From Book to Hallmark Movie: 8 Things You Didn’t Know
From Book to Hallmark Movie:
8 Things You Didn’t Know
by Denise Hunter
Most novelists dream of having one of their books adapted into a movie. I know I did. And somehow I’ve been blessed to have three Hallmark movie adaptations. (The Convenient Groom, A December Bride, and The Goodbye Bride). When my first movie was optioned, the movie process was a complete mystery to me, but I was thrilled and excited to learn all about it. Along the way I discovered readers were also curious about the book-to-movie process. Here are answers to the most frequent questions I receive.
1 How did the producer find your book? I’m sure there are many ways producers “find” novels. In my case, it was through my publisher. The rights department actively pitches their novels for film rights. As it happens, this particular production company had already optioned a couple of other books and made them into Hallmark movies, so there was already an established history between my publisher and the production company.
2 What kind of book makes a good Hallmark movie? If you watch Hallmark movies then you know most of the stories have compelling hooks. A hook is a situation that captures the reader’s attention.
Here’s the hook for The Convenient Groom: A celebrity relationship expert with a best-selling book about finding Mr. Right finds herself jilted just before her highly publicized wedding. In a panic she accepts the offer of a contractor—who secretly loves her—to step in as the groom in order to save her career.
It also doesn’t hurt to utilize one of the popular romance tropes. The Convenient Groom is a modern-day marriage-of-convenience story. A December Bride is a fake fiancé story, and The Goodbye Bride employs the amnesia trope.
3 Did you have any input in the movie process? Unless your name is Nicholas Sparks or Nora Roberts, an author probably won’t have much input in the film itself. Film is a completely different medium than a novel, and sometimes what works well in print doesn’t work at all on the screen. Fortunately I knew this up front and was happy to let the film people work their magic.
4 Did you write the screenplay? Just like novel writing, screenwriting is a craft that takes years to hone. I wouldn’t know the first thing about writing a screenplay, and since I wanted “my” movies to turn out great, I left the scripts in the experts’ hands.
5 How long did the process take from option to airing? Getting a book adapted into a TV movie is a slow process. I signed my first movie option in March of 2015, and The Convenient Groom aired in June of 2016. That may seem fairly quick, but for an author waiting for her book to come alive on screen, it was excruciatingly slow. And I was sworn to secrecy until the very end. It was hard to keep my exciting news to myself.
6 How long does it take to film a Hallmark movie? A TV movie is also a quick process. While the matters of funding, screenwriting, and hiring actors and crew can take months, the actual filming of the movie is fast. A Hallmark movie takes only about 3 weeks to film. The cast and crew put in some long hours!
7 Where are Hallmark movies filmed? Most Hallmark movies are filmed in and around Vancouver, Canada, as were all three of mine. The vast diversity of Vancouver’s landscape makes for a perfect movie set, whether the movie is “set” in Nantucket (like one of mine) or New York. But the main reason many movies and TV series are filmed there has to do with cost. Canadian labor laws are much friendlier to the pocketbook than are the United States’.
8 Did you get to go on set for the filming of your movies? I actually did go for two of them—and they even gave my husband and me small cameos in those movies. Everyone, from the cast to the crew, was so welcoming. Being on set was truly a dream come true. Watching my characters and scenes come to life right before my eyes was one of the highlights of my career to date.
I hope that sheds a little light on the book-to-movie process. It’s been a delight and privilege to see my stories both in print and onscreen. If you’d like to know more about my books-turned-movies, head over to my website. https://www.denisehunterbooks.com/hallmark-movies.html
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Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 40 novels, three of which have been made into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on The 700 Club and been featured in Woman’s Day and Southern Living.
Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories, peopled with layered characters who struggle with real-life issues. Her readers enjoy the experience of falling in love vicariously through her characters and can expect a happily-ever-after sigh as they close the pages of her books.
In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!
When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking coffee, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are currently enjoying an empty nest.
You can learn more about Denise by visiting her FaceBook page.
A NOVEL PROPOSAL
When western novelist Sadie Goodwin must pen a romance novel to rescue her lackluster sales, there’s only one tiny problem: she’s never been in love.
Desperate to salvage her career, Sadie accepts an invitation to hole up at her friend’s beach duplex for the summer and devote herself to this confounding genre. After all, where better to witness love than on the beautiful South Carolina shore?
But Sadie soon finds many ways to procrastinate the dreaded task—like getting to know the beach regulars and installing a Little Free Library on the property. She even attempts conversation with Sam Ford, the frustratingly stubborn neighbor on the other side of the duplex. But things take an unexpected turn when Sadie finds inside her library an abandoned novel with a secret compartment—and a beautiful engagement ring tucked inside.
Suddenly, locating the ring’s owner becomes the perfect way to put off writing that romance. Sadie draws a reluctant Sam into her mission. And as the two close in on an answer to the mysterious proposal, she discovers a tender side to him. She begins to wonder if he just might make the perfect hero for her romance novel—or maybe even her heart.
From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a sweet and sizzling story of a romance writer surprised by her own happily ever after.
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Category: On Writing
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