When A Christmas Story premiered in 1983, it ushered in a new kind of holiday movie, one that acknowledged—even relished—the “unbridled avarice,” the commercialism, the disappointments, the hurt feelings, and all-around bad luck that, in reality, often define a typical holiday season. In other words, it dared to show us what real Christmas was like in real families. It brought a blast of satire and realism, wrapped up in a hilarious tale of a middle-class family negotiating the pitfalls of the Christmas season, recalled through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy. The movie was based on stories by New York radio personality Jean Shepherd about his childhood.
8,000 kids auditioned for the role of Ralphie in the original movie, beginning with 12-year-old Peter Billingsley, who was already one of the most successful child actors in commercials in New York during the 1970s. The creators of the movie thought that Billinsley was “too obvious” a choice, so they continued auditioning boys. After seeing literally thousands of boys, they circled back to their first choice, which was Billingsley.
While many people think of A Christmas Story as nostalgic, Jean Shepherd referred to his work as “anti-nostalgic”. A line in the movie describes it best: “Ah, life is like that. Sometimes at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.” Even Santa just wants to hang up his suit and go home.
In 1997, TNT began to air A Christmas Story continuously, starting Christmas eve and ending Christmas night. The tradition continues, with A Christmas Story being broadcast for 24 hours every year. As a result of its popularity, the movie has finally been granted a sequel that premiered on November 17, 2022 on HBO Max. Peter Billingsley (who was one of the producers of the stage musical) reprises his role as Ralphie, along with four other actors from the original movie: Ian Petrella as Randy, Zack Ward as Scut Farkus, Scott Schwartz as Flick, and R.D. Robb as Schwartz.
A Christmas Story has been a delight to work on... and we didn't shoot our eye out! We hope you enjoy the show!
