PRACTICE MAKES "PERFECT" FOR ROB LOWE
IN HIS NEW TNT DRAMA
By Jay Bobbin
Tribune Media Services
November 28, 2006

If you don't think Rob Lowe enjoys this time of year, consider how often he turns up during the holidays.  Besides seasonal episodes of The West Wing and ABC's Brothers & Sisters, which he recently joined, the actor appeared in the 2002 TV movie The Christmas Shoes and last year's sequel The Christmas Blessing.

He aims for feel-good sentiments again by starring in A Perfect Day, the new TNT adaptation of the novel by Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box) debuting Sunday, December, 17.  The film casts Lowe as a laid-off salesman encouraged by his wife (Paget Brewster, Criminal Minds) to pursue his long-standing dream of writing for a living.

The resulting book, modeled on her final months with her cancer-stricken father, makes him a sudden success.  His fast-track fame carries him away from his spouse and daughter (Meggie Geisland), until an alarmingly knowledgeable stranger (Christopher Lloyd) suggests the writer hasn't much longer to live.

"It's very old-fashioned in a great way," Lowe says of the film. "It's honest, human family drama. The holidays have such resonance for people, it's easy to say that these films I've done are Christmas stories; to me, they're just emotional stories set at the most emotional time of the year.  On The West Wing, I used to hope I'd get the Christmas stories, because they were always the best ones."




"The trick with these movies," Lowe notes, "is being on the alert for anything that's maudlin or saccharine. Tone is a big, big deal, and I think what I bring to these types of stories -- where you can feel like your teeth hurt, they're so sugary -- is my point of view, in terms of performance and ome tweaking of the script. Some of my notes aren't even on my own character, because I just want the whole piece to be as good as it can be.  This was a really good experience in that sense."

Indeed, Lowe brought co-star Brewster into the project. He also approved of Lloyd, since he explains the Taxi and Back to the Future veteran represents "an almost supernatural component" of the tale.  "Chris plays someone who could be anything from a demented stalker to the angel of death, or maybe even someone who's trying to do me a big favor. You want the audience not to know at any given time. That was a real balancing act, and Chris was the perfect guy for it. It's so quiet and specific and subtle, he's just riveting."

If Lowe's character in A Perfect Day seems close in background to author Evans, it's not by coincidence. "This was actually his wife's story,"  Lowe confirms, "watching her father grapple with a debilitating disease. It's almost autobiographical, so there's an additional sort of creative force above the director and producer that you hope to be on the same page with."

"Evans came by the set one day," Lowe adds. "I always like meeting the author because if he's happy, I'm happy, whether it's John Irving (in whose The Hotel New Hampshire Lowe acted) or Stephen King (The Stand, Salem's Lot). In this case, he's very excited about it." Lowe is excited himself to be doing television regularly again, even though his current Brothers & Sisters role as Sen. Robert McCallister only is slated for a limited run at this point: He's working frequently on the Sunday show with Calista Flockhart, who plays media personality Kitty Walker.

"I love television," Lowe states. "When it works, people talk about it for five years; when a movie works, people talk about it for five months. I just try to follow what I think will be fun and challenging for me as an actor, and you can never know how it will turn out. Plenty of good shows fail, plenty of bad shows make it, and every once in a while, a good show makes it. You just have to follow your gut."


Rob Lowe & Meggie Geisland in A Perfect Day


Lowe isn't the only family member doing series work this season. His brother Chad will be a cast regular when the Emmy-winning Fox suspense drama 24" returns for its sixth season Sunday, January 14. For all his television credits lately, also including the short-lived shows The Lyon's Den and dr. vegas, Rob Lowe hasn't forsaken the big screen. He has top billing in Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak, a forthcoming follow-up to Kevin Bacon's ghostly 1999 thriller.

"I've never done a sequel to anything," he says, "but they came to me with the novel idea that it's not a true sequel. I'm not playing Kevin's part, and as much as I loved that movie -- it was written and directed by David Koepp, who also wrote Bad Influence (which starred Lowe) - this is its own movie with similar themes, thereby earning the title. I'm pretty happy with it."

Thanks for sending this to Lowe-Impact, Rob!



