Well that’s Christmas ruined…
It’s Christmas Eve and if The Holiday is one of your favourite festive movies of all time, then there’s a good chance you’ve just recently watched it.
For the uninitiated, it’s a festive rom-com where two women (Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz) decide to try a holiday house exchange and get away from their lives for a bit.
The Holiday trailer
Credit: Sony
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While Iris (Winslet) heads off to the US in an attempt to get over her ex-boyfriend Jasper (Rufus Sewell), American woman Amanda (Diaz) decides after being cheated on that she’ll venture across the Atlantic in the other direction.
Iris gets close to film composer Miles (Jack Black), while her brother Graham (Jude Law) strikes up a romance with Amanda.
Lots of other stuff happens from there and if you want to know the rest then you ought to watch the movie, but some fans of The Holiday have decided what this rom-com needs is a spooky theory to make viewers see things in a different light.
Nobody that handsome could be trustworthy, or so some people on the internet claim. (Universal Pictures)
In the movie, Jude Law’s character is a widower who is raising two daughters he had with his wife, who is now conveniently deceased to leave the way clear for Amanda.
However, some fans wonder if perhaps Graham offed his wife ‘so he could inherit her house’, and think that Diaz’s character would be next on the proverbial chopping block.
The theory goes thusly: “He and his sister have used the house swap scheme to get Cameron Diaz into their town while Kate Winslet can investigate and make sure Cameron has enough money and property (and no family/entanglements) to be worth the effort of seducing her and then disposing of her.
“Kate is so overjoyed to see how grand and luxurious Cameron’s house is because she knows she and Jude have hit the jackpot.
“Meanwhile, Jude carefully sets up an ‘accidental’ meeting and manipulates Cameron to develop a relationship and get his claws into her.
“Everything that follows is orchestrated to carry out their plot.”
Merry Christmas guys, and a Happy New Year if you can make it that far without being murdered in a secret plot.
Sweet rom-com moment or just a ploy to steal her heart and home? The answer is obvious. (Universal Pictures)
Yes, for some viewers their experience of watching The Holiday is enhanced by believing that Iris and Graham are secretly murderers who scope out single women looking for love and take their houses through a murder-marriage scheme.
If that’s what it takes to make The Holiday a better movie for you then all power to you, but that doesn’t seem to be what happens in the actual movie at all.
Instead, they all decide to spend the New Year together and the movie has a rather happy ending, it is supposed to be the season to be jolly after all, not a time for ho-ho-homicide.
In fairness to the theorists, there are plenty of rom-coms where the stuff the characters get up to is genuinely awful and dangerously illegal.
Meanwhile, if you really want the movie ruined then Jude Law later admitted that the idyllic cottage which features in the movie isn’t actually real, it turns out no home could be quite so perfect and the cottage interior was all sets.Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Topics: Christmas, TV and Film
Joe Harker
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Published 10:34 11 Dec 2024 GMT
Outnumbered actor shares major news about Christmas special that could change whole dynamic of show
Outnumbered star Tyger-Drew Honey has dropped a spoiler ahead of the reunion
The Brockman family are finally back after eight years off the air.
BBC series Outnumbered follows the chaotic lives of mum Sue (Claire Skinner), a part-time personal assistant, and dad Pete (Hugh Dennis), a history teacher.
Their three eccentric kids – Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), the eldest, Ben (Daniel Roche), the middle child and Karen (Ramona Marquez), the youngest – seriously put the parents through their paces from 2007 to 2014, with a one-off Boxing Day special in 2016.
Outnumbered: Promo Trailer
Credit: BBC
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Written, directed and produced by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, Outnumbered was praised for providing a realistic portrayal of what family life looked like in West London.
It also won a number of awards along the way, including the British Comedy Award for the Best Sitcom in 2009.
However, fans are finally getting what they wished for this Christmas in the form of a reunion and Honey has dropped a big spoiler.
The award-winning show is returning to our screens very soon (BBC)
The actor has revealed that there will be a new addition to the family, which means that Pete and Sue will be grandparents.
“Jake absolutely adores his child and is very much in love with the mother of his child but he has been having struggles with fatherhood as any parents of small children can relate,” he told the BBC.
“Especially the lack of sleep and his daughter’s tendency to impersonate animals.
“If I had to compare her personality to either Karen or Ben when they were younger, I’d say she’s got more of a Ben personality.
“She’s got some of the genes that Ben and I got from Dad.”
The family are back together (BBC)
The youngest on-screen child, Marquez, added: “For me it’s like being back with really good friends again who you’ve known for ages and just hanging out.
