Ben Stiller “thought something was wrong” while filming new Christmas movie

Ben Stiller has stepped out of his comfort zone for his new Christmas movie, starring alongside four young brothers who have never acted before.

In Nutcrackers, the Hollywood star plays Mike, a “strait-laced and work-obsessed” real estate developer from Chicago who is forced to visit his late sister’s farm in Ohio, playing temporary guardian to his four rambunctious nephews. As they have become orphans in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and Mike refuses to become their permanent caregiver, he tries to find a new home for the boys.

The nephews are played by the real-life Janson brothers, Homer, 13, Ulysses, 11, Atlas, 8, and Arlo, 8. The idea for the film came after director David Gordon Green—who directed the recent Halloween trilogy, Pineapple Express and The Exorcist: Believer—met the four spirited young boys, who are the sons of an old friend.

What has resulted is a film that allowed the brothers to play versions of themselves, with Leland Douglas’ screenplay leaving space for a lot of improvisation from the young actors and Stiller. Adding to the authenticity of the movie is the fact that it was filmed on the real farm that the boys live on with their parents.

Newsweek spoke to Stiller, Homer and Arlo about what it was like working on the project together, with Stiller sharing the realities of filming on a functioning farm.

“David Gordon Green is such a great filmmaker, over the years he’s done so many different kinds of movies and he just creates an atmosphere where you’re just there to try and, kind of, be in the moment and allow things to happen, allow surprises to happen,” Stiller said.

“Every day in the house was another surprise. Honestly, like the first day we had the scene with the hogs [Mabel and Daisy].”

Stiller and Homer then went on to explain that one day while shooting Mabel was making unusual sounds, which had the Hollywood star concerned for her wellbeing.

“She was being naughty,” Homer explained, before Arlo added: “It’s ’cause of those cheese balls.”

Stiller continued: “Yes, they were feeding her cheese balls. Anyway, I thought something was wrong and I was like, ‘Is the hog OK?’ and you were like, ‘[She’s fine], it’s just a hog.’ … So it was a lot of that going on, and every day it was fun.”

The comedy legend, known for early 2000s classics such as Meet the Fockers, Zoolander and Along Came Polly, has had a stellar career, working with everyone from Robert de Niro to Owen Wilson. However, this was his first time working with people with no acting experience. While some actors might find that process difficult, Stiller enjoyed being able to help guide the young boys—and he was also impressed with their work ethic.

“I mean, I hadn’t ever worked with four people who hadn’t ever been in a movie before, who were the leads in the movie, and I think I was just kind of amazed at how they were able to just, sort of, take in the process and learn as they went along,” he explained.

“And you know, movie sets, there’s a lot going on, and you have to all of a sudden try to be natural in front of a camera, right? Some days we get to, like, 3 or 4 in the afternoon, you guys would be like how many more times do we have to do this?”

Stiller praised his young co-stars, pointing out their talent and their lack of cynicism. He continued: “They’ve never really done a movie before, but they dance every day and they work on their farm and they’re just so open and loving. And the experience of making the movie was just very, very special for us. So I think it was coming from a really good place from the beginning.”

The star hasn’t led a major movie in seven years, as these days he is more often found behind the camera as a director and producer. He revealed at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where Nutcrackers was the opening night gala premiere, that a few years ago he decided to only say yes to a project if it really spoke to him—and Nutcrackers did just that.

“It definitely felt organic because David came to me and said, ‘I’ve written this movie for these kids. I know these kids, they live on this farm, I want to shoot it on their farm,’ and he was inspired by you guys. That’s pretty cool, right?” Stiller asked Homer and Arlo.

“I’m just so appreciative of that and I mean the characters are like how it actually was, except [Stiller is] less grumpy and his name is Ben. He comes out on our farm, we show him our way and we all find a way to love each other in the end,” Homer responded before Arlo quipped: “It was like a big Christmas surprise.”

The movie was beautifully shot on 35mm film, which produced a natural-looking grain and a more organic look compared to digital. While Homer pointed out that this created more “pressure” considering there were limited supplies, Stiller said the boys “rose to the occasion.”

“Since we were in their house and in their environment a lot of the time, it felt like the movie was sort of mirroring real life,” he explained.

“I’m not really a farm hand, so these guys would show me how to do stuff and introduce me to the animals. They’re so amazing with the animals and their family, there’s just so much connection and so much love there that every day just felt like we were kind of just trying to capture that. And David really made it a point to just kind of allow things to happen.”

This meant that there was a lot of improv while filming, which is what allowed certain dialogue in the film to feel natural and unstaged. There is one scene in particular, where the children are discussing the topic of sex education, where a lot of the lines are unscripted.

“[There was] lots of improv and having fun,” Homer shared. “If we mess up we just get back into it and you put some of the scenes we messed up in and this reason that they’re so good in the movie. It’s because it was raw emotion put into it … the best scenes are when we made up as we get along.”

For Stiller, the best situation as an actor is when you don’t have to act, as he explained: “With these guys, I felt like that all the time, where I was just sort of reacting to what they [were saying], this real stuff that they were giving me.

“It wasn’t a big crew because it’s a very small, little movie but every morning we’d get there was so beautiful. The sun would be rising and it’s just such a special place, so every day was sort of, we were just discovering more about your [farm], right?”

Homer added: “Yeah, and having fun together.”

Nutcrackers will begin streaming exclusively on Hulu on November 29th.

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