- your own sound. Or as it's usually called, your voice, your voice as a writer. Read contemporary writers very, very closely and study the differences in styles. And then find a writer that you really like and imitate him. It's just an exercise -- imitate him, and sooner or later, your own attitude and voice will come out of it.
Disgruntled Web Producer from New York: Yo, Dutch! If you
had to kill someone, how would you do it? Don't worry, I won't use the information for anything! Thanks!
Elmore Leonard: Hmm... Well, it couldn't be with a gun, because I don't have one. I can't imagine killing anyone, unless it's in such a rage because something has happened to maybe my wife or one of my children, and in such a rage, I'd just go at 'em with my bare hands. I don't know. But I'm really not one to go into rages, if you're familiar with my prose.
Moyra from MI: Who is that gal on the cover of your book?
Elmore Leonard: That is not an individual, a real person -- it's not one who is identifiable with the story. She's more part of the design with the word "cool" than an individual.
John from East Village: Hello, Mr. Leonard! I've read a lot of your work, and I always enjoy it. I was wondering, since I read a lot in the genre, why are there so many crime novels set in Florida, Detroit, and L.A. (not to mention New York, Chicago, and Nome, Alaska)? I noticed in your bn feature that you live in the Detroit area. Are you simply writing what you know? Or is there something about those places? Thanks!
Elmore Leonard: I think that, fortunately, there is something about those places. When I started using Detroit as a location for my books, it was because I lived here, and have lived here since the mid '30s, but at that time, Detroit had the reputation as the murder capital, and that added some jazz to the idea of a book set in Detroit. Florida is a good setting because there is a such a tremendous mix of people, from the superrich in Palm Beach, down to Miami, where you have the Cuban influence, and in addition to that the Mariel Boat Lift supplied the area with a lot of criminals. I've used New Orleans, I've used Atlantic City, Los Angeles, I think I'll go back to Detroit for the next one.... At least I'm fooling with that idea. I think New York is in capable hands -- I don't think I'd touch New York. I'd have to learn it first. I wouldn't mind using Australia, but I'd have to live there a few years to pick up the lingo.
Nick from Utah: Mr Leonard, I love your books and films based on them. Are there any movies currently in production, or have you yourself thought about directing?
Elmore Leonard: No, I didn't even think about directing when it was possible to learn that crap. I'm about 50 years past that. There's nothing in production of mine right now. Quentin Tarantino has four of my books: He has a western called FORTY LASHES LESS ONE, FREAKY DEAKY, KILLSHOT, and BANDITS. I know he would like to appear in KILLSHOT with another director, and there are people working on FREAKY DEAKY and, I think, BANDITS. CUBA LIBRE is in development with scripts being written right now, and we hope that BE COOL will get into development pretty soon at MGM.
Kate from Houston, TX: All of your characters seem to be flawed...even the cool guys. Looking at President Clinton, who has proven himself to be flawed -- he could be one of your characters! What do you think?
Elmore Leonard: Yeah, I think President Clinton could be one of my characters in a different role, not as president of the United States. I don't know what I'd make him. I'd make him, I dunno, a federal officer of some kind, see how he does. As to my characters -- well, they are all flawed, because I think we all are! We're not that predictable. I've never been interested in the superhero, and I've learned also not to simply have my women hanging around. They have to be as real as the men. That's what I strive for, is realism, to the point that you recognize these people. I remember an editor asking me once, "Where did you get this character?" -- it was a character in GLITZ, a former Detroit cop. And I said to the editor, "Are you kidding? I know 150 of them!" But I start when I develop characters, I start with a type, and when I get to know the characters, if I can make them talk, then that's the important thing. Then the character becomes real to me. After I finish a book, for the next few weeks, every once in a while I wonder what the characters might be doing. Then finally they just fade off.
Bill from Sylmar, CA: Do you ever work on more than one novel at a time?
Elmore Leonard: No, I never work on more than one novel at a time, because when I write a novel, I don't know what it's about until I get into it. Until I present the characters and find out who they are, and I just make it up as I go along, I never know how it's going to end. So that's enough to keep in my mind without trying to think of another plot.
Marc Adams from Minneapolis: Congratulations on the Oscar nomination for the screenplay for "Out of Sight." Will you be writing the screenplay for "Be Cool"?
Elmore Leonard: Well, I didn't write the screenplay for "Out of Sight." That was Scott Frank, and I called him this morning at a quarter of six L.A. time to congratulate him. He was up -- he had listened to the telecast of the announcements. So right now he's very busy: He's writing a couple of screenplays as well as the book. He is one writer, the only one I know, who can keep several balls in the air at one time like that. But I'm not interested in writing the screenplay; I'd rather get into another book. So they'll have to find someone else.
Greg from Arkansas: Mr. Leonard, I've read that you do most of your writing on legal pads rather than a computer. Do you find that this helps you? Thanks.
Elmore Leonard: Actually, they're not legal pads, they're 8 1/2" x 11" yellow pads that are unlined. I have them made up at a print shop. And I've always used these. I've used these since I wrote my first story, in 1951. I don't have a computer. I compose in longhand and then put it on my typewriter. I do have an electric typewriter now, after the secondhand manual typewriter I used for 20 years quit.
Jonathan from Seattle: Given the opportunity to eat dinner with three of your favorite authors, who would you go with?
Elmore Leonard: Hmm. Three of my favorite authors. Wow. Well, two of them are dead. If I could bring them back, I would have dinner with Hemingway, Richard Bissell, and Shakespeare. That would be a group.
Paul from Morris Plains, NJ: What was the last book you read and really liked?
Elmore Leonard: It was Ed McBain, THE BIG BAD CITY. I don't ordinarily read that much in my genre, but I know with Ed McBain you can't go wrong.
