By GABRIELLA BOCK | Reporter
In a far leap away from his most recent leading role as an executioner in 2015’s “The Hateful Eight,” former longtime Riviera resident Kurt Russell is ditching his pistol to don Santa’s big red suit in an upcoming Netflix Original Christmas movie.
Starring alongside child actors Judah Lewis, last seen in the horror-comedy “The Babysitter,” and Darby Camp, Reese Witherspoon’s fictional daughter on the HBO miniseries “Big Little Lies,” Russell will step into Kris Kringle’s shiny black boots next month when the streaming giant is rumored to begin production.
The yet-to-be-titled film centers on two siblings (Lewis, Camp) who accidentally derail Santa’s sleigh after attempting to capture video footage of his midnight travels.
Unsuccessful in their ploy to become the next social media sensation, the children must put down their iPhones and help Santa get Christmas back on track before the rest of the world wakes up sans presents.
Featuring a mix of live-action and CGI, the film will be helmed by “The Angry Birds Movie” director Clay Kaytis. Christmas movie guru Chris Columbus, director of “Home Alone” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” is producing.
Originally titled “12/24,” the script was penned by Matt Lieberman, author of the still unmade, but cultishly awaited, animated reboot of “The Addams Family.”
Although the film won’t be due for release until next year’s holiday season, fans of the veteran actor can get their fix by viewing any one of the classic films in Russell’s decades-spanning filmography—because, after all, nothing says “Christmas cheer” like a healthy dose of Snake Plissken.
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