Character Bio: Anne Shirley

Now in her twenties, Anne returns to Avonlea for the first time since the death of her adopted mother, Marilla. She learns that her fiancé Gilbert Blythe has accepted a staff position at the prestigious New York hospital where he had been studying. Convincing her to join him there, Anne decides to make the move after she takes a job at a large publishing house. Her hopes for success in the big city are dashed however when she meets American Writer, Jack Garrison, who has contrived a plan to steal her original manuscript.

Anne soon realizes her home is in Avonlea and decides to return once again. Gilbert announces his plan to enlist as a medical officer in the war, but soon after he leaves, Anne receives devastating news that he has gone missing.She then sets out to search for him, braving the battlefields of World War 1 to find the love of her life.

Actress Bio: Megan Follows

Megan Follows was just 16 years old when she was chosen to play Anne, a role that earned her a 1986 and a 1988 Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress.

Megan Follows' many other credits include lead roles in the feature films Reluctant Angel, Deep Sleep and Silver Bullet. Her numerous television credits include guest appearances on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Cold Case; television movies Under the Piano, the Emmy Award-winning Inherit the Wind with Kirk Douglas, Clare's Wish and The Great Detective; and a lead role in the mini-series Champagne Charlie.

Follows many stage credits include Stratford Festival's Romeo and Juliet and Amadeus as well as Atlantic Theatre Festival's Uncle Vanya and A Doll's House. She had the leading role of May in a production of Fool for Love by Sam Shepard, mounted at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company where she is still a member of the company.

Follows is married to fellow Canadian actor Stuart Hughes, and she divides her time between residences in Los Angeles and Toronto.

Character Bio: Fred Wright

The husband of Anne’s best friend Diana, Fred goes off to war to fight in the battle. However, word reaches home that Fred has gone missing and is presumed dead. Upon Anne’s arrival in France, she finds Fred who is terribly wounded but still alive. She then makes it her mission to help him make it home safely to his loving wife.

Character Bio: Greg Spottiswood

Greg started to act professionally when he was 17 years old. His role in Looking For Miracles, earned him a Daytime Emmy Award and a Gemini nomination for Best Lead Actor. While shooting Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, he was also producing and directing his own short film; Learning To Swim. His stage credits include the Factory Theatre's Featuring Loretta, Theatre Of Film Noir and Escape from Happiness, the Shaw Theatre's Simpleton Of The Unexpected Isle, Rashamon, The Petrified Forest, Annajanska, and Busman's Honeymoon. For the Grand Theatre he appeared in Who's Afraid Of Virgina Wolf? and The Zoo Story.

Character Bio: Diana Barry Wright

Diana, Anne’s best friend since childhood, sees her life turned upside down when her beloved husband Fred is sent off to war. Heartbroken, Diana witnesses other loved ones go missing, knowing that the possibility is great for the same to happen to Fred. Her worries of something terrible happening to him come true though when she learns the heart-wrenching news that he is missing and is presumed dead.

Actress Bio: Schuyler Grant

This vivacious actor comes from an acting family. She is the niece of actress Katharine Houghton and the great niece of legendary Katharine Hepburn. Grant appeared in the television movie Laura Lansing Slept Here with her famous great aunt.

After Anne of Green Gables, Grant made a guest appearance on Law & Order and was a regular on All My Children. One biography of Ms. Grant reports that she has been employed as a yoga instructor. In one of forays into the world of off- Broadway theatre, Ms. Grant took on the well-fitting role of Cecily Cardew, in the Wilde comedy: The Importance of Being Earnest.

As of 2003, Schuyler has been working as an independent film editor and residing in Brooklyn New York with her husband who is a jazz musician.

Character Bio: Gilbert Blythe

After accepting a position at a prestigious New York hospital, Gilbert convinces his fiancée Anne to join him in the big city. He soon realizes big city living is not for him and moves back to Avonlea with Anne. When an opportunity arises to enlist as a medical officer, Gilbert accepts the offer and goes off to war. However, shortly after leaving, Anne receives news that Gilbert has gone missing. Anne then makes it her mission to find him, no matter what it takes.

