The Elmore Leonard Podcast

GET SHORTY is one of Elmore Leonard's best known and best regarded novels. But after re-reading it, both Alex and Judd believe it is still under appreciated.  In Part Two, they track Elmore's breadcrumbs, express appreciation for getting to see more of Ray Bones in the movie than what's in the book, admire Bo Catlett, and more. Also, Judd shares how his grandfather may have assisted James Gandolfi...

GET SHORTY is one of Elmore Leonard's best known and best regarded novels. But after re-reading it, both Alex and Judd believe it is still under appreciated.  In Part One, they dig into how only Elmore could write this book, what inspired it, some of the differences between the book and Barry Sonnenfeld's great movie, the connection between Chili Palmer and Sir Laurence Olivier, and more.  Links:...

Eli Cranor is the Edgar Award-winning author of Don't Know Tough , as well as Ozark Dogs , Broiler , and most recently Mississippi Blue 42 . He is the Arkansas Tech University Writer in Residence, not to mention a Swedish Football Champion.  Eli joins us to talk Elmore, fiction, great mentors, and so much more.  https://www.elicranor.com https://www.lemuriabooks.com Credits:  Hosted By: Judd Rubin...

Michael Connelly is one of our great working novelists. His Harry Bosch novels have been published into dozens of languages, and have spawned three television series, BOSCH, BOSCH: LEGACY, and BALLARD (all on Amazon Prime). His novel THE LINCOLN LAWYER has been adapted into a feature film as well as a television series (Netflix). His accolades include the Edgar Award For Best First Novel, the CWA...

CARL HIAASEN is a best-selling and award-winning author and journalist. His novels include Tourist Season, Strip Tease, Skin Tight and the recently released Fever Beach. Adaptations of his work include Strip Tease (starring Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds, and Ving Rhames), Hoot (starring Brie Larson, Logan Lerman, and Luke Wilson) and Bad Monkey, starring Vince Vaughn and now streaming on Apple.   He j...

Alex and Judd dive deep into PRONTO - the first book of Elmore Leonard's to feature Raylan Givens, the central character of FX's Justified.  They discuss how Elmore auditioned one of his greatest characters, what Raylan cares about most, and also touch on the moral decay and lack of respect among the youth.  Also, Judd spoils the ending to the 1993 Tom Cruise movie, The Firm. https://www.youtube.c...

Alex R. Johnson is an author and filmmaker. His debut novel Brooklyn Motto was published this year and his film Two Step, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. He joins the podcast to talk Elmore and tell us what it's like to jump between film and books, learn from Jonathan Demme, and grow up in a house of spies.  https://haciendafilmsinc.com Guest: Alex R. Johnson Hosted By: Judd Rubin and Alex Le...

Walter Mosley is one of our great writers. He's written over 60 books, including mysteries, science fiction, short stories and non-fiction. His books have been adapted into films and television shows such as Devil in a Blue Dress , starring Denzel Washington, Jennifer Beals, and Don Cheadle; The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey starring Samuel L. Jackson (Apple TV);  The Man in my Basement starring Corey...

Danny Cosmo is a world-record holding high diver and stunt man who has worked on over 170 movies. Cosmo met Elmore during the research phase of TISHOMINGO BLUES, and Elmore based much of his character Dennis on Cosmo's exploits.  Cosmo joins us to share what it's like to dive from 96 feet in the air, getting shot at in Puerto Rico, transmitting subliminal messages on The Tonight Show, and how he g...

Graham Yost has written or produced some of the best television ever. His work includes Band of Brothers, Boomtown, John Adams, The Pacific, Masters of the Air, The Americans, Slow Horses, and Silo. He is also the Executive Producer and Showrunner of FX's Justified, based on Elmore Leonard's short story "Fire in the Hole." Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Joelle Carter, and Ni...

Before Elmore Leonard died in 2013 he decided that he wanted his archives to live at The Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of South Carolina.   This fall, the first Elmore Leonard Exhibit opened and we got to meet two of the people responsible for preserving the archives, Michael Weisenburg and Elizabeth Sudduth. Michael is the current director of the Collect...

Alex gets an audience with the one and only Otto Penzler, a dear friend of Elmore's and the proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City - the oldest mystery specialist book store in America. Having been featured in Comfort to the Enemy and Up In Honey's Room, Otto is also the first character of Elmore's to join ust on the podcast.  Otto tells us about getting to know Elmore, the importa...

Elmore Leonard has been referred to as the "Dickens of Detroit" but his books are set all over the world. Some of our favorite books of Elmore's, like Split Images, Cat Chaser, La Brava, Maximum Bob, or Rum Punch are set in the great State of Florida.  This podcast features conversations with two people with very unique connections to Florida and Elmore. In the first half of the podast, we speak w...

