Lisa Lampanelli, Kevin Bacon Projects on Tap at HBO
Pelosi documentary 'The Trials of Ted Haggard' and Will Ferrell produced series also in the works
By Gloria Pazmino and David Tanklefsky -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2009 1:21:00 PM
With a documentary from Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, a stand up special with comedian Lisa Lampanelli, a series produced by Will Ferrell, and a Sundance Film Festival selection starring Kevin Bacon, HBO is preparing to debut a number of highly-publicized projects in the coming month and a half.
Pelosi’s documentary The Trials of Ted Haggard, about the disgraced evangelical pastor, will be the first to debut this season on January 29th at 8 p.m. After having admitted to “sexual immorality” and buying methamphetamines from a male prostitute, Haggard’s career and the church empire he had built quickly collapsed. Pelosi follows Haggard’s journey to regain his honor; she follows him as he struggling to find work as an online admissions counselor for the University of Phoenix and a door-to-door insurance salesman. The film was directed, produced, and filmed by Pelosi and Michiel Vos.
Taking Chance starring Kevin Bacon, debuts February 21 at 8 p.m. The film is based on the personal journal of Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl. A Desert Storm veteran, Strobl serves as the uniformed escort who accompanies the remains of fallen Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, who was killed in action in Iraq, from Dover Air Force Base to his family in Dubois, Wyoming. Strobl co-wrote the screen play with two-time Oscar-nominated producer Ross Katz, who directs the film.
Comedy “Queen of Mean” Lampanelli will premiere her first HBO stand up comedy special on January 31 at 10 p.m. In the special, Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen, Lampanelli will give her take on social taboos and stereotypes. The special was taped at the Wells Fargo Center of the Arts in Santa Rosa, California.
Will Ferrell is among a the executive producers for East Bound and Down, a series about a former star major league pitcher whose self-destructive habits kick him back to his hometown in North Carolina where he becomes a gym teacher at his old middle school. Ferrell makes a guest appearance in the second show of the season as the owner of a luxury car dealership. The six-episode season begins on February 15 at 10:30 p.m..
