I first learned about this news on the blog, Annlyel Online. After that, other people starting talking about the story. Since I haven’t written a follow-up Word on the Street post in quite a while, I decided to discuss the latest news about the world’s neighborhood Marvel hero. Yesterday, on September 27th, both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety broke the news that Spider-Man was, indeed, staying put in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Variety provided details about the new deal between Disney and Sony, stating that it “was signed late on Thursday night”. This new deal reveals that “Disney will receive roughly 25% of the profits”. This sounds like an increase from the 5% that I talked about in my Word on the Street story last month. Also revealed was how “Disney will retain its merchandising rights and will put up roughly a quarter of the financing”. In both articles from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, a new Spider-Man movie was announced, with the project given a release date of July 16th, 2021. Because of this deal, Spider-Man is also scheduled for one additional movie within the MCU. I’m not as educated about the business-side of the movie industry as I am with other aspects of it. But, to me, I find myself feeling skeptical about how quickly this issue was resolved. Legitimizing business transactions, creating negotiations that are suitable for all parties involved, and greenlighting a movie takes time. However, all of these things were able to be taken care of in only a month.
When this story was first published, I listened to several perspectives on this particular topic. One of them belonged to Kneon from Clownfish TV, who I mentioned in one of my Word on the Street stories last month. He brought up some points about the story that I find myself agreeing with. In his video, “Spider-Man STAYS in the MCU…for now”, Kneon says that he feels Spider-Man “has been relegated to sidekick status” during his existence in the MCU. This I agree with, as it seems like Peter Parker has become a sort of “little brother” to the other heroes. The character’s youth doesn’t help his case. In Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers:Endgame, Spider-Man was only given a limited amount of screen-time and was one of the heroes who became “dusted”. Kneon also expressed his concerns about Spider-Man’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, stating that he feels the studio’s new phase “does not seem to be very, um, hospitable to Marvel’s old school heroes”. This is yet another point that I agree with. If you read my spoiler-zone review of Avengers:Endgame, you would know how disappointed I was when Bucky didn’t have anything new or interesting added to his story in preparation for the show, The Falcon & the Winter Soldier. In that review, I said that “In the scene where Steve gives Sam the shield, it almost seemed like Bucky was an afterthought, as he was standing in the distance and watching everything going on in front of him”. Since then, it seems like the studio sees Bucky and his fans as afterthoughts, as Marvel and Disney haven’t really made a strong effort to get the fans excited for the show. Something that I’ve been thinking about because of this story is how no new “faces” of the MCU have been officially established. From Phases 1 through 3, the three “faces” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. In Avengers:Endgame and beyond, these new “faces” were not named. Some people have speculated that it could be Spider-Man. But, after hearing Disney and Sony’s new deal, that idea may be in question.
How do you feel about Spider-Man remaining in the MCU? Which movie do you think he’ll appear in? Let me know in the comment section!
Have fun at the movies!
Sally Silverscreen
If you want to check out the references I mentioned in this story, you can type “Spider-Man STAYS in the MCU…for now” in Youtube’s search bar or visit Clownfish TV’s official Youtube channel. You can also visit these links:
It seems like the most popular topic this week has been of Spider-Man leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, because I found this to be a fascinating topic, I decided to talk about it. Yesterday, on August 20th, Mike Fleming Jr. from Deadline reported that the creative partnership between Disney and Sony has ended. In the article, Mike writes that this was caused by Kevin Feige, Marvel Cinematic Universe’s president, and Tom Rothman, one of the leaders at Sony, not being able to come up with a satisfying financial agreement. Before this situation occurred, “Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios” because Disney didn’t want to keep “continuing the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross”. Sony, on the other hand, tried to create other deals that, hopefully, would appeal to Disney. This is because they didn’t want to face the possibility of losing profits and their intellectual properties. Within this article, Mike reported that “it is understandable that the fiscally shrewd Rothman would balk at giving up half of Sony’s biggest franchise to Marvel”. He then questions, “Does the Mouse really need half of the movie universe also?” But no matter what offer Sony gave Disney, the latter studio refused. It left Feige, Rothman, and their respective studios parting ways, for now. Mike updated his report with an official statement that Sony made about the situation. To summarize what the studio said, the statement expresses no negative feelings toward Disney. They state that Kevin Feige is no longer able to produce their films because of the various projects that Feige is attached to. As of the release of this Word on the Street story and Mike Fleming Jr.’s article, it seems that Disney or Marvel hasn’t made any statements about the situation.
