As the master crime novelist remarks in a movieline interview july 1998 5356, 87. Get shorty by barry sonnenfeld barry sonnenfeld, john. Selected filmographymobconnected loanshark chili palmer is sick of the miami grind plus his friends have a bad habit of dying there. Get shorty is an american comedydrama television series, based on the 1990 novel of the same name by elmore leonard, that premiered on august, 2017, on epix. Get shorty begins in miami, with the theft of a leather jacket from a. By the time the book ends, chilis movie has a second and third act. You know the name, but not this story the new york. Directed by barry sonnenfeld and starring john travolta, gene hackman, rene russo, and danny devito, the plot remained true to the book except for a few minor details. John lurie contributes most of the tracks, striking a fine balance between straight bop and movie theme atmospherics. Inspired by elmore leonards bestselling novel of the same name, the epix series get shorty follows miles daly played by chris odowd, whos looking for something more in life than working for a nevada crime ring.
What get shorty looks like might surprise fans of the book or, especially, the barry sonnenfeld film. Get shorty is a 1995 american crime thriller comedy film based on elmore leonards novel of the same name. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The book s version is funny, too, just not as much, with chili a harder guy than the movie version.
In this dark comedy series, a hitman from nevada, miles daly chris odowd, tries to become a movie producer in hollywood in order to leave his criminal past behind and win back his estranged family. Epix to air charles manson docuseries april 9, 2020. A writer, critic, creative director, broadcaster, and occasional filmmaker, his thoughts have appeared on radio, television, in print, and on the web. Leonards revenge was get shorty and what sweet revenge it is. With chris odowd, ray romano, sean bridgers, carolyn dodd. Disenchanted with the movie industry, chili palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive on the way.
Movie, the chronology is scrambled a bit, for starters. Im not gonna say any more than i have to, if that, a miami loan shark named chili palmer says, early in get shorty. Get shorty is a 1995 american gangster crime thriller comedy film based on elmore leonard s novel of the same name. Loan shark goes to hollywood and feels right at home, says author elmore leonard of his tinseltown sendup, get shorty. In 1995, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same title. Get shorty is a 1990 novel by american novelist elmore leonard. The film is directed by barry sonnenfeld and stars john travolta, gene hackman, rene russo, and danny devito. Get shorty tv series is closer to the elmore leonard book. It also emerges as a clever selfreferential construction.
Based on an elmore leonard novel, get shorty is fun and entertaining satire. Get shorty is the purest distillation of elmore leonard popmatters. Both the novel and movie are an affectionate parody of the film industry, and both so wellreceived that leonard wrote a rare sequel, be cool, which also received a film adaptation. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing get shorty near you. The movie made this work by playing more for laughs. The adventures of a mobsterturnedmovie producer in hollywood. After pitching his own life story as a movie idea, chili learns that being a mobster and being a hollywood producer really arent all that. The adventures of a mobsterturned movie producer in hollywood. The perfect note in this sentence is the addition of if that.
The 1990 novel and 1995 film follow loanshark chili palmer one of the alltime great movie character names, which leonard plucked from a real. His get shorty 1990 is right up there, becoming a 1995 movie with john travolta. But get shorty, his gimleteyed look at the movie business, is a remarkable. Attempting to leave behind a life of crime to become a movie producer, a former mob enforcer finds that by using the business to launder money, he has merely brought the criminal world into his new profession. Craig silliphant is a dlevel celebrity with delusions of grandeur. Chili palmer john travolta is a loan shark based in miami who. Marshal raylan givens of the hit tv series justifiedand readers will relish his moves and countermoves in this electrifying, funny, bullet trainpaced winner from the greatest crime writer of our time. Reboots continue to prove theres nothing new under the sun, but get shorty, a dark and satisfying 10episode series premiering sunday on epix, makes a persuasive case for recycling. Chili palmer john travolta is a miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic bones barboni dennis farina, to collect a bad debt from harry zimm gene hackman, a hollywood. All that really matters is, like out of sight and get shorty, each affords a unique experience to its audience. His pursuit of a mark whos behind in his payments takes him first to las vegas, then to hollywood and horrorfilm producer harry zimm.
