PREMIERES TONIGHT AT 9PM: ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE JOAN ALLEN AND ACADEMY AWARD WINNER JEREMY IRONS STAR IN THE LIFETIME ORIGINAL MOVIE GEORGIA O'KEEFE

Academy Award Nominee BOB BALABAN Helms Script by
Pulitzer Prize® Winner MICHAEL CRISTOFER
Golden Globe® and Emmy® Nominee JOSHUA D. MAURER,
ALIXANDRE WITLIN and JOAN ALLEN Executive Produce Biopic
for Sony Pictures Television

"Someone else's vision [of you] will never be as good as your own vision of yourself" says Georgia at the beginning of the movie. We like that, and do not want to give too much away, but this is a movie you should see and is recommended by Peachy Deegan of Whom You Know. It premiers tonight at 9pm eastern on Lifetime. For those of you that had Miss Pegau for photography, the darkroom scenes may bring back memories in this age of digital photography, although the mood in this darkroom is not one of cheerful hilarity as we refer to in the memory of tasting the chemicals...

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The Lifetime Original Movie Georgia O’Keeffe, starring three-time Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee Joan Allen (The Contender, The Upside of Anger) and Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, Elizabeth I), will premiere on Lifetime Television Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 9PM ET/PT. Directed by Academy Award nominee Bob Balaban (Gosford Park, Bernard and Doris) from a script by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cristofer, the dramatic biopic chronicles the turbulent, 20-year love affair between celebrated
artist Georgia O’Keeffe (Allen) and photographer Alfred Stieglitz (Irons). Allen also serves as an executive producer alongside City Entertainment’s Joshua D. Maurer (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, The Hoax) and Alixandre Witlin (Dodson’s Journey).

ABOUT GEORGIA O’KEEFE
When fiercely independent and then unknown female artist Georgia O’Keeffe (Allen) discovers famed photographer and art impresario Alfred Stieglitz (Irons) is displaying her drawings in his gallery without her permission, she confronts him and orders him to remove the collection. But Georgia finds herself taken with Alfred’s charms as he convinces her to allow him to become her benefactor and to champion her artistry. Their working relationship evolves as they fall deeply in love and Alfred eventually leaves his wife for Georgia. She soon becomes a rising star who is poised to eclipse Alfred’s light. As their relationship suffers, Alfred finds twisted ways to emotionally wound her, including taking a younger lover. Georgia’s search for solace moves her west, where she finds new inspiration for her paintings – and ultimately her own voice – in the New Mexico landscape.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Georgia O’Keefe is produced by Sony Pictures Television for Lifetime Television. Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated producer Joshua D. Maurer, Alixandre Witlin and Joan Allen are executive producers, and Bob Balaban directs from Michael Cristofer’s script. Anthony Mark (And Starring Poncho Villa as Himself) is the producer.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry’s leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment around the world and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. In addition to one of the industry’s largest libraries of feature films and television shows, SPT boasts a current program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms.

SPT is also a leader in the field of international television production with over 9,000 hours of programming in 13 local languages in over 30 countries. To better serve its clients and partners worldwide, SPT maintains offices throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil,Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE’s long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with over 50 networks in more than 130 countries reaching almost 400 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE’s premium video website, Crackle.

Additionally, SPT is a part owner of cable channel GSN, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premiere national advertising sales companies, handling the commercial inventory in SPT’s syndicated series as well as in all of SPE’s digital businesses in the United States, and for Sony Music Entertainment. Sony Pictures Television (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

ABOUT LIFETIME TELEVISION

Lifetime is the leader in women’s television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, Lifetime is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. Lifetime Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital
(myLifetime.com, Mothersclick.com and Lifetime Games, which includes Roiworld.com and
DressupChallenge.com) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

