Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[Guest]

55 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

Does anyone know if this was filmed specifically for Hallmark or if it was a pickup?

The ads have me intrigued, though.

It was filmed specifically for Hallmark. 

[Guest]

On 7/20/2020 at 10:16 AM, TVFan17 said:

I am seeing that some of the movies that have not been officially 'claimed' by Hallmark, Lifetime or other networks have casts and/or crews who are freely sharing photos and Instagram Stories.  That includes Wind Song aka Kite Festival of Love (with Jessica Lowndes and Christopher Russell) -- a movie that I am certain Hallmark will acquire and air at some point, but it appears to not officially be theirs quite yet.  The photos from the shoot are bountiful, and no one involved with the production is admitting that it's a Hallmark movie.  That seems to be the key -- if they don't flat out say it's for Hallmark, they post photos with no issues.  But the people working on the actual confirmed Hallmark movies are being asked to take photos down.  Case in point...

...The mysterious case of Hallmark's Wedding Every Weekend -- which is supposed to be premiering next month, and is already shown in a promo for the Summer Nights event.  That one started out with Paul Campbell and Kimberley Sustad freely posting photos from the set.  And then, a couple of weeks later, the photos they posted from the set completely vanished from Instagram. 

Edited to Add:  One of the actors in Beverly Hills Wedding just removed a photo from his Instagram page as well.  That photo was posted only a couple of days ago, and now it's gone.

This is very interesting to re-read in light of what we now know about Wedding Every Weekend. 

[TVFan17]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Does anyone know if this was filmed specifically for Hallmark or if it was a pickup?

The ads have me intrigued, though.

Wedding Every Weekend is the only one of the 3 new Summer Nights movies that was made specifically by and for Hallmark right from the start (although I think that Love on Harbor Island was made with the expectation that Hallmark would take it, though it wasn't 100% certain early on). 

As soon as WEW started filming, Paul Campbell announced that it was a Hallmark movie, and then certain photos he and Kimberley posted on Instagram from the set -- not in their Stories, but just regular pictures -- were taken down or hidden from view not long after.  Likewise, a photo from a different Hallmark movie that filmed -- Beverly Hills Wedding -- was taken down around the same time.

And Erin Cahill recently tweeted that she is quarantined in Vancouver before filming a Hallmark Christmas movie, and, sure enough, her tweet was taken down!  lol

So Hallmark -- and the people working with Hallmark -- is being super-secretive this year.

 

Speaking of secrecy...

I saw someone's comment next to one of director Ron Oliver's Instagram posts, asking something along the lines of "When are you going to tell us who Ryan Paevey's co-star will be in your new Christmas movie?" 

She probably meant no harm by it, but it just came off as impatient and pushy to me because she wanted to know "when."  I mean, why does that person NEED to know who the co-star is right now, before the movie has started filming?  Calm down, random Instagram person.  They'll let you know who is in it when they are allowed to.   It's not like you're going to miss seeing the movie if you don't know who is starring in it right this second.

Ron Oliver replied with "When my network says I can!"

Edited August 10, 2020 by TVFan17

[Bronx Babe]

Will the aliens on that proposed Hallmark sci-fi series be tested for coronavirus?

[Irlandesa]

I can't wait for this lesbian wedding that has caused controversy.  It'll probably be three seconds of screen time. 

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I can't wait for this lesbian wedding that has caused controversy.  It'll probably be three seconds of screen time. 

That's what I'm thinking.  I am not expecting it to take up a lot of time in the movie when there are 3 other weddings and the main couple's story at the center of it.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I can't wait for this lesbian wedding that has caused controversy.  It'll probably be three seconds of screen time. 

Probably. Looking at the promos and social media posts it’s amusing me how Hallmark has thrown into this one movie something to address 90% of the criticism. A Jewish wedding, a black wedding, a lesbian wedding and an interracial wedding.  
 

They’ve been doing something similar with the social media posts on all their other movies. Suddenly if there’s a minority in a movie they’re included in the picture no matter how small the part is. For example:

 

 

Hallmark’s original marketing campaign in May looked very different. 
 

Their new slogan seems to be, “We swear we’re not as white as you think. (Please don’t leave. We promise we’ll change.)”

Edited August 11, 2020 by Guest

[dubstepford wife]

Yeah I'm hoping with the new CEO being a WOC that the diversity problem will actually be addressed, but she's also just one person and I figure a lot of Bill Abbott's people are still there.  So diversity to them means three seconds of screentime for people of color, and then it's back to the white people, who are always the main storyline.  I remember being legit angry when they stuck a black child in the schoolroom in the last season of WCtH with no explanation and no speaking lines.  1910s Canada had segregation too and they just completely ignored it, it felt so exploitative.

