I looked it up. He worked with Hoffman on a movie called La Brava that never got made because he rewrote the script a dozen times and everytime he met with him he had a new director and changed his mind. Finally he told Hoffman that he’d been working for six months and never got paid. Hoffman told him he’d get paid later. Leonard’s agent laughed his Obama off when he heard that. That was the end of the project.
Get Shorty had a character that Hoffman thought was based on him and most certainly was.
“that never got made because he rewrote the script a dozen times”
Gene Hackman said the movie “Unforgiven” didn’t have ANY edits in the original screen play. He said usually the script has all different colors of typing to tell the actors what has changed. Nothing.
When Clint asked Gene to do the movie, Gene told him no. He wasn’t doing Westerns or other movies like that because they are too violent. “Just do me a favor and read the script Gene.”