Success on big screen, too

Elmore Leonard’s novels and short stories have been turned into dozens of feature films, television movies and series.

Although Leonard said most of Hollywood’s attempts to translate his prose to the big screen failed, he really enjoyed three 1990s efforts, by directors Barry Sonnenfeld (“Get Shorty”), Steven Soderbergh (“Out of Sight”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Jackie Brown”).

In 2012, he told the Associated Press that his all-time favorite adaptation was 1997’s “Jackie Brown,” which was based on the novel “Rum Punch.” When Tarantino called to ask for guidance ahead of filming, Leonard remembered saying, “Do what you want. I like your work.”