Living with the Dead (film)

Last updated

Living with the Dead
Talking to Heaven.jpg
Genre Drama
Sci-Fi
Crime
Mystery
Thriller
Based onTalking to Heaven
by James Van Praagh
Written by John Pielmeier
Directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal
Starring Ted Danson
Mary Steenburgen
Diane Ladd
Michael Moriarty
Theme music composer Normand Corbeil
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers Greg Gugliotta
Shanna Nussbaum
Stanley M. Brooks
Producer Preston Fischer
Cinematography Jeff Jur
Editor Neil Mandelberg
Running time240 minutes
Production companies Nitelite Entertainment
Columbia Broadcasting System
Gaslight Pictures
Once Upon a Time Films
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseApril 28 (2002-04-28) 
April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30)

Living with the Dead (released in Europe as Talking to Heaven) is a 2002 American made-for-television supernatural crime drama film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and starring Ted Danson, Diane Ladd, Queen Latifah, Mary Steenburgen and Jack Palance. It was inspired by the life of medium James Van Praagh. The film first aired on CBS in the U.S. and was later rated PG-13. [1]

Contents

In the United States, the film was released as Living with the Dead; the working title was Talking to Heaven, and this was also the release title in Europe.

Plot

Seven dead boys are trying to communicate through James (Ted Danson) to tell their story of how they died and that their murderer is still out there. James agrees to work alongside the detective investigating the murders, and discovers who murdered the seven boys. [2]

Cast

Production

The movie was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Steenburgen</span> American actress (born 1953)

Mary Nell Steenburgen is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in the Western comedy film Goin' South (1978). Steenburgen went on to earn critical acclaim for her role in Time After Time (1979) and Jonathan Demme's comedy-drama film Melvin and Howard (1980), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Danson</span> American actor (born 1947)

Edward BridgeDanson III is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was further Emmy-nominated for the legal drama Damages (2007–2010) and the NBC dramedy The Good Place (2016–2020). He was awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley Long</span> American actress and comedian (born 1949)

Shelley Long is an American actress, singer, and comedian. For her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom Cheers, Long received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also won two Golden Globe Awards for the role. Long reprised her role as Diane Chambers in three episodes of the spin-off Frasier, for which she received an additional guest star Emmy nomination. In 2009, she began playing the recurring role of Dede Pritchet on the ABC comedy series Modern Family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Malone</span> Fictional character in the series Cheers

Samuel "Mayday" Malone is a fictional character on the American television show Cheers, portrayed by Ted Danson and created by Glen and Les Charles. The protagonist of the series, Sam is a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox baseball team who owns and tends the bar called "Cheers". He is also a recovering alcoholic and a notorious womanizer. Although his celebrity status was short-lived, Sam retains that standing within the confines of Cheers, where he is beloved by the regular patrons. Along with Carla Tortelli and Norm Peterson, he is one of only three characters to appear in all episodes of Cheers. Sam has an on-again, off-again relationship with the bar waitress Diane Chambers for the series' first five seasons until her departure from the series. Then he tries to seduce Diane's replacement, Rebecca Howe, who frequently rejects his advances. Sam also appears in "The Show Where Sam Shows Up", a crossover episode of the spin-off Frasier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Karen</span> American actor (1923–2018)

James Karen was an American character actor of Broadway, film and television. Karen is known for his roles in Poltergeist, The China Syndrome, Wall Street, The Return of the Living Dead, Invaders from Mars and The Pursuit of Happyness, but was perhaps best known as the signature pitchman for Pathmark, famously appearing in commercials for the now-defunct East Coast-based supermarket chain from the late 1970s to the early 1990s which earned his nickname "Mr. Pathmark".

<i>Nobel Son</i> 2007 American film

Nobel Son is a 2007 American black comedy about a dysfunctional family dealing with the kidnapping of their son for ransom following the father's winning of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The film features Alan Rickman as the prize-winning professor and Mary Steenburgen as his wife, with Bryan Greenberg as their kidnapped son.

<i>Dinner for Five</i> American TV series or program

Dinner for Five is a television program in which actor and film director Jon Favreau and a revolving guest list of celebrities eat, drink and talk. The program aired on the Independent Film Channel with Favreau the co-executive producer with Peter Billingsley.

<i>Gullivers Travels</i> (miniseries) 1996 American TV miniseries

Gulliver's Travels is an American-British TV miniseries based on Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel of the same name, produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. This miniseries is notable for being one of the very few adaptations of Swift's novel to feature all four voyages. The miniseries aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4, and in the United States on NBC in February 1996. The miniseries stars Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Tom Sturridge, James Fox, Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, Alfre Woodard, Kristin Scott Thomas, and John Gielgud.

