Love by Accident--The Movie!




In February of 2019, I got a strange email from my editor, Adrienne Macintosh, saying that my book, Coming Home to You, was being made into a movie. My first reaction was that her account had been hacked. I had no idea my book was being considered or that Harlequin was partnered with the film company, BrainPower Studios. Besides...well, really...a movie?

I kept thinking it was all a mistake. Even when the script was sent for me to take a look at, even when Harlequin contacted me to say that BrainPower had invited me to visit the set, even when the assistant at the studio confirmed my plane tickets. I played along, sure. Posted on social media that it was happening, pretended enthusiasm, got a new phone so I could take proper photos when on the set.

And then I was driven to the set and saw this:


This was the staging of the accident that occurs in the first scene of Coming Home to You. I suddenly got it. This might be an accident but my presence there was not. This was happening.

In my two days, graciously hosted by BrainPower, I shadowed the moviemakers--the director, the assistant directors, the continuity guy (I wish I remembered his title because he's crucial), the actors, the makeup gal (she knows the actors' faces better than they do), the producers (fascinating peeps) and so many more.



Leads, Getenesh Behre and Henderson Wade.





I quizzed the producer, Nancy Yeaman, about why movie was chosen. Apparently, they liked the accident scene and the godmother figure, wonderfully played by Lanette Ware.

Lanette Ware & Me



I came away, awestruck by the sheer labor that goes into the creation of a movie. Did you know that every scene is shot three or four times with a focus on each character? Later, it will be edited to get that seamless look we expect when we hit 'Play'. As an author, I go through umpteen takes on my scenes, too, with the help of two or three editors. But it's  private and the scenes play out in my imagination with no one intruding. It's all compact, fluid and self-directed. If I deem it good, it's done.

Moviemaking, not so much. Take the accident, for example. I had the RV ram directly into a Tim Hortons, damaging the restaurant, smashing the vehicle's grill, and striking terror into the breakfasting customers.

But did the producers really want to damage a building or film a room of shrieking customers? Better to modify it, while still conveying the impact of the inciting incident. 

Writers complain about the loneliness and drudgery of their occupation, but our imaginations can explode the world without any concerns over liability and feasibility.

The movie premiered in March on SuperChannel, and my editor has just informed me that it's coming to UPtv on July 26 or August 2 (dates subject to change). This time, I believe her.

This was my brush with the movies. Have you been in the movies? Has anyone met a celebrity by accident? Tell all.

I'm in a no-Wifi zone today, so I'll miss hearing your feedback. But please, I plan to come back and respond to all that you have to say.

You can also come see me at these e-places.

M. K. Stelmack Website

M. K. Stelmack Facebook

And oh, a cover reveal for my September Never-Too-Early-For-Christmas release:




Comments

  1. What an exciting experience! Not only to visit a film set but to see how the characters and story from your imagination have been interpreted. I hope to watch it somehow. As a longtime movie fan, I'd be thrilled just to be on a set. My small brush with a celebrity happened in the town near my cottage. Dan Akroyd's family has a cottage in the area and one summer day we passed each other crossing a quiet side street. There was no,one else around and other than a quick double-take, I was too shy to speak. Besides, he didn't recognize me. Lol

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    1. I like that story, Janice. I'd walk on by, too.

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  2. I lost my starry eyes about movie making during the student film my spouse shot in our apartment. He became a film producer, and I ended up an accountant for film and television. I didn't spend a lot of time on sets, often working quite remotely, but I was a part of it. That rubs off the glow.

    I can recite by memory the different account codes used for the various film accounts. I don't think I should brag about that, since it shows way too much time spent posting. And do not get me started on film accounting software. (I hate Vista.)

    Celebrity run-ins? Not that many. Had a dinner with Levar Burton (who would not remember). Shelly Duval called the house when she was working on a film of my spouse's. Alice Krige (later a Borg queen in Star Trek) at an event. I don't think I met Darryl Hannah or Keifer Sutherland, but I think I did Sean Young. (More people from spouse's films)

    I was often invited to wrap parties, and screenings, but I didn't go often. No one knew me, except as a name in an email, and it felt pushy, like I was trying to be able to claim to have met someone. And I'm a writing introvert, not a party person.

    Oh, that continuity person? Their payments are coded into account 10.80.

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    1. Too funny about the codes. All these famous people turn out to be just people in the end, right?

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  3. Congratulations! I don't think I've ever met a movie star, but I was friends with the guy who wrote the Tarzan screenplays and The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag.

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    1. Thank you! I like knowing writers in other genres because they always refresh my writing.

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  4. Congratulations! It sounds so exciting.

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    1. Exciting and weird, yes. The biggest thrill was watching 'Based on a novel by M. K. Stelmack' at the beginning of the movie.

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  5. Wow, that must have been surreal, being in the middle of the scenes that had happened in your head! So exciting. I've got to figure out a way to watch it. I think someone mentioned the movie might be available in DVD from Walmart. I'll look. Oh, and the new cover is gorgeous!

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    1. Is it? I did see that it's available on DVD from e-Bay under the original title of Coming Home to You. I didn't see it in Walmart online. Yes, the new cover is pretty, pretty.

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  6. I loved reading about your experience on set. How fun to see your story brought to life. When I was working in Ann Arbor a lot of movies were filmed near by office building. I saw Catherine Keener, Clive Owen and David Swimmer. Nothing like taking a mid-afternoon stroll to get an iced tea and spotting Ross from FRIENDS.

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    1. I love the name 'Ann Arbor'. Now that's a way to stay famous. I worked in 'Elizabeth Mowers'. I lived in 'M. K. Stelmack'--quiet, friendly but not very exciting, lol.

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  7. Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience--and big, huge congratulations!

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  8. Thanks for sharing the wonderful experience. I am so glad for you.

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  9. What a wonderful experience...and I would have thought it was a mistake, too, when I first got the email. Congratulations!

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    1. We must be of the same personality type, Julianna!

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  10. Thanks for sharing that fun experience. And the thrill of seeing your name in the credits. I love books with a fun godmother character in them so this is definitely a book I'll look for.

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