LIFETIME TO PREMIERE ORIGINAL MOVIE FIVE ON OCTOBER 10, 2011
Patricia Clarkson, Rosario Dawson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Holloway, Jennifer Morrison, Kathy Najimy, Bob Newhart, Annie Potts, Tony Shalhoub, Jeffrey Tambor and Jeanne Tripplehorn
Round Out Groundbreaking Anthology's All-Star Cast
Anthology of Short Films Directed by Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore,
Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris Explores Impact of Breast Cancer on People's Lives
BEVERLY HILLS, CA (July 27, 2011) - Lifetime Television will premiere its groundbreaking original movie Five (formerly Project Five), an anthology of five short films exploring the impact of breast cancer on people's lives directed by Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Independent Spirit Award winner Patty Jenkins (Monster) and Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World), on Monday, October 10, 2011.
From executive producers Aniston, Marta Kauffman (Friends), Paula Wagner (The Last Samurai, Mission: Impossible), Kristin Hahn (The Departed, The Switch), Kevin Chinoy (Greg the Bunny, Warren the Ape) and Francesca Silvestri (Greg the Bunny, Warren the Ape), Five features an all-star ensemble cast including Academy Award(R) nominee Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April), Rosario Dawson (Sin City), Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), Ginnifer Goodwin (Big Love), Josh Holloway (Lost), Taylor Kinney (The Vampire Diaries), Jenifer Lewis (The Princess and the Frog), Jennifer Morrison (House M.D.), Kathy Najimy (WALL-E), Golden Globe(R) Award winner Bob Newhart (Horrible Bosses), Annie Potts (Law & Order: SVU), Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe winner Tony Shalhoub (Monk), and Emmy nominees Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love). The project was cast by Randi Hiller and Tamara-Lee Notcutt. The inspiration for the five films was brought to the producers by co-executive producer Mike Wiese of JWT.
Through an interconnected story arc developed by Kauffman that uses humor and drama to focus on the effect breast cancer and its different stages of diagnosis have on relationships and the way women perceive themselves while searching for strength, comfort, medical breakthroughs and, ultimately, a cure, Five highlights the shared experience each short film's title character - "Charlotte" (Goodwin), "Cheyanne" (Fonseca), "Lili" (Dawson), "Mia" (Clarkson) and "Pearl"
(Tripplehorn) - endures from the moment of diagnosis. Each touching storyline is tied together by chronologically featuring "Pearl," beginning as a confused child bravely facing the loss of her mother (Goodwin) to breast cancer to her adult life as a mother and oncologist treating other patients (Fonseca, Dawson and Clarkson) before she herself is diagnosed with, and ultimately beats, the same disease that took her mother.
Under Kauffman's supervision, writers Stephen Godchaux (Spin City, Dead Like Me), Jill Gordon (Cupid, My So-Called Life), Howard Morris (Women are Crazy, Men are Stupid), Deirdre O'Connor (The Electric Company) and Wendy West (Dexter, The Closer) have written the films included in Five, which is produced by Sony Pictures Television, Echo Films, Chestnut Ridge Productions and Freestyle Picture Company.
ABOUT THE FIVE ANTHOLOGY
Directed by Moore and written by Godchaux, Five's opening film, Charlotte, takes place the night man first walks on the moon in July 1969, when a young "Pearl" (Ava Acres) is more concerned about why her family is not letting her see her mother, "Charlotte" (Goodwin), who lies in her bedroom dying from breast cancer. When she sneaks in to see and ultimately say goodbye to her mother, "Pearl" develops a lifelong passion to help others afflicted with the disease and eventually opens an oncology clinic where she will treat the women we meet throughout Five. Charlotte also stars Tripplehorn, Holloway, Potts, Morrison and Newhart.