I want to congratulate them for including a same-sex wedding, but I keep comparing it to Falling Inn Love on Netflix, where a same-sex married couple wasn't just an afterthought or a hat tip to diversity, they were actual characters.  (Very cute movie btw if anyone hasn't seen it.  The main actor is a little wooden but the story is charming and New Zealand is always beautiful.)  

[kirinan]

On 8/10/2020 at 12:25 PM, mikeb said:

Predictable backlash to Hallmark including lesbian wedding in upcoming Wedding Every Weekend, but I don't see them backing down unless ratings completely tank. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/hallmark-movie-feature-lesbian-wedding-not-everyone-s-celebrating-n1236279

Paul Campbell's Twitter replies to the Hallmark Hausfraus who clutch their pearls and complain to him that the lesbian wedding is ruining Hallmark earned him a follow from me. He's so far been more polite than some of them deserve but is not afraid to engage. Plus he's so smart, snarky, and funny while he does it. I never considered him a favorite Hallmark actor, but will watch him in Wedding Every Weekend with new interest.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, kirinan said:

Paul Campbell's Twitter replies to the Hallmark Hausfraus who clutch their pearls and complain to him that the lesbian wedding is ruining Hallmark earned him a follow from me. He's so far been more polite than some of them deserve but is not afraid to engage. Plus he's so smart, snarky, and funny while he does it. I never considered him a favorite Hallmark actor, but will watch him in Wedding Every Weekend with new interest.

His twitter feed has been entertaining me for the last few days. Absolutely brilliant. I have a feeling the live tweeting may be more entertaining than the movie. 

[Ashforth]

3 hours ago, kirinan said:

Paul Campbell's Twitter replies to the Hallmark Hausfraus who clutch their pearls and complain to him that the lesbian wedding is ruining Hallmark earned him a follow from me. He's so far been more polite than some of them deserve but is not afraid to engage. Plus he's so smart, snarky, and funny while he does it. I never considered him a favorite Hallmark actor, but will watch him in Wedding Every Weekend with new interest.

Wow! Love this guy!

[Girl in a Cardigan]

Wow, I'm loving him! And I'm loving that so many of those tweets were deleted after he responded to them. Not so brave in bigotry when put on blast, huh?

Just set my DVR to record the movie. Even if the plot is dumb or poorly acted, we gotta rep 🌈

[TVFan17]

For those of you who are Cindy Busby fans (though I know some of you don't like her too much!), I just noticed that Hallmark has acquired another 2 movies (all of these acquisitions are happening because they were unable to film any of their own movies for several months)...... and one of the new acquisitions stars Cindy Busby!

I had my eye on these movies last year, when they were in production, but I pictured them as being more 'straight to Hallmark Movies Now streaming app' sorts of projects than actual Hallmark Channel premieres, simply because I think they may have slightly lower budgets.

 

Love at Daisy Hills is currently scheduled for Saturday, September 19th -- and it stars Cindy Busby and Marshall Williams (Marshall was in the snow maze movie, Amazing Winter Romance, and he is in When Hope Calls).

 

Love at Look Lodge stars Clark Backo and Jonathan Keltz, and it is scheduled for ,Saturday, September 26th.

 

Another mystery is scheduled for October, and I posted about that over in the Hallmark Mystery thread.

Of course, all scheduled showtimes can change at any moment, up until the last minute.

 

In Cindy's defense, she seems to be a delightful, lovely person.  In any interview I have seen her do, she was always very charming and likable, including the most recent Deck the Hallmark interview she did.  She is a good sport as well, and has a good sense of humor about it all.  I think it's just funny that this has turned out to be the year of Cindy as far as acquired movies go -- she also filmed one in Australia that I am expecting Hallmark to pick up too.

Edited August 13, 2020 by TVFan17

[Kohola3]

7 hours ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Wow, I'm loving him! And I'm loving that so many of those tweets were deleted after he responded to them. Not so brave in bigotry when put on blast, huh?

I don't do Twitter but I had to check out his responses - they are hilarious!  I may have to watch that movie just to support him.  I have been so bored with the repetitious story lines I have been avoiding Hallmark.

[Guest]

Paul Campbell is A Proud Voice in Hallmark Channel's New Direction

They are really building the hype for Wedding Every Weekend and Hallmark’s “new direction”. Hope it delivers. 

Quote

Campbell also revealed that part of the joy of making the movie for him was witnessing the behind the scene's evolution of certain aspects to its storytelling. "It was fun to see how much harder they leaned into things as script revisions kept coming out," he recalled. "They made bigger storylines for some characters to really celebrate them. It wasn't like, 'We're just going to kind of float it in and hope no one notices'. They were putting this front and center because this is our new direction. I knew right away there'd be controversy and they were going to get pushback from certain groups.

Also lots of talk about humor in this one. I’ve missed that in Hallmark movies. 

