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Lifetime's Mistletoe & Menorahs Is the Jewish Holiday Movie You've Been Waiting For


Julianna: And what I love about Hanukkah is that Guy and I can come together for a quiet moment at the end of every single day of Hanukkah to light one candle on the menorah. It’s just nice to be able to put a pause and spend time together and celebrate this tradition that Guy has had since he was little.

Guy: There’s another bit that we put into the movie is me teaching Julianna how to do the prayers while lighting the candles on the menorah.

Julianna: In the film, Kelley [Jakle, who plays the main character, Christy] has a beautiful voice. When we were developing the script, it wasn’t initially intended to have the actor singing in that moment. It’s when we cast Kelley and we knew she’s so talented as a singer that we revised it to have her sing. It was the same with Jake. He’s a singer, too. So when “Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah” comes on… we changed all of that to be included because of the actors who were cast. They’re talented in so many arenas.

Important question: fruitcake plays a big part in this movie. Was it as good as it was made out to be?

Julianna: We tried to make sure that the fruitcake wasn’t that bad because it’s definitely not a great dessert. I think part of Guys writing was to try to bring fruitcake back.

Courtesy of Marvista Entertainment.

Guy: I love fruitcake. I really do. And that is something I discovered from Christmas is how much I love fruitcake.

Julianna: Oh, I’m not a fan. But the latkes and jelly donuts were fantastic. We tried to make sure that the actors like them so that they wouldn’t have a look of of anything on their face but joy.

And what’s next? Would you like to do another film for the holidays next year?

Guy: I would like to bring a Passover movie [into the fold]. There’s holiday movies all year around…spring movies and summer movies. But as far as Hanukkah, there’s still a lot of stories out there that can be explored. Whether it’s romance stories that involve someone being Jewish or two people being Jewish or just somebody going to a Hanukkah party, [I’m interested]. When pitching season comes around, I certainly hope to have a bunch of ideas.

Mistletoe & Menorahs airs Saturday, December 7 at 6 P.M. ET on Lifetime. Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. Follow her on Twitter @JRadloff.





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Lifetime's College Admissions Scandal Movie: Everything We Know So Far


Last month, Lifetime announced it was making a movie about the college admissions scandal that captivated the Internet earlier this year. If you’re unfamiliar about this real-life case, it involved a group of wealthy parents, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who took illegal measures to secure their children’s spots at competitive universities. Huffman pled guilty to the federal charges brought against her, while Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are awaiting trial.

The working title of the movie is hilariously straightforward: College Admissions Scandal. On August 12, Entertainment Weekly dropped some enticing new updates about the cast and the production. Here’s everything we know so far:

The plot. According to the official synopsis, the film will “follow two wealthy mothers who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college. When charismatic college admissions consultant Rick Singer offers a side door into the prestigious institutions of their dreams, they willingly partake with visions of coveted acceptance letters in their heads. But when Singer cooperates with the FBI and pleads guilty, the mothers who risked everything for their kids must face the consequences of their crimes and the loss of trust and respect from their families.”

The cast. According to EW, Penelope Ann Miller and Mia Kirshner will play the film’s leads: Caroline, an interior designer, and Bethany, a financial services firm owner. Both of them begin working with Rick Singer, the real-life college admissions consultant at the center of the scandal, in order to get their children into elite colleges. Michael Shanks, the Canadian actor from Saving Hope, is reportedly set to play Singer.

L to R: Penelope Ann Miller and Mia Kirshner

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It appears Caroline and Bethany are fictional characters in this story who are most likely based on several people in the college admissions scandal. They don’t seem to be directly based on Loughlin or Huffman.

Release date. There’s still no set release date, but production on the film is slated to start this year.



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Lifetime's New Movie About Olivia Newton-John Will Remind You That She Is the Best


How’s this for a meet-cute: Some 25 years ago, seven-year-old Delta Goodrem was visiting New York from her native Australia when her idol, fellow Aussie Olivia Newton-John, walked in to the same restaurant. “I was like, ‘It’s Sandy, it’s Sandy!'” Goodrem says of the iconic actress from Grease. “Olivia heard my Australian accent and walked over to ask why we were in New York. She was so sweet and said, ‘I hope I see you around tomorrow,’ so the next day I looked around the entire city trying to find her again. I did not.”

