Plus, watch the exclusive extended scene of Kurt Russell and Darlene Love performing ‘The Spirit of Christmas.’
“I just remember seeing three year olds dancing to the television on social media.
I wanted Steve to write a brand new song.”
JOSEPH LEDERER/NETFLIX © 2020
I was just blown away.
It was like a showstopper.
It combined everything great about soul music and Phil Spector.
It also felt like it could be a final number of Broadway show.
It was working on so many levels for me that I called Steven and said, ‘This is fantastic.
I just can’t shoot the entire seven and a half.
It would kind of interfere with the pacing of the film.'"
Love, too, took little convincing.
Indeed, she was in as soon as she heard the song.
“I love songs that have melodies,” she tells EW.
“It went incredibly well,” says Columbus.
I said, ‘In the first movie, we wanted more of an Elvis’s performance.
This particular musical number has to be more of Kurt Russell’s version of Santa Claus.'"
“I was a little taken aback by that,” says Columbus.
For Love’s part, she was equally excited to work with old friends as some new ones.
“I met Kurt a few years before,” she says.
“I was doingThe Viewand he was on at the same time.
Kurt was just great.
He came in and he was ready.
He was excited about doing that part of the movie.”
Excited, but also a little hesitant, at first.
“He has a slight hesitancy about performing and he asked why another musical number?'”
“The music is almost as important to me as cinema.
I take it very seriously, but anyway, Kurt says, ‘Why another musical number?’
And Steve Van Zandt says ‘Why not?’
It’s just a high point for the audience.”
“I walk onto the set and everyone is dressed like it’s 1990.
It was completely subconscious.”
“That Christmas coat that he had has to weigh about 50 pounds!”
Every time we took a break, we had these little personal fans.
They made him a special one that they held up to his face.
It looked like it was on a flashlight and it really gives out air.
He needed it with all the hair and the coat!"
The hair, or rather the beard, had to be handled with care.
“Kurt grew 80 percent of that beard,” explains Columbus.
“The only thing that were added were pieces by his makeup team.
With intense physical activity on camera, those pieces start to break off.
So we had to be careful about that.”
“You don’t have to twist my arm,” says Columbus.
“Our goal with these movies is to not repeat ourselves, essentially.
The second movie opens up the world and the pathology in a much bigger way.
You heard it here first.
Watch the exclusive extended scene above.
