by Jane Porter

Having a book out is huge.

Having a book get turned into a movie is well, nothing short of miraculous.

Not every book gets optioned, and of those that do, very few actually go into production. The fact that Flirting with Forty was published in July ’06, and by July ’08 it was already a film in post-production waiting for its December premiere blows my mind. It all happened so fast that I still find it hard to absorb. But in the two years of activity highlights spring to mind:

The offer from Sony.

The email that told me Julia Dahl had been hired as the screenwriter.

Julia’s outline that would become the script.

My first glimpse of the script.

The phone call with the news that casting had begun and then the announcement that Heather Locklear had signed on to play Jackie.

And then the biggest news of all—the movie would go into production and begin filming April 1st for a December air date.

Pretty cool. And so very amazing.

Equally amazing was the week I spent on the set in Hawaii this past April. I had the chance to be an extra in my own movie and doing the wardrobe call every morning was illuminating (lots of people take the role of being an extra very seriously!) and then there was the discovery that being an extra is actually quite tedious, as there’s tons of standing around and waiting, and more waiting, and even more waiting. I also discovered after watching the rough cut of the movie that most extras are merely background blur, or worse, extra footage that lands on the editing floor.

But I did feel special that week in Hawaii. Once people knew who I was, I got the red-carpet treatment, including invitations to sit in the director’s chair to watch filming and the chance to cut to the head of the food service line at lunch instead of waiting with all the other extras. I didn’t ever take advantage of cutting the catering truck line, but I did watch filming every chance I could get. I loved wearing the heat-set and listening to direction.

The movie’s wonderful, and while different from the novel, it’s such a fun, feel good holiday film and it captures the book’s spirit beautifully.

I don’t know if I’ll ever have another book made into a film, so I relish this one and count my lucky stars to have been part of such a fantastic production. Working with Sony and Lifetime was a very positive experience, and the finished product inspires me to keep writing and pushing that edge of creativity.

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FLIRTING WITH FORTY starring Heather Locklear will debut on Lifetime on December 6th, 2008. Check your local listings or visit myLifetime.com for more information.

Speak live with Jane Porter, author of FLIRTING WITH FORTY, on Blog Talk Radio on December 5th at 1PM ET. If you have a question for Jane, please email it to miriam.parker@hbgusa.com. Then call into (646) 378-0039 on December 5th at 1PM. Listen online or sign up for a reminder by visiting Blog Talk Radio.