HOLLYWOOD — When Tom Hanks came down with COVID while filming “Elvis” in Australia, production was shut down and he and his wife returned to the U.S. Once he recovered, he hit the ground running. “Moulin Rouge” director Baz Luhrmann reopened filming “Elvis” once it was safe to resume. Hanks and “Elvis” (Austin Butler) made up for lost time, and it’s now due June 24.
Hanks then assumed the role of Geppetto for Robert Zemeckis’ live-action “Pinocchio,” with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. Hanks and Zemeckis (now 70) won Oscars for “Forrest Gump” (1974) and collaborated on “Castaway” (2000) and “Polar Express” (2004). Hanks next reported to Wes Anderson for another of his all-star-cast films, “Asteroid City,” with Margot Robbie, Scarlet Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Maya Hawke, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber and Matt Dillon. As if he isn’t busy enough, Hanks is currently producing the war mini-series “Masters of the Air” (related to “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific”), with Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment for Apple+.
Also working on a TV anthology series for Apple+ is Meryl Streep, who is starring in “Extrapolations,” along with Tobey Maguire, Marion Cotillard, Forest Whitaker, Sienna Miller, Kit Harrington, Matthew Rhys, Daveed Diggs and David Schwimmer.
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Last week we told you about Melissa Joan Hart’s two-year contract with Lifetime to produce, direct and star in made-for-Lifetime films, following her success in Hallmark’s “Mistletoe in Montana.” Hallmark has a stable of stars they use for most of their original productions. The undisputed queen of Hallmark could well be Lacey Chabert, who developed, executive produced and starred in the recent six-hour “Wedding Veil Trilogy.” Lacey first earned her stripes on the soap “All My Children” and in the TV films “Gypsy,” starring Bette Midler, “A Little Piece of Heaven,” opposite Cloris Leachman, and “What If God Were the Sun,” opposite Gena Rowlands. She began making Hallmark films in 2010 and has starred in 30 original films since then.
As soon as word came out about Hart’s two-year deal, Hallmark also gave deals to Danica McKellar (“The Wonder Years”) and Jen Lilley, who went from the film “The Artist” (2011) to “General Hospital” (2011-2012) and “Days of Our Lives” (2013-2018), three Lifetime and 12 Hallmark movies from 2015-2022. Also signed was Trevor Donovan, a regular on “Days of Our Lives” (2007) and as Teddy in “Beverly Hills 90210” (2009-2013), followed by 12 original Hallmark films.
Hallmark has a contract roster of players in the tradition of MGM, which in its heyday claimed to “Have more stars than in the heavens!” Guess you can say Hallmark has more stars than in their cards!
(c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
Photo Credit: Depositphotos
Photo Cutline: Hallmark film star Lacey Chabert