Hallmark Movies ❤️ comfort & joy

[wabbott]

I'm wondering though if they actually had a bigger budget or if Biltmore paid them (once they agreed upon filming there) a certain amount to allow a lot of "product placement" for lack of a better term. Many of the shots of the movie were actually the exterior of Biltmore, enough of the lines were about Biltmore, it was like a commercial for Biltmore and during actual commercials (even though I fast-forwarded them) most of them were tourism ones for Biltmore or Asheville or just North Carolina so I'm wondering if the Estate and the state chipped in some money towards this movie. It was a well-done movie absolutely but a part of it did feel like there was that tourism edge to it.

Purely speculation but it's not often you see quite as much in your face about an actual real place you can visit in Hallmark movies.

Biltmore and the local tourism bureau were sponsors, so it would be fair to say they put money on the project. Television, as we have known it all our lives, was and is paid for by adverting. I watched it and enjoyed it - thought it a neat story - a classic movie made at a famous location that is about to be remade for modern times. The screenwriter travels to the location to soak up atmosphere.

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't have watched the movie had it not been filmed at Biltmore, as I have visited the place a couple of times. Yesterday, there was Christmas at the Plaza. And several Hallmarks have been done in national parks - I've watched them to try and spot the locations I've seen with my own eyes.

Just my personal preference, though.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Biltmore and the local tourism bureau were sponsors, so it would be fair to say they put money on the project. Television, as we have known it all our lives, was and is paid for by adverting. I watched it and enjoyed it - thought it a neat story - a classic movie made at a famous location that is about to be remade for modern times. The screenwriter travels to the location to soak up atmosphere.

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't have watched the movie had it not been filmed at Biltmore, as I have visited the place a couple of times. Yesterday, there was Christmas at the Plaza. And several Hallmarks have been done in national parks - I've watched them to try and spot the locations I've seen with my own eyes.

Just my personal preference, though.

I think I would have watched it even if I hadn't visited it but that's because I like that whole estate-vibe, grandeur kind of thing. If it's a movie centered around a specific building or place I'm normally into it because I like travel.

But I think those who have gone can have a bit more appreciation for it. Like you looking for the locations you've been to when we were watching it and they were near the botanical greenhouse, I exclaimed how pretty it was with the lights and said oh I remember being in there my husband looked at me and said "we went to the greenhouse??" and all I had to do was go through my google photos and show him. So for that I agree it's kinda fun to watch a movie when it's filmed at a location you've been to. That's how it was when we watched A Very Venice Romance as we had just gone to Venice (and then A Haunting in Venice was neat to see too even if a complete 180 vibe than a Hallmark movie lol)

 

[wabbott]

I think I would have watched it even if I hadn't visited it but that's because I like that whole estate-vibe, grandeur kind of thing. If it's a movie centered around a specific building or place I'm normally into it because I like travel.

But I think those who have gone can have a bit more appreciation for it. Like you looking for the locations you've been to when we were watching it and they were near the botanical greenhouse, I exclaimed how pretty it was with the lights and said oh I remember being in there my husband looked at me and said "we went to the greenhouse??" and all I had to do was go through my google photos and show him. So for that I agree it's kinda fun to watch a movie when it's filmed at a location you've been to. That's how it was when we watched A Very Venice Romance as we had just gone to Venice (and then A Haunting in Venice was neat to see too even if a complete 180 vibe than a Hallmark movie lol)

Saw the Venice movie, too, as we were there this year. Wasn't it a scream when the chick shoves the guy into the canal first thing?

 

[Imzadi]

Purely speculation but it's not often you see quite as much in your face about an actual real place you can visit in Hallmark movies.

Christmas at the Plaza was set in the famous Plaza Hotel in NYC. They showcased a lot of the hotel. I don't know if the hotel was a sponsor though.

https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas-at-the-plaza

 

[Imzadi]

New Christmas movies premiering Thursday & Friday:

Thursday:
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries:
To All a Good Night at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Kimberley Sustad and Mark Ghanimé
Description: A small-town photographer saves the life of a mysterious man, who may just be in town to buy her family's parkland – which is also the location of the annual Christmas celebration.


Friday:
Hallmark Channel:
Magic in Mistletoe at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Lyndie Greenwood and Paul Campbell.
Description: When an author lands in hot water ahead of the holidays, it's up to his publisher's public relations guru to find a way to repair his image.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I watched an older one (2018) yesterday - Pride, Prejudice, & Mistletoe. I put it in my "honest fluff" category - fairly predictable but definitely enjoyable.

PS - Looks like it's on again Sunday at 8:00 if anyone wants to catch it.

 

[elgerber]

New Christmas movies premiering Thursday & Friday:

Thursday:
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries:
To All a Good Night at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Kimberley Sustad and Mark Ghanimé
Description: A small-town photographer saves the life of a mysterious man, who may just be in town to buy her family's parkland – which is also the location of the annual Christmas celebration.


