Culver City, CA (July 22, 2009) – Four Lifetime TV movies based on novels of best-selling author Nora Roberts — High Noon, Midnight Bayou, Northern Lights and Tribute –– arrive on DVD August 18 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Executive produced by Peter Guber (Batman, Rainman), Stephanie Germain (The Day After Tomorrow, TV’s “Montana Sky”) and Peter E. Strauss, the four films all feature Roberts’ trademark combination of intriguing mystery and romantic suspense. Each DVD title will be sold separately at Walmart for $24.96 SLP.
SYNOPSES
High Noon stars Emilie de Ravin (Public Enemies, TV’s “Lost”), Ivan Sergei (The Break Up, TV’s “Crossing Jordan”) and Emmy Award® nominee Cybill Shepherd (TV’s “Cybill,” “The L Word”). Expert hostage negotiator Lieutenant Phoebe McNamara (Ravin) juggles her high-pressure career with the demands of raising her young daughter and contending with her agoraphobic mother, Essie (Shepherd). Life becomes even more complicated when Phoebe meets handsome bar owner Duncan Swift (Sergei). After Phoebe is assaulted by an unknown assailant in her precinct, she is deeply shaken. She later receives a series of mysterious and threatening messages, and soon discovers she is the target of a psychopathic killer out to destroy her. Teleplay is by Terri Kopp and directed by Peter Markle. High Noon premiered on Lifetime April 4, 2009.
Midnight Bayou stars Jerry O’Connell (Obsessed), Lauren Stamile (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”) and Academy Award® winner Faye Dunaway (Network). Harvard-educated lawyer Declan Fitzpatrick (O’Connell) gives up his settled life to buy Manet Hall, a newly restored plantation near New Orleans to which he has always found himself drawn. Legend has it that the house is haunted, and shortly after Declan moves in he starts hearing voices and seeing things. Declan soon finds himself attracted to Cajun local Lena Simone (Stamile), who was raised by grandmother Odette (Dunaway) and has her own deep connection to Manet Hall. When Declan has visions of events that took place a century ago in the mansion, he realizes he and Lena are inextricably linked, and uncovers a shocking secret hidden all that time. Teleplay is by Stephen Tolkin and directed by Ralph Hemecker. Midnight Bayou premiered on Lifetime March 28, 2009.
Written by Janet Brownwell (Eloise in Paris), Northern Lights stars Rosanna Arquette (TV’s “What About Brian”), LeAnn Rimes (Good Intentions) and Eddie Cibrian (TV’s “Third Watch”). Former Baltimore policeman Nate Burns (Cibrian) hopes to start a new life as police chief of Lunacy, Alaska, where he has escaped to forget his partner’s death, for which he holds himself partially responsible. He soon finds himself falling for feisty pilot Meg Galligan (Rimes). When the body of Meg’s father, whom Meg believes abandoned her and her mother Charlene (Arquette) 16 years ago, is discovered, Nate finds himself in the middle of a high-profile murder investigation, and he must use his big-city survival instincts to solve the mystery that threatens his new life and new love. Teleplay is by Janet Brownell and directed by Mike Robe. Northern Lights had its Lifetime premiere on March 21, 2009.
Tribute stars Brittany Murphy (Sin City), Jason Lewis (Sex and the City), Tippi Hedren (Return to Babylon) and Academy Award® nominee Diana Scarwid (Inside Moves). In search of a more normal life, former child star Cilla McGowan (Murphy) buys her grandmother’s farmhouse in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with plans for restoration. Her hopes for serenity in her new surroundings are soon eclipsed by haunting dreams of her famous grandmother, whose mysterious death happened in the house more than 30 years ago. Cilla soon forges a romantic relationship with Ford Sawyer (Lewis), her handsome new neighbor, who ultimately comforts and protects her when her dark dreams and family secrets spiral into a real-life nightmare. Teleplay is by Gary Teiche and directed by Martha Coolidge. Tribute had its Lifetime premiere on April 11, 2009.
DVD Special Features for all Four Films Include:
· Digitally Mastered Audio and Video
· Widescreen Presentation
· Audio: English (Stereo)
· Subtitles: English, French
· Bonus Previews
· Closed Captioned
Each of these four films has a run time of approximately 89 minutes and is not rated. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.
