#181: Listen to This While Making Your Christmas List

There’s something magical about a holiday movie, isn’t there? Even the Grinchiest of people can find something to like when the Christmas spirit hits the silver screen. The music, the decorations, the treats…they’re all part of the experience, and it is an absolute delight.

You might also have a friend who regularly hosts a holiday party, bringing friends and family together for a last soiree before the new year. For one Los Angeles neighborhood, Christine Weatherup is that friend. And her annual party was part of the inspiration for See You Next Christmas, a film she wrote, directed, and acted in.

We’re talking about the process of making See You Next Christmas, what it’s like to shoot a movie in your own home, and one of Christine’s worst moments on a movie set.

Highlights of our conversation

• The Christmas from Christine’s childhood that sticks in her mind the most. (2:44)

• A look inside the process of making See You Next Christmas. (4:58)

• How the movie serendipitously wrapped filming just a few weeks before Covid shut everything down. (9:15)

• What it’s like shooting a movie with a full cast and crew in your own home. (11:52)

• Why acting feels easier when you’re also the director and writer. (15:18)

• Has Christine’s approach to making content changed over a decade and a half of doing it? Plus, one of the luckiest experiences she’s had while making a movie. (17:52)

• Something that surprises people about movies and TV, including a delightful story about Mad Men. (24:18)

• A sort of fun horror story from a time on set. (26:44)

• What distribution of an indie film looks like, plus the types of metrics Christine gets about her movies. (30:30)

• Christine’s top three Christmas movies. (38:42)

Where to find Christine Weatherup

Learn more about See You Next Christmas and watch it just about anywhere you can stream movies.