Orange County

Thank You For Making November 20, 2003 “A Christmas Story” To Remember

It seems superlatives are used with wild abandon these days but this event was truly amazing.

Key members of the cast and crew, many of whom had not seen one another since the filming, were personally moved by this opportunity to meet once again. The special guests who joined with us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this beloved holiday classic were:

Darren McGavin - Dad
Peter Billingsley - Ralph 'Ralphie' Parker
Ian Petrella - Randy Parker (Ralphie's brother)
Scott Schwartz - Flick
R.D. Robb - Schwartz
Zack Ward - Scut Farkus
Bob Clark - Director, Co-Writer, Co-Producer
Reuben Freed - Production Designer
Stan Cole - Film Editor

Before the show, the cast and crew finally got to enjoy a complete Christmas turkey dinner (in the film that dinner was ruined) compliments of The Daily Grill at Fashion Island. 1,500 people showed up for 1,100 seats and even started lining up at 2 pm. We collected over 1,200 toys at the door for the Marine Corps Toys For Tots campaign and dozens more are still coming in. One person donated $700 worth of toys earlier in the week. We invited two dozen kids from the Orangewood Foundation and they were hosted for dinner by MacDonald's at the mall. They also received a copy of the 20th Anniversary DVD courtesy of DVD Planet.

City of Newport Beach Mayor Steven Bromberg issued a proclamation declaring the day "A Christmas Story" day and he presented it to Bob Clark at the beginning of the event. He and several council members, along with their families, stayed for the whole evening. We had a special visit by Darren McGavin (who is recovering from a stroke) and he received a standing ovation - a delicious moment for the crowd, his family and of course Darren. We gave Darren a “Major Award”, a faithful reproduction of the Leg Lamp, courtesy One Leg Up, whose owner flew in from Florida for this event and donated several other lamps we raffled off. Daisy Air Gun Company created a limited edition, 20th Anniversary replica of the Red Ryder BB Gun and one was presented to Robbie Arrington of Regal Cinemas’ Knoxville, TN office.

Other special guests included Bill Hall, Chairman of the Film/Video Dept. at OCC; Bonnie Brittain Hall, Executive Dir. of Arts OC; Janice Arrington, OC Film Commissioner was ill but called in to add her support; Ann Pulice, co-host of KOCE’s Real Orange; Robbie Arrington, Regal Cinemas, Knoxville; Keith Sharon, reporter for the OC Register who wrote a page one article on the event earlier in the week, a six person Marine contingent and their families and a group from the American Red Cross.

A stretch limo delivered our guests Hollywood-style to the front of the theater where they entered on a red carpet. Arnold Kunert, host of “In The Credits,” conducted a Q&A that provided unique insights into this film for those lucky enough to get in for the first screening. After the screening we raffled off DVDs, several Leg Lamps and gave everyone a fortune cookie, courtesy of P.F. Change’s, as they exited the theater (this was in a reference to the Chinese Restaurant at the end of the movie). An experienced, volunteer usher corps of 10-15 people augmented Regal Cinema’s staff.

On behalf of all of us at OCshowbiz, K-3 Productions, and Regal Cinemas, we thank all of you and our many sponsors who joined with us to make this a memorable evening.

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