Friday, Jun. 11

Adapting Leonard for TV: Justified

There’s an art to adapting a work of fiction into a screenplay, and, like all creative endeavors, it has its own set of pitfalls. Issues of tone, pace and interior monologue — not to mention readers’ expectations — all number among the hurdles faced by the screenwriter who tackles a book or short story.

L.A. Times writer Paul Gaita takes a look at how Graham Yost went about adapting the short stories for broadcast audiences.

When I got the opportunity to do a series based on Elmore Leonard’s writing, I jumped on it because I’m a fan,” he said. “So, when I’m adapting it, I’m not thinking, ‘How can I make this better?’ It’s ‘How can I do justice to Elmore?’ which is a great and simple guiding principle.