‹ First  < 5 6 7 8 9 > 
7 of 9
Messier for Elmore
Posted: 18 March 2008 08:05 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 91 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  485
Joined  2005-10-08

Son Slater,

I love MESSIER!

Son Son Slater gettin’ married?

Make the LaBrava deal happen.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 21 March 2008 07:47 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 92 ]
Senior Member
Avatar
RankRankRank
Total Posts:  97
Joined  2008-03-18

I first came across Mr. L at a mall bookstore’s remainder table, his book Stick with its weird cover catching my eye. Seems like it was ‘83, when the book was published. I don’t know why it was discounted, but at the price it was marked down, looking for someone new, why not. I was at first put of by Mr. L’s style, noted lack of conjunctions. But by the third chapter I was hooked. Spent a decade trying to hunt down all his old stuff, before Get Shorty got him so famous that they finally started putting his Western shorts in collections. If I wasn’t so old I’d spend all my spare time tracking down interviews, intros and whatever. But this site does a nice job of that.

Thank God or the Satan, whichever, for the internet, eh?

Profile
 
 
Posted: 24 March 2008 08:05 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 93 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

neat the way you come into this at a time
I am preparing my post of Stick
that first one really is a trip
Stick 1983
Earnest Stickley just out after 7 years for Robbery, Armed,
maximum security prison, Jackson Mich.,
calls on his buddy Rainy in Miami on his way to see his little girl.
From there we get to discover the real Stick in all kinds of situations,
walking into the jaws of death or the arms of three beautiful women in one night.
All the characters evolve for us into three dimensional people,
a familiar population of saints and sinners
pursuing their lives and goals with energy and natural zeal.
Many familiar bits surface here,
The Veteran,
here one Charles Lindsay “Chucky Buck” Gorman III
whose chemical balance is nudged askew in-country
now requiring maintenance dosage
works his nefarious marketing trade
into many styles of hat
one of those guys who
“are fun to watch”.
The Outlaw,
in the line of Jiggs Scully, Clement Mansell & Roland Crowe
Eddie Moke standing there in his size 44
red white and blue striped t-shirt
The Girl intended to be fed to the moke turns out to be a barracuda
her brother pitched at least one winning season for the Boston Red Sox
tough talking financial advisor to one of those jewish fellows with short names
she discovers stick shifting his limo driving gig into mid level derivative of her self
she’s all right with it till stick helps chucky off his penthouse balcony
The Movie Producer arrives late in the story
we recognize him from other Leonard juxta
Hollywood gangland bad guys
rich with references
foreshadows
Get Shorty
by decade

This type of Elmore
is more the El
than the more
if you know what I mean.
Not seriously questioning the meaning of true reform
reformation within a most catholic galaxy.
Redemption here is through erstwhile clarity of focus,
a code of morality and the absolute balance between good and evil.
Killing someone is ok if there is no other logical choice
very often it is the logical conclusion of all the plot devices
Leonard keeps us guessing as to weather or not Stick will get the girl.
The girl as always is a bright intelligent independent woman
with options and a softer side than she shows.
Conversation is what beauty craves.
The environment of rich people fascinates, Dutch is in his glory
exploring the scene of the comfortable and the compulsive,
their minions and their women,
the action is always moving and the cars always mint.

In 1985 Leonard wrote the screenplay for a Burt Reynolds film of this name
it bombed a bit with Reynolds portraying Stick as a bad ass, serious and stark,
all other characters in contrast, thin pale shadows of their literary world counterparts.

the fantasy of la brava is now
upon relating the end of stick and
the beginning of la brava
the movie producer picks me up
takes me to my sons wedding
while I attempt to show the beauty
filming la brava as a road movie
we pick up all the elmore leonard fans who share
this regional area around Detroit,
participate in the dutch forum
all welcome to my kid’s wedding
we pitch the the mogul the movie
right through the wedding
winding up at the reception
where elmore himself is welcomed
all ready to share the gladness of
the occasion
meeting my
new in laws
dancing with
my daughter

Profile
 
 
Posted: 25 March 2008 09:41 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 94 ]
Senior Member
Avatar
RankRankRank
Total Posts:  97
Joined  2008-03-18

Son Slater - Road movie

La Brava as a road pic.

