Elmore Leonard Leonard also contributed one chapter (the twelfth of thirteen) to the 1996 "Miami Herald" parody serial novel "Naked Came the Manatee" (). Twenty-six of Leonard's novels and short stories have been adapted for the screen (19 as motion pictures and another seven as television programs). Aside from the short stories already noted, a number of Leonard's novels have been adapted as films, including "Get Shorty" (1990 novel, 1995 film), "Out of Sight" (1996 novel, 1998 film), and "Rum Punch" (1992 novel, 1997 film "Jackie Brown"). "52 Pick-Up" (1986 film) was first adapted very loosely into the 1984 film "The Ambassador"
Quentin Tarantino was an immediate hit, with the film receiving a positive response from critics. The dialogue-driven heist movie set the tone for Tarantino's later films. Tarantino wrote the script for the film in three-and-a-half weeks and Bender forwarded it to director Monte Hellman. Hellman helped Tarantino to secure funding from Richard Gladstein at Live Entertainment (which later became Artisan, now known as Lionsgate). Harvey Keitel read the script and also contributed to the funding, taking a role as co-producer and also playing a major part in the movie. Also in 1992, he played an asylum attendant in Jeff Burr's "Eddie Presley"