33", Rubin explained. Hewitt had been recommended for the role by director Steven Robman, who had previously directed her in Party of Five. The $7 million production was filmed on location in Montreal between April 13 and May 29, 1999. Nearly 80 roles were cast. Canadian professionals involved with the film included Jean-Baptiste Tard, production design; Renée April, costume design; and Pierre Letarte, director of photography. Release Several versions of the film were aired. In the United States. It aired as a three-hour film on ABC on March 27, 2000, while in other countries a longer version was broadcast over two nights. Reception Critical reviews noted that the film overcame several potential pitfalls, including the usual insipidness of television movies and the difficulty of mounting a biopic of a revered actress who had died only seven years earlier. Entertainment Weekly wrote that Jennifer Love Hewitt had "guts" to take on the role, and called her "excellent at conveying Hepburn's studied modesty". While the review describes the other actors as "a cast of impersonators who are mostly much worse than herself [Hewitt]", it sums up the film as a "corny, curious, but achingly sincere and fitfully enjoyable TV movie". Variety praised the performances of the two young actresses who played Hepburn as a youth, Sarah Hyland and Emmy Rossum, saying they gave "depth and likability" to Hepburn's character and gave Hewitt, who plays Hepburn as an adult, "a ball that's already rolling". This review commended Hewitt for her "onscreen maturity". The Apollo Guide called the screenplay "a mildly pleasant surprise" for a television film and praised Hewitt's performance for conveying the "mannerisms and accent" of Hepburn without taking on a full-blown impersonation. It reserved its greatest praise for Rossum's performance, which "demonstrates both her [Hepburn's] heart and the development of her strength of character and explains, in part, why she was unique". A Moviehole.com review agreed that Hewitt conveyed "both the look, and the voice" of Hepburn, but disliked the script for presenting such a large number of scenes in Hepburn's life rather than the "most gripping" ones. Negative reviews focused on Hewitt's inability to portray Hepburn's physical qualities. According to The Baltimore Sun review: "What's impossibly wrong with this film is that Hewitt has no physical grace while Hepburn was the very embodiment of it. ... Director Steve Robman ... has to use every trick from slow motion to shooting