“It feels very natural being back together and I look forward to seeing these guys.”
While on-screen mum, Claire, said: “I was saying this morning it’s really nice relating to Tyger, Ramona and Daniel as adults, and getting to know the adult versions of them, it’s been really really nice.
“I was also thinking that if Claire and I were your actual parents I’d be thinking we’ve done a really good job,” her real-life husband/co-star, Dennis, added.
“Filming this special really made me appreciate the opportunity that Outnumbered gave us and how inextricably connected it is with our lives and I’m very grateful,” middle child Roche admitted.
Outnumbered is set to air on BBC One at 9:40pm on 26 December, 2024.Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: BBC, Christmas, TV, Celebrity
Anish Vij
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Updated 12:06 19 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 11:53 19 Dec 2024 GMT
Woman who played Jude Law’s daughter in The Holiday says her own daughter doesn’t recognise her in film
Miffy Englefield played Jude Law’s daughter Sophie in The Holiday
Remember the six-year-old who played Jude Law’s kid in The Holiday?
Miffy Englefield famously took on the role of the British actor’s elder daughter Sophie in the 2006 Christmas film.
She was very vocal throughout the movie and quickly bonds with Cameron Diaz’s character Amanda.
Sophie’s most memorable moment is perhaps how excited she was when meeting Amanda for the first time.
Miffy Englefield in The Holiday
Amazon Prime/Sony
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The young girl happily shows her dad’s new girlfriend around their welcoming house.
Let’s not forget her giggling younger sister Olivia, who was played by Emma Pritchard, bringing enjoyment to their widowed dad.
However, that same well-mannered, young girl with a fringe is now all grown up.
And the self-described ‘hot mum’ has her own daughter to make hot chocolate with.
Miffy, 25, has swapped movie sets for social media these days, despite going on to earn gigs on Casualty and The Whistleblowers, as well as a role in the short film Beautiful Enough.
Miffy then (Sony)
Miffy told Metro: “[My daughter’s] seen it. She was a bit confused why I had ginger hair and I wasn’t the darker haired one seeing as I’ve had black hair her whole life.
“She still can’t quite get her head around the fact that I’m the lighter haired one.
“Every time she’s seen the clips she asks: ‘Are you sure?’ If you ask her now what film mummy was in she’s like The Holiday which is lovely. I didn’t show her it, it was not out of my choice.
“My family and friends like to see it as just a constant running joke to bring it up as much as possible to embarrass me around Christmas.”
The child star explained she previously ‘couldn’t stomach’ watching the festive favourite as it made her ‘cringe’ seeing herself on screen, but she has since ‘softened’ towards the film after becoming a mother.
This is Miffy now (Instagram/@miffz_)
It didn’t stop her dad – who accompanied her on set for shooting – religiously sticking it on every single year though.
Miffy also revealed she has some memorabilia from The Holiday which was given to her and Emma Pritchard from her high-profile co-stars, which she can’t wait to pass down to Frankie.
She added: “On my last day of set, I was given a present from Jude and Cameron.
“They got us a personalised jacket made with ‘The Holiday 2006‘ written on the back and our names on the front, all embroidered. I’ve also got the back of my little director’s chair that has my name on it as well.
“My daughter will be big enough for a couple of years to wear the jacket that I have which is so cute. So that will be a lovely thing to look forward to.”
So if you see a mini Miffy running amok through the Christmas aisles in a bedazzled jacket, don’t be surprised.
Additional words by Olivia BurkeFeatured Image Credit: Universal/Instagram/@miffz_
Anish Vij
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Updated 17:55 22 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 17:33 22 Dec 2024 GMT
The first Christmas film ever made that’s 126 years old is free to watch on YouTube
Here’s an alternative to re-watching Home Alone over and over
An 126-year-old feature which is believed to be the world’s oldest Christmas film is currently available to watch for free online.
Is it really the festive season unless you’ve spent countless hours lounging in-front of the TV watching back-to-back Christmas films to wait out the food coma?
We’ve all been there and there’s no doubt that you’re more than familiar with the inevitable row which occurs when deciding on which festive movie to watch.
Do you try your luck with a newer release of play it safe and stick to the classics such as Home Alone, Love Actually or How the Grinch Stole Christmas?
Have you ever wondered what the oldest known Christmas film is? (Getty Stock Images)
Or maybe you’re a fan of vintage Christmas cinema and prefer to relax by watching It’s A Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street.
