Los Angeles, Calif. (PRWEB) — Reelworks Studios CEO Rick Eldridge announced that principal
photography has wrapped on The Ultimate Life. Golden Globe winner Peter Fonda
(Ulee’s Gold), Logan Bartholemew (Love’s Enduring Promise) and David Mann (Meet
The Browns) join original cast members Bills Cobbs, Lee Meriwether and Alli
Hillis in this sequel based on the best-selling books by Jim Stovall.
Michael Landon, Jr. (Saving Sarah Cain, Loves Comes
Softly), directed the shoot in and around the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area. The film
was produced by Executive Producer Rick Eldridge (The Ultimate Gift, Bobby
Jones: Stroke of Genius) and Producer David Kappes (Jaws 3-D). The screenplay
was developed by Brian Bird (Touched By An Angel), Cheryl McKay (The Ultimate
Gift), with Lisa G. Shillingburg.
The Ultimate Life will be distributed nationally in
theaters September 2013. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
secured home entertainment distribution rights and has sold 2 million units of
the first film The Ultimate Gift.
According to Eldridge, “The Ultimate Life is an emotional, endearing family film and an instant classic
that will be embraced by audiences who loved the first film, while attracting
new viewers to the story. There is huge multi-generational appeal since the
film is both a sequel and a prequel.”
Multiple generations of talent combine to tell the
story of Red from a young boy in the 1940s through an older man over the years,
including stand-out Drew Waters (Friday Night Lights), who plays young adult
Red. Waters credits director Landon with creating a special dynamic on-set. “My
approach to acting is to wrap an emotional and physical structure around my
character that I can relate to…Michael is a director who helps that happen
and as a result captures unique, emotional and authentic performances.”
Building on the successful 2007 theatrical release
The Ultimate Gift in which Jason Stevens (Bartholomew) inherits a two
billion dollar trust from his grandfather, Red (James Garner), The Ultimate Life begins three years after Jason receives the gift. We discover the ensuing
years have been challenging for Jason and his girlfriend Alexia. When his
extended family files suit against him, Jason is left reeling until his lawyer
and confidant Hamilton, shares Red’s journal with Jason. Reading the journal
takes Jason (and moviegoers) back into Red’s younger days where he meets
lifelong friends and discovers the origins of the gifts that would mark Red’s
life. Spanning across generations and time, the question now is: Is it too late
for those lessons to help Jason?
Video:
Local news story about the film’s production in Winston-Salem