Joan Allen as “Georgia O’Keeffe” & Executive Producer
Renowned film, television and stage actress Joan Allen received her first Academy Award® nomination for best supporting actress for her work in 1995’s Nixon. She went on to earn two additional Academy Award and Golden Globe® nominations for her role as a woman accused of practicing witchcraft in The Crucible and as a politician who becomes the subject of a scandal in The Contender. Allen’s additional film credits include Peggy Sue Got Married, Manhunter, Tucker:The Man and His Dream, Ethan Frome, Josh and S.A.M., In Country, Searching for Bobby Fisher, Mad Love, It’s the Rage, When the Sky Falls, The Ice Storm, Face/Off, Pleasantville, The Notebook, The Upside
of Anger and the blockbuster thrillers The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. She will also appear in Hachiko: A Dog ’s Story alongside Richard Gere, which is due for release this winter.

On television, Allen starred in the TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon which earned her an Emmy® Award nomination. Her additional television credits include All the Rage and The Room Upstairs. On stage, Allen won a Tony® Award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This. She also starred in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Heidi Chronicles. Off-Broadway, she has starred in The Marriage of Bette & Boo, And a Nightingale Sings and Delores. Allen recently returned to Broadway in March 2009 after an absence of twenty years to star in the play Impressionism, opposite
her Georgia O’Keeffe co-star Jeremy Irons.

Jeremy Irons as “Alfred Stieglitz”
British actor Jeremy Irons began his career on the London stage in the hit musical Godspell. He made his Broadway debut in 1984 in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing for which he won both the Drama League Award and Tony® Award for Best Actor.
Irons made his big screen debut in Njinsky. Irons next starred in films such as Swann in Love, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Moonlighting, Betrayal, Kafka, M. Butterfly, Waterland, Damage, The House of the Spirits and Dead Ringers.
In 1990, he won an Academy Award® and Golden Globe® for his work alongside Glenn Close in Reversal of Fortune. Irons also received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in The Mission. His additional film credits include Stealing Beauty, Man in the Iron Mask, Appaloosa, Eragon, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Casanova, Lolita, The Lion King, Kingdom of Heaven, The Merchant of Venice and Being Julia.
Irons has also found success on television with Emmy® Award and Golden Globe wins for hissupporting role in the miniseries Elizabeth I and Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role in the television miniseries Brideshead Revisited. Additionally, he co-starred and directed A Boy from Bosnia opposite his wife, actress Sinead Cusack.
Theatre has continued to play a large role in Irons’ career. His credits include Rear Column, Wild Oats, Winter’s Tale, A Little Night Music, Camelot, Embers, A Night to Remember, Never So Good and most recently Impressionism, opposite his Georgia O’Keeffe co-star Joan Allen.

Ed Begley, Jr as “Lee Stieglitz”
Inspired by the work of his Academy Award®-winning father, Ed Begley, Jr. followed in his footsteps to become an actor. He first came to audiences’ attention for his portrayal of “Dr. Victor Ehrlich” on the long-running hit television series, St. Elsewhere, for which he received six Emmy® Award nominations. Since then, Begley has moved easily between film, television and theatre projects.
Begley’s feature film credits include Pineapple Express, Batman Forever, The Acccidental Tourist and The In-Laws. He has also starred in many Christopher Guest films, including A Mighty Wind, Best In Show and For Your Consideration.
On television, Begley most recently appeared in the CBS comedy Gary Unmarried. His
additional credits include the made-for-television movie Recount opposite Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson and Laura Dern, as well as recurring roles on Six Feet Under, Veronica Mars, Jack & Bobby, Arrested Development, 7th Heaven, Providence and Boston Legal.

Kathleen Chalfant as “Hedwig Stieglitz”
Kathleen Chalfant is a Tony® Award nominated actress who has worked in many notable productions.
On stage, Chalfant has received numerous awards for her extensive body of work. Her Broadway credits include Wit, Angels in America, Bloomer Girl, Dance with Me and the New York premiere of Racing Demon, directed by Richard Eyre. Her Off-Broadway work includes 5 by Tenn, Far Away, Guantanamo, The Last Letter, Nine Armenians, Savannah Bay, Talking Heads, True History and Real Adventures, Twelve Dreams, The Vagina Monologues and Henry V.
Chalfant’s television series and television movie credits include the following: Rescue Me, Book of Daniel, The Guardian, The Laramie Project, Benjamin Franklin, A Death in the Family, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Storm of the Century by Stephen King, Spin City and L.A. Law.
Her numerous feature film credits include Duplicity, Rebel Voices, The Last New Yorker, The Last Days of Disco, Random Hearts, Company Man and Kinsey.

