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We spoke w/ Vince Vaughn & Peter Billingsley about 'Christmas with the Campbells' and why they wanted to make a Hallmark movie with R-rated dialogue.
This year, RLJE Films presents a brand-new kind of cozy, holiday season rom-com with Christmas with the Campbells. Directed by Hallmark filmmaker Clare Niederpruem, and co-written by Hallmark alum Barbara Kymlicka with Vince Vaughn, Christmas with the Campbell’s is what happens when the sweet, holiday rom-com really speaks its mind. In the movie, Jessie isn’t going home for Christmas - not her home, at least.
VINCE VAUGHN: Yeah, we were cast as best friends, and it was about steroid abuse, and so when Peter's character began to abuse steroids, they just kind of had him roll his shirt up slightly.VAUGHN: To indicate that there was some muscle bulging that was occurring. So yeah.I heard that's how you guys became friends and I love it. Also, what a movie.BILLINGSLEY: Yes, I agree.
VAUGHN: Yeah, what's interesting was knowing Peter for so long and him having such a phenomenal career as a producer and as a director. I know every Christmas the fandom for Pete, and the awareness, is so high he's always been reluctant just to go trade on it, but he did the story. He wrote with Nick Schenk who wrote Gran Torino and The Mule, and he really worked from a great place. It's like stepping into the patriarchy, the second stage of man.
So jumping into Christmas with the Campbells, there's actually not that much known about the movie yet. How have you been describing the film to friends and family? I will admit I didn't know much when I hit play, and the dialogue...I was not expecting some of the stuff. I think there's a scene with Alex, with the breakup scene, and there are some other moments where I felt like I could hear your voice, Vince, coming through the page. So can you talk about which speeches or which lines of dialogue came right out of your brain?
What we found is that the audience really loves and is invested in these characters, and we really stayed with the nine-act structure. What you see is really the same things happen in those scenes that happen in the original intent. If you played with that, the movie fell apart, which was fascinating to find out. But they really like the characters being super comedic and having a stronger version of what's on the page.
BILLINGSLEY: Yeah, for sure. I mean we would like to do more of these. You said you're breaking the rules, but you've got to find the right footing. I mean, even in the fourth quarter, I'll tell you, we took our time to find this through post. It was like two weeks until we had to deliver the movie, and we were essentially QC-ing the offline, and we're just watching it. Then Vince goes, "You know, I have an idea.
To me, it was just this odd kind of an Andy Warhol painting. Even the music, Peter saw the whole movie through post and did the color timing and all the choices with the score. You could do a score that's more telling you this is a comedy, but we really doubled down on the Hallmark score to say, “No, this is optimistic, true love is in the air, and take this seriously.” So the mashup of it is just very unique.
VAUGHN: The model's more like a TV model where the director shoots it and does a great job. Obviously, we collaborate about staging and stuff, and then really through post it was Peter and I through the edit and all those final choices. We sort of take the role of what a film director would do in the television model where you are the creators and see it through post.
Obviously, you're making this on a budget. It's kind of an intimate movie. There are only, I believe, six main characters and a few extras, if you will. Were there any obstacles you came up against due to scheduling or budget? It was important to us, we called Hallmark after making the movie and told them about it, because we're not mean-spirited or looking to do a parody. It's really kind of a celebration, if you will, of keeping the love of Hallmark, but just making it adult and R, and they were super excited. They said they had thought about this, obviously, this type of movie before and that they were glad that we made it, and that we called them.
VAUGHN: I agree. He does a great job. He's super funny, and is able to say things and still be likable, and audiences still don't find him toxic, which is great. By the way, if I was Hallmark, I would totally be down and excited that this was coming out, because this just shines a light on Hallmark movies, and will get people talking about them and wanting to maybe watch them.VAUGHN: Yeah, totally. I mean, they do so well anyway. It was just important for us, because my wife really loves these, so it was important to call them, and they were great, and say, "This is really kind of a Hallmark.
Then Peter and I obviously did Christmas Story, which is great, that comes out, and the Campbell's movie. Then we have a couple other on the production side, things that we're working on and driving on to collaborate on as well.
Vince, I definitely have to ask you, Old School, Wedding Crashers, and now even Dodgeball, people are talking, and have talked about, sequels.Are sequels to any of those movies things that you really want to do, or do you think they'll actually happen? Because it seems like since these movies came out people have talked about sequels.
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