Holiday-themed romantic comedies are a tried-and-true genre for boosting the season’s spirit. But with “Happiest Season,” writer and director Clea DuVall flips the script. “I am a huge fan of Christmas movies—they are a major part of my holiday tradition, but I had never seen my experience represented in one,” says DuVall on queering the holiday genre’s tropes. “It just really felt like a great opportunity to tell a universal story from a new perspective.”
The film follows Abby (Kristen Stewart), who is invited to spend Christmas with her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and her family. Abby’s plan to propose are thwarted when she learns that Harper isn’t out to her family yet—and that she’s been relegated to the friend zone and pushed back in the closet for the trip. The rigmarole of keeping their relationship under wraps is further complicated with holiday hijinks and sibling rivalry.
From Acting to ‘Action!’: How These 18 Actors Became Directors The merry cast comprises “Schitt’s Creek” mastermind Dan Levy, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, and Mary Holland, who co-wrote the script. “I really tried to fill the cast and the crew with people who were great people first and then talented at their job,” says DuVall. To do this, she wrote letters to each of the actors she hoped to cast explaining what the film meant to her and why she wanted to make it. “Seeing how the actors just kind of immediately got it and wanted to be a part of that really set the tone. Everyone was so on board and really passionate and excited to be there—and there for the right reasons. It really felt so heartening to see people who I had loved and admired for years wanting to tell the story with me. It was so powerful.”
Filming wrapped in February of this year, just before the coronavirus pandemic spun the film industry into a tailspin. “Happiest Season,” which was originally slated for a theatrical release, pivoted to a straight to video release. “On a moral level, it felt not right to encourage people to do something that I myself didn't feel comfortable enough to do,” says DuVall about going to movie theaters. “Making the switch to Hulu felt so good.” And the good feelings paid off: in its opening weekend, “Happiest Season” had higher viewership than any other Hulu original film in the same timeframe, and it reportedly attracted more new subscribers than those before it.
This film marks the actor-turned-director’s second time writing and driving her own project. DuVall, who is perhaps best known for portraying Marjorie Palmiotti on “Veep,” first sat in the director’s chair for “Intervention,” the 2016 dramedy that she wrote, directed, and acted in. “I felt so rudderless as an actor, and I just didn't like that feeling—but I loved the scenes that I wasn't in when I just got to be the director,” she recalls of the experience.
From the start of her career, DuVall was never idle on set as an actor, often spending her time between scenes watching the monitor, riding the film dolly, and even helping to capture shots from the crane. “Early on in my career I was lucky enough to work with a director who really made filmmaking feel accessible and inclusive. It got me really excited about filmmaking.”
Now that she has spent time on both sides of the camera, she encourages actors to advocate for what they need so that actors and directors can do their best work. “Don't be afraid to ask for what you need... the director is happy that you're there. They picked you and because they wanted you, and if you need something, they're there to fulfill that need.”
For actors who might be interested in writing and directing their own projects, her advice is simple: “Just do it.” DuVall says didn’t write her first script because she wanted to realize it on the big screen; she wrote it to learn how to write a script. “If you have an idea that you've never been able to get out of your head, just put it down on paper. And if it doesn't turn out exactly how you want it the very first time—fine, do it again. Just keep doing it.”
“Happiest Season” was a film that she long planned to make, and one she hopes is a harbinger of holiday cheer in this challenging year. “To be able to give audiences a big, bright, warm movie at a time when it's been such a brutal year for everybody—to give audiences something they can enjoy safely from their own homes that might help them escape this year for 100 minutes—feels so significant.”
Looking for remote work? Backstage has got you covered! Click here for auditions you can do from home!