Actor Bio: Jonathan Crombie

Jonathan reprised the role of Gilbert Blythe as a guest star in the series Road to Avonlea. His additional television credits include the television movie The Waiting Game and the series Slings and Arrows and Earth: Final Conflict, among others. His big screen credits include Café Romeo and The Jeweler's Shop, with Burt Lancaster. On stage, Crombie's numerous performances at the prestigious Stratford Festival Theatre include the roles of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew, Orlando in As You Like It, Bud in Sweet Bird of Youth and Guildenstern in Hamlet.

Recently, Crombie has added two more successes to his stage career with starring roles in; The Oxford Roof Climber’s Rebellion, a play set in Oxford following the Great War and The Drowsy Chaperone, a Toronto grown musical comedy that is a smash on Broadway.

Character Bio: Rachel Lynde

Known as the town gossip, Rachel Lynde’s blunt demeanor has a way of offending those she meets. She is outspoken in almost every topic, never holding back on dishing out advice, regardless if it is asked for or not.

Actress Bio: Patricia Hamilton

Her film and television credits include appearances in Night Heat, Echoes in the Darkness, Fight for Life, Skate and The Last Detail. Her role in A Bird in the House garnered her a 1975 Canadian Film Award, the predecessor to today's Genies.

Hamilton's stage credits include Keely & Du, If We are Women, Dreamland, King Lear, Miracle Mother, The Arab's Mouth and Bob's Kingdom. She was the recipient of a Dora Mavor Moore Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in I am Yours with the Tarragon Theatre.

Hamilton was honored with a Brenda Donahue Award for Distinguished Contribution to Theatre in Toronto in 1987.

Character Bio: Jack Garrison

Smooth-talking, American writer, Jack Garrison enters into Anne Shirley’s life once she arrives to New York City after accepting a position as a junior editor at Winfield Publishing. She soon discovers he has formulated a scheme to steal her original manuscript, leaving her shattered and disillusioned. Anne leaves the big city for the comfort of her hometown but in a bizarre twist-of-fate, is reunited once again with Jack in France, now working as a war correspondent. Travelling with a young French woman named Colette and their baby son, Dominic, Jack soon disappears and Anne’s life changes forever.

Actor Bio: Cameron Daddo

Mr. Daddo was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and made a name for himself as the host of the television show, Perfect Match. In 1992, he released a solo music album called A Long Goodbye.

Kevin Sullivan: Executive Producer, Writer

Kevin Sullivan is the President of Sullivan Entertainment Inc. which he and his partner, Trudy Grant, founded in 1979. Internationally recognized as one of the leading producers of high quality entertainment and renowned for his directorial ease with children and top performers, Mr. Sullivan has achieved myriad accolades and awards over the past two decades. His ability to consistently produce top-notch entertainment as well as to attract big name stars has enhanced the image of Sullivan Entertainment throughout the world.

Under Mr. Sullivan’s guidance Sullivan Entertainment has developed a distinctive brand of story-telling. Lavish productions that are emotionally compelling and entertaining have become the hallmark of the company Mr. Sullivan founded more than 20 years ago.

Mr. Sullivan recently produced the TV-movie “Sleeping Dogs Lie”, starring Joel Keller and Wendy Crewson. He is also in production on the fifth season of his critically-acclaimed television series, “Wind At My Back”.

Sullivan Entertainment is currently in pre-production on a new feature film based on Timothy Findlay’s “The Piano Man’s Daughter”, which Mr. Sullivan adapted and will direct. He is also the Executive Producer of “P.R.”, a new half hour series, starring comedienne Diane Flacks. Other projects in the works include two new children’s series: “Space Trap” and “Super Hero”. Mr. Sullivan has also written an adaptation of another Timothy Findlay novel, “Famous Last Words”, set for production in 2000.

Trudy Grant: Co-Executive Producer

Trudy Grant is the President of Sullivan Entertainment International, which she founded in 1981. Through her leadership, the company has emerged as a major player in the world marketplace and particularly in the television arena.

Her involvement in distribution prompted her to form Sullivan Entertainment International to better administer the Sullivan product. The company’s penetration into many of the world’s less accessible markets makes it one of the few companies that can truly be considered international, having developed key relationships with buyers and financiers for various co-productions. One of Ms. Grant’s main achievements is the sale of the mini-series “Anne of Green Gables” to more than 120 countries around the globe.

