I admire Robert Crais, author of The Watchman featured in the current volume of Select Editions, for many reasons: his books, his humor, his website (very in-depth), his book tours that look like so much fun. . . . And here is another reason I just became aware of: Crais promises to keep his extraordinary detective duo, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, off the big screen forever. Crais says he's happy to sell film and television rights for his standalone novels (Hostage was made into a movie starring Bruce Willis), but Cole and Pike are for readers only.
"Elvis and Joe exist for me and my readers," says Crais. "I have no wish for Hollywood to improve on my creations." Oh, thank you! Somehow seeing these two (especially Joe Pike) on the screen after reading the books could be nothing but disappointing, no matter how great the movie. I don't really want to see a flesh-and-blood version of either of them. Who could possibly play Joe Pike? You know that his tattoos would be fake! And you know Hollywood would take off the sunglasses at all the wrong moments.
I like Cole and Pike in my imagination, and I'm guessing other readers do too. We diehard fans are forever grateful to Robert Crais for recognizing this, and for not selling out. Go integrity!
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