The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola (billed as Francis Coppola), based on the 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film. The film is notable for its ensemble cast including C. Thomas Howell (who garnered a Young Artist Award), Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe (in his feature film debut), Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and Leif Garrett. In addition, Dillon starred in two more films based on Hinton novels: Tex (1982), with Estevez; and Coppola's Rumble Fish (1983), with Lane.