Ms. Grant has evolved into the guiding light behind the company’s financial success. By strategically maximizing financial opportunities, Ms. Grant has built a very successful international business around the Sullivan brand.

Stefan Scaini: Director

Stefan Scaini is one of Canada’s foremost directors with hundreds of hours of film and television to his credit.

Scaini’s television credits include multiple episodes of the acclaimed Street Legal, Max Glick, The Odyssey, Ready Or Not, My Secret Identity, White Fang, Road To Avonlea, Fast Track, Beyond Reality, TekWar, Side Effects, Forever Knight, Second Chances, Hotel Malibu, and Savannah.

He also directed the television movies Under The Piano, which earned him a Gemini nomination, The Prisoner of Zenda Inc., starring Jonathan Jackson and William Shatner, and Lyddie. Most recently, he directed the Road to Avonlea Christmas Special, Happy Christmas, Miss King and Sleeping Dogs Lie for Sullivan Entertainment.

Scaini’s first job in the entertainment industry was as a tape editor for CityPulse News in Toronto. Within a year, he was directing the nightly newscasts. While at CityTV, Scaini directed his first broadcast dramas, The Ghosts of Toronto and, coincidentally, The Mystery of Ambrose Small (the mystery which is dramatized in Sleeping Dogs Lie).

Laurie Pearson: Writer

As a writer, Laurie Pearson has partnered several times with Kevin Sullivan in order to bring his vision to the big screen. She has worked on numerous episodes of Road to Avonlea, Wind at my Back and Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. Her most recent work includes writing for the Gemini Award-winning series, Cold Squad. 

Arthur Harriott: Production Designer

Arthur Harriott and his team meticulously recreated the sets and the period costumes of the World War I era for Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. Extensive research was required to create the film’s authentic settings. “We had to take the story from Prince Edward Island to Manhattan, to the battlefields of France, the streets of London and through all parts of Europe,” says Arthur. Trthur Herriott faced the challenge of shooting in and around Toronto but giving the film an international period flavour. “It’s rewarding to travel to different locations,” explains Herriott, “but it’s also rewarding to recreate foreign locations in your own backyard.” Herriott has previously worked on The Newsroom, Net Worth, The Suicide Murders, and Dieppe.

Ruth Secord: Costume Designer

“Having not done the other two Anne mini-series was my biggest challenge,” admits Costume Designer Ruth Secord. Sullivan Entertainment’s signature attention to detail and accuracy pushed Secord’s team into one of their most gratifying challenges. In just eight weeks, Secord and her team of cutters, tailors, and milliners researched, found and created authentic period costumes for 85 cast members and 3,000 background players. In a film that spanned Canada, the United States, France, Britain, and Germany, Secord was not only required to create civilian wardrobes but military uniforms indigenous to each of the five countries. Secord’s television credits include Sullivan productions of Under the Piano, Wind at My Back, Promise the Moon, Butterbox Babies, and Road to Avonlea. Her film work includes Blown Away, Oh, What a Night, Beautiful dreamers, and Johnny Mnemonic and the recent production of Disney’s The Miracle Worker.

Bob Saad: Director of Photography

Bob Saad has worked extensively in the film and television industry for over 25 years. He was the Director of Photography on Police Academy 3 and 4, The Morrison Murders, Sullivan Productions of Road to Avonlea, Happy Christmas, Miss King, Wind at My Back, Under the Piano, Sleeping Dogs Lie, and The Piano Man’s Daughter. Bob is one of the many artists who have contributed to the definitive photographic style known as “The Sullivan Look”. He is beloved by actors and crew members alike for his incredible style and for the images he illuminates on film negative; not to mention the drama that he creates on-set with atmosphere and lighting.