All Goodrem had to do was wait another 11 years, when Newton-John became a fan of Goodrem’s singing and acting, and sent her a letter. But it wasn’t just any letter of appreciation: Newton-John, a two-time cancer survivor who is now battling the disease for a third time, found out that Goodrem was battling cancer as well. “She said that one day I’ll understand this is a gift to give strength to people,” Goodrem says of her Hodgkin’s disease diagnosis when she was 18. “As time went on, she became my mentor, friend, and greatest influence.” In fact, in 2008 the two collaborated by writing and recording a song called “Right Here With You.”

And now, Goodrem will play the legend in Lifetime’s new television movie, Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You, airing Saturday night, February 16. “It’s full circle,” Goodrem tells Glamour. “It’s beyond special.”

Goodrem, who has developed quite the fan following in Australia, says she only recently told Newton-John about their first meeting in New York City all those years ago. “We were doing a gala together for her charity, and I told the story to the entire ballroom,” she says. “I talked about the impact that moment had, and now when I see young kids, I always think of [Olivia coming up to me]. and I approach [others] rather than sit back.”

She takes the same approach in the new Lifetime movie, which required her to portray Newton-John over more than five decades. “My first day on set was filming [the music video for] ‘Let’s Get Physical,’ and the crew was all dressed up in headbands,” Goodrem says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, what a way to start this project!’ And then my last day on set was the scenes during Grease, so that was really fun.”

Jackson Finter/Lifetime

Goodrem says she can’t help but examine every little detail of her performance, but overall she’s thrilled with the final product: “I’m really proud of it, and I can’t wait for people to watch it.” However, for the moment, at least, Newton-John won’t be one of those people. “I sent her footage throughout, and she’d be like, ‘Stop it! Stop it!'” Goodrem says, laughing. “She said she wants to watch [the finished version] in her own time so she can step back and have her own moment with it.”

But for all the Newton-John fans who do watch, Goodrem hopes the movie reminds them of their idol’s strength through good times and bad. “There’s only one Olivia Newton-John, and she’s a beautiful, unique, one-of-a-kind person,” Goodrem says. “She’s a reminder that it’s cool to be kind, and strength comes in many forms. No one can rock those Grease pants like her.”

Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You airs Saturday, February 16 on Lifetime.

Jessica Radloff is Glamour’s West Coast Editor. Follow her on Twitter at @JRadloff and on Instagram at @jessicaradloff14.





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Lifetime's Remake of *Death of a Cheerleader* Has a Very Familiar Face from the Original Movie


America’s always had a fascination with true crime stories, but there’s been a resurgence in recent years with Netflix documentaries like Making a Murderer. Lifetime is no stranger to the genre, either, and it continues its winter slate of female-led true crime movies with a remake of the cult classic Death of a Cheerleader.

The original movie, called A Friend to Die For, aired in 1994 and starred nineties icons Kellie Martin and Tori Spelling. This time around, Aubrey Peeples (Nashville) steps into the Kellie Martin role as Bridget Moretti, a high-schooler desperate to fit in and bond with popular cheerleader Kelly Locke (played by Sarah Dugdale). And thanks to some brilliant stunt casting, Martin also stars in the remake—time as the FBI agent who cracks the case.

Peeples and Dugdale didn’t have much knowledge of the previous film prior to their casting, but Peeples admits they eventually watched most of the original. “We didn’t want to get too much into our heads, but we definitely did our research,” she says. One thing they were extra conscious of was steering clear of eighties stereotypes. “It was all sort of ‘wannabe cheerleader murders popular girl’, and that really struck me immediately,” Peeples says. “I wanted to figure out as much as I could so I could play this role respectfully and with justice.”

Here, Peeples and Dugdale explain why they hope the movie will not just entertain, but also inspire a bigger conversation about fitting in and impossible expectations. “We live in a competitive world that pits people against each other,” Peeples says. Read on.

Lifetime

Glamour: The film is set in the eighties, but there’s plenty to relate to in terms of confidence, bullying, and where you belong. How did you relate to the material?

