Steve Schofield
April 26, 2017
In The Mix

Beaches and Bridges

Maria Neuman

Though Denise Di Novi has been behind the scenes for most of her career, you’ve likely seen her work.

In fact, it’s quite possible that she’s brought you to tears.

Having produced a slew of Nicholas Sparks films (including A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle), as well as other female-driven classics such as Heathers and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Di Novi recently executive-produced Lifetime’s remake of the iconic chick-flick and serious weepy, Beaches.

The telefilm, starring Idina Menzel and Nia Long and directed by Allison Anders, did well for Lifetime in its January premiere and is available on iTunes and other platforms.

But undertaking that remake was not an easy decision. “My litmus test is to ask if there is a message that is still valuable today,” Di Novi says. “A story about getting through life with the support of your best friend is very valuable right now, and reaching younger women who didn’t see the original felt inspiring.”

Di Novi herself was recently inspired to take on a new job: directing. She’s directed an episode of Bones (airing on Fox in April) and produced and directed the feature film Unforgettable, also due out in April; the female-driven thriller stars Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson.

“It’s not a typical transition,” she allows, “but I’ve always been a fairly hands-on creative producer.” Now that her two sons are older, Di Novi feels ready to tackle the all-consuming job.

“You really live and breathe it,” she says of directing. “I had a show on the air for a while called The District [she exec-produced the CBS drama], and I loved doing TV,” says the New York native. “I enjoy the pace, the shorter time and I think television lets you explore character more. Even when I’m producing, I’m obsessed with character.”

Nowadays, Di Novi also notices the easy back-and-forth for many colleagues who, like her, move between TV and film. “There’s a complete fluidity between features and TV,” she says. “There’s not a stigma either way and, for me, directing is pretty damn fun.”


This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 3, 2017

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