This year has brought a flurry of Christmas films starring soap opera stars, but the latest soapy holiday flick news has several daytime fans bowing down in thanks to the Christmas gods: Emmy-winning actress Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott, The Young and the Restless; ex-Kristen DiMera, Days of our Lives) is set to star in a new holly-and-jolly film called There Will Always Be Christmas.
The film will follow Davidson in the role of Alana D'Angelo, the dean of a prestigious high school who teams up with her vivacious teenage daughter, Samantha (Kennedy Tucker); the new maintenance man, Army veteran Johnny (Michael Paré); and his quiet son, Max (Michael Varde) to plan a holiday concert to save the school. But when a car accident lands Sam in a life-threatening condition, Alana turns to Johnny for support, and Max makes a desperate decision that will forever bond their families together. All four must question their values about sacrifice, family, and love -- and what it means to be thankful for another Christmas.
There Will Always Be Christmas is currently in pre-production, with Dale Fabrigar listed as director and Tricia Aurand and Suzanne DeLaurentiis listed as writers. Other cast members include Nancy Valen, Trevor Stines, Tim Abell, Paul Fox, Anzu Lawson, and Danielle Rayne (ex-Alice, All My Children; ex-Mrs. Dixon, General Hospital). The film is slated for a 2020 release.
In more fun Davidson news, IMDb lists another movie she filmed ten years ago as finally being in post-production. Titled Symphoria, the film costars A Martinez (ex-Cruz Castillo, Santa Barbara; ex-Roy DiLucca, General Hospital; ex-Ray Montez, One Life to Live; ex-Dr. Ramon Montgomery, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Eduardo Hernandez, Days of our Lives) and also features Swen Temmel, who played a teenage version of Y&R's Victor Newman in 2010.
Symphoria stars Tyler Wolfe as Shawn Wittig, a spoiled kid from a rich family who returns home after a twelve-year self-imposed exile in Europe only to find that his past begins to catch up with him when he begins an illicit -- and possibly deadly -- romance with his university professor. Check out the film's teaser trailer, which was released in 2011, below.
What do you think about the premise and casting of There Will Always Be Christmas? What are your thoughts on work resuming on Davidson's film Symphoria? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
