On the movie set for Meeting Mr. Christmas
Laura Mitchell was inspired to bring the first movie she’s written and directed back to Prince George because of the wonderful experience she had here last year in front of the camera, starring in A Great North Christmas.
This year, Mitchell is on the other side of the camera and standing in front of it is a well-known actor who grew up in Prince George, Madison Smith, best known for his television roles in Salvation, The Order, Narcoleap and Aftermath as well as a key role in Hallmark movie Write Before Christmas.
“This has been super exciting,” Smith said at the Hart Community Centre where filming for the Christmas Carol Competition was completed last Friday. “This is the first time I’m doing one of these romantic leads and I’ve always wanted to have a chance to work in Prince George again. Ever since I became an actor and knew they were doing more films here it was something I really wanted to be a part of. I couldn’t have asked for a better production to be a part of. Director’s fantastic, my co-star has been amazing. It feels like this one is the right one that was supposed to come along.”
It takes many people behind the scenes to make the magic happen and Tanner Henry, 19, from Quesnel, took on the role of best boy grip, which he considers a job of many duties.
His job is to load and unload trucks, move lights, keeps track of inventory, at times he pushed the camera back and forth and hold the bounce boards that are white and reflective so actors’ faces are shown in the best light.
“I’m really kind of an everything guy,” Henry said.
He got the job through word of mouth and then joined the Kopar employment program. He’s hooked on show business now and quit his job at a tire shop to pursue this career.
“I will be moving to Vancouver to work on more movie sets,” Henry said.
And for the star of the movie, Smith hopes to do more film work in Prince George.
“I love the film industry but I also love my hometown so being able to put those two hands together was such a cool thing,” he said. “And I just hope I get to do it some more.”