Don’t see that.

Good luck.

Some of his coolest characters, though.

What am I saying? That’s a given….

Yeah, Stick was blown by the some-times smarmy, tough-cat Reynolds, and that scene, his daughter in trouble, guns blazing up the aquariums - awful. And the ending, cars pulling over on the freeway. Nope.

But Candice was great in her role, Chucky was done well, although Durning was way too old. Segal was spot on from the book. Get Shorty should be a lesson to potential Mr. L adapters - change nothing, cut what you have to, give the audience some credit for intelligence, don’t think blockbuster.

Let’s not forget - Reynolds directed. Gak.

Profile
 
 
Posted: 27 March 2008 11:14 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 95 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

gak
enough movie history
the scenes
stick writing his two pages
very rare anti hero author
cornell doing the freaky deaky
diane stam queen of the nile
barry at leucadendra
the ex wife & kid
the kid
the first kid
since sabre river
church of healing grace
holy roller rev. don
dental faith healer

the drama of back-story
realities make la brava
on the road
from wayne state
to all state
presidential sitting room
artist in residence

note the transitions
bodies in space
balcony rails
the freeway
becoming the heart
of the story
glitz
all road movies

the first film to transcend the dramatic

sounds like pretense
yet must ask
what next

La Brava 1983
Joe LaBrava is an ex secret service agent living
South Beach taking pictures of people,
people of all walks,
he has pictures of Mrs. Truman in his mind and
he seeks out junkies and whores
watches them pose
live their lives for his lens.
the eye of the artist

His innermost circle of friends includes an old man named Maurice who runs the pastel shaded hotel
has photographs of the main line Florida rail service from the 20’s when he was a young man,
each chapter of this book could secretly relate to one of these pictures in order or at random.
this kind of road movie calls for the skills of a chaplain or keaton
Murray asks him to help an old friend who turns out to be the movie star
Joe fell in love with when he was 12 years old
so begins an unfolding story of folds,
the heart folds in the middle
between an old love and
a vibrant frizzy haired
Franny Kaufman,
moving from one sleazy dive hotel to another
from ocean-side condo to swamp-side institutions
the tongue of an idiot security guard,
Richard Nobles gone mad with his own intelligence
encouraged by this same dark star of the silver screen,
the sounds of Miami
Ritchie’s partner in crime
Cundo Rey boat lift stripper
Buck Torres appears
the inside man
police headquarters
all friends of Joe
the camera

godzilla vs bambi
movie mogul
pitch man

Profile
 
 
Posted: 27 March 2008 02:16 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 96 ]
Senior Member
Avatar
RankRankRank
Total Posts:  97
Joined  2008-03-18

son slater - La Brava on the Road

Dude. Too deep for me.

But -
like I said
follow the master Mr. L
disciple Mr. Scott
on slicing up The Man’s
words
seemed clearer
interesting from 1983
and on even on today’s
beaches

Good
pitchin’

Profile
 
 
Posted: 10 April 2008 10:35 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 97 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

yes
too
deep
son son
wedded
Detroit
apparently a line divides the whole city from east to west
so any hope of a movie deal had to be relegated to fantasy

