Image by Curtis Hilbun
The news was shared at the NBCUniversal Television Critics Association Summer Tour held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Dolly and members of the cast of "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" were on hand discussing the first film of the series, set to air during upcoming 2015 holiday season.
The song, "Jolene" was first released in 1973 as the first single to the 1974 album of the same name. It became her second No. 1 country single and went on to become one of her signature hits. In live shows, Dolly often tells fans she wrote the song after her husband started spending a lot of time at the bank talking to a red haired teller with green eyes. Dolly says with a laugh,
"I knew my husband was spending more time at the bank than we had money."
At the 2014 Glastonbury festival, Dolly performed before a record-breaking crowd of over 180,000 people. The event staff surprised Dolly with a choreographed dance to the song.
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No word yet on when "Jolene" the movie will be out.
Jennifer Nettles, Gerald McRaney, Ricky Schroder and Alyvia Lind were cast in "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors," the first movie in the NBC series set in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains in 1955.
Update (Aug. 19, 2015): It’s official, “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” is set to air on NBC, Thursday, Dec. 10, from 9-11 PM!
Award-winning country artist Jennifer Nettles as well as multi-award nominees Gerald McRaney and Ricky Schroder, a former Golden Globe winner, have been added to the cast of the upcoming NBC film, "Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors."
Nettles, who will play Parton’s mother, Avie Lee Parton, has become one of the most popular singer-songwriters in music today. As the lead singer of the duo Sugarland, Nettles has sold more than 22 million albums, achieved eight #1 singles and has won numerous awards, including trophies from the Grammys, AMAs, ACM Awards, CMT Music Awards and CMA Awards. In addition, Nettles debuted her first solo album in 2014 which went to #1 on the country charts.
Adding theater actress to her already impressive resume, Nettles made her Broadway debut in February as Roxy Hart in the Tony Award-winning musical "Chicago."
McRaney, who will play Grandpa Jake Owens, is one of the most respected actors of his generation. His career includes roles in several critically acclaimed television dramas — "Deadwood," "Southland" and "House of Cards" — and he currently co-stars on the Western series "Longmire." He will also co-star on the upcoming TNT series "Agent X." McRaney was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award as part of the cast for both "Deadwood" and "House of Cards."
Schroder, who portrays Dolly’s father, Lee Parton, has had a lengthy career dating back to when the actor was nine years old and won a Golden Globe for his role in the heartfelt boxing film "The Champ." Schroder was SAG nominated both individually and as a member of the cast of the Emmy Award-winning police drama "NYPD Blue" and had a co-starring role in the Emmy-winning drama "24."
As previously announced, Alyvia Lind will portray nine-year-old Dolly Parton. Alyvia most recently had a role in the Lifetime movie spoof "A Deadly Adoption," with Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig.
"Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors" is based on the inspiring true story of living legend Dolly Parton’s remarkable upbringing. This once-in-a-lifetime movie special takes place inside the tight-knit Parton family as they struggle to overcome devastating tragedy and discover the healing power of love, faith, and a raggedy patchwork coat that helped make Dolly who she is today.
The film is set in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains in 1955. It is neither a biopic nor musical about Dolly’s whole life and performing career, but rather a family-oriented, faith-based story about the incidents in her and her family’s life around the time she was nine years old.
"Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors" is written by Pamela K. Long. She executive produces with Sam Haskell and Dolly Parton. The film is a production of Magnolia Hill Entertainment and DP Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and will air December 10, 2015 at 9PM Eastern on NBC
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Dolly was one of five artists nominated as Favorite Female Country Artist. Nominees and winners, unlike at other award shows, are chosen by fans instead of industry insiders. People's Choice Awards (PCA) have categories in movies, music and television. Fans vote for their favorites on the PCA website.
Dolly was thrilled about the nomination,
“I am so excited to be nominated for a People's Choice Award. It is always a good feeling to be recognized for whatever you do… This year has been an amazing year! I released a new album 'Blue Smoke,' traveled to Australia, Europe, and across America and even performed for 170,000 people at one show - woo that makes me tired just saying it."
This marks her eighth PCA nomination and her fourth in this category. Dolly has won four People's Choice Awards.
Dolly appeared in the Nashville episode of the HBO series "Foo Fighters Sonic Highways" on October 31, 2014. Dave Grohl the singer and primary songwriter for the rock band Foo Fighters directs and stars in the documentary series.
The Nashville episode focuses on the city's rich songwriting culture and the Country Music business. Grohl commented on why he wanted to interview Dolly for the show,
"Nobody is cooler than Dolly Parton. Her story is amazing."
The show follows Foo Fighters as they road trip across the country using inspiration from the famous cities they visit to create the songs for their current recording project. The upcoming recording project, "Sonic Highways," is a commemoration of their 20th anniversary as a band and an attempt to create a sonic map of American music.
View an extended version of Dolly's interview with Grohl.
There’s nothing quite like coming home and Dolly proved that as nearly 50,000 people came to see her in the annual Dolly Homecoming Parade in Pigeon Forge. This year Dolly served dual roles. Not only was she the Grand Marshal of the parade, she also was the fire chief of this year’s float which was inspired by FireChaser Express, the nation’s first dual-launch family coaster[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
