The 51-year-old novelist radiates a kind of Beantown wi-fi, a transmission that fills his general vicinity.
Its in his face, his voice, his taste in company.
Plus, Hollywoods been good to Lehane.
Credit: Maarten de Boer/Getty Images; HarperCollins Publishers
He can mine both the darkest pain and the most radiant human light.
Shes a broken person, having faced horrors as a journalist during 9/11 and in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Those have left her with PTSD.
Andrew Cooper
Rachel goes in search of her long lost dad, trying to find an anchor for her life.
It almost goes without saying that she ends up finding a great deal of trouble instead.
But they just need to be patient.
Andrew Cooper
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This new book is going to throw people for a loop.DENNIS LEHANE:Thank you!
Talking to my buddy Tom Perrotta [author ofThe LeftoversandElection] about it.
He said its three books: a book about the search for identity.
Everett Collection
Its a book about marriage.
And then its a book about a mystery in the end.
The mystery takes over.
Everett Collection
And its like, okay.
What made you decide to frontload the book with this search for a father?That was last.
There was something that just wasnt working for me.
I was just like, ugh, Im not totally buying this all the way.
So all of a sudden, I had a 3 a.m. moment.
Rachel needed more history?It was connected to sort of global things.
It was connected to 9/11.
It was connected to Haiti.
It was connected to global but I was like, whats the personal?
Besides the fact that her mothers a nightmare?
And then it was, what if someone withheld your basic right to know to your paternity?
So the first hundred pages were then written.
How do you define family?
Is family through blood or is it family through choice?
That shows up in everything.
Its even in this, you know?
What else is always there?I think this idea of honor comes up.
Like, thats not in me.
Youre just straight aggressive.
[Laughs] Yeah, straight-up aggressive.
It would be nice if the world, to some degree, worked that way.
I write about gangsters, but I dont think a gangsters a good guy.
Man, it was inspiring.
I think you should dust that off.
Once you start seeing everything through that prism, its pretty stunning.
When did it become [weak] to give a sh?
This question of honor really is all over your books.
To quote a Dylan line, to live outside the law, you must be honest.
Some characters are, but some arent.
Thats what he did.
And it was literally like, You sell cancer to children.
Youre the Flint, Michigan water supply, you know what I mean?
And yet, hes at a party.
But if you asked him, What do you do?
and he said, I sell crystal meth, people would be like, Get the f outta here!
I find the crystal meth guy at least honest.
I dont think hes a good guy.
His soul is his other issue, but at least I know who he is.
But youre doing a screenplay forSince We Felland youve worked on others.
That was clean to me.
I knew the architecture of it inside and out.
Originally, there were two different permutations ofShutter Island, for two years.
The ending is the whole point of that story!I was like, you know, Good luck!
What was your relationship like with some of the directors of your work?
Marty was we had three really awesome conversations, and then hes done.
Hes good to go, you know?
Hes like, Im shooting now, you know?
When Marty shoots, he shoots.
Eastwoods efficient like that, too.
You know what I mean?
Clint Eastwood doesnt treat people that way.
Everybody who knows him is, like, Wow, those are interesting obsessions to have.
Like, if the man has a vice, thats what it is.
Hes very serious about his smoothies.
Like, you know, a Have blender, will travel kind of vibe, you know?
At one point, I remember watching him walk through the crowd.
That film is full of high-intensity actors, too.
Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins.
He did it in 39.
And then just kind of, okay, time to doMillion Dollar Babynow.
Hes just moving on.
How about your relationship with Ben Affleck?
Hes obviously a fan and comes from the same Boston roots.Without a doubt.Gone Baby Goneisnt only shot in Dorchester.
Its shot within my parish.
Thats about as drilled down as it’s possible for you to get.
Thats literally a half a block from my street where I grew up.
Ben didnt know that.
He just went in all the way into that neighborhood.
I mean were all, like, obsessed with Boston.
Its ridiculous
Thats important, though.
Its shot by a Boston guy, and, at a very granular level, itfeelslike Boston.
What drew you to L.A. from Boston?
Since youre so rooted there.I got sucked up by the jobs.
It was TV more than anything.
I have been non-stop busy for three and a half years.
Whats the difference?I think its all business is personal.
The perception of distance, even in todays age does matter.
I kind of pitched, you know?
Here,A Prophetis the perfect example.
Its like that because they know youre right down the street.
Christian Bale was supposed to be the star, James Mangold directing.
And Christian blew his knee out just before they were shooting.
You worked onThe Wire, but now TV seems to keep you extremely busy.I love being in TV.
I truly love it.
The film work is a little bit more absurd and its a little bit more what you hear about.
So if they decide, We dont have time to try and negotiate with him.
Thats how its done.
I like seeing novels adapted as limited series.
Gives you more room for the full story.So much more room.
Were doing a Stephen King book, and so weve got its, like, 450 pages.
Weve got 10 episodes.
Most episodes are 45 minutes long.
Its every 45 pages.
So life is good.
Are you a Californian now?
No, Ill always be a Boston expat I think.
I was passing through them, and I wanted to drop to my knees and say, Im home!
So how are you holding up?Im functioning.
There are worse places to be exiled.
