With director Mike Mitchell at the helm, Affleck, Applegate, and the rest of the cast were in the hands of a director with experience handling physical comedies. Mitchell made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo," did story/storyboard work on "Shrek 2" and the upcoming "Shrek 3," and directed the pilot and three episodes of "Greg the Bunny." Since finishing "Surviving Christmas," Mitchell's been busy directing the superhero comedy movie, "Sky High," after which he'll begin production on "Fraud Prince."
INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR MIKE MITCHELL:
Is it true that 10 days before you started shooting "Surviving Christmas" you didn’t have James Gandolfini committed to making the movie?
Yeah, that’s true.
What was your back-up plan?
We had no back-up plan. There’s no making this movie without James Gandolfini.
Really?
Really. Swear to God.
You would have just shut down production?
Yeah, happily. He had to be in it. It had to be James Gandolfini.
Why was he so important?
Well, the combination of Ben Affleck who plays like a really annoying, over-the-top, wants-to-celebrate-Christmas kind of guy with Gandolfini… Like it’s really James Gandolfini surviving Ben Affleck for the holidays. It just doesn’t work any other way without Gandolfini. They both play themselves in the film. It’s hysterical.
What elements do you have to have to make a good Christmas movie?
Snow. You have to have real snow. You have to have Santa Claus in it. You have to have presents. And you have to have an annoying rich guy who visits a family in his old house.
How difficult was it to shoot this movie in Chicago?
It was freezing cold but we got real snow and everything looked beautiful. It was great. I love Chicago.
Did you allow the actors freedom to adlib?
Well, Ben Affleck’s a writer so he’s good at adlibbing and Catherine O’Hara is the champion from all the Christopher Guest movies. And Christina Applegate… So I’d be crazy, I’d be crazy not to let them adlib.
And you’re currently filming the superhero movie, “Sky High?”
“Sky High” – it’s awesome. It’s excellent. Oh man, it’s so great. It’s got Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston and Bruce Campbell and “Wonder Woman” – Lynda Carter – in it.
How does it compare to the other superhero movies?
It’s way better (laughing). And it’s kind of having fun with the genre. You know how superhero movies have gotten like all black leather and like real cool? This is like really colorful and goofy and kind of making fun of the genre. Instead of heroes and jocks, it’s sidekicks versus heroes. Like no one wants to be a sidekick so… There are great big sets and huge action pieces. It's nutty.
"Surviving Christmas" - Ben Affleck Interview / Christina Applegate Interview
