News: Lifetime Greenlights Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter and Death of a Cheerleader for 2019

Victoria Gotti Executive Produces, Narrates and Co-Writes
Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter 
Starring Chelsea Frei and Maurice Benard

Emmy Nominee Kellie Martin returns for Remake of Cult Classic
Death of a Cheerleader
Starring Aubrey Peeples and Sarah Dugdale

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 4, 2018) – Lifetime has greenlit two new original movies for 2019, Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter and a remake of the cult-classic, Death of a Cheerleader.  Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter is co-written, narrated and executive produced by Gotti herself.  Chelsea Frei (Sideswiped) takes the title role while Maurice Benard (General Hospital) stars as mob boss, John Gotti.  Death of a Cheerleader features original star Emmy-nominee Kellie Martin (Haley Dean Mysteries) returning for the updated movie, inspired by the shocking murder of a popular cheerleader by a classmate.  Aubrey Peeples (Nashville) and Sarah Dugdale (The Bad Seed) also star.

Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter

Executive produced by Victoria Gotti herself, the movie takes us deep into the world of what it was really like to grow up as the daughter of mob boss John Gotti, revealing the glamour, glitz and unique hardships of her world.  Sharing never-before-revealed stories about her life, Victoria (played by Chelsea Frei) tells of a sensitive child growing up with a beloved father (Maurice Benard) she worried about constantly; the tragedy of her younger brother’s death; and her turbulent romance, forbidden by her father, with the man who later became her husband.  Victoria had a front-row seat to a life the world became fascinated with, all while trying to reconcile the loving father she adored with a man the outside world was determined to bring down.

Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter  is produced by Relevé Entertainment for Lifetime with Victoria Gotti, Jennifer Wachtell (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) and Holly Carter (Home is Where You Find It) executive producing. Catherine Cyran (The Prince & Me) directs from a script co-written by Victoria Gotti and David Schneiderman (Chasing Liberty). The film is based on Gotti’s book This Family of Mine: What It Was Like Growing Up Gotti.  Victoria Gotti will appear on camera narrating her story.

Death of a Cheerleader

In a remake of the cult-classic, Death of a Cheerleader is inspired by Randall Sullivan’s Rolling Stone article of the same name about the real-life murder of a popular, affluent and beautiful Northern California high school cheerleader at the hand of a classmate. Bridget Moretti (Aubrey Peeples) is a shy outsider from a lower middle-class background who aspires to be beautiful, popular and perfect in everything. Believing that a friendship with rich and pretty Kelly Locke (Sarah Dugdale), leader of the school’s most prestigious clique, will get her all that she desires, Bridget tries to forge a friendship with her. When Kelly rejects Bridget’s attempts, it leaves her humiliated and feeling like a failure and ultimately fuels a jealous rage that will lead to murder.  Death of a Cheerleader explores the events leading up to and after the shocking crime that took place in this upper-middle class community.

Kellie Martin, who starred alongside Tori Spelling in the original, plays the FBI agent who cracks the case.

Death of a Cheerleader is produced by Just Singer Entertainment and Reunion Pacific Entertainment. Executive producers are Matthew O’Connor, Paddy Bickerton, Steve White and Sheri Singer. Paul Shapiro directs from a script written by Caitlin D. Fryers.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Source: © 2018 Lifetime Network,  a division of A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.