Chris Gore, Founder/Owner of FilmThreat/Author/Filmmaker: Do I want to
see the sequel to A Christmas Story starring
Peter Billingsley as a grown-up version of himself, maybe if it's set in the 60’s?
Film Courage:
Chris, without checking your phone can you name all of the Christmas films you can think of?
Chris: Oh wow! Well, there's a lot, there's so many that I love. It's A Wonderful Life,
A Christmas Story, Bad Santa.
I mean I don't know if you consider The Grinch That Stole Christmas it's not a Christmas movie
per se but I always associate that with Christmas along with the Peanuts Christmas special.
I mean Oh goodness there's a bunch those are just like off the top of my
head. My personal favorites, the ones that I make sure to watch every year
and then there's ones that people would argue aren't necessarily Christmas movies like Die Hard.
But I would put that in that category just because I love the whole…I think it's become an
ugly Christmas sweater that says “Ho, ho, ho, now I have a gun.” I’ve seen people wear that costume.
Film Courage: So you would consider Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Chris: For me it is, for me Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Film Courage: What needs to happen in a Christmas film? Does Christmas need to be saved?
Chris: Yeah, I wonder if you could even make an earnest Christmas movie now that isn't relegated
to the Hallmark Channel? By that I mean a wide release Christmas movie that goes to theaters,
that would appeal to people who don't care about Christmas, it's just a heartwarming movie that
takes place over the holidays. I think that the thing that needs to happen in a Christmas movie,
1) it's got to take place during Christmas which Batman Returns by Tim Burton does. It takes place
during Christmas, it also somehow the message of Christmas has to be in there woven in some way,
a realization a love of fellow (your fellow man) and I think that has to be a big part of it and
lessons have to be learned right? I think that's part of Christmas is this for me there's a feeling
that exists around Christmas that is palpable and it usually starts around
Christmas eve night that you could just feel and Christmas is the next day and it's sort of a
reconfirmation of your relationships of people close to you and your family
or your significant other and a way to reach out to family and friends and say Hey, I care
about you. That has to be a big part of it even if it's woven in the most simple way. Yes I know that
It's A Wonderful Life is dated but I feel like what's sad to me is that certain people would
think that the message of It's A wonderful Life is dated that is where I have concerns because
I feel that in particular this comes with acts of heroism whether it is in an actual superhero movie
or acts of self-sacrifice or acts of kindness towards a fellow human for no reason whatsoever
whatsoever other than to do that and I feel like that as a value has been lost
and I notice it in modern films and television I feel like that kindness towards your fellow
person, human, American, neighbor, it's not as present as it used to be unfortunately although
I will say if you spent some time on social media and you get up and walk outside your house and
normally that feeling isn't present but Christmas is. First of all I love those Christmas movies
but the Peanuts Christmas special would never be made today in specifically because of the
quotes from the Bible and there was even controversy at the time about like is this
going to be a religious special and it was and now it's something that has survived until today but
I think it'd be incredibly difficult outside of a small release religious show film showing at
churches and whatnot or something for the Hallmark channel you wouldn't see those kinds of religious
ideals even if it was simply the ideas without the Bible verses. I don't think you would see that
and it's it's again another fracturing of our audience right? There's a huge audience that
would love to see a movie about Christmas even if it's only peripherally about Christmas. But
yeah I think it is those values, those rituals are eroding and they're not as
popular on a mass scale as they used to be. I'm just saying what I have observed
but try to get a Christmas special with religious themes, that doesn't on a mainstream level,
it'll never happen. Not something made by a major corporation is not going to do, it's going to be
relocated to what they call a vertical which is a small audience. So there you are.
Film Courage: When would you typically play a Christmas movie?
Chris: Well Christmas is my second favorite holiday.
My first favorite holiday is Halloween, the decorations go up in late September,
It's a month-long celebration. It's horror movies for the entire month and so I love Halloween.
Christmas I sort of like once I’m into the turkey around Thanksgiving
then the Christmas movies go into rotation. And then it's like the ones like which actually
still has some heartfelt messages, Bad Santa you would not think this and you will never look at a
pickle the same way but Bad Santa kind of is also one of my Christmas holiday favorites.
Film Courage: If you were to write a Christmas film,
would you be the protagonist? Would you see yourself in the protagonist role?
Chris: Well if I wrote a Christmas movie I would not be the protagonist of that movie.
But I’d like to see if Hollywood could make a new
Christmas movie. To me one of my all-time favorites is a Christmas Story. Now could
you make that movie today? Could you make a movie where a kid (little Ralphie) just wants
a gun for Christmas? Today's climate it's a little different. I would love to see
and I’ve heard rumors that Peter Billingsley is going to do an update of A Christmas Story.
I’d love to see a sequel to that movie with his character all grown up,
maybe he wants a different type of gun for Christmas, who knows? But that movie is not
just about Christmas, it's also a reflection of this bygone era and I just wonder if Hollywood
is capable of making a movie about Christmas? I feel (and this is not so much a reflection of
the industry) I think audiences would want it I think that there's so much cynicism
in the entertainment world and Christmas is about loving your fellow man, loving your neighbor
and unity that I wonder if Hollywood is even capable of making that type of film? I really
wonder that? So look, do I want to see the sequel to A Christmas story starring Peter Billingsley
as a grown-up version of himself, maybe it's set in the 60’s? I would love to see that.
Is that going to happen? I don't know. Is it going to happen to a satisfying degree, we'll see?
Film Courage: Maybe he wants a glue gun? Maybe he's a crafter?
Chris: Yeah we'll see but I don't need several glue guns. So someone who makes props and sets
and things but not everybody celebrates Christmas that's true so so it does alienate many people
right different you know whatever and in whatever it might just be non-religious maybe they don't
believe in consumerism and things like that there could be a whole anti-corporate angle to it yeah I
mean Black Friday yeah I mean there have been yeah there have been movies that have explored the over
commercialization of Christmas that's fine I think that's part of it I think that's a valid critique
of the holiday and having said that I love the decorations I love the excuse to get together
with friends and family I love the idea of we're going to take stock and inventory of the last year
and commit to being say a better person in the new year maybe there have been lessons learned
and it's that that holiday period where we can kind of take a step back and assess you know what
have you what have we accomplished what are we capable of doing how can we do better and and how
can we contribute to a better world I think that that that idea that message defies the holiday
forget the holiday forget the commercialization that idea of self-reflection that I think is just
important for anybody you know no matter whether you like celebrate the holiday or like it or hate
it it doesn't matter that idea is something I think that we need to do on an annual basis.