When Spider-Man first entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to the release of Captain America: Civil War, fans were more than thrilled with the idea. They made statements about how Spider-Man was “coming home” and that he would, once again, be “joining the family”. I, honestly, couldn’t help but feel shocked about the idea of Spider-Man leaving the MCU. While I haven’t seen this studio’s version of Spider-Man films, I have seen Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Even though he’s only been featured on screen for three years, Spider-Man has already made a big impact. Based on what I read in Mike Fleming Jr.’s article, it seems like both Disney and Sony both wanted a significant share in this cinematic pie. However, it sounds like Disney was expecting a bigger share than they already had. As I already wrote in this Word on the Street post, Mike was questioning if Disney truly needed more of the Spider-Man property. This is a good question to ask, especially since the MCU already has a lot of characters and stories within their roster. Speaking of rosters, something that Sony said in their statement made Disney look hypocritical. When addressing why Kevin won’t be working with Sony anymore, Sony said “that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own”. Even though Marvel is owned by Disney, Disney purchased this studio in the late 2000s. This means that the characters and most of the stories are acquired from Marvel comics, not something that Disney created themselves. The same goes for the Star Wars franchise, which Disney bought from George Lucas in the mid-2010s. As for the classic animated films and live-action remakes, a large portion of these are adaptations of pre-existing, literary material. Even though Disney created their own version of the story, they did not create the story itself. So, yes, Disney owns a good amount of IP, but only on a technicality.
Do you think that Spider-Man will leave the MCU forever? If so, which superhero do you think will become the next face of the franchise? Put your thoughts in the comment section below!
Have fun at the movies!
Sally Silverscreen
If you want to read Mike Fleming Jr.’s article, here’s the link:
Yes, it’s been four months since I last posted a Word on the Street story. While looking through my Word on the Street posts from this year, I noticed that all of them were about Hallmark related projects. I don’t want to be a movie blogger that just talks about one thing. So, I took a short break to find interesting pieces of movie news that had nothing to do with Hallmark. Yesterday, I found a story that was quite fascinating. In a video from the Youtube channel, Clownfish TV, Kneon and Geeky Sparkles, the hosts of the video, talk about the various films from 20th Century Fox that Disney was planning on not greenlighting. Because Disney purchased the aforementioned studio, they inherited a lot of movie titles. Some of them hadn’t even gone into production yet. In this post, I will discuss these titles as well as my thoughts about them. Now, as the saying goes, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”!
In a video titled “Disney CANCELS Fox Films! Blue Sky Studios Gets Disney ‘DISCIPLINE!’”, Kneon and Geeky Sparkles, two of the creators of the Youtube channel, Clownfish TV, discuss some of the Fox titles that Disney will not be developing, as well as the articles that reported them. The first title that Disney eliminated, according to Collider, is an animated film called “Mouse Guard”. I’m not familiar with this particular project or its source material. Kneon and Geeky, however, were more knowledgeable about the subject, even going so far as to share the film’s production status. Geeky states that “you cannot have a competing mouse”, indicating that the only mouse that’s worth Disney’s attention is their one and only, Mickey. If this were true, that would make the company look a little bit hypocritical, especially since they’ve created beloved characters that were also mice. Some examples are Gus and Jaq from Cinderella, Roquefort from The Aristocats, Bernard and Miss Bianca from The Rescuers, Jake from The Rescuers Down Under, and the cast of characters from The Great Mouse Detective. In another article that was featured in the video, this time from Screen Geek, Kneon and Geeky examine the short list of films that will, probably, never see the light of day. These titles are Flash Gordon, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Chronicle 2, McClane, The Sims Movie, Assassin’s Creed 2, Mega Man, and Magic: The Gathering. I’m, honestly, not heartbroken that these films got cancelled. Most of the projects on the list sound like unnecessary sequels or reboots/remakes. Even Geeky and Kneon weren’t that upset about these films being cancelled. This particular article featured a link to a Reddit page that listed even more movie titles, which Kneon and Geeky also talked about. The first section of the article listed films that had a chance of not getting scrapped. While looking through these titles, Geeky expressed interest in seeing the Zorro reboot, currently titled Z. In my opinion, none of the movies on this list sound intriguing enough to make me want to pay theater admission for them. The next section listed movie titles that were not getting eliminated. When Geeky and Kneon were looking through the list, Kneon had a feeling that a film titled Nimona would either get scrapped or be placed on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+. His reasoning was because the movie is, apparently, going to be animated by Blue Sky Animation, a division of Fox that Disney is disciplining (which, according to Kneon, means “budget cuts”). This is the first time I had heard about this project, so it’s not a title that I’m emotionally attached to.
While searching through the extensive list of film titles on Reddit, there was one movie that I didn’t see in the article. Back in March, I participated in the Book Adaptation Tag. In that post, I said that one of the “book movies” I was looking forward to was Words on Bathroom Walls. According to IMDB, this film is in post-production. Based on the limited amount of information I was able to find, it doesn’t seem like this movie has a distributor yet. Despite this, the fact that Words on Bathroom Walls wasn’t even a part of the conversation was something I found surprising. If this specific movie were included on the list, I’m guessing that it would have been saved from cancellation due to its production status. Hopefully, Words on Bathroom Walls will get a distributor sooner rather than later.
What are your thoughts on this piece of movie news? Which movie would you want to save from being scrapped? Tell me in the comment section!
