“Based on the book by Nora Roberts”
From Idea to Premiere:
The making of four Nora Roberts bestsellers
into Lifetime Original Movies.

Earlier this year devoted readers of Nora Roberts’ books were delighted by the news that four of her best-selling novels were being developed into movies by Mandalay Entertainment and Stephanie Germaine Productions in partnership with Lifetime Television.  Nearly a year later that idea has come full circle and Blue Smoke, Carolina Moon, Montana Sky and Angels Fall will be Lifetime Original Movies in early 2007.

Angels Fall will lead off “Nora Roberts Month on Lifetime” when it premieres on Monday, January 29, 2007.  The other three movies will follow on the subsequent Mondays in February.

Over the next few weeks, this will be information central for details on the films based on Nora Roberts’ best-selling and much loved books.  First up is an overview of how the movies came to be.  In further installments, the focus will be on each movie.  There will be a brief synopsis of the story as well as a rundown of the cast, Nora’s impressions and favorite roles played by some of the actors as well as a few surprises along the way.

It all starts at the beginning, which was actually an end.
The February announcement was the culmination of nearly a year of discussion and negotiation that started with Mandalay Entertainment and Stephanie Germain Productions purchasing the film rights to six of Nora’s books and became a reality as Lifetime joined as the broadcast partner.  Through all the ins and outs of negotiations, Nora maintained her usual writing schedule, but was kept up-to-date on the progress.

“I remember having many conversations with my agent, Amy Berkower, and a delightful conference call with her, Peter Guber and Stephanie Germain,” said Nora.  “It felt as though we were on the same page, so to speak, right off the mark”

Peter Guber, Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, said in the official press release announcing the deal, "Building this exciting filmed franchise by combining Lifetime's powerful brand with Nora Roberts, a stratospheric author, will create a compelling entertainment experience."

Stephanie Germain, President of Stephanie Germain Productions, added, "Nora's books are a perfect match with Lifetime's commitment to bring inspirational women's stories to their audience."

The impetus for the project was making the connection between Nora’s readers and Lifetime’s viewers.  “We all wanted this to work for everyone involved -- the network, the producers, me, the readers and the viewers,” continued Nora. 

Mandalay Television’s movies and miniseries have been ratings blockbusters, including Dean Koontz's: "Intensity," a four-hour miniseries based on the best-seller by Dean Koontz; "First Daughter," a two-hour original movie starring Mariel Hemingway for TBS; "Blood Crime," which launched USA Network's Crime Friday and "The Linda McCartney Story." Mandalay is currently in production on "Brotherhood," a series for Showtime.

Stephanie Germain Productions recently finished production on “A Perfect Day” starring Rob Lowe which will air on TNT this December 18 and is based on Richard Paul Evans’ bestseller. Stephanie has served as executive producer on many successful projects such as Lifetime’s “Gracie’s Choice” which starred Kristin Bell, Diane Ladd and Ann Heche as well as the CBS production of Anita Shreve’s bestseller, “The Pilot’s Wife,” which starred Emmy and Oscar award winner Christine Lahti. 

Having gone through the film option process in the past only to see projects reach a dead end, this time around, Nora felt that the partnership with Mandalay and Stephanie Germain Productions would be successful.  She summed it up in one word:  commitment.

“I knew the producers were completely committed to making the best films based on my novels they could,” said Nora. “What came across to me all along was that those involved in the production understood the books -- the heart of each one, the characters, and that they very much respected the reader's wants and needs in a movie version.

“If and when I had a comment about a script, they listened,” she continued. “They had a fresh and interesting idea for the project.  They knew that Lifetime was a wonderful fit for movies based on books. Then they had the sheer energy to make it happen.”

The road to filming.
Upon the announcement of the deal, preproduction on the films commenced.  The plan was to film each movie back to back from August through November.  Each shoot was expected to last about a month and post-production would lead into the February premieres. Nora was kept up to date with the progress of the scripts and casting ideas.  Her readers love to debate which actor should play certain characters in Nora’s books all the time, but throughout the spring and early summer, Nora actually lived through the process as Peter Guber and Stephanie Germain searched for the perfect actors to fill the roles.  She was fascinated by the choices Mandalay made. 

“It was absolutely and completely thrilling. I did many happy dances each time the cast was relayed to me,” said Nora.

 She recalls an example of the synchronicity of casting her books as films.  “I happened to watch Stephen King's Nightmare and Dreamscapes, and in the first episode was struck by Claire Forlani,” she recalled. “I thought -- since the whole casting thing was on my mind -- gee, look at her face, her eyes especially, and she's just a lovely, lovely actor. She'd be a great Tory for Carolina Moon. I swear, a couple of days later, I got an e-mail telling me she'd been cast. It was like fate.”

In September, Nora and her husband Bruce traveled to Calgary and the set of Montana Sky.  Once there, Nora met the cast – including John Corbett,   Diane Ladd, and Charlotte Ross – all actors whose work Nora had enjoyed over the years.  Once there, Nora filmed cameos for each movie.  Finding those cameos will be part of the “Where’s Nora?” contest.  (Details to be announced.)    There will be much more about the Montana Sky shoot in the coming weeks.

But next up will be Angels Fall, which was an immediate #1 bestseller on the New York Times bestseller list in July 2006.  On January 29, 2007, Angels Fall will make its world premiere as a Lifetime Original Movie with Heather Locklear starring as Reese Gilmore. 

Stay tuned.

Check out Lifetime's Movie Page to read details about the casting and an interview with Nora.

See Photos from Angels Fall

See Photos from Blue Smoke

See Photos from Montana Sky

See Photos from Carolina Moon