Quote

I also liked that [Nate] was a little bit offbeat for the typical leading man and I was excited our executive producer said, 'Lean into the humor in the script'. I think that's also a part of the new direction of Hallmark. It created such dynamic, realistic, storytelling in terms of relationship development."

[mikeb]

4 hours ago, Dani said:

Paul Campbell is A Proud Voice in Hallmark Channel's New Direction

They are really building the hype for Wedding Every Weekend and Hallmark’s “new direction”. Hope it delivers. 

Also lots of talk about humor in this one. I’ve missed that in Hallmark movies. 

He mentions in this interview that because of Covid-19 filming restrictions, half the background performers in the wedding scenes are mannequins.  It will be interesting how obvious this is.

[Scarlett45]

On 8/9/2020 at 9:50 AM, Veronica said:

I can’t wait for the Deck the Hallmark guys to review it. I’ve been listening to their podcasts as I walk my dogs. I went back to their very first podcast after Christmas in July ended. They hated the balloon moon but love Busby because she comes on their show. 

I love Podcasts! What is the podcast of which you speak?

[Ashforth]

54 minutes ago, mikeb said:

He mentions in this interview that because of Covid-19 filming restrictions, half the background performers in the wedding scenes are mannequins.  It will be interesting how obvious this is.

Given the quality of much of the acting in the Hallmark movies, it shouldn't make any difference at all! 

CBS This Morning Saturday did a great interview with Hilarie Burton Morgan today. https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-this-morning-saturday/video/6E_4K7OCo8Uj6Pso8enTUfBXTA5_gQR9/-one-tree-hill-star-hilarie-burton-on-finding-a-sense-of-community-in-upstate-new-york/

Interesting that there was no mention at all of her work with Hallmark. She seems like a great person.

[mikeb]

4 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Given the quality of much of the acting in the Hallmark movies, it shouldn't make any difference at all! 

CBS This Morning Saturday did a great interview with Hilarie Burton Morgan today. https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-this-morning-saturday/video/6E_4K7OCo8Uj6Pso8enTUfBXTA5_gQR9/-one-tree-hill-star-hilarie-burton-on-finding-a-sense-of-community-in-upstate-new-york/

Interesting that there was no mention at all of her work with Hallmark. She seems like a great person.

I live about a 1/2 hour from her and her support of the local community is amazing - she personally spent many hours raising money for and then helping renovate living spaces where at-risk kids live.  

Unless Hallmark continues their new-found commitment to diversity, I think she may be done with Hallmark.  A couple years ago when she was offered another movie at Hallmark, she asked for changes to include some LBGT supporting characters and was ignored, so she turned it down.  She has switched to making Lifetime Christmas movies.

I've also been to her candy shop featured in the video - a lot of the candies and chocolates are made by local merchants.

Edited August 15, 2020 by mikeb

[Irlandesa]

I love Paul Campbell and have done so even before his latest Twitter activity.

I think he's one of Hallmark's better leading men because he brings a personality to most of his roles.  I was sad when Hilarie stopped doing Hallmark because I always hoped they'd do another movie together.  I really enjoyed them in Surprised By Love.

It sounds like Kimberly and Paul have more freedom in this movie than they did in their Godswink movie.  That was too serious.

[TVFan17]

6 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Given the quality of much of the acting in the Hallmark movies, it shouldn't make any difference at all! 

CBS This Morning Saturday did a great interview with Hilarie Burton Morgan today. https://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-this-morning-saturday/video/6E_4K7OCo8Uj6Pso8enTUfBXTA5_gQR9/-one-tree-hill-star-hilarie-burton-on-finding-a-sense-of-community-in-upstate-new-york/

Interesting that there was no mention at all of her work with Hallmark. She seems like a great person.

 

Hilarie has only done 3 Hallmark movies, and the last one she did was 4 years ago, so there was probably no reason to mention it now.  She is more associated with her Lifetime Christmas movie work at this point than anything she did for Hallmark (although I happened to love the 3 movies she did).

 

4 hours ago, mikeb said:

I live about a 1/2 hour from her and her support of the local community is amazing - she personally spent many hours raising money for and then helping renovate living spaces where at-risk kids live.  

Unless Hallmark continues their new-found commitment to diversity, I think she may be done with Hallmark.  A couple years ago when she was offered another movie at Hallmark, she asked for changes to include some LBGT supporting characters and was ignored, so she turned it down.  She has switched to making Lifetime Christmas movies.

I've also been to her candy shop featured in the video - a lot of the candies and chocolates are made by local merchants.

 

Not a couple of years ago.  It was just last year!  lol  She had already done a Lifetime Christmas movie in 2018, as well as a couple of them several years ago, but maybe she hadn't firmly decided to stick with Lifetime going forward until last year.

