Hallmark's Queen of Christmas Lacey Chabert Is "Honored" To Be Part Of People's Holiday Traditions

New York Post

Watch Hallmark's Queen of Christmas Lacey Chabert Is "Honored" To Be Part Of People's Holiday Traditions - New York Post on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00I'm so excited to talk about She's Making a List.

00:02What was it about this movie that drew you in?

00:06It felt really magical.

00:07When I read the script, I love the world that they create in this story.

00:11I love that I get to play an inspector for Santa's Naughty or Nice List.

00:15And it's magical. It's whimsical.

00:17And it had a slightly different feel than some of the other Christmas movies I've done.

00:23But obviously still the heartfelt, poignant moments, the funny stuff, the romantic stuff,

00:27it just really had it all.

00:29And I love the way it turned out, and I hope people enjoy it.

00:32Well, I definitely enjoyed it.

00:34And I love that this was a reunion for you and Andrew Walker,

00:37who you co-starred with in My Secret Valentine in 2018.

00:41What was it like taking on a Christmas movie with him?

00:44So much fun.

00:45I mean, since that movie, he and I have become really good friends.

00:47Our families are friends.

00:48Like, you know, everyone that works with Hallmark, we really are a little bit of a family.

00:52Like, we root for each other.

00:54We're friends in real life, most of us.

00:55And so to have the chance to work with him again was just really special,

01:00and especially to do a Christmas movie.

01:02These are some of my favorites.

01:03I love all the movies I have the chance to do with Hallmark,

01:05but especially the Christmas ones, because I know that, you know,

01:09families are welcoming us into their homes almost as part of their tradition now.

01:12And so they're particularly fun.

01:14And we had a great time.

01:15We filmed in Vancouver over the summer, of course, so it was very, very, very hot.

01:19And that's become part of filming a Christmas movie tradition.

01:24And we just had so much fun.

01:26And because I'm an inspector and I have to make myself as unrecognizable as possible

01:30and to blend in, I get different costumes.

01:33And there's actually some moments where I kind of involve the audience

01:36and address the audience.

01:38All the information we collect is gathered here by these guys, the number crunchers.

01:42Imagine an entire year's worth of information boiled down to a naughty or nice

01:47in a matter of seconds, though most cases are clear-cut,

01:49but every once in a while, they fall somewhere in between.

01:52There were some things in there I had never quite done in a Hallmark movie before,

01:54and I really enjoyed it.

01:56I know, I love the breaking the fourth wall.

01:58Isn't that fun?

01:59Really fun.

02:00You never quite know when those things are going to work or not.

02:02And so I was so happy that it worked out and, you know, we kept it in.

02:05And it was nice to kind of involve the audience in the story.

02:08And while the movie captures your character, Isabel,

02:11and Andrew's character, Jason's love story,

02:14it more so focuses on Jason's daughter, Charlie.

02:16It honestly feels like a love letter to parents and parenting.

02:20Did this particularly resonate with you as a mom?

02:23It really did.

02:24This was the part of the story that resonated with me the most.

02:27And I think what my character does, too,

02:29because she connects so much with Charlie,

02:31you know, I don't want to give it all away,

02:33but they have a lot in common about their childhoods.

02:35And she learns to look at her not from, like,

02:38the company's formula that she works for

02:41as to how to judge naughty or nice,

02:42but she really learns to look at her from a place of empathy

02:44and from her heart and a deeper understanding

02:47of what some kids are going through

02:49and that we need to have a little bit of grace

02:51and teach them to have that with everyone else in their lives.

02:53And so it has a really beautiful message.

02:55And like you said, it is a bit of a love letter,

02:57I think, to parenting.

02:58And I don't know, but as a parent myself, as a mom,

03:03there's no other area in my life that I've needed more support.

03:06I mean, I think we all do.

03:07So you're learning on the job, you know?

03:09And it's, you know, my daughter is the center of my world

03:12and my greatest blessing, but, you know,

03:14every parent makes mistakes.

03:16And there's some really beautiful points made in this film

03:20about how he parents his daughter and the journey of that

03:24and then how Isabel's able to positively influence that, too.

03:27Your character is an inspector for the naughty or nice group,

03:30which operates using an algorithm to determine

03:33if a child belongs on the naughty or nice list.

03:36The whole idea of this algorithm felt really timely to me,

03:39especially in today's world of social media and AI.

03:42Did you feel this at all?

03:43Was that ever a discussion as you guys were filming?

03:45I think it's a really relevant theme, absolutely.

03:49And how, as wonderful as technology can be, it's not human.

03:53And, you know, there are some things that take discernment

03:57from the human heart.

03:58And I think that's something that my character discovers in the film

04:02and really makes a plea for changes to be made.

04:05And they just might be.

04:06You have to watch and see.

