Entertainment Legend and Academy Award(R) Winner Shirley MacLaine ('Terms of Endearment') Stars in the Three-Hour Lifetime Original Movie Event, 'Coco Chanel,' Premiering Saturday, September 13
GOLDEN GLOBE(R) NOMINEE MALCOLM MCDOWELL ('A CLOCKWORK ORANGE') AND
NEWCOMER BARBORA BOBULOVA ('IN LOVE AND WAR') ALSO STAR
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5 -- Lifetime Television will premiere
the three-hour Lifetime Original Movie Event, "Coco Chanel," the story of
the celebrated, strong-willed haute couture giant who faced life with an
unparalleled sense of style and panache. Six-time Academy Award(R) nominee
and winner Shirley MacLaine ("Terms of Endearment," "In Her Shoes") stars
in the title role of the rags-to-riches tale of the woman named by Time
Magazine as one of the most influential people of the 20th century. The
movie also stars Golden Globe(R) nominee Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork
Orange," "Heroes") as Marc Bouchier, Chanel's confidante and business
associate. Barbora Bobulova ("In Love and War," "La Spettaerice") portrays
the pioneering couturier in her early days of love and loss. "Coco Chanel"
premieres Saturday, September 13 at 8:00pm ET/PT on Lifetime Television.
"Coco Chanel" joins Lifetime's roster of Lifetime Original Movies which
are ranked # 1 in basic cable among W18+. Most recently, "The Memory
Keeper's Daughter" was Lifetime's most-watched original movie since 1995,
and both "The Tenth Circle" and "Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal"
delivered more than three million viewers recently.
"Coco Chanel" begins in 1954, as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (MacLaine)
suffers a professional and personal crisis. After a 15-year absence, she
has re-opened her famed couture house with a comeback collection.
Unfortunately, she and her business partner Marc Bouchier (McDowell) are
shocked when the critics and customers reject it. In reflection, Coco
recounts her humble beginnings and how similar feelings of abandonment by
her father inspired her lifelong series of doomed love relationships that
fueled her fiery ambition to succeed.
As told in flashbacks, Coco first develops her sewing skills as orphan
in a convent school at the turn of the century. Propelled by her desire to
make something of herself, Coco (Bobulova) becomes apprenticed to a
dressmaker in Paris in 1912. There she meets nobleman Etienne Balsan
(Sagamore Stevenin) who whisks her away to his country estate where she
feels inspired by the beauty that surrounds her but also stifled by the
strictures of fashionable society.
When Etienne refuses to marry Coco, she turns her devastation into
determination to open her own shop with the help of Etienne's best friend,
Boy Capel (Oliver Sitruk), and slowly begins to experience the successes of
her entrepreneurial spirit. As WWI approaches, Coco's business flourishes
as her revolutionary designs lead to her iconic jersey dresses,
menswear-like suits, the addition of her logo on her clothing and the
development of her signature perfume, Chanel No. 5. She also finally gives
into her deep feelings for Boy but a tragic event dooms the star-crossed
lovers. Coco heals her broken heart through hard work, building an
unprecedented fashion empire.
As the years pass after WWII, Coco faces turbulence in her business and
vows to redeem herself after the failed comeback collection. Within three
seasons, Coco updates her classic designs, including the Chanel suit and
enjoys a newfound respect. The Chanel suit becomes a status symbol for a
new generation, proving that Coco and Chanel will never go out of style.
"Coco Chanel" is a Lux Vide SpA, Pampa Productions and Alchemy
Television Group Production, in association with RAI, France 2 and Lifetime
Networks. Carrie Stein ("White Nights"), Matilde Bernabei ("War and Peace")
and Simon Vaughan ("Wallis & Edward") served as executive producers. Luca
Bernabei ("Pope John Paul II") served as the producer and Andrea Asimow
("The Heartbreak Kid") was associate producer. Christian Duguay ("Human
Trafficking," "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" and "Joan of Arc") directed from a
script written by Enrico Medioli ("Once Upon a Time in America").
LIFETIME is a diverse, multi-media company, committed to offering the
highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a
wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME
Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime
Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment
Services, a 50/50 joint venture of the Hearst Corporation and The Walt
Disney Company.
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