ROB WILL STAR IN A
MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE
IN DECEMBER


Rob Lowe "Perfect" For Write Role in TNT Movie
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
By Nellie Andreeva
August 2, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Rob Lowe is set to star in A Perfect Day, the latest TV movie in cable channel TNT's Johnson & Johnson spotlight presentation series.

Based on Richard Paul Evans' best-selling novel, the film tells the story of Robert Harlin (Lowe), an aspiring writer with a wife and a young daughter whose life changes when his book Day becomes an instant best-seller. Harlin's sudden fame takes a toll on his marriage until he encounters a mystic stranger who tells him he has 40 more days to live.
The film is slated to premiere in December.

Lowe previously starred in the TNT movies Salem's Lot and Framed.
"We couldn't hope for a better actor to bring to the screen this heartwarming drama about one man's journey through self-discovery," said Michael Wright, senior vp original programming at TNT and TBS.

Lowe's four-year starring turn on NBC's The West Wing earned him an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations. He reprised his role as a White House operative in the final episodes of the acclaimed drama in the spring.

On the big screen, he most recently was seen in the critically praised satire Thank You for Smoking. He is in production on Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak.




Rob Lowe & Meggie Geisland in A Perfect Day


HOT HOLIDAY TALE!
Rob Lowe paid dearly to film 'A Perfect Day' in New Orleans
By Dave Walker
The Times-Picayune
December 15, 2006

In A Perfect Day, a made-for-TNT movie debuting Monday at 7:00 p.m., various locations around New Orleans stand in for St. Louis, New York and about a dozen different airports.

In the film, Rob Lowe plays a fledgling author who experiences unexpected overnight success.

Of course, the price of fame, wealth, adulation, etc., is steep, and a meltdown countdown commences toward Christmas. Several camera setups will look familiar to locals, but the only truly blatant giveaway that A Perfect Day was shot here is a balcony scene behind which looms the Crescent City Connection.

Otherwise, the production did an expert fake-out job, up to and including mounding fake snow on Central Business District streets.
Given the December 25 countdown subplot, most of the action occurs in winter. Yet, the film was shot here during the statistical peak of hurricane season, and what looks like very cold weather on the screen was actually very hot. And humid.

Such is movie magic.

"I'm telling you, when I shepherded the production down to New Orleans, I realized the old saying of 'No good deed goes unpunished' is completely true," Lowe said. "The first day of shooting I had to be in a cashmere topcoat in August.

"It's a concentration exercise more than anything, because you almost have sort of a panic attack, a claustrophobia attack. You want to rip your clothes off and run screaming down the street."

Happens to visitors here all the time, fortunately.

For different reasons, though.





MeeVee Exclusive: 5 + 1 Questions
With Rob Lowe

In TNT’s new TV movie, A Perfect Day, Rob Lowe plays a writer who forgets the important things in life due to the trappings of fame. After speaking with him live via teleconference call, we discovered that clearly, he does not have this problem. Here's what Rob had to say about fame, politics, and his favorite TV show ~~ Wonder Showzen

Like your character in A Perfect Day, fame is a part of your day-to-day life.  How do you cope with it?

I feel comfortable with it because, like I said, it's been going on since I was 15. It’s almost a part of who I am at this point. I think if we’re all honest with ourselves, everybody would love to be able to walk down the street and have people smile and say, “Hey, you’re great!” But on the other side of it, you also know that those people don’t really know you. So it’s not really about you. It’s somehow unauthentic in a way, so there are very conflicting messages. It takes people a lifetime sometimes to figure out how to wear that. Some people never figure it out.

We're all great fans of Paget Brewster. What was it like working with her?

Isn’t she extraordinary in this movie? Without her this movie doesn’t work at all. I am just in awe of her. The thing I’m most proud of in the movie is the relationship I have with Paget. I think that you really believe that this couple loves each other, that they’re real. To watch that incremental sort of devastation of the relationship is really sad. We shot the scene when she reads my book for the first time on the second day. When she finished her close up, I said, "We’re in. We have the movie. It’s all downhill from here." She just nailed that so big time.

Why did you choose to shoot the film in New Orleans?

