When longtime Hallmark star Kristoffer Polaha posted photos from a script reading held in Nashville on February 19, 2025, eagle-eyed fans immediately flipped out, noticing multiple stars in the room where it happened.
Hallmark fans were especially excited to see the group photo included Bethany Joy Lenz, who co-starred with Polaha in 2023’s “A Biltmore Christmas,” with comments including, “Kris & Joy holy cow🙌” and another that said, “You and Bethany Joy Lenz on a project together again is the best news I’ve heard this year!”
Among the other well-known actors pictured were Hallmark alums Laura Osnes and Jesse Hutch, “Branching Out” actress Candace Kirkpatrick, and “The Young & the Restless” star Melissa Ordway.
So what were they all doing together? Polaha told EntertainmentNOW that the talented group gathered for a table read of the script for “Shades of Violet,” a movie adaptation of the 2019 book “The Process of Fraying” by Jess Neal Woods.
The project is a co-production between Polaha’s Podunk Productions and his creative partner Ken Carpenter’s Nook Lane Entertainment, with screenwriter Tori Hunter also set to direct, he said.
Kristoffer Polaha is Passionate About Bringing ‘Shades of Violet’ to the Screen
Set in the 1930s, Polaha told EntertainmentNOW, “‘Shades of Violet’ is a beautiful story about the seasons of life in a loving family who live on a farm in Tennessee.”
A logline for the movie adaptation reads, “Violet lives an idyllic life on a bucolic farm in the 1930’s. Her connection with the land and her family is rich and full. But with the onset of mental illness, she battles her changing reality to stay with her children and loyal husband.”
Polaha said that while he is “locked in” to play the role of Miles Miller, the group of actors who gathered on February 19 did so as a kindhearted favor — not necessarily because they’ve been cast in the movie.
“It was a chance for us to hear the script aloud,” Polaha told EntertainmentNOW. “Joy, Laura, Jesse, and so many other great actors and friends just jumped in on a snowy Nashville day to help us out at this stage of development.”
Polaha, who has been delving deeper into producing and directing, is passionate about bringing Violet’s story to life onscreen.
“Violet’s mental health is failing in a time and place when there was no language for what she was experiencing,” he told EntertainmentNOW. “The church claimed she didn’t have enough faith to heal herself and the medical community wanted to lobotomize her. This is a story about a woman who is fighting to save, if not herself, her family.”
Fans & Stars Are Pumped to Follow Movie’s Progression
Fans couldn’t contain their excitement over seeing the group of actors gathered in Nashville, even if just for a table read, including one fan who commented on Polaha’s post, “The book sounds amazing and is such an important story to tell!! So excited for this ❤️”
Another person weighed in, “So happy this is getting made! And I am certain it was worth the wait, seeing this great group you have on the project. Congratulations!”
Someone else wrote, “I’ve read the book and I’m really looking forward to this project !!”
The creatives who were part of the February 19 table read were just as pumped for an excuse to help push the film forward.
Osnes, who’s starred in numerous Hallmark and Great American Family rom-coms, commented on Polaha’s post, “Honored to be in the room with this bunch. *Nashville rising!*”
Kirkpatrick wrote, “Truly blessed to be a part of this today. Beautiful job, Tori. 🙌❤️🎬”
Many of Polaha’s Hallmark colleagues also “liked” his post about the project, including Nikki DeLoach, Andrew Walker, Will Kemp, and Marcus Rosner.
“Shades of Violet” is one of multiple projects Polaha and Carpenter have worked on together, including 2023’s sci-fi thriller “The Shift” and Polaha’s upcoming directorial debut, “Mimics,” with an expected 2025 release.
Comments
Hallmark Fans Flip Over Photos of Star-Studded Script Reading for New Movie (EXCLUSIVE)