Marcus Rosner and Brittany Bristow, two longtime fan-favorites on Hallmark Channel, just began filming their new Christmas movie in Alberta, Canada. “Dear Christmas Hearts” is scheduled to shoot in Edmonton and surrounding areas from April 15 to April 30, 2024, according to ACTRA Alberta‘s production schedule.
Rosner’s posted several social media updates already, thrilling many Hallmark fans. Only problem? He’s not sure if the movie will air as part of Hallmark Channel’s 2024 Countdown to Christmas, given that the film doesn’t have a home yet.
Here’s what you need to know:
Marcus Rosner & Brittany Bristow Won’t Know Where New Movie Will Air Until It’s Completed
“Dear Christmas Hearts” is being made by Reel One and Northern Gateway Films, a production company that Rosner is a business partner in. The firm primarily rom-coms and other TV movies in Rosner’s hometown of Edmonton, he told CBC in 2022.
That’s something the filmmaker is particularly proud of, he told the outlet, since he wasn’t even aware movie-making was a possible career choice while growing up in the area, focusing his energy then on the lowest hanging fruit — hockey and construction. Now, he hopes younger creatives realize they can get into filmmaking, too.
“I want anyone who’s interested in doing what I’m doing or something similar, to know that they can,” he told CBC.
On April 15, Rosner posted a behind-the-scenes video revealing Bristow as his newest co-star, marking the third rom-com they’re working on together. The two also appeared together in the January 2023 Hallmark movie “The Love Club: Nicole’s Pen Pal.” A year later, Bristow appeared in Rosner’s Hallmark movie “Love on the Right Course.”
“Look who we’ve got out here in Edmonton, Alberta,” Rosner smiled, panning his phone to show Bristow waiting for an interview and waving “hi” to the camera.
Among the many fans who expressed how happy they were to see the two paired in an upcoming film, one wrote, “I am so happy 😊 that Brittany and you are doing another movie 🎬 together. I can hardly wait for this one. I also love Christmas 🎄 😍 ❤️ 🔥movies!”
In the caption of the video, Rosner wrote, “Dragged the one and only @britbristow out to Big Eddy for the next @northern.gateway.films + @reeloneentertainment Christmas Flic. Who’s gonna check this one out this holiday season?🎅🏻🎄🎥”
Lots of fans raised their hands by liking the post or commenting — including some who asked if it would air on Hallmark Channel. Rosner replied to one of them, “TBD!”
Because it’s produced independently, the movie will likely be pitched to networks and streamers including Hallmark after filming has wrapped.
Marcus Rosner & Brittany Bristow Juggle Commitments With Hallmark & Independent Production Companies
HallmarkMarcus Rosner and Brittany Bristow in 2023’s “The Love Club”
Rosner loves hiring local talent for his Northern Gateway productions, occasionally even giving drama students from the local high school roles as extras, he told the outlet. But the company also brings in recognizable, often Canadian-based co-stars like Bristow to help ensure the movies are purchased and aired by well-known networks or streaming services.
In December, for instance, Rosner starred with Hallmark regular Rhiannon Fish in a rom-com called “Team Bride,” which aired in Canada on City TV, he shared on Instagram. Northern Gateway also produced his movie “Coupled Up for Christmas” with Sara Canning, he shared, which was picked up by Paramount+.
In those instances, in which an independent film company produces the project, actors typically have no say in where the film they starred in will eventually air. That’s an arrangement that backfired in 2023 for Hallmark star Jodie Sweetin, when an independent title she starred in was picked up by Great American Family, a network she said she was “disappointed” about appearing on.
Hallmark Media works closely with a variety of trusted production companies on its year-round slate of rom-coms and mysteries, but regularly handles casting and lining up directors for those films, leaning on a stable of fan-favorites while also cultivating a new generation of younger talent.
Both Rosner and Bristow juggle their independent movie commitments with Hallmark projects. The first Hallmark movie Bristow appeared in was 2017’s “Love Blossoms,” per IMDb. In 2023, she starred with Andrew Walker in “A Safari Romance.”
Rosner, meanwhile, first joined Hallmark in 2014 as a recurring character on “When Calls The Heart,” per the Daily Express. In 2023, he appeared in Hallmark’s one-season series “Ride” and September’s “Notes of Autumn” with Ashley Williams. In December, “An Ice Palace Romance” with Celeste Desjardins premiered on Hallmark’s streaming service, Hallmark Movies Now.
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