Lifetime Original Movie 'What If God Were The Sun?' Starring Academy Award(R) Nominated and Golden Globe(R) and Emmy(R) Award-Winning Actress Gena Rowlands ('Gloria') and Lacey Chabert ('Party Of Five') to Premiere Monday, May 14 On Lifetime Television

Movie Based in Part on the Novel from Medium, Talk Show Host and Best-Selling Author John Edward ("Crossing Over")

LOS ANGELES, March 13 -- Academy Award(R) nominated and Golden Globe(R) and Emmy(R) Award-winning actress Gena Rowlands ("The Notebook," "Gloria") and Lacey Chabert ("Mean Girls," "Party of Five") will star in the upcoming Lifetime Original Movie "What if God Were the Sun?" Based in part on the novel by John Edward, "What if God Were the Sun?" is the stirring drama about a cynical emergency room nurse who forms an exceptional connection with a terminally ill patient and how that bond changes her life forever. "What if God Were the Sun?" will premiere Monday, May 14, at 9:00 PM (ET/PT) on Lifetime Television.

In "What if God Were the Sun?," Jamie Spagnoletti (Chabert) is a busy nurse trying to juggle her demanding job and impending nuptials. In a split second, her world unravels when her police officer father dies in the adjacent emergency room while she is attending to a patient. Heartbroken, Jamie's inability to deal with the loss of her father starts to affect her work and her relationship with her fiance, Jeff (Sam Trammell). Concerned, her supervisor transfers her to a new assignment in long term care where she meets Melissa, (Rowlands), a terminally ill woman determined to leave this life in style. Melissa's quick wit and strong faith in the face of her illness mystifies the still grieving Jamie. Through her newfound connection with Melissa, Jamie learns that if she can open her eyes to the unknown, her father's love will propel her out of grief and help her find her way back to Jeff and the beauty of life.

Best known for her role as Claudia on the Golden Globe(R) Award-winning FOX television series, "Party of Five," Lacey Chabert is fast becoming one of the best young actresses of her generation. Her feature film credits include "Mean Girls," "Daddy Day Care," "Lost in Space" and "Not Another Teen Movie." Chabert also starred as Brooke Ellison in Christopher Reeve's final directorial project, A&E's "The Brooke Ellison Story." She can currently be seen in a remake of the 1974 horror movie "Black Christmas" opposite Michelle Trachtenberg.

Gena Rowlands is an Academy Award(R) nominated, Golden Globe(R) and Emmy Award-winning actress recognized around the world. She received an Academy Award(R) nomination for Best Actress for her roles in "Gloria" and "A Woman Under the Influence," both written and directed by her late husband John Cassavetes. She won both a Golden Globe(R) and Emmy(R) Award for her role as the title character in the telefilm "The Betty Ford Story;" an Emmy(R) for both "In the Face of a Stranger" and HBO's "Hysterical Blindness" and a Golden Globe(R) for "A Woman Under the Influence." Additional film credits include "The Notebook," "The Skeleton Key," "Hope Floats" and "The Brink's Job." In 2000, she was nominated for an Emmy for her performance in the CBS television movie, "The Color of Love: Jacey's Story."

Internationally acclaimed psychic medium John Edward has captivated audiences worldwide. Edward is author of the critically acclaimed New York Times best sellers One Last Time; What if God Were the Sun?; Crossing Over: The Stories Behind the Stories; After Life: Answers from the Other Side; Final Beginnings and Practical Praying: Using the Rosary to Enhance Your Life. The success of his television show "Crossing Over with John Edward" on SCI FI left the nation fascinated, and his new series, "John Edward Cross Country," can be seen on WE.

"What if God Were the Sun?" is produced by FOX Television Studios, JECO Productions and Old Beantown Films for Lifetime Television. Brenda Friend ("Joan of Arc," "The Ron Clark Story"), Gina Rugolo Judd ("Just Shoot Me") and John Edward ("Crossing Over with John Edward") are executive producers. Stephen Tolkin (Lifetime's "Nora Roberts' Carolina Moon") is the director. The writers are Janet Dulin Jones ("A Map of the World") and Jamie Pachino (Lifetime's "Not Like Everyone Else").

Other novels Lifetime has adapted into movies include Jodi Picoult's "The Pact" and "Plain Truth;" Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were the Mulvaney's;" Luanne Rice's "Beach Girls;" Chris Bohjalian's "Midwives"; Sue Monk Kidd's "The Mermaid Chair"; "Nora Roberts' Angels Fall"; "Nora Roberts' Montana Sky"; "Nora Roberts' Blue Smoke" and "Nora Roberts' Carolina Moon."

Lifetime is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, Lifetime is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. Lifetime Television, LMN, Lifetime Real Women, Lifetime Home Entertainment, and Lifetime Online (http://www.lifetimetv.com) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

SOURCE Lifetime Television
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