In other words, elmore leonards plots feel less like plots and more like life. Get shorty is a tight, funny crime story that mature teenagers and their families may enjoy, provided they can stand some blood. John travolta became a movie star by playing a brooklyn kid who wins a dance contest in saturday night fever 1977. Five years after the books publication, the part of harry zimm would be played in the. The film never gets bogged down in the complicated plot. The series was created by davey holmes and stars chris odowd, ray romano, sean bridgers, carolyn dodd, lidia porto, goya robles, megan stevenson, lucy walters and sarah stiles. Frank capture the intricate plotting and masterful dialogue of elmore leonards novel. The movie, directed by barry sonnenfeld and starring john travolta as the books chili palmer, was rated r for violence and language. Instead, it takes a number of talented actors and lets them run with some juicy characters. Whats the difference between get shorty the book and get shorty the movie. Chili palmer is a miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic bones barboni, to collect a bad debt from harry zimm, a hollywood producer who specializes in cheesy horror films. In line with the movies tongueincheek treatment of the gangster noir genre, get shortys soundtrack features a tumbling mix of dusky soul jazz informed by the spirit of henry mancinis peter gunn theme. This guy named chili palmer puts his leather jacket in a checkroom and this other guy named ray.
A 1990 novel by elmore leonard, get shorty was adapted into a 1995 film directed by barry sonnenfeld, starring john travolta as chili alongside an allstar cast including gene hackman, danny devito, and rene russo. Differences between get shorty book vs movie page 1. Chili palmer john travolta is a miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic bones barboni dennis farina, to collect a bad debt from harry zimm gene hackman, a hollywood producer who specializes in cheesy horror films. Get shorty is a 1995 american gangster crime thrillercomedy film based on elmore leonards novel of the same name. He revived his career by dancing with uma thurman in pulp fiction 1994.
This synopsis will be familiar to fans of the novel or the 1995 movie. Season 33 renewal announced for cbs news series 60 minutes. The story centers on ernesto chili palmer, a smalltime loan shark based in miami. Elmore leonards if it sounds like writing, rewrite it. Get shorty movie tv listings and schedule tv guide. When chili meets harrys leading lady, the romantic sparks fly. The basis of the hit movie starring john travolta and danny devito, get shorty chronicles the overthetop, sometimes violent hollywood misadventures of a florida mob loan shark who chases a deadbeat client all the way to tinseltown and decides to stick around and make movies. Get shorty is simply just a quality piece of work,well written where every character counts,dark yet super funny,smart with out being pretentious, just a joy to watch on paper it shouldnt work. Brooklyn connects with fever, thurman connects with pulp. Get shortys shylock protagonist, chili palmer, is a truly inspired creationas memorable as another unforgettable leonard hero, u. A mobster travels to hollywood to collect a debt, and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job. Find out when and where you can watch get shorty on tv with the full listings schedule at. With gene hackman, rene russo, danny devito, john travolta. Get shorty s main weakness is an underdone crime story, revolving around a bag inside an airport locker thats a macguffin for some backstabbing and bloodshed.
With john travolta, uma thurman, dwayne johnson, vince vaughn. Get shorty begins in miami, with the theft of a leather jacket from a restaurant checkroom. Peopled with a large cast of fascinating characters, get shorty is a sharp, funny look at the notsoseparate worlds of crime and hollywood. After a runin with mobster ray bones barboni, chili goes to las vegas in pursuit of leo devoe, a. It comes with our knowledge that everyone in the movie will say more than they have to, because get shorty is based on a novel by elmore leonard, that grandmaster of lowlife dialogue. The best conceit of leonards book remains in get shorty and thats an outsiders love for hollywood, and how maybe crime and the movie business share the same low moral equivalency. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. It has aired for three seasons, consisting of twenty seven. The strength of productions trickles down from the former to the latter. Out of sight perfected the art of adapting elmore leonard. A stylish crime flick in the 1990s mold, it combined violence and wisecracks into a.
Tv show based on elmore leonards novel and subsequent film. Get shorty s shylock protagonist, chili palmer, is a truly. Get shorty follows the fortunes of chili palmer, a miami loan shark with a talent for making a slow pay come across. In 1995, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title, and in 2017 it was adapted into a. Elmores story is a fun ride, requiring some exercise of those little gray cells.