Hard Case Crime Goes Hollywood

Ardent fans of Hard Case Crime have probably already heard about this, but, as Variety reports, the New York-based publisher has formed a producing partnership with Papazian-Hirsch Entertainment “to develop feature projects based on the Hard Case Crime novels.”

First film, aimed for lensing later this year, will be “Little Girl Lost,” based on the Richard Aleas novel about a young detective who discovers that his high school sweetheart has just been found brutally murdered on the roof of New York’s seediest strip club.

“Richard Aleas” is a pen name for Hard Case Crime publisher [Charles] Ardai, who will collaborate on the screenplay with [James] Polster (“The Rape of Richard Beck”) and James Hirsch. Robert Papazian and Hirsch will exec produce.

“These movies will adhere to the visual and storytelling style that have made the Hard Case Crime novels so popular,” said Papazian and Hirsch, co-producers on HBO’s “Rome” and the “Raw Feed” DVD thrillers distributed by Warner Home Video. ‘We want to capture everything that makes these books irresistible, from the great plotting and hard-boiled action to the film noir atmosphere, which just begs to be brought to the screen with musical scores by the legends of American jazz.”

I’ve loved Rome, with its grandiose visual effects, strong casting, and wonderfully salacious subplots. If the same sorts of cinematic values and attention to sharp storytelling can be brought to Little Girl Lost and any future films, it would be to the benefit not only of Hard Case Crime, but to those of us who like movies with meat, not just heat. However, Ardai cautions in an e-note that expectations for this venture should be kept in check: “These are early days yet, so just how many films will get made or which of our books they’ll be based on is still up in the air--but we definitely feel we’re in good hands, and will keep you posted as things begin developing.”

One final comment, which reflects my copy-editing background: Who in the hell decided that “lensing” was a real English word?