Debra Martin Chase Sets Cast For Elixirby Wilson Morales
September 20, 2011
ABC Family enters into the world of music with its first movie musical featuring an incredibly talented cast, including Jane Seymour, Chelsea Kane, Sara Paxton, Alexander John, Drew Seeley, Adrienne Bailon and Tom Wopat. The two hour original movie, “Elixir” (working title), also features a stellar creative team in producer Debra Martin Chase and Terry Rossio, writers Terry Rossio & Jaylynn Bailey, choreographer Michael Rooney and director Sanaa Hamri. The movie will feature unforgettable covers as well as several original songs and show stopping dance numbers. Principal shooting is scheduled to start September 26 in Pittsburgh, PA. This original movie is slated to premiere on ABC Family in 2012.
Harper (Jane Seymour) was once the best dancer to ever hit the Broadway stage, but an injury caused her to leave the spotlight, become a choreographer, and raise her daughter Mirabella (Sara Paxton). When Mirabella, the star of Harper’s next big production, decides to quit the show to get married, her mother is determined to put a stop to the wedding and show Mirabella that she cannot give up her career for love, especially to marry one-time playboy Marco (Alexander John). After the long flight to the Italian wedding site, Harper takes a swig from a strange bottle that is supposed to dull the pain of an old dance injury. Instead, the elixir magically turns Harper thirty years younger.
Harper’s younger appearance (Chelsea Kane plays Young Harper) allows her to secretly infiltrate the wedding – only to confront a huge obstacle in Mirabella’s father, Ryan (Tom Wopat), who can recognize his ex-wife in any form. After he too experiences the reverse-aging effects of the elixir (Drew Seeley plays Young Ryan), Ryan teams with Harper to reverse the damage she’s done to Mirabella and Marco’s relationship, hopefully in time to save the wedding. Throughout this fairytale romance, Harper, Mirabella, Ryan, and Marco express themes of life and love through song and dance. A magical story examining life, love, and family bonds, this movie musical event will feature original songs, unforgettable covers, and show-stopping dance performances.
The script was written by Terry Rossio (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “Shrek”), who will also executive produce, and Jaylynn Bailey; two-time Emmy® nominated motion picture and television producer Debra Martin Chase (“The Princess Diaries,” “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “Lemonade Mouth” and the upcoming remake of “Dirty Dancing”) will executive produce; Sanaa Hamri (“Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” “Just Wright,” “Something New” and has directed music videos for Prince, Mariah Carey, Jay Z and for Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass,” winner for Best Hip-Hop Video at MTV’s VMA’s) is set to direct; and Michael Rooney (“(500) Days of Summer,” “The Muppets” and has choreographed music videos for Fatboy Slim and Gnarls Barkley’s “Run” for which he won his 5th MTV Award for Best Choreography) is set to choreograph.
