Dec. 21, 2019 "Why Hallmark Christmas movies are big business in B.C.": This is by Tina Lovegreen on CBC news. I found this article on Dec. 27, 2021:
Getting into the holiday spirit starts early in the Village of Steveston, B.C., where Christmas decorations start popping up in July — along with manufactured snow.
No, it's not the world's worst case of "Christmas creep," where the season comes earlier and earlier to shop windows and ads.
It's the work of film crews, shooting one of several Hallmark Christmas movies that used B.C. as a set this year.
It keeps going all year. In November, the entrance to Rocanini Coffe Roasters was dwarfed by nutcrackers, for a film shooting across the street.
"It's so cool! Like, there is nothing one minute and then you look and everything is set up … It's fun to watch, you get a sneak peak of behind the scenes," said Elise Raye, who works as a barista there.
While the audience is transported to fictional towns like "East Riverton," they're actually watching B.C., which has become the go-to place to film the made-for-TV holiday flicks. And picking out the locations has become a favourite pastime for locals.
"You get to see the locations on the movie and know exactly where that was and have attachment to it now, you feel like you were part of the movie in a way, which is pretty awesome," said Raye.
B.C. the place to film
Vancouver Director Allan Harmon has shot 10 Hallmark movies in the last two years, four of them holiday themed. He says 75% of Hallmark movies are produced in B.C.
Hallmark didn't respond to CBC's questions about why it chooses B.C. so often, or how many productions are based here.
Harmon thinks tax incentives are a major reason.
"There is no question tax credits are a big part of it," he said, "and also the dollar, the exchange on the dollar is a big factor."
Hiring Canadian actors, directors and writers trigger tax incentives.
Plus B.C. is really easy to dress up. Crews often go to the famous fishing docks in Steveston, B.C. to stock up on shaved ice to turn sets into a winter wonderland.
"Because of the crews, the scenery and access to the gear, we have a fully evolved and developed a system for making films and television," said Harmon.
Record number in 2019
Aside from employing thousands of people in B.C., these movies are big business.
The Hallmark Channel beats all the broadcast networks for ratings for women from 25 to 54 years old — a coveted demographic.
This year alone, the channel pumped out a record 24 new holiday flicks — one for every day in December before Christmas. Lifetime and Netflix are also producing their own Christmas-themed movies.
The appetite appears to be so large for the cookie-cutter movies, there are enough viewers to go around.
"It doesn't seem to be a competition with each other, they are just increasing their audiences every year," said pop culture columnist Kim Linekin.
"The holidays are already when things are too much, we indulge in things that are bad for us."
The guarantee of a happy ending each time also draws people in this time of year.
"One of the reasons it's popular is because it's a fantasy that we can heal our differences," she said.
'Whiter than all that fake snow'
But missing almost entirely from Hallmark's roster, is diversity.
"Their casts are whiter than all that fake snow in those movies," said Linkein.
Last year the channel had five non-white leads, this year that number was down to four — in two dozen movies.
It has also come under fire for two Hanukkah movies it produced this year. Neither have the word "Hanukkah" in the titles and the plots are about Jewish people trying to fit in during Christmas.
Plus, all the love stories feature straight couples.
"There has never been an LGBTQ romance in any of their holiday films, they're strictly hetero. That's kind of shocking in this day and age. That's a missed opportunity," said Linekin.
And that was all before the controversy earlier this month, when Hallmark pulled a commercial featuring two brides kissing at the altar, because of complaints from a conservative group.
It reinstated the ad after widespread outrage and calls for a boycott, but not before the brand's perfect Christmas image was tarnished for some fans.
Why Hallmark Christmas movies are big business in B.C. | CBC News
Subsidy ? Sybsidy. So you support Corporate Welfare....as long as you benefit ?
Dec. 25, 2021 "Meet the Vancouver actor who's been in 27 Hallmark movies — usually as Kenny": Today I found this article on CBC news:
Fans of the romantic comedy genre may know the movie 27 Dresses, in which Katherine Heigl's character serves as a bridesmaid an astonishing 27 times.
Vancouver actor Nelson Wong can relate to that number — his claim to fame is his 27 roles in Hallmark movies.
Wong's Hallmark ties started when he played Kenny Kwon, a sidekick to a detective, in the 2005 mystery movie Third Man Out for director Ron Oliver.
When Oliver started directing for Hallmark, he made sure to find a place for Wong — often as a character named Kenny.
"As Ron started working for Hallmark, Kenny started working for Hallmark. It's just grown into a thing. The fans seem to respond to it and 27 movies later, here we are," said Wong, laughing.
Wong moved to Vancouver when he was around six years old from New Zealand. He has been acting since 1999, and has also appeared in video games like Far Cry 4 and TV shows like Arrow and Riverdale.
He has said in previous interviews that he comes from a Jehovah's Witness background, and left the organization after he entered the film industry.
Wong said he did not really celebrate the holiday season until after he became an actor in Hallmark movies.
As Kenny, he has shown up in various odd jobs and clerical roles.
"Kenny has been a kitchen TV show director, a wedding planner. He's been a concierge at a plaza. He's been a baby daddy," said Wong.
"The whole time, I've been thinking Kenny is still undercover as a detective. He's just got these identities that allow him to go to these different universes."
A source of comfort
Hallmark Christmas movies — and close cousins on the Lifetime network and Netflix — have become an essential part of the holiday season. This year, Hallmark is releasing 41 Christmas or holiday themed movies, many of them filmed in and around Vancouver.
Vancouver director Linda-Lisa Hayter, whose own Hallmark movie Five More Minutes comes out this season, said the core value of the film is love.
"Whether it's romantic love, whether it's parental love, whether it's beautiful friendships, sisterhood, brotherhood, I think it's just love," said Hayter.
She said the movies are a source of comfort during hard times.
"We're going through so much trauma in our lives everywhere on the planet," she said.
"You've got beautiful lights. You've got some sweet music. It's like having a blanket around you. It's something that is soft, and comfortable and it feels good."
The movies have sometimes been criticized as being too schmaltzy, something Wong contends with in his other role as an acting coach with Haven Studio.
"[Actors] struggle with the Hallmark genre sometimes. They think it's a little too positive, too happy. I'm reminding these actors who always want to play the drama ... like The Bourne Identity," said Wong.
"These Hallmark movies are actually more true to real life, I'd say — nice people trying their best given their circumstances."
Wong said his experience on the Hallmark set has led to other opportunities.
"They've afforded me so much in the way of working relationships and oftentimes on set and moments on screen, I can't help but be in the Christmas spirit when I'm doing them now."
Adapting for the times
A more serious criticism — that the stories lack diversity and almost always skew heterosexual — has been met with efforts to change from studios.
"Personally, Hallmark's gone through a big change over the last few years and they are far more inclusive now, and I think that's attracting a far larger audience," said Hayter.
Wong said he's seen improvements over the past decade.
"There has been such a great movement ... [and] people are not satisfied with homogenous depictions of families, work families or Christmas," he said.
"It's kind of interesting to watch over the past decade as an LGBTQ Asian-Canadian artist myself to go into this world and to get to develop within it ... It's nice to be able to graduate from the clerical principal roles to actually have a relationship and to have belonging within these seasonal holiday pictures."
Meet the Vancouver actor who's been in 27 Hallmark movies — usually as Kenny | CBC News
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