Every Christmas, TV and radio ramp up their Christmas battle plan. Somehow, about 15 years ago, radio program managers decided that playing only Christmas music on their radio station from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day would boost ratings and increase advertising dollars.
While I am not a Scrooge about Christmas music, there is a personal threshold where enough is too much. I love "All I Want For Christmas Is You," but Mariah in the morning. Mariah at the mid-morning break. Lunchtime Mariah. Afternoon Siesta Mariah. Dinner Mariah, and bedtime Mariah. Too much.
Television, of course, has its programming must-runs -- It's A Wonderful Life, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, Charlie Brown Christmas, and even Die Hard. (Come on, it's a Christmas movie!).
Now, podcasting does not yet have that Christmas season programming legacy. Joe Rogan interviewing MMA fighters about smashing another human being in the face is not exactly a Christmas moment. Grammar Girl did a recent episode on the derivation of well-known Christmas words and phrases. Did you know that Yule (yuletide) comes from an Old English word that came from an ancient Scandinavian word, jol, for winter festivities?
To the rescue comes, an interesting new podcast, A Cinematic Christmas Journey, hosted by Peter Billingsley and Nick Schenk available now with exclusive video episodes on Spotify.
A Cinematic Christmas Journey is hosted by Peter Billingsley, star of the new hit movie A Christmas Story Christmas, and the film’s co-writer, Nick Schenk.
The series will celebrate the nostalgia of classic holiday films while answering the question – why do people love holiday movies so much?
Host Peter
Billingsley comments, “I’m so excited to explore the compelling elements of the
Christmas movies I personally love and get a deeper perspective from the
stars and filmmakers who have touched all of our lives.”
Across the six episodes, Billingsley and Schenk will explore the holiday traditions highlighted in iconic movies such as Home Alone, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Four Christmases, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Grinch and A Christmas Story.
The film deep dives will include interviews with the stars and filmmakers of these holiday classics and discuss why their respective films are beloved by people around the world.
The show launched on Thursday, December 8th and all episodes will air ahead of December 25th. Upcoming guests include Beverly D'Angelo (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation), Jeffrey Kimball and Vince Vaughn (Four Christmases), and Julio Macat (Home Alone).
The repeatable franchise podcast will evolve for future seasons from Audiorama and Wild West Productions, that cover other iconic movie genres such as Valentine’s Day Rom-Coms, Halloween Horrors, Summer Blockbusters and more. The hosts will also change by season based upon that season’s theme.
The series is produced by Audiorama, a premium creation platform powered by passionate storytellers and founded by award-winning actor Vince Vaughn, former NFL Pro Bowlers Greg Olsen and Ryan Kalil, and Wild West Productions The series is presented by Walmart.
"Video continues to be one of the most powerful tools to complement
audio," says Max
Cutler, Spotify’s Vice President of Creator Content and Partnerships, "and users will undoubtedly get that experience exclusively on
Spotify. We could not be more excited about Vince and Peter’s take on
these iconic holiday films."
Exclusive video episodes will be available for free, only on Spotify.
Vince Vaughn, Audiorama Co-Founder, cannot contain his excitement when he says, “Peter and I created this podcast to take listeners on an entertaining journey through the most classic Christmas movies ever created. The series will provide insight into the production, themes, and behind-the-scenes work that created these iconic films. Who better to take us on this journey than Peter Billingsley and award-winning screenwriter Nick Schenk (Gran Torino), co-creators of the recently released new classic, A Christmas Story Christmas.”
Maybe podcasting is beginning a memorable Christmas tradition. Now if we could only get Stephen Dubner, Adam Grant, Roman Mars, and Kara Swisher to sing Christmas songs on a podcast that plays continuously from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day, podcasting would be golden.
Photo by Nadi Lindsay
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