In Cheyanne, directed by Spheeris and written by Morris, sexy, young stripper "Cheyanne" (Fonseca) and her handsome newlywed husband "Tommy" (Kinney) struggle to redefine their passionate relationship, as well as who they are as individuals, when Cheyenne is shocked with a breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at a severe prognosis, "Cheyanne's" aggressive treatment ultimately results in the removal of both of her breasts, which have defined her life physically, financially and emotionally.
Lili, directed by Keys and written by Gordon, follows "Lili," a fiercely independent career-minded woman (Dawson), who recruits her sister (Ross) to help tell their hard-nosed mother (Lewis) that she has breast cancer. As they work through their past issues, "Lili's" mother and sister ultimately become her strongest allies when she needs her family the most. Lili also stars Tambor as a male patient diagnosed with breast cancer.
Directed by Aniston, written by West and told in a series of humorous and dramatic flashbacks, Mia is a survivor's tale that highlights all of the highs and lows of "Mia's" (Clarkson) two-year journey from diagnosis with breast cancer during which she gives away all of her worldly possessions, holds a hilarious mock funeral while still alive and enters into a second marriage to "Mitch" (Shalhoub), the new love of her life. Mia also features Najimy as her friend "Rocky."
In Pearl, directed by Jenkins and written by O'Connor, "Pearl" (Tripplehorn), the successful oncologist we have followed from childhood, suddenly finds herself in the patient's seat when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Through this process, she finally understands what her parents experienced that night in 1969 and finds the strength to tell her young daughter that everything is going to be OK�something she never heard as a child. Pearl also stars Clarkson, Shalhoub, Tambor, Newhart, Dawson, Ross and Lewis.
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths among women, affecting one in every eight females, with one in 35 of those women often dying from the disease. While breast cancer death rates are going down - likely a result of early detection - it's estimated that nearly 200,000 new cases are diagnosed annually, with 40,000 deaths attributed to the disease each year. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women, who are more likely to die
from the disease than other ethnicities due to later detection and delayed treatment. Among Hispanic women, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. There are currently 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Long at the forefront in the ongoing battle to fight breast cancer for more than 17 years, Lifetime's Stop Breast Cancer for Life initiative has been dedicated to offering women the most up-to-date, comprehensive information about the disease.
Reaching women and families across the country in partnership with its cable affiliates, advertising sponsors and leading non-profit organizations, Lifetime has collected more than 25 million petition signatures to urge Congress to pass the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, which would end "drive-through mastectomies," the practice where women are sometimes forced to leave the hospital just hours after invasive breast surgery. Lifetime and its audience are now urging the health insurance industry to allow women to stay in the hospital up to 48 hours after a mastectomy as a standard of care.
Past Lifetime Original Movies addressing breast cancer include Living Proof, produced by Ren�e Zellweger and Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Drop Dead Diva) and starring Harry Connick Jr., Amanda Bynes, Angie Harmon, Amy Madigan and others; the Emmy(R) Award nominated Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, with Sarah Chalke; and Matters of Life & Dating, starring Ricki Lake.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment around the world and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of feature films and television shows, SPT boasts a current program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. Internationally, SPT is a leader in local language productions around the world, some of which are co-produced with local partners, and sells SPE-owned formats in approximately 70 countries. To better serve its clients and partners worldwide, SPT maintains offices throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the People's Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE's long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with 132 channel feeds, which are available in more than 142 countries reaching more than 500 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns Dutch entertainment company 2waytraffic, production company Embassy Row and Sony Movie Channel, and is a part owner of cable channel GSN, new 3D channel 3net, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premiere national advertising sales companies, handling the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in all of SPE's digital businesses in the United States. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.
ABOUT LIFETIME TELEVISION
Lifetime Television is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. Lifetime Television(R), Lifetime Movie Network(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) (which includes myLifetime.com, LMN.tv, Lifetime Games, Roiworld.com, DressUpChallenge.com and LifetimeMoms.com) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A&E Television Networks, LLC. A&E Television Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group, Hearst Corporation and NBC Universal.
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