04:08But it's not, I mean, those messages aren't over, you know, hitting.

04:11Like, those are subtle messages through the movie.

04:14But really, it's about people being together, enjoying the holiday,

04:17all of the things that I know audiences love to tune in

04:20to a Hallmark Christmas movie for.

04:21And those are my favorite things, like the tree trimming scenes,

04:25the tree shopping scene, or, you know, decorating,

04:28or the hot chocolate moment, or, you know,

04:30a lot of things that we see over and over

04:32and scenes that have maybe become common in the movies.

04:35I love them because they're tradition, you know?

04:38It brings back the nostalgia for me.

04:39In addition to She's Making the List being your 16th Hallmark Christmas movie,

04:43this marks your 43rd movie with the network.

04:46What do you value most about this partnership?

04:48I value the way they allow me as an actress to be involved

04:53and to also be a producer

04:54and to be involved in the development of the projects.

04:57It's an incredible opportunity

04:59and one that I, you know, just have enjoyed so much.

05:03And it's so nice to develop something from the beginning

05:07and see it come to fruition and see it come to life.

05:11And the team that I get to do that with,

05:13they're all just such wonderful people there.

05:15And also, not to be too heavy about it,

05:19but I just, especially now more than ever,

05:22I really value being a part of something that, you know,

05:26falls in line with my own values

05:28and brings a little bit of happiness and goodness into the world.

05:32I like to watch things that leave me feeling uplifted

05:34or that are comforting to me.

05:36And so I love being a part of stuff like that.

05:40Speaking of this partnership,

05:41you've recently launched the Lacey Chabert Collection.

05:44Can you take me through how this partnership started?

05:47Oh my gosh.

05:48When Hallmark came to me with this idea,

05:50I was absolutely overjoyed

05:52because it has been a long time dream of mine

05:54to have products that would allow me

05:56to be a part of other people's celebrations.

05:58And I'm so proud of the line.

06:00It's inspired by the archives from the 1950s from Hallmark.

06:04So it has this vintage, whimsical vibe.

06:06There's beautiful pops of color.

06:08There's lots of pink and mint green

06:09and obviously the green and reds.

06:13My love of vintage things was passed down from my mother

06:16and a lot of the archives that we pulled for inspiration.

06:19And they're from 1957, the year my mom was born.

06:22So there's just all these, like, things that just felt right about it.

06:25And it's beautiful cards and paper products and gift bags.

06:29And it's all about the details.

06:31You know, it's not just a gift bag.

06:33There's, like, a beautiful gold scalloped glitter trim

06:36and velvet handles.

06:37And there's a gorgeous tray and a glass set that I love.

06:41It has little bows all over it.

06:42And, I mean, there's a lot of things.

06:44And I hope it'll bring, you know,

06:46a little bit of joy to people's tables.

06:48I also loved the Lacey Chabert ornament, I have to say.

06:52What does it feel like to have, like, an ornament of yourself

06:55with a collection like Hallmark,

06:57who is home to ornaments from so many iconic movies

07:00and TV shows and cultural touchstones?

07:03I mean, it's honestly really surreal.

07:05Like, I've collected the ornaments for a long time.

07:08So to be a part of the Keepsake collection is, like,

07:11it's an honor and it's really special.

07:12I didn't design that ornament.

07:17Just to be very clear, that was something that Hallmark did for me.

07:20And I'm very, very, very touched by it

07:22and the artists that made it.

07:24But it's great.

07:26I have one hanging on my tree.

07:28And are there any upcoming projects of yours

07:30that you can tease to us?

07:31What's in store in the new year?

07:32Yeah, in January I'll have another movie airing

07:35that I had the chance to film in Fiji.

07:38And it is a rom-com, so funny,

07:41a real adventure.

07:43And another just incredible blessing of my job

07:46was I got to go to Fiji, a place I'd never been,

07:49and spend almost a month there.

07:50The people were so kind and loving and welcoming.

07:54I mean, at the hotel they greeted us with this beautiful song

07:57and then when we were leaving

07:58they had this beautiful goodbye song that they sang to us

08:01that was, oh my gosh, there wasn't a dry eye.

08:03Everyone was crying.

08:05It was just this, I guess you kind of had to be there, you know,

08:08but it's this feeling of especially when you're on location as a group

08:12you feel like you're at camp

08:13and you're just together 24 hours a day trying to make this movie

08:16and it's just so many special memories, you know,

08:19encapsulated in those three weeks.

08:21And I really treasure all of these experiences.

08:23And is there anything else that you'd like to share about

08:25that she's making a list, what you hope fans will take away from it?

08:28I mean, with all of the movies I do for Hallmark

08:31I just hope it entertains your family

08:34and I hope it makes you laugh and think in a good way

08:36and touches your heart

08:38and I hope you go on this magical little journey with us.

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