"Final Appeal"for "Miss Mellville (who) Regrets" "Faking It"

We have all read books with scenes so vivid that they stick in your mind. I know exactly what it looks and feels like and is so striking that I can visualize the event without even trying. Sometimes as I read certain characters fit the faces of certain actors, even when the description is entirely different. Sometimes I wish that my friends who don't read could appreciate the stories that I have enjoyed, but I know that unless they are made into a movie, it will never happen. There are lots of books that I would like to see made into movies. Some, like Michael Malone's "Handling Sin" are too involved to be reasonably converted to anything that wasn't the length of "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" but it is still a vividly written book, and full of laugh out loud humor. I have selected three books that would translate well unto the large screen, for various reasons. They have very different subjects and are all interesting and amusing.

"Miss Melville Regrets" written by Evelyn Smith is a surprise. Today when all the assassins are bad guys, we are presented with a "lady of a certain age" who becomes the most unlikely of contract killers. She has the ability of many women that age to fade into the background. The book explores her life before and how she fell into being a contract killer. It has lots of glamorous parties, and how she learns to gate crash. First published in 1986, it could translate into the current time without any problems. I would cast Mary McDonnell, or Kathy Bates as Miss Mellville, whom I always thought of as a kind of Helen Hayes/ Miss Marple sort of character. Mark Shepherd would be good as Alex Tabor, who becomes her handler, when she kills someone on the spur of the moment that he had been assigned to assassinate. There are lots of memorable small rolls that could be cast. I really think this would make an excellent movie that would be enjoyed by all ages.

Jennifer Crusie wrote a wonderful book called "Faking It" which would translate well to a movie. In fact many of her books would make wonderful, fun date night type movies. With lots of juicy rolls for women and slightly bawdy language "Faking It" rollicks through a family of women who own an antique store with secret faked paintings in the basement. I would put Beth Reisgrave from "Leverage" in the roll of Matilda Goodnight, with Elaine Cassidy from "Harper's Island" as one of her older sisters and Summer Glau from "Serenity" as her younger sister. Miranda Otto, from "Lord of the Rings" might fit Gwen, the mother roll, which is not to be ignored. Mathew Bomer from "White Collar" would make a wonderful Davy Dempsey since he is just too pretty for words. There are just so many well written characters that you could cast for hours, Why not Adam Baldwin or Jeffery Donovan play the mother's love interest Ford. I can hardly do the book justice. It would have to be at least R rated, but it is such fun.

Another author who writes books that would make good movies is Lisa Scottoline. Of all of them I would perhaps choose "Final Appeal" because it has one of those scenes that sticks in your mind, even when you forget exactly which book it came from. The protagonist is a part time lawyer with a young daughter, her relationship with her mother and the past as well as her work for a judge/ love interest/murder victim. It is complex and has enough red herrings to make a really exciting movie. I might put Michael Imperioli from "The Lovely Bones" in the role of the judge, with Gina Torres from "Serenity" as Eletha, the office manager and Gina Bellman from "Leverage" as Grace. I would put Matt Czuchry from "The Good Wife" in the pivotal roll of Ben Safer. Jeffry Donovan from "Burn Notice" would be able to pull off the character of Shake and Bake, which would be no small feat. This is a legal thriller with political ramifications. Again lots of well written characters. It would make a wonderful movie, that would keep people caring about who the bad guy really was. "Final Appeal" in Chapter 30 has a scene that is visually memorable with a lit city out of a big window that sticks in your head. It would look spectacular on the big screen.

The difficulty with casting any of these books into movies, is that the ages might not fit right in relation to the other characters. While some of the actors are my favorites they might not be as well known as the actors that would be needed to carry the movie financially. I could only use actors that I am familiar with. There are lots of good roles for women who don't need to be the usual young sexy thing. I know that these books would make wonderful movies. I only hope that the movies would not disappoint. Read them and find out.