EMMY� WINNER RHEA PERLMAN AND JASON GEDRICK GET IN TUNE WITH 'THE CHRISTMAS CHOIR' A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE PREMIERING DECEMBER 6

Film, Inspired by a True Story, Set to Begin Production in Montreal Emmy� winner and Golden Globe nominee Rhea Perlman ("Cheers") and "Desperate Housewives" actor Jason Gedrick have been cast to star in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie "The Christmas Choir." The touching holiday tale begins production in Montreal on August 2, and is scheduled for a Saturday, December 6 premiere on the network.

"The Christmas Choir" is inspired by the true story of a man volunteering at a homeless shelter who saw a way to help the men living there by creating a choir from their surprising musical talents. The group, which went on to record several albums and tour the world, experienced such success that the singers where able to gain the financial security and personal confidence to leave the streets forever. The film stars Gedrick as successful-but-spiritually lost accountant Peter Brockman, whose life is turned on its head when he begins volunteering at a homeless shelter run by the caring-yet-cantankerous Sister Agatha (Perlman). Amazed at the musical prowess of some of the shelter's occupants, Peter sets out to organize them into a choir, singing holiday tunes in a local subway station. Though the singers and Peter each go through their own difficult personal trials, they slowly begin to learn to trust in each other and the power their music holds.

"The Christmas Choir" is a Towers Pictures/Muse Entertainment Film. Lisa Towers and Joel Rice are the Executive Producers and Michael Prupas is the Producer. Peter Svatek is directing form a script by Donald Martin.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of nearly 84 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,450 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 adsupported cable networks in Prime Time and Total Day household ratings and is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming. Crown Media also operates a second 24-hour linear channel which plays the greatest family movies of all time, Hallmark Movie Channel, and launched Hallmark Movie Channel HD in April, 2008.