This is the only person that I can imagine finding any offensive content in this movie.
Well her and gun-control freaks I guess...
Posted on 12/15/2005 6:04:54 PM PST by presidio9
Some former child actors cringe and protest when reminded by loyal fans of long-ago projects. Not Peter Billingsley, star of “A Christmas Story.”
According to journalist Rebecca Murray, “he seems to genuinely light up when the movie is mentioned.”
Billingsley is also used to passersby tossing their favorite quotes at him. “They all still love it,” he told Murray. People ask him if he’s tired of talking about it, but he’s not. “I’m really, really proud to be a part of it.”
Billingsley still appears in front of the cameras now and then. (He had an uncredited role in last year’s seasonal hit, “Elf,” playing - what else? - an elf. He also served as the movie’s executive producer.
He was executive producer on “Zathura,” which is still playing locally in theatres. In the upcoming comedy, “The Break-Up,” starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston, he also does dual duty in front of and behind the camera.
It’s all part of a day in the life of a talented man who, unlike some child stars, was able to make his way gracefully from kid to grownup and remain in show business.
He credits his parents with this successful transition. From the beginning, back in New York City, the Billingsleys looked on the whole thing as fun, and never let themselves take their son’s stardom too seriously. “It was also something that was just done for fun,” Peter said, in a 2002 interview with Wayne Chinsang. “If it wasn’t fun, it was going to stop.”
On the advice of friends who told her that her sons were cute, Peter’s mother took them to a agent. “The first one said we were too fat, the next one said too ugly, but the third one said, ‘Yeah, they’ll work,’” Peter said.
The three-year-old’s first gig was a Geritol commercial. Other commercials followed, and then some forgettable movies. The Billingsleys moved to Phoenix, Ariz., and struck gold in 1983 with “A Christmas Story.”
Well, not literally gold. The movie was made with a modest budget by a director, Bob Clark, who believed in it. “They (Bob and Jean Shepherd) tried for 12 years to get that film made,” Peter said. “Bob had to agree to direct another junky film for the studio to greenlight it. They hardly gave him any money. MGM didn’t support the release of the movie.”
“It was so different,” Jean Shepherd said in a 1998 interview for TV Guide. “It was too real, and MGM didn’t think kids would like it.”
There’s no way for Peter to avoid the movie, even if he tried, not even in his own family. When the Billingsleys get together in Phoenix for Christmas, someone will invariably slip it in the VCR.
He doesn’t mind the connection. “It’s a great film,” he told Chinsang in the 2002 interview. “It’s something I want to be known for.”
Besides a modest paycheck from the movie, Peter was allowed to keep one of the specially made Red Ryder BB guns, the cowboy suit, and the pink bunny suit. “It’s tucked away,” he said. “But the gun is really cool.”
Peter never really left Hollywood, although he did vanish from sight for a while, leading to those predictable rumors that he died a derelict drug addict and was buried in an unmarked grave.
That’s not his style. He joked with Chinsang about his unremarkable, non-glamorous upbringing. “There’s nothing to talk about,” he said. “I grew up in a loving family in Phoenix. I tried a cigarette once.”
What Peter did do was move into editing, some writing, directing, and then producing, where he is most active today. He frequently teams up on projects with friends such as actor Vince Vaughn and director Jon Favreau.
Favreau and Peter collaborated on IFC’s popular “Dinner for Five,” which ran for five seasons. “Zathura” and “The Break-Up” continue their association as director and producer.
Peter acknowledges there have been many changes since 1983 in the way Hollywood markets pictures. “Today, there are so many things that are our of your control,” he said. “All that you can really ever do, which is what we did with ‘A Christmas Story,’ is tell a great story.”
bttt
Girls during that time simply didn't swear. Boys did. We were taught our lessons by having our mouths washed out with soap. Swear words weren't invented in the 20th century. The movie captures life as it was fairly accurately, swear words and all. We all wanted a BBgun. I got one and proceeded to use my sister's record collection as targets. Don't try that at home.
You know, I think I am just not on the same wave-llength as you. HOW were the chidren "vulgar?" Are you sure we are talking about the same movie?
My friend's sister was sent to school in her snowsuit. She never arrived. They traced her route and found her crying. She fell down in the snow and was unable to get back up because she couldn't bend her arms or legs.
Are you talking about the "words" said by the father yelling at the furnace? If you heard actual curse words in that then you and your children must have vivid imaginations.
The F word was used sparingly. That was generally considered a 2 soap bar dinner.
Watch it again. We were surprised.
LOL..
I have watched that movie at least 20 times. I have never heard anything like you are saying you heard.
I got one and proceeded to use my sister's record collection as targets. Don't try that at home.
How long before you were able to sit down. Or did your sister just contract out your murder?
See post #89
This is the only person that I can imagine finding any offensive content in this movie.
Well her and gun-control freaks I guess...
Actually, I dont believe any 'bad' words were really used, just references to them...
In any case, I still stand by what I said...my dad, my uncles, the neighbor down the street, often would use colorful language(it was mainly the men, I never heard the women swearing)...we kids knew better than to copy our dads language, at least in our parents presence...
But we were never shocked by it...it was just the way many men would sometimes talk...
You're kidding, right?!
Just wait'll you get down here to Palm Springs next week...they're everywhere, and travelling in twosomes.
This is the only person that I can imagine finding any offensive content in this movie.
So one has to be a Bible-freak to not enjoy vulgarity?
The first is definitely never said (unless you're speaking of "fudge" and simply the allusion to the word) and I have no memory of hearing the second though since the word itself doesn't offend me I'll concede I may not have noticed it if it was said.
You must lead a very cloistered life if this incredibly wholesome, PG-rated movie offends you so much that you're hearing things that aren't there. I wonder, what movies do you watch?
Great pic in your post 86...I believe that is the scene where Ralphie is telling his parents that a bear was spotted downtown at someones store, and he is telling that 'fib', in an effort to get that beloved Red Ryder gun for Christmas...
The old man is not buying this story...
Since first seeing that mivie, I cannot see the word "fragile" without thinking "frageelay"! And I don't think I've ever prounounced it any other way since.
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