Alex and Judd throw on their cashmere sweaters, plant machetes, and taunt the homicide detectives as they dive deep into Elmore Leonard's SPLIT IMAGES.  From ElmoreLeonardOfficial.com:  Wealthy industrialist Robbie Daniels has discovered something that gives him even a bigger kick than his palatial homes in Detroit and Palm Beach: homicide. He's tried it, he likes it, and he'd like to keep doing i...

Stacey Sher is one of our great producers of film and television. In addition to having produced two of what many consider to be the three best feature film adaptations of Elmore's work - GET SHORTY and OUT OF SIGHT, she has also produced Erin Brockovich, Contagion, Gattaca, How High, Django Unchained, Reno 911!: Miami, Man on the Moon, and Heretic, to name just a few.  She was also an Executive P...

Ace Atkins is the best selling author of 30 novels including WICKED CITY, WHITE SHADOW, DON'T LET THE DEVIL RIDE, the upcoming EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD, the Quinn Colson series, the Nick Travers series, and several books in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. He is also our first guest to have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He is a huge admirer of Elmore's and he shares some...

Alex and Judd get out of prison, sneak into the Ricks Mansion and hide dynamite all over 1980s Detroit as they dive deep into what some have called Elmore Leonard's greatest book, FREAKY DEAKY.  In Part Two, we sink even deeper into the gray areas, argue about Chris, and hear about the book that Elmore almost wrote featuring some of his greatest characters.  Learn more about Freaky Deaky here: htt...

Alex and Judd get out of prison, sneak into the Ricks Mansion and hide dynamite all over 1980s Detroit as they dive deep into what some have called Elmore Leonard's greatest book, FREAKY DEAKY.  In Part One, we meet our second favorite novelist Nicole Robinette, try not to mix dynamite and LSD, and learn some of the facts of life from Elmore.  Learn more about Freaky Deaky here: https://www.elmore...

Tom Scharpling is just the greatest. He's an accomplished TV writer/producer (Monk, What We Do in the Shadows, Steven Universe) and the host of the legendary The Best Show. He joins Alex and Judd in Chris's dad's Cadillac to talk FREAKY DEAKY, and what he appreciates most about Elmore. Also, Judd pitches him an idea for a novel.  https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheBestShow Guest: Tom Scharpling Hosted...

From the bowels of Morro Prison on Havana Bay, Alex and Judd dive deep into CUBA LIBRE, Elmore Leonard's masterful epic set at the height of tensions that led to The Spanish American War. In Part Two, they get shot by snipers, concoct Elmore Bingo, and Alex shares his thoughts on the Coen Brothers' screenplay of Cuba Libre that, alas, never got made. Stephen Crane's The Open Boat:  https://america...

From the bowels of Morro Prison on Havana Bay, Alex and Judd dive deep into CUBA LIBRE, Elmore Leonard's masterful epic set at the height of tensions that led to The Spanish American War. In Part 1 they enjoy fine cigars, sort out whether it's better to be a fop or a dandy, all while trying to avoid being hacked to pieces by machetes.   Stephen Crane's The Open Boat: https://americanliterature.com...

S.A. COSBY - the best-selling and award winning author of My Darkest Prayer, Razorblade Tears, All the Sinners Bleed, The Rhythm of Time (with Questlove!), joins us to talk Elmore, what's special about Viriginia, Walter Mosely, the greatest 11th grade teacher ever, and his new book, King of Ashes.  Buy King of Ashes here:  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250832078/kingofashes/ Guest: S.A. Cosby...

MEGAN ABBOTT - bestselling author of Dare Me, the Edgar Award-winning Queenpin, Die a Little, and the upcoming El Dorado Drive (a New York Times Summer Book Pick) joins The Elmore Leonard Podcast to discuss carrying on the American hard boiled tradition, tells us what Elmore freed her to do in her own writing, and shares what we can learn from Kafka's cleaning lady.  Find some of Megan's essays  h...

From deep within the kitchen of a rotating restaurant in beautiful downtown Detroit, Alex and Judd revisit OUT OF SIGHT - an all time Elmore Leonard classic. They dive deep into the book, discuss Stockholm Syndrome, share some of their own bad life choices, and more in the latest episode of The Elmore Leonard Podcast.  Hosted By: Judd Rubin and Alex Leonard Music by: Greg Ahee Produced and Edited...

Scott Frank is one of the great screenwriters and storytellers of the modern age. Films he has written include Minority Report, Marley & Me, Logan, The Interpreter, and, of course, GET SHORTY and OUT OF SIGHT. Scott wrote and directed The Lookout and A Walk Among the Tombstones, based on the classic Lawrence Block novel. He's also created some of the most well regarded television shows in recent y...