Jewel tapped to play June Carter Cash

0

LifetimeLifetime has green lit the Original Movie The June Carter Cash Story (working title), starring four-time Grammy® Award-nominee Jewel and based on John Carter Cash’s narrative of his mother June Carter Cash’s life, Anchored in Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash.


Jewel will take on the role of the legendary country artist June Carter Cash in a heartfelt telling of the famous singer’s life from her early beginnings to her turbulent, yet enduring, marriage to perhaps one of the most influential entertainers ever, Johnny Cash (Matt Ross, American Horror Story, Big Love).  New York Film Critics Circle Award-winner Allison Anders (Southland, Grace of My Heart, Gas, Food Lodging) is set to direct from a screenplay by Oscar®-nominated writer Richard Friedenberg (Lifetime’s Of Two Minds, A River Runs through It).  The June Carter Cash Story will be produced by Asylum Entertainment, with Emmy®-winning Steven Michaels and Jonathan Koch, and John Carter Cash executive producing.  Filming will commence early this summer in Atlanta, with the movie slated to premiere later this year.

Regarding the announcement, Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President, Programming, of Lifetime Networks, said, “Many people know about the legendary love story of Johnny and June.  But June Carter Cash has her own epic journey filled with triumphs, tragedies, loves and losses.  This movie will explore all aspects of the woman behind the icon, and we’re thrilled Jewel will be playing the title role.”

The June Carter Cash Story follows June from early childhood growing up in the rural mountains of Virginia to her relationship with Johnny Cash.  The film recounts her rise to fame with her popular family of singers when she was just a child before breaking out on her own to perform alongside such legendary entertainers as Elvis Presley and running with a group of performers who would forever influence American culture.  Told as only an insider could, The June Carter Cash Story also takes a personal look at June’s first two marriages, life with her daughters and her touching relationship with her only son, and her infamous courtship with Cash, who would become her third and longtime husband.  The movie showcases June’s role in saving Cash’s life during his battles with substance abuse, as well as how her unwavering faith in God, confidence and talent has taught lessons to generations.

Jewel is an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, actress, poet, painter and philanthropist.  The four-time Grammy nominee, hailed by The New York Times as a “songwriter bursting with talents,” has enjoyed career longevity rare among her generation of artists. After tremendous success and more than 27 million albums sold, Jewel released her debut country album, Perfectly Clear, in June 2008, which garnered her spot at #1 on the Billboard country album charts.  Shortly after Perfectly Clear, Jewel debuted her first-ever independent release, Lullaby, in a partnership with Fisher-Price® and Somerset Entertainment.  In 2010, she released her sophomore follow-up album, Sweet and Wild, which she wrote and produced.  In 2011 Jewel released The Merry Goes Round, the follow-up to her bestselling album Lullaby, on Somerset Entertainment’s Fisher-Price label.  The album includes songs both children and their parents can enjoy together and was named by iTunes as best children’s album of the year.

In September of this year she launched her children’s book, That’s What I’d Do, a gentle lullaby from a mother to a child celebrating their bond and limitless love.  The book was inspired by the song What I’d Do, music and lyrics by Jewel and Patrick Davis, from the bonus edition of the album The Merry Goes Round.  She currently lives on a working ranch in Stephenville, Texas, with her husband, World Champion bull-riding superstar Ty Murray, and their baby, Kase Townes Murray.

(Source: Lifetime)