Very often, Hallmark and other network require more than one person on the team of writers that bring their completed films to the viewers, and Hallmark’s Christmas Wonderland, which premieres in the U.S. tonight (12/1), is no exception. Two of the writers are Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo, and even though this is their first original premiere with the network, Hallmark fans are more than likely quite familiar with their past writing. 

RH: Why did you guys decide to pursue a career in film/television? 

MC/RG: Good question. What were we thinking?😊  It’s probably too late to turn back now, but in all seriousness, it goes back to our childhoods growing up in Wantagh, Long Island and being seduced by 80’s feel-good movies, where no matter what happened, everything turned out right in the end.

I notice that you have done acting, writing, and producing, but I think acting was the first thing you guys did. How did that come about? What was your earliest professional work?

Law & Order

It goes back to the movies that we loved and the natural progression of seeing the characters on screen and wanting to replicate that, especially Mickey Rourke and James Dean. So naturally, we enrolled in acting school at the William Esper Studio in NYC and studied for two years under the infamous Meisner guru, Terry Knickerbocker. Terry helped raised the bar on our standards of quality and taught us about character intentions (which later would come in handy as we delved into the writing and producing world.)

Our earliest professional acting work, besides Rapunzel and MTV Europe commercials , were small parts in Syfy Channel TV movies and Law & Order.

How did you guys move more into the writing/producing area?

We weren’t getting the type of roles that we envisioned when we started out so we decided to take matters into our own hands and wrote a script loosely based on ourselves and started to peddle it around town. We got it to a producer who worked for an Academy Award-winning company called Regent Entertainment. That man’s name was Jeff Schenck. He liked the writing, but given comedy being a hard sell overseas, didn’t buy the script, instead, offered us a writing job on assignment and the rest as they say… is history.

Talk about your work on The Dog Who Saved series.

The Dog Who Saved Christmas

That assignment that Jeff hired us for lasted a year, but nothing came of it. In fact, Jeff left the company and we didn’t hear from him for months until we got a phone call out of the blue where he pitched us the idea for The Dog Who Saved Christmas. Skeptical at first, but eager to work with Jeff again, we dove in and hashed out the script which would go on to become ABC Family’s most-watched cable show of the season and spawn a franchise.

Hallmark fans are about to see what will be your first Hallmark film. How did the idea of this story come about? What exactly was your role on this film?

A Nanny For Christmas

Hallmark actually aired the original Dog Who Saved Christmas after the deal with ABC Family ran its course. A Nanny For Christmas, one of the earlier movies we wrote, also aired on Hallmark, but this will be our first Hallmark original premiere and we are incredibly excited.

The idea about a struggling artist having to return to their hometown before “making it” in his or her art was one that has natural appeal to us, being artists ourselves, and we felt the theme of struggle and the notion of not quite living up to the ideals that we set for ourselves would have universal appeal. We worked with Jeff and his co-producer, Peter Sullivan, on multiple drafts, and then Jay Cipriani and Anna White took the reins.

Emily Osment, Ryan Rottman Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Brett Colvin

With Christmas Wonderland, why do you believe that Hallmark fans will enjoy this movie?

We hope that Hallmark fans will enjoy this movie because it is infused with all the elements that make a good movie, romance, a little bit of Christmas, but most importantly, hope for the future.

 Any other upcoming works you can mention?

We just recently finished a TV pilot based on our eclectic experiences trying to make it in Hollywood.

Please tell us about Rebellion Films.

Rebellion Films was born over twenty-two years ago in a basement somewhere in suburbia with a purpose to boldly go where no one has gone before…

Hence the name, we always try to go against the grain to create stories that are real and true to our experiences and unique voice.

Do you have any special holiday traditions you would like to share? 

A lot of family, a lot of wine, tender calamari and never forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.

I was somehow unaware of this dynamic writing duo until now, and I am exhilarated for Michael and Richard to do more work with the Hallmark Network (and I haven’t even seen the premiere yet!). These two gentlemen seem to have been perfecting the art of storytelling and rom-coms long before that genre became the current trend. Now that the cry is so great for feel-good, happily-ever-after tales, Michael and Richard are beginning to reap the benefits of a life that has been invested in film and television. Having enjoyed their other films, I can hardly wait to see Christmas Wonderland when it premieres tonight (12/1) on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries network in the U.S. (A Canadian premiere will occur on Super Channel Heart & Home on December 13th.) I hope that everyone tunes in whenever they can, and it is my sincere desire that fans will continue to follow these men’s careers and watch out for their next offerings. I can only hope that Hallmark will proceed to use their services as they share their undeniable giftedness and heart for genuine, touching stories. 

Photo by Joe Wehner

FOLLOW MICHAEL

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FOLLOW RICHARD

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“Best friends since the 2nd grade, the powerhouse writing team of Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo have penned scripts for top TV networks including: Lifetime, Hallmark, Syfy, ION and ABC Family’s smash hit, The Dog Who Saved Christmas. The fun-loving tale of Zeus, the K-9 hero who lost his bark, was a huge ratings success becoming the highest-rated cable movie of the season, spawning a string of successful sequels. The franchise also secured the coveted “Family Approved” seal from the Dove Foundation and paved the way for Richard and Michael’s foray into rom-coms, thrillers, and the well-received Syfy parody, Jersey Shore Shark Attack, which achieved a sizeable cult following due to its throwback nod to 80’s genre films. Michael and Richard hail from investment banking backgrounds and hold finance degrees from Hofstra University and New York University, respectively.”

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