I have not seen “Justified,” the TV series based on characters created by the Elmore Leonard but from all accounts it is excellent. Over at the Star-Ledger, Alan Sepinwall talks to the Master:
We talk about director Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1995 version of “Get Shorty,” the first truly successful (in both creative and commercial terms) Leonard adaptation after a long fallow period. The conversation quickly turns to how the creative team on the sequel, “Be Cool,” got wrong so much of what Sonnenfeld and writer Scott Frank got right.
“I told Barry Sonnenfeld, ‘When somebody delivers a funny line, don’t cut to someone else laughing or nudging or grinning, because they’re all serious,’” he recalls. “And he knew that. But then when they shot the sequel, they forgot all about that, and everybody’s laughing all the way through. There’s a guy named Cedric the Entertainer (in the cast). Well, I can’t have a guy named Cedric the Entertainer in one of my stories!”
I just happen to be reading “Swag” these days, and am thoroughly enjoying it.
Justified rocks, Alex. And it just gets better as it goes on.
1) How many seasons has it been on?
Great show. Great dialog, and Olyphant as the simmering brew of internal conflicts always ready to blow a gasket. He was great in Deadwood, and he's equally good here, and is the reason I tuned in to the premier episode. Then I got hooked. He has that quiet intensity like a modern day Clint Eastwood with a fondness for delivering lines through clenched teeth and the ability to convincingly sell a scene with a couple facial expressions. He's got a great supporting cast as well - the villians are well established. Very good show. Surprised it is not on the pay channels, to be honest. Just finished the 2nd season. Put it on the top of your NetFlix and give it a whirl.
3) Consider it done!
What 1 & 3 said. Simply one of the 2 or 3 best TV shows on the air, if not of the past 20 years.
Wow. That's something.
Two seasons, Alex. Olyphant is awesome, but you can't talk about Justified without talking about Walton Goggins and Margo Martindale. Amazing performances.
i don't watch much tv at all, but the few times i've caught that show i've loved it.
i'm crazy about elmore leonard. i go on dutch leonard jags and read three or four in a row and then go on to other things and then meander back. marvelous stuff.
Justified is my favorite current TV show. It kicks so much ass. And Season 2 introduced me to my new favorite obsession. Apple pie moonshine. I don't make it myself, of course. But there are a couple of distillers that are selling it, like Junior Johnson's Midnight Moon from Piedmont Distillers in NC. It's...awesome. They even sell it in a mason jar. I watched the Season 2 finale with a jar of apple pie moonshine. It was truly a sublime experience.
[7] You can't leave out Nick Searcy, who is just note-perfect week after week as Art.
I read a good interview with Walton Goggins the other day, I'll try to find it again and give the link.
He has that quiet intensity like a modern day Clint Eastwood with a fondness for delivering lines through clenched teeth and the ability to convincingly sell a scene with a couple facial expressions.
Heh.
Olyphant (or, more accurately, his voice) has a 1 scene cameo in Rango playing a character called "The Spirit of the West" that's obviously meant to be an older version of Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character from the Leone films.
His "Eastwood" voice was good enough that I was surprised when I saw in the credits that it wasn't Eastwood himself ...
Justified is great. They really know what they are doing. I would compare it to House in terms of a successful genre show, though I'd say Justified is on another level. And yes, every actor on the show is terrific.