Anyone can achieve great things with the help of friends.
On Sunday, an all-star cast of Hollywood favorites gathered virtually to kick off the holiday season by sharing some holiday cheer.
Brendan Fraser and Christina Applegate, along with Ken Jeong, Fred Armisen, Gene Smart and many others, light up our screens to read the 1946 Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life at a charity table.
Make this holiday season extra special by watching an encore presentation of the live stream event.
Your participation will not only bring you entertainment and joy, but will also benefit a good cause. Indeed, all proceeds from the show go to the Ed Asner Family Center’s valuable mental health and growth programs for children with disabilities and their families.
Fraser took on the role of George Bailey, a man who faces despair and is ready to give up – all of George’s life until he meets his guardian angel, Clarence (Seth Rogen). It reveals how small actions can have lasting impact.
Despite their best efforts, the cast’s performance was challenged by several technical issues.
“I’m having a technical in George Bailey-land over here, in case you haven’t noticed! My iPad is dying!” Fraser said at one point in the show.
Applegate then replied: “You better get a plug!” J.K. Simmons and James Cromwell only chuckled.
“I’ll keep reading until it croaks,” Fraser kid before going back to his monologue.
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Fraser
In one hilarious moment, Fraser pretended to make an old-fashioned phone call to an imaginary recipient far from his ear.
When it was time for Applegate to take action, she quipped, “Well, I’m going to hold my phone as far away from my ear as Brendan did!” Fraser, Jeong and Sue Ann Pien all found her clever remark hilariously entertaining.
To further promote their cause, Tom Bergeron was instrumental in organizing a series of activities to generate understanding and contributions for the charity.
At a thrilling event, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann were honored amidst live performances from music icons Jennifer Hudson and Wallows.
To top it off, coveted autographed movie and TV items made their rounds on the auction block, with bidders vying for ownership of the prizes.
Discover the details you need to be part of this incredible live stream experience – from purchasing tickets to learning more about what’s in store.
It’s a Wonderful Life
With snow glistening in the streetlights and holiday cheer bubbling through Bedford Falls, one could almost hear Christmas carols ringing from George’s footsteps as he ran to wish the cherished Building & Loan a festive season.
But this time, it was accompanied by an extra special crunchy soundtrack.
During the Golden Age of film, Hollywood studios were determined to provide viewers with a realistic wintery atmosphere.
But instead of authentic snow, productions relied on creative substitution such as bleached cornflakes and — surprisingly — even asbestos for scenes that required close-up shots.
To make the winter scene look truly authentic, footprints in the snow needed to be included – a vital element for transporting viewers directly into this white wonderland.
George is the epitome of kindness; however, his holiday cheer gets a harsh reality check when an angel visits him. In It’s A Wonderful Life, George receives a lesson in life as guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) shows him what darkness awaits if he had never existed.
“Capra wanted to be able to shoot live dialogue in close-ups while snow was falling, and he also knew he needed a lot of snow in general,” author of Christmas in the Movies, Jeremy Arnold, said.
“The snow is vital to the storytelling,” he continued.
“It conveys not just a joyful Christmas Eve but also the character’s rebirth. It tells the audience George is back in the real world. He’s back from this alternate reality; the snow starts falling, and we get it right away. And that is a very gentle, cleansing snow.”
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Design of the Set
In search of a way to bring his 4-acre set alive, Capra called upon Russell Shearman – head of the RKO special effects department. With their combined expertise, they crafted an ingeniously silent solution that transformed the scene into something unique and magical.
The final solution was an ingenious blend of Foamite from fire extinguishers, soap, sugar and water. When released under high pressure with a silent fan, the mixture created a gentle waft over any set.
“You could create various types of falling snow from really gentle to wind-driven, and it could be sprayed anywhere on the set in a targeted way,” Arnold elaborated.
“That was something that hadn’t really been possible because when you’re releasing cornflakes, you’re basically just dropping them straight down.”
Stewart and the cast brought a winter wonderland to life with this clever trick – creating an icy atmosphere even amid blazing hot summer days in L.A.
“The heat is the greatest endorsement of the invention,” Arnold added. “Because the snow looks very real. It looks great even in those hot conditions.”
Photo: Meredith Corp