Have fun at the movies!
Sally Silverscreen
If you want to check out the sources that I referenced in this article, you can watch the video by visiting Clownfish TV’s Youtube channel or typing “Disney CANCELS Fox Films! Blue Sky Studios Gets Disney ‘DISCIPLINE!’” into Youtube’s search bar. The link to the Reddit article is in the video’s description. You can also visit these links:
I apologize if I’ve been sounding like a broken record by mostly talking about Hallmark related movie news. But I’ve discovered so much movie news that I can’t always talk about it in one sitting. In this Word on the Street post, I will be talking about a potential Gourmet Detective movie, an upcoming Christmas film, and an unclaimed movie project. Even though I don’t talk about tv shows often, I will be discussing the latest news about When Calls the Heart, especially since I re-cap the show in my Sunset Over Hope Valley series. As I usually do in these Word on the Street posts, I will share my honest thoughts about each piece of movie news. So, let’s get started with talking about these projects!
One day, while on IMDB, I stumbled across a page that really caught my eye. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ Gourmet Detective series is a collection of films that I have come to enjoy. So, you could imagine my excitement when the title of this IMDB page ended up being “Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day”! On this page, the project is listed as “in development”, so it’s unclear what stage of the production process this movie is in. However, it would make sense for another Gourmet Detective movie to be on its way. The last movie to premiere was Gourmet Detective: Eat, Drink, and be Buried in 2017. Also, when a fan asked Dylan Neal on Twitter if there would be any upcoming movies in this series, he responded by saying “We’ll see what we can do about another…”. Though Hallmark has not made any announcements about this film, it’ll be interesting to see when this movie could premiere. Since the Garage Sale Mystery series has ended, maybe this new Gourmet Detective movie could air sometime in August? This is a piece of movie news we’ll definitely have to keep our eyes on.
To view the references I made in this movie news story, visit the official page for “Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day” at IMDB and Dylan Neal’s official Twitter account (@DylanNealStudio)
Today, after Home & Family, Erin Krakow appeared in a special When Calls the Heart Behind-the-Scenes featurette to reveal that the show will return on May 5th! There will also be another new episode that airs on May 6th! As good as this news was, I was disappointed that the “Abigail Stanton situation” wasn’t addressed. Even in the sneak peek scene that was shown, there was no mention of this character. Another thing that Erin mentioned was that she would make another announcement during the premiere of Bottled with Love! While she didn’t hint at what this announcement could be, my guess is she could be starring in a Christmas movie either alongside Andrew Walker or co-starring with Bethany Joy Lenz. It will be very interesting to hear what Erin has to say on April 13th.
While I was on Instagram one day, looking for potential movie news stories, I came across a very interesting post. Liz Storm, a screenwriter, posted a picture of her laptop with what appears to be a plot for an upcoming movie. In the description of this picture, the hashtags #hallmarkchristmasmovies, #hallmark, and #marvista are found. This is important to point out because in another Instagram post, Liz said that she was writing a “family romance” for Marvista Entertainment and that it would premiere on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries within their Christmas line-up. Looking at what’s on Liz’s laptop, it seems like this movie will be titled “Love Song for Noel”. What’s interesting is that there are two pages that are visible on the laptop screen. On the first page, the story is about a woman named Noel, who is a violinist living somewhere in Nashville. Also, in this story, there is a character named Wayne Grant, who is a country singer and a single father. But on the second page, the story is about a woman named Beth who works in a small music store. The other characters that were referenced in this story were her mother, Joan, and her best friend, Sheila. It is unclear at this time which story is going to be the final product. As I was reading these stories, I wondered if this movie had anything to do with the upcoming Christmas film that Blake Shelton is associated with? At the Winter TCA Event in February, Hallmark announced that they were partnering with Blake Shelton for a 2019 Christmas film. Since his produced movie, Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas, aired on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries last year, everything I just said would make a lot of sense.
To view the references I made about this movie news story, visit Liz Storms’ official Instagram feed (@lizstormy) and this link:
Back in January, I listed several movie titles that weren’t attached to any networks. One of these titles was “For You, With Love”. While it’s still unknown which network will receive this movie, we now know who will be starring in this film. According to IMDB, the official cast is:
Edy Ganem
Maddie Phillips
Matreya Scarrwener
Brendon Zub
Adil Zaidi
Rachel Hayward
Clayton Chitty
Mark Brandon
Georgia Bradner
Phillip Joseph Steward
It’s important to point out that Maddie Phillips, Matreya Scarrwener, Brendon Zub, Adil Zaidi, Rachel Hayward, Clayton Chitty, and Mark Brandon have been cast in a Hallmark or UP Network project prior to being cast in “Made for You with Love”, the new title for the film. However, this does not confirm that any of these networks could premiere this movie. This is another piece of movie news we’ll have to keep our eyes on.
