The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story Information

The Unauthorized "Saved by the Bell"? Story is a 2014 made-for-television movie, directed by Jason Lapeyre, produced by Stephen Bulka, and written by Ron McGee, the last of whom based his teleplay for the film on the 2009 book, written by Dustin Diamond, called Behind the Bell.

Background

In 2009, actor Dustin Diamond wrote Behind the Bell, a scandalous tell-all memoir that purported to reveal what life was like on the set of Saved by the Bell, NBC"?s 1989-1993 Saturday morning teen sitcom.

Among the allegations made in the memoir were the claims that every member of the cast, except for Diamond himself, was sleeping together, and that many of them were also dabbling in drugs. Diamond later claimed that the more sensational aspects of the memoir were fabricated by a ghostwriter.

Buzzfeed's Jarrett Wieselman reported that "hours of brand-new interviews [were] conducted for this film (obtained independently of Diamond and his book)."

Plot

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story delves into the experiences of six unknown young actors placed into the Hollywood spotlight, exposing the challenges of growing up under public scrutiny while trying to maintain the squeaky-clean image of their popular characters both on and off-screen.

Cast

• Taylor Russell as Lark Voorhies
• Sam Kindseth as Dustin Diamond
• Dylan Everett as Mark-Paul Gosselaar
• Tiera Skovbye as Elizabeth Berkley
• Alyssa Lynch as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen
• Julian Works as Mario Lopez
• Ken Tremblett as Dennis Haskins

Production

Development

It was reported in June 2014 that Front Street Pictures and Ringaling Productions were planning to produce a Saved By The Bell: Behind The Scenes movie.

Casting

With casting by the original show"?s casting director, Robin Lippin (who later became casting director of Lizzie McGuire), Dylan Everett ("Degrassi: The Next Generation") was chosen to play Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the role of white-bread Zack Morris. Sam Kindseth ("Shameless") impersonated Dustin Diamond, in the role of the archetypal nerd, Screech. Julian Works ("Paranormal Activity," "Modern Family") played Mario Lopez as the hunky Latino jock, A.C. Slater. Alyssa Lynch ("The High Jumping Witch") played the role of Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, who originated the part of brunette Kelly Kapowski. Tiera Skovbye ("Supernatural," "Girl in Progress") took on the role of tall, curly-haired Elizabeth Berkley and her beloved character Jessie Spano. Rounding out the cast was Taylor Russell McKenzie ("Blink"), who portrayed Lark Voorhies and her on-screen persona, the privileged African-American style-icon Lisa Turtle.

Release

The film premiered on September 1, 2014 on Lifetime and M3. and Lionsgate Home Entertainment will Release it On DVD November 3.