Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Elmore Leonard Tribute


I’ve never read anything by Elmore Leonard, but I have enjoyed movies made from his work, including Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Jackie Brown (adapted from the novel Rum Punch), and 3:10 to Yuma (the remake with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale). And, of course, we’re HUGE fans of the TV show Justified, inspired by Leonard’s short story “Man in the Hole.”

Last night, the Writers Bloc held a sold-out tribute to Elmore Leonard, who died in August. We were among the few lucky non-show-biz types to snag tickets. It was an amazing evening.

Graham Yost, the creator of Justified, kicked-off the festivities, followed by Carla Gugino, who read a short story about Karen Sisco, the title character of Gugino's much-too-short-lived TV show from ten years ago. Timothy Olyphant, Justified’s irrepressible Raylan Givens, was next. Other cast members included Erica Tazel (who plays Raylan’s partner Rachel Brooks), Jere Burns (bad guy Wynn Duffy), and our favorite, Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder), who read an excerpt about a priest who shoots down four murderers without blinking an eye. Leonard’s son, Peter, also an author, reminisced about his father and read three of Elmore’s zanier fan letters. Like the man being honored, they were raunchy, irreverent and absolutely hilarious.

BBC's tribute to Elmore Leonard

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