A Christmas Open House

Production Notes

Melissa Norwood (Katie Stevens) has been building her career as a property stager in Atlanta, with hopes of opening her own business someday soon. Melissa specializes in making spaces appealing to buyers by removing anything too personal, but when she teams with realtor David Phelps (Victor Rasuk) to stage her own childhood home, getting too personal is something she may not be able to avoid.

When Melissa returns to her hometown of Rutledge, Georgia, for her mom’s wedding, she is blindsided by the news that her mother is selling the house in which she grew up…and her realtor is none other than David Phelps, the guy she had a crush on all through school. But that was then, and now she is focused on staging her cozy but outdated family home to help David sell it to the right buyer.

The two agree to work together, though Melissa’s clean, modern style clashes with the small-town charm David thinks will sell in Rutledge. One thing they do agree on is the addition of custom pieces, uniquely crafted by David’s artisan friends, Henry and Sarah Wright (Ben and Erin Napier), to add warmth and character to the space.

As Melissa and David transform the home, the undeniable sparks between them rekindle feelings Melissa thought were long past. But since her career dreams are in Atlanta and David is settled in Rutledge, their budding romance may be over before it even starts.

“A Christmas Open House” was directed by Emily Moss Wilson from a screenplay by Brian Turner & Garrett Frawley. Mark Crump produced the film. The executive producers are Sheri Singer and Jane Latman for Discovery; Megan Ellstrom, Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment. Garrett Frawley and Brian Turner co-produce.

The film stars Katie Stevens as Melissa Norwood, Victor Rasuk as David Phelps, Monica Garcia Bradley as Melissa’s best friend, Gloria; Bobbi Eakes as Melissa’s mom, Janice; James Healy Jr. as Janice’s new husband, Teddy Lee; Zachariah Rogers as Gloria’s husband, Ray; Byron Mitchell Wigfall as James, the owner of a local boutique eatery; Josh Henry as James’s husband, Taylor; Katy Wilson as the town gossip, Ashley; with HGTV stars Ben Napier and Erin Napier as Henry and Sarah Wright.

Wilson’s behind-the-scenes creative team included director of photography Adam Santelli, production designer Robert Wise, editor Scott Lansing, and costume designer Lorraine Coppin. The music is by Jeff Garber.

“A Christmas Open House” is a MarVista Entertainment Production in association with Reflecting Pool Productions Inc.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Anyone who has watched the popular real estate shows on HGTV, or who has recently sold a house, knows the importance of good staging. Part design, part renovation, and integral to today’s real estate, the art of staging combines all of the elements that have become favorites of HGTV viewers. And it is at the center of the new holiday movie “A Christmas Open House.”

Director Emily Moss Wilson offers, “Design and renovation are so big right now, so to have that be a featured part of our story within the framework of Christmas was very appealing to me. Over the past five years, I have directed a handful of holiday projects, but this one brought an interesting home renovation storyline, which was something I’d never done before and made me excited to jump onboard. And the talent I got to work with on this movie elevated it even more.”

Katie Stevens stars as Melissa Norwood, a talented designer who has been working as a property stager in Atlanta, Georgia, with plans to start her own company. At the start of the film, she is in her hometown of Rutledge to attend her mother’s wedding, but what was originally supposed to be a short visit may change all her life plans.

Stevens details, “Melissa is a home stager who loves to find the potential in a house and make it an environment for buyers to envision themselves living there. When she comes home and learns her mother has decided to sell her childhood home, it’s very important to her to take part in making sure it goes to the right person.”

The actress says she connected to her character on several levels, noting, “I come from a small town, and I too moved away to go after my passion and make a name for myself. But my grandparents’ house has been in our family since the late 1950s; my mom grew up there and I also consider it to be the home I was raised in. So I could relate to Melissa in terms of, if that house was to ever to be sold, I would be heartbroken, and I would want it to go to somebody who was going to make it their family home and create new memories in it.”

In Rutledge, Melissa is confronted by some old memories, when she is reunited with David Phelps—once the boy she had had a crush on all through high school, now the realtor charged with selling her childhood home.

Victor Rasuk, who stars in the role, notes that his character has strong ties to his hometown, where his family, friends and career all intersect. “David Phelps is the kind of guy who always wants to do things to help his community. He is very altruistic and wants to make sure the people there are taken care of. And Christmas fits right into his realm. I love the Christmas season, when I feel that people are more in the giving spirit.”

