Tommy Lee Jones leaves Lincoln Lawyer film but Matthew McConaughey remains in title role

Variety announced a stumbling block this week in the production of Lakeshore Entertainment's film version of Michael Connelly's 2005 novel, The Lincoln Lawyer. On Monday, November 23, 2009 Michael Fleming noted that actor Tommy Lee Jones, who had signed on to direct the film and to co-star with Matthew McConaughey, had left the project. Jones claimed to be having "creative differences" over the film's script, which was written by John Romano.

 Tommy Lee Jones on hand for his new movie, The
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Creative Commons
 Attribution licensed photo by Tony Shek)

The film would have marked a third directorial role for Jones. He made his directorial debut with The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005) and has also directed an upcoming HBO film, The Sunset Limited.

Despite Jones' departure, Lakeshore Entertainment still plans to begin production on the film in Spring 2010. McConaughey will remain in the title role as attorney Mickey Haller, a defense lawyer who runs his business from the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car. McConaughey previously played lawyer Jake Tyler Brigance in the 1996 film A Time to Kill, based on the John Grisham novel.

The Lincoln Lawyer won Michael Connelly both the 2006 Macavity and Shamus Best Novel awards. For his second novel featuring Haller, The Brass Verdict (2008) Connelly received the 2009 Anthony Award for Best Novel.

In the 2005 YouTube video below Connelly discusses the Robert Altman film version of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye – his inspiration for writing The Lincoln Lawyer. Connelly considers the character Mickey Haller to be his first success at creating a "classic outsider" like Chandler's Phillip Marlowe.