Pac87@aol.com from xx: Having worked in Hollywood, do you think you depict an accurate portrayal of the business side of Hollywood?
Elmore Leonard: In GET SHORTY? Yeah, I think it's accurate. I think it's very accurate. I don't think it's exaggerated at all. It's not unkind, either. I did use some experiences -- I used things that I know of and what I've felt -- but I don't know.... It's written from a point of view -- it's Chili's point of view, the character, and it's how he sees it. And I certainly don't see it in the same way necessarily. Because there is a scene right away, Chili and another character are rewriting a script. And that's the way it is: Scriptwriting is rewriting, but very often it falls into the wrong hands. Read the interview in Newsweek this week with Warren Beatty and four other screenwriters and what they say about it, working in Hollywood.
Chuck from Atlanta: You make use of dialogue better than anyone. How do you perfect it? What are your thoughts on Hollywood, and which film of yours is your favorite?
Elmore Leonard: I concentrate on dialogue. I move my stories with dialogue, so I'm very much aware of how people talk. I listen. I don't eavesdrop; I just listen when someone is talking to me. Hollywood, I think, is a lot of fun. It's easy to make fun of, too, but I don't think I've ever been unjust. I mean, after all, I'm welcome back. Well, the last few I've thought were all great. "Out of Sight," "Jackie Brown," "Touch," and "Get Shorty" -- I've liked them all, and they were all different. Certainly "Get Shorty" was the funniest and was produced as a comedy, and I don't write comedies, but I could hear my characters talking. The dialogue came across as I heard it when I was writing it. And the reason it worked is because the characters didn't think they were being funny.
Moderator: How do you plan to celebrate New Year's Eve 1999?
Elmore Leonard: I hope that we have a New Year's Eve party that was as good as the last one we had!
Gerald from New York: Hello, Mr. Leonard. Your books manage to present vivid characters in the most efficient amount of space. How do you get to know your characters so well? Do you do much rewriting before turning in the final product? Thank you.
Elmore Leonard: I rewrite all the time. That's what writing is. I write in longhand because I can cross it out faster and keep writing and get to the bottom of the page. And the thing is, what you crossed out is still there. You know, I just write a paragraph at a time. I rarely just get two people talking and the scene just races. But as I get to know the character and the way the character speaks, then the character begins to tell me things. This particular type of person, you know what he would do, you know?
Mary from Minnesota: The wife of a man who has just finished a mystery novel but is not yet published (and has been wanting to write all his life), what would you recommend I do to support him in this process? I am trying to convince him to stay home full-time and write as I make enough money to get us by.
Elmore Leonard: You're a saint! My lord! The man should be extremely grateful! I don't know why he wouldn't want to take you up on it.
Sharon from Steamboat Springs, CO: Are you thinking about your next book yet? What can we expect next from you?
Elmore Leonard: In the next book, I'm thinking about a woman who has been into crime. She's been into insurance fraud, but she's arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and she's sent to prison in Florida. She comes out of prison after 16 months wanting to be a stand-up comic and use material from the prison -- what it's like, life in the joint. So I visited a prison in South Florida, and the superintendent asked for volunteers who would like to talk about humor in prison. And 15 ladies volunteered, and we met, we sat in a room, and we talked about what's funny about prison. I said -- that was my first question -- I sat down and I said, "What's funny about prison?" And almost in unison they said, "The guards!" So I got enough material, I think, for my character's first attempt at stand-up comedy.
PJ from Butler, NJ: How do you think your writing has evolved with the 30-plus books you have written?
Elmore Leonard: I think my writing definitely evolved from the '50s up into the '80s. I think it takes you at least a million words or about ten years to have any confidence in what you're doing, and to be sure of the style that you want to develop, which comes out of your attitude. How you see the world. I happen to see a lot of humor in the world, but I don't present it as humor. So I still try to make it better, and at the same time I experiment in ways that probably the reader wouldn't even be aware of. At the same time, I'm trying to think of good ideas, situations, because I'm never trying to think of the whole idea for a book. I think, for example, the woman ex-con stand-up comic might -- I'm sure I'll go with her, but I'm not sure of other characters that I see her with. So I'll just have to find out what's going to happen. That's the interesting thing about making it up as you go along. You, the author, want to know what's going to happen next.
Georges from Northwest Indiana: I love your works. What do you read when you want to get your mind off of writing?
Elmore Leonard: Well, I read a lot of magazines. I read short stories. I'm reading Martin Amis's collection right now of stories and, I think, essays, called HEAVY WATER. And I've been researching, too, of course. Whenever I'm writing a book, I don't read fiction; whatever I read is research. For BE COOL, I read a number of books on the music industry. I'm reading a book about Hollywood, EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS. I'm reading a book about an expedition to the North Pole on a ship called the Narwhal, THE VOYAGE OF THE NARWHAL, and Barbara Kingsolver's book set in the Congo, THE POISONWOOD BIBLE. Well, THE PERFECT STORM and INTO THIN AIR -- you read both of those one after the other. They seem to go together -- they came out at the same time. I don't know why.... And a book called WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES by Philip Gourevitch. STORIES FROM RWANDA is the subtitle. And that should do it.
Moderator: Thank you, Elmore Leonard! It was a pleasure chatting with you tonight. Do you have any closing comments for the online audience?
Elmore Leonard: Well, I hope that I was of some help. I know that some of my answers were sort of muddled as I try to think at the same time as I talk. And I don't talk that much about writing. I don't have a group of writers that I hang out with, mainly because I would rather not talk about it. But I've enjoyed it this evening, and I hope that you've been satisfied!
