Dallas Jenkins on Creating the “Best Christmas Pageant Ever” – Deseret News

Dallas Jenkins is used to filming The Chosen in the unforgiving summer heat of the Utah desert and the Texas sun. But the project that he had wanted to realize for two decades took him north, to snowy Canada. This is where he filmed his upcoming film “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

“Filming in very difficult weather seems to be something God has tasked me with,” Jenkins said in a recent video call.

The cast, including Judy Greer and Pete Holmes, and crew braved bitterly cold temperatures last winter to film the Christmas film. Canada seemed like a natural home for the production, Jenkins said, because it had “streets and exteriors that looked like the timeless Christmas classic I wanted to make.”

Jenkins' film is an adaptation of Barbara Robinson's novel “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” The six Herdman children grew up on the “wrong side of the tracks,” but if they take over Christmas, they might be able to teach the rest of the town a thing or two.

Jenkins said he had sought the rights to the book for two decades. He's told this story a few times – his wife, Amanda Jenkins, brought the book home after a shopping trip to Pottery Barn. They read it to their children together and enjoyed laughing and crying as a family.

“I said, ‘I have to do this movie. “I’m the only one who can do this story justice,” Jenkins said. His relentless pursuit began until finally the mother of the man who owned the rights to the film convinced her to give them to Jenkins.

Jenkins said the woman told her son, “You better give it to the man who made 'The Chosen.' It's the greatest show of all time.” Soon Jenkins got the rights to the film and between filming “The Chosen,” he packed his bags and hit the road, hoping to make the timeless Christmas movie he and his wife had dreamed up.

The Making of “The Best Christmas Contest Ever”

When you hear the phrase “Christmas classic,” you might think of Norman Rockwell’s paintings, “The Polar Express,” or Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Carol.” These works of art are some of the visual associations we have with Christmas.

For The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Jenkins drew on the novel itself, but one of his biggest influences was Rockwell (as well as filmmaker Wes Anderson and the film Jojo Rabbit). Along with members of his crew, he said, they looked to Rockwell paintings as inspiration to capture the humor and heart they brought to the film they were making.

The film has “a lot of that nostalgic, timeless feeling that Norman Rockwell has,” Jenkins said. It's part of the material of a Christmas film, he explained.

At Christmas time, Jenkins theorizes, people are more willing to be nostalgic. We rewatch movies like It's a Wonderful Life even though they were made decades ago. According to Jenkins, for a film to become a Christmas classic, it must stand the test of time.

Of course, Jenkins hopes his film becomes a Christmas classic.

He believes it contains elements that are “humorous, emotional and timeless, but that's entirely up to God,” Jenkins said. Based on the screenings so far, Jenkins said they have seen enthusiastic audiences. One of these screenings took place just a month ago at The Chosen convention.

Now that the film is finished, Jenkins said it's time for him to turn everything over to God. He said he and his wife often talk about how he doesn't want to go back to where he was before – frantically checking box office numbers and worrying about the results.

“We swore to ourselves that the only numbers we would ever care about were five and two,” Jenkins said. Five and two is a reference to the biblical story of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. It's now the name of Jenkins' studio, but it's also become a kind of shorthand for him to explain that he's doing what he can but leaving it in God's hands.

Whenever he feels like he cares more about what others think of him than what God thinks about him, Jenkins said his wife helps him by reminding him to turn to prayer and the scriptures. “I want to maintain the attitude of, 'I've done my part and now it's up to God.' And it’s not easy, but I practice it every day.”

“Hopefully people will go see it in theaters, but the most important part is taken care of,” he said. “I had the chance to make this film and it was what I had been hoping and praying for for so long.”

The heart of the film

Whether in his previous film “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” or in the series “The Chosen,” Jenkins has a penchant for stories that portray Jesus from the perspective of “the least of these.”

As an evangelical, Jenkins said he sees the divinity of Jesus in the church and portrayed everywhere. Recalling his visit to St. Peter's Basilica, he said it was “one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen and it truly honors the divinity of God.”

He doesn't shy away from depicting the divinity of God, but he said he wanted to tell stories we've all heard before from a different perspective.

“I love delving into the fact that the creator of the universe was actually born in a barn,” Jenkins said. He believes that awe is good, but that we must also have an intimate relationship with Jesus.

“We created a little veil between us and him because we have him in this stained glass window or painting,” he said. “And I love taking the veil off, bringing him down from the stained glass window and saying, 'He wants a direct relationship with you.'”

Without giving away any spoilers, Jenkins hopes people take away one simple sentence from the film: “A child will be born to you.”

“I want you to see what this means in practice: Because a child was born for you, you may be able to judge others less,” Jenkins said. “Maybe someone was willing to make sacrifices for you. Maybe you can be willing to forgive, not judge, and contribute to the salvation of others.”

“And if you’re not a believer,” Jenkins continued. “Maybe just think about the fact that a child has been born to you and the impact that that has can change your life.”

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Release Date.

There will be early screenings of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” across the country before November 2nd. If you purchase an adult ticket, you can get a child ticket for free when purchasing tickets through ATOM using the code CHRISTMASGIFT.

The film hits theaters nationwide on November 8th.