July 22, 2004

"A PAINTED HOUSE," A "HALLMARK HALL OF FAME" PRESENTATION BASED ON JOHN GRISHAM'S NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING NOVEL, STARRING SCOTT GLENN AND ROBERT SEAN LEONARD, WILL BE REBROADCAST SUNDAY, SEPT. 12 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Arija Bareikis, Logan Lerman And Melinda Dillon Also Star In The Drama, Which Was Directed By Alfonso Arau, Written By Patrick Sheane Duncan And Filmed On Location In Arkansas

A PAINTED HOUSE, a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation based on John Grisham's New York Times best-selling novel, starring Scott Glenn ("The Right Stuff") and Robert Sean Leonard ("Dead Poet's Society"), will be rebroadcast Sunday, Sept. 12 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Arija Bareikis ("Without a Trace," "Snow Falling on Cedars"), Logan Lerman ("The Butterfly Effect") and Melinda Dillon ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind") also star. (Originally broadcast 4/27/03)

Alfonso Arau ("Like Water for Chocolate," "A Walk in the Clouds") directed from a script by Patrick Sheane Duncan ("Courage Under Fire," "Mr. Holland's Opus").

This coming of age drama, set in the 1950s, is seen through the eyes of a young boy who is part of a struggling extended-family of cotton farmers during an especially trying harvest season in the Arkansas Delta. Although it is not strictly autobiographical, this drama draws on Grisham's own childhood experiences in rural Arkansas.

Ten-year-old Luke Chandler (Lerman) has happily lived his life with his grandfather, Pappy Chandler (Glenn), his grandmother, Gran (Dillon), his father, Jesse (Leonard), and his mother, Kathleen (Bareikis), in a small farm house in the cotton fields. In many ways, however, this particular harvest season ends up becoming a defining time for Luke and his loving family as they try to earn their meager annual income while attempting to co-exist with their sometimes hot-headed migrant worker borders.

In addition to their usual hardships, and this season's excessive and damaging rains, the Chandlers are forced to contend with a malicious and lazy worker, Hank (Pablo Schreiber), who is soon suspected of having been involved in a fight in town that resulted in someone's death.

Some bright spots for Luke include quality time with the family's strong and upstanding patriarch, Pappy; moments spent with his secret crush, the attractive teen-aged Tally Spruill (Audrey Marie Anderson); dreaming of saving enough money to purchase a St. Louis Cardinals jacket - and trying to solve the mystery behind who has been painting their house while everyone has been working in the fields. But, during that same period, Luke witnesses something horrifying that further bonds him with Pappy -- and he learns of a plan that could forever change the lives of the entire Chandler family.

(More)

CBS Television...2

A PAINTED HOUSE is a Hallmark Hall of Fame Production. Richard Welsh ("In Love and War," "Saint Maybe") is the executive producer; Brent Shields ("A Season for Miracles," "Grace & Glorie") is the co-producer.

RATING: TVPG-V

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Press Contacts: Barbara Abseck  212/975-4637            beabseck@cbs.com        
Susan J. Marks  323/575-2118            susan.marks@tvc.cbs.com