 

Hilarie was going to do a movie for Hallmark, closer to where she lived.  She really wanted to do this specific movie.  She didn't name the title, but, from what little info she gave, it sounded very much like it was "Holiday for Heroes" --  the one that ultimately ended up starring Melissa Clare Egan and Marc Blucas -- and that one filmed in Connecticut, so it would have been closer to where she lives than her usual movies.  She also mentioned that the movie has a military theme.

 

It sounds as though Hilarie was already planning to/had been chosen to do the movie, but I don't know how far it got in terms of contracts and the legal aspect of it.  She started making requests as she was going over the script -- and one request was, if I recall correctly, to have a mixed race couple in the movie (probably LGBTQ characters as well, but the one I remember her mentioning was the interracial couple).

Hilarie said her cast changes/requests were denied -- she said the bigotry "comes from the top" at Hallmark, but she did not name names.   So in one or two comments she made it sound as though she was fired or let go from the project after she protested about it.  In another comment she made somewhere or another, it sounded more like they asked her if she was going to do the project or not, and she said no.  Either way -- whether she declined to continue on with it, or whether she was fired/let go, she was no longer doing the movie.

 

It's important to note, though, that not every actor or actress can just randomly make changes to a cast or script because they feel like it.  Hilarie's intentions were good and she meant well doing it, but there are a lot of changes that the writers and others would like to make to scripts and it doesn't happen.  If Hilarie were more regular with Hallmark -- like a Lacey Chabert, Andrew Walker or Candace Cameron Bure, for example -- she probably would have been given more leeway to make those requests and changes.  But she had only done 3 Hallmark movies prior to 2019, and her most recent one was in 2016.  I don't think she had developed enough of a working relationship and line of communication with the network over the years to suddenly be making changes to a script when a lot of other people have tried to make changes and were not allowed. 

 

Now, as I mentioned above, Hilarie was already doing movies for Lifetime before 2019.  She usually only does one movie per year (or less often), so last year probably would have been Hallmark's year and not Lifetime if her casting requests has been granted.  But after the incident with Hallmark, she firmly established that she loves working for Lifetime and she is happy to work with them, etc.

 

Hilarie admitted that -- because of her husband's busy career -- she is fortunate enough to be able to lose out on certain jobs, or not take every job she is offered.  She can pick and choose which ones she wants to do -- or do none at all.  She said she knows that a lot of her friends are not as lucky, and they have to take jobs they might not want to do, or take jobs with casting they don't agree with, etc.  So Hilarie can afford to speak out and call out bigotry at Hallmark because, at the end of the day, she doesn't need them.  Her peers in the industry might actually need them, and need the steady work if they become Hallmark regulars.

 

I like Hilarie -- I enjoyed all 3 of her Hallmark movies, and I like her with Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  I like that she has been making masks and sending them out this year.  She seems to have a good heart.  I like that she is involved in the candy/sweet shop they own with Paul Rudd.  It's unfortunate that she was so unhappy with Hallmark last year that she doesn't want anything to do with them (despite her friends such as Bethany Joy Lenz, Chad Michael Murray, etc., working for them) -- because, to be very honest, I actually liked all 3 of Hilarie's Hallmark movies better than any of the movies she has done for Lifetime.     I loved her with both Paul Campbell and Victor Webster, and I would have been curious to see who else she was paired up with if she had stayed with Hallmark.  

HIlarie said she will only do movies with friends now -- which is why her Lifetime movies are always "One Tree Hill' reunions.   So she might not have been able to stay with Hallmark anyway, if they nixed having a OTH reunion in every movie.   But I hope that one day she will come back to the network (now that there is a new CEO) and do something for them.  (Her friend Bethany is making a Hallmark Christmas movie this year, though, and I like her too!)  Right now, however, Hilarie is in the Lifetime family, and she is happy there.

Edited August 15, 2020 by TVFan17

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, TVFan17 said:

If Hilarie were more regular with Hallmark -- like a Lacey Chabert, Andrew Walker or Candace Cameron Bure, for example -- she probably would have been given more leeway to make those requests and changes. 

I find that highly unlikely. Based on stories that have come out it seems hard to overstate just how anti-diversity Crown Media was until their parent company stepped in. 

[TVFan17]

17 minutes ago, Dani said:

I find that highly unlikely. Based on stories that have come out it seems hard to overstate just how anti-diversity Crown Media was until their parent company stepped in. 

I'm not just talking about changes related to diversity.  I mean any changes -- like  subtle changes to a line in a scene, or the placement of a potted plant or whatever.  A lot of people try to make changes to scripts, and their changes are nixed.  Hilarie was not established enough with the network to think that she could make those changes anyway -- whether it had anything to do with diversity or not.  Someone like Lacey, Candace, or one of the actual regulars would have been likely to have more leeway in suggesting a change because they have put in a lot of time and have been loyal to the network, but even then it wouldn't have been guaranteed that their requests would be granted.

