Alicia Witt on Becoming a Hallmark Holiday Tradition

quotThere39s a sense of beauty about family getting together on the holidays and making memories like amp8216What did you do on Christmasamp8221 amp160amp8216What were you watching as the tree was being decoratedamp8217amp8221 she continued amp160amp8220It gives me chills to talk about it but truly all year long if I39m at an airport or in a mall people will come up to me with very real emotion to say amp8216You are a part of my family39s Christmas tradition every year amp160We can39t wait to see your new Christmas movie and it wouldnamp8217t be Christmas without you and we39ve watched A Very Merry Mixup each year since it came outamp8217 amp160That39s amazing because I remember what Christmas movies meant to me when I was growing upquotThe switch to Hallmark Movies ampamp Mysteries for this year39s tradition was not something calculated on Witt39s partamp160 Rather it was the film39s heartfelt script that hit home amp160quotCertainly while filming it we felt a depth which was an unusual grief and emotion not normally seen in Hallmark Christmas moviesquot she explained amp160quotI instantly fell in love with it amp160As an actor sometimes projects just find you for a specific reason amp160I was very moved by the whole story and it resonated deeply amp160It made me cry the first time I read it and the second timequotIn Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane Witt stars Emma Morgan a recently single New York lawyer who returns to Oliver Wells Virginia to spend time with her siblings Andie Laura Leighton and Daniel Jordan Dean amp160The reunion is bittersweet as the siblings mourn the loss of their mother and possibly their last gathering in their beloved family home amp160While in town Emma meets local antique dealer Morgan Shelby Colin Ferguson pictured with Witt above and at top whose criticism of the blueribbon Christmas wreaths Emmaamp8217s mother introduced is not well received amp160It39s not until they are forced to team up for a snowman building competition that the ice between them begins to melt amp160However things get complicated when Ian John Palladino her ex descends on the festivities hoping to make amendsamp8220I have a dear friend whoamp8217d just lost her mother maybe within a week of my receiving this scriptamp8221 recalled Witt amp160amp8220My parents are very much with us so it was something I was feeling by proxy amp160Emma didn39t resolve a lot of issues with her mother before she passed and both were so stubborn they let it go on for years amp8220My mom and I havenamp8217t always seen eye to eyeamp8221 she continuedamp160 amp8220We have a great relationship but there is always amp8216stuffamp8217 amp160I think itamp8217s common to a lot of mothers and daughters amp160I39m hopeful the film will give people those Christmas vibes and inspire some muchneeded conversations with loved ones amp160I was also drawn to the idea of making a movie about a character with siblings it wasnamp8217t just Emma out there on her ownamp8221According to Witt the assembled cast made the project a joy amp160amp8220This was an important element of the filmamp8221 she said amp160amp8220We bonded instantaneously and in a way that39s rare on a film set amp160This group was together every night we could be All we all wanted to do was hang out after we wrapped we kept a group text going for weeks amp160Thatamp8217s incredibly rare and I am still in touch with everyoneamp8221She was delighted that amp8220A Christmas Miracleamp8221 her newly penned holiday song now available on iTunes was also featured in the film amp160amp8220The song is also a little sadamp8221 she explained amp160amp8220It makes me think of military families as it39s about someone you love very much not being with you for whatever reason at Christmas timeamp8221Witt hopes her own Christmas this year will be filled with decorating her new Nashville home with friends amp160And sheamp8217s already hard at work on her next Hallmark Christmas movie amp160amp8220This one I wrote the story to so it39s based on my original ideaamp8221 she beamed amp160amp8220It39ll be my first produced thing as a writer which is very exciting and I39ll be writing an original song to perform on camera as the character sings amp160I love that Hallmark was the first to step forward and actually make it happenamp160 Theyamp8217re open to listening to their actors amp160It39s been wonderful working with them as a producer and developeramp8221Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane will be telecast Saturday November 24 at 9 pm on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries as a part of its Miracles of Christmas programming event Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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Alicia Witt on Becoming a Hallmark Holiday Tradition

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Alicia Witt on Becoming a Hallmark Holiday Tradition

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