Wilson remarks, “There is a lovely small-town community theme in this film—the specialness of knowing your neighbors have your back and being able to achieve the seemingly impossible because of the people around you, supporting you. Then, of course, there is the love story, where Melissa and David have been like two ships passing in the night. There have always been feelings there, but because of circumstances, nothing had ever happened between them. So there is also the theme of possible second chances.”

Stevens adds, “Melissa has put her career first, but when you’re watering the seeds of your career, I think it’s equally important to have a personal life outside of that. The things that will withstand the test of time are the relationships that you cultivate and the love you have in your life.”

If David is going to sell the house to the right buyer, and for the right price, there is no denying it is in serious need of a facelift. This is Melissa’s wheelhouse and she is already envisioning updates with a more modern décor throughout. On the other hand, David doesn’t want to lose the home’s southern charm and character, which he feels are a better fit for the small-town ambience of Rutledge, as well as any house hunters who would want to live there.

As they start to find common ground, Melissa and David also begin to rediscover the connection of their shared history, and Wilson says Stevens and Rasuk perfectly captured their bond. “Katie and Victor have such great chemistry together and could not have been more wonderful. Not only did they get along beautifully and trust each other and push each other, they were so dedicated and talented as performers, which is a dream for a director.”

One design piece Melissa and David immediately agree on is a new, custom mantle for the fireplace. However, it’s going to take a miracle to get one made in time for Christmas, which is when David’s prospective buyers are due to see the house and when Melissa plans to head home. But David knows exactly who to call: expert craftsman Henry Wright and his artist/designer wife, Sarah, played by Ben and Erin Napier, the stars of HGTV’s hit show “Home Town.”

“We’re incredibly flattered that HGTV asked us to be part of one of their first-ever scripted holiday movies,” says Erin, who adds that the holiday season setting was ideal for Ben. “Ben is the Christmas king! He listens to Christmas music year-round while he works out.”

“I do listen to Christmas music first thing in the morning,” Ben confirms. “It’s a joyful way to start the day.”

The series “Home Town” is centered around home restorations in the small town of Laurel, Mississippi, where the Napiers live and work. In fact, their scenes were filmed in their own workshop. Erin observes that “A Christmas Open House” taps into a similar vibe. “I feel like small-town America is having a real revival right now, and to make a movie set in a small town at Christmastime…I think that’s the idyllic Christmas vision a lot of people have. There’s a reason they make movies like this, and it’s because it feels good to imagine a life like that.”

“Or to follow your dreams,” adds Ben. “I think something that rings true today, especially here in America, is that you don’t have to leave a small town to have a big career or a big life. You can do everything here.”

“Ben and Erin are so charismatic and fun to work with,” Wilson states. “This was their first scripted acting job, and they absolutely killed it. They fit into their roles so seamlessly and I’m excited for their fans to see them in a slightly different way.”

Both Stevens and Rasuk shared her enthusiasm about working with the couple. “I am a very big fan of interior design and of watching people who are very skilled at it, so it was impressive to be in Ben and Erin’s presence and watch the way they work,” says Stevens.

Rasuk, who calls himself “a total DIYer,” offers, “I am a huge fan of ‘Home Town,’ so I was thrilled when I found out they were part of this film. I couldn’t wait to meet them and maybe pick their brains on things I could do back home. What I love about home renovation and design is the imagination aspect of it. You can walk into a place that’s a complete disaster and envision what it could be from beginning to end.”

Wilson reveals that those on set did not have to imagine the home makeover. “We were actually transforming a real house. It’s not smoke and mirrors; we were genuinely making those physical changes. It was exciting for me to figure out with our production design team and our logistics team how we were going to do that and shoot in this house at the same time. It was not easy, and I hope that when everybody sees it, they will see the hard work that we put into it.”

“A Christmas Open House” was filmed almost entirely in Atlanta, in late summer. For Wilson, along with her cast and crew, that translated to extreme heat and humidity. “It was also very rainy,” the director recalls, “and those things combined presented particular challenges for hair, makeup, and wardrobe. When you’re asking an actor to put on a winter coat when it’s 85 degrees outside, you have to try and make it as manageable as possible. Our crew did a fantastic job bringing Christmas to life, so it wasn’t really hard to get in the Christmas spirit, but it was a little hard to ignore what Mother Nature was trying to throw at us,” she laughs.

Despite the challenges, Wilson concludes, “When you work with amazing people, and the attitudes and the energy are so positive, it just makes everything light and fun. And then, on the flip side, when these types of movies come out, they are something everybody can enjoy with their family, so I just love that.”