 

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by TVFan17

[Ashforth]

Somehow I don't see Candace Cameron Bure lobbying Hallmark to include LGBTQ characters 🤔🤣🤣

[Luckylyn]

I know Hilarie was sexually harassed during the whole run of One Tree Hill and as a result likes to work with trusted friends or in situations where she has some sort of control.  I respect that she uses her position as an actress who can pick and choose to insist on diversity.  I know Brie Larson who plays Captain Marvel has a diversity clause in her contract requiring diversity among cast and crew.  I hope more actors/actresses who have clout will use it to make more inclusive productions not just in front of the screen but also writers, directors, etc....

[Scarlett45]

I’ve been feeling blah today, so it’s a Hallmark day. A few I haven’t seen, namely The Last Bridesmaid- I noticed the movie opens with a black couple getting married, and there are an appropriate amount of black people as wedding guests!!  Of various ages. I’m impressed. 

7 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I like Hilarie -- I enjoyed all 3 of her Hallmark movies, and I like her with Jeffrey Dean Morgan. 

I’m going to look up her Hallmark movies. The only one I remember is Naughty or Nice ( not The Naughty List ) like I thought.

 

Summer Villa- I saw that one, wasn’t a big fan. Liked Surprised by Love a little better. 

[TVFan17]

 

 

52 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I’ve been feeling blah today, so it’s a Hallmark day. A few I haven’t seen, namely The Last Bridesmaid- I noticed the movie opens with a black couple getting married, and there are an appropriate amount of black people as wedding guests!!  Of various ages. I’m impressed. 

I’m going to look up her Hallmark movies. The only one I remember is The Naughty List.

 

Summer Villa- I saw that one, wasn’t a big fan. Liked Surprised by Love a little better. 

 

Those are the only 3 Hallmark movies Hilarie has done, sadly, but she has done a few Lifetime Christmas movies and is supposed to do another one this year.  

It would have been interesting to see Hilarie in the role that eventually went to Melissa Claire Egan in "Holiday for Heroes."  I don't know if Marc Blucas was already set to be the leading man at the time Hilarie was planning to do the movie last year, or if he was cast later, after Hilarie was no longer involved -- but Marc and Hilarie might have made a nice pair.

I liked "Naughty or Nice" because it was more about 'Christmas magic going awry' than anything else.   While I do like the standard rom com formula -- especially against a holiday backdrop -- I like an occasional story of a mischievous Santa, elf or angel casting a 'spell' (for lack of a better word0 and setting off a chain of crazy antics.  There are not too many of those stories left, on any network -- at least not stories that are allowed to be funny.

[Luckylyn]

I really enjoyed Summer Villa and Surprised by Love. I didn’t particularly like Naughty or Nice

Edited August 16, 2020 by Luckylyn

[TVFan17]

12 hours ago, mikeb said:

He mentions in this interview that because of Covid-19 filming restrictions, half the background performers in the wedding scenes are mannequins.  It will be interesting how obvious this is.

I just spotted one of the obvious mannequins at a wedding, less than 20 minutes in.  It's still early yet, though.  There are more to be found!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, TVFan17 said:

I just spotted one of the obvious mannequins at a wedding, less than 20 minutes in.  It's still early yet, though.  There are more to be found!

I completely forgot to look. Fortunately the movie is worth a re-watch so I’ll have to look for them. 

[Scarlett45]

19 minutes ago, Dani said:

I completely forgot to look. Fortunately the movie is worth a re-watch so I’ll have to look for them. 

We (my mom and I) saw a mannequin!!

[Guest]

I loved Wedding Every Weekend more than any Hallmark movie I’ve seen in quite awhile. In many ways it reminded me of Nine Lives of Christmas in that it allowed the relationship to naturally progress without feeling rushed. Plus it was actually funny. It felt like a Hallmark movie from 5 or 6 years ago.

I was expecting the lesbian couple to be mostly background and brief but was pleasantly surprised. Hallmark just raised the representation bar for their Christmas movies. 

3 hours ago, TVFan17 said:

I just spotted one of the obvious mannequins at a wedding, less than 20 minutes in.  It's still early yet, though.  There are more to be found!

 

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

We (my mom and I) saw a mannequin!!

It was so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t notice the ones in the first wedding. I thought they’d at least have wigs on but that plastic hair was a dead giveaway. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Guest

[Irlandesa]

Maybe it's because I didn't have my glasses on but I think it took me until the last wedding before I recognized a mannequin.  But then I realized that they would sometimes replace actors with mannequins if they were being shot from the back. Weren't the lesbian wives mannequins for a bit during the last wedding? It cracks me up that they were the last image of the movie.

