Billy Campbell and Michelle Trachtenberg have been tapped to star in an ABC Family original movie tentatively titled The Circuit.
Drew Fuller (Lifetime's Army Wives) co-stars in the two-hour movie, which is set to premiere next year.
Circuit is described as an "adrenaline-charged family drama" in which an estranged father (Campbell) and daughter (Trachtenberg) compete on the stock-car race track. Her star is on the rise, while his once-legendary career is on the decline. Fuller plays the love interest to Trachtenberg's character.
The movie is from von Zerneck/Sertner Films, with the company's Frank von Zerneck and Robert M. Sertner executive producing alongside William Gilmore and Charles Lenhoff. Peter Werner Will direct and serve as co-executive producer, with Randy Sutter producing.
Circuit was written by Bill Hanley, with rewrites by Quinton Peeplescq and Janet Brownell.
Campbell's credits include The 4400, The O.C. and Once and Again. He is repped by CAA and Sean Fay at 1 Management.
Trachtenberg's credits include Six Feet Under and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is repped by CAA, manager Peg Donegan at Framework and attorney Ira Schreck.
Drew Fuller (Lifetime's Army Wives) co-stars in the two-hour movie, which is set to premiere next year.
Circuit is described as an "adrenaline-charged family drama" in which an estranged father (Campbell) and daughter (Trachtenberg) compete on the stock-car race track. Her star is on the rise, while his once-legendary career is on the decline. Fuller plays the love interest to Trachtenberg's character.
The movie is from von Zerneck/Sertner Films, with the company's Frank von Zerneck and Robert M. Sertner executive producing alongside William Gilmore and Charles Lenhoff. Peter Werner Will direct and serve as co-executive producer, with Randy Sutter producing.
Circuit was written by Bill Hanley, with rewrites by Quinton Peeplescq and Janet Brownell.
Campbell's credits include The 4400, The O.C. and Once and Again. He is repped by CAA and Sean Fay at 1 Management.
Trachtenberg's credits include Six Feet Under and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is repped by CAA, manager Peg Donegan at Framework and attorney Ira Schreck.
- 7/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Last week at a Discovery Communications sales conference in Florida, Billy Campbell tried something different to break up the usual lineup of pitches and programming reels. He arranged for a survivor from the 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains to recount his ordeal for the assembled employees. Then Campbell took to the stage and spoke movingly of the importance of perseverance amid hardships, a message those in attendance understood as applying to pending changes at Discovery.
Now Campbell might be heeding his own advice. He was ousted Monday from his post as president of Discovery Networks U.S. amid a big shake-up at the company, along with four other senior executives.
The changes were unveiled by Discovery's new president and CEO, David Zaslav, who was recruited this year by chairman John Hendricks from NBC Universal to replace longtime CEO Judith McHale. Zaslav is eliminating Campbell's position, which had overseen all domestic programming assets, and also restructuring the company into five overarching brand groups: Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Travel Media, Animal Planet Media/Discovery Kids Media and Discovery Health Media Enterprises.
Also departing Discovery in the reshuffle are David Abraham, president and GM of TLC; Maureen Smith, GM of Animal Planet; Dawn McCall, president of Discovery's international holdings; and Pandit Wright, senior executive vp human resources.
In addition, broader layoffs are expected at Discovery. In an interview, Zaslav declined comment on the possibility but said in response to a question about job cuts: "If we're going to invest more in new media and business, we have to invest less in infrastructure. We're going to be looking very hard at our traditional cost basis."
But Discovery also is adding new blood as a result of the shake-up. Among the execs filling a slew of new positions at the channel are Joel Berman, former president of CBS Paramount Worldwide Television, and Tom Wolzien, a veteran media analyst formerly of Sanford C. Bernstein. Both are coming on as consultants to the company.
That a company with Discovery's stability is being socked by such a dramatic change is a testament to the growing pains many companies are enduring in the face of the advent of digital media. Although two of Discovery's key assets, Discovery Channel and TLC, looked wobbly last year as their ad revenue waned, both networks were considered back on track alongside a relatively strong and extensive roster of brands.
The shake-up was not entirely unexpected, sources said. Discovery staffers have been bracing for cuts since Zaslav's former boss at NBC Uni, AOL's Randy Falco, instituted broad changes and job reductions at AOL just months after he departed the peacock as well for the Time Warner division. Falco left NBC Uni one week before Zaslav, who was presumed to be carrying out the same mandate for systemic overhaul that his close colleague was brought in to do at AOL.
Now Campbell might be heeding his own advice. He was ousted Monday from his post as president of Discovery Networks U.S. amid a big shake-up at the company, along with four other senior executives.
The changes were unveiled by Discovery's new president and CEO, David Zaslav, who was recruited this year by chairman John Hendricks from NBC Universal to replace longtime CEO Judith McHale. Zaslav is eliminating Campbell's position, which had overseen all domestic programming assets, and also restructuring the company into five overarching brand groups: Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Travel Media, Animal Planet Media/Discovery Kids Media and Discovery Health Media Enterprises.
Also departing Discovery in the reshuffle are David Abraham, president and GM of TLC; Maureen Smith, GM of Animal Planet; Dawn McCall, president of Discovery's international holdings; and Pandit Wright, senior executive vp human resources.
In addition, broader layoffs are expected at Discovery. In an interview, Zaslav declined comment on the possibility but said in response to a question about job cuts: "If we're going to invest more in new media and business, we have to invest less in infrastructure. We're going to be looking very hard at our traditional cost basis."
But Discovery also is adding new blood as a result of the shake-up. Among the execs filling a slew of new positions at the channel are Joel Berman, former president of CBS Paramount Worldwide Television, and Tom Wolzien, a veteran media analyst formerly of Sanford C. Bernstein. Both are coming on as consultants to the company.
That a company with Discovery's stability is being socked by such a dramatic change is a testament to the growing pains many companies are enduring in the face of the advent of digital media. Although two of Discovery's key assets, Discovery Channel and TLC, looked wobbly last year as their ad revenue waned, both networks were considered back on track alongside a relatively strong and extensive roster of brands.
The shake-up was not entirely unexpected, sources said. Discovery staffers have been bracing for cuts since Zaslav's former boss at NBC Uni, AOL's Randy Falco, instituted broad changes and job reductions at AOL just months after he departed the peacock as well for the Time Warner division. Falco left NBC Uni one week before Zaslav, who was presumed to be carrying out the same mandate for systemic overhaul that his close colleague was brought in to do at AOL.
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