Without her mom, the magic of the holiday seemed lost.
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For Pat, Christmas was more than just a holiday; it was almost a state of mind.
The plot might be made up, but Hewitts delivery (and her tears) feel real.
Apart from starring in it, Hewitt co-wrote, produced, and directed the film herself her feature debut.
She felt she was the only one who could do the material justice.
I didnt think of him for this initially because hes not a Christmas movie guy.
This would be so fun, and it honors your mom.
AfterThe Client List, you worked with Brian on9-1-1as well.What is it like bringing a romantic relationship onscreen together?
during our kissing scenes.
Or the crew would be like, Ooooh, Andie and Mason!
So them being dorks was the only awkward part about it.
We got 15 days of that on this movie, and it was so wonderful.
And I did, and he felt the same.
We kind of ended the movie going, Wow, all married people should have this opportunity.
Like, this was really lovely.
Your mom and her love of the holiday inspired this story.
Shes supposed to come and visit and hold them and meet them.
My kids never got that experience, and I feel really sad about that.
I hadnt been able to do that yet.
I would read stuff to Brian and sob uncontrollably.
And hed be like, This is good.
This is a new part of grief.
Keep writing and get it out.
She and my dad were divorced, and maybe it came out of that for her.
Maybe we were more alike in that moment than ever before.
How else did your mother shape this story?
She was really good friends with my mom, and my mom absolutely adored her.
Kristin also lost her birth mom, and so the two of us connected about that.
So thats sort of a nod to my mom.
I bring it out every Christmas.
The penguins that are in the movie, those are a nod to my mom.
So theres lots of, like, little things sort of laid in there.
We actually called them, and the guy was like, Of course, Ill do anything for Pat.
There were so many times people would be like, Of course, for your mom, anything.
So she was very present and alive in the movie.
What is my life going to look like now?
There was this moment where this guy was outside my moms house.
I was trying to throw away stuff from the house, and I remember him sitting there.
I went up to his car, and I did ask him, What are you trying to capture?
And he was like, I think people just want to know that youre okay.
And I was like, Im not okay, so stop taking pictures because Im not okay.
Like, youre not going to get an okay picture for me.
Right.I will say, he was very human.
He was like, Im so sorry.
He put his camera down, and he was like, How are you doing?
And I was like, Im struggling, but Im going to be okay.
I just need to not be an actress right now.
I need to not be in Hollywood.
I just need to be a person.
I mean, Im a public figure.
But when it came to her, it felt wrong.
Im glad the photographer was receptive.He was, and he was very human.
I did see him again after that a couple of times, and he was always very kind.
I was like,Wait, what?
How is this happening?
Thats always just a really hard day for me.
I gave everybody a warning.
The first AD, Will, he was so sweet.
He was like, Oh my God, why didnt you tell me?
And Im like, No, I actually think its good.
We were all a hot mess.
It just did not feel like we were shooting a movie at all.
It ended up being so beautiful, but it was hard.
That whole day, I was like, Oh my God, what have I done to myself?
It was perfect, and it was exactly as I would have wanted it.
And I think she would have wanted it.
In promotingThe Holiday Junkie, youve said youre finally making a Christmas movie.
Like, I am the quintessential Christmas movie person.
Send me all the scripts, guys; Im ready.
They took really good care of me.
The pitch was pretty vulnerable.
It was like, I dont have a script.
I just have this thing in my heart that I want to do.
Youve directed before, but this was your first feature film.
Its 15 days in and out.
I got to color-time every version of this movie.
There was not one part of this movie that I did not get to be a part of.
Weve got to take that out.
The whole time, I was like, Guys, this is awesome.
They got the biggest kick out of it.
They were like, Oh my God, shes literally never done this before.
I learned just so much.
I would definitely love to do some more Christmas movies.
And I really want to direct a9-1-1,even though it would be bananas.
Im really open, but those are probably the three things that interest me the most.
And Jenna Ortega is somebody that really shines for me.
God, I would love the opportunity to direct her.
I think that would be tremendous.
Or were they going to tell me to pack up my bags and go?
I would just want her to stress less.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
