Cusack, Whitman To Star in Lifetime’s ‘Acceptance’

Lifetime Wednesday said it will begin production on an original comedy movie titled Acceptance, starring Joan Cusack and Mae Whitman.

Cusack, a two-time Oscar nominee, and Whitman (Arrested Development, Independence Day) will play a mother-daughter duo doing everything they can to get the high school senior into a top university.

The movie, based on the critically acclaimed book Acceptance: A Novel by Susan Coll, will be directed by Sanaa Hamri (The Sisterhood of theTraveling Pants 2) and will air in the summer of 2009.

“Joan Cusack and Mae Whitman are amazingly talented actresses with impressive bodies of work and spot-on timing,” said Tanya Lopez, senior vice president, original movies, said in a statement. “Acceptance is a topical comedy that shines a spotlight on the competitive nature of contemporary education.”