The production was originally going to be in Canada, but someone had also mentioned the possibility of New Orleans. I said, "Listen, I tell you what -- I’ll take a pay cut if we can move it to New Orleans." And they took me up on it. So I was really happy to be able to bring it down to that economy. I think we were one of the first movies to come back to Louisiana. A lot of people were very concerned if there was going to be enough infrastructure to support a movie crew, but we did it, and the city was great. I loved it.
You’re notorious for campaigning for Democrats -- including, I hear, running a lemonade stand for George McGovern. On Brothers & Sisters, you play a Republican senator. What made you decide to take on this role?

I was merely following the equal time laws. I figure I’ve given four years to playing a Democrat, I was worried that someone was going to start suing me if I didn’t play a Republican. The real reason is, these guys wrote this part for me. This character is so extraordinary. As we get to know him and see more and more, which we will throughout the course of the show, he’s a political figure unlike anything that this country has seen in a long time. He’s a decorated war hero. He’s got family money. He does not have to take any guff from anyone. He is unafraid to be who he is, flaws and all -- and there are plenty. That makes him very, very dangerous to the establishment. It’s really fun to play him. I’m there for six [episodes] at the moment. We’re just taking it one day at a time. But I’m having a blast.

How involved are you in your fan site, and the Internet in general? Have you ever Googled youself?

I’m too scared to Google myself, but I have been known to lurk around the Internet. Television Without Pity is a great site. I lurk on there. I got into that [while] on The West Wing and I still cruise around. You have to take everything with a little bit of a grain of salt, but usually there’s some really good feedback if you can separate the loonies out of it. I love that about the Internet. And the fan site, yeah, I’m always checking in there.

So tell us -- what does Rob Lowe watch on TV?

Intervention on A&E. Rescue Me is my favorite show on television. Of course, I love The Sopranos. Everyone loves The Sopranos. And I love Family Guy. I’m in the Family Guy Mercury Players, and I’m very proud of it. And I love a little-known show named Wonder Showzen. You've got to be careful where you watch that show.

Source: tvwithmeevee.com





IN PERFECT, SEASONAL BLISS
TAKES A HOLIDAY
By Marisa Guthrie
New York Daily News
December 12, 2006

The holidays inevitably usher in a stream of saccharine TV movies and very special episodes. And at first blush, A Perfect Day sounds like another indistinguishable addition to that canon. But a dark current runs through this TNT made-for-TV-movie starring Rob Lowe as a nice guy turned jerk turned nice guy again.

"That's what attracted me to" the movie, said Lowe. "It was a chance to tell a realistic story, not magical, mystical twinkly-eyed Christmassy stuff. It's sort of an unflinching look at a family coming apart."

Lowe plays working stiff Robert Harlan, who makes good on his dream of writing a novel after he's fired from his job. He turns his wife's experiences with her dying father into a best seller, thanks in no small part to an unpretentious and hardworking literary agent played by Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under).

But fame quickly goes to his head. On Larry King Live (the suspendered one appears in a cameo), he forgets to credit his wife (Paget Brewster) as the inspiration for his book. Soon after that, he dumps his agent for a bigger, sleazy agent. Eventually, he leaves his wife and young daughter (Meggie Geisland) outright. All the while, a mysterious stranger (Christopher Lloyd) appears spouting doomsday prophecies. When he says Harlan has only 14 days left, he's not talking shopping days.


Rob Lowe & Paget Brewster in A Perfect Day


"Christmas," said Lowe, "is a very stressful time. People are raw."

A Perfect Day, premiering next Monday at 8 p.m., may sound like a retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but there's a very 21st-century twist at the

end. "There's so much, for lack of a better word, camp in television drama today," said Lowe. "I'm not sure what to attribute that to, but I'm not a fan. I want my stuff to be funny and real. And when the family comes apart, I want it to be like Ordinary People," director Robert Redford's searing portrait of a family undone by the death of a child).

"This is not that," he added, "but you know what I mean. This is not overtly soapy."

Lowe does get in a bit of a lather, however, for his six-episode arc on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, where he's playing a war hero and Republican senator who has a very obvious crush on Calista Flockhart's Kitty Walker.

"That raises a problem," he explained, because his character, Sen. Robert McCallister, hires Walker to be his chief strategist.

