With all the fantastic content Hallmark and other networks are formulating for Christmas this year, I love the fact that I can highlight some of the phenomenal writers who work behind-the-scenes to bring us our favorite stories. Jay Cipriani is one such person, and I am honored to be able to share my recent chat with this writer whose new Hallmark Christmas movie, Christmas Wonderland, will premiere tonight (December 1st)!
RH: Why/how did you decide to pursue a career in film/television?
JC: I always loved movies and TV. When I was very young, I saw a LIFE magazine story on my Grandmother’s kitchen table that showed Frank Oz and Jim Henson operating the Muppets and I was fascinated by the behind-the-scenes stuff. I did puppet shows and when I got a little older, I did little radio stories on a tape recorder with friends. And then around sixth grade, we started making short movies on VHS and kept doing that on into high school. It wasn’t until then that I realized that this was something that I could pursue as a career, so at WVU, I majored in English with an emphasis in creative writing and studied film at New York University in the summers. I eventually went to film school at USC and have been in Los Angeles ever since.
While you have done some acting, it looks like most of your work is writing. Why did you decide to focus on screenwriting?
That “acting” was more about helping out as a producer on a film that I worked on. I was always more interested in being behind the camera – even when I was a kid, I preferred writing and directing to acting.
I notice some of your earlier works were A Golden Christmas 1, 2, and 3. How did you get involved with those particular projects?
A Golden Christmas was my first produced script. Robyn Snyder produced the film. We met when we both were starting out working at Barry Levinson and Paula Weinstein’s production company. Robyn went to produce at Mar Vista, and I was writing romantic comedies and she asked me if I could come up with a love story that included a golden retriever. Along with John Murlowski, the director, we all came up with quite a few ideas and we finally landed on that particular story. It seemed to do well for them, so they asked me if I could write a sequel, which became 3 Holiday Tails aka A Golden Christmas 2. Joe Menendez directed that film and he was just great to work with and did an excellent job with that script. And that led to the third one – which I think is the final chapter, but you never know.
I think your first Hallmark work was Christmas Land. How did that particular story come about? Were you familiar with Hallmark previously? What was your experience like working with them on this?
Yes. Christmas Land was my first Hallmark movie. I was familiar with Hallmark, of course, but at the time I wasn’t aware of just how big their Christmas slate was! Cameron Larson, a producer on A Golden Christmas, asked me if I’d be interested in working on this Christmas Land project. I gave them my take on the story and they liked it. They needed a script for production very quickly, so I wrote it, and they greenlit the movie. Hallmark then brought on Jeff Schenck and Peter Sullivan’s team to produce and Sam Irvin directed. This was the first time I had worked with Jeff and Peter and we’ve done quite a few movies together since then. They’re great. I love working with them and this one really came together well – and fast! I remember my father talking about what a great job Nikki DeLoach did after we saw it for the first time – I had remembered her from Golden 3 and thought she was terrific in that too, but she was really fantastic in Christmas Land. I think this might have been her first Hallmark film as well.
Your past Christmas works (before 2018) have appeared on Hallmark, Ion, and elsewhere. Any special moments from them stand out?
After working on Christmas Land, Jeff and Peter asked me to write A Husband For Christmas which is on ION, That was a lot of fun. A wonderful actor by the name of David McKnight played Vivica Fox’s father in that movie. When I wrote Sharing Christmas for Hallmark, Peter Sullivan directed and co-wrote that movie and wound up casting David McKnight in that film, too. Peter did a great job directing. All of the actors were wonderful, but regarding David:
There are always changes from the script to the final production and how much the script changes varies from movie to movie. Often the cuts are due to time. Basically, I turn in the script and production goes off and makes it, so it’s rare that I meet any of the actors or even see the finished film before it airs. However, often there are screenings before the movie is on TV and there was one for Sharing Christmas, which at the time, I was seeing for the first time. I wound up meeting David McKnight, who was also seeing it for the first time, so I had thanked him for doing such a great job in Husband. He was very nice, but a little nervous that his part in Sharing Christmas might be trimmed down. I told him “I hope not, you’re my favorite character in the movie!” so we both went in and eagerly watched the movie wondering how it would go and fortunately, they kept him in and he was great. When I saw him after the screening was over with a big smile on his face, I thanked him along with Ellen Hollman for such fine performances.
