Movie in the Making

In this interview from Day 16 of filming, the writers of Nutmeg & Mistletoe discuss the "surreal" experience of seeing their characters and locations come to life on set. 

• Surreal Arrivals: Writers Jen and Deb describe the "magical" experience of meeting the cast and seeing the bed-and-breakfast set, which perfectly matched their visual imaginations.
• The Development Journey: The project involved a year of development and approximately 12 script rewrites before filming.
• Character and Costume Praise: The writers felt the casting for Mistletoe and Nutmeg was perfect and were particularly "tickled" by the "incredible" costume designs.
• Defining Magic Rules: A key discussion centered on the specific "rules" of elf magic: Clarence can slow or stop time at a future cost, Nutmeg must understand mechanics before fixing them, and Mistletoe’s beauty-focused magic sometimes conflicts with physics.
• Fresh Perspectives: The film stands out from holiday tropes by featuring two flawed female leads as the primary Christmas elves.
• On-Set Details: The writers were delighted by character-specific prop choices, such as a cupcake-eating habit and a hilarious sleeping mask with open eyes to show a character's "wired" nature.
• The "Imperfect" Message: The story explores the idea that even beings who live for hundreds of years, like elves, suffer from the same insecurities and blind spots as humans.
• Favorite Holiday Films: The group shares their top Christmas movies, including A Christmas Story (despite the "horrible" source book), Christmas Vacation, A Muppets Christmas Carol, and the 2004 film Noel.

Jen Bascom
Deb Dodge

Also see their first interview video (or listen to Season 1 Episode 3)

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Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

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We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage!

In this episode: Celebrating a birthday on the final day of the shoot, moving to the "Disney lot" at Golden Oak for Santa’s Workshop, $500 sets of prosthetic elf ears , operating C-cam to "steal" interstitial footage, using metal balls and color palettes for VFX reference, hacking the script to manage $50,000-per-hour overtime costs, performing "mental gymnastics" for a reverse-motion letter catch, the "contingency" fund, changing the penultimate scene on the fly, wrapping everyone and life "on the road". Time to start post.

A framed shot of Santa's workshop: https://imgur.com/a/C1hzwjg
Our prop master, Kesli: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5507420/

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Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

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We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage!

In this episode: Navigating the "C-Cam" vs. Second Unit distinction, learning lessons about shooting background actors, the "disgusting" reality of the poo truck cleaning out the bathroom trailers, long-standing "last call" traditions with flowers and selfies for wrapping actors, "Snow Globe Gate" where a prop smashed and was fixed in 15 minutes, and filming the Electronic Press Kit (EPK) interviews.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage!

In this episode: Misty and Nutmeg’s "frenemy" antagonism during the town play, using emergency floodlights and reflectors to film a power outage monologue, hearing about Jen’s work on Disney’s Galactic StarCruiser, Sarah and Madeline treating the crew to a mid-afternoon coffee cart, debating a "startup-style" invite-only launch strategy for distributors, team getting more efficient, and deciding whether to show actors rough assemblies to avoid "hurt feelings", using Shotdeck.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage!

In this episode: Four-hour rehearsals for the complicated stage play scene, pre-lighting the set to beat the schedule for the first time, meeting screenwriters Jen and Deb in person after eighteen months of Zoom, viewing the first 45-minute rough assembly, concerns over the "Christmas feel" without snow or reindeer, and leaning on "North Star" faith to get through the uncertainty of production.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage! 

In this episode: Earning a SAG card with the "Groundskeeper Chucky" speaking role, the high-risk relief of swapping out a key production member mid-shoot, capturing "stunning" footage of the misfits in the first falling snow, the camaraderie of "$5 Fridays" where the pot reached $2,700 for three different winners, and a visit from Peter’s viral-video-star mother.

Peter's viral Mom: https://www.tiktok.com/@barbiejh?_r=1&_t=ZP-93vLosJe0OU

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe." 

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like. 

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage! 

In this episode: Festive dance scenes at Church of the Chimes with disco balls and punch bowls , witnessing the mechanical nature of on-screen kisses, listening to Justin Jesso’s (https://www.justin-jesso.com/) original song "Waiting for Christmas" on repeat, Nia Vardalos’s "big fat script" advice for overcoming writing resistance, Big Magic (https://www.amazon.com/Big-Magic-Creative-Living-Beyond/dp/1594634726), fixing uncomfortable personnel drama on set, and legendary producer Rachel Winter providing guidance on high-level emotional tones.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage! 

In this episode: Heartbroken leaf-raking in 80-degree weather, funny dialogue in the Bed & Breakfast, "school" and teacher on set, receiving scripts from crew members, interest from **** theaters regarding distribution, P&A, and calculating the "4x" investment hurdle required to break even in theatrical releases, the film business is broken.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.

It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage!

In this episode: Tesla self-driving thrills, Church of the Chimes in Sherman Oaks, The Office wedding location, the energy of natural environments vs. soundstages , finishing 75 minutes early, Nia Vardalos as the town’s multi-hyphenate mayor-principal , Charlie’s leaf-raking cameo in 80-degree heat, sprinting into costume , Reid MILLER's as Zak, Melissa Kent editing, the three phases of movie-making , TV pacing vs. film pacing, the DIT’s digital workflow , Frame.IO and the "demoralizing" rough assembly, screenwriter Mike Werb’s "vote of approval", seven days remaining.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram

We started our 18-day shoot of our Christmas comedy called "Nutmeg and Mistletoe."

I decided I would just hit the record button, usually at the end of each day, with my thoughts what was happening that day? What I learned, and generally what being on set for 12 hours a day is like.
It is quite unfiltered and unedited (with the occasional beep) - hope you enjoy being backstage!

In this episode: Leaving Santa Clarita Studios (thanks Mike!), being a "small" budget movie, union tradeoffs, packing up instantly, showing the misfits for the first time, hair and makeup, using standins (the "seconds"), running late and cuts, everyone pulling in different directions, a little B-cam to fix extras that were too old, reenacting a scene from the previous night, kids looking the wrong way, first blue screen (https://www.instagram.com/p/DUSPT_nDW8E/), "gallery" for the model shoot and movie posters (15 mins!), avoiding stalkers.

Send a text

Questions or thoughts? => [email protected]

Get daily work updates on Instagram