There's an entertaining new drama produced by Elmore Leonard, based on one of his characters from his novels and short stories, Raylan Givens, played with panache by Timothy Olyphant:
It was adapted for television by Graham Yost, the creator of the series “Boomtown” and a writer on “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” who also developed the series as a whole, which, after the first episode, consists of new material. Leonard, along with Yost, is one of “Justified” ’s executive producers, and is reportedly so pleased with the enterprise that he’s going to write another Raylan Givens story. Leonard’s work has been adapted before, with mixed success—the Steven Soderbergh movie “Out of Sight,” starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, ranks high on fans’ lists, as does Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Get Shorty”—and many writers revere him. This is actually something that Leonard is famous for: being worshipped by other writers. Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” is based on a Leonard story, and Tarantino’s career in general is an homage to the Master. Accompanying the publicity material for the series was a blue rubber bracelet, the kind that people wear to show their support for good causes, with the letters “WWED” on it. They stand for “What Would Elmore Do?,” the question that the show’s shepherds said they repeatedly asked themselves. So far, their answers to that question have been more sharply Leonardesque than their effort to replicate What Elmore Did Do in the short story. It perhaps doesn’t help that the first two episodes weren’t shot in Kentucky; something seems a little off. And the two female characters in the first episode are weak: the ex-wife, Winona (Natalie Zea), doesn’t have much of a part, and Ava, the husband killer, eludes Carter’s efforts to inhabit her with conviction.
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2010/04/05/100405crte_television_franklin#ixzz0kvHHIUh2
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