Glitz 1985
Considered the breakout hit by some,
a very solid story told from Puerto Rico to New Jersey,
and back again with references to Miami Beach,
the hero again a tough cop,
wounded off duty recovering in San Juan,
Vincent Mora meets Iris a simple girl from the barrio
who will do just about anything to be part of the glitz
and because she is nursing Vincent’s boner
comes to the attention of the villain Teddy Magyk,
you know it psychopath from Atlantic City,
whose fixation on the guy who put him in prison
drives this tale of murder and passion.
Note another one of those images
carried from novels in time
the photographer la brava
the zoom lens magic teddy
We meet Linda Moon for the first time
playing the lounge at Spade’s San Juan
owned and operated by the typical Leonard
dysfunctional husband and wife team of Tommy and Nancy Donovan,
we get a behind the scene look at the business of gambling
and some of the characters associated with both the legal
and underworld activity associated with glitz.
this focus never seen anywhere else before
had to do with the white hat
who could accept a bribe
if it would scare the perp
this realization frees us
to become
the hero
of the piece
while accepting
the role of miscreant
frees us to be
poetic yet profane
that’s enough
really
to awake
a generation
to the ins and outs
of point of view
the bearded hero
becomes himself
OK this is the third book in a row
where bodies falling through the air
are important images carried from one novel
to the next
chucky off the balcony at the end of stick
la brava snapping his breakthrough image
a body in space
Iris falling from the condo railing
failing to keep her legs together
thus losing any chance of winning
the glitz
funny how jimmy dunn
comes to remind us once again
the debt to the veteran
played with
the
victor herbert band
these small things are sometimes overlooked
and why I think la brava is a road movie
glitz on the other hand is the final tale in the set
that you don’t get it now is not important
except
the realization is clear
we stand alone
frank the ching hearkens back to a run of franks
long gone yet fondly remembered
moose johnson is the guy the whole narrative moves
these guys exist in whole or part
apparent to those of us paying attention
able to agree to hold the line
to guarantee a consistency
of truth harnessed
to feed the children
oh and by the way
jacky garbo
is another one
who is
fun to watch
the fact that I’ve been able to read these novels
in this order
has more to do
with availability
and emphasis
the slicing up you refer to
is more about
a totality
agreed upon
all allegiance
all focus

for the enjoyment of all
I include some photos of Linda
as she appeared in Playboy Oct 1966

BIRTHPLACE: Michigan USA  
BUST: 39”  WAIST: 24”  HIPS: 36” 
HEIGHT: 5’ 5”    WEIGHT: 125 lbs
AMBITIONS:  Cosmetology. 
TURN-ONS: Animals.
TURNOFFS:  Insincerity. 
PLAY ME SOME: Rock ‘n’ roll! 
GREAT FLICK:  “Elmer Gantry.”                       
FAMILY TREE:  I have some Cherokee Indian in my background, and some French. 
GROWING UP: My family moved from Michigan to California when I was six.
FAVORITE PERFORMERS: Vaughn Williams and Burt Lancaster.                     
WHAT I LIKE IN A MAN:  Maturity and honesty

Image Attachments
linda playboy.jpglinda-moon.jpg
Profile
 
 
Posted: 14 June 2008 02:34 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 98 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

reading the freaky deaky thing now
the post being prepared
could never hope to convey
the pleasure of this corner
Just when things are going smoothly
all those novels from Detroit to Glitz
we come to Bandits and Touch
what a wonderful tribute
the heart and soul of a man
it’s almost as if EL wrote one
to get the other published
Enter Jack Foley
Writing backwards and forwards looking for a mix
Amazing shifts in point of view
An elmore Leonard fan sees
the literary life of elmore in real time
now arrives at the home of the young elmore
the birthplace

