That Christmas is a festively heartwarming new film that arrives just in time for the holidays. The upcoming animated Christmas film was written and produced by Richard Curtis, known for films such as True loveand directed by Simon Otto, who previously worked on How to train your dragon series. That Christmas features a star-studded cast of voice actors, including Bill Nighy, Brian Cox, Jodie Whitaker and Rhys Darby.
The film features several overlapping stories of how everyone in the small town of Ellington-on-Sea is dealing with the holiday season. There’s Danny, who recently moved to the city with his working mother, who – post-divorce – is struggling to adapt to Christmas without his father around and his seemingly unrequited crush on classmate Sam. Sam has her own problems, constantly plagued by anxiety due to the antics of her chaotic twin sister, Charlie. However, the biggest challenge comes on Christmas Eve, when a huge blizzard brings problems for everyone – including Santa Claus himself.
TelaRant interviewed Richard Curtis to discuss returning to the Christmas setting, the joy of creating an animated film and having an eccentric recording session with Bill Nighy.
Christmas offers the deadline for personal life
Why Richard Curtis went back to the holiday that Christmas.
Screen Speech: At this point, you’ve helped create so many iconic Christmas films, and I’m really curious what it is about this time of year as a setting that continues to appeal to you from a creative standpoint.
Richard Curtis: Well, actually, when I did Love Actually, I think the reason I chose Christmas was just the deadline you feel: “If I’m going to date someone, I better tell them before Christmas,” or “I better go…” But what I love about Christmas in this film is the sense that it’s the greatest time for family and community, it’s the time when you take stock. Are you a happy family? Are you living in a happy community? How do the bits fit together?
And I’ve always felt that, in our lives, this is the time when the family comes together. So I guess that’s what interests me about Christmas now: what state is your family in? And will you get through this with happiness or complications? So that’s what I love about it. And so, as I get older, I’m more and more interested in how my kids are doing, how the people I love are doing, and how the people I live near are getting along.
Richard Curtis had a very memorable recording session with Bill Nighy that Christmas
The eccentric task in question turned out to be an all-time acting highlight
The cast of this film is also truly amazing. I hadn’t gone through the entire list while watching and I kept hearing voices and thinking, “Oh my God, are they in this too? Were you present for much of the recording process as a producer?
Richard Curtis: Yes, I was. The good thing about animation is that not everyone needs to be free from February 6th to March 18th, you know what I mean? So you can really attract people. And Rhys Darby, I think, who plays the funniest, stupidest character, I think he did most of his recording in New Zealand. He didn’t even come to us. And Brian Cox, who plays Santa Claus, was very busy at the height of Succession, so he came before filming and after filming and everything.
So I was there a lot, and sometimes I wasn’t, because the film is directed by a wonderful man called Simon Otto. But what’s so great when you’re there is how committed the actors are to it. Even if they’re not in costume and they’re not on a sled or in a lighthouse or in a storm, you can still see their bodies moving and them engaging and imagining the situation. It’s a happy thing and much less tense than a film set.
Is there a moment from the recording sessions that particularly stands out to you for any reason?
Richard Curtis: I mean, mostly I just remember Bill Nighy, who’s a friend of mine, he came to do a recording where there were no words, where the whole thing was, “Pull this heavy lever, open this heavy door, panting while you go up,” and just the idea that he showed up for a whole hour and didn’t say a word, and he still really liked it. He said it was one of the most satisfying parts of his acting career.
More About That Christmas (2024)
When a small seaside town is hit by the blizzard of a century and threatens to cancel Christmas, a series of intertwining stories about family and friends, love and loneliness – and Santa Claus making a big mistake unfold in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy.
Source: Screen Rant Plus