Helen Prejean her best-selling book, "Dead Man Walking" (1993), based on her experiences with two convicts on Death Row for whom she served as spiritual adviser before their executions. In her book, she explored the effects of the death penalty on everyone involved. The book was adapted as a 1995 film of the same name, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. It was also adapted as an opera, first produced in 2000 by the San Francisco Opera. Helen Prejean was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Augusta Mae (née Bourg; 1911–1993), a nurse, and Louis Sebastian Prejean (1893–1974), a lawyer.
Noel (film) Noel (film) Noel is a 2004 Christmas-themed drama film written by David Hubbard and directed by Chazz Palminteri. It stars Penélope Cruz, Susan Sarandon, Paul Walker, Alan Arkin, Daniel Sunjata and an uncredited Robin Williams. It was filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The film centers on five strangers who are linked together – and who meet each other at separate times – by a series of events that take place on Christmas Eve in New York. The main character is Rose (Susan Sarandon), a woman who is struggling to cope with caring for her mother, an Alzheimer's patient. Meanwhile, Nina