Bandits 1987
New Orleans set tale
ex con,
ex cop,
ex nun,
ex aboriginal combat vet
ex Central American strongman
a whole lot of money.
Jack works in his brother in laws funeral parlor
relives his glory years as a jewel thief,
the ins and outs of hotel high jinkery
the woman who turned him on
turned him in,
yet
his heart is open
to the beautiful
Sister Lucy
and
the hit man
sent to kill her.
How Elmore can reconcile two severely divergent ideas is the marvel of this simple story
a happy ending turns on the natural world
fulfilling ones destiny.
The good guys sometimes win.
Another antihero named Jack.
This Jack Ryan
Delaney
From New Orleans
Mary’s boy
The story of the
Miracles of St. Francis
Franklin de Dios,
Meskit warrior
Cully
share veteran honours
best lines going to cully and the nigger indin
Franklin
resumes a missed tradition of franks who don’t give a damn
Uncle Cully just out of jail living life large
to recover years lost behind bars,
referred to in Out of Sight,
Jack Foley there
the greatest bank robber
on the California computer.
Is there an Adele here?
Arlene?
Here she is called Helene
franny kaufman?
missed her
Have wondered how it would feel
to get to this place knowing
touch is next
will let you know
seems like a nice fit
what with the stigmata
the pain
the disappointment
the challenger disaster

Profile
 
 
Posted: 16 July 2008 07:45 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 99 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

reading killshot
bird armand blackbird degas
linda moon cousin
sitting in the silver dollar
talk about detroit
talk about road movies

touch 1987
Lynn stood in the opening, then moved aside to let the light from the hallway fall across the bed. Arnold was lying on his back, eyes closed, hands relaxed on the light chenille spread covering him. She could hear Arnold inhaling gently and letting his breath out in a wheeze that was not quite a snore. But no Juvenal. He could have gone to get Arnold a sleeping pill—no, Edith said they rarely use them here, or tranquilizers—but he could have gone to get him something. She began to turn away, still looking at Arnold, then turned back again and very carefully, quietly, approached the bed, moving aside, staying out of the light, so she could see Arnold’s face clearly. There was something on his cheek, something dark. Lynn stooped, then went to one knee next to the bed, looking at the dark streak that crossed from Arnold’s cheekbone to the corner of his mouth. Her hand went to the bed lamp, felt beneath the shade and found the button. Looking at Arnold she turned the lamp on—saw the mark on his face become red in the light, a smudge of something red, wiped and streaked; saw the stains on the pillow, blood red, and thought of Virginia, Bill Hill telling about the traces of blood on Virginia’s face—and snapped off the lamp. She knelt there a moment, her hands on the edge of Arnold’s bed, as though in prayer.
Two doors away a light was on in the lab. No one was inside. Lynn moved past the lab and several rooms, looking at closed doors, to the end of the hall where the carpeted floor joined a short, perpendicular hallway with a door at each end. The overhead light was dim, not more than 75 watts, but she could make out the metal nameplate on the door to the left, JUVENAL—hesitant now approaching the door, afraid. She said to herself, Afraid of what? He’s nice. He’s a very nice guy. She knocked lightly on the door
—God, and saw the mark, the stain on the knob, and almost drew back. The door was open several inches. She knocked again, holding back, tapping lightly the way she would enter a sickroom and said, “Juvenal?”
Silence.
Lynn pushed the door open. She stood looking in at a desk and soft light reflecting on French doors that were partly open and led to a rooftop porch. The light came from a reading lamp next to a dark leather couch. There were bookshelves to the ceiling and grass mats on the floor, a crucifix over the desk.
She could hear running water.
“Juvenal?”
The sound of the water stopped. Lynn walked into the room. To the right was a short hallway. She waited; but she was curious and anxious again, with the same feeling she had experienced before, wanting to know what he was doing. She told herself he was good and wouldn’t hurt her, he healed people—
She stepped into the hallway. The light was on in the bathroom, on the left, and she glanced in. There were red stains on the rim of the basin, traces of red not washed into the drain.
She said again, “Juvenal?”
His voice came from the bedroom, tired, a quiet sound. “I’m in here.”
“Can I come in?”
There was a silence.
“If you want to.”
Lynn walked into the bedroom.
He stood in white under shorts by a dresser, his chest and legs bare. He stood on a white towel, his feet bare.
Lynn said, “Oh, my God—”
She saw his mild expression, his eyes. She saw his hands raised at his sides, palms up, as if holding small pools of blood.
She saw the crucifix on the wall in the coffee shop.
She saw the blood on his hands. She saw the blood oozing out of his left side, staining the waistband of his shorts. She saw the blood on his bare feet, red gouge marks on his insteps, the blood trickling to the towel.
She saw the crucifix again, the agonized figure of Christ on the cross.
She saw Juvenal standing in his bedroom, bleeding from the same five wounds.