Very soon, Hallmark fans will see your work Christmas Wonderland. How did you get involved with that project? What do you think is special about this film that will make it a special one for the viewers?
Emily Osment, Ryan Rottman Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Brett Colvin
The producers asked if I was available and I thought it could be a very entertaining movie. So many of these stories deal with lost love or ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends, and while these characters are still young adults, I was excited about the possibility of the characters in Christmas Wonderland being slightly younger than usual – at least for me. Since there’s a lot of “High School” activity, and one of the kids Heidi (Emily Osment) takes care of is in high school, hopefully, it’ll have a bit of a high school/coming of age feel as well as that Hallmark Rom-Com spirit.
Have you had the opportunity to visit any Hallmark sets of any of your films?
Not really. I usually turn in the script off and production gets cooking in Utah or Canada or wherever. I’ve been to a couple of the Golden Christmas sets, but that was quite some time ago, now. I’d love to swing by a Hallmark set some time – especially one of the exteriors. They’re beautiful!
Any other upcoming works you can mention?
I’m working on a couple independent films and possibly a TV series that are entirely different genres from the Hallmark-type stuff, but I did write another Christmas movie last year that was one of my favorites so far, so I’m hoping that gets made soon.
Do you have any holiday traditions you would like to share?
behind-the-scenes Sharing Christmas
When I think of Christmas, I think of family and friends. Around college, my family started having a big Christmas Eve party that seemed to get bigger every year. Those parties were a lot of fun. However, before that, one year in high school, my mom cooked this fantastic dinner. It was just a quiet Christmas Eve with just my immediate family – mom, dad, my brother – but it was so nice and we did that a couple times before the big party started happening. It’s an interesting thing – I think about these big, often loud parties that were so much fun and became a tradition, but I also remember before that, very, very quiet peaceful Christmas Eves growing up…
My Grandfather sang at the midnight Mass, and the brother of a very good friend of mine would play the horn (on Christmas Eve there were a few more instruments in the choir loft). After Mass, I’d stop over at my friend’s house – he lived across the street from our church. We’d visit for a bit, then I’d go to my Grandparents house with my dad. A few relatives would stop in – Grandma would sometimes give me a Christmas gift. Mostly I remember the Holiday Soup she made. Eventually, the gathering wound up at my parent’s house with a lot more people! Now my brother or aunt do it and it’s a little quieter again and I look forward to having gatherings at my own home as my kids grow up. This may come as a surprise to you, but I have a lot of fond memories of Christmas and love Christmas Eve.
Thank you for the interview, and I hope you and all the fans enjoy the movie tonight. Merry Christmas!
Ryan Rottman, Emily Osment Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Brett Colvin
It would seem that Jay is one who simply treasures Christmas in general, and how wonderful it is that he is able to infuse his scripts with that festive adoration. I have enjoyed the movies of his that I have had the opportunity to see, and I have a sense that tonight’s premiere will be no different. The fact that he is collaborative and willing to do whatever is necessary to witness the thorough fruition of what began as the germination of an idea are traits that all successful writers need to possess in this business, and there is no doubt in my mind that Jay possesses these and more in spades. Additionally, he has surrounded himself with amazingly creative individuals that have similar goals and visions, and I am elated that Hallmark has continued to use his skills and talents in their holiday offerings. I hope that everyone in the U.S. tunes in to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel tonight (12/1) for the premiere of Christmas Wonderland. (Canadians can watch this movie on Super Channel Heart & Home on December 13th for the Canadian premiere.) Also, if you are so inclined, please visit all of Jay’s links below and maybe give him a follow on social media. It would appear that his tenure with Hallmark and other well-respected networks is continuing its strong and steady tradition, and I can only imagine the possibilities as Jay advances in his career and realizes the actualization of so many of his goals and dreams.
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