To view the reference I made in this movie news story, visit the official page for “Made for You with Love” on IMDB
When it comes to Hallmark related movie news, most of my topics have been based on things that I found on What’s Filming, a Canadian website that lists the production dates for upcoming movie and television projects. However, I recently found some interesting pieces of movie news on IMDB and a news article from Florida. All of these stories in this Word on the Street post are about projects that are either confirmed or speculated to be Hallmark movies. While two of these movies will likely premiere during the Christmas season, one of them has no known seasonal affiliation. As usual, I will report on the movie news and share my thoughts on each news story. So, let’s begin talking about these exciting movie details!
While doing research for a potential Word on the Street topic, I came across an upcoming Hallmark film that was listed on IMDB. It looks like 2017’s A Gift to Remember will receive a sequel! According to the official IMDB page for the film, some of the cast members from the first movie will return for the continuation. At this time, Hallmark has not made any announcements about this film or its potential release date. I am surprised that out of all the Christmas movies that were released on Hallmark in 2017, A Gift to Remember would be the one to receive a sequel. I haven’t seen this film, but based on the synopsis, the story doesn’t seem to lend itself to a second chapter. However, I felt the same way when Christmas in Evergreen received a sequel. The film, Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa, exceeded my expectations. It was not only the best newly released Christmas movie I saw last year, but it was also one of the best movies I saw in 2018!
You can check out the official page for “A Gift to Remember 2” on IMDB.
Yesterday, I found an article from the website, WFLA 8. In this article, it was reported that a Hallmark movie called “Love in the Sun” would be filming in the Safety Harbor area. According to WFLA 8, the movie is “a G-rated love story and Safety Harbor will be depicted as the female star’s hometown”. No other details have been revealed about the film. Off the top of my head, I can’t recall a Hallmark movie that has been filmed in Florida. So, this change in scenery will be very interesting to see when this movie finally premieres. Because this film will be a “love story”, it is likely that “Love in the Sun” will be a Hallmark Channel production.
If you want to check out the reference from this story, you can visit this link:
Earlier this month, I talked about an upcoming Christmas movie called “A Ring for Christmas”. The reason why this movie was speculated to be a Hallmark film was because the network was referenced in several Instagram photos containing the hashtag #aringforchristmas. Recently, I came across the official IMDB page for this film. While it’s still unknown if this project will belong to Hallmark, we now know what the movie will likely be about. Featured below is the film’s synopsis that was found on “A Ring for Christmas’” official IMDB page.
“Spoiled single girl Angie Moore gets cut off 25 days before Christmas. When she discovers the existence of a sizeable trust fund that she will inherit once she gets married, Angie decides to find a man to marry – by Christmas”.
Personally, I would be surprised if this became a Hallmark movie. Based on the synopsis, it sounds like the protagonist is very deceitful and self-centered. This is quite different from the friendly and down-to-earth personalities that are usually seen from Hallmark protagonists. Not only has the official cast been listed on the IMDB page, but also an expected release date. As of late March 2019, “A Ring for Christmas” is scheduled to premiere on December 19th. Both the release date and synopsis could change as time goes on.
You can check out the official page for “A Ring for Christmas” on IMDB.
I know that I’ve been talking a lot about movie news relating to Hallmark. However, there’s been a lot of Hallmark movie updates that need to be talked about. One of these things is the next Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. When Hallmark’s Winter TCA Event took place last month, I was so disappointed when there were no announcements about an upcoming Hallmark Hall of Fame film. As the weeks went by, I wondered if we were going to get a Hallmark Hall of Fame project outside of the Christmas line-up at all. According to a synopsis I found on Hallmark Channel’s website, we are indeed going to receive another Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Besides the new Hallmark Hall of Fame film, I found confirmations for other projects that have been confirmed as Hallmark productions. I even found some tidbits that could lead to a Hallmark Christmas movie! Since you’ve been patiently waiting, let’s start sharing these pieces of movie news!
Yesterday, I came across a title on Hallmark Channel’s website called Love Takes Flight. While reading the film’s synopsis, I discovered that it was the next production from Hallmark Hall of Fame. When I found this piece of movie news, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. The title itself, Love Takes Flight, does not sound or feel like a Hallmark Hall of Fame title. If anything, it feels like a title from a generic Hallmark Channel movie. I was also disappointed in the synopsis, which you can read here:
“In the Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation, single-mom Lizzie Beauman is encouraging when her young daughter unexpectedly befriends a widower named Walter as part of her Mission: Find a Friend”. – From Hallmark Channel’s website
As I’ve pointed out in my Hallmark Hall of Fame Reading Challenge, a good amount of Hallmark Hall of Fame movies have been based on pre-existing novels. While it’s unknown, at this time, if Love Takes Flight is based on a book, this story just sounds and feels like a generic Hallmark Channel movie. However, I am curious about what “Mission: Find a Friend” is. Maybe it’s a program to help military veterans or an anti-bullying initiative?