Sarah Dugdale: There’s a lot of pressure on young women and young people, especially in high school. You feel like everything is the biggest deal and the end of the world. I really related to my character in that she was such a perfectionist and felt a lot of pressure. I’m a perfectionist and I put that pressure on myself, so I related in that way.

Aubrey Peeples: I definitely experienced a lot of anxiety and insecurities and [put] pressure on myself in high school, and I think that’s relevant to a lot of people—no matter how old you are. When I was reading a lot of the case notes [about this story], a lot of people mentioned that Bernadette, the real girl, had a lot of body issues and would talk about her body in a really negative way. She was very insecure, and that was definitely something I experienced as a young actress. So that’s really relevant.

Sarah: [This industry] is a very visual medium, so you have to make sure not tie your self worth to the business. It’s a mentality that has to be practiced.

Aubrey: It’s a very competitive industry and we also live in a very competitive society, which is something I hope that the film reveals a little bit, and something I hope we can address.

What inspires you about the stories Lifetime is telling about real-life women?

Aubrey: It’s very relevant today, and I think the industry is hopefully leading towards empowering women. People also have a fascination with true crime, and I think everyone is just trying to understand our psychology a little bit more and understand why we do the things we do. We’re trying to attempt to understand our own humanity.



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Lifetime's New True Crime Movie *Love You to Death* Is Unlike Anything You've Ever Seen


Lifetime has never shied away from dark, twisted, real-life stories, and this Saturday’s Love You to Death is no exception. The film—which stars Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden and Emily Skeggs—tells the disturbing events that led to the murder of a seemingly perfect mother caring for her sick daughter. Harden plays Camile, a single mom suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a mental illness in which a person acts as if an individual they’re taking care of has a physical or mental illness when the person is not really sick.

Harden had never heard of the syndrome but was totally captivated by the story, comparing it to a car wreck you can’t look away from. In fact, neither could Hulu, which airs a similar telling of the story later this spring with their limited series, The Act.

Whichever story you watch though, Harden and Skeggs hope the focus remains on mental health. “We can make assumptions about people with mental illness, we can make assumptions about other people’s families, but we don’t know,” Harden says. Here, she and Skeggs explain what it was like to immerse themselves into their respective roles, and the lessons they took away from it.

Glamour: How did you both get involved with this film?

Marcia Gay Harden: Emily’s friends were casting her before this even started shooting.

Emily Skeggs: Yeah, I’m a true crime junkie, so I had friends who said, ‘You need to watch this documentary, and also, you need to play this girl when it’s a movie.’ I had one friend who messaged me while I was in negotiations, and I was like, ‘Just hang tight, just wait two weeks and I’ll tell you something!’ So I was excited to dive into it.

MGH: For me it was a no brainer. I love Lifetime and the direction that Lifetime is going. I had never heard of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or this story, but when I read it, it was like a car wrecks—you couldn’t look away. It was liberating to play this character. It’s fun to transform, but it was a lower, darker place to go, and a place that was full of so much sadness and darkness and pain. It’s the juice of being an actor, for sure.

ED ARAQUEL/Lifetime

ES: It made me think about perspective and love in a really different way and question a lot of things. You see these kinds of cases and think, I know what’s going on here, or I know exactly what I would have done if I was in their shoes. It made me really question things.

How much research did you do into what actually happened?

ES: And happens. And I really believe the only reason we really know about this case is because it ended in a murder and ended in violence. I think there are a lot of people living with this syndrome and doctors don’t know how to deal with it. There’s no protocol for it and no system in place to help people with this syndrome or to help doctors help people. It’s really fascinating.

MGH: Emily said this earlier, and it’s true: people who are sick like this don’t think they’re sick. People who are racist don’t think they’re racist. People who do crimes against humanity usually don’t think they are. So there’s not this awareness. I would love to have read a journal of Camille’s, but she wasn’t the type of person who would do that. That doesn’t exist. So she’s doing what she thinks she needs to do for her survival. And she would have taken it further. That’s what is scary. I think she would have taken it to the point of mentally incapacitating her so that all the world would know she’s mentally disabled and now I need to care for her for the rest of her life. It’s such an interesting story because in a terrible way, [Esme] breaks free. But I’m subjugating all of the person to a life to never knowing who she is as a human being. But I love that it’s a very current story.



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