Peter Breiner: Composer

Composer, conductor, pianist and arranger, Peter Breiner was born in the city of Humenné, in the former Czechoslovakia. He attended the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava where he studied composition and graduated with a Master’s Degree in 1982. His extensive work as a composer, conductor and performer have made him one of the world’s most recorded musicians and Czechoslovakia’s most famous composer/conductor. Breiner has collaborated with Director, Kevin Sullivan, on several of his projects, including: Love On The Land (1999), Anne Of Green Gables—The Continuing Story (2000), Wind At My Back (1997-2001), Anne: The Animated Series (2000), The Pianoman’s Daughter (2003) and The Magic Flute Diaries (2007). Peter Breiner’s music can also be heard in episodes of numerous popular television programs such as CSI, Bold And The Beautiful, and 60 Minutes.

The scene when Anne gets out of the car to run to Green Gables was shot in the autumn and the art crew had to spray-paint the leaves with an organic spray to make them appear green.

Megan does not run through the fields on the way to Green Gables; that's a double!

The Green Gables house was decimated one morning for filming, then was cleaned up and painted to shoot later scenes of the movie.

Anne's reaction to seeing Green Gables in shambles is quite genuine, for Megan herself had not seen the house since she worked on the last film twelve years earlier. Indeed, she had to be reminded that the house would look fine again by the end of the day.

The scene at the beach, when we first see Gilbert, was shot on Lake Ontario. Since the sand there is not red, the art crew had to spray the cliffs with organic red spray paint and put crushed brick down on the ground. Megan Follows was offered a stunt double for her fall in the sand, but she said, "Oh, no, I can do a prat-fall quite well on my own, thank you." And, although they filmed a couple of takes, they stuck with the first one.

Jonathan Crombie would often bring treats (candy, popcorn, etc) for his fellow workers. The scene before Anne enters Winfield Publishing house was shot in Montreal. The hospital scenes were shot at the Whitby Sanatorium. The surgery room was an old observation room in which surgeries actually once took place. You can see the outside of the Whitby Sanatorium when Gilbert goes to help Dr. Stuart at the convalescence home. Incidentally, the Sanatorium was originally built for veterans coming home from World War I. The scene when Jack threatens to jump from the balcony was shot in Toronto just before Christmas, so Cameron Daddo sure must have been cold in his bare feet. (Note Megan's breath.)

Pictures of The Great Gatsby inspired the garden scene at Kit Garrison's house.

The scene on the street when Anne blows up at Jack was shot on two locations: the close-ups in Toronto and the wide shots in Montreal, both about 6 weeks apart!

Jonathan Crombie struggled a bit with the scene where Fred tells him he's going off to join the war effort. Jonathan was not sure how to play the scene and the director told him to "just be his friend."

For the scene when Anne falls on the stairs in her wedding gown, the director offered her a pillow to land on, but she declined.

Originally, Sullivan planned (and shot) a wedding night scene, which you can see on the DVD extras.

The winter scenes were shot in the summer. That means the snow is fake and the actors are hot.

The scene in the trench was shot in late November, so it was cold. Thus, we see Anne trembling quite a bit. You'll notice, however, that Jack and Colette aren't shaking as much. That's because there was a heater behind them to keep the baby warm.

The part of the trench scene when Anne goes up to get the horse is based on a true-life story of people who tried to get a horse they saw and wound up in a mine field.

The extra who played the man whose legs had been amputated (the scene is right before Anne boards the ship for London), is an actual Vietnam War veteran.

Since the movie was shot over three months, about four sets of twin babies were used to play Dominic.

For the street scene before Mr. Keegan pays Anne a visit, leaves and kitty litter were thrown on the ground to cover the yellow lines in the street, and boxes were piled on the sidewalk to hide the parking meters.

Although Greg Spottiswood loves kids, every time a child was put in his arms, the baby started crying.

The scene where Elsie talks about "the boys" was taken from a diary of a woman who was a travelling entertainer during the war.

Much of the escape scene (with Anne and Elsie) was ad-libbed.

The scene toward the end of the movie when Anne, Gilbert, Jack and his associate get ready to board the train home was the first scene shot

Anne Shirley: I've made up my mind to go to my grave unwept, unhonored and unsung.
Gilbert Blythe:: But not unpublished.

Anne Shirley: But I keep thinking, if he was really dead, surely I would know that in my heart. I would feel a terrible... emptiness.

Gilbert Blythe: Marry me now. Let me go.
Anne Shirley: Everything I ever loved gets taken away.