it is possible to see the virgin linda here
this is a smart woman
savvy knows goodness
goodness knows
rounding squarely on entertainment
the trouble with all EL adaptations
all the bad guys are really good guys
all the good guys are really bad

Profile
 
 
Posted: 11 August 2008 09:30 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 100 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

just finishing get shorty
amazed at the power
of the visual metaphor
plot folding on plot
story consumes itself
to express itself
selflessly

Freaky Deaky 1988
Another in the Detroit City series of stories,
here the bomb squad meets the mod squad,
with another Robin flying in on a wing of manic mind fuck
a prayer of solemn assembly
schemers and crazies.
Emerson “Skip” Gibbs is the ultimate actor on the stage of revolutionary revelations,
where all the cats are there
all the chicks are groovy
bombs are expressions of love
dope is a sacred sacrament in the quest for real life drama.
The good cop here is Chris Mankowski
just getting off bomb squad duty
en route to sex crimes when
he meets the love of his life
the girl of his dreams
only to be suspended from the force while
plots to extort big bucks go spiraling out of control.
Back plot in Dutch’s universe is everything
as in the story of Booker, Juicy Mouth and Moselle Lewis,
here all supply a comic diversion
yet lead the thread of the story to a conclusion,
Moselle is seen again in Out of Sight
as Snoopy Lewis’ skittish old lady
dropping a dime again,
moving the plot to a logical conclusion.
The funniest of all
Right from the top
Over the top
Corey Bowen with long hair and a drug problem

George Carlin’s Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old
is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited
about aging that you think in fractions.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’

Profile
 
 
Posted: 24 August 2008 06:46 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 101 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

Just started Maximum Bob
Funny how things go
in the life of a people
the things that they love
hold most dear
make sense at many levels
not least an Elmore Leonard novel
Having read all the novels
from Bounty Hunters to Killshot
I have come full circle
back to a native view
a sociopolitical one
where men stand up
cops can be as smart or dumb as you please
ditto for bad guys
women are divine mysteries

Killshot 1989
The story starts in a dive
legendary Toronto jazz joint
The Silver Dollar,
Armand “The Blackbird” Degas
awaiting a sign
a long time since the native viewpoint is visited
Gunsights
then way back to the western five.
Blackbird is Creole,
mixed blood like Linda Moon,
struggling in the white world,
aware of a spirit that moves him
He mutters to himself
all the shit
a Detroiter
a Montrealer
may mutter about Toronto
the grunge of which he is part.
He gets a call
off he goes to kill
a high Toronto mob boss in Detroit
the fun begins.
Inside the head of a bad guy
everything seems logical
when he finally gets some joy
we are right there with him
the aimless wanderings in country
Richie & Donna
near and far
a dark travelogue of the heart.
The good guys
a couple of lovers
past their prime
built along the lines of heroes past.
The expertise embodied
Wayne and Carmen
required to drive the story
the ending meant to surprise
a conclusion natural
a universe built by Dutch
in a factory town.

Last Detroit novel till
Out of Sight returns from Florida

the realization
something miraculous
possess us
connected to a time of innocence
the realization at last
pause for drama
aware now of a need world wide
hunger and cold
complex sets of development
a generation in the making
Carmen writing the script
The Passenger
Get Shorty

Profile
 
 
Posted: 18 September 2008 09:30 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 102 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  349
Joined  2006-08-03

On a vacation, Son?  No messier post in over 3 weeks!

