“MITCH ALBOM’S HAVE A LITTLE FAITH,” A HALLMARK HALL OF FAME FILM BASED ON
THE BEST-SELLING BOOK, PREMIERES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 ON ABC
Laurence Fishburne, Bradley Whitford, Anika Noni Rose and Martin Landau Star;
Jon Avnet Directs from Mitch Albom’s Screenplay
SOURCE: Grace Hill Media
Emmy and Tony Award winner and Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “Two Trains Running”) stars as Rev. Henry Covington in the new Hallmark Hall of Fame film, “Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith,” premiering SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. The movie, based on the latest best-selling book by Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven), was filmed on location in Detroit.
Henry Covington was a Detroit preacher who overcame – along with his wife, Annette, played by Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (“Dreamgirls,” “Caroline, Or Change”) – a life mired in drugs and crime. Mitch Albom, portrayed in the movie by Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”), met the reverend-in-recovery when he wrote newspaper columns about homeless people and homeless shelters. Covington’s I Am My Brother’s Keeper Church provided food and a place — on the church floor — where homeless people could sleep.
The other central character in Albom’s book and movie is New Jersey Rabbi Albert Lewis, played by Academy Award winner Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” “Entourage”). “The Reb,” as Albom calls him, asks Albom – who had briefly attended the rabbi’s synagogue as a child — to write his eulogy.
On the surface, these two larger-than-life characters, the charismatic African-American preacher and the feisty, funny rabbi, could hardly be more different. But they each in their own way profoundly affect the writer. It’s a story about life’s purpose – losing belief and finding it again – and about the divine spark inside all of us. One man’s journey is really everyone’s story.
Have a Little Faith, Albom’s first non-fiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, remaining on the list for more than seven months, and was published in March in paperback. Both editions are by Hyperion.
Brent Shields (“Beyond the Blackboard,” “The Lost Valentine”), Mitch Albom and Jon Avnet are executive producers. John Avnet also is the director. “Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith” is from Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, Inc.
Absolutely loved this book. I recently bought 15 copies to give to friends.
I saw the movie last night at the premier and I absolutely LOVED it. Thank God, Hallmark still makes great quality family movies like this one. The entire cast gives a stunning performance, stars Martin Landau and Laurence Fishberne are astonishingly real, and in fact one lead cast member is playing himself, in this heartwarming and true story of faith, survival, and love. I see Emmy nominations galore. An absolute must see, akin to A Dolphin Tale in it’s brilliance.
Awesome! I didn’t get to see it, but glad to hear it was good.
…So A Dolphin Tale was that good? I was wondering about that movie… — John