Happy Holidays Y’All!
With the holidays underway and Christmas Day upon on, everyone will eat lots of food and sit down to watch classic holiday movies – and we all have our own favorites! I’ve got a list of the best holiday movies, including RARE behind-the-scenes photos from the set of “It’s A Wonderful Life”, and so much more – like KELLY CLARKSON doing two classic holiday songs!
First, get into the holiday spirit with Billy Mack’s “Christmas Is All Around”!
Thanks Billy, just what I needed to get into the holiday spirit! If you know this song, then you LOVE “Love Actually” – one of the best holiday movies ever! And I’ve got great trivia about the film, courtesy of the terrific website “IMDB.”
“Love Actually” is a series of inter-locking stories that take place during the holiday season: some are funny, and a few are sad – with an all-star cast including Kiera Knightley, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson.
So many terrific Actors in the film. Here’s a chart to help you keep track of them all:
And, thanks to the great website IMDB, here is some “Love Actually” trivia! Let’s start with this fun one:
The word “actually” is spoken twenty-two times by various characters in the film.
When casting the part of Sarah, Richard Curtis auditioned a great many British girls, but kept saying, “I want someone like Laura Linney…” The casting director eventually snapped and said, “Oh, for fuck’s sake, get Laura Linney then.” She then auditioned and got the part.
The idea for Mark’s surprise of the band singing “All You Need Is Love” at Peter and Juliet’s wedding came from Jim Henson’s funeral (which Richard Curtis attended) where all the puppeteers brought their Muppets and sung a song.
The lake that Lúcia Moniz and Colin Firth are “swimming” in was actually only eighteen inches deep and they had to kneel down and pretend to be in deeper water. It was also over-run by mosquitoes and Colin Firth was badly bitten and his elbow swelled up to the size of an avocado, requiring medical attention.
Knowing about Billy Bob Thornton’s quite unique fear of antique furniture, Hugh Grant would sometimes flash a piece of antique (which is abundant in England) in front of Thornton just before the cameras rolled, and watch him freak out in amusement.
The airport greeting footage at the beginning and end of the film is real. Richard Curtis had a team of cameramen film at Heathrow airport for a week, and whenever they saw something that would fit in they asked the people involved for permission to use the footage. Alex and I always wondered how excited these people must be to be in the film forever!
Thanks, Billy Mack!
“Christmas Is All Around” is now one of our favorite holiday songs thanks to Bill Nighy. And of course, one of the best songs in the film is from Kelly Clarkson!
Kelly co-wrote “The Trouble With Love Is”, which is included in the film – and this week, she sang the song on her talk show – here it is:
More Kelly to come. so let’s go back to a simpler time…
The “White Christmas” (1954) / “Holiday Inn” (1942) Crosby Combo!
Here are two iconic holiday films starring legendary Actors – and I’ve presented it as a double bill, since they are basically the same movie! In “Holiday Inn”, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are two war buddies who sing lots of classic Irving Berlin tunes, including the Oscar winning “White Christmas”…
The Song Becomes The Film!
“White Christmas” was such a great song that they decided to remake “Holiday Inn” and CALL it “White Christmas”! This time, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are two GIs coming home from WWII, who fall in love with singing-and-dancing sisters and help their general with his failing Vermont inn. Again, almost the same film, but both of classic Hollywood holiday entertainment! A great double bill!
One of the film’s shows topping moments comes when Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen perform “Sisters” – and guess what?
Last week on “The KELLY CLARKSON Show”, Kelly and Y’All band member Jessi Collins recreated the song!
This was fantastic, with Jason and Jaco doing the Bing/Danny parts!
Click here and have a blast!
Speaking of holiday classics:
“It’s A Wonderful Life”!
The greatest holiday movie of all! Jimmy Stewart, the Tom Hanks of his generation, beautifully portrays a disillusioned husband and father who sees his life amount to nothing – or so he thinks.
This Frank Capra classic is a dark look at one man’s disappointment with his life – of course all coming to a head on Christmas eve – and the film reveals a ton of universal truths about what we should or should not expect from life – remember this line: “we serve stiff drinks for men who want to get drunk fast!” I mean, this movie gets DARK…
Rare “Bedford Falls” Photos!
LIFE Magazine has revealed 13 rare behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the 1946 Frank Capra classic. The pictures focus on one aspect of the holiday favorite that many probably take for granted: the snowy milieu of Bedford Falls!
So as you can see, they used snow machines to create the beautiful serenity of the town:
Looks like Jimmy Stewart had a few snowballs tossed back in his direction during filming!
I will admit that, in some ways, Pottersville always looked a lot more fun than Bedford Falls – like a mini-Vegas! But no matter what life through at George Bailey, he always had a secret weapon…
That’s right – Zuzu’s pedals!
I know some of these are well known, but if any aren’t on your radar, check them out this holiday season!
Oh, and don’t forage that THIS is a Christmas movie too:
Yes, it IS!
Click here for all of the reasons that “Die Hard” is one of the best Christmas movies of all time!
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Categories: Art, Cult Movies, Great Films, Hollywood, kelly clarkson, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, TV Show
johnrieber 
Hi John, Terence loves Love Actually and watches it every year.
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Merry Christmas, John. Every year, I MUST see Die Hard. And I’m never disappointed. Best to you and Alex!
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YAY! Happy holidays to you and your family!
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What a wonderful post, John! Great movies and great songs. I love Kelly reenacting and singing “Sisters.” And, I love the old movies. Merry Christmas to you and Alex!
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I guess four out of five ain’t bad, and we’ve already had the discussion about the fifth!
Great trivia on Love Actually which is my favourite Christmas movie, along with the Muppets Christmas Carol. I’ll have to revisit the others you’ve featured: I have Its A Wonderful Life in my iTunes library but not the others. No doubt they’ll be broadcast at some point over the holiday, though.
Have a wonderful Christmas, John, and thanks for all the support you’ve given my blog this month 😊
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Happy holidays to you as well!
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That’s a great Christmas feature, John!
Enjoy your travels.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Happy holidays!
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