"What do you do when you're a divorced man who in theory should be grieving that divorce, and you find yourself attracted to someone you hired?"

McCallister has also weathered a sex scandal involving his former nanny, so he may be mourning more than one breakup. And taking up with someone as radioactive as Flockhart's radio pundit may not be a wise career move. But McCallister is not cowed by the potential for scandal.

"He doesn't have to answer to anybody," said Lowe. "It's very different than my last political character [The West Wing's Sam Seaborn], who was youthful, exuberant and easily disillusioned. Sen. McCallister is under no illusions about anything."

Source: nydailynews.com






Everything You Could Possibly Want
to Know About A Perfect Day . . .

What: A Perfect Day, the made-for-TV movie starring Rob Lowe, tells the story of Robert Harlan, a man who, after being fired from his job, pursues his lifetime dream of writing a novel. But after he achieves enormous success with his book, he loses track of the things he loves the most, only finding his way after a stranger enters his life.

When: Premieres December 18, 2006 ~~ 8:00 p.m., ET / 7:00 p.m., CT

Where: TNT

Everything Else: A first-time author hits the big time with a bestselling book, but soon loses sight of what’s truly important in life in the holiday-themed TNT Original movie A Perfect Day, starring Emmy® nominee Rob Lowe (The West Wing, TNT’s Salem’s Lot).This Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation®, movie co-stars Paget Brewster (Huff, Friends), Golden Globe® winner and four-time Emmy® nominee Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under, The Wicker Man) and three-time Emmy® winner Christopher Lloyd (Taxi, Back to the Future). It is based on the bestseller by Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box) and is directed by two-time Emmy® nominee Peter Levin (Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, The Lyon’s Den) from a teleplay by four-time Emmy®-nominated writer Joyce Eliason (We Were the Mulvaneys).

A Perfect Day comes to TNT from Sony Pictures Television, MAGNA Global Entertainment and Stephanie Germain Productions, Inc. with Stephanie Germain (The Day after Tomorrow) and MAGNA Global’s Sunta Izzicupo (Buffalo Girls) and Frances Croke Page (Saving Milly, The Wool Cap) serving as executive producers.It is slated to premiere Monday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

In A Pefect Day, Lowe plays Robert Harlan, a man who, after being unexpectedly fired from his job, pursues his lifetime dream of writing a book. Basing it on his wife’s experience with the death of her father, he constructs a heartwarming book that quickly captures the imagination of readers everywhere. But after he achieves enormous success, he begins to lose sight of the things he loves the most, including his wife (Brewster), his young daughter (Meggie Geisland) and his friendship with his agent (Conroy). It takes a disturbing prophecy from a mysterious stranger named Michael (Lloyd) to wake him up and make him realize how much he has truly lost.

“He goes on this amazing ride that some of us are lucky enough to get in our lifetimes. But there’s a huge dark side to that if you let yourself be wooed. And he falls into that.”

Lowe’s character learns a difficult lesson on the price of fame. “He literally has this dream come true and gets fame and fortune and validation as a writer and as an artist,” Lowe says.
In writing the original book for A Pefect Day, Evans drew from his own experience of how monumental success nearly tore him from his family. “My first book was about learning the value of your own family and children and putting priorities right,” he says. “It was a week before Christmas, and I was leaving home to be on a TV show. I went to kiss my daughter goodbye, and she said, ‘Dad, why did you write a book about spending time with your children, and now you’re leaving again?’ I felt a stab right through the heart.”

A Perfect Day is the ninth TNT Original movie to be produced under the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie banner. The critically acclaimed, award-winning Door-to-Door, starring Emmy-winner William H. Macy as a successful door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy, kicked off the series of movies in July 2002. It was followed by Miss Lettie and Me, starring Mary Tyler Moore and Burt Reynolds, in December 2002; Wilder Days, starring Peter Falk and Tim Daly, in October 2003; and The Winning Season, with Matthew Modine and Kristin Davis, in April 2004.

In November 2004, Door-to-Door’s Emmy-winning actor/writer William H. Macy and writer/director Steven Schachter re-teamed for the Emmy-nominated The Wool Cap.It was followed by 14 Hours, with JoBeth Williams, Rick Schroder and Kris Kristofferson, in April 2005; The Engagement Ring, a romantic comedy/drama starring Patricia Heaton, in November 2005; and most recently The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry as a dynamic teacher working with inner-city kids, in August 2006.

The Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie series development effort was initiated by Interpublic’s MAGNA Global Entertainment.Johnson & Johnson has long supported the creation of quality programming, and through the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie series, the company’s advertising affiliate has collaborated with TNT to bring inspirational stories to the American viewing public.

MAGNA Global Entertainment (MGE) is a division of Interpublic’s MAGNA Global USA. MGE has produced 87 hours of original programming and more than 370 hours of total television viewing on seven networks for 19 clients. Notable successes include the four-time Emmy®-nominated Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie The Wool Cap and the six-time Emmy®-winning Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie Door to Door; the critically acclaimed hit series The Restaurant on NBC and Blow Out on Bravo; and the CBS MOW Saving Milly, sponsored by members of the Family Friendly Programming Forum.

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) is one of the television industry’s leading content providers.SPT produces and distributes top-rated, award-winning programming in every genre, including series, movies and family entertainment for network and cable television; first-run syndicated series; off-network syndicated programs; and theatrical releases. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

Stephanie Germain Productions, Inc. specializes in event entertainment from highly rated, award nominated television movies to a blockbuster summer film.Principal Stephanie Germain was originally attracted to the novel A PERFECT DAY because of its potential to become a perennial holiday film.The company is also presently producing four films based on bestselling publishing phenomenon Nora Roberts’ books Angels Fall, Blue Smoke, Carolina Moon and Montana Sky, set to air this February on Lifetime.


Upcoming Airings

Monday, December 18, 8:00PM ET
TV-PG
Monday, December 18, 10:00PM ET
TV-PG
Tuesday, December 19, 12:00AM ET
TV-PG
Wednesday, December 20, 10:00PM ET
TV-PG
Thursday, December 21, 12:00AM ET
TV-PG
Friday, December 22, 11:05PM ET
TV-PG
Sunday, December 24, 9:00AM ET
TV-PG
Monday, December 25, 1:00AM ET
TV-PG



Rob Lowe, Christopher Lloyd & Frances Conroy




TNT NEWS RELEASE


A Turner Company                                                        For Release: 8/3/06



Rob Lowe Takes Lead Role
in TNT Original Movie


A Perfect Day

A Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation

Film Based on Best-Selling Novel by Richard Paul Evans
Set to Premiere on TNT in late 2006


Rob Lowe, who starred in TNT’s extremely popular adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in 2005, has been cast in the lead role in the TNT Original movie A PERFECT DAY, according to an announcement by Michael Wright, senior vice president of original programming for TNT and sister network TBS.  This Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® is based on the bestseller by Richard Paul Evans and is being adapted by four-time Emmy®-nominated writer Joyce Eliason (We Were the Mulvaneys, The Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All).  It comes to TNT from Sony Pictures Television and MAGNA Global Entertainment, with Stephanie Germain (The Day after Tomorrow) and MAGNA’s Sunta Izzicupo (Buffalo Girls) and Frances Croke Page (Blow Out) serving as executive producers.  A PERFECT DAY is slated to premiere in late 2006.

"Having worked with Rob Lowe on previous TNT productions, we are thrilled to have him in the lead role for A PERFECT DAY,” Wright said.  “We couldn’t hope for a better actor to bring to the screen this heartwarming drama about one man’s journey through self-discovery.”

A PERFECT DAY tells the story of Robert Harlin, a man who, after being fired from his job, pursues his lifetime dream of writing a novel.  But after he achieves enormous success with his book, he loses track of the things he loves the most, only finding his way after a stranger enters his life.
Lowe recently co-starred in the hit satirical film Thank You for Smoking.  His extensive big-screen credits include Frances Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders, Class, The Hotel New Hampshire, Oxford Blues, Youngblood, St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night, Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy, Mulholland Falls, Contact, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Square Dance, for which he received a Golden Globe® nomination.  He is currently in production on Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak.

