By Michael Buckley
22 Sep 2008

*

	Harry Connick, Jr. in "Living Proof"
	photo by Skip Bolen, Lifetime Networks

"Living Proof," a Lifetime TV film (Oct. 18, 9 PM ET), details the lengthy struggle of UCLA Dr. Dennis Slamon (played by Harry Connick Jr.) to develop Herceptin 2, a breast-cancer drug that has saved thousands of lives.

Storyline Entertainment partners Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are two of its co-producers. What was the development of their participation? "Vivienne Radkoff, who wrote it and is an executive producer, spent seven years trying to get it going," states Meron. "She walked through our doors, told us the story — a most original take on a catastrophic illness. It was inspiring and hopeful, and would not leave viewers depressed."

Zadan picks up: "We thought, there have been several breast-cancer movies on Lifetime; we wouldn't want to do something similar. But we were won over by Dr. Slamon's battle with the drug company and the FDA, the process of what he had to go through, in order to develop a cure. It had the tone of 'And the Band Played On' and 'Silkwood' — Man vs. the Establishment. To battle the odds — loss of interest, no funding, discouragement — requires someone who doesn't give up. That was a movie we wanted to make."

Continues Meron, "We contacted Renee Zellweger [with whom they worked in the Oscar-winning "Chicago"]. She's an advocate for breast-cancer awareness. Turns out that Dr. Slamon had saved the life of her friend and publicist, Nancy Ryder. Renee partnered with us. She was filming a movie ["Chilling in Miami"] with Harry Connick Jr. — who was the person both of us wanted to play Dr. Slamon. Renee talked up the script, and got Harry interested in it."

Says Zadan, "We took out our e-mail address book and contacted friends, in order to gather an all-star cast [which includes Bernadette Peters, Tammy Blanchard, Swoosie Kurtz, Angie Harmon, John Benjamin Hickey, Amy Madigan, Amanda Bynes, and Regina King].

	Jennifer Coolidge with Bernadette Peters
	photo by Skip Bolen, Lifetime Networks

"While the other patients are composites, Bernadette plays the only real woman depicted in the story. She's the longest surviving member of the Phase One trial [of the drug]. We're flying her and her husband to New York; she and Bernadette will get to meet at the premiere."

"It was like working with family," concludes Meron. "None of the actors needed to do it — they wanted to do it, to tell the story the right way, with passion and commitment, and to honor Dr. Slamon."

Various and Sundry

The new Neil LaBute-directed movie, "Lakeview Terrace", stars Samuel L. Jackson as a racist L.A. cop who harasses an interracial couple (Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington) who move in next door.

Next month, Wilson moves from screens to stage, opening in the Broadway revival of All My Sons, by Arthur Miller. Miller's 1947 play, which focuses on how a manufacturer's wartime greed affects his family, was the playwright's second time on Broadway, and his first success — following an effort that ran four performances, and preceding Death of a Salesman. Wilson co-stars with two-time Tony winner John Lithgow, two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, and — in a Broadway debut — Katie Holmes. Holmes fans can also see her on the new TV season's second episode of "Eli Stone.

*

When "24" returns, joining the cast are two-time Tony winner Cherry Jones (as the U.S. President) and Oscar winner Jon Voight; both will be seen first in a TV-movie, "24: Exiled".

*

Lily Tomlin and Gale Harold have been added to the cast of "Desperate Housewives".

*

The Brooke Shields sitcom, "Lipstick Jungle", will have Mary Tyler Moore guest starring as her mom.

*

Angela Bassett preps for "ER" duty while Jimmy Smits joins the cast of "Dexter."

*

"Ugly Betty", which is set in Manhattan, has moved production to the Big Apple, and Lindsay Lohan returns for five episodes.

*

On Sept. 23's tenth-season starter of "Law & Order: SVU", guest stars are Luke Perry, Julie Bowen, and Sara Gilbert.

*

Dennis Hopper stars in the series "Crash", based on 2004's Oscar-winning Best Picture.

*

Debra Messing teams with Judy Davis in "The Starter Wife", a new series based on the earlier hit miniseries.

*

Two of last season's Tony nominees, Laurie Metcalf (November) and Laurence Fishburne (Thurgood) are taking TV turns in the coming season. Metcalf (a "Roseanne" veteran) stars in "Easy Money", while Fisburne succeeds William Petersen as the lead in "CSI" (starting with the ninth episode).

*

Tony Award winner Audra McDonald returns Oct. 1 in the series "Private Practice".

*

Jeffrey Donovan (USA's "Burn This", and the most-recent Broadway revival of A View from the Bridge) will appear in Don't Dress for Dinner, by Marc Camoletti (Boeing-Boeing), at Chicago's Royal George Theatre.

*

This fall, Frank Langella stars on Broadway as Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, and onscreen, as the 37th President in "Frost/Nixon", reprising the role that won him a third Tony Award. (The trailer can be found online.)

*

Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard make Broadway debuts (Oct. 2, at the Walter Kerr) in the acclaimed British (Royal Court) production of Chekhov's The Seagull, adapted by Christopher Hampton.

*

Britain's Nick Whitby has adapted the 1942 Ernst Lubitsch-directed comedy "To Be or Not to Be" for Broadway (opening Oct. 14, at the Friedman, formerly the Biltmore). The tale of a theatrical troupe performing in Poland as Nazis invade stars Jan Maxwell and David Rasche in roles originated by Carole Lombard and Jack Benny (and played in the 1983 remake by Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks).

*

White Christmas comes to Broadway for the holiday season (for the first time, though it's played regionally). It's based on the 1954 Irving Berlin movie musical (the year's top-grossing film — and a perennial TV holiday fixture), which starred Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Kaye replaced Donald O'Connor, who had replaced Fred Astaire. Dancer Vera-Ellen, who plays the younger sister of Rosemary Clooney, was actually seven years her senior. Vera-Ellen's singing voice was always dubbed; Trudy Stevens did her "White Christmas" vocals — except for the duet "Sisters," in which Clooney sang both parts. Because Clooney was under contract to a different record label, her songs on the soundtrack album were sung by Peggy Lee. The title song was introduced (and won the Oscar) in 1942's "Holiday Inn" (starring Crosby and Astaire).

*

Broadway's Jana Robbins makes her feature film debut in the latest movie version of "The Women", based on the 1936 hit play, by Clare Boothe Luce. It's been revived twice on Broadway: in 1973, starring Kim Hunter, and in 2001, with Cynthia Nixon. Meg Ryan stars in the latest movie version. It's been filmed twice before: in 1939, Norma Shearer led a star-studded female cast (including Rosalind Russell and Paulette Goddard engaging in a famous screen fight); in 1956, the title was changed to "The Opposite Sex", men and songs were added, and June Allyson starred. San Diego's Old Globe has a production running, with Kate Baldwin as wronged wife Mary.

*

One of AMC's "Mad Men" stars, Elisabeth Moss, (Peggy Olson) makes her Broadway bow next month in a revival of the David Mamet drama Speed-the-Plow, opposite Jeremy Piven ("Entourage") and three-time Tony nominee Raul Esparza. I'll interview Moss in my next column. Please stay tuned.

*

Stage to Screens is Playbill.com's monthly column that connects the dots between theatre, film and television projects and people. Contact Michael Buckley at stagetoscreens@aol.com.

View article on single page

Previous Page   1 | 2 Next Page