BESTSELLING BOOK BECOMES THREE-HOUR TELEVISION EVENT, "MITCH ALBOM'S THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN," AIRING SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK

Jon Voight, Michael Imperioli, Jeff Daniels and Ellen Burstyn Star

"Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven," a moving, contemporary fable based on author Mitch Albom's phenomenal bestseller, will air as a three-hour ABC Premiere Event SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. The movie, scripted by Albom, stars Oscar winners Jon Voight and Ellen Burstyn, Emmy winner Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos") and Jeff Daniels ("Gods and Generals"). Also starring are Steven Grayham ("White Chicks") and Dagmara Dominczyk ("The Count of Monte Cristo").

In "Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven," a Hallmark Entertainment production, Eddie (played by Jon Voight as an old man and Steven Grayham in his more youthful incarnation) is a lonely war veteran and widower who feels like his life as a repairman at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park has been meaningless. On his 83rd birthday, an accident on one of the rides imperils a five-year-old girl, and Eddie risks his own safety in front of a horrified crowd as he attempts to save her life. The last thing he sees is the little girl's frightened face. The last thing he feels is two small hands in his. Then, after a blinding flash of light and silence, Eddie reawakens in an unfamiliar place called Heaven... but he's not alone. Five people -- each of whom shares with him a fateful and significant connection -- have been waiting to meet him.

Some are loved ones, some are distant strangers, yet they all have the same goal -- to introduce Eddie to the true meaning and value of his life by showing him how their lives and deaths have been a part of his own in ways he never suspected. Each of these souls is looking for closure, each has a story to relate, a secret to divulge and a lesson to impart -- the Blue Man (Jeff Daniels), the Captain (Michael Imperioli), Ruby (Ellen Burstyn), Marguerite (Dagmara Dominczyk) and Tala (Nicaela Weigel and Shelbie Weigel). One by one, they illuminate the impact that Eddie has had on others and show him why his life on Earth was not insignificant. When he meets his fifth person in Heaven, Eddie, still haunted by the question of whether the little girl lived or died, finally begins to understand how truly interconnected we all are.

The Cast: Jon Voight as old Eddie, Steven Grayham as young Eddie, Callahan Brebner as Eddie as a young boy, Dagmara Dominczyk as Marguerite, Michael Imperioli as the Captain, Jeff Daniels as the Blue Man, Matthew Viser as the Blue Man as a boy, Ellen Burstyn as Ruby, Allie Mickelson as Ruby as a young woman, Nicaela Weigel and Shelbie Weigel as Tala, Callum Keith Rennie as Eddie's father, Rebecca Jenkins as Eddie's mother, Damon Johnson as Joe as an old man, Darcy Cadman as Joe as a young man, Tim O'Halloran as Mickey Shea, Zak Santiago as Dominguez, Emy Aneke as Willie, Elias Toufexis as Morton, Billy Wickman as Smitty, Kett Turton as Rabozzo, Ava Rebecca Hughes as Amy and Daniel Munns as young Emil.

Filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, "Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven" was directed by Lloyd Kramer ("Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy & Isabelle") and produced by Howard Ellis ("Arabian Nights," "Dinotopia: The Series"). Mitch Albom (award-winning author of "Tuesdays with Morrie") penned the original screenplay, which he adapted from his bestselling novel, and Robert Halmi, Sr. ("The Lion in Winter," "Dreamkeeper," "Dinotopia") served as executive producer on the project, from Hallmark Entertainment.

This program carries a TV-PG,V parental guideline.