Linda Emond as “Beck Strand”
Linda Emond’s career includes extensive work on stage, screen and television.
In theatre, Emond most recently completed the new Tony Kushner play Intelligent Homosexual at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, which will open on Broadway in the spring of 2010. Her celebrated work as “The Homebody” in Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul spanned five years and three productions and won her numerous awards (Obie Award, Lortel Award, Drama Desk nom., LA Drama Critics Nomination, LA Ovation Nomination). Her additional Broadway theatre credits include Life x 3, 1776 and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui with Al Pacino.
Emond’s television work includes starring in the CBS film, A Dog Named Christmas to air December 2009, and roles on The Sopranos; all four Law & Order series; Third Watch; and PBS’s American Experience: John and Abigail Adams where she starred as Abigail Adams. Her film work includes major roles in Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, Stop-Loss, Trade, Across the Universe, North Country, Dark Water, City by the Sea, The Dying Gaul and The Missing Person.
Emond resides in New York City.

Henry Simmons as “Jean Toomer”
A native of Stamford, Connecticut, Henry Simmons earned a degree in business from Franklin Pierce College, where he also experimented in theatre. After graduating from college, he briefly worked at a Fortune 500 company and simultaneously began acting.
Simmons got his big break when he joined the cast of ABC’s long running and critically-acclaimed series NYPD Blue as “Detective Baldwin Jones.” Simmons also starred in the CBS legal drama Shark, created by Oscar®-winning producer Brian Grazer. His additional television credits include a starring role in the miniseries Spartacus and guest-starring roles in Pepper Dennis, New York Undercover, Swift Justice and The Cosby Mysteries.
Simmons’ feature film credits include Madea’s Family Reunion, Something New, Taxi, Are We There Yet?, The Insurgents and Above the Rim. In 2010 Henry can be seen in Phenom, opposite Vanessa Williams and Chris Brown.Additionally, Simmons enjoys performing in front of a live audience, and his theatre credits include
Off-Broadway productions of Boys in the Basement and Geranos, as well as a Los Angeles-based production of Sure.
Simmons currently resides in Los Angeles.

Tyne Daly as “Mabel Dodge Stern”
The daughter of legendary actor James Daly, Tyne Daly’s career began on television in the early 1970’s. Her big break came in 1981, when she was cast in Cagney and Lacey as “Detective Mary Beth Lacey,” a role for which she won four Emmy® Awards.
Her additional television credits include Christy, Judging Amy, Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica’s Closet, The Nanny and numerous Cagney and Lacey reunion specials.
Daly has also made several appearances on the Broadway stage. Her accomplishments include winning a Tony® Award as “Mama Rose” in the revival of the 1959 musical Gypsy, and taking on the challenge of a five-role, one-woman show, Mystery School, at Gotham’s Angel Orensanz Foundation Center.
Her feature film credits include Dirty Harry and The Enforcer. She also made appearances in Play It As It Lays, John and Mary, The Adulteress and Speedtrap.


