#273 | Is ‘Get Shorty’ Better as a Novel or Movie?—Elmore Leonard’s Crime Satire on Hollywood, Filmmaking, and (Con) Artistry
Quick SUMMARY:
Douglas Vigliotti compares Elmore Leonard’s novel “Get Shorty” with its film adaptation directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Scott Frank for another edition of “Novel vs Movie”. Vigliotti shares background information on the author, director, and screenwriter and explores differences in tone, themes, and characterization, highlighting Leonard’s gritty crime writing versus the movie’s comedic gloss. He discusses the satirical take on Hollywood, what it means for our lives, the art of dialogue, and why he prefers one version over the other.
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TOPICS COVERED IN the EPISODE:
Introduction & Episode Overview (00:09) – Host introduces the "Movie Verse Novel" edition, focusing on "Get Shorty" and its film adaptation.
About the Author: Elmore Leonard (01:26) - Background on Elmore Leonard, his writing style, notable works, and influence on crime fiction.
About the Screenwriter & Director (02:28) - Discussion of Scott Frank (screenwriter) and Barry Sonnenfeld (director), including their other works and connection to "Get Shorty."
Story Summary & Themes (03:29) - Summary of "Get Shorty" plot, main character, and exploration of Hollywood, storytelling, and fabrication.
Satire, Fabrication, and Hollywood (04:34) - Analysis of the book and film’s satirical take on Hollywood, celebrity, and the theme of fabrication.
Differences Between Novel and Film (05:46) - Comparison of tone, style, and thematic focus between the novel and the movie adaptation.
Dialogue & Writing Style (08:20) - Examination of Elmore Leonard’s dialogue style, differences in dialogue between book and film, and thoughts on quotable lines.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts (09:26) - Host shares a favorite line, invites listener engagement, and provides information about his book and newsletter.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do. So this week I have another edition of Movie vs Novel. It will be the final edition of Movie vs Novel for the year. It is titled “Get Shorty” by Elmore Leonard, and it clocks in at around 290 pages or so. Came out in 1990. The film adaptation, done by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Scott Frank, came out in 1995 and runs at a tight 105 minutes. And of course, they are both same genre of crime, although with slight differences. Much of that I will get into momentarily, as well as sharing which one I like better and why. But first, I just wanted to quickly remind you about the companion newsletter that goes with this podcast. And that's just a once-a-month email that rounds up all of the episodes from that month, complete with full book and author information, all of the best quotes, episode summaries, and additional book recommendations. So if that sounds like something that you're interested in, or maybe you are already sold and you want to sign up, then all you have to do is head over to the website BooksforMen.org.
01:26 - Okay, so now let me first start with the author, Elmore Leonard. He's written, I don't know, 40-something novels. He's often cited as the “Dickens of Detroit”, mostly for his gritty, realistic portrayal of crime in lowlife in the city of Detroit. Similar to what Dickens did for the underbelly of Victorian age London. He's been on the podcast before with “LaBrava”, which is probably my favorite novel of his. Overall, he's probably one of my favorite crime novelists of all time. God, I wish that his style of crime were still in vogue. Either way, we have so many great novels of his to still read today, like “Swag”, “Stick,” both of the same main character, Ernest Stickley. “Out of Sight”. “Tishomingo Blues”. “Freaky Deaky” is one that I really love. “Fifty-Two Pick-Up”. Man, I could just keep going. Oh, and “Rum Punch”, which I was going to share instead of “Get Shorty”, actually, because that was of course adapted into “Jackie Brown” by Quentin Tarantino.
02:28 - But I did choose Get Shorty for a few very specific reasons, and I will get into that obviously in a moment here, but something else that I mentioned at the top of the episode was that the movie adaptation was written by Scott Frank, and he's someone who, in general, I'd say I really like his screenwriting. Even his more recent miniseries that you might have heard of on Netflix, like “Godless” and “Queen's Gambit”. And actually, if you are a newsletter subscriber, you might recognize his name because I shared his one and only novel titled “Shaker” on the newsletter as something that I read recently. You could definitely see shades of Elmore Leonard, and I've actually heard him be interviewed and talk about what it's like adapting an Elmore Leonard novel, because he did do it again for “Out of Sight”. But I don't want to get too far off track here. “Get Shorty” was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who was the cinematographer for some Coen brothers classics like “Raising Arizona”, “Miller's Crossing”, and also one of my favorite movies of all time.
