No reservations here
Lifetime's winning Christmas movie formula includes a ski lodge, lost love, and St. John's filmmaker Deanne Foley
A ski lodge near Lake Tahoe, former flames reuniting by chance, actress Melissa Joan Hart — Lifetime appears to have all the winning elements for a successful holiday movie with "Christmas Reservations," premiering this weekend.
The TV network upped its success factor with the addition of St. John's-based filmmaker Deanne Foley to the crew.
Foley directed the film, which was shot over 16 days last May in Incline Village, Nevada, and stars Hart, of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" fame, along with actors Michael Gross ("Family Ties"), Markie Post ("Night Court"), Ricardo Chavira ("Desperate Housewives") and Ted Mcginley ("Married … With Children" and "Happy Days").
The project sort of "came out of left field" for Foley, who is one of the province's most accomplished filmmakers, with films such as "Beat Down and "Relative Happiness" on her CV, as well as episodes of "Republic of Doyle."
Her most recent film, an adaptation of Joan Clark's novel, "An Audience of Chairs," won four awards at the Atlantic Film Festival, including Best Director.
Foley was in Toronto early this year for the theatrical preview of that film when she received a call from her agent saying the "Christmas Reservations" team wanted to interview her for director.
"Knowing it was Melissa Joan Hart, I thought for sure I'd go, but I couldn't quite figure out why they wanted to interview me," Foley told The Telegram.
She did the interview on a Monday. The following Friday, she was on a plane, headed to begin the initial work.
There's definitely a favourite TV Christmas movie formula, and "Christmas Reservations" fits it: Hart plays Holly, event co-ordinator at her family's ski lodge. When her college sweetheart, now a divorced father, checks in, Holly discovers her own reservations.
What makes the film a little different from many of the other 30 new holiday movies Lifetime is releasing this year is its multiple storyline approach, with a number of mini plots intertwining and affecting each other.
Hart has described it as a "Love Boat vibe," while the film's writers have suggested they were hoping for a "Love Actually" feel.
"It was probably the most challenging part of directing the film," Foley said. "So many different storylines and intersections. It wasn't just a case of following two leads and will they get together or won't they. We spent three days filming on a ski hill with a live ski lift. In the afternoon there might be a scene with 10 actors, then we might go shoot a scene in the lodge with kids and a dog. It was definitely challenging for a director."
The cast made the challenge easier, Foley said, pointing out she wasn't about to change the tone of the film or teach Hart any new acting tricks.
The cast has praised Foley as well, with Hart — who co-produced the movie with her mother, Paula — posting a photo on Instagram of herself and her mother with Foley, calling Foley "magically fabulous" and a "fearless director."
Foley has at least four other film projects currently in development. One of them, her first feature film as a writer, is a dramedy based on a serious health condition she dealt with last year, which saw her spend a month in hospital.
"Life throws you curveballs — sometimes they're good ones, sometimes they're challenges," she said.
Foley admitted she is a fan of Christmas and has her own favourite holiday movies, but isn't one to sit down and watch a slew of them on TV every year.
What she particularly liked about this script, she said, was its diversity, including varying cultures and ages among the main roles. There's a Bollywood number that's extra cool.
Lifetime has been promoting "Christmas Reservations" as one of its main offerings this holiday season, and the film has been featured on a People magazine cover.
"If you like warm and fuzzy and you also like Christmas, you could be super excited to see 'Christmas Reservations,'" Foley said. "I really had a wonderful time making it and I think it deserves to be seen."
"Christmas Reservations" debuts in the United States Nov. 2, and will air in Canada on a date to be announced.