Fiction writing instructor Leslie Schwartz has exciting news—her novel, Angels Crest, was made into a movie starting Jeremy Piven, Kate Walsh, Elizabeth McGovern, and Mira Sorvino, and it recently debuted at the Tribecca Film Festival. The movie centers on the working-class Rocky Mountain town of Angels Crest, where young father Ethan is doing his best to raise his three-year-old son Nate. He has no choice—Nate’s mother is an alcoholic. But one snowy day Ethan’s momentary lapse in judgment results in tragedy, catapulting the town’s tight-knit community into strange new directions as they try to decide where the blame lies.

We asked Leslie about the experience of having her book made into a movie. She shared:

“The best thing an author can do when film rights are sold—or so it seemed for me—is to let go. Movie making is a whole other animal and when a filmmaker buys the rights to your novel, it’s hers. She can do whatever she wants with it. I enjoyed the process immensely because I was able to let the director and screenwriter do what they felt they needed to do with the book without feeling emotionally attached. Being on set was a blast. And it also helps me never to think about outcomes. I’m a writer first and always. That is the process of art-making I most enjoy. The rest is gravy.”

Congratulations, Leslie! We look forward to seeing it.

Pin It on Pinterest