Remember four days ago, how I speculated about the potential of the movie, “The House on Holly Lane”, being a Hallmark Christmas production? Well, after seeing the cast list get released today on What’s Filming, it looks like those chances are very likely. Here are the names that are listed on the website:

• Sarah Lancaster
• Gina Holden
• Karen Holness
• Ava Telek
• Giles Panton
• Jaime Callica

 

As I looked at this announced cast list, I realized that all these actors had one thing in common. What is this, you ask? Well, that similarity is this: all of them have starred in a Hallmark Christmas movie prior to being cast in this movie. Let me explain: Sarah Lancaster (who I’m guessing is going to be the star of the movie) has starred in four Hallmark movies, two of them being a Christmas production (Fir Crazy and ‘Tis the Season for Love). Gina Holden has starred in three Hallmark productions, one of them being Christmas Comes Home to Canaan from 2011. Karen Holness has appeared in more than 10 Hallmark movies, the most recent one being Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Christmas Train. Ava Telek has also starred in three Hallmark movies, all of them being Christmas movies. Giles Panton appeared in 6 Hallmark movies (his first Hallmark movie being The Nine Lives of Christmas) and 2 television shows (Signed, Sealed, Delivered and Cedar Cove). Jaime Callica starred in three Hallmark movies as well, with two of those three being both parts of Karen Kingsbury’s The Bridge.

One thing that did stand out to me was Giles Panton’s involvement in The Nine Lives of Christmas. Four days ago, I also speculated that “The House on Holly Lane” could be a two-part movie event based on two of Sheila Roberts’ books. Maybe that’s what this movie is about, with the casting of an actor who appeared in the first Hallmark movie based on one of Sheila Roberts’ books? This would not be the first time that an actor was cast in more than one movie based on the books of an individual author. A good example of this is Andrew Francis starring in Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas and Debbie Macomber’s Mr. Miracle.

Though Hallmark has not made any official announcements about this movie yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if they mentioned it during their Summer TCA Event in July. When Hallmark does officially announce “The House on Holly Lane”, I will definitely talk about it on 18 Cinema Lane!

 

What do you think about the latest developments in the news about “The House on Holly Lane”? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

 

All information about actors and their movie appearances was found on IMDb (Internet Movie Datebase)

Link to the What’s Filming “In Production” page: http://www.whatsfilming.ca/inproduction/ (If you visit this page after March 3rd, “The House on Holly Lane” will be taken off the list)

On the website, What’s Filming, I saw a movie title that instantly caught my attention. On the “In Production” page from the Vancouver/British Columbia area, there was a made-for-tv movie that was listed toward the bottom called “The House on Holly Lane”. As soon as I read that title, I thought that the movie could end up being a Hallmark Christmas movie. Now, there is no announced cast attached to this movie yet and the only information that is known about this movie is what the What’s Filming website provided.

Could “The House on Holly Lane” be a Hallmark production? Let’s review what we know: this particular film is currently in production until March 3^rd. This would provide Hallmark enough time to edit the movie before the “Countdown to Christmas” line-up or the “Christmas Keepsake” week in July. Also, this movie is filming in Canada, where a lot of Hallmark productions have been filmed before.

As I thought about this possibility, “The House on Holly Lane” sounded, to me, like a title of a book (remember, book to film adaptations are something that Hallmark has done for decades). So, I went to Barnes & Nobles’ website to see if this book existed. What I got instead was a recurring search result of several books by Sheila Roberts. When I went to Sheila’s website, sheilasplace.com, I discovered two books that shared a similar title to the aforementioned movie, The Lodge on Holly Road and Christmas on Candy Cane Lane. Maybe Hallmark will combine both of these books into a two-part movie event? This wouldn’t be the first time one of Sheila’s books became a Hallmark movie, as The Nine Lives of Christmas premiered four years ago on Hallmark Channel.

I also did a general search on the internet, to see if I could find anything about “The House on Holly Lane”. What I did find was an ornament from the Hallmark Keepsake Collection that was released in 1999 called “House on Holly Lane”. Maybe Hallmark will write a story around one of their ornaments and make a movie out of that? As far as I know, none of Hallmark’s Keepsake Collection ornaments have been the basis of any Hallmark film. This would be a creative and ambitious endeavor for Crown Media Family Networks. If this is what “The House on Holly Lane” is about, I’m wondering if it will premiere as a Hallmark Hall of Fame production or in correlation with the Hallmark Keepsake Collection ornament preview in July?

No matter where this movie will air, I’m excited for more information about this film to be released! If I see, read, or hear anything, I will definitely make sure to talk about it right here on 18 Cinema Lane.

What are your thoughts? Do you think “The House on Holly Lane” could be a Hallmark film? Share your comments in the comment section below.

 

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

 

Link to the What’s Filming “In Production” page: http://www.whatsfilming.ca/inproduction/ (If you visit this page after March 3rd, “The House on Holly Lane” will be taken off the list)

Link to Sheila Roberts’ website: http://www.sheilasplace.com/