But have you ever thought about watching the oldest Christmas film ever?
What is the oldest Christmas film?
Most of us would be forgiven for thinking that features released in the 1940s and 50s were as old as it gets when it comes to festive movies, which means you’ll be surprised to learn the tradition can be traced all the way back to the Victorian Era.
Just a decade after the first moving footage was ever recorded, British filmmaker George Albert Smith was able to create a clip which is believed to be the oldest film of its kind, titled Santa Claus in 1898.
Take a look at the film below, which is currently available to watch on YouTube:Play
Now for modern audiences who are used to watching two-and-a-half hour mega blockbusters filled with CGI, Santa Claus appears to be extremely basic.
Clocking in at just one minute and 17 seconds, the film sees two children being put to bed by their nanny on Christmas Eve before St. Nicholas appears and makes his way down the chimney.
Once inside the children’s room, Santa places various gifts in their stockings before leaving the children to wake up and discover their presents the following morning.
The clip is silent and in black-and-white – again, it’s 1898, what are you expecting – and is referred to by the British Film Institute’s Michael Brooke as ‘one of the most visually and conceptually sophisticated British films made up to then’.
Santa Claus also displays features which were considered extremely sophisticated for their time, such as a parallel shot of the children sleeping while Santa climbs down the chimney, something which hadn’t yet been seen before in cinema.
An example of filming techniques which were considered pioneering at the time (BFI National Archive/YouTube)
Now Santa Claus may not compare to the Christmas films we’re all familiar with, but it’s certainly fascinating to see a window into how generations long gone enjoyed the same traditions we still love today.Featured Image Credit: (BFI National Archive/YouTube)
Topics: Christmas, Film, YouTube, History
Brenna Cooper
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Published 10:53 24 Dec 2024 GMT
How to listen to Patrick Stewart’s Nightmare Before Christmas cameo you won’t have ever heard
It’s not obvious
Yes, you read the headline right, Patrick Stewart has a secret cameo in Nightmare Before Christmas, and none of you are likely to have heard it.
Now, don’t worry, this isn’t some absolute blunder on the part of moviegoers everywhere, as it’s not in an obvious place.
First though let’s rewind and take a look at the film itself.
The Henry Selick masterpiece written by Tim Burton is a contemporary classic Christmas film and is universally beloved.
Nightmare Before Christmas is a Chrsitmassy classic (Disney)
All signs point to this, whether it be the 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, the Oscar nomination (before there was even a dedicated award for animated film), or even the selection to be preserved in the United States Film Registry by the Library of Congress as a film of significance.
Fans though will be scratching their head to hear that the legendary Patrick Stewart appears, as the cast does not actually include him.
The main cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, and even Spider-Man composer Danny Elfman as the singing voice of Jack Skellington, but nowhere in the cast list is Stewart mentioned.
The film and TV legend technically appeared (Rich Fury via Getty Images)
That’s because the iconic opening to the film was originally voiced in a cameo by Stewart and was cut from the film.
Despite this though the version he did still exists.
It isn’t in deleted scenes for the film, it isn’t hidden in some library somewhere in Tim Burton’s basement, in actual fact it was included in a release of the film, its soundtrack album.
The narration in the end was done by Ed Ivory, who also played Santa Claus in the film.
However, at one time producers wanted Stewart to do it. He picked up the role after Vincent Price, who was originally supposed to play Santa Claus and voice the opening, dropped out.
Price did so due to the death of his wife.
Henry Selick has even stated, per Screenrant, that he met with the late great James Earl Jones to take on the role, but it didn’t work out.
Stewart’s version of the opening monologue is even longer, but fans are split as to which version they’d prefer.
Patrick Stewart version of the Nightmare Before Christmas Opening
Credit: Disney
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One comment on YouTube read: “As much as I love Patrick Stewart, I love the original better simply because it’s shorter and builds up better to the song ,‘This Is Halloween’, that comes later.
“Patrick’s works better as soundtrack poem on its own than a film soundtrack. either this is a great piece of narration.”
Another said: “Patrick Stewart’s diction and vocal control is amazing – the original narration is better, sure, but it’s still great to hear a master at work.”
Some preferred Stewart’s version however, with one fan commenting: “As someone who only saw this movie once or twice in his childhood, I infinitely like this narration better than the one used in the actual movie.
“Though I certainly understand why people who grew up with the movie version would like it better.”
Either way, we’ll never know how much would’ve changed if Stewart’s version had been used, but the film would be sure to still be a Christmas classic if you ask me.