I enjoyed the humor in this one as well.  There was a lot of comfort in this movie.  There were so many familiar Hallmark faces and then it was also obvious they wanted to lean hard into diversity.  So many of the couples were people of color.  Their families were as well.  Then we had lesbians.  I was waiting for the guy who was about to ask Kimberly's character to dance to ask Paul's character instead. 

Heck, I think some of the Jewish people at the wedding were even black. 

But--am I crazy but the way the kiss was filmed made me wonder if their respective significant others were stand-ins.  I don't know why they would do that considering all the other couples had real kisses but it just seemed strange.

[Luckylyn]

I really enjoyed Wedding Every Weekend.  The leads had chemistry and I’ve always liked that actor and actress.  There was humor and it was nice to see the relationship progress in an engaging way.  I could actually see how these characters fit together as a couple.  I’m so happy that Hallmark is treating gay minor characters the same as heterosexual ones.  I hope this is the end of “blink and you’d miss it” representation.  Now the next hurdle is leads who are gay.  I just hated Hallmarks mandatory misunderstanding in the last 15 minutes.  I loved that we had a female lead who realized her boyfriend was wrong for her early in the movie and end it.  Too many of these movies have the one of the leads in a relationship as if a triangle is the only conflict they can think up.  Over reliance on triangles is such lazy writing.  I love a lead who would rather be single than with the wrong guy. We don’t see that often enough.

I didn’t spot a mannequin.  I forgot to look.  I have to rewatch and play “spot the mannequin.”

Edited August 16, 2020 by Luckylyn

[Veronica]

21 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I love Podcasts! What is the podcast of which you speak?

Deck the Hallmark - 3 men - 1 loves Hallmark movies, 1 likes them, 1 hates them. They started off just reviewing  the Christmas movies but have moved onto reviewing most of the movies (though they somehow missed Love to the Rescue). They usually have new podcast up every Tues & Thurs, I think by 5 or 6 AM eastern). They have actors on the podcast pretty often. Kimberly was on the one I listened to Thursday or Friday morning. She was on & Paul will be on I think they said one day this week. Paul was in the room with her while she was doing the podcast. Which made me wonder if they’ve been tapped to film something else together. 
 

 

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Maybe it's because I didn't have my glasses on but I think it took me until the last wedding before I recognized a mannequin.  But then I realized that they would sometimes replace actors with mannequins if they were being shot from the back. Weren't the lesbian wives mannequins for a bit during the last wedding? It cracks me up that they were the last image of the movie.

I enjoyed the humor in this one as well.  There was a lot of comfort in this movie.  There were so many familiar Hallmark faces and then it was also obvious they wanted to lean hard into diversity.  So many of the couples were people of color.  Their families were as well.  Then we had lesbians.  I was waiting for the guy who was about to ask Kimberly's character to dance to ask Paul's character instead. 

Heck, I think some of the Jewish people at the wedding were even black. 

But--am I crazy but the way the kiss was filmed made me wonder if their respective significant others were stand-ins.  I don't know why they would do that considering all the other couples had real kisses but it just seemed strange.

According to what Kimberly said on  DTH no one else was allowed on the set - they were the first film back and were limited at the number of people they could have on set each day so their children and spouses were not allowed on set when they filmed. If that kiss was filmed with their real life spouses it was done off set or something but it definitely looked different.   
 

 Kimberly said that a lot of scenes that we’re filmed outside were originally supposed to be filmed inside and were  moved to be filmed outside because of Covid-19 restrictions. 

The way she talked it seems like she believes that we will see more diversity like last night.  

 

[TVFan17]

1 hour ago, Veronica said:

Deck the Hallmark - 3 men - 1 loves Hallmark movies, 1 likes them, 1 hates them. They started off just reviewing  the Christmas movies but have moved onto reviewing most of the movies (though they somehow missed Love to the Rescue). They usually have new podcast up every Tues & Thurs, I think by 5 or 6 AM eastern). They have actors on the podcast pretty often. Kimberly was on the one I listened to Thursday or Friday morning. She was on & Paul will be on I think they said one day this week. Paul was in the room with her while she was doing the podcast. Which made me wonder if they’ve been tapped to film something else together. 
 

The status and updates surrounding the production of these movies seem to change regularly, especially during this time of COVID-19.  So what is accurate and correct today might be outdated and inaccurate one week from now.  But...

Paul and Kimberley have had a Christmas movie in development for Hallmark (with Bart Fisher) since at least last year, if not late 2018 (after they did the first Godwink movie).  That one is still in the works, but at the moment they don't know if it is going to happen this year (it would have to be pulled together rather quickly) or next year.  Since Kimberley also has the Nine Lives of Christmas sequel in the works, there is a chance that Nine Lives 2 could suddenly be rushed into production this year too, which would probably push the Christmas movie with Paul to next year. 

