Over the past few years, I have had the distinct honor of interviewing and featuring many screenwriters on my site. Julie Sherman Wolfe was actually the first screenwriter with whom I ever chatted, and due to the fact that two of her films were featured amongst the Hallmark Christmas offerings this year, it is my privilege to highlight her yet again. She is one whose work ethic, value system, and unquestioned knack for writing winsome, entertaining romances have made her a consistent fan and network favorite.

RH: Julie, I’m so glad we finally made it work so we can chat again. It’s been a long time!

JSW: It sure has, and thank you, Ruth, for reaching out and for all your support.

You are the first screenwriter I ever talked to and interviewed. 

Aw, that’s nice.  I like that.

I think the last time we chatted was right before your Hallmark movie, Finding Santa. 

Finding Santa

That sounds about right. That was the last of my movies that was made before this year. I’ve had so many in the hopper waiting for their time. This year has been much more satisfying for me because I’ve had a couple Hallmark movies that were made and there are a couple movies that should be made for summer next year. So it’s been good.

I think the last time we chatted, you hadn’t moved yet either. You were still in LA.

That’s right. We moved in August of 2017. And we just love it up here. This has been one of the best decisions we ever made for our life and for our family.

I’m so glad for you, Julie. Now, I feel like I’ve been talking to so many people about The Christmas Club, and now I’m talking to you. 

Who have you talked to?

Cameron Mathison, Elizabeth Mitchell Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steven Ackerman

The director, the writer of the book, and Cameron Mathison. And of course, we had no idea he had cancer when he was filming that. He actually was diagnosed right around the time my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. She’s fine now, but it was something difficult for our family to go through.

I think cancer is something that touches all of us. And sometimes I wish we could talk more about that and write movies about the topic, but it doesn’t seem like something a lot of people want to talk about. And it’s not a typical thing for a Hallmark movie.

Well, you know that might eventually change. There were a couple of serious movies this Christmas on Hallmark that dealt with death and disease–Two Turtle Doves and A Godwink Christmas: Meant For Love. I got really emotional over both movies.

Thanks for the recommendations. That’s good to know. I think there’s a lot of emotion in The Christmas Club. There were a couple of moments with Elizabeth Mitchell that are more emotional than I ever thought they would be in this movie.

That’s good to know. You know, for me, as much as I love the Hallmark romances, I typically prefer the movies with more meat to them over on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. I mean, I love both, but I do tend to prefer the more dramatic ones. 

Adam Hurtig, Jenny Pudavick, Kate Trotter, Zoe Fish, Elizabeth Mitchell, Cameron Mathison Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steven Ackerman

Interesting. Now, with my movies, my bread and butter is typically the banter in these movies. But when I do get some romance and some heart in there, I’m always thrilled to have that opportunity and to see how well it worked on the screen.

I’m just so glad we are chatting again! 

Me too. I always think it’s a great idea to do these interviews. It’s all about connecting with people who watch the movies. And I liked the idea of the Christmas Convention this year. I think that definitely has its own place as well. But I think probably the biggest thing I get asked about is how to write a Hallmark movie. Unfortunately, it’s not something I can just tell everybody how to do. That’s not possible to teach in a message unless I was teaching a class.

Candid Shot
The Christmas Club

I can understand how you get those kinds of messages. But I have heard that a lot of people who ask about how to write a Hallmark movie haven’t even watched a Hallmark movie. They’re not familiar with them. And I always think, “How can you write a Hallmark movie if you haven’t really watched a Hallmark movie?” 

There is a lot of truth to that. I know there are writers who are very successful in other genres, and I’ve looked at several of these writers’ scripts to see if they might work for Hallmark. And a lot of times…well, let me say that writing a Hallmark movie is harder than people think.

Oh, I know it is. I have the utmost respect for screenwriters who write these Hallmark movies. In fact, I know that some actors struggle to make a Hallmark movie. Many actors don’t realize just how hard it is to make one of these. 

Elizabeth Mitchell, Cameron Mathison Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steven Ackerman

Oh, yeah, especially the time constraint. And then I think one of the hardest things has to be filming out of order, depending on where the location is. For example, I know with The Christmas Club, they had to shoot a lot of the emotional stuff right at the beginning. So even though they haven’t gotten to build their story from the beginning and have time with the other actors, these actors had to get the emotion going because that’s what they were filming that day. I think it’s pretty cool that they can do that. I’m a terrible actor. {laughs} I could never say otherwise. I tried to do it before, and let’s just say I was not meant to be an actor.

I understand. Not everyone is meant to do that. You know, I think I could do some of the stuff that goes with acting. Learning the lines and getting into character would work for me. But all the stuff you have to do for the camera…I’m dreadful at any of that. I suppose I could learn if I really wanted to, but it does not come naturally to me. And then talk about the directors and the producers and the writers…it is amazing when I interview the people behind-the-scenes. I can’t believe all that the directors and producers have to do.