Anne Shirley: [laughing] Only my pride. Oh, Gil, help me up. I'm purely blind and a fool to boot! Oh, if I were blind, I should never forget the contours of your face. Why didn't you let me know?
Gilbert Blythe: Well, I wanted to see you face to face. I have something to ask you.

Anne Shirley: I do.
[kisses Gilbert]
Gilbert Blythe: Let's go take a walk down the lane!
[kiss each other again]

Anne Shirley: This is the most loving and generous thing anyone has ever done for me! It makes up for every unfulfilled dream I've ever contemplated!

Anne Shirley: What are you doing here?
Jack Garrison Jr.: I've been working as a war correspondent back and forth between London and Belgium for a year.
Anne Shirley: Putting the name Jack Garrison to good use?
Jack Garrison Jr.: Hasn't hurt. American papers love the sensation.
Anne Shirley: I'm sure they do.

Anne Shirley: [reading aloud to herself] 'Forever Into Eternity' by Anne Shirley.
Jack Garrison Jr.: You'll jinx yourself with titles like that, Miss Shirley.
[startles Anne]
Jack Garrison Jr.: Oh, don't be embarrassed. Half the people in this building are writing books on their lunch hour.
Anne Shirley: Y-y-you are, aren't you?
Jack Garrison Jr.: Jack Garrison.

Anne Shirley: [reading aloud to herself] 'Forever Into Eternity' by Anne Shirley.
Jack Garrison Jr.: You'll jinx yourself with titles like that, Miss Shirley.
[startles Anne]
Jack Garrison Jr.: Oh, don't be embarrassed. Half the people in this building are writing books on their lunch hour.
Anne Shirley: Y-y-you are, aren't you?
Jack Garrison Jr.: Jack Garrison.
Jack Garrison Jr.: My lawyer will be following up before I go to draft.
[pause]
Jack Garrison Jr.: You know, I have a moment. Why don't you tell me about your story. Maybe I can help you come up with a decent title.

Gilbert Blythe:: You know, every day I would pick a different memory of you and play it over and over and over again in my mind, until every hair, every freckle, every part of you was exactly as I remembered.

Gilbert Blythe: Marry me now. Let me go.
Anne Shirley: Everything I ever loved gets taken away.

[Anne sees Gilbert and runs to meet him, but falls flat on her face]

Gilbert Blythe: Are you alright? Nothing broken or bent I hope.

Anne Shirley: [laughing] Only my pride. Oh, Gil, help me up. I'm purely blind and a fool to boot! Oh, if I were blind, I should never forget the contours of your face. Why didn't you let me know?
Gilbert Blythe: Well, I wanted to see you face to face. I have something to ask you.

Anne Shirley: I do.
[kisses Gilbert]
Gilbert Blythe: Let's go take a walk down the lane!
[kiss each other again]

Jack Garrison Jr.: No, true success requires passion and a vision. Not just dollars and sense, Mr. Owen.

Jack Garrison Jr.: You're going about it all topsy-turvy. You must absolutely always start with a firm premise and a solid ending.

Jack Garrison Jr.: Aim much higher creatively, if you want my opinion, Miss Shirley.

Anne Shirley: What are you doing here?
Jack Garrison Jr.: I've been working as a war correspondent back and forth between London and Belgium for a year.
Anne Shirley: Putting the name Jack Garrison to good use?
Jack Garrison Jr.: Hasn't hurt. American papers love the sensation.
Anne Shirley: I'm sure they do.

Anne Shirley: [reading aloud to herself] 'Forever Into Eternity' by Anne Shirley.
Jack Garrison Jr.: You'll jinx yourself with titles like that, Miss Shirley.
[startles Anne]
Jack Garrison Jr.: Oh, don't be embarrassed. Half the people in this building are writing books on their lunch hour.
Anne Shirley: Y-y-you are, aren't you?
Jack Garrison Jr.: Jack Garrison.
Jack Garrison Jr.: My lawyer will be following up before I go to draft.
[pause]
Jack Garrison Jr.: You know, I have a moment. Why don't you tell me about your story. Maybe I can help you come up with a decent title.