HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Alabama Tourism Director Lee Sentell, who on Wednesday attended the Los Angeles premiere of the new Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," has high expectations for the film's impact on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and its Space Camp programs.

The first movie inspired by Space Camp - the feature film "SpaceCamp" released in 1986 - "took enrollment from 7,000 a year to 20,000 a year," Sentell said. "I think this TV movie is going to have a bigger impact on the Space & Rocket Center and Space Camp than the first movie did."

Sentell was the center's director of marketing for 10 years, then tourism director with the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau. He's a member of the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission, which oversees the space center.

"A Smile as Big as the Moon" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC, and there are no NFL playoff games that night. The Huntsville premiere is tonight.

Filming took place at the space center in October and in Wilmington, N.C.

Kathy Faulk, manager of the Alabama Film Commission, said the film is "a giant commercial" for Space Camp and the space center, as well as for Huntsville and the state. It helps the state's credibility in the film industry, she said.

Faulk also attended the Los Angeles premiere of the movie at 20th Century Fox Studios.

While in the Los Angeles area, Faulk and Sentell met with executives with Entertainment Partners, a production services company that opened an office in Hoover last year. They also discussed the state's film incentives in a meeting with Harry Thomason, a film and TV producer and director, well-known for the TV series "Designing Women." He directed the movie "The Last Ride."

"A Smile as Big as the Moon" is based on a book with the same title written by Mike Kersjes, with Joe Layden. Kersjes was a former high school football coach and special education teacher in Grand Rapids, Mich., when he brought the first group of special-needs students to Space Camp in 1988.

Dr. Deborah Barnhart, the space center's CEO and executive director, is impressed by "the authenticity of the characters" in the movie. The film also authentically represents Space Camp, "not just the activities but the challenges."

Barnhart was the director of Space Camp operations at the time of the special camp for the Grand Rapids students.

Among cast members of the movie are John Corbett as Kersjes; Jessy Schram as Robynn McKinney, a teacher who worked with Kersjes; and Cynthia Watros as Barnhart.

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"A Smile as Big as the Moon" Huntsville premiere

When: Today; doors open at 6:30 p.m.; movie at 7 p.m.; book signing and meet and greet to follow

Where: U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Davidson Center for Space Exploration's Saturn V Hall

Cost: $10 per person (cash bar and refreshments for purchase)