On the December 24, 2018 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor in chief Peter Sciretta is joined by managing editor Jacob Hall, weekend editor Brad Oman, senior writer Ben Pearson, and writers Hoai-Tran Bui andChris Evangelista to celebrate the Holiday season with a special Christmas Clipisode. We play back through our favorite Christmas movies of all time, and revisit the War against Die Hard Christmas.
You can subscribe to /Film Daily on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (here is the RSS URL if you need it).
Opening Banter: It's Christmas Eve and instead of no episode we decided to put together a clip show. We hope you enjoy.
December 26, 2017: The /Film crew talks about their favorite Christmas movies of all time:
- Peter’s picks: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Treevenge, Christmas Vacation, Gremlins, A Christmas Story
- Chris’ Picks: Eyes Wide Shut, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Batman Returns, Muppet Xmas Carol
- HT’s Picks: Elf, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Harry Potter, Love Actually, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Ben’s picks: Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Christmas Vacation, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How The Grinch Stole Christmas
- Jacob’s Picks: Rare Exports, It’s a Wonderful Life, Muppet Christmas Carol, Jingle All the Way, Krampus
New Segment:What is the Christmas movie you hate?
- Peter: Santa Claus: The Movie
- Brad: Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol
- Chris: SCROOGE, the musical version of a Christmas carol with Albert Finney
- HT: Polar Express
- Ben: Four Christmases
- Jacob: Home Alone
Link: The Morning Watch: ‘Family Guy’ Says Goodbye to Carrie Fisher, The Greatness of ‘Home Alone’ & More
December 6, 2018: Chris reads the news story New Poll Shows Most People Don’t Consider ‘Die Hard’ to be a Christmas Movie, So Can We Bury This Argument Already? and Jacob rants about what is and is not a Christmas movie.
December 13, 2018: A reader writes in responding to Jacob's Christmas movie rant and Jacob responds:
- Steve B writes in in response to our Christmas movie argument: “Most films are not just one genre. '21 Jump Street' is a comedy, but also an action movie. Shaun Of The Dead is a comedy but also a horror movie. In that vein, I say Die Hard is an Action film, a Heist film, and also a Christmas movie. The whole reason John McClane is in Los Angeles in the first place is to see his family for Christmas. Argyle is playing 'Christmas' music in the limo. They debate cutting power to a portion of the city because it is Christmas. The thieves did not pick that day at random. Christmas is a plot point to the film. It COULD have been written for John to have come to L.A. to see his family for Holly's birthday, or for his kid's school recital, but then it loses something for the plot. Could 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' work as a Christmas movie instead of Thanksgiving? Yes, but it would lose something that Thanksgiving gives to that movie. If the genre (including a holiday) has a plot point to the film, and taking it away lessens the film, then I THINK it’s reasonable to count it as part of the film's description. For these reasons, I think that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. If others feel it isn't, I'm cool with that, as long as they are OK with me thinking that it is.”
New Segment: Jacob decides what is and isn't a Christmas movie:
- /Film Daily listener Cade wrote in asking if Batman Returns is a Christmas movie
- The Sound of Music
- Lethal Weapon
- Casablanca
- The Night Before
- Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
- Eyes Wide Shut
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
- Serendipity
- You've Got Mail
- Trading Places
- Catch Me If You Can
- Go
- Rocky IV
- Life of Brian
- Love Actually
All the other stuff you need to know:
- You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes.
- /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com.
- You can subscribe to /Film Daily on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast, Spotify and all the popular podcast apps (RSS).
- Send your feedback, questions, comments and concerns to us at peter@slashfilm.com. Please leave your name and general geographic location in case we mention the e-mail on the air.
- Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes, tell your friends and spread the word!
- Thanks to Sam Hume for our logo.
- Christmas illustration in the header is from Paul Shipper
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code FILMDAILY for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com/
* Check out Factor and use my code slashfilm50 for a great deal: www.factor75.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
