Gabby Douglas biopic and Trip to Bountiful movie come to Lifetime for Black History month

buzzz worthy. . .

Lifetime has announced it will air two original movies in celebration of Black History Month this February. The first will be a biopic about the life of two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas in "The Gabby Douglas Story." Imani Hakim (Everybody Hates Chris, Love Reign Over Me) and Sydney Mikayla (Whitney) have been cast to share the role. The real-life Gabby Douglas will appear in the film, which also stars Peabody Award-winning actress Regina King (Southland, Ray) and Golden Globe® and Emmy®-winner S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order). Filmed in Canada, "The Gabby Douglas Story" airs on Saturday, February 1 at 8 PM ET/PT. Also, Lifetime is inviting schools across the country to take the Gabby Douglas Raise the Bar Pledge for a chance to win $10,000. Students can participate by submitting pledges to raise the bar in their own lives. See official rules at www.raisethebarpledge.com. Here's more from the press release. . . ABOUT THE GABBY DOUGLAS STORY A prodigy from a very young age, Gabby Douglas originally made her mark on the world of competitive gymnastics at age eight. She won numerous state championship titles in her age group throughout her early competitive career. While her star was fast rising in the arena, Gabby and her family faced economic challenges at home and she made the difficult decision to leave her mother Natalie (King), three siblings and grandmother (Merkerson) in Virginia Beach and move to Des Moines, Iowa, to train with renowned coach Liang Chow (Brian Tee, The Wolverine) to pursue her dream of Olympic glory. Buoyed by her early success, dedication and unyielding love from her family, Gabby made it onto the 2012 U.S. Women's Gymnastics team, setting the stage for triumph shortly thereafter at the London Olympic Games. Her sacrifice and perseverance were triumphantly rewarded with Team Competition and Individual All-Around gold medals, placing Gabby and her teammates - known as "The Fierce Five" -- among the world's all-time greats in gymnastics. The Gabby Douglas Story is produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with Braun Entertainment. Zev Braun and Philip Krupp (A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story) serve as executive producers, with David Rosemont (Bonnie & Clyde) producing. Gregg Champion (The Cowboy Way, Amish Grace) directs from a script written by Maria Nation (The Two Mr. Kissels).

Toward the end of the month the network will air another original movie, "The Trip to Bountiful." Occurring toward the end of the Jim Crow Era, the inspiring story of one woman’s quest to reconnect with her past in order to ensure her family’s future. The television adaptation of the Tony nominated play was filmed in Atlanta, GA. The film stars original cast members Cicely Tyson (The Help) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty), who are joined by Blair Underwood (In Treatment) alongside Keke Palmer (CrazySexyCool). ABOUT THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL In The Trip to Bountiful, Carrie Watts (Tyson, who was awarded with a Tony for her role in the Broadway revival), begrudgingly lives with her busy, overprotective son, Ludie (Underwood) and pretentious daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae (Williams). No longer able to drive and forbidden to travel alone, she wishes for freedom from the confines of the house and begs her son to take her on a visit to her hometown of Bountiful. When he refuses, Mrs. Watts is undeterred and makes an escape to the local bus station, where she befriends Thelma (Palmer), a young woman traveling home. When Ludie and Jessie Mae discover she is gone, they call in law enforcement to help, but Mrs. Watts is one step ahead of them and convinces the local sheriff to help her on her journey home to Bountiful. Produced by Ostar Productions, The Trip to Bountiful is executive produced by Bill Haber (Rizzoli & Isles), Cicely Tyson, Hallie Foote and Jeff Hayes (A Day Late and a Dollar Short).