The last thing that I am disappointed about is the starring cast. While Nikki DeLoach is a really good actress and while I’ve enjoyed her performances in Truly, Madly, Sweetly and The Perfect Catch, I was hoping that the creative team behind Love Takes Flight would have cast an actress that has never starred in a Hallmark movie before. In last year’s film, Christmas Everlasting, Tatyana Ali starred in not only her first Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, but also her first Hallmark movie ever. Rebecca Romijn made her debut in the Hallmark community through her appearance in the film, Love Locks. The casting for Love Takes Flight does remind me of the casting for The Christmas Train. The two lead actors in The Christmas Train were Kimberley Williams-Paisley (who is a Hallmark Hall of Fame alumni) and Dermot Mulroney (who had been cast in Northpole: Open for Christmas prior to starring in The Christmas Train). Nikki DeLoach (who has starred in several Hallmark Channel films) and Jeff Hephner (who starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame film, The Water Is Wide, back in 2006) will be the leads in Love Takes Flight. However, because Hallmark’s audience is used to seeing Nikki appear in more light-hearted and romantic focused movies from Hallmark Channel, this Hallmark Hall of Fame movie feels no different from a typical Hallmark Channel project. As of March 2019, Love Takes Flight is scheduled for an April 27th release.
Another title that I discovered yesterday was Easter Under Wraps. On the website, Creative BC, I saw a title on the “In Production” page listed as “Undercover Easter”. This project will be in production until March 20th. According to Hallmark Channel’s website, “Undercover Easter” changed its name to Easter Under Wraps. The official synopsis for the film has also been posted on Hallmark Channel’s website, which you can read here:
“Erika goes undercover at her family’s chocolate plant to see why sales are down when she meets head chocolatier, Bryan, who has new ideas on how to update the Easter product line” – From Hallmark Channel’s website
While I’m happy that Hallmark is finally making an Easter themed movie, I’m disappointed by the sound of this synopsis. No matter how many Christmas movies they make, Hallmark always focuses on the Christmas holiday with a sense of reverence and respect. For Easter Under Wraps, however, it seems like the corporate side of Easter will be focused on more than the holiday itself. The lead actors that have been attached to this film are Brendan Penny and Fiona Gubelmann. I have enjoyed watching Brendan’s and Fiona’s performances in Hallmark productions in the past, so it will be interesting to see if they have any on-screen chemistry. As of March 2019, Easter Under Wraps is scheduled for an April 20th release.
Here is the link to the synopsis of Easter Under Wraps:
In a Word on the Street story last month, I announced an upcoming Hallmark movie called “Message In A Bottle”. Within this post, I shared that Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker would star in the film and that the film would premiere during Hallmark Channel’s “Spring Fever” line-up. Recently, Hallmark Channel posted the official synopsis of the film, which can be read here:
“After being stood up, Abbey gets inspired to open her heart in a letter, put it in a bottle and toss it out to sea. Months later, a man fishing discovers it and opts to reach out” – From Hallmark Channel’s website
Even though there are probably going to be some “Hallmark movie clichés” within this story, I think this movie sounds interesting. From what I can remember, Hallmark has never really told a story like this before. I’m really liking the creativity that could be incorporated into this film! This would possibly explain how the winery in one of the photos from the Instagram account, joylenznews, is included in the overall narrative. It’s also important to note that the film has changed its name to Bottled with Love. I like this title more than “Message In A Bottle”, as it sounds more creative. As of March 2019, Bottled with Love is scheduled for an April 13th release.
Here is the link to the synopsis of Bottled with Love:
While looking on Instagram to find any information about upcoming Hallmark projects, I came across the hashtag, #aringforchristmas. When I clicked on this hashtag, Hallmark was referenced in the descriptions of a few of these photos. Also, on Instagram, I found a post from a business called Clipper Family Chiropractic. In this post, it is announced that “Hallmark is filming scenes for “A Ring for Christmas” in our building this weekend”. Even though these posts on Instagram mentioned Hallmark in their descriptions, Hallmark has not confirmed that “A Ring for Christmas” is their movie. However, a potential Hallmark film that I have talked about has been confirmed to be a Hallmark film! Two months ago, I reported that a Hallmark Christmas movie was filming in Stonington, Connecticut. An article from The Day has recently revealed that the movie is a Hallmark Channel movie called “Holiday for Heroes”! If this title sounds familiar, that’s because this project was announced as an official Hallmark Christmas film in an article from Entertainment Weekly! None of these films currently have a release date.
If you want to check out the references that I incorporated in this Word on the Street story, you can visit the Instagram account of Clipper Family Chiropractic (@clipperfamilychiro), visit the photos on Instagram with the hashtag #aringforchristmas (type #aringforchristmas into Instagram’s search bar), or visit these links:
Before February has officially ended, I wanted to publish one more Word on the Street post for the month. February has been a very busy month for me on 18 Cinema Lane. From participating in two blogathons to achieving 75 followers, I’ve had quite a bit of blog related content on my plate. Fortunately, I’ve found the time to publish the material that I wanted to publish before the month was over. Some of that material is the four movie news stories that are related to Hallmark and Lifetime. While three of these stories are speculation, one of them has been confirmed as a Hallmark movie. Like I’ve done with other Word on the Street stories, I will talk about each of these stories and share as much information as I could find. I will also share some of my insight about these stories. Now that’s start discussing these pieces of movie news!
