Movies and TV shows based on stories by Detroit’s Elmore Leonard [PHOTOS]

Touch (1997)

Directed and written by Paul Shrader. Produced by Fida Attieh and Lila Cazès.
Based on Leonard’s 25th novel, published in 1987, the film was directed by Grand Rapids-born Paul Shrader and stars Bridget Fonda, Christopher Walken, and Skeet Ulrich, who plays Juvenal, a young man who is seemingly able to cure the sick by touching them. The soundtrack was composed and recorded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. It received mixed reviews.

Pronto (1997)

Directed by Jim McBride. Written by Michael Butler. Produced by Richard Berg and Allan Marcil.
A TV movie adaptation of Leonard’s 1993 novel, his 31st, stars Peter Falk, Glenne Headly, and James LeGros. The plot involves a Miami mobster who tries to silence a retired bookie who is working with the FBI to convict him. It has a mildly positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jackie Brown (1997)

Directed and written by Quentin Tarantino, and produced by Lawrence Bender.
Based on Leonard’s 1992 novel Rum Punch, the film sees “blaxploitation” cinema star Pam Grier cast as the titular Jackie Brown, a flight attendant caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, and Robert De Niro also appear. With Tarantino directing, the film grossed $74 million and helped revive Grier’s career.

Gold Coast (1997)

Directed by Peter Weller. Written by Harley Peyton. Produced by Richard Maynard, Jana Sue Memel, and Peter Weller.
This TV movie was based on the 18th novel written by Leonard, published in 1980, and also his first set in Florida, although many characters are from Detroit. Starring David Caruso and Marg Helgenberger, the plot involves a widow whose late mobster husband forbade her to ever love again.

Out of Sight (1998)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Frank. Produced by Danny De Vito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher.
Based on Leonard’s 1996 novel, his 33rd, the film marks the first of several collaborations between director Soderbergh and George Clooney, who stars as the world’s greatest bank robber, with Jennifer Lopez playing his love interest. The film earned wide acclaim and grossed $77.7 million against a $48 million budget. Its title is inspired by the lyrics of Stevie Wonder’s 1965 single “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” and the film led to a short-lived 2003 spin-off TV show called Karen Sisco.

Karen Sisco (2003)

Developed by Jason Smilovic.
This crime drama television series was a spin-off of Loenard’s novel and film Out of Sight,starring Carla Gugino in the title role as a U.S. Deputy Marshal who tracks down fugitives amid Miami’s seedy underbelly. The series debuted on ABC but was canceled after just one series, although in 2013 TV Guide declared it one of 60 shows that were “Canceled Too Soon.”

The Big Bounce (2004)

Directed by George Armitage. Written by Sebastian Gutierrez. Produced by George Armitage, Steve Bing, and Jorge Saralegui.
The second attempt at adapting The Big Bounce to film recasts the location to Hawaii and tweaks its style to that of a comedy heist, starring Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster, and Morgan Freeman. Like its predecessor, it also received poor reviews and was a box office flop, grossing only $6,808,550 against a $50 million budget.

Be Cool (2005)

Directed by F. Gary Gray. Written by Peter Steinfield. Produced by Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher.
Based on Leonard’s 35th novel, published in 1999, Be Cool is a sequel to the hit novel and film Get Shorty and was made at the behest of an MGM executive with an eye of making another movie. John Travolra reprises his role as Chili Palmer, who moves from the film industry into the music biz, joining an ensemble cast that includes DeVito, Uma Thurman, and Vince Vaughn. While the film was a commercial success, grossing $95 million against a budget of $53-75 million, it received negative reviews, with director Gray saying he felt the film’s PG-13 rating did a disservice to the R-rated plot.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Directed by James Mangold. Written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Halsted Welles, and Elmore Leonard. Produced by Cathy Conrad.
3:10 to Yuma was again made into a film in 2007, which Mangold described as a new take on “that wonderful Halsted Welles script.” Starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, critics gave it generally positive reviews, and it grossed $71 million.

Killshot (2008)

Directed by John Madden. Written by Hossein Amini. Produced by Lawrence Bender and Richard N. Gladstein.
Based on Leonard’s 27th novel published in 1989, this movie stars Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Mickey Rourke, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The story follows a couple who, despite being in a Witness Protection Program, are being chased and confronted by the criminal they outed. It received negative reviews.

Justified (2010)

Developed by Graham Yost.
This neo-Western crime drama TV series is based on Leonard’s stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly “Fire in the Hole.” It stars Timothy Olyphant as Raylan, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice set in the Appalachian mountains area of eastern Kentucky. The show aired on the FX network and received wide acclaim, with a limited sequel series called Justified: City Primeval planned to be released in June 2023.

Freaky Deaky (2012)

Directed, written, and produced by Charles Matthau.
Based on Leonard’s 26th novel, published in 1988, the film stars Billy Burke, Christian Slater, Crispin Glover, and Michael Jai White, with a plot involving a bomb squad detective investigating two ex-hippies in 1974 Detroit. The movie received $2.8 million in tax incentives under Michigan’s former film program, but was released straight to video.

Life of Crime (2013)

Written and directed by Daniel Schechter. Produced by Ashok Amritraj.
Based on Leonard’s 15th novel, The Switch, published in 1978, this black comedy film is set in Detroit and stars Jennifer Aniston as a socialite named Mickey who is kidnapped by a pair of bumbling ex-cons (one of which is played by Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as Mos Def), their plans foiled because Mickey’s husband wants to divorce her anyway. It received generally positive reviews.

Get Shorty (2017)

Developed by Davey Holmes.
A TV series based on Leonard’s hit 1990 novel and acclaimed 1995 film was created by MGM+. Described as more of an “homage” than an adaptation, the series stars Chris O’Dowd, Ray Romano, Sean Bridgers, Carolyn Dodd, Lidia Porto, Goya Robles, Megan Stevenson, Lucy Walters, and Sarah Stiles. It aired for three seasons, ending in 2019.