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One of the things many holiday revelers look forward to each year is catching another viewing or three of A Christmas Story, a modern movie classic based on the short stories of the late Jean Shepherd. If you're one of those aforementioned revelers who can't get enough of watching Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) nearly shoot his eye out with his Red Ryder BB Gun on the small screen, you now have another option—A Christmas Story: The Musical! The production, which began previews last night and will run from December 9th through the 30th at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, is being executive produced by Billingsley himself, who said that the movie is a natural for a stage adaptation.
A Christmas Story has always meant a lot to me personally. I’m excited to bring this film to the stage because the story and the characters lend themselves so well to the world of musicals.
The musical is said to be true to the movie and includes an original score from the Broadway composing team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Posted 12.02.10 by BrentJS -
Jon Favreau, fresh off of promoting Iron Man 2 at the San Diego Comic-Con, is now back to work on the upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. Favreau announced on his Twitter feed:
Just got sent script pages. Preparing for Couples Retreat reshoots tomorrow. No rest for the weary.
The comedy about four couples going to an island getaway, where they are forced into marriage counseling activities, was written by Favreau and Vince Vaughn. While reshoots are typically a sign of trouble, the Couples reshoots likely are a good sign that director Peter Billingsley knows what works and what doesn't from the large amount of improv done on the Couples set. Co-star Kristen Bell described the improvisational atmosphere as a positive one:
You know, it's just a fun environment to work in. You have to be really supportive if you're working with improv, because otherwise people don't bring up the right instincts and ideas because they feel like they'll be shot down. So it ends up being a really nice set to work on.
The amount of reshoots is unknown, but Favreau did follow up by Tweeting that he is shooting with Vaughn ("haven't seen him in months") and his "movie wife" Kristen Davis.
Posted 07.30.09 by Ryan -
Couples Retreat, a new comedy written by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, has its first trailer online. The movie stars Favreau and Vaughn, along with Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Faizon Love, Kristin Davis, and Kali Hawk, who, as the title suggests, are four couples that go to a exotic retreat to work on their marriages.
Peter Billingsley, the little boy from A Christmas Story and a longtime friend of Vaughn and Favreau, directs. Watch the trailer below:
Posted 07.01.09 by Ryan -
Tune in on December 25 for a special half-hour holiday edition of Dailies. Co-hosted by Gerrad Hall and Jill Simonian, the show takes a look back at the classic movie A Christmas Story, and includes a present-day interview with "Ralphie." These days Peter Billingsley is best known as the producer of the blockbuster Iron Man.
Gerrad and Jill also recap other movies that feature Christmas, although not in the traditional fashion -- Cast Away and Love Actually. Plus, they suggest three great Santa movies in Gerrad's signature segment ("Reel 2 Rental") and take a humorous look at two Holiday-movie phenomena ("the bad gift" and "the Christmas villain").
Posted 12.24.08 by reelz