Last month, in a Word on the Street post, I listed several movie titles that had not yet been attached to any networks. One of those titles was “Puppy Party Romance”. At the time, the project was about to go into production in early February. According to an article from Soap Opera News, it looks like this movie might be a Hallmark production! In the article, it is said that Jen Lilley has been attached to the project. Other cast members have also been announced; they are Christopher Russell, Lindsay Maxwell, Mark Brandon, and Bailey Skodje. Christie Will Wolf has been attached to this movie as the director and Navid Soofi is the film’s producer. When I visited Jen Lilley’s IMDB filmography page, this movie was listed as “For the Love of Dogs”. As of February and early March 2019, Hallmark has not confirmed or denied that “Puppy Party Romance” is their movie. But, it wouldn’t be surprising if this ended up being a Hallmark film. Two years ago, Jen starred in Eat, Play, Love, a Hallmark movie where dogs played a key role in the story. No matter which network airs this movie, I think we’ll hear an announcement about it sooner or later.
If you want to check out the references that I mentioned, visit Jen Lilley’s IMDB page or this link:
In that same Word on the Street post from last month, another movie that I mentioned was “Web of Dreams”. At the time, the film was in production until February 11th. Recently, I found this project listed on Max Lloyd-Jones’ IMDB filmography page. Not only has Max been attached to “Web of Dreams”, but there are other Hallmark stars that have been cast in this film, such as Keenan Tracey and Cindy Busby. While looking at the IMDB page for this movie, I noticed that the film’s official writer is Virginia C. Andrews. When I visited her IMDB page, I discovered that she is known as V.C. Andrews, the author whose claim to fame was Flowers in the Attic. With this acquired knowledge, I did some research on Goodreads to learn more about “Web of Dreams”. It turns out that Web of Dreams is, indeed, one of V. C. Andrews’ novels and it is the fifth book in the Casteel series. I’ve never heard of this series until I learned more about this movie. However, I am familiar with V. C. Andrews. Even though I have never read her books, I have seen Lifetime’s adaptations of the Flowers in the Attic series and My Sweet Audrina. Let’s just say that those films are not “Hallmark appropriate”. Based on all the information I shared, it looks like “Web of Dreams”, as well as the Casteel series, could be a Lifetime presentation.
If you want to visit the reference that I mentioned, visit the IMDB page for “Web of Dreams”.
Speaking of Cindy Busby, I discovered on her IMDB filmography page that she has been cast in the movie, “Letter from My Mother”. This movie was another title that I shared in a Word on the Street post last month. Besides Cindy, the other cast members that have been attached to this project are Jordyn Ashley Olsen, Karen Holness, Jaime M. Callica, Heather-Claire Nortey, and Emma Oliver. While this film has not been given an official synopsis yet, Michael Scott has been listed as the film’s director. Michael has directed several movies for various networks, so it’s unclear, right now, which network “Letter from My Mother” could premiere on. When I first heard of this title, I thought that, maybe, it was a Hallmark Hall of Fame project. Because this movie doesn’t appear to be associated with Hallmark Hall of Fame, I’m wondering if “Letter from My Mother” could be a Mother’s Day themed story? I also wonder when we’ll hear any news about the next Hallmark Hall of Fame project.
If you want to visit the reference that I mentioned, visit the IMDB page for “Letter from My Mother”.
Two weeks ago, an Instagram account called joylenznews attached the hashtags #MessageInABottle, #hallmarkchannel, #hallmarkmovies, and #hallmark to a photo and video of Hallmark star, Bethany Joy Lenz. In the photo, there is a caption that says “Meet Abbey”, which implies that Bethany’s character could be named Abbey. In the video, not only does Bethany appear to be visiting a winery, the photo on the video says “The absolute best set! Nothing like the smell of oak barrels and wine in the air…oh, and hey @joylenz!” This means that a winery could play a role in this film’s narrative. When I clicked on the hashtag #MessageInABottle, two particular photos caught my attention. The first one was of Bethany at Hallmark’s Winter TCA Event. In this photo’s caption, which appears to come from Bethany’s official Instagram account, Bethany not only confirms that “Message In A Bottle” is a Hallmark Channel movie, but she also says that it will premiere during the “Spring Fever” line-up and that Andrew Walker will also be starring in the film. Andrew Walker, in a photo from his Instagram account, also confirmed that he and Bethany were going to star in “Message In A Bottle”. Hallmark has not yet announced this film’s release date.
If you want to visit the reference that I mentioned, visit the official Instagram account of joylenznews (at joylenznews).
