The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, November 26, 2010 2 coverstory Corbett, Elliott show the power of small towns Move the clock Corbett is probably best known as Aidan Shaw in the HBO series “Sex and the City,” but he says he prefers to stick to the more family- friendly movies because of his small-town upbringing. ”I like that aspect of the story,” he said in an on-set in- terview, “where the commu- nity gets together to help a family in need. I grew up in the small town of Wheeling, W.Va., and I’ve seen what community can do.” Corbett has also starred in family films such as “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Rais- ing Helen,” “Raise Your Voice” and “Serendipity.” He has recently reappeared on the small screen in the Show- time series “United States of Tara.” Karen Allen and Sam Elliott star in “November Christmas” By Dee Underwood TV Media 1995, the Marks family decid- ed to change that, and cele- brated Halloween in August and Christmas in November. Airing Sunday, Nov. 28, on F CBS, “November Christmas” tells the story of 23-year-old cancer survivor Vanessa Marks as she relives the year her parents moved up the holidays so she could cele- brate with them. The newest offering from the prolific Hall- mark Hall of Fame, the feature corralled many big-name stars, including John Corbett, Karen Allen, Sam Elliott and Sarah Paulson. Eight-year-old Vanessa, played by Emily Alyn Lind, spends long stretches in the hospital to get her cancer treatments. Unsure of how much longer his daughter will live, Vanessa’s father Tom or most people, Hallow- een is Oct. 31 and Christ- mas is Dec. 25. But in (John Corbett) “moves the clock” so she can have a few more childhood memories. Tom and his wife Beth (Sar- ah Paulson) approach their neighbor Jess Sanford (Sam Elliott) for a pumpkin to carve. Jess is confused about why his new neighbor would want a pumpkin in August, but he just writes the family off as oddballs. A few days later, Jess learns about Vanessa’s illness and realizes what Tom’s trying to do. Jess decides to mend some fences with an old friend to get the pumpkins and help Tom create an early Hallow- een for his daughter, and the Marks family wakes up to a large pile of pumpkins the next morning. ”My family in this story doesn’t need money, but we do need emotional support from our neighbors,” said Corbett. “If there’s a message in this story, I think it’s (to) look out for your neighbors, open your eyes and ears a lit- tle bit, and see if you can lend a helping hand.” Before long, Vanessa is bro- ken-hearted to learn that she will have to spend Christmas in the hospital, so Jess and his wife Claire (Karen Allen) get the town together to give the sick child a Christmas she’ll never forget -- in November. The screenplay was adapt- ed from a five-page short sto- ry written by Greg Coppa, who wanted to illuminate the power of community. Coppa himself grew up in a small town and wanted to show the world how tight-knit a com- munity can be. P’Nenah Gold- stein was behind the transi- tion from short story to fea- ture film, and her experience writing the earlier Hallmark Hall of Fame special “Loving Leah” helped her do it. ”November Christmas” is set in a small fictional town in Rhode Island, where Coppa grew up, but it was actually filmed in and around Halifax, Nova Scotia. His co-star Elliott is no stranger to TV work, either, telefilms in particular, having starred in 20 different made- for-TV movies in his career. El- liott is probably, however, more recognized for his big- screen roles in “Ghost Rider” (2007) and “Thank You for Smoking” (2005), or his dis- tinctly low-pitched voice work in “Marmaduke” (2010) and “Barnyard” (2006). Elliott was hesitant to take the role in “November Christ- mas” because he was taking care of his 94-year-old moth- er, but he says the heart- warming concept of the film, and his mother’s insistence, made him reconsider. Emily Alyn Lind gives a moving performance as Van- essa, but her acting resume is full of much bleaker roles. Lind starred on the ABC soap opera “All My Children” as Annie and Ryan’s daughter Emma, who was involved in both kidnapping and black- mail schemes this year alone. She has also had small roles in the action series “Flash- point” and “Criminal Minds.” Chirstopher’s Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I saw part of a movie the other day that had Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in it, but it wasn’t “Ghost- busters.” What else have they done together? A: Aside from the obvious “Ghostbusters II” (but you would’ve recognized the proton packs), there are two op- tions. The most likely one is the 1981 comedy “Stripes.” Bill Murray and Harold Ramis co-starred in this one as best friends who, more or less on a whim, decide to quit their un- fulfilling jobs and join the army. Now considered a classic of the “screwball” genre, it was directed by Ivan Reitman. Reit- man was happy enough with the results that he reunited the pair three years later to make “Ghostbusters.” ”Stripes” is more likely the film you saw based simply on screen time and odds. In the other option, the 1993 hit “Groundhog Day,” Ramis only played a small screen role, so if you only caught part of the movie, odds are you’d have missed him. It was probably for the best that Ramis was only on screen for a few moments though, as he was pretty busy di- recting, producing and co-writing it. Q: I saw Jennifer Grey on “Dancing With the Stars” earlier this season and I was wondering what she did between “Dirty Dancing” and “Dancing With the Stars?” A: Not a whole lot, which likely isn’t terribly surprising -- it’s pretty rare that busy celebrities end up on reality-compe- tition shows, it’s the ones with time on their hands. That’s not to say she hasn’t done anything at all. As is of- ten the case, Jennifer Grey went to made-for-TV movies when her made-for-theatre movie career faltered, shortly after “Dirty Dancing.” Her first screen role after that 1987 smash was the big- screen ensemble film “Bloodhounds on Broadway,” which had Madonna among its many stars. When that film tanked the way Madonna movies tend to, Grey turned to the small screen. She cranked out three telefilms in 1990 alone, most nota- bly “If the Shoe Fits,” opposite fellow struggling former teen star Rob Lowe. Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. 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