I understand that. The producers have so much to do. You know, when I think my job is done, they still have so much work to bring this film to the screen. It’s unbelievable.

Elizabeth Mitchell, Cameron Mathison Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steven Ackerman

So let’s talk about The Christmas Club, your first Christmas movie this season.

Yes, The Christmas Club was supposed to be for last year. In fact, it was in the running to be a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, but then they ended up going in a different direction. So by the time that happened, it was too late to make it for 2018.

In any given year, I have numerous projects I’m writing that are ready to go but haven’t been given a time slot yet. I was working nonstop last year, and none of those got filmed last year. But now, several of these projects are filling in, which is great. So there might be a wedding or a destination movie to watch for in 2020. I have a couple that don’t have any seasons attached to them; they’re just stand-alone romantic comedies.

I totally get that. I hear the same kind of thing from other writers that I interview. So how long was The Christmas Club in the works?

Cameron Mathison, Elizabeth Mitchell Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Steven Ackerman

Probably coming up on two years. It came from a really wonderful novella. As always, things have to change when you adapt from a book to the screen. But I really felt like we kept the essence of what the message is. And I love the message of this story. That by the act of paying something forward and the act of giving, you receive. Even if you never asked for anything in return, just the act of giving brings wonderful things back to you.

I know when I spoke with the author, she thought you did a great job adapting her novella. She and her husband were on set for a week. 

With the producers of Christmas In Montana

That’s great to hear. I’m glad she was happy with my script. I was supposed to be on set too. The Christmas Club and Christmas In Montana were both produced by Jonathan Eskenas. We’ve worked very closely together over the years. He did Hello, It’s Me.  I was going to go to The Christmas Club set. I was on vacation in Alaska and got the flu on vacation. I was so sick. I was supposed to fly from Vancouver to Winnipeg where they were shooting this film, and I just couldn’t do it. I had to fly home. And I ended up being sick for another whole week. So as much as I was dying to go–I had the whole trip planned–I just couldn’t do it.

I was sad because I love to go on set. I know people always ask me why I love to visit the set when my work is done. Sometimes there’s work to be done on set, but mostly, my work is done once the movie is being filmed. The best way to explain why I like to visit the sets is this. If you’ve spent a year cooking and preparing a big dinner or feast and you thought of every detail and bought all the ingredients and had it all ready and somebody else was cooking it, wouldn’t you want to eat it? So that’s what I always say. It’s like making this huge feast, and the culmination of all this is me getting to go up there and see it. To see all that work come to life. There’s something really special about seeing it in person.

I know the director, Jeff Beesley, was really excited about it when I talked with him about it.

on set
Christmas In Montana

He’s such a nice guy. We got along really well. I can say that The Christmas Club and Christmas In Montana both had great directors who were really collaborative, and we all worked really well together. And everyone involved with those movies brought it to a different level. And that’s what made it so great. When you get the right team, everyone works together and brings it up a notch. It can be a good script, but the people involved with filming it are the ones that make it great. The directing, the sets, the lighting, the sound…everything comes together perfectly sometimes, and you get one of those special movies. And I think that both of these movies are very special.

I am in full agreement with you, Julie. Now, before watching Christmas In Montana, all I really knew about was the two leads. 

Colin Ferguson, Kellie Martin Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Shane Mahood

I understand. Christmas In Montana is a different kind of story. It’s kind of funny how it all came about. This was another one that took a couple years to get made. It used to be just a straight-up ranch movie. And it was based on Kellie Martin’s real-life marriage to her husband Keith. They met at Yale, but she was a vegetarian and an actress from California, and he owned a cattle ranch. And just right there seemed like a great idea for a movie. That’s how we sold it to Hallmark. A cattle rancher falls in love with a vegetarian. Through the whole process, it was gonna be a fall movie, and then it wasn’t. Then it was gonna be something else, and then it wasn’t. Then we finally said, “You know what? This could easily be a Christmas movie.” And then it finally got made. We knew our joke title that we had for so long would never make it on screen. It was Meat Cute. That was the title on my contract and all the scripts. But once we got the green light and all that, we changed the title to Christmas In Montana.

Now, when you change a script to Christmas, it’s not just sticking in a bunch of Christmas trees. I had to rewrite almost the whole thing. It retained the essence of the story, but when it becomes a Christmas story, you have to do a lot of rewriting. And that’s what I do, but I was happy to do it because I knew if I did it, it would get made.

Kellie Martin, Ava Preston, Colin Ferguson Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Shane Mahood

So both of these Christmas movies are very satisfying for me because they both had a very long journey. In fact, Meat Cute AKA Christmas In Montana was actually started back in February of 2017. So that one has had a very long journey. You know, some of these scripts, you write them, and BAM! They make it, and it’s over. But I don’t mind these long ones because you really get to the point where everything has been worked on so hard that they’re in really good shape.

