Mary Pantelidis Movies

A teenage girl abandons her dreams of becoming a world-renowned ballet dancer in favor of rescuing her best friend - a 5 ton elephant named Sheba - from the circus in this charming tale for the entire family. Sophie's (Brittany Bristow) parents own a small family-operated zoo. As a result, as Sophie grew up she developed an unusual rapport with all creatures great and small. But her closest friend was also her biggest; from the first time they met, Sophie and Sheba the elephant were inseparable. When her parents sell Sheba to a traveling circus in order to pay for Sophie's tuition fees at the American Ballet, the young girl joins the show in order to protect her friend from his new, heavy-handed trainer Magnus. Before long, however, Sophie has struck a deal with circus owner Alistair Winston (John Rhys-Davies) that will allow her to earn Sheba back by performing with her. Yet despite Sophie's determination to get Sheba back home to the family zoo, the teen begins having second thoughts about her plan when a reporter points out that the elephant might be happier back in Africa. Later, after striking up a romance with a kindhearted young trapeze artist named Blake, Sophie begins to realize that sometimes doing what is best for the ones we love requires making a substantial personal sacrifice. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates directed this made-for-cable feature inspired by the true story of one of America's greatest literary couples, Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett. Hellman (Judy Davis) was an award-winning playwright whose successes included The Children's Hour and The Little Foxes, while Hammett (Sam Shepard) was a superlative mystery writer whose books inspired such classic films as The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. The couple met in the 1930s, while Hammett was working in Hollywood as a screenwriter. They remained together until Hammett's death from lung cancer in 1961 (never married despite the conventions of the day) in a relationship strained by Hammett's infidelity and their shared alcoholism. Dash and Lilly uses Hellman's 1950s testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee as a springboard to look back at their relationship; both Hammett and Hellman were branded as Communists and called before HUAC, leading to a prison term for Hammett. The film also features Bebe Neuwirth as Dorothy Parker, Laurence Luckinbill as Joseph Rauh, and Mark Zimmerman as Walter Winchell. Hellman's relationship with Hammett formed one of the plot points of the 1977 biopic Julia, which starred Jane Fonda as Hellman and Jason Robards in an Oscar-winning performance as Hammett. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi