"AMERICAN IDOL" ALUM BROOKE WHITE, "BIG LOVE" STAR CHRISTIAN CAMPBELL AND ACADEMY AWARD(R) AND GOLDEN GLOBE(R) WINNER MERCEDES RUEHL, BEGIN PRODUCTION ON "BANNER 4TH OF JULY" A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE WORLD PREMIERE

Featuring Two Original Songs Written and Recorded by Brooke White

Michael Barbuto Co-stars

Hallmark Channel proudly announces the start of production of the Hallmark Channel Original Movie, "Banner 4th of July," starring Brooke White ("American Idol"), Christian Campbell ("Big Love"), Michael Barbuto ("An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving") and Academy Award(R) and Golden Globe(R) Winner Mercedes Ruehl ("The Fisher King"). "Banner 4th of July" begins principal photography in North Bay, Canada and will have its Hallmark Channel World Premiere on Saturday, June 29 (9pm ET/PT, 8C), featuring two songs written and recorded by Brooke White.

"Banner 4th of July" is produced by Muse Entertainment. Michael Vickerman, Jonas Prupas, Greg Gugliotta, Michael Prupas, Joel S. Rice, and David Anselmo are the executive producers. Steve Solomos is the producer. Don McBrearty directs from a script written by Michael Vickerman.

Desiree Banner (White) may own her own record company but she has struggled to find her perfect melody since leaving the band she once headlined with her brothers Mitchell (Campbell) and Johnny (Barbuto). Her departure from the band, The Banners Project, led her into a marriage that was doomed to fail and deeply damaged her relationship with Mitchell, whom she has avoided for the past ten years. Nevertheless, when Desiree's mother, Rosalind (Ruehl), suffers a heart attack, Desiree and Mitchell rush home and join their brother Johnny to be by her side. Shortly after Desiree arrives in her hometown of Pinewood Hills, she learns that the town will face bankruptcy if it can't make a bond repayment by the July 4th Holiday. Confined to bed and hating every minute of it, Rosalind, who also happens to be Mayor of Pinewood Hills, has secretly hatched a plan to repay the town's debt. Rosalind has booked The Banners Project in a reunion concert at the town's annual Fourth of July festival. The reunion concert will be a big deal, bringing in people from all over the country. The ticket sales alone will cover the debt.

As Desiree attempts to work with her brothers to conjure up a long-term solution to Pinewood's financial crisis, she must face her past mistakes head on, including the bad blood with Mitchell. As the Fourth of July approaches, it is up to Desiree and her siblings to put into action a plan that will save Pinewood Hills. In order for The Banners Project to help their beloved hometown recover from hard financial times, they must put their family feud aside and find harmony both on and offstage.

About Muse Entertainment Enterprises

Muse Entertainment is a leading film and television production company known for its well-crafted and high-quality productions. Since its founding in 1998, Muse has produced, co-produced or provided production services on more than 170 TV movies and mini-series, television series and feature films and has won over 100 awards and garnered over 300 award nominations! Muse Entertainment's most recent television series are Bomb Girls (Seasons I, II) and Being Human (Seasons 1, II, III). In 2011, its topical, 8-hr. historical drama, The Kennedys, earned 10 Emmy Award nominations. Its Pillars of the Earth also won an Emmy and many other awards. Muse's other award-winning programs are Durham County (Seasons I, II, III), Ben Hur, The Last Templar, Human Trafficking, Secrets of the Mountain, Cyberbully and Reviving Ophelia. The company's head office and its Quebec production centre are in Montreal. Muse also maintains development and production operations in Toronto and Los Angeles. For more information please visit www.muse.ca

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 87 million subscribers. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, Frasier, and Happy Days. The channel is also home to a range of lifestyle programming, anchored by Home & Family, a daily two-hour live show shot in a fully functional house located on the Universal Studios lot, and Marie, a one-hour talk show hosted by iconic entertainer, Marie Osmond. Hallmark Channel's sibling network, Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of original films, classic theatrical releases, and presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library.

Hallmark Channel on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, (Join the conversation at #HeartofTV), Pinterest, GetGlue, YouTube