Last month, I talked about several movie titles that belong to either confirmed Hallmark movies or potential Hallmark movies. A few days after I published that post, there were some details revealed about three of the movies I mentioned! There was also a movie that was recently discovered on Hallmark Channel’s website! In this post, I will talk about these details and what they mean for these specific movies. I will also share my thoughts on these pieces of movie news. So, now let’s talk about these movie details, the moment you, my readers and followers, have been waiting for!
In my aforementioned Word on the Street story, I listed several movie titles that could belong to potential Hallmark movies. Two of these titles are “Flip That Romance” and “Picture Perfect”. When I revisited the website, What’s Filming, I noticed that there were names of cast members listed who are now attached to these projects! For “Picture Perfect”, the stars of this film are Arielle Kebbel, Alexa PenaVega, and Carlos PenaVega! After making this discovery, I wondered if this could be the movie that Hallmark was talking about last year. At their Winter TCA Event last January, Hallmark announced that Alexa and Carlos PenaVega would receive their own mystery movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Within their announcement, Hallmark shared that Alexa’s character would be a photographer. Based on this information, the casting, and the title, I wouldn’t be surprised if “Picture Perfect” ended up being the movie that Hallmark talked about all those months ago. For “Flip That Romance”, Crystal Lowe has now been attached to the project, according to What’s Filming. The chances of this movie being a Hallmark film are, right now, 50/50. On the one hand, Crystal has been in several Hallmark films, including the Signed, Sealed, Delivered series. On the other hand, Crystal’s involvement does not guarantee that this will be a Hallmark movie. As of early February 2019, Hallmark has not confirmed or denied that “Flip That Romance” is their movie. We’ll just have to wait for more information to be revealed about this project.
If you want to check out the sources for this movie news story, here’s the link:
While on Hallmark Channel’s official website, I stumbled across a title for an upcoming Hallmark film! The movie is called Lost & Found and it’s scheduled for a March 23rd release. Nikki DeLoach and Michael Rady will star in the film. An official synopsis was also posted on the website, which is the following:
From the website of Hallmark Channel:
“Two single parents come head to head when their kids want to adopt the same dog. Agreeing to co-foster, free-spirited Kate and type-A Eric must work together to find the dog’s forever home.”
While I think the synopsis sounds fine, it does remind me of the film, Puppy Love, starring Candace Cameron Bure. That film was ok, but I thought the idea of two complete strangers sharing a pet was a bit too unrealistic for my liking. Despite the similarities that Lost & Found shares with Puppy Love, I’m still willing to give this film a chance. I’ve enjoyed Nikki’s and Michael’s acting performances in the past, so I’m hoping that their performance in this new movie is just as good.
Here is the link to the movie listing on Hallmark Channel’s website:
In my previous Word on the Street story, I talked about how a Hallmark Christmas movie was planning on filming in Stonington, Connecticut. Last week, a short article by The Westerly Sun revealed a new detail about the film! The article’s author, Harold Hanka, says, “The cast and its plotline haven’t yet been revealed, but the director said the story involves military veterans”. While looking at the photo within this article, I noticed three business signs that were located over some of the buildings. Wondering if any of these signs were associated with real businesses, I did my research for each sign. The only business that I couldn’t find any information about was A & J’s Coffee Shop. This makes me wonder if Hallmark made this business up specifically for this movie? Maybe the protagonist’s parents are “A & J” and the coffee shop is a family business? We’ll just have to wait for more details to emerge for this movie.
If you want to check out the article from The Westerly Sun, here’s the link:
I haven’t made a Word on the Street post about production updates for confirmed or speculated Hallmark movies since last November. However, as I was writing my review of Mystery 101, I discovered that there are several movies in the works that either are upcoming Hallmark films or movies that could be Hallmark films. The reason why I talk about these production updates in Word on the Street posts is for two reasons; 1) because, to me, it’s considered movie news and 2) I want to tell any reader and/or follower of mine, who may also be a Hallmark fan, what might be in store from either network. When I’ve talked about these production updates, there have been times when the movie was already confirmed to be a Hallmark movie. The mystery films from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries are a good example. There are other times when the network of that specific film is unknown at the time of production, causing speculations to be made about its potential welcome onto one of the Hallmark networks. Sometimes, I have been right about a movie ending up as a Hallmark title, such as Ruby Herring Mysteries: Silent Witness being a Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film. But there have been times when I have been wrong, like when I thought that Christmas on Holly Lane was going to be a Hallmark movie. As more information is revealed about these films, that also happen to be listed in this post, it’ll be interesting to see how many of these films end up becoming Hallmark projects.
