Call Me Crazy: A Five Film featuring an all-star ensemble cast telling five interconnected stories will air on Lifetime on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 8pm ET/PT. Among the many stars involved in this original film are Jennifer Hudson, Melissa Leo, Octavia Spencer, Brittany Snow, Sarah Hyland, Sofia Vassilieva, Ernie Hudson, Jason Ritter, Jean Smart, Lea Thompson, Melanie Griffith and Chelsea Handler. Jennifer Aniston is involved as an executive producer.
Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bonnie Hunt, Ashley Judd and Sharon Maguire directed the film’s five stories.
“When we started researching this topic, we were all surprised to learn that one in four adults lives with some sort of mental illness. With so many people dealing with this in their private lives, there is still so much stigma and shame. It’s time we bring it out of the closet and into the light of day,” stated Aniston.
Executive producer Marta Kauffman added, “We are so proud to be a part of this powerful television event. To work with such amazingly talented directors, writers, and actors, and for Lifetime to give us the opportunity to tackle such an important issue is nothing less than miraculous. We are extremely grateful to be able to shed even a little light on this topic, and we fervently hope that this is just the beginning of the mental health discussion in our country.”
The Call Me Crazy: A Five Film Plot: Written by Deirdre O’Connor (Five) and directed by Howard, “Lucy” follows the film’s title character (Snow), a law student who finds herself amidst the horror of schizophrenia, landing her in an institution where, through the support of a new friend (Ritter), meds and her psychotherapist (Spencer), she begins her path to not only healing, but a promising future.
“Grace,” directed by Maguire and written by Howard J. Morris (Five), explores bipolar disorder through the experience of a teenage daughter (Hyland) whose mother (Leo) grapples with the condition.
“Allison” weaves together comedy and family drama in a story about healing when its eldest daughter Lucy (Snow) returns home from inpatient treatment and spoils her sister Allison’s (Vassilieva) unveiling of her new boyfriend to their parents (real-life wife and husband Smart and Richard Gilliland).
“Eddie,” directed by Hunt and written by Stephan Godchaux (Five), delves into the world of depression as seen through the eyes of a comedian’s wife (Thompson) as she grapples with understanding how her husband Eddie (Mitch Rouse), whom is so loved, can be so withdrawn and overcome with sadness. The short also stars Handler and features appearances by Dave Foley (The Kids in the Hall), Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers), James Avery (The Closer) and Ross Mathews (Chelsea Lately).
In “Maggie,” penned by Erin Cressida Wilson and directed by Judd, a female veteran (Hudson) returns home from war to her son and father (Ernie Hudson), only to have her life shattered by the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder, through which her lawyer, Lucy, helps her.