Friday:
Hallmark Channel:
Magic in Mistletoe at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Lyndie Greenwood and Paul Campbell.
Description: When an author lands in hot water ahead of the holidays, it's up to his publisher's public relations guru to find a way to repair his image.

Two of my favorites but not together LOL

I watched an older one (2018) yesterday - Pride, Prejudice, & Mistletoe. I put it in my "honest fluff" category - fairly predictable but definitely enjoyable.

PS - Looks like it's on again Sunday at 8:00 if anyone wants to catch it.

I have watched that at least twice this year already LOL.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

COOKING UP CHRISTMAS (OWN)

I know this is an older one (2020), but I just watched it today. I liked it a lot. It's on my "will see again" list.

 

[disney4us2002]

Wondering if anyone watched last night's new movie with Kimberley Sustad and Mark Ghanime (the new doc from Virgin River). I ended up home with a dh watching football (boooo!) so I watched this one. I really enjoyed it. Some HM actors just seem like better actors and they fall in that category. I would def watch it again.

This afternoon on Lifetime I was able to rewatch Mistletoe and Mennorahs and I think that is the first movie I ever saw with Jake Epstein. What a super cute movie!

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I DVR'd Biltmore, finally got to see it a couple nights ago. I really enjoyed it!

 

[Imzadi]

New Christmas movies premiering this weekend:

Sorry, my Internet & Cable are down so I can't do the weekend schedule with the movies, stars, and descriptions written out & checked to make sure they are up to date:

Here are the schedules at a glance for all the channels:

Hallmark Channel:

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries:

Lifetime TV:
(Thursday Dec 7 was on the Lifetime Movie Network and is a thriller, not the normal warm & cozy Christmas movie.)

Great American Family:

UPtv:

 

[Imzadi]

Back up and temporarily running.

New Christmas movies premiering this weekend:

Saturday:
Hallmark Channel:
Christmas on Cherry Lane at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Catherine Bell, Jonathan Bennett, John Brotherton, Erin Cahill, James Denton and Vincent Rodriguez III.
Description: A young couple preparing to welcome their first child; an empty-nester and her fiancé ready to start a new chapter; and a gay couple who unexpectedly have the chance to expand their family on Christmas Eve celebrate the holiday as they navigate these turning points in their lives.

Lifetime:
A Cowboy Christmas Romance at 8pm ET and 4 hours later
Re-airs: Sun 12/10 at 12:01am ET
Starring: Jana Kramer & Adam Senn.
Description: (This is the movie that has a more steamy "adult" romantic scene. Not your typical "family-friendly" Christmas movie.) One week before Christmas, a huge business deal sends real estate “closer” Lexie Crenshaw (Jana Kramer) back to a place she swore she’d never return to: her hometown of Tubac, Arizona. Back on the range, Lexie must convince Coby Mason (Adam Senn), a horse-whispering rancher, to part ways with his family’s land, while navigating her relationship with her father (Bruce Thomas) and brothers she left behind, leading her to reconsider the life she gave up 10 years ago.

Great American Family (GAF):
Meet Me Under The Mistletoe at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Sarah Fisher & Simon Arblaster.
Description: Two rival realtors (Sarah Fisher and Simon Arblaster) are forced to work together to sell one special house, owned by a renowned botanist and mistletoe grower, before Christmas.


Sunday:
Hallmark Channel:
Round and Round at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Mishael Morgan, Ronnie Rowe Jr. and Jaime M Callica.
Description: Rachel’s stuck in a time loop, reliving the night of her parents’ Hanukkah party. Can Zach, the “nice boy” Grandma’s trying to set her up with, help her make it to tomorrow? This Hanukkah time-loop movie features Louis Litt from Suits, a Jewish gay couple, and a magic dreidel.

Lifetime:
Yes Chef! Christmas at 8pm ET and 4 hours later
Re-airs: Mon 12/11 at 12:01am ET
Starring: Tia Mowry and Luke Humphrey.
Description: Alicia is a culinary school instructor who has put both her true career aspirations and personal life on the back burner. She is invited to compete in the city’s annual Kringle Cook Off and learns a family secret that could change everything and be the big break she needs to become a respected chef like her former boss Bobby (Buddy Valastro). There to mentor her through the competition is the fiery chef and Kringle protégé, Logan , who Alicia builds a real connection with, despite their rocky start. But can Alicia win the cook-off and prove to herself that she is the capable head chef that Logan believes her to be?

Great American Family (GAF):
Peppermint and Postcards at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Ella Cannon and Christopher Russell.
Description: When a Christmas letter concerning her love life goes viral, one mom discovers that romance might be right at her door.

UPtv:
Christmas at an Amish Bakery at 7pm ET
Re-airs: Sun 12/10 at 11pm ET
Sat, 12/16 at 9 PM
Sun, 12/17 at 11 AM
Wed, 12/20 at 7 PM
Starring: Alexandra Harris and Sean Koetting.
Description: After leaving her Amish community in her youth, a New York book editor finds herself in desperate need of a new cookbook to save her job. With Christmas on the horizon Sarah heads back to her family farm and reconnect. But with the presence of a handsome local—an outsider, but one that is friendly with the Amish community—he and Sarah sense chemistry and work together to save her family’s Amish bakery (developing an Amish Christmas Cookbook in the process).