That’s amazing, Julie. So, I know you also went to the first Christmas Convention this year.

Yes, I did. I was on the panel with some other writers. I didn’t know anyone else on the panel before the convention, but it was great to get to be there. I don’t know if everyone always realizes there’s a difference between authors and screenwriters. Some authors do like to write screenplays. But personally, I know I would not do a good job writing a novella or a novelization of my script. I’m not one who would like to write a novel. It’s just not how I write. I’m definitely in the right part of the industry. I wouldn’t even attempt a novel. But that’s not to say that people who write novels can’t write screenplays. Let’s put it this way. My dialogue is just fine. I like to think that the dialogue I write in my scripts is my strong suit. On the other hand, my stage directions are generally boring. Most people wouldn’t realize that because no one outside of the cast and crew typically reads the stage directions.

In addition to these two Christmas movies, do you have anything else upcoming or in the works that you can mention?

With fellow screenwriters at TCA’s

What I can say is that one of the ones I’m working on has a royal theme to it. If and when it gets made–and I think it will this upcoming year–it will be set in and shot in Connecticut. So that’s exciting for me. They’ve shot quite a few of these movies here now. And it’s so fun. And it’s also funny because every time a Hallmark movie is shot in Connecticut, everyone assumes it’s mine. But I have to say, “No, I haven’t had one yet.”

And once they start shooting here in Connecticut, it’s a bigger deal. I find that people come to me for interviews and help, and I love helping out the local economy however I can. And by the way, if these films ever want to use my house, that’s fine. Because if they break anything, they would have to fix it! {laughs} So if they want to scratch my floor and replace that, I’m fine with that. Of course, my floors are already scratched because I have a golden retriever. {laughs}

Kellie Martin, Ava Preston, Colin Ferguson Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Shane Mahood

The other one I’m working on it set in New York City. And that’s really all I can say about that one except that it will highlight the really famous parts of a New York City Christmas. I do have other ones that are at different stages of writing and development. There’s a wedding one, one set in Chicago…kind of a cute one about a publisher and a fiery author. I have one that was a high school reunion theme, and we are probably changing it to a wedding. Then there’s one that is set in Italy that has been around for a long, long time, and it looks like we might be getting somewhere with it. And the idea would be that this one might get shot in Italy if and when it gets made.

Julie’s golden retriever

And then you can go visit the set, of course, right?

Of course, that would be the dream! I would love to be on set in person if they shoot a film in Italy. If I can figure out how to convince them that they need the screenwriter on set…I may not be able to, but you can always dream, right? In this day and age, we can do everything over the internet. But can’t I make a case that it’s important for the screenwriter to be on set in Italy? {laughs}

I think they should do that for one of their top screenwriters, but I understand that the logistics may make it impossible. What I will say, Julie, is that whenever I see your name on a movie, I know it’s going to be good. And your Christmas movies did not disappoint. 

Thank you, Ruth, I really appreciate your support. And the support of the fans.

My pleasure. Thank you again for your time. And fingers crossed that all these movies work out for you in 2020. And I would totally support Hallmark having you go to Italy!

Thank you, Ruth. And sure, that would be great, but I’ll take a Hallmark movie in Connecticut too!

I consistently appreciate the variety and caliber of talent that Hallmark regularly employs, and thankfully, Julie is one of their most outstanding, in my opinion. The romantic banter in her script is always snappy, engaging, and totally hilarious. Moreover, her writing is invariably a cut above so many other screenwriters who exist in this industry today. She takes a personal interest in every aspect of her films, and even when her job is done, she is certain to promote her movies and interact with the viewers on social media. I am appreciative to Hallmark for continuing to feature her work on their network, and it bedazzles the mind to envision what is in the near and distant future for one of the most prolific Hallmark screenwriters in existence today. 

If you have not had the opportunity to watch and enjoy Christmas In Montana and/or The Christmas Club, I advise you to make it a point to catch the last showings of this Christmas season. The Christmas Club is scheduled to be shown for a final time on the Hallmark Channel on January 1st, and Christmas In Montana will have its final airings on January 2nd and 5th on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries network (be sure to check local times). And while you are preparing to usher in 2020, be sure to visit all of Julie’s links below and consider following her on your preferred social media platform. While she doesn’t post every single update of her life and family, she makes it a point to inform her fans about when and where her movies will premiere. She also shares behind-the-scenes morsels as she can, either when she is visiting set or during the premiere of the movies. I am honored to be able to call her friend (even though I haven’t met her yet), and I look forward to promoting her work on Hallmark for many more years to come!

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CHECK OUT MY OTHER INTERVIEWS WITH JULIE

Interview With Screenwriter Julie Sherman Wolfe, “Finding Santa”

Interview With Screenwriter Julie Sherman Wolfe, “The Birthday Wish”

Interview With Screenwriter Julie Sherman Wolfe

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