to the audience—Mr. T and Johnny Carson in one. And he's way too polished for the character Leonard wrote; when he enters the slick world of Miami finance, he blends right in." Elmore Leonard reaction Leonard later said Reynolds "just didn't do it right at all..." "I didn't recognize my screenplay at all in that movie. They even put another writer on it to add more action... Burt had done Sharky's Machine and Gator and I thought he would be good as Stick. But he needed a good director. Directing it himself, he just played Burt Reynolds." "It's very, very theatrical," Leonard added. "I do everything in my power to make my writing not look like writing, and when it appears on the screen you see all these actors acting all over the place." The movie's advertising slogan was: "The only thing he couldn't do was stick to the rules." Leonard hung up a poster in his den with the word "rules" covered by a piece of paper on which was written the word "script". "The movie isn't anything like the book," he said. "The plot was taken out. In place of the scam are machine guns." Leonard compared it with the film made of 52 Pick-Up. "One thing I like a lot [about that film] is the pacing -- the picture begins immediately, and from there it moves. The dialogue doesn't wait for a reaction, it's almost throwaway, with the exception that you can hear it clearly. In Stick, Burt Reynolds gave you a beat or two after every line so you could react to it, like it was a comedy. It ruined the rhythm." Proposed TV series In 1988, NBC had a TV spin-off of the novel in development. However no series resulted. References External links 1985 films 1985 crime drama films American crime drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Burt Reynolds Films based on works by Elmore Leonard Films scored by Barry De Vorzon Films set in Florida Films shot in Florida Films with screenplays by Elmore Leonard Universal Pictures films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films