03:29 - And it wasn't a Coen Brothers movie, but it was “When Harry Met Sally”, something that I'm sure I've told you before. When I did an episode on Nora Ephron, I could link that up in the show notes. And this was, of course, all before the directing of “Get Shorty” and then eventually the “Men in Black” trilogy. But anyway, I think you know enough about the author, the directors. Let's jump into the story so I can share where I think it differs and why I prefer one over the other. So in a nutshell, it's the story of Chili Palmer, who in the movie is played by John Travolta, a Miami loan shark who travels to LA to collect the debt and winds up producing movies and getting mixed up in show business. So first and foremost, it's just a fun story. It's a perfect setup for satire and great commentary on the nature of storytelling, lying, luck, circumstance, and just that. Like the wild west essence of what Hollywood and the movie business actually is.
04:34 - Which makes sense, because if you've ever listened to or read anything Elmore Leonard has said about Hollywood, he is very opinionated on the subject matter. But basically, it's an entire industry that's built on fabrication and marketing. I think that sometimes this is a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow because they want to believe in the mystery and the illusion of it all, which is understandable because life is hard. So I'm not here to rag on that, although this book is definitely hitting on that major theme. The same could probably be said for almost everything in life. I often tell my friends the only two true things in life are health and time. Everything else is a lie, and this story is really a magnifying glass on that idea. It's even more comical when you consider our idealization of celebrity and actors and such. Even the title of the film is satirical, as the central plot entails Chili Palmer needing to get more in wear, who is a fictional famous actor played in the movie by Danny DeVito.
05:46 - But it said Leonard's real-life inspo for this was his dealings with Dustin Hoffman. So the term shorty literally is in reference to the physical size of the actor, which just aids this fabrication idea to make someone appear bigger than they are. A common tactic in film for many movie stars. Tom Cruise is probably the most famous one. There's a quick exchange of dialogue that happens at the end of the novel that really puts an exclamation mark on this idea, and Leonard writes: “‘Elaine, she loves the idea, except for the ending. You heard her. She thinks Pacino would be perfect.’ Chilly said, ‘He's kind of short, too, isn't he?’ ‘They all are,’ Karen said. ‘You shoot up.’” All to say that the idea of fabrication and dressing something up and lying to make something up here, something that it isn't, for the sake of your entertainment and enjoyment, of course, is what this is getting at. Overall, I'd say the big difference between the novel and film is more in its tone; Leonard's version is more gritty, and Sonnenfeld's version is more glossy, or the novel leans a bit more into the crime aspect and the movie more into the comedy aspect.
07:10 - Perhaps this was all smart because the movie did quite well commercially. Plot-wise, it's very similar, with small tweaks removing some backstory and subplots, which is expected for a movie. But Leonard's novels are already lean, something that I really love. Other than that, though, Leonard is one of the better dialogists of all time, I would say, which is probably why not much of that was changed for the movie. I would say that the film hits on the same core theme, but ends a little bit more hopeful, whereas the book is more overtly cynical about the movie business and hence life. When looking at the larger metaphor at play here, con artistry. And it also has a slightly more ambiguous ending, but at the same time, it's really, really good. And it's mostly for that reason why I prefer the novel. I just think most people won't read it because they've seen the movie, and it's actually the novel that hits the nail on the head better than the movie, emphasizing the blurring of lines between crime and the movie business over, say, emphasizing glamour and parity.
08:20 - And at the same time, the novel also shines a light on that great dialogue, which is hard to calculate into quotes because so much of that greatness comes from the trimming and rhythm of the style over just punchlines, which is sort of what the movie does. Well, it's funny, I once heard Sean Penn say it best when it comes to dialogue: “I never trust a quotable line”, which is an interesting way to think about dialogue, at least from a realistic perspective, because people don't usually speak in that manner. But for movies, because we are playing make-believe and dressing things up, it actually works in a way that it doesn't on the page in a novel. Some might prefer that, but I really just love that back-and-forth, pitter-patter, tone-driven dialogue that is unmistakable to its author, Elmore Leonard. All right, so I think I've done enough with this episode. I've kind of been a little bit all over the place with it. I think you get the point. I think you will enjoy it if you read it or watch it.
09:26 - And I will share one of my favorite lines to end this episode. Elmore Leonard writes: “You hang around long enough, you get to see how people end up. They don't change. They just get more like themselves.” All right, that's all I've got. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, I'd love for you to weigh in and send me a message. Connect with me on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti. It's the only social media that I have or via my website DouglasVigliotti.com. Whether you reach out to me or not, I'd love for you to click subscribe on whatever podcast platform you are listening to this on, because it is the best way to show your support and help new listeners find the show in return. Inspire more men to read. I do have a new book out that is titled “Aristotle for Novelists”. If that sounds like something that you are interested in, then you could find out more information about it on the website AristotleforNovelists.com. Last but not least, if you're interested in learning more about this podcast specifically, which includes signing up for that newsletter I mentioned at the top of this episode, then all you have to do is head over to the website BooksforMen.org.
