Hallmark greenlights 'Crew Nine'

Hallmark Hall of Fame has greenlit "Crew Nine," a drama starring Cuba Gooding Junior. just like a youth counselor who inspires troubled kids. Pic will probably be helmed by Darnell Martin ("Cadillac Records"), in the script by Ligiah Apartment-lobos ("Beneath the Same Moon"). Project will be the third Hallmark telepic to air on ABC beneath the certification deal the web signed taken after CBS declined to resume the franchise. The initial title in the future under that deal, "Mitch Albom's Have a very Little Belief," airs Sunday. "Crew Nine" involves a counselor inside a youth detention facility who trains kids to battle forest fires and conserve the public throughout other problems. Production begins this month in Atlanta. Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com