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Press - 2006
Black Christmas Set Visit!
Black Christmas, the story of four sorority sisters being harassed with
anonymous and terrifying calls and then killed off one by one during Christmas
break, is currently being remade and shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. The
new film, with a cast of promising young actresses such as Michelle
Trachtenberg, Katie Cassidy and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, has new twists that
will be just as frightening.
ComingSoon.net was invited to hang out on the set and see the remake of the 1974
film in action.
While on location, I was given free reign to look around and was not denied
access to any part of the set. The cast and crew were very approachable and
fortunately the day I was there the entire cast was on set, including Andrea
Martin who was in the original. Martin played Phyllis, one of the sorority girls
being stalked in the first Black Christmas and now she plays the house mother of
the sorority house that is being terrorized.
"I haven't thought about the film in 32 years," Martin told ComingSoon.net. [The
remake] "Really did come out of the blue."
Director Glen Morgan confessed, "I wanted either Andrea or Margot Kidder because
it pays respect to the first movie."
There are some major differences in the new version and Martin explained, "The
premise is certainly still the same. Young girls and a house mother living in a
sorority house on a Christmas evening. One of the girls' boyfriend is highly
suspicious. People being killed up in the attic. The special effects are
probably much more gory and the attitude of the girls are much more
sophisticated."
According to Martin, the key alteration in the remake is the glimpse you have of
who you think the killer is and the back story that will be told about the
murderer and how he grew up.
Trachtenberg added, "in terms of a modern movie we have a lot of camera angles
that are pretty bad ass and the original 'Black Christmas' was mostly handheld
and kind of shaky and we don't depend on that as much. We depend on more
suspense and intrigue. We sort of play into people's fear as opposed to shock
value."
The scene I watched them shoot over and over again was with all of the girls.
Kelli (Cassidy) and Heather (Winstead) run into Kelli's boyfriend Kyle (Oliver
Hudson) in the hallway of the house. Kelli is upset because Kyle is in Megan's
room who is another sorority sister. But, the girls in the house haven't figured
out yet that Megan is really missing. They just haven't seen in her in awhile.
Crystal Lowe who plays Lauren, the drunken sorority girl, explains the scene
more.
"We've heard this scream and we don't know what's going on. There's been some
creepy calls and we're trying to figure out what's going on right now… We're not
just looking for Megan. We don't know where she's been. It's not like a hunt for
her. We're just like what's up with Megan. Where the hell is she? It's kinda
like that."
I was still a little confused as to what was happening so Hudson, the only male
lead, was cool enough to tell me what was going on.
"I'm trying to get to Megan because we had a torrid affair months ago… I'm
sneaking into the room to try and tell her something. Megan something before she
finds out. And I'm caught by my current girlfriend kind of snooping around in
the dark and Megan's room and she's curious as to why. I'll talk my way out of
it," he said smiling.
Now I get it, but I don't know about Kyle talking his way out of anything
because Kelli is upset thinking she has just been cheated on. When she confronts
her boyfriend she doesn't really believe what he has to say.
"He was like, 'well your house mom wouldn't let me in' and bla bla bla. Liar!
Not really buying it," Cassidy laughed.
Morgan admitted he wasn't the one who actually chose Hudson for the role.
"Guys came in and read for it, and my fourteen-year-old daughter was like 'That
guy! That guy!'"
But, that wasn't the case for Winstead, who Morgan just worked with on Final
Destination 3.
"We were in the airport about 4:00 in the morning and I said 'there's this
thing,' and I told her about it. She was a little hesitant to do another horror
movie, which I understood. I just love her, and it's great to have her."
Winstead told me she was such an admirer of the original and appreciated how
dark the film was.
"I loved it. I thought it was extremely creepy and disturbing. Just the voice of
Billy. The phone calls are enough. You don't need any blood or anything. It's
just that. That hits you in your gut when you hear that."
There is no release date yet for Black Christmas, but I was told they are
shooting for around the holidays.
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