The Author Who Aced Hollywood

Dennis Lehane has had three novels made into movies. Remarkably, none were ruined

By Michelle Kung
THE ADVISER
The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/home-page
FEBRUARY 12, 2010


Paramount Pictures

Novelist Dennis Lehane and actor Leonardo DiCaprio on the set of 'Shutter Island.'

Practically all novelists who have seen their books adapted for the screen have had their souls ripped apart at least once. Not so with Dennis Lehane, whose novels "Mystic River" and "Gone, Baby, Gone" were turned into well-regarded films by directors Clint Eastwood and Ben Affleck, respectively. "I'm so aware that I'm out in a minefield, but I just haven't stepped on a mine yet," says Mr. Lehane, a movie freak himself. "It's difficult, because Hollywood is mostly mines and there's only a little soil."

Next Friday, director Martin Scorsese will debut his take on Mr. Lehane's pulpy 1950s noir "Shutter Island," which stars Leonardo Di Caprio as a paranoid U.S. Marshal investigating a disappearance at a mental hospital.

The Wall Street Journal: How have you been so fortunate in who makes these movies?

Mr. Lehane: A lot of it has been luck, and some of it has been a very specific desire to only work with people at a very high quality level. So people like Clint and ["Gone Baby Gone" producer] Alan Ladd Jr. I think Ben did a great job on the film, but I'm not going to say that I was so wise that I knew he would be a great director his first time out. I came to the project through Alan, who produced "Blade Runner" and "Braveheart," for God's sake. With quality people, in the worst case scenario, if you don't hit a home run, you'll at least hit a triple.

What was it like dealing with Scorsese?

For the first time in my life, I met somebody who not only knew more about movies than me, but knew vastly more about movies than me. Not only had I not seen things he was throwing out at me, which is rare, but he knew of films that I haven't even heard of, which is unheard of. He was shocked that I'd never seen the "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," which he was sure was an influence, and "Time Limit," the only feature Karl Malden ever directed. When I said that "Manchurian Candidate" was an inspiration, he just said, "Oh, that's obvious."

"Shutter Island" has a more cinematic tone than your other books. What films influenced it?

Definitely "The Wicker Man," the 1973 version. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," because of what it was doing with allegory. I wanted the book to have a real pulpy feel. Marty really got the tone; you can tell by the actors' dialogue, which is not the dialogue of people in the 1950s, but rather the dialogue of how people spoke in 1950s movies. To throw in some books, "Wuthering Heights" and Patrick McGrath's "Asylum" were titles I thought about a lot. To be honest, the critical reaction to "Mystic River" freaked me out a little—there's a part of me that's so contrarian that I thought, if they got it, I must have done something wrong. So I had to do something that's a bit back to my punkier roots.

You have a cameo in "Mystic River" as the mayor. Do you generally enjoy being on film sets?

I don't hang around film sets for the most part because a) they're incredibly boring, and b) a novelist is as useful on a film set as a giraffe. Plus, I like having the illusion that everyone else in the audience does. On "Mystic River," I was on the set all the time, and I've never been able to watch the movie as an audience member—I'm always remembering something random, like where I was sitting on a given day. It's funny, on "Gone Baby Gone," Ben asked me if I wanted to be in a scene one day I was on the set. I was starving at the time, so I had to choose between a burger or being a walk-on. I was really hungry; you can guess what happened.

What's the status on a film adaptation of your historical novel "The Given Day?"

Sam Raimi's working on it. I believe he's hiring a screenwriter as we speak. I'm a huge fan of "A Simple Plan," which I think is one of the most underrated films of the last [15] years, and came out before "Spider-Man" blew him into the stratosphere. So I'm totally down with him. I'm also just finishing up the sixth book in the Patrick Kenzie & Angela Gennaro series, my first in nearly 11 years.

Write to Michelle Kung at michelle.kung@wsj.com
A Scene From 'Shutter Island"0:44

Watch a clip from "Shutter Island," about a woman who escapes from a mental institution; starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. Video courtesy of Paramount Pictures.