For television, in addition to headlining TNT’s acclaimed miniseries Salem’s Lot, Lowe starred for four seasons in the Emmy®-winning drama The West Wing, earning two Golden Globes® and an Emmy® nomination for his role as Sam Seaborn. His other series credits include the legal drama Lyon’s Den and the crime drama dr. vegas, while his television movie credits include TNT’s Framed, with Sam Neill; the CBS holiday drama The Christmas Shoes; Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer;
the Stephen King miniseries The Stand; and Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Thursday’s Child, which earned him a Golden Globe® nomination.  Lowe also wrote and directed American Untitled/Desert’s Edge for Showtime. A PERFECT DAY is the ninth TNT Original to be produced under the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® banner.  The critically acclaimed, award-winning Door to Door, starring Emmyâ-winner William H. Macy as a successful door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy, kicked off the series of movies in July 2002.   It was followed by Miss Lettie and Me, starring Mary Tyler Moore and Burt Reynolds, in December 2002; Wilder Days, starring Peter Falk and Tim Daly, in October 2003; The Winning Season, with Matthew Modine and Kristin Davis, in April 2004; the Emmyâ-nominated The Wool Cap, which re-teamed Door to Door’s Emmyâ-winning actor/writer William H. Macy and writer/director Steven Schachter, in November 2004; and 14 Hours, with JoBeth Williams, Rick Schroder and Kris Kristofferson, in April 2005.  In November 2005, TNT premiered The Engagement Ring, a romantic comedy/drama starring Patricia Heaton.  And this August, TNT will present The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry as a dynamic teacher working with inner-city kids.

 The Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie series development effort was initiated by Interpublic’s MAGNA Global Entertainment.  Johnson & Johnson has long supported the creation of quality programming, and through the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie series, the company’s advertising affiliate has collaborated with TNT to bring inspirational stories to the American viewing public.

MAGNA Global Entertainment (MGE) is a division of Interpublic’s MAGNA Global USA, which represents more than $28 billion in aggregated Interpublic worldwide media billings.  MGE has produced 78 hours of original programming and more than 330 hours of total television viewing on seven networks for 19 clients.  Notable successes include the four-time Emmy®-nominated Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie The Wool Cap and the six-time Emmy®-winning Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation® movie Door to Door; the critically acclaimed hit series The Restaurant on NBC and Blow Out on Bravo; and the CBS MOW Saving Milly, sponsored by members of the Family Friendly Programming Forum.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television’s destination for drama and one of cable’s top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including the acclaimed detective drama The Closer, starring Golden Globeâ and Screen Actors Guild Awardsâ nominee Kyra Sedgwick; Saved, a new character-driven drama starring Tom Everett Scott; and this summer’s eagerly anticipated anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.  TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Without
a Trace, Law & Order, Las Vegas, Cold Case, ER, Charmed and Judging Amy; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awardsâ; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA.  TNT is also available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a TimeWarner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming to the basic cable industry.





About The Book


A Perfect Day is based on the best-selling novel by Richard Paul Evens. Below is an Editorial Review from Publishers Weekly.

Editorial Review

From Publishers Weekly: Almost 10 years ago, Evans's first novel, The Christmas Box, became an enormous bestseller, thrusting him into the international spotlight.

In his present novel, good guy protagonist Robert Harlan writes anovel titled A Perfect Day, about his wife, Allyson, and her relationship with her beloved father. The book comes out to popular acclaim, rockets up the charts and thrusts Robert into a new life of fame and fortune. An extended book tour, constant interviews, the adulation of millions of women, and a greedy Hollywood agent soon begin to erode his perfect marriage to the patient, loving, beautiful Allyson.

There have been other books about authors self-destructing after great success-Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk, to name a notable example-but it's a story that seems timeless, still able to enthrall readers. Evans freshens the material by bringing in a hipster angel with attitude ("Actually, angel folklore is the height of nonsense, right up there with the Easter Bunny") and some bad news for Robert: in 40 days he's going to die.
Robert begins to see his life in a new light, realizing that his pre-fame love for his wife and daughter is what he has wanted all along. But is it too late? Robert learns man's purpose on earth ("It's about learning how to love") and returns to hearth and home, hoping Allyson will take him back before he dies. The inevitable twist is clever, the writing throughout assured, the sentiment unapologetic and the author confident that he knows just what his readers want and that he's the man to give it to them.

Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.



LOWE HAS PERFECT DAY AT TNT
West Wing star heads movie's cast
August 2, 2006

Former West Wing star Rob Lowe, who enjoyed success with TNT two years ago in Salem's Lot, is going back to work for the cable network.

Lowe has signed on to star in A Perfect Day, an adaptation of Richard Paul Evans' best-selling novel that will air in December. The movie will be part of TNT's Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation, which includes such titles as The Wool Cap and the Emmy-winning Door to Door.
"After having worked with Rob Lowe on previous TNT productions, we are thrilled to have him in the lead role for A Perfect Day," says Michael Wright, head of original programming at TNT. "We couldn't hope for a better actor to bring to the screen this heartwarming drama about one man's journey through self-discovery."

Lowe will play Richard Harlan, who writes a novel after getting fired from his job and sees his work become a raging success. His sudden fame, however, makes him lose perspective on the things that really matter to him.
Veteran director Peter Levin (Homeless to Harvard), who worked with Lowe on the NBC series The Lyon's Den, will direct A Perfect Day. Joyce Eliason (The Last Don, Gracie's Choice) is writing the script. Lowe played White House staffer Sam Seaborn for the first four seasons of The West Wing, a role that earned him an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nods. Other recent credits include the short-lived CBS show dr. vegas, Thank You for Smoking and the Lifetime miniseries Beach Girls.



LOWE HITS HIGH POINT IN A PERFECT DAY


ATLANTA, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Emmy-nominated West Wing staffer Rob Lowe will star in A Perfect Day, a TV movie of Richard Paul Evan's novel, on Turner Network Television in Atlanta.

 The show will air in December as part of the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation, Zap2it.com reported.

Lowe is cast as Richard Harlan who, after being fired from his job, writes a successful novel, adversely affecting his perspective on life.

A Perfect Day will be directed by Peter Levin who worked with Lowe on the NBC series, The Lyon's Den. Joyce Eliason, who scripted The Last Don and Gracie's Choice, has signed to pen the TV script.

Lowe's recent experience includes appearances in the film Thank You for Smoking, the Lifetime miniseries Beach Girls and the CBS show dr. vegas.
UPI August 3, 2006



A PERFECT DAY SUITS ROB LOWE

Family matters more than fame.

That's the lesson of A Perfect Day and the philosophy of the TNT film's star, Rob Lowe. The movie premieres at 8 tonight.

"I've been in the public eye since I was 15. I'm 42. It has been part of my life since I can remember," said Lowe, one of the actors comprising the 1980s' "Brat Pack." "For me, what matters today is having a real, fulfilling life outside of show business. My happiness isn't measured by my level of fame."

The former West Wing star said he enjoys everyday activities, from spending time with his family on Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara, Calif., to watching his nephew play football in nearby Ventura.

Lowe's character in A Perfect Day, Rob Harlan, is a first-time novelist whose book becomes a best-seller. He gets so caught up in his book-signing tours and movie deals that he neglects his wife, Allyson (Paget Brewster of CBS's Criminal Minds), and their young daughter, Carson (Meggie Geisland).

Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) plays Camille Bailey, Rob's agent.

Christopher Lloyd portrays a mysterious character who seems to know everything about Rob's past, present and future. "We throw in this scary guy who might be a stalker or who might be the angel of death," Lowe said. "We don't know who he really is."

Whatever his motives, Lloyd's character leads Rob to an important truth.

A Perfect Day is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Paul Evans, and Lowe said he found himself reading it - unintentionally.

"I don't get a chance to read much. When I was writing on the computer (in A Perfect Day), I said, 'This is pretty good. What's this?' Someone yelled back, 'That's the book, you moron.' " The producers had put Evans' novel on Rob's computer screen.

"The book is based on a true story," Lowe said.

Lowe is beginning to make a tradition of starring in holiday movies, including The Christmas Shoes on CBS. "I do like them. I find the drama enticing," he said.

Lowe also is back on episodic TV, but not as a liberal Democrat, which he played on West Wing. Lowe now portrays conservative Republican U.S. Sen. Robert McCallister on the new ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.

Lowe chuckled. "I thought I had better do it for equal time."



CincinnatiPost.com