On the website, What’s Filming, there are several upcoming movie titles that are listed on both the “Upcoming” and “In Production” pages for the Vancouver and British Columbia area. Some of these movies are already confirmed as Hallmark releases. These movies, as well as when they will be in production, are the following:
Garage Sale Mystery: Search and Seized – Currently in production until February 15th
Morning Show Mysteries: Murder by Design — Currently in production until February 15th
Where There’s a Will k.a. Aurora Teagarden 11 – Starts production on February 4th and ends on February 22nd
However, many of these titles have not been confirmed as Hallmark films. In fact, these movie titles could end up on any network. Here is a list of these titles with their production dates:
“Flip That Romance” – Currently in production until February 6th
“For You, With Love” – Currently in production until February 8th
“Picture Perfect” – Currently in production until February 15th
“Web of Dreams” – Currently in production until February 11th
“Letter From My Mother” – Starts production on February 11th and ends on February 27th
“Puppy Party Romance” – Starts production on February 4th and ends on February 21st
On January 28th, it was reported that a Hallmark Christmas movie is planning on filming in Stonington, Connecticut! In an article on The Day, a “Hallmark Channel Christmas romantic drama” is preparing to film in the area. Indulge Coffee Company, a Stonington eatery, made an announcement on their Instagram feed about “the Hallmark Movie Production team” coming to the Connecticut area. However, they referred to the movie as a “2019 Christmas Special”. As of January 2019, Hallmark has not yet made any announcements about the film.
What are your thoughts about these movie titles? Which ones do you think could be Hallmark movies? Tell me in the comment section!
Have fun at the movies!
Sally Silverscreen
If you want to check out the references that I made within this post, you can visit the Instagram feed of Indulge Coffee Company (@indulgecoffeeco) and these links:
http://www.whatsfilming.ca/upcoming/ (after February 21st, 22nd, and 27th, “Letter From My Mother”, “Puppy Party Romance”, and Where There’s a Will k.a. Aurora Teagarden 11 will be taken off the list)
http://www.whatsfilming.ca/inproduction/ (February 6th, 8th, 11th, and 15th, Garage Sale Mystery: Search and Seized, Morning Show Mysteries: Murder by Design, “Flip That Romance”, “For You, With Love”, “Picture Perfect”, and “Web of Dreams” will be taken off this list)
As Hallmark Channel’s “Winterfest” line-up continues to play a huge role in January, there is much to look forward to next month. “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” will soon come around the corner, entertaining Hallmark fans throughout February. I’m really looking forward to this year’s line-up, especially since one of my favorite movies last year was Cooking with Love! One part of 2019’s “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” line-up that is exciting is the premiere of Valentine in the Vineyard! In a Word on the Street post last November, I mentioned that a movie titled “Wedding In The Vineyard” would likely be a continuation of the “In the Vineyard” series starring Rachel Leigh Cook and Brendan Penny. It looks like my prediction was right, as this will be the third movie in this particular series. While the premiere date on Hallmark Channel’s website says February 7th, the release date on Crown Media Family Networks’ website is listed as February 2nd. At this time, there has not been a trailer or “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” announcement that officially confirmed either of these dates. However, Crown Media Family Networks has released an official synopsis for Valentine in the Vineyard on the home-page of their website! While the story itself sounds creative, I’m concerned that the “planning-a-wedding-in-an-unrealistic-time-period” cliché will, somehow, be incorporated into the narrative. If this cliché is woven into the film in a similar way as Wedding of Dreams, then I would be fine with that.
If you want to check out the sources related to this Word on the Street story, here are the associated links:
Recently, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries released an official trailer for their new mystery movie, Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered, on their website! This first movie will premiere on February 17th, while its sequel, Chronicle Mysteries: The Wrong Man, will premiere on February 24th. During the trailer for Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered, it was mentioned that this will be “a groundbreaking new mystery movie series”. However, after reading the synopsis for both Chronicle Mysteries films and after watching the trailer for Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered, I’m having difficulty understanding how this series is supposed to be “groundbreaking”. To me, this series looks, sounds, and feels like it is following a formula that has been set in motion by other mystery series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. This formula includes:
A single, female protagonist with a good career
A murder mystery story-line
The crime taking place in a small town or in the same neighborhood as the protagonist
The murder victim being someone that the protagonist personally knows or someone that the protagonist is familiar with, giving the protagonist motivation to solve the mystery
A single, male protagonist who also has a good career
The male and female protagonist working together on almost every single mystery
The male and female protagonist ending up in a romantic relationship over the course of the series
Because I haven’t seen any of these Chronicle Mysteries films yet, I have no idea if this series will truly be as “groundbreaking” as it claims to be. Unless the story is vastly different from the other mystery series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, such as Signed, Sealed, Delivered, then I’m guessing it will probably share a lot of similarities with the series that have already been established on the network. However, I do plan on watching this series when it premieres because, so far, I have enjoyed the mystery films on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. It seems like February will not only be a good month for Hallmark Channel, but Hallmark Movies & Mysteries as well.
If you want to check out the official pages for the Chronicle Mysteries series or the official trailer, here are the links:
Are you looking forward to the Hallmark films premiering in February? Which movie are you anticipating the most? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
18 Cinema Lane 