Another Great Interview on "One for the Money" with Janet Evanovich"

To sum up, this is an awesome interview with Janet Evanovich about her new book, what she thinks about the cast of "One for the Money," and her take on Jersey itself. This interview has really gotten me even more excited about the upcoming movie getting her opinion of all the characters...even if it is vague because she hasn't seen the movie yet. Personally, I think they should let Janet see a private screening of "OFTM" before it comes out...her being the creator of Steph and all. Don't you?  Oh and....you know...if they are feeling generous and wanted to oh...MAKE MY WHOLE DECADE...they could, um maybe....shoot another ticket my way....I wouldn't complain one bit...uh-unh...not at all.

"Janet Evanovich remembers sitting at a card table, "feeling like a real idiot" when only a few people showed up at her book signing.

Now -- 21 books later -- Katherine Heigl is starring as the author's Trenton bounty-hunter protagonist, Stephanie Plum, in an upcoming movie. Fans show up at Evanovich's signings early in the morning to secure numbered wristbands so they don't have to stand in line all day. There's usually a couple thousand people.

And she's no longer living in New Jersey, but sunny Florida, where she signs stacks of books in advance of their release.

Although Plum made her debut in '94, the character's fun-loving essence remains current, says Evanovich.

"I could see Stephanie and Snooki going out for pizza, going shoe shopping at Macy's," she says. After all, the author appreciates a good mall herself. Surely Evanovich has something to say about Heigl, the new face of Plum. Out in January, the movie "One for the Money" will bring the character to the big screen with the story from Evanovich's book of the same title, the first in what became a best-selling series.

Truth is, she has no idea what to say, because she hasn't seen the movie yet. In film stills, though, she thinks Heigl "looked great" as Plum, the actress's normally flaxen locks transformed into Plum's requisite dark, curly hair.  

"Frequently I'm called Stephanie," says Evanovich. "I bear no resemblance to her."

Originally from South River, the author now resides in Naples, Fla., where Evanovich says there's enough stores, including a Costco, to sate her shopping needs. Team Evanovich includes daughter Alex, Evanovich's creative director who has co-written a graphic novel with her; son Peter; and husband Pete. She will be back in New Jersey on Tuesday, in Princeton, to sign books and mark the release of "Smokin' Seventeen," which is the 21st book in the Plum series, one that has long been bankable in print but is only now coming to film.

"One for the Money," a film based on Janet Evanovich's 1994 novel and the first in her Stephanie Plum series will star Katherine Heigl, above, as the Trenton bounty hunter and is scheduled to be out in January.

"I know nothing about making a movie," says Evanovich, who says she had little to do with the film and prefers the hands-off approach to her story's adaptation. "It's like someone making me a birthday cake."

Evanovich's endorsement of the upcoming movie's leading men -- Daniel Sunjata (of TV's "Rescue Me") in the role of Ranger and Jason O'Mara ("Life on Mars") as Trenton police detective Joe Morelli -- is that they're "very hot."

I have to agree with Janet! "Nummy!!"

Can't you just see Jason all scruffy looking from camping out in his van hiding from Steph, the police, and the men who want him dead?  Love me some stubble!! *swoon...thud*

"I love Sherri Shepherd as Lula," adds Evanovich, in her soft, friendly voice. She also thinks Debbie Reynolds, in the role of Grandma Mazur, is "going to be terrific."

The movie was not filmed in Plum's Trenton, but in Pennsylvania.

"What they told me is that there are parts of Pittsburgh that look a lot like parts of Trenton," says Evanovich. She looks forward to a possible infusion of new Stephanie Plum readers after the movie's out, including anyone for whom the phrase "Trenton bounty hunter" didn't already sound like compelling material.

"I think it's going to help raise my profile," says Evanovich.

The work on a "One for the Money" movie was actually begun in 1994, even before the book was released. Around books four and five, the Stephanie Plum series "exploded, especially in Jersey," says Evanovich.

Screenwriter team Karen Ray and Stacy Sherman were brought on to write the screenplay after Columbia Tristar bought the film rights to the story. They were flown out to Trenton to get a feel for the place, says Ray, who remembers driving around with the Trenton police.

"She's fun and spicy and smart and strong-willed," says Ray of Evanovich's bounty hunter Plum. "What woman doesn't want to read that?"

Since then, other writers, including Liz Brixius, a co-creator of the Edie Falco show "Nurse Jackie," were brought on for the script.

Ray says the strength in Evanovich's writing is that "she understands comedy in everyday situations." That, and her gift for evoking a strong sense of place.

"My job was kind of made easy," says Evanovich. "New Jersey is kind of a caricature of itself. I just tapped into what was an existing culture."

For Evanovich's existing throngs of devoted fans, in Jersey and elsewhere, "Smokin' Seventeen" awaits. In it, a serial killer leaves dead bodies addressed to Plum, "so that's kind of fun," says Evanovich, who last year left St. Martin's Press for Random House.

"It's been a good move," says Evanovich, appreciative that fans can send each other virtual doughnuts on a Facebook fanpage and that there's now a Janet Evanovich mobile app. She's always liked "free tchotchkes" like the ones she likes to give out at signings.

"What I do miss is the Jersey Shore," she says, surrounded by palm trees but longing for Kohr's frozen custard and the lingering scents of coconut oil and sunscreen. "We don't have Point Pleasant" down in Florida, she says."

So, what do you think?  Are you getting as excited as I am?!?! Can't wait!
If you want to see the original interview, please click the link below: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/06/janet_evanovich_interview_a_pl.html