The 7th Golden Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2002, were presented by the International Press Academy on January 12, 2003.

<i>The Dead Girl</i> 2006 film by Karen Moncrieff

The Dead Girl is a 2006 American drama thriller film written and directed by Karen Moncrieff, starring Brittany Murphy, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne and Marcia Gay Harden. The film was nominated for several 2007 Independent Spirit Awards including Best Feature and Best Director. It is the story of a young woman's death and the people linked to her murder. It also features Mary Beth Hurt, Kerry Washington, James Franco, Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Mary Steenburgen and Piper Laurie. The film was premiered at the AFI Film Festival, and was given a limited US theatrical release on 29 December 2006. It was generally well received. It only ran for two weeks in US first-run theaters, and earned nearly all its revenue from overseas release.

<i>Alfred Hitchcock Presents</i> (1985 TV series) American anthology television series (1985–1989)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents, sometimes called The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, is an American television anthology series that orignally aired on NBC for one season from September 29, 1985 to May 4, 1986, and on the USA Network for three more seasons, from January 24, 1987, to July 22, 1989, with a total of four seasons consisting of 76 episodes. The series is an updated version of the 1955 eponymous series.

<i>Mad Money</i> (film) 2008 American crime comedy film

Mad Money is a 2008 crime comedy film starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes, and directed by Callie Khouri. It is loosely based on the 2001 British television film Hot Money.

"Give Me a Ring Sometime" is the pilot episode and the first episode of the first season of the American situation comedy Cheers. Written by Glen and Les Charles and directed by James Burrows, the episode first aired September 30, 1982, on NBC in the contiguous United States and on October 14, 1982 in Alaska. The pilot episode introduces the characters at the Cheers bar in Boston: employees Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, Coach Ernie Pantusso, and Carla Tortelli; and regular customers Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. In this episode, Diane, brought in by her fiancé, meets the employees and patrons of the bar. When she realizes that her fiancé has left her alone in the bar, Diane accepts Sam's offer to be the bar's waitress to start over.

<i>She-Devils on Wheels</i> 1968 film by Herschell Gordon Lewis

She-Devils on Wheels is a 1968 American exploitation biker film about an all-female motorcycle gang called The Man-Eaters, directed and produced by Herschell Gordon Lewis. Actual female motorcycle club members were cast for the film, who were from the Iron Cross motorcycle club's Cut-Throats Division.

<i>Pontiac Moon</i> 1994 film by Peter Medak

Pontiac Moon is a 1994 adventure film directed by Peter Medak, and produced by Robert Schaffel and Youssef Vahabzadeh.

<i>Bored to Death</i> American comedy television series

Bored to Death is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, New York City, who moonlights as an unlicensed private detective. The show also stars Ted Danson as George and Zach Galifianakis as Ray, both friends of Jonathan. On December 20, 2011, HBO cancelled Bored to Death after three seasons and twenty-four episodes.

James Van Praagh is an American writer and television personality who describes himself as a clairvoyant and spiritual medium. He has written numerous books, including The New York Times bestseller Talking to Heaven. Van Praagh was a producer and screenwriter on the 2002 CBS primetime semi-autobiographical miniseries Living with the Dead starring Ted Danson. He also hosted a short-lived paranormal talk show called Beyond with James Van Praagh.

When the Bough Breaks is a 1986 television film directed by Waris Hussein and starring Ted Danson. The screenplay by Phil Penningroth was adapted from Jonathan Kellerman's 1985 novel of the same name. Danson, who also co-produced, plays the crime-solving forensic psychologist Alex Delaware, a character who appears in a series of novels by Kellerman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie McDowell</span> American film director and screenwriter (born 1983)

Charles Malcolm McDowell is an American film director and screenwriter. McDowell made his directorial film debut with the romantic thriller The One I Love (2014). He has since written and directed the Netflix drama films The Discovery (2017) and Windfall (2022).

<i>The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel</i> American biographical film

The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel is a 2020 American biographical film about gospel group The Clark Sisters. Directed by Christine Swanson, and co-written by Sylvia L. Jones and Camille Tucker, the film stars Christina Bell, Kierra Sheard, Sheléa Frazier, Raven Goodwin, and Angela Birchett. It premiered on Lifetime on April 11, 2020.

References

  1. `Living With the Dead' brings Danson to life, Allan Johnson, Chicago Tribune , April 26, 2002; accessed February 17, 2013
  2. Messages From Beyond, Susan King, Los Angeles Times , April 28, 2002; accessed February 17, 2013
  3. IMDb