Director SHAUN PAUL PICCININO and cinematographer BRAD RUSHING are back again and putting the sparkle into Christmas with A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS: CITY LIGHTS. This terrific twosome goes in-depth in this exclusive interview talking about this second film in what has quickly become a beloved franchise in the Netflix holiday arsenal.
A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS: CITY LIGHTS picks up with Callie and Joseph one year after they first fell in love. With Joseph leaving his corporate life in the city behind and now together with Callie running her family farm and winery, life has been wonderful for the couple. But can love, and a potential wedding, prevail when Joseph’s family business and obligations call him back to the city?
Directed by Shaun Paul Piccinino and written by Lauren Swickard, A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS: CITY LIGHTS stars real-life husband and wife Josh and Lauren Swickard as Joseph and Callie, as well as returning favorites David Del Rio (Manny), Ali Afshar (Leo), Amanda Detmer (Wendy), and Natalia Mann (Hannah), plus Laura James (Victoria), Raquel Dominguez (Brandy) and Noah James (Owen) among others, plus a very fun cameo from director Shaun Paul Piccinino.
Shaun and Brad dig deep into the franchise with Lauren Swickard’s script, the construct of the visuals that not only take the story from the wide-open spaces of Petaluma to San Francisco but celebrates what the cityscape has to offer as well as shifting locations due to pandemic lockdown protocols (some indoor scenes were rewritten to be exteriors, others required non-location set construction). While Callie and Joseph were the main focus in the first film and still are here, this go-round we find increased attention and development with one of the franchise’s best characters, Manny as played by David Del Rio, and his growth not only in this farm & winery world but with his own romantic relationship with Raquel Dominguez’ Brandy. Toss in conversation on Del Rio’s ad-libbing and ensuing hilarity on and off-screen, plus Brad’s use of light and lens and framing to create visual juxtapositions while metaphorically speaking to a budding romance versus an established romance at a crossroads, Michael Cooper’s production design, Brett Hedlund’s editing, and of course, one of Shaun’s trademarks – a fun soundtrack of needledrops tied together by Jamie Christopherson’s score, plus so much more, and you have a collaborative team that consistently delivers.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview November 12, 2021
A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS: CITY LIGHTS is streaming on Netflix starting December 16, 2021.
