by Gill Pringle
If you’re making a Christmas movie about Santa Claus – albeit an (US) R-rated black comedy – then you’re going to be a little bummed when your reindeer get cancelled.
Which is exactly what happened to Violent Night director Tommy Wirkola when he arrived on the Canadian set of his upcoming Christmas flick.
Born in Norway, Wirkola – best known for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Dead Snow – grew up surrounded by reindeer, just miles from Santa’s “home” in Rovaniemi, Finland.
“I’m from above the Arctic Circle, not too far from this place in northern Finland which they claim as the home of Santa Claus,” says Wirkola on the eve of the first trailer launch for his action crime caper.
Punning on the Christmas song ‘Silent Night’, Violent Night lives up to its promise when a group of mercenaries attack the home of a wealthy family, leaving David Harbour’s Santa to intervene and save the day – and Christmas.
With his Violent Night cast assembled in Winnipeg at the beginning of this year, ready to begin shooting, Wirkola learned that Dasher, Prancer and Rudolph etc would be a no-show.
“We actually couldn’t bring them into Canada because you can’t bring them across state borders or something like that,” says the director who used blue screen for Harbour’s interactions with his reindeer helpers which, as depicted in the trailer, are not always so helpful; Santa growing quite frustrated with Prancer for his “unprofessional” attitude.
“But being from northern Norway was quite useful since I am used to reindeer and their dimensions, even if I’m only working with CGI.
“Where I’m from, our native people the Laplanders or The Sami herd reindeer on the mountains in the winter and the fjords in the summer.
“When I’m at my cabin in the summer, they’re basically in the yard, and in the winter, I see them when I’m snowmobiling in the mountains, so they’re a part of everyday life for me.
“But I was bummed when we couldn’t shoot them there on set,” he says.
Still, Wirkola’s North Pole roots helped flesh out Santa’s backstory as outlined in Pat Casey and Josh Miller’s script.
“Funnily enough – without ruining anything in the movie – Santa Claus has a backstory which is actually tied into some Norwegian mythology that explains why he’s such a good fighter and why he can do what he does,” he teases.
If Violent Night’s trailer shows Harbour’s inebriated Santa slumped at a bar, somewhat reminiscent of Billy Bob Thornton’s Bad Santa or Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places, then Wirkola promises the gag is brief, this Santa swiftly schooling the bad guys on what it is to be naughty or nice.
“David is a fantastic actor and when we first meet him as Santa he’s in… I wouldn’t say a dark place, but he’s kind of lost a little bit of faith, so he’s drinking a little too much,” says Wirkola.
“But he’s soon pulled into the story with the terrorists taking over, so he has to put that behind him and kind of rediscover himself,” he says.
One of the most versatile actors in the business, Harbour, 47, began his professional career in 1999 when he appeared in a Broadway revival of The Rainmaker, the same year making his TV debut in an episode of Law & Order.
Since then, his star has steadily risen, featuring opposite Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, with Russell Crowe in State of Play, and in superhero flicks Black Widow, Hellboy, Green Hornet, and Suicide Squad.
Owing to his 6’ 3” height and somewhat intimidating stance, Harbour is often called upon to play law enforcement figures, a CIA agent in Quantum of Solace, a corrupt FBI agent in Black Mass and, most famously, as Stranger Things’ Sheriff Jim Hopper.
“I didn’t have to say anything to David. He knows what he’s doing,” adds Wirkola who originally lobbied to shift production to his native Norway.
“I tried to convince the producers and the studio that we should go there. But Norway is pretty expensive, so that’s one thing. It also doesn’t have an automatic tax incentive. So, you actually have to apply for it there, and it takes forever, and it’s a very strange system that we’re hoping to change here,” he says on the phone from Oslo.
Shockingly for Wirkola, he wound up shooting in a place even colder than his homeland. “It’s crazy that they actually managed to find a place that was colder than where I am from. It was a very cold experience shooting in Winnipeg.”
With John Leguizamo, Beverly D’Angelo and Cam Gigandet rounding out his Violent Night cast, Wirkola was impressed that he didn’t hear a word of complaint about the cold from Harbour.
“I’ve got to give him credit for that,” he says. “I’m used to the cold and know how to dress well for the weather, but I never heard David complain once.
“It should be said that Santa’s costume is big, it’s fur, it’s leather, and so he was well equipped for that.
“But still, I was shocked. For the end fight, we shot outside in -25 degrees Celsius with wind, and he never once complained. So, of all the many things that impressed me about David, that was super impressive.
“I think I even told him on one of the last days that I was surprised he never complained, and he just smiled. He’s a fantastic actor who is very serious about his craft and also super funny.”
Expect Santa to “sleigh” the box office when Violent Night arrives in a cinema near you from December 1, 2022