ABOUT
ABOUT "Hope for the Holidays"
Hope for the Holidays is based on the book, “The Talking Tree”, and tells the story of a mother, Georgia, played by Sally Kirkland, who finds out she has cancer. Her son, Danny, played by George Stults, then decides to rob a bank to pay for her medical bills only to get caught and go to prison. While in prison, he is thrown into solitary confinement, but the person in the cell next to him, Mouse, played by Robert Lasardo, turns out to be just what he needed; and the film becomes a race against time for Danny to get out of prison in time to see his mother before she passes away.
Director Ricky Borba was given the Hope for the Holidays script in May of 2017, and began seeking financing for the film. Two months later, his own mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away just seven weeks later. For Borba, making this film became a cathartic experience and a way to honor his mother. “With the permission of the writer and producer, I was able to completely rewrite the dialogue of Georgia in the script, to reflect the real-life conversations I was having with my own mother during her short battle with cancer. Most of what Georgia says in the film, and especially the conversations she has with Danny, are verbatim the conversations I had with my mom. I feel very fortunate to have been able to honor my mother like this.”
Sally Kirkland, who plays Georgia in Hope for the Holidays, felt an incredible sense of responsibility playing Georgia knowing that the character was so closely tied to Borba’s mother. “The idea of playing such a strong mother/son story was what attracted me to the script. It’s a film for all generations. It’s the kind of film we need nowadays, that touch the heart.”
Besides Kirkland, the film features an ensemble cast that for a first-time director was a dream come true. “To have George (Stults), Robert (Lasardo) and Dough (Hutchison) in the co-leads was incredible on its own. But then when we added Todd Bridges and Jenn Gotzon, to the cast, I truly couldn’t believe it. As a first-time director to have *that* much talent and recognizable names was surreal.” Stults, who was a mainstay on 7th Heaven, said the film was “extremely emotional and deep compared to the films and shows I had been on.”
For Borba, he strived to make Hope for the Holidays feel authentic and entertaining, not wanting it to cross into the territory that so many other inspirational and faith-based films do, where the film becomes overly preachy and unrealistic in its dialogue. “My hope is that audiences will walk away from the film feeling inspired and entertained. I’m trying to do something different with this film, where the church crowd and non-church crowd can both enjoy it. That’s a hard line to straddle, but I believe this film accomplishes just that.”
The movie was produced by Charles Lago, and executive produced by Andy Duncan. Lago who manages high-level talent as well, was instrumental in getting the cast assembled and the film going in after it was funded. Having produced other similar budgeted films before, Hope for the Holidays had its own unique identity in that it was filmed exclusively in Sacramento and Stockton. “Upon arriving for location scouting in Sacramento, I realized how beautiful Northern California was, and what an untapped venue it is for film. Filming in Sacramento and Stockton added a lot of character to the film.” After the film wrapped production, Lago and Borba decided to open the California Capital Film office in Sacramento to attract more films to the area, and they’ve been running that office for over a year now.