 

[Imzadi]

Great American Family (GAF):
A Royal Date for Christmas
Starring: Danica McKellar & Damon Runyan.
Description: Bella Sparks (McKellar), owner of Bella Sparks Couture, takes on a demanding new client “Stefan” (Runyan) to outfit for a week of high stakes meetings and events after his luggage goes missing. Stefan asks Bella to be his “official plus one” for many of the formal soirees, a request Bella accepts with good humor. Imagine Bella’s reaction when she accidentally discovers “Stefan” is Stefan William Francis Brown, the Duke of Tangford.

I watched A Royal Date for Christmas. It's a classic Danica McKeller movie, sweet, predictable, pure fluff. She is cast with Damon Runyan, whom she starred with in a Valentine Movie a few years back, where he wore a mask at a costume Ball and she confused him for Cameron Mathison. They didn't fit in that movie. We see how they fit in this one. I will watch this one again.

 

[CGB]

Back up and temporarily running.

Lifetime:
A Cowboy Christmas Romance at 8pm ET and 4 hours later
Re-airs: Sun 12/10 at 12:01am ET
Starring: Jana Kramer & Adam Senn.
Description: (This is the movie that has a more steamy "adult" romantic scene. Not your typical "family-friendly" Christmas movie.) One week before Christmas, a huge business deal sends real estate “closer” Lexie Crenshaw (Jana Kramer) back to a place she swore she’d never return to: her hometown of Tubac, Arizona. Back on the range, Lexie must convince Coby Mason (Adam Senn), a horse-whispering rancher, to part ways with his family’s land, while navigating her relationship with her father (Bruce Thomas) and brothers she left behind, leading her to reconsider the life she gave up 10 years ago.

Glad you're back up and hope the temporary is actually permanent for you.

I watched A Cowboy Christmas Romance last night. You could definitely tell this one wasn't a Hallmark movie, but I liked it. I was impressed with the male lead's ability to capture that rugged, stubborn-yet-so-polite cowboy image... but then I read he was raised in Texas. I also felt Lexie's relationship with her dad was well-acted. Thumbs up from me. And yes... it was a bit steamier.

Earlier, I tried to get into Reba McIntye's Christmas in Tune with John Schneider. I like Reba, but I just couldn't stay interested.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hallmark Channel:
Christmas on Cherry Lane at 8pm ET / 7pm CT
Starring: Catherine Bell, Jonathan Bennett, John Brotherton, Erin Cahill, James Denton and Vincent Rodriguez III.
Description: A young couple preparing to welcome their first child; an empty-nester and her fiancé ready to start a new chapter; and a gay couple who unexpectedly have the chance to expand their family on Christmas Eve celebrate the holiday as they navigate these turning points in their lives.

Watched this one today and loved it! (I found it on Peacock.) If you watch, pay close attention to the little details -

Spoiler

It gave me very much a "This Is Us" vibe.

 

[disney4us2002]

Thanks PollyannaMom, I only caught the last 45 minutes and I was soooo lost. Now, I get why I was lost. I'll try to rewatch it when it reruns.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

CHRISTMAS AT AN AMISH BAKERY
I managed to get through about an hour of it and gave up. Just too, I don't know, bland. I didn't feel any real emotion going on between the characters and the storyline.

BRINGING CHRISTMAS HOME
I really liked this one. A bit of a mystery entwined with romantic storyline.

 

[blana]

I think I would have watched it even if I hadn't visited it but that's because I like that whole estate-vibe, grandeur kind of thing. If it's a movie centered around a specific building or place I'm normally into it because I like travel.

But I think those who have gone can have a bit more appreciation for it. Like you looking for the locations you've been to when we were watching it and they were near the botanical greenhouse, I exclaimed how pretty it was with the lights and said oh I remember being in there my husband looked at me and said "we went to the greenhouse??" and all I had to do was go through my google photos and show him. So for that I agree it's kinda fun to watch a movie when it's filmed at a location you've been to. That's how it was when we watched A Very Venice Romance as we had just gone to Venice (and then A Haunting in Venice was neat to see too even if a complete 180 vibe than a Hallmark movie lol)

Was I the only one going "But the Inn at Biltmore didn't open until the early 2000's!!!" during it?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Was I the only one going "But the Inn at Biltmore didn't open until the early 2000's!!!" during it?

My husband was saying the same thing! Yeah you gotta suspend belief on that one in the name of the plot point but you're not the only one to notice

 

[wabbott]

Fun trivia here.

https://www.biltmore.com/blog/by-the-numbers-a-biltmore-christmas/

By the Numbers: The Making of “A Biltmore Christmas”
Written By LeeAnn Donnelly
Posted 10/04/23
Updated 11/08/23