Profile
 
 
Posted: 22 September 2008 05:30 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 103 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

still at the cottage by the lake
reading Rum Punch
just got
screenplay
video
Jackie Brown
will try to fold them
writing now of folds in story

Get Shorty 1990
My entry into folding,
that story about making,
in this case
a mountain
of a mole hill,
the concept has come into its own
where the essential reality of self is accepted fully
what is at hand is made into something
if not better than what went before it,
at least interesting enough
to ease readers and viewers
toward an enjoyable life period,
a drug perhaps
Film festival night
Young people on the street,
hip and belly exposed
Dignified couple out for a stroll
dance is movement
bodies thru space,
the movement of these two
groups of people
unique in that each move is free,
completely unconnected
to the time
space
in which it exists,
this is the essence of the improv
yet the adherence to a script
allows the dancers to move
along an established route,
if an image can be carried whole
changed into its next state
a significant quantum will be created.
It is this quantum
perhaps
that powers all future endeavor
I read on
” It was the colored limo guy
Bo Catlett,
wearing glasses
and with a movie script
open in front of him.
Catlett said,
“This ain’t bad,
you know it?
This Mr Lovejoy.
The title’s for shit,
but the story,
man,
it takes hold of you

Profile
 
 
Posted: 01 November 2008 04:08 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 104 ]
Power User
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  355
Joined  2006-09-20

pronto
the taste of rum punch
so fresh
I give thanks
for the richness of
the bounty
that so lingers
on the lip

here’s a fold for you
guy
sitting in
a barber’s chair

Maximum Bob
1991
here we are
in the middle
huge election season
without straying from the topic
we can see the temptation
to create something so great
you have trouble finding the words
to describe how great it is
to be able to do this
what it means to even try
to express
gratitude
too
pale
a word
we need new language
to describe the truth of it
this new language will resemble all our old ones
with one important difference
this one really delivers the expression
right between the ribs
right next to the heart
a great heart

contrast

the elected official
the mature beat cop

that barber’s chair
a tense greg peck
Dave Flynn
something new
something old
the outbreak
new violence
Having read it once
the shock of the ending lingers,
bad things happen to good people
bad people do fucked up things just because they are bad people,
amazed to see the author bring his own first novel into the motivation of the evil doer,
here again the Crowe family provides the dark matter,
we see Dale Jr. on his way to jail after breaking parole in the most innocent way, boys are boys after all, Elvin just out of jail after 10 years for killing the wrong person as revenge for the shooting death of his older brother Roland, the mountainous maniac in Gold Coast,  which begs a sequel, down to wearing Roland’s electric blue suit half way thru, and the climatic scene where Elvin recalls the plot kicker in Dutch’s first published novel The Bounty Hunters,
hero sitting in barbers chair
bluffs the bad guy
backing out of a fight
over a haircut,
decides to cut right to the chase,
don’t want to spoil it for you cats
plot twist moved from the beginning
back to the rear,
bob’s the max
it’s a honey
Karen Sisco
Out of Sight
who will mourn the fallen hero
the Sheriffs office,
from a family of crime fighters
detectives,
hanging in there
standing up to Maximum Bob,
the insane judge around whom the plot turns
his even crazier wife,
former “mermaid” at Wiki Watchi, 
in direct communication with a long dead
“culud” gal
trying to save the errant soul of Judge Bob
more interested in the skirt of the day..
good luck
on election night
vote early
vote often

Profile
 
 
Posted: 04 November 2008 07:59 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 105 ]
Power User
Avatar
RankRankRankRank
Total Posts:  204
Joined  2007-02-04

Coincidence. I’ve just re-read Maximum Bob. What occurred to me was that Kathy Baker is crying out for a sequel set in her future homicide detective days. Oh, & that I find the alligator more & more moving each time I go through this book.

 Signature 

A shiny brown lowrider dachshund named Swifty

Profile
 
 
   
‹ First  < 5 6 7 8 9 > 
7 of 9