Joshua D. Maurer & Alixandre Witlin
Executive Producers
Award-winning producer Joshua D. Maurer, whose last three television films have garnered a total of 21 Emmy® Award nominations, is President of City Entertainment, along with partner and Co-President, Alixandre Witlin. City Entertainment is a feature film and television production company that currently has more than 40 hours of motion picture, network and cable television in current development. Maurer is the only producer in the history of the Producers Guild of America to be awarded two nominations in the same year in the same category for the David L. Wolper Producer of
the Year Award for Longform Television.
Maurer’s feature film production credits include The Hoax, starring Richard Gere and Marcia Gay Harden, and Dead Men Can’t Dance, starring Michael Biehn and Adrian Paul.
On television, Maurer and Witlin served as executive producers of CBS’s Dodson’s Journey starring David James Elliott, Ellen Burstyn and Robert Loggia and recently completed production on Rubicon, a pilot for AMC/Warner Horizon. Additionally, Maurer served as executive producer on the critically acclaimed HBO film And Starring Poncho Villa as Himself starring Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent and Alan Arkin; FX’s The Pentagon Papers starring James Spader, Paul Giamatti and Claire Forlani; and the award-winning HBO film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, starring Halle Berry. Under Maurer’s guidance, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge earned 11 Emmy Award nominations, winning five. The film was also honored with three NAACP Image® Awards, three
Golden Globe® nominations and one win, a DGA nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award® win for Halle Berry.
Maurer and Witlin live in Los Angeles.

Anthony Mark
Producer
Anthony Mark is an Emmy® Award nominated film producer, director and screenwriter.
Mark was born and raised in Manhattan and graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University. He began his entertainment career in regional theatre, founding and serving as the artistic director for Valley Theatre Company in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Mark has produced numerous films that range from art house to commercial, studio fare. His film credits include The Fisher King, 8 Seconds, Scary Movie 2, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Ultraviolet, Bordertown and most recently, The Hurt Locker.
Mark received an Emmy Award nomination for the HBO telefilm And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself. His additional television credits include the made-for-television movies Infidelity, Vendetta, Earthly Possessions, Witness Protection and Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.
Mark resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.


Bob Balaban
Director
A Chicago native, Bob Balaban is a critically acclaimed director, producer, actor and writer. Balaban’s television producing and directing credits include HBO’s Bernard and Doris, starring Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes, which received ten Emmy® Award and three Golden Globe® Award nominations. He also created, wrote and produced the IFC animation series Hopeless Pictures.
On the big screen, Balaban produced and co-starred in Gosford Park, which received an Academy Award® and Golden Globe nomination and won a Screen Actors Guild Award®. Additionally, Balaban produced, directed and wrote The Last Good Time, starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Maureen Stapleton and Lionel Stander, and directed Parents, starring Randy Quaid, Sandy Dennis and Marybeth Hurt.
On the stage, Balaban produced and directed the hit Off-Broadway play, The Exonerated, running two and a half years. He also received a Tony nomination for his performance in The Inspector General on Broadway.Balaban has acted in more than 50 movies including Midnight Cowboy, Catch 22, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Altered States, 2010, Absence of Malice, Deconstructing Harry, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, Ghost World, Capote, Trust the Man, Lady in the Water, For Your Consideration, No Reservations and Dedication.
His Broadway appearances include Plaza Suite, The Inspector General and Speed the Plow, among others. His Off-Broadway plays include You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, The White House Murder Case, Marie and Bruce, Pavlo Hummel and Some Americans Abroad.
Additionally, Balaban writes a series of best-selling children’s books for Scholastic called McGrowl.
He lives in New York with his wife, writer Lynn Grossman, and his children, Hazel and Mariah.

Michael Cristofer
Writer
Michael Cristofer is an award-winning American playright and filmmaker. He received a Pulitzer Prize® and a Tony® Award for the Broadway production of his play, The Shadow Box.
Cristofer’s film work includes the screenplays for The Shadow Box, directed by Paul Newman, which won a Golden Globe® Award and received three Emmy® Award nominations. Additional writing credits include the screenplays for Falling in Love, starring Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro, The Witches of Eastwick, starring Jack Nicholson and Casanova, starring Heath Ledger.
Cristofer’s directing credits include HBO’s Gia, starring Angelina Jolie, Mercedes Ruehl and Faye Dunaway, which received five Emmy nominations; Body Shots, for New Line Cinema; and Original Sin, starring Antonio Banderas.
Cristofer has acted in over a hundred plays.