' Out of Sight' The Elmore Leonard-based crime comedy that saved Steven Soderbergh's career

Soderbergh's ``Starting Entertainment'' challenge with Drainage Team

However, in 1995, with the success of `` Get Shorty '' starring John Travolta, a Leonard boom suddenly started in Hollywood. In 1997, Paul Schrader's ``TOUCH'' and Tarantino's `` Jackie Brown '' were released. Jersey Films, which produced `` Pulp Fiction '' and ``Get Shorty,'' created ``Out of Sight,'' a new novel that had just been published in 1996.

Jersey Films' first director choice was Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed Get Shorty. However, things didn't come together, and Cameron Crowe and Mike Newell were also approached. The person who brought up Soderbergh's name was Casey Silver, who was in charge of Universal Pictures at the time. When Soderbergh came to Japan in 2017, he mentioned Silver's name as "a mentor who believed in me."

"Out of Sight" Fim (C) 1998 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Soderbergh was in a dire situation when the idea of ​​``Out of Sight'' came up. His only successful debut was `` Sex, Lies, and Videotape '' (1989), which won the Palme d'Or. The works that he released after that were either criticized or criticized. Growing frustrated, he returned to his hometown of Baton Rouge and independently produced the low-budget absurdist comedy `` Schizopolis '' (1996), in which he directed, starred, wrote, shot, edited, and composed the music all by himself, but his existence was almost completely ignored. It happened.

Silver then sent Soderbergh the script for ``Out of Sight.'' However, Soderbergh almost rejected an offer from a major studio. With the script already written and George Clooney set to star, did it feel like just a job for hire? But Silver persuaded Soderbergh, saying, ``Being There like this don't come along very often.'' Apparently, Soderbergh himself was determined that if he failed in this project, he would no longer be in the film industry.

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