And, of course, there is the chance that neither the Nine Lives sequel nor the Paul-Kimberley-Bart Fisher movie will happen this year, in which case Paul and Kimberley might receive last minute offers to do other, separate movies.  Paul indicated that he doesn't have anything definite lined up as far as Christmas movie shoots go -- yet -- but he also suggested that these things can kind of come together on short notice (which is what other Hallmark regulars have said).  He pointed out that he is someone who would be an easy choice for Hallmark because he is already in Canada and wouldn't have to quarantine if a movie filmed there.  But, so far, as of the last couple of days, it didn't sound like Paul had anything definite lined up for this year's Christmas movie slate.

 

 

Now, Andrew Walker and Nikki DeLoach, on the other hand... it looks like they are about to start filming a Fall movie together very soon, and it looks like it might have come together rather quickly.  I don't know if this is the same Fall movie that Nikki said she was going to have to put on hold until 2021, or a totally different Fall movie that just emerged out of nowhere.  But I think she is going right from filming her Christmas movie with Benjamin Ayres into filming with Andrew.  One of the current Fall Harvest TV promos shows Andrew and Nikki, so even though they have not filmed a new movie yet, it is hinted at or implied that they are doing a new one.  I had already heard they were going to be filming soon anyway, and the Fall movie title I saw makes the most sense, especially after seeing them in that promo.

[Scarlett45]

@Veronica thank you for the podcast suggestion! I can’t wait to listen to some of these. 
 

The sets didn’t look “full” but the only time (outside of the mannequins) I thought “this looks odd”, was during the rehearsal dinner for the lead couple’s good friends. Everyone in the back yard was standing so damn far a part! I thought “COVID”. I think they did a good job with the restrictions they had- all the scenes of her parents eating brunch at her house rather than a restaurant, the flag football event, the pretty outdoor wedding venues, the shopping in an uncrowned store. 
 

I would watch this one again it was cute. 

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Veronica said:

Kimberly was on the one I listened to Thursday or Friday morning. She was on & Paul will be on I think they said one day this week. Paul was in the room with her while she was doing the podcast. Which made me wonder if they’ve been tapped to film something else together. 

I think they’ve been together for the last few days for the promotion. They also watched the movie together last night. Paul was on the Bubbly Sesh podcast a few days ago and mentioned their families have become really close and they quarantined together. He also mentioned that he and Kimberley wrote a Christmas movie that’s in the final stages of development and they are working on a mystery series that they want to pitch to Hallmark. 

 

9 hours ago, Veronica said:

According to what Kimberly said on  DTH no one else was allowed on the set - they were the first film back and were limited at the number of people they could have on set each day so their children and spouses were not allowed on set when they filmed. If that kiss was filmed with their real life spouses it was done off set or something but it definitely looked different.   

Maybe it was just done with fewer takes than usual. I thought all the kisses were filmed weird. The Vicky/Amanda kiss started out from so far away and the Ginny/Greg kiss was from far away and had a weird pan from behind flowers. You could definitely tell the Covid changed how they were filmed. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Guest

[MerBearHou]

Watching Wedding Every Weekend again — playing “spot the mannequin” in the wedding guests is SO fun!  I mean, now that I know they’re there, it’s such a hoot seeing the stiff guests sitting there.  The movie is even more charming the 2nd time around.

Total bonus: seeing Norman / Geoff from Signed, Sealed, Delivered.  Love him.

Edited August 17, 2020 by MerBearHou

[Shorty186]

So the sequel to "Nine Lives of Christmas" is officially happening? Excited but ... it *better* be amazingly written so as not to tarnish the original. 

[TVFan17]

9 hours ago, Shorty186 said:

So the sequel to "Nine Lives of Christmas" is officially happening? Excited but ... it *better* be amazingly written so as not to tarnish the original. 

Yep.  Hallmark has not announced it, but it is officially going forward according to Kimberley Sustad in multiple interviews.  From what I could tell, it sounds like it's just not clear yet as to when they will be able to film it.  Sometimes things can be in development with Hallmark for at least a few years, so it could always be delayed and the script could always be tweaked before it goes into production if it doesn't film soon.

Not only is Brandon Routh back for the sequel -- wherever he appears to promote his other work, people mention "the cat movie" to him, and he can't escape it -- but they might even be able to use the same cats instead of new replacement cats.

 

I love the original Nine Lives movie.  I see other people constantly asking for sequels to almost everything, while I don't think there needs to be a sequel for everything.  I think sequels should be very infrequent, and only for movies that really seem to warrant them because of something left open-ended.  There are times when I think it would make sense to do sequels based on certain details, but just because I like or love a movie doesn't mean I need a sequel to it.  In the case of something like "One Winter Weekend" and "One Winter Proposal," there should be a "One Winter Wedding" sequel to make it a trilogy, so that one -- IF it ever happens -- makes sense to me.  Otherwise, there are very few sequels to Hallmark movies that I think should be made.  As you implied, if it's not great then it can tarnish the original movie.  Of course, in the realm of theatrical films, every now and then you get sequels that are definitely as good as -- if not better than -- the original movie, but that is certainly not common.  It's pretty much the same with made-for-TV sequels, I think.

Edited August 17, 2020 by TVFan17

[Valentine]

I enjoyed Wedding Every Weekend (love the actors) up until the misunderstanding. He was so clearly being sarcastic, how could she possibly not get that? This usually poorly done plot device has tainted many Hallmark movies for me. I don't get why they include it in so many. 

[In2You]

 

[Scarlett45]

@Veronica I love the podcast!! I listened to the episode about “Fashionably Yours” and it was so much fun. 

[Cherpumple]

5 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

@Veronica I love the podcast!! I listened to the episode about “Fashionably Yours” and it was so much fun. 

No joke, the Deck the Hallmark podcast has been one of the very few bright spots for me over the past few months. When things with COVID got serious in March I ended up spending about two weeks in bed with stress-induced migraines. I couldn't read, look at screens, or do anything remotely useful, so I looked around for podcasts and saw DTH mentioned on this forum. I think I listened to their entire episode list (200+) in three weeks, and now I look forward to new ones each week (I've even listened to some episodes multiple times). Seriously, the hosts are great- super upbeat and funny, and they love nitpicking the goofy details of these movies. They're now doing more and more episodes that guest star Hallmark actors and directors, and the ones with Kris Polaha are particularly fun. I highly recommend it!

[BradyBunchFan]

On 8/16/2020 at 8:32 PM, MerBearHou said:

Watching Wedding Every Weekend again — playing “spot the mannequin” in the wedding guests is SO fun!  I mean, now that I know they’re there, it’s such a hoot seeing the stiff guests sitting there.  The movie is even more charming the 2nd time around.

Total bonus: seeing Norman / Geoff from Signed, Sealed, Delivered.  Love him.

I wonder when the new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie comes out.

[TVFan17]

2 hours ago, BradyBunchFan said:

I wonder when the new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie comes out.

It hasn't been filmed yet, so not until at least 2021.  Since back when Hallmark announced that it would premiere on the Hallmark Drama channel, there have been a few delays in getting it into production.  If I recall correctly, I think there was an issue of one or two of the cast members not being available when Hallmark initially wanted it to be filmed, and the other cast members didn't want to do the movie without all of them there,, of course -- so they had to postpone.  At one later point Eric Mabius hinted that they'd be filming in December last year, but that didn't happen either.  Then Kristin Booth and someone else said that they'd film in summer this year (she said it pre-pandemic) -- before August -- and that didn't happen either.

I think Eric may have recently hinted at another possible time when SSD will film.  So it doesn't sound like the next SSD movie is off the table or canceled or anything like that, but it does seem like they can't pick a good time for filming without something happening to derail the plans, I suppose.

Edited August 18, 2020 by TVFan17

[AAEBoiler]

12 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

No joke, the Deck the Hallmark podcast has been one of the very few bright spots for me over the past few months.

I just discovered it myself and they're hilarious! It's great when they do interviews with the actors (Kristoffer Polaha, Cindy Busby, etc.) because they come off a real people and have fun talking about the movies.

[TVFan17]

So we have Jessica Lowndes paired up with Chad Michael Murray for Christmas this year.  We have Katrina Law making her return to Hallmark after a 5-year absence (her co-star is Carlo Marks -- I found that out a couple of days ago).  We have Jen Lilley in South Carolina doing a military movie, and Trevor Donovan filming in North Carolina (they may or may not be in the same movie -- it's unclear).  We have Erin Cahill and Ryan Paevey paired up for a time travel-themed Christmas movie.  We have Bethany Joy Lenz making her first Hallmark Christmas movie in 6 years.  And we also have...

James Denton making his Hallmark Christmas debut.  This is because Good Witch's next season can't start filming until October, for some reason, whereas they usually start filming in August.  So there won't be a GW Halloween movie this year, and that frees up James to do his first Hallmark Christmas movie before Good Witch goes into production.  But...

Who would be a good leading lady for James?  It won't be someone in their 20s, obviously.  Who is old enough to seem like a good match for him, but not someone who seems even older on camera (like the woman paired up with Gregory Harrison in "My Christmas Love")?  I know that Alison Sweeney is supposed to be doing another Christmas movie, but would they pair her up with him, I wonder?  Or is she too young?

Anyway, it's an interesting mix of talent this year, with some unexpected pairings of existing Hallmark actors, a lot of new-to-Hallmark faces, etc..

Edited August 26, 2020 by TVFan17

[Frost]

I'm watching A Summer to Remember for the scenery but I'm so distracted by Catherine Bells' bad plastic surgery/bad botox.  What did she do to her face?!  It's really pulling me out of a nice movie.