ABC FAMILY ANNOUNCES FIRST FORAY INTO MUSIC WITH A MOVIE MUSICAL, "ELIXIR"!
Jane Seymour ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "Wedding Crashers"), Chelsea Kane ("Jonas," "Dancing with the Stars"), Sara Paxton ("Shark Night 3D," "Aquamarine"), Alexander John ("Single Ladies," "90210"), Drew Seeley ("Another Cinderella Story"), Adrienne Bailon ("The Cheetah Girls") and Tony Award Nominee Tom Wopat (Broadway's "Chicago," "Annie Get Your Gun" and "The Dukes of Hazzard") Are Cast in the Movie Spectacular
Debra Martin Chase ("The Princess Diaries," "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," "Lemonade Mouth,") and Terry Rossio Are Set to Produce
Sanaa Hamri ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," "Just Wright,"
"Something New") is Set to Direct
Terry Rossio ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," "Shrek") & Jaylynn Bailey Are Writers
Michael Rooney ("(500) Days of Summer," "The Muppets") is Set to Choreograph
The Original 2-Hour Movie Will Premiere in 2012 on the Network
Burbank, CA (September 20, 2011) - ABC Family enters into the world of music with its first movie musical featuring an incredibly talented cast, including Jane Seymour, Chelsea Kane, Sara Paxton, Alexander John, Drew Seeley, Adrienne Bailon and Tom Wopat. The two-hour original movie, "Elixir" (working title), also features a stellar creative team in producer Debra Martin Chase and Terry Rossio, writers Terry Rossio & Jaylynn Bailey, choreographer Michael Rooney and director Sanaa Hamri. The movie will feature unforgettable covers as well as several original songs and show-stopping dance numbers. Principal shooting is scheduled to start September 26 in Pittsburgh, PA. This original movie is slated to premiere on ABC Family in 2012.
Harper (Jane Seymour) was one of the best dancers to hit Broadway, but an injury caused her to leave the spotlight, become a choreographer, and raise her daughter, Mirabella (Sara Paxton). When Mirabella, the star of Harper's next big production, decides to quit the show to get married, her mother is determined to put a stop to the wedding and show Mirabella that she cannot give up her career for love, especially to marry playboy Marco (Alexander John). After the long flight to the Italian wedding site, Harper takes a swig from a strange bottle that is supposed to dull the pain of an old dance injury. Instead, the elixir magically turns Harper 30 years younger.
Harper's younger appearance (Chelsea Kane plays Young Harper) allows her to secretly infiltrate the wedding - only to confront a huge obstacle in Mirabella's father, Ryan (Tom Wopat), who can recognize his ex-wife in any form. After he too experiences the reverse-aging effects of the elixir (Drew Seeley plays Young Ryan), Ryan teams with Harper to reverse the damage she's done to Mirabella and Marco's relationship, hopefully in time to save the wedding. Throughout this fairytale romance, Harper, Mirabella, Ryan and Marco express themes of life and love through song and dance in a magical story examining life, love and family bonds.
The script was written by Terry Rossio ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," "Shrek"), who will also executive-produce, and Jaylynn Bailey; two-time Emmy� nominated motion picture and television producer Debra Martin Chase ("The Princess Diaries," "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," "Just Wright," "Lemonade Mouth" and the upcoming remakes of "Dirty Dancing" and "Sparkle," starring Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks) will executive-produce; Sanaa Hamri ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," "Just Wright," "Something New," and director of music videos for Prince, Mariah Carey, Jay Z and for Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass," winner for Best Hip-Hop Video at MTV's VMA's) is set to direct; and Michael Rooney ("(500) Days of Summer," "The Muppets" and choreographer of music videos for Fatboy Slim and Gnarls Barkley's "Run," for which he won his 5th MTV Award for Best Choreography) is set to choreograph. Gaylyn Fraiche ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," "Just Wright" and "Lemonade Mouth") is also a producer.
Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 98 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today's relationships - told with a mix of diversity, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a combination of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas!" ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.
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