Current:Home > FinancePete Holmes, Judy Greer on their tears and nerves before 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' -GrowthInsight
Pete Holmes, Judy Greer on their tears and nerves before 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever'
View
Date:2025-04-13 03:27:21
Pete Holmes and Judy Greer are in a great mood, perhaps even feeling jolly. The two play off each other while trading barbs about past projects ("Look, Judy's been in a few stinkers," Holmes, 45, quips) and potential future endeavors. When they bring up the idea of rebooting "Cheers," Holmes ponders if he could play Ted Danson's character Sam Malone.
"I thought you'd be Norm, no?" Greer, 49, retorts before adding "It was just a joke."
The pair are currently promoting their new film "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," an adaptation of Barbara Robinson's 1972 children's novel. "Christmas Pageant" tells the story of the Herdmans, six outcast children who land the lead roles in their church's annual Christmas play. When the town gets word that these misbehaved children have taken over the beloved pageant, they demand that Grace (Greer) kick them out. Complicating matters for Grace and her husband Bob (Holmes): she's directing the play for the first time, and both of their children are also participating in it.
"I cried. I really did," Holmes recalls after first reading the script. "The story is about letting the other in and folding other people into your community, not just to tolerate them but to celebrate them. And that is the spirit of Christmas and that is a message that we need more and more."
The movie is narrated by Grace's daughter Beth, played by Molly Belle Wright and voiced by "Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham, who also appears in the final scene.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"I really think (the film) is more relevant than the filmmakers and the writers could possibly have known," Graham, 57, says. "It's exactly what I want at the holidays, which is something you can truly go to with your entire family and not worry that anyone's going to feel left out or offended or not entertained. I just thought it was really beautiful."
"Christmas Pageant" was filmed during last year's holiday season in Winnipeg, Canada. There was no snow, but it was cold enough to warrant hand warmers and thermals during production. Greer also experienced another byproduct of a holiday film: working with a lot of children.
"The kids were amazing and I was nervous about that because I don't have little kids at home," she says. "I was like, 'What am I signing up for here?'"
For "Christmas Pageant," scenes inside the family home were shot first. After a week with Holmes and their two onscreen children, new groups of kids were added in daily.
"All of a sudden, I'm at the church (and) there's all the kids," Greer recalls. "I am so overwhelmed. And what I love so much is that my character Grace is very overwhelmed. So I really didn't have to do much acting."
And how did Holmes react? "I just moonwalked away."
Greer jokes that he went right to the food spread. "I was like, 'I'll be at the bowl of free Skittles. Enjoy.'"
veryGood! (66)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Senate Majority Leader Schumer warns that antisemitism is on the rise as he pushes for Israel aid
- The Essentials: 'Wish' star Ariana DeBose shares her Disney movie favorites
- AP Photos: Church that hosted Rosalynn Carter funeral played key role in her and her husband’s lives
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Hurricane-Weary Floridians Ask: What U.N. Climate Talks?
- Attorney says Young Thug stands for 'Truly Humble Under God' in Day 2 of RICO trial
- The Essentials: 'Wish' star Ariana DeBose shares her Disney movie favorites
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- At COP28, the United States Will Stress an End to Fossil Emissions, Not Fuels
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Congress members, activists decry assaults against anti-China protesters during San Francisco summit
- Search remains suspended for 4 missing crewmembers in Mississippi River
- Kelsea Ballerini Details Sex Life With Chase Stokes
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Actor Jonathan Majors in court for expected start of jury selection in New York assault trial
- Three teenagers injured in knife attack at a high school in Poland
- Finland closes last crossing point with Russia, sealing off entire border as tensions rise
Recommendation
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
College Football Playoff rankings winners and losers: Top five, Liberty get good news
College football playoff rankings: Georgia keeps No. 1 spot, while top five gets shuffled
The body of a missing 7-year-old boy was recovered in a pond near his Texas home
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon goes on hunger strike to call for cease-fire in Gaza
What works for treating the common cold? Many doctors say 'not much